V

"Shi-chan!" Hani greeted as I opened the door, taking me in with a warm smile. "You look so pretty! Pink is definitely your color."

I smoothed the material of my bubbled cotton dress, looking out at him with a thankful grin. Three and a half hours of my morning had been utterly wasted in picking out this fru-fru outfit consisting of the pink dress, white gladiator sandals, a flower headband, and some fake pearl earrings. "Thank you, Hani. Sorry for making you drive all the way out here on your day off."

"It's not a big deal- not at all!" His grin only widened. "Are you ready to go?"

Nodding, he led me off to the car that was almost identical to the one Mori had taken me to and from the hospital in, except for this one was silver instead of black. Hani held my bags as I got in, then slipped into the seat beside me. He said something politely to the chauffeur and we were whisked off, going off in the direction of the posher side of the city. I was more nervous than a cat surrounded by a hundred dogs, and all I could do to keep myself from blurting it out like a complete moron was to pleat small folds into the material of my dress and not look at the blonde.

"So," Hani broke the silence expectantly, tapping the large bag with his finger. "What did you make for Takashi?"

"Some traditional snacks." I turned to look at him finally, my throat clenching in anxiety before I couldn't hold back the torrent of words building up inside of me. "I really should have called you back and asked you what he really liked, but I didn't think about that until I was almost done preparing it, and mom had just gone to the market, so I didn't to cause her any more trouble. Do you think he'll like it? Or did I just make a really, really stupid assumption about him?"

He laughed, moving to look at me then out the window. "Nope, you did it right. He really does like that kind of stuff."

I sighed dramatically, feeling like the twenty ton rock that had been sitting in my belly all day had suddenly disintegrated. "Thank goodness."

"How did your father treat you this week?"

My heart lurched at his unexpectedly serious question, and I sighed, moving to glance out my window as my passed through the busy business sector of the city. "The same as usual." I murmured, trying not to sound like I wanted a pity party. "He was practically spitting fire when he first found out, but once he realized Aki and Mom could manage fairly well without my help, he didn't really say much about it. Honestly, I haven't seen much of him this week, so we didn't interact at all after the first few days of my bed-rest."

The blonde nodded slowly, but quickly bounced into his energetic self as the car slowed and we pulled into through a large gate. My jaw dropped open as I took in the large, old-fashioned Japanese mansion flooding the entire plain of view in front of us. Dear light, when I thought of mansions, I thought decent sized houses big enough for ten or fifteen people to live comfortably in, but this, this could easily hold fifty or maybe even a hundred people. The old era architecture threw me off, until I smiled, realizing that this had Mori and his personality all over it. Silent power and simplicity were two things I had always tagged on him, and seeing the environment he had grown up in, it made it clear that it had influenced him justly.

My door was opened, and I stepped out into the bright sunlight onto the cobblestone driveway. Hani was soon standing beside me, holding my bag out to me with a bubbly grin. I took it and he skipped in front of me, leading me to the front gateway of the actual house, where two boys were sitting, talking loudly about what I made out to be some kind of sport. Each looked to be a spitting image of Mori and Hani, respectively, and I couldn't help but smile as I realized these must be their younger brothers.

"Satoshi-kun, Chika-chan!" Hani greeted exuberantly, lifting a hand to the boys.

"Hani-san!" The dark haired boy grinned, moving to sling his arm around his companion. "Will you please tell your brother that there are other animals other than chicks that should be bred for a husbandry farm?"

"Like bunnies!" Hani chimed, only to get a face from his brother.

"Or kittens." I put in, slamming a hand over my mouth as the two younger boys looked at me with mixed expressions.

"Shi-chan's right." Hani laughed, moving to point to me and then to the boys. "Satoshi-kun, Chika-chan, this is Hoshi Mizutemari. She's a friend of mine and Takashi's."

I finally remembered my manners and swept into a formal bow. "It's a honor to meet you."

"Satoshi, do you think you could take Shi-chan to Takashi? I have some stuff to do, or I would have just taken her myself."

The black haired boy stood, stretching with a grin. "Sure, Hani-san."

"Wait!" I fumbled in my bag, pulling out the top box before extending it to the blonde. "I made these for you, Hani, since I needed to apologize to you too for not being able to get you anything from the market last week like planned. They're all sweets, so I thought you'd like them."

His grin grew exponentially as the box was taken out of my hands with gusto. "Really?! Thank you, Shi-chan! Thanks so much. Chika-chan, do you want some?"

The two brothers were soon head first in trying to discover what was inside the boxes of treats, but Satoshi was already gesturing for me to follow him down the leftward branching walkway. I followed obediently behind him as we walked down the side of the one-story building. Neither of us really said anything, and for once, I was glad I could shut my mouth. The last thing I needed to be doing right now was ramble a million miles an hour to Mori's little brother, who probably could care less about my friendship- well, more like hardcore admiration that almost bordered putting Mori on a pedestal- with his brother.

"Wait here." He said kindly as we approached the corner of the house, gesturing to the wooden walkway just outside the room with a sweep of his hand.

All I could was take two steps forward before I froze completely. What in the world was I doing here? What could I possibly say to Mori? Would he be mad that I had shown up without letting him know? With Satoshi's back turned to me, I could make a hasty run for it before I saw Mori's face or said something extremely stupid. That sounded like the wisest decision right now, but as he opened the door and two creatures bolted out of the door, my heart melted and I forgot all my troubles in the light of their furry, adorable faces.

