His fingers danced over the calculator and occasionally glanced at the numbers while he jotted down a bunch of things with his other hand as he went through the list from the desktop. Every ten minutes or so, he would quietly mutter something.

"Let's see... minus the federal tax, the medical insurance, the dental insurance, cough, cough!"

He halted his actions for a moment to grab a tissue when there was a sudden knock on the door.

"It's Shiraishi," the person of the other side of the door spoke stoically. He grinned to himself. Looks like work-mode Nana-chan is switched on. But, her presence was the last one he needed right now.

He gave a good clearing of his throat before he spoke out, "You may come in." Hopefully, he sounded convincing enough.

In she came with a small folder in her hand that she then placed on the table without taking a seat.

"I have come to deliver you this month's expenses for all the departments of the Medical Household."

He raised an eyebrow, "All of them?"

"Yes, all of them," she repeated, this time less impassive, but nevertheless, still professional, "I was making my way around some of the departments earlier this morning and they asked me to deliver them to Doctor Fujiwara, since I was on my way to his office anyways. He then asked me to deliver them to you, since he is about to leave for a conference in as we speak."

"I see," he replied and reached out for the file, but ended up making the desk calendar fall splat to the floor. Nadeshiko slowly bent down to pick it up. As she reached for the object she was able to catch a brief look of the circles and notes on the calendar without the butler taking any notice. She then placed it back to its original position without saying a word.

"Thanks," he smiled before he quickly, but meticulously, flipped through the contents of the folder until he saw something that made him wince inwardly, "Oh, looks like it's flu-shot season again."

"Indeed it is," she nodded, and he can clearly see that she was fighting back a smirk. "People have been calling me to schedule early appointments already."

"I suppose I might as well schedule mine while you're here then. I wouldn't want Doctor Shiraishi chasing after me later."

She didn't answer immediately and gave him a long, hard look before firmly replying, "That won't be necessary at the moment. You are clearly not in the condition to be accepting a shot."

His smile faintly lopsided, "What do you mean? If you're talking about my phobia-"

"You know very well what I mean, Master Yu," she spoke in a melodic tone, with emphasis on his name. There was a calm smile on her lips, but the silent anger in her eyes shone through. It was most definitely on purpose. He could feel a chill running down his spinal cord.

"I can assure you, Doctor Shiraishi, I am perfectly—" he then erupted into a violent fit of coughing. Nadeshiko rushed over to his side and placed one hand to rub his back while the other one wrapped in from of his waist.

"You were saying?" she asked, as she wore the triumphant grin on her face proudly.

He gave a childish little pout, "But, I still have work."

"If you want to get back to work quickly, I recommend that you let me prescribe you some medicine and then get some rest after, or else, you'll be bedridden for a longer period of time if you do not treat it right away. By "right away", I mean, now." she spoke the last word with an authoritative tone, but then changed it into something more desperate. "Please, Yu-chan."

He couldn't exactly pin it, but there was a sense of melancholy and fear deep within her eyes. Yu then realized how unreasonably stubborn he was being and spoke, "Alright, just let me save everything, clean up, and meet you there. It won't be long."

She pursed her lips, "Fifteen minutes, or else I will come back and drag you."

"I just can't win against you, can I?"

Fifteen minutes later and no less, he was propped up on the exam table with the diaphragm of a stethoscope pressed to chest. Nadeshiko didn't glance at him as she knitted her eyebrows and listened through the earpiece. As the seconds tick by, he could feel his body breaking out more and more in cold sweat, as his breathing became heavy.

She then moved the cold metal away from him and went behind him to place it on his back. As her fingers ran up his back, he could feel the pleasant coolness of it through his skin. Then, he felt the metal on his back.

"Okay, I want you to breath heavily now."

At this point he felt like he had fallen into a deep pit and could barely hear her voice from above the ground. He managed to suck in a deep breath, but after he let it go, everything faded into nothingness.

He didn't know what he was staring at. He no longer cared, anyways. Every sound in the room just seemed so far away from where he stood. He just wanted to disappear. He wanted to go where they were, but he didn't know how. He just-

"You are Yu, aren't you?"

His senses awakened as soon as he heard the voice and he was face to face with an unfamiliar lady who crouched down to his level. She was dressed elegantly in mourning colour and her expression reminded him of a mother's, of his mother's.

He did his best to search for his voice and forced out a polite smile, one he wore so well. Yet now, he wasn't even sure he was wearing it right. He hoped he did.

"Please don't go, Yuyu," the girl desperately looked into his eyes on the verge of tears. She bit her lip in an attempt to hold them back.

"I won't ask for anymore flower crowns, piggyback rides, or to take me to places, just please, don't leave me, Yuyu, hic."

