Continuing with the story, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. I put a lot of fluff in it.

Disclaimer: I'm not Japanese, so please forgive any misuse on the honorifics and I do not own Sailor Moon, which this story is very loosely based.

Chapter 5

Garden

The next morning was pleasant. Grandpa left early to spend the day at a local shrine. Hana and Akira had to work, but before they left the house, Hana had suggested that Yuuichirou take the girls on a tour of the town. They had seen part of it on the ride from the train station and were eager to see more.

The majority of the day was spent driving across town. Yuuichirou had decided to give Kamin the day off and drive them around himself in his old car. They could hardly fit. He took them to his old school, the park, the country club, and the mall. That was a bad idea. The girls spent hours running around the mall looking at all the shops. He practically had to drag Minako and Usagi out of several stores so that they wouldn't go broke buying all the clothes.

By the time they got back to the house, Yuuichirou was exhausted. Girls are hard work, he thought as he watched the girls sitting and laughing on the couch. How are they not tired? He went over and sat next to Ami.

After listening to their conversation for a few minutes, Yuuichirou turned to Ami and asked, "Have you seen my dad's library yet?"

Ami's eyes widened.

"No, I haven't."

"Let me show you." Yuuichirou stood up. "I know you would really like it."

He led the eager girl out of the room.

"He shouldn't have done that," Rei said. "She'll never leave now." Her friends laughed in agreement.

"You know, this is a really nice town," Makoto said. "I wonder why he left this home in the first place."

"I was wondering that too," Usagi said.

"It must have been pretty important for him to just leave," Rei thought aloud. "He left a comfortable life and his parents, so it must have been something big."

"Well, he's got you now, Rei-chan, so it makes up for it," Mina pointed.

Three people laughed. One person glared.

Rei was about to snap at her when Yuuichirou returned. Alone.

"She freaked out when she saw it," Yuuichirou laughed. "She couldn't believe how big my dad's library was. She's in there now, and she's already reading one of his books."

"At least we'll always know where she is," Minako said.

"Yuuichirou-kun, is it alright if we watch a movie?" Makoto asked. "I got lost on my way downstairs this morning and I saw that you have a kick-ass entertainment center in one of the rooms."

"OH! Can we?" Usagi squealed.

Yuuichirou laughed. "Of course. Come on, let's go."

It took the girls a good thirty minutes to agree on a movie and in the end they decided to watch a cheesy action movie about fighting turtles living in the sewer.

As the movie began to play, Yuuichirou leaned over to Rei and whispered, "I really want to show you something."

She looked at him through squinted eyes. It was dark in the room so no one noticed the two's interaction. He was only inches away from her face. It made her heart skip a beat and her breath catch. He just startled me, she thought, trying to find an excuse for her reaction. She could only nod her head.

The couple silently snuck out of the room while the girls were completely absorbed in the movie.

Once outside room, Rei asked, "So what did you want to show me?"

Yuuichirou smiled. "It's a surprise."

He led her out of the house to the backyard. They were facing the fountain when he turned to her.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Rei asked, pointing to the elaborate water display.

"No. I told you, it's a surprise. Now, put this on." He held up a white handkerchief.

"Why?"

"What part of 'surprise' don't you understand?" Yuuichirou shook his head, he was becoming impatient. He folded the handkerchief and put it on her himself. He was surprised she didn't put up a fight. Rei was too shocked at Yuuichirou's boldness to react. His hands were around her head as he tried to securely tie the cloth over her eyes and he couldn't help linger and brush her hair.

Her hair is so soft, he thought.

His actions did not go unnoticed. She had felt his hand graze her hair, and she couldn't stop her heart's increased speed for the second time.

He finally put his hands down from her head, only to grab one of her delicate hands. Rei gasped slightly as the electricity from his touch rocketed all over her body. Yuuichirou saw Rei's reaction and grinned, gripping her hand tighter.

"Come on. The surprise awaits."

Rei followed Yuuichirou's lead as they walked through the backyard. They were walking quite a long time and she was beginning to wonder where he was taking her. After a while, she noticed that the ground was becoming rocky and uneven and had to grab on to his upper arm to keep from tripping.

Yuuichirou's smile could have lit up Tokyo. He turned his head sideways and looked at her as they walked. He would have never dared to do this in any other situation. When she caught him looking at her, she would instantly look in the other direction, avoiding any eye contact. Now that she was blindfolded, she didn't see his eyes roaming her face. He could see her delicate features: the cute button nose, the small furrow between her eyebrows that she only got when she was really concentrating on something, her smooth skin, and her lips that curved naturally to a smile. He was lost in her beauty.

