Chapter 12

The Oshitaris were rich. It was a fact of life. It was something that could never ever be denied by anyone and everyone with a brain.

Miho paused at the wrought iron gate of an elaborately large mansion. While by far, the richest family in Tokyo was the Atobes, the Oshitari residence was still a force to be reckoned with. The huge house practically screamed 'be awed by my vastness!'

And awed she was, even though she lived in that house.

She sighed, shaking her head, placing one hand on the gate and leaning her weight against it. She had taken a slight detour, so her brother had gotten home long before her. And it was getting dark out; night was falling and if she didn't get inside the house soon, the rest of the family would worry.

From one of the pockets of her schoolbag, her cell phone lit up, and she plunged a cold hand into it absentmindedly, flipping open the communication device's cover with her thumb, not even looking at who sent the text message. Although her blood ran cold as soon as her eyes found the words of the text message.

Miho, how are you doing? Innocent words, they were, but they filled her with dread that she could not fully understand. Hurriedly, she flipped the cell phone closed, shoving it back into her schoolbag and jamming her finger into the doorbell like contraption on the side of the gate. There was a moment of silence, and then a cackling sound came over it. When it toned down a bit a maid's voice could be heard.

"Hello? This is the Oshitari residence. May I help you?"

Miho gave a sigh. "Open the gate, please," she spoke into the speaker.

The maid gasped. "Miho-san! Did you forget your keys again?" But the maid opened the gate nonetheless, the huge wrought iron figures swinging slowly backwards so that the girl could slip through and head up the drive to the front door. Said maid greeted her at the door of the house, bowing as Miho stepped into the large front hallway. "Welcome back, Miho-san," she said, straightening up and taking her schoolbag. "I'll put your bag in your room," she said with a smile as she began to lead Miho to the dining room. "Everyone else is already seated for dinner. You're just in time."

Miho nodded, thanking the maid as she handed her coat over as well. "I'm sorry I'm late," she murmured as she stepped into the dining room. The rest of the family was already seated, as the maid said. Oshitari glanced up from his plate and gave her a look.

"Where were you?" her father asked, frowning at her.

Miho fidgeted slightly from where she stood at the doorway. "I was thinking… outside the gate…" she offered. It was a weak retort, and she knew it. Oshitari knew it too, from the slight tilt of his head and the disbelieving look in his eyes. He was not wearing his glasses; they were on his bedside table, but only on request from his mother.

"Is that so?" her father asked, giving a nod. Whether he believed her or not, Miho would never know. "Very well; you may sit down, Miho." He nodded to her seat and she bowed to him before hurrying to her place at the table. As soon as dinner was over, she excused herself, shooting out of the dining room with a hurriedly mumbled excuse.

Their mother gave Oshitari a glance. "Yuushi, why don't you go see what's troubling your sister tonight?" she asked, standing up. A small smile was on her face. Oshitari sighed, but stood as well.

"Hai, okaa-san," he said, giving a bow to his parents and leaving the room. When he reached Miho's door, he knocked on the hard wood, listening with a faint smirk at the scrambling noises from within.

"Come in!" Miho called, and he opened the door, stepping into the room.

"Miho…what are you doing?" he asked. His eyes had widened in surprise as he took in the mess Miho had made. "Honestly, Miho," he sighed, giving a shake of his head. "You're not a child anymore. Surely you shouldn't be making such messes in your room anymore?"

Miho ignored her brother and continued to paw through her scattered b belongings. Despite his best efforts, Oshitari's foot started to tap against the floor. It came to the point that he was about to head over to her and forcibly yank her so that she would face him, but he didn't have to that, seeing as Miho turned to face him. "Alright, I want some answers!" she demanded, poking him in the chest to accentuate his point.

He twitched, taking a step back automatically. "Answers to what?" he asked, frowning.

"What you and Fuji-sama were saying to Asa-chan, of course!" she retorted, poking him once more in the chest. "Do you really like her or not?"

He smirked, turning his head to the side and crossing his arms over his chest. "Ah… I was wondering when you would ask such a question," he said. The smirk on his face grew wider. "I was wondering what it would be like to vex Seigaku's famous tensai. It will certainly prove to be amusing." He leaned against her wall, that smirk ever present on his face.