Satoshi turned back to me with an apologetic glance, before noticing my unmasked adoration for the tanuki and chicken with a small chuckle. "He's not in his room right now, but if I remember correctly, he got finished with kendo practice and is probably just cleaning up and on his way back. Do you want me to wait here with you?"

"No, I should be just fine." I managed, bobbing my head courteously before snapping my fingers in remembrance. Digging in my bag for a second, I pulled out a small wax bag, holding it out to him with a tiny grin. "I didn't know Mori had a brother, or I would have made more treats. These are some extra Madeleines I whipped up, so you could have them if you want."

His grin grew. "Thanks."

With a quick wave, he was dashing off down the walkway in the same direction we had come from, holding the bag securely against his chest. I watched him go with a tiny chuckle, moving to plop exhaustively on the edge of the wood. The tanuki and chicken slowly approached me from their spot to my left, and I held out my hand to the raccoon like creature, only to have it chatter and clamber up onto my lap after a hesitant sniff, trying to explore my bag as if he could care less that I was there.

"Hold on, little guy." I laughed, moving to scoot him out of the opening of the bag. "I did bring some fruit for us to share."

Before long, the three of us were settled comfortably in the dwindling afternoon sunlight, repeating a strange sort of pattern as the minutes worn on. I would spread some seed out on the plank beside me for Piyo-chan, and would then drop a slice of apple or orange for the tanuki to munch on. They were so adorable that I almost forgot the whole reason I had come down here for, until a set of heavy footsteps paused about a foot away from me. I turned quickly to meet Mori's surprised gaze, and quickly mirrored it. He was dressed in a bathrobe, a damp towel hanging limply against his neck, but that was about it as far as being clothed on his torso. A glorious square of his muscular chest peeked out from the slits of the robe, and I averted my gaze to the tanuki still sitting complacently in my lap before I died while basking in his glorious beauty.

He closed the gap between us with a few elongated steps, sitting down on the floor beside me with a small thud. The chicken squawked joyfully before jutting over to his side, though the tanuki only lifted his head and went back to devouring the orange slice he was nibbling contently on. I smiled lightly at the animal's ignorance to the tense situation I had put myself in, but now that I was here, I may as well do what Hani said and try to hopefully leave with even a scarp of my dignity when it was all said and done.

"I'm sorry for showing up unexpectedly." I apologized, glancing over at him to see him smiling gently down at the chicken. It was one of the rarer things he did, and it always warmed my heart to a million degrees to witness his genuine grin. He finally glanced over at me, and smoothed out his expression. "Hani said you had been worried about me, so I came here to show you that I'm healing just fine."

His eyes narrowed for a moment, and I knew he was doubting how honest I was being with him. Sighing, I reached my arm over and grabbed his hand, laying it on my rib cage. "See?" I asked without dropping my hold on him. "I'm telling you the truth- I did exactly as the doctor said and everything's healed. Please stop worrying. I couldn't take it if you did."

I let go of his hand, but it still lingered against my torso for a few extra moments before he lifted it gingerly and returned it to hold the chicken, who was now pressed lovingly against his side. His expression seemed identical to the one he had plastered on his face when I touched his lips in the hospital: eyes wide, a tiny blush, and a speculative expression. His eyes softened as he noticed me scrutinizing him, and I finally managed to look away, moving to feed the tanuki one last slice of apple before rummaging in my bag for his box of treats.

"Here." I slid the box in the gap between our legs, before busying myself with scratching the tanuki behind the ears so he wouldn't see how beet red my face was. "I thought I might as well bring you some snacks as an actual apology, so that's what's in the box. They're all savory and old-fashioned, but if you don't like them, you really don't have to eat them. It's not like I'm going to know."

He didn't say anything, and I was too terrified to look over at him to see what his body language was saying. Soon, I heard the lid of the box open with a squeak, and his deep voice rippled into the silence with ease. "Thank you."

The tears pricked at my eyes as I slid my gaze over to see him happily examining the treats, completely lost in the strange storyline I found myself living through. No- this wasn't a story. There wasn't going to be any twist in the plot, no unexpected gain in my favor. But why was I so sad? Why did I even care? Mori was just.. He was the love I had been looking for all along.

My stomach lurched. No. No. This was not happening. Jolting up, I tried to shake off the sickening feeling rising up my throat as the tanuki scampered over to Mori's feet, looking just as shocked as he was at my sudden movement. I had to get out of here and quick. Tugging at the straps of my bag, I grabbed it from the floor beside me, turned my body, and started to jog down the walkway, hoping I would find the front gate before Mori could catch up to me.

Yet again, my hopes fell short as I felt a hand wrap tightly around my wrist, whirling me around until I was standing face to face with the one person I was trying to get away from. My eyes immediately locked with Mori's, which were wide in shock and concern at my sudden flight. I looked down at my feet as he held me firmly, the tears dripping across my nose before I even realized I was cry. Light! I really couldn't do this right now.

"Hoshi?"

That plea- so simple, but so deep- was asking too much from me. Unlike all the other times when I couldn't keep the words from flooding out of my mouth, my silence continued. He would never understand. He could never take someone like me seriously. Ripping my arm out of his hold, I ran as fast as I could, ignoring the pain, sadness, and horrendous guilt welling up in my torso until I knew for certain I had put more than enough space between the two of us to seal my decision forever.

AN: Sorry for a slightly late update. But we couldn't have Hoshi in denial forever now, could we? Thank you to Hopelessly Hope, Shadewing31, KayDizzle, and Sophia Rosalie Gibbs for reviewing on the last chapter. You guys are amazing and wonderful! Please review! ~ E.F.