The tears that once burned the corners of her eyes now spilled uncontrollably and she wiped them furiously as they continue to run down.

"Hic... with... Nana-chan... hic... we only... hic, hic... eachother, hic."

After everyone left, the two of the stood in front of her. The sky was the brightest of blue and not a cloud was in sight. The grass and trees were greener then he had ever seen it. It was as if life just went on without a care.

The man next to him crouched down and embraced him. The man's voice cracked with every word he spoke, "Yu, your mother has went somewhere happier now. I know you are sad. I am, too. From now on, I will do my best to love and protect you twice as much-"

They acted as if he was the background as they whispered among themselves thinking he couldn't hear a word.

"Poor child, losing his mother at such a young age."

"Well, she was always physically weak. It was only a matter of time."

"She shouldn't have gotten married then if she knew that she wouldn't live that long let alone have any children. I mean, think of the husband and the child."

He gripped the side of his trousers as he continued to hear the conversation, but he continued to encourage himself to remain smiling while praying for it to be over.

"I'm moving to Liberty," the raven haired girl spoke with her gaze locking to the ground, he could tell she was suppressing her urge to break down and sob. "I don't know when I can come back. So, I—I—I don't think I can play with Yu-chan and Aya-chan anymore."

"Do you not like us anymore?" the younger girl spoke as she came closer to the raven hair girl to hold her hands. The raven haired girl could not reply for a moment. Only a choked hiccough came out as she vigorously shook her head.

"It's not that... I—"

"Young mistress, it's time to go or we'll be late for the flight!"

The elegant lady smiled at him with a palm resting upon his shoulder. Her voice flowed with nobility and grace as she spoke, "No, I am not an acquaintance of your father, but I knew your mother when she use to work in the palace."

A look of surprise was cast on his features. He didn't even know he could naturally feel that way anymore.

"Then, you're the Queen...?"

The smile never once faded away and she nodded, "Yes, I am. Yu, I understand that this is sudden, however, what do you say about coming to live and work in the palace?"

One by one, and sometimes two by two, they came up to him.

"My deepest apologies for you and your loss. Let us know if you need anything."

Typical words at a funeral. They were thrown out so easily. Typical cheap words. He, too, knew these words and threw them right back.

"Thank you very much for your kindness. I'll be sure to let you know if something happens."

He could hear their voices whispering once more.

"First his mother, now the father, too!? The boy has the worse luck."

"Who's going to take him in then?"

"We sure can't, we just had a baby. Considering the two deaths, it would bring our house bad luck."

"We can't either, we're on a tight budget enough as it is."

He clung to the picture frame of his father. He no longer wanted to hear anything they had to say.

Everything about the place was luxurious and fragile. It was almost as if they could break with even the faintest touch. But, this was "home" now.

He ate what they offered, but he was free to explore that day. He tried at first. But the voices would follow him wherever he went. They reminded him of the voices at the funeral, except they spoke different things.

"What's a child like that doing here?"

"He's not even of nobility status."

"He's probably being trained to be nothing more than a mere servant."

So, in his room he went, where everything stood still, and nothing spoke. On the chair he sat, curled into a ball.

Aya-chan?

Nana-chan?

Mom?

Dad?

They were probably, like his dad said, in a happier place. A happier place than where he was. So happy that no matter how much he called for them inside, they would never come to see him.

"Yu-chan?! Yu-chan?! Can you hear me?"

He was greeted by the violent sensation of having his shoulders rocked back and forth as he heard the owner of the voice calling to him, pulling him out of his seemingly endless nightmare. A pair of amethyst eyes fixated on him, they mirrored the terror he was feeling.

"Nana-chan?" he croaked out as he continued to stare back at her. A relieved sigh escaped her as she removed herself away from sitting on top of his waist and knelt with both knees on the mattress.

He glanced around and realized that he was in his room and that it was now nighttime. Not to mention his nightwear was drenched in sweat. His heart was still pulsing rapidly and panting heavily. Yu then focused his attention towards the woman in front of him who tensely starred back at him. With his vision adjusting itself to the night view and the moonlight penetrating through the window, he was able to see nearly every detail of her features.

She crawled a little closer to him as she observed that he was gradually become calmer, or so she thought.

"Bad dr—huh!?"

Her body became rigid as he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into an embrace. It wasn't a casual embrace, neither was it loving-it was to confirm something. As a result, she felt fragile and fleeting all at once.

"You're here," he spoke out through broken sobs, though no tears spilled forward. "You're really here."

She relaxed and wrapped her arms around his back. Her embrace was that of something gentle, yet firm, a light squeeze.

"Yeah, I'm here, Yu-chan."