Miho frowned slightly, and then a tiny smile graced her face. "Just be careful, Nii-san," she said. He tilted his head to the side and gave her a quizzical look. "People who do something that involves love often find themselves doing what they never thought they would do." She had adopted a very serious look on her face as she lectured him. "Be very careful with your heart; you might find it stolen one day."

He was thoroughly puzzled by now, but Miho never gave him the chance to voice out his questions. She had grabbed his shoulders and was now shoving him out of her room. "Now, out you go!" she scolded. "Do something productive, like homework!" And then the door was slammed in his face, leaving one confused Oshitari Yuushi standing in the hall.

On the other side of the door, Miho slid down onto the ground, her back against the smooth wood, and drew her knees up to her chest. On her desk, her cell phone let out a happy little 'bleep' to tell her that a text message had been received. She just closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against her knees, wrapping her arms tightly around her legs. Let it bleep; she wasn't going to answer it.

Not now, not ever.

***

"Asa-chan!"

Asa turned around when her name was called to see Miho running towards her, waving as she did. A bright smile crossed her face, and she waved back. "Good morning, Miho-chan!" she called as Miho closed the distance between the two of them. Asa was standing in the schoolyard, waiting for her friends to come out of the building so that they could get going. Leave it to the drama teachers to give the stage crew props to paint. Asa was currently wondering how she was going to lug a huge diagram of a tree all the way to her house in order to paint it. Said tree was currently leaning against the walls that surrounded the school. It looked innocent enough, although she swore it was mocking her, laughing at the thought of her dragging it through the streets of Tokyo.

"Sorry I came a little late!" Miho huffed, leaning over to catch her breath. "Ne, Asa-chan," she added hurriedly, "I found out!" She glanced curiously at the prop. "Nice tree," she commented, smirking.

"Found out what?" Asa asked curiously, frowning at her friend. It was actually quite a nice tree, the best out of the ones available for painting.

Miho gave her an exasperated look. "I found out about why Nii-san said he liked you!"

"Oh…" Truth be told, she really didn't want to know why he said it, since Oshitari wasn't the kind of boy to randomly say things to act silly; that bit of logic crushed her last hope. "Well? What is it?" Why not find out? Miho had gone through the pains of figuring it out for her, so the least she could do was listen to it.

Except Miho never got to tell her, since Fuji and Eiji came up. The genius had that oh-so-familiar smile on his face, leaning back slightly to catch what Eiji was saying. For once, Eiji wasn't blasting out his tidbits of information for the whole schoolyard to hear. "Fuji-sama!" Miho said excitedly. Her hands clasped and unclasped with each other in front of her chest as the two girls waited for the boys to reach them.

"You got a tree?" Fuji asked, giving the prop a glance.

Asa sighed, planting her hands on her hips. If one more person commented on her tree, she swore by Kami-sama that she would…

"Ah… are you in charge of painting trees for a school play?"

"It is a perfectly fine tree!" she cried out, closing her eyes and lowering her head in defeat. Why, oh why, did Kami-sama choose to do this to her? Why did she take a tree to paint in the first place if it was going to drive her insane?

"I never said it was not a fine tree, Ijuuin-chan."

Her eyes shot open, and besides her, Miho uttered out, "Nii-san!" Fuji's expression had turned into a small frown, and Eiji was just looking on in curiosity. "Oshitari-kun, why are you at Seigaku?" he asked innocently, to which Fuji could not help but smile. Leave it to Eiji to manage to cheer him up, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Oshitari gave a vague wave of his hand, ignoring the murmurs of the Seigaku students in the schoolyard. "Just picking up my sister," he drawled out, looking perfectly at home in a sea of green and black even with his brown attire. Miho stifled a sigh at her brother.

"I'll help you take your tree back to your house," Fuji offered, turning away from Oshitari. Asa gaze shifted from him to the tree and then back to the boy.

"With all of that as well?" she asked, gesturing to his schoolbag and his tennis bag. Even for a genius, wouldn't it be a bit difficult to add a huge tree to the pile?

Fuji chuckled lightly, an overly bright smile on his face, a dangerous combination that sent shivers up and down Eiji's spine. "Oh, there are ways," he fairly purred. Behind him, Eiji gulped. Both girls just blinked in confusion while Oshitari looked on with a faint hint of amusement on his face. He could tell that the other genius was angry at his presence. Never in his right mind had he imagined vexing Fuji Syusuke to be so much… fun.