When he finally managed to tear his eyes off her face, they had arrived.

"Alright, Rei-chan, we're here," he said, stopping.

"Where are we?"

"You'll see."

Yuuichirou had walked around Rei and began untying her blindfold.

"Are you ready?" he asked before removing the blindfold.

"Yes."

Yuuichirou lowered the blindfold gently and when her eyes finally focused to the scene around her, she gasped.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. All around her were dazzling colors of every kind. If she hadn't felt the chilling breeze that brushed her skin, she would have thought it was springtime. The sea of flowers had engulfed nearly every inch of land. Its sweet smell hung in the air and played with her nose. The sound of birds chirping and water flowing in the creek played all around. Little animals frolicked in the foliage in the distance. Life was just bursting out of this little patch of heaven. Rei noticed a small swing hanging from a tree branch and a cute little gazebo in the middle of the garden.

"Do you like it?" Yuuichirou asked softly. He was still standing behind Rei.

She whirled to face him, completely glowing.

"This place is gorgeous!"

"I knew you'd like it." Yuuichirou smiled at her happiness. "This was my favorite place growing up. I found it when I was seven. I had just had a fight with my dad and I ran out here. I imagined it to be a kind of wonderland meant only for me. A lot of the flowers were already here, and I thought I could make it look really nice if I fixed it up a bit."

"You made this?" Rei asked, attempting to hold back some of her amazement.

"Yup. I planted more flowers, cleared the weeds, trimmed the shrubs. I got some help from one of the gardeners. He taught me how to take care of the flowers. It looks like he kept up with it." He said, noticing the neatly cut grass. He pointed at the swing. "I built that when I was eight and the gazebo when I was fourteen."

"You built the gazebo?!" She didn't even try to hold back her amazement this time.

Yuuichirou chuckled. "Yeah, it took me a year. I started it when I was thirteen. I had some help from one of my dad's architect friends. I didn't want to buy one because my parents never knew about this place. Besides, this place is mine. I didn't want to use their money."

Rei was utterly baffled. She didn't know he had such self control, discipline and patience. He built a gazebo when he was fourteen? She thought. Then again, I was fighting monsters when I was that age, so compared to that…

She watched him as he walked slowly through the flowers, gently touching the petals. She began to look at him differently. For such an oaf, he was so gentle and kind, always insisting on doing things himself. She had always known this about him, but it wasn't until she was here listening to him talk about his childhood that she began to realize how deeply those traits were rooted.

"Why don't you give that thing a try?" Yuuichirou's question shook Rei out of her thoughts. She turned around and noticed that she had somehow managed to walk over to the swing.

"It's not gonna fall," He said, noticing her reluctance.

She still didn't get on.

"Look, I'll show you." Yuuichirou jumped on the swing, standing on its seat. He began to swing it violently, making it soar high. He began to laugh playfully.

"Okay, okay. I believe you," Rei cried as she watched.

Yuuichirou laughed again. He pushed harder on the swing, making it go even higher. When it got to its peak, he jumped off.

Rei shrieked.

He landed on his feet with a thud. He straightened up and turned to the startled girl. He posed like a gymnast who had just landed an amazing dismount.

"Ta-da!"

"Baka, you scared the crap out of me!" Rei had run over to him and pushed him.

Yuuichirou only laughed.

"Your turn."

He walked her over to the swing and sat her down. He then walked around her and began to push her. Slowly at first, then gradually harder, sending her higher off the ground.

Rei began to laugh as she gathered speed. She couldn't remember the last time she was on a swing. She enjoyed the feeling of flying as the air whipped past her.

Yuuichirou's own heart was soaring, listening to her laugh.

Rei and Yuuichirou left the garden when it became too dark to see. When they walked into the living room, all the girls (except Ami) looked up at them.

"Where did you two run off to?" Usagi teased.

"Nowhere," the two said.

"Riiiight."

"Your dad called, Yuuichirou-chan," Makoto said. "Your parents can't make it to dinner."

"Now it's starting to feel like home," Yuuichirou said, jumping on the couch and putting his feet on the table. The girls couldn't help but feel sympathetic. "Well, since the parents aren't here, let's order some pizza and eat a bunch of junk food. We'll make a party out of it. What'd ya say?"

"I say, 'Hell yes!'" Makoto cheered.

"Me too!" Minako and Usagi chimed.

"That sounds like fun," Rei said.

"Then it's settled," Yuuichirou said triumphantly.

Several hours later, everyone was sick from massive sugar overload.