After a while, everything became calm and she immediately fell into a deep slumber in his arms. When he came to realize this, he carefully set her to lie next to him, but from a chaste enough distance as the bed size would allow.

He then headed towards the dresser to grab a spare pillow and blanket. Once she was well taken care of, he slipped back into his own covers and glanced at her for a few seconds before reaching out to pat her soft raven locks and whispered, "Thank you."

He still found himself to be wide awake since the nightmare gave adrenaline to his senses, but he was no longer haunted by it, not right now. His gaze drifted above-wards to the waxing crescent moon. Its shone clear in the dark and cloudless sky. Though, this wasn't something new, but he couldn't quite explain it as he felt it was as if he was looking at it for the first time.

Her concentration made the room tense, and slightly awkward, since all he could do was stare at her as she quietly examined him, occasionally giving him instructions do perform a certain action. He wasn't sure if his mind was playing games, but he felt squirmy inside from her serious stares and her careful touches. He reassured himself that it was merely a physician's job to do so. That they approach everyone with platonic thoughts.

Also, did they perhaps turn on the heat earlier than the years before? It still was early Autumn the last time he checked his calendar.

She finally finished the examination, took a few steps back and cracked a grin with her arms crossed.

"Well, looks like you've made a speedy recovery, Master Yu."

He smiled back out of sheer relief, "Well, it's all thanks to you, then, Doctor Shiraishi."

"Looks like we can start scheduling your flu-shot appointment, then." ...and his grin lopsided.

She didn't dismiss him right away when his doomsday appointment was cancelled, not like he would allow himself to be, though.

"Yu-chan/Nana-chan."

They both held back a laughter and Yu offered for her to go first. Not wanting it to become a game of hot potato, she began to speak, "Yu-chan, I just wanted to apologize to you. Even though our roles as physicians are to provide tertiary treatment, I still believe I should have paid attention earlier on. I even made you come to my office when I should have made you head straight to bed. I'm sorry."

"Nana-chan, you're so silly," he lectured, the displeased was evident on his face. "If anything, it was I who should have taken better care of myself. Plus, how could you have known? We barely get to see each other with all the work we have lately. There's no need for you to be sorry. If anything, I should be the one who is sorry for worrying you, but I won't because I know you won't accept it. Instead, I'll thank you for taking care of me."

"In more ways than you can imagine," he added the last line to himself.

She nodded after absorbing his response. "Alright, and you're welcome, though it really is no trouble."

"Also," he hesitantly started and paused for a very long time. "I think you deserve an explanation."

She leaned back on her leather office chair with crossed arms and and ankles. "Does this have something to do with this Saturday?"

He gaped at her. "H—how?"

"I caught a brief look when you dropped your calendar. You marked your days off with the blue circle with the words "Break", but one blue circle didn't have anything written in it."

"There really is no way of hiding anything from you," he shook his head in disbelief before giving another hesitant pause. "Actually... this Saturday is the half-day between the dates my parents passed away."

"I see."

She became more alert than before and wheeled her chair closer. "Does anyone know of this?"

"Besides the King and Queen, no. They learned that on their own, of course," he scratched the back of his head before continuing. "So, you're the first person I ever told."

"Is it alright if I visit them with you?"

"Oh, no!" he waved his hand in refusal. "I couldn't possibly ask you to do that."

"If you're worried about my work, I'll have you know that I get this Friday and Saturday off. Plus, I think your parents would be pleased to see a new face for a change," she reached out for his hand causing his heart to pick up a somewhat faster pace. "So, what do you say?"

"That I can never win against you."

The station was a little less crowded than usual that early morning Saturday. He was able to spot her in the front entrance since she was attracting attention. He could understand why she would, since she always had this unique prettiness, but she was attracting more attention than usual because of the trench coat she wore. It was stylish and elegant for one thing, with the embroidery and pleated lower half, but the colour was bright green. It contrasted with all the blacks, greys, navies, and browns of people's clothes. They would walk by, stare at her figure, but continued on with their busy lives.

As usual, she was staring off somewhere far away and he had to honk the horn to grab her attention.

"So this was what you mean when you said I'd be able to spot you right away?" he spoke as she fastened her seat belt.

"Yes," she answered after she heard it click into place and turned to look at him. "Not my colour?"

"It's not that," he spoke as he began to smoothly drive off. "I just rarely see you wearing anything of that colour."

"That's why my friends bought it for me. They said my wardrobe is filled with mature colours or pastels. Oddly enough, I came to like it and wear it every autumn," she then glanced around at the streets they past. "So, we'll be going there now?"

"Oh no," he shook his head, still fixated on the road. "We're going to stop by the florist first."

"Is there a particular arrangement you have in mind?" the florist asked as she stood behind the cash register.