In the end, it turned out that poor Eiji had right to feel terrified. When Fuji had initially suggested to Eiji that the other boy carry his bags so that he could get the tree, Eiji had protested (seeing as he, too, held a tennis bag and a schoolbag and did not look forward to the added weight). Fuji, kindly, had then offered that he ask Inui to make up a special concoction in order to build up Eiji's strength. The three onlookers had watched in stunned silence as Eiji's face turned paler than paper and he practically peeled both bags off of the sadist. Said sadist had a brilliant smile on his face. Mission accomplished, he thought as he picked up the prop. Now, if only other things could be solved by the same simple methods... "Ah… it is a bulky thing," he mused as he shifted it around as the five of them left the school grounds.

Eiji simply huffed from his place behind him, carrying both extra bags with a sullen expression on his normally cheerful face. Miho tried to cheer him up, but he made it clear that he would not be happy until he did not have to carry the extra baggage.

"I know!" Miho said brightly, clapping her hands together. "After Fuji-sama drops off the prop, how about we go check out a new store?" Eiji was about to protest again, but Miho silenced him with a wave of her hand. "It's a cake shop," she teased, a glint in her eyes.

"Really? Let's go, then! Hurry, hurry, Fujiko-chan!"

"Miho-chan, you did that on purpose, didn't you? Bribing him with the cake shop…"

Miho flashed a triumphant smile. "Victory is mine!" she said happily. Somewhere in her schoolbag, buried underneath all of her papers, her cell phone lit up as it received another text message.

***

Oshitari did not like going on shopping expeditions. Neither did Fuji. It didn't matter which shop it was (although both of them seemed fine with trips to the bookstore… for a limited amount of time…). In fact, both boys had tried to get out of it, but Eiji dragged along Fuji anyway and Miho took charge of Oshitari. So they had no choice but to go along on this shopping trip.

"Saa… it can't be that bad, can it?" Asa asked as they entered the cake shop. Eiji was instantly at the display cases, marveling over the desserts. The whole shop had a deliciously sweet smell to it, and Miho was instantly taking Asa on a tour of the small shop before she could hear the answer. The two tensais were left to stand in front of the doorway, each debating whether or not they should just leave or actually browse through the wide selection of sweets.

"Oshitari-chan looks very energetic today," Fuji finally offered after five minutes of an awkward silence. When he received no answer, the brown-haired boy turned to face the other. He was surprised to see the hard frown on his face, tinged with a bit of worry, opening his eyes to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. "Oshitari-kun…? Is something wrong?"

Oshitari gave a faint shake of his head. "It's nothing," he muttered, although his gaze turned once again to face his sister. She only acted like this when she was upset over something…

"Ne, Fuji-kun, Oshitari-kun." Both boys turned their attention back to the present when their names were called. Asa was standing in front of them with a box of paid delicacies. "Would you like to share?" she asked, holding out the box.

Fuji closed his eyes into their usual smiling position and gave a gentle bob of his head. "That'd be nice, thank you." She smiled at him and Oshitari when he voiced his consent, and Miho and Eiji waved them over to their table.

"Mmm… this one is nice," Eiji said happily. He had settled with a slice of chocolate cake, wearing the very expression of bliss as he munched on his treat. "Nya, what'd you get, Fujiko?" He looked curiously over to his friend.

"Hmm… I really don't know," Fuji answered truthfully. The box had been passed to Oshitari first, so he was waiting for the other boy to select something before he chose one for himself. Miho was chattering cheerfully to Asa, the other girl listening patiently to her ramblings, until she stopped her when she paused to take a breath.

"Is something bothering you, Miho-chan?" Fuji perked up; that same edge of worry was present on Asa's face as it had been on Oshitari's. The box was passed to him and he took a piece absentmindedly, setting it down on his dish and placing the box off to the side.

Miho looked surprised at Asa's sudden statement. "No… why do you ask?" she asked curiously.

Asa frowned, poking gently at her uneaten slice of cake with her fork. "I don't know… maybe because you were repeating the same story three times in a row?" she offered. Her frown deepened slightly as she set down her fork. "Honestly, though," she started, "if something is bothering you, please say it. Friends are here to listen to their friends' problems, ne?" She glanced at Eiji, Oshitari, and Fuji for conformation, and she got nods in response. "So… it's be nice if you could tell us if something is bothering you…" She trailed off with an almost nervous look on her face.

Miho sighed. "Am I that readable?" she asked softly. She tried to look like it was nothing, but now that her companions took a good look at her, it was easily noted that it was taking its toll on her, whatever it was. "Where to begin…?" Miho mused, leaning forward so that her elbows were on the table and she could lean her chin on her folded hands. She frowned as she thought, then sighed. "Beating around the bush isn't going to help me much, is it?"

"No, it isn't," Oshitari said sternly.

Miho's head bowed as the girl fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth. "The truth is… I'm not truly a part of this family," she said in a small voice. Oshitari's frown deepened, while the others looked surprised. "I don't really know the details and all; I just know I've been sent along with all these families to live with. It's like fostering; I've never stayed in one place for long. I count this current one a particular success, as I've been staying with the Oshitaris for three years." She fished out her cell phone from her bag; it was bleeping again as she flipped the cover open. "Good things always come to an end, don't they?" she asked softly. Her hand was shaking on the small device as she stared at the screen.

Fuji glanced at Asa with a worried expression on his face. It was not like their lively friend to be this down by anything. Asa reached out and plucked the phone from her hand. Miho glanced at her before going back to staring at her lap. "'Miho, how are you doing? I trust that you're enjoying your stay at your newest place of residence,'" she read. "'The transactions are complete. We would love it if you came back to live with use started next week…'" She trailed off. "Next week?! That really doesn't give you too much time." She flipped the phone shut.

Fuji set down his fork. "And do you want to go… Oshitari-chan?" he asked softly.

"Of course not!" Miho said hurriedly, and then withdrew a bit, looking flustered, as she must have sounded rude. "I'm sorry," she sighed, "It's just that I really don't want to go back. It leaves a bad impression when your real parents let you go from house to house," she mumbled, giving her phone a reproachful look from where it was in Asa's hands.

"In that case, couldn't you just say that you don't want to go?" Eiji asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin and looking very serious. "If they're your real parents, I'm sure they'll understand and want you to be happy." Fuji nodded at this statement.

"Either way," Oshitari spoke, and they turned to him. He pushed his glasses up, the glass gleaming as he did so. "Either way, I highly doubt that Mother and Father would let Miho go anyway; they love Miho just like Nee-san and I." He stood and extended his hand to his sister. "Come, let's go," he said softly. "It's getting late."

"But we don't have school tomorrow. It's Sunday," Miho protested, but took his hand anyway. "Ne, thanks for listening to my stupid problems," she said to the rest.

Eiji gave a simple shake of his head. "There are no such things as stupid problems," he said happily. Both Oshitaris nodded their thanks and left the shop. Eiji turned to face Fuji with a frown on his face. "But… honestly," he huffed. "Who in their right mind lets their kid go around like that?"

"There must be a reason," Fuji placated his friend before his gaze was drawn to Asa's hand. "You still have Miho's cell phone?" he asked playfully.

She leapt up. "Oh! I totally forgot!" she cried out before slapping a hand over her mouth. She had been too loud; other customers were staring at her now. "Uh… it's nothing. I'm terribly sorry!" she squeaked before sitting down again.

Fuji offered her a gentle smile. "It's alright. We can just return it to her tomorrow… oh, wait, tomorrow is Sunday. Monday will have to do." He began gathering up his stuff, standing up. "Saa… let's get going," he offered. "Oshitari-kun was right; it is getting late."

"But tomorrow is Sunday," Eiji whined, although he got up anyway. The three of them left the shop and started walking back to their homes, Eiji chattering on about how he wanted spring to come quickly. Then, somehow, he managed to turn the conversations towards birthdays. "It's a pity we won't be able to celebrate Fujiko's birthday this year," Eiji sighed. "And this year is our last at Seigaku… what a pity, nya… oh, here's my house." He gave a cheerful wave to his friends as he bounded up the walk. At his front door, he turned and waved again. "See you on Monday!" he called out before the front door opened and he toppled into his house, as he had been leaning on said door. Fuji chuckled and the two of them waved back as Eiji picked himself up off the floor, complaining loudly to his sister for the undignified entrance yet still managing to wave some more.