He glanced at Nadeshiko. "What do you think?"

"I really am clueless when it comes to arranging flowers, neither do I know much about the language of flowers, so I don't think I'm the person to be asking," her eyes then wavered shyly to the florist.

"Really?" he quirked his head to the side. "But, you use to make bouquets for my mom, as well as Aya-chan and her mother."

"Those were origami bouquets, Yu-chan," she stared at the floor with flushed cheeks.

"But they still were very pretty. I think you arranged them well, too. I usually ask for an arrangement of some sort with red spider lilies, since my mother loved them and I'd get the same for my father, too. Since you're with me today, I thought I'd ask you," he leaned in a bit closer with one of his hands on her shoulder. "So, what do you say?"

She gave a quick nod before escaping from his close proximity and began to wander around for a while.

"She's cute, your girlfriend," the florist clasped a hand over her lips to hide her ufufu.

"Oh, she's not my girlfriend," he laughed it off lightly while adjusting the collar of his plaid dress shirt and his eyes followed her as she carefully, but efficiently observed the flowers. "But, she is cute."

The raven haired lady, who adored her long hair in a curly half ponytail, suddenly halted her steps and pointed at some flowers that looked like a mix of periwinkle and lavender in colour, but shaped like tiny daisies. Her curled ends bounced a little in the process as she did this.

"How about an arrangement of some kind with these?"

The florist along with Yu walked over.

"These are shions," the young lady spoke as she bent down to where the flowers were before focusing her attention to Yu. "What do you think?"

Ten minutes later, out they stepped from the shop, each of them held a bouquet of the similar arrangement. Nadeshiko held the bouquet upright and observed every flower in fascination, a times, she would turn it slightly to the right or to the left to get different angles. Yu chuckled inwardly at this sight, but then his line of vision wandered off somewhere else. She instantly became aware of this and stopped her tracks, making him follow suit.

"Such beautiful clocks..."

"Indeed," he said with gleaming eyes. "All of them are handcrafted, actually."

"I'm guessing you've visited that shop often?"

"Moderately," he grinned as he headed over to the window and took a look at the displays. "I happened to pass by this store when I bought flowers a few years back and developed a habit of visiting it whenever I could. I befriended the owner, too. He taught me how to fix clocks and watches."

"Oh, you must have travelled here more than just a few times per year, then?"

"Well, there was this one year where I visited him more frequently than the rest," he strayed his eyes away from the clocks to meet her eyes. "It was actually when I started to request for his assistance for fixing clocks and watches. You see, after a series of mishaps, Glenn's watch somehow ended up taking a journey through the process of... laundry cleaning."

His voice trailed off for a moment before continuing on.

"The crystal shattered, causing the inside to be damaged, too. The King and Queen insisted that they could just buy him a new one, which Glenn agreed to. However, I knew he was only saying so because he didn't want to make a big fuss over it, but it was given to him by them in celebration of his first speech."

"He really is quite mature," she gave a fond look at him, as if she herself was experiencing the memory.

"Indeed. He's a bit shy at times, but he means well," he too, caught himself smiling at the memory. "So, I secretly took it to the shop owner, which he agreed, but also offered a deal to teach me a few things. Under his guidance, managed to fix it myself. You should have seen how ecstatic Glenn was."

"Did it look something like this?" she shifted her expression to an embarrassed look. "It's not like I'm happy or anything."

Yu found himself laughing for the first time in a while before he spoke again.

"You should refrain from doing that in front of him," his eyes twinkled in good-humour, "because I can't guarantee your safety if you ever do."

"Thanks for the warning. I think I'd like to keep my job for as long as I can," she grinned. "If we still have time, could we possibly go in?"

He then tilted his head towards the door with a disappointed look. "Ah, looks like he's gone for family business today, though."

"That's a shame," she curved her lips downwards and then something sprung up. "Yu-chan, I don't remember seeing any in your room."

"Oh, that's..." he suddenly became a ripe tomato. "Well, I have thought about buying one of my own, but I could never pick which one that stands out to me, since I like them all. I then was afraid that if I did end up choosing one, it would be opening a pandora's box and my room would be filled with clocks."

She tried her best to bury any urge to burst into fits of giggles, but failed horribly.

"I figured you would laugh," he glanced down to the pavement.

"No. it's just, I never thought you'd be a clock hoarder."

He flushed an even deeper shade of red. "I already told you, I have never hoarded clocks."

"Ah, but you would," she said and then smiled sweetly. "And there's nothing wrong with that. I find it endearing, discovering this new side of yours."

He gave her an astonished look for a second, with the red still obvious on his cheeks before he coughed.

"A—anyways, we should get going now," he abruptly turned away and walked down the road with her giving a last little giggle before following him.