"Ah… Eiji's arm will fly off if he waves anymore," Fuji said with a contented smile on his face. The girl besides him was quiet and he turned to look at her curiously. Dusk made it difficult to fully see her face, and for once he wished that the longer days would hurry up and come, granting more sunlight.

"February 29th," she muttered, and he blinked in confusion. "This year isn't a leap year…"

"Aa-chan, are you talking to yourself?"

"Eh…" she fumbled around with her words for a while before giving a sheepish nod. "Hai… I do that sometimes." She gave him a small smile before glancing up at the dark sky. "But really," she mused, "how do you normally celebrate your birthday? Do you do it on the 28th or do you wait for the first of March?"

Fuji had to pause and think about it. Normally, he didn't care much for his birthday, possibly because for the most part that day didn't even come. "Nee-san and kaa-san usually do something on March first," he said softly. "Why?" He stopped at the gate to his house, debating to himself whether he should continue on and walk her home or not.

Asa chuckled lightly. "Nothing," she said sweetly. "I was curious, that's all." She offered him a small bow. "Thank you for helping me get that prop back to my house earlier this afternoon. I'll see you on Monday." When he seemed to hesitate at his gate, she made a small shooing gesture at him. "It's cold out. You'll get sick if you stay out for too long."

"I guess…" She gave a tiny wave and hurried along down the street towards her own house, leaving Fuji to stand there at his gate, wondering why she seemed to have such an interest in his birthday. His musings were cut off when Yumiko opened the front door, calling his name.

"You'll get sick if you stay outside for too long," Yumiko chided as he stepped inside and toed off his shoes. The eldest Fuji sibling suddenly frowned and bent slightly in order to better see her brother's face. "Your cheeks are flushed… you might have caught a fever," she sighed. "Honestly, Syusuke, must you stay outside for so long by yourself?"

"But I wasn't by myself," Fuji interjected, a faintly bemused expression on his face. Yumiko's face lit up and he suddenly realized it was the wrong phrase to say.

"You mean you have a girlfriend now?" she cooed. Fuji tried to move past her to get to his room but his sister cut off all of his possible escape routes. "Who is it?" There was a strange glint in her eyes, but he shrugged it off as simply the way the light reflected on it.

"I was just walking back with Eiji," Fuji lied, fervently hoping that his sister wouldn't detect it and hound him some more. "And we were discussing the play that we had to do." There was a tiny grain of truth in his words. Asa and he did discuss the prop, if for only a minute or two.

Yumiko visibly deflated. "Oh… is that so," she sighed. But then she straightened up. "No problems then!" she said brightly. "I'll make sure to bring the camera so that I can take lots of pictures when your class puts on the play. Work hard, then, ne, Syusuke?" He nodded mutely, and she hugged him tightly before she was called into the kitchen by their mother. Fuji let himself into his room, pausing at Yuuta's door before telling himself that Yuuta was back at the St. Rudolph dorms. His sister seemed really excited that night. He wondered why.

"Nee-san," he called, popping up in the kitchen. Yumiko and Yoshiko both looked up from their cups of tea. "Do you have a new boyfriend?"

Yumiko cocked her head to one side. "No. Why do you ask?" Fuji just rocked backwards onto his heel as he thought. His mother was the one who smiled and spoke next.

"Yumiko and I are undergoing a little 'project'," she offered. This time, there was no mistaking the glint in Yumiko's eyes. "Time is of the essence. After all, we only have about a month to do this."

"Do what?"

Yumiko winked at him, wagging a finger in a playful, teasing manner. "S-e-c-r-e-t!" she said, although then she nodded to the calendar. "Perhaps if you see the date, you'll know." Fuji obeyed, turning his gaze to the calendar.

Said date happened to be February 14; St. Valentine's Day.

A/N: A total and complete failure... (T.T) My attempt to move the calendar forward so there won't be like... a thousand chapters to this thing (probably failed in that area...). I'm sorry if everything seems to be a bit rough in this one. I suppose it could act as one of those filler things.

But, it was kind of fun making Miho lecture Oshitari. Poor genius doesn't know what's in for him... *heh* It's his own fault for having so much pride. But we love him anyway. *glomps*

And the tree is there in a vague attempt to bring back the whole play thing. I've been neglecting it lately. Poor neglected plot bunny...

I think I'll shut up now and let you guys decide whether or not this chapter fails. Reviews are life. =)