Author's Note: Hi ya'll, to make up for the shortness of the last update I wrote another corresponding chapter to go with it. There hasn't been much of a time jump. This takes place just a day or two after the last chapter. Now we're getting into some of the good stuff. ;)

Thanks for reading to my reviewers and my lurkers. Hope you enjoy this latest addition.

"Akitsuki, what are you doing in here?" Miki asked the boy standing by the window. "Miyamoto sent me to look for you. You should be at practice right now."

Hatori glanced at Miki and shook his head.

"Not the time, Hashiba." He said as he turned back to watch Yamato.

"I thought you were trying to get better Akitsuki, why did you cut practice?" Miki asked holding out her hands in front of her. "Did you talk to Suzuka by any chance?"

Yamato turned his head away from the window, but refused to meet his friend's eyes.

"She asked me to come with her to see Tsuda's grave" he said in a tone that spoke volumes. The teen was sad and confused in reaction to Suzuka's request. But worst of all, he didn't know why she'd asked him in the first place. "I didn't know what to say. So she took my silence as a 'no' and walked off."

The brunette sighed and put a hand to head. This situation was quickly getting out of control.

"You could have told her what you told me Akitsuki" Miki said finally "let her know that you just want to be friend right now."

"That's just it, I don't even know if I want to be that anymore" Yamato said. "I'm just so confused."

"You should trying going on a date with another girl, keep it casual, and then see how you feel" Hatori suggested. Miki saw that he was actually being serious for once, so she resisted the urge to hit him with the rolled up paper lying on a nearby desk. "Or you could actually do as Hashiba says and tell her what you mean once and for all."

"That was strangely helpful" Yamato admitted. "Who are you and what've you done with Hatori?"

"Yeah, Akitsuki's right. This is completely out of character for you?"

"What can I say, I'm just that kind of guy" then Hatori grinned slightly "I could show you more of that tonight Hashiba if you like it so much."

Miki grabbed the newspaper and righteously hit the blond over the head with it. So much for Hatori's practical side.

"Not on your life" she replied. "You're already trying to date five other girls."

"She's got you there" Yamato commented "and some of them don't even know about it yet."

"They just don't know what they're missing."

Miki shook her head in abject disbelief.

"Anyway Akitsuki, I think you should do what you think is right. If you want to go with Suzuka then do it. Maybe you'll get some closure for it. If you don't then at least you'll have made a decision about it once and for all."

The dark haired teen nodded.

"I just didn't think it would be so hard. After all we haven't talked for months." Yamato sighed and rubbed his shoulder lightly. "Maybe I should I just get this over with."

"Don't forget about the party okay?" Miki reminded him. "Our friends said they wouldn't mind having you come with us. Suzuka won't be there. She didn't really know these guys very well. So if anything it might give you a chance to relax a bit afterwards."

"It might be nice" Yamato agreed. "I wasn't sure if it was going to be okay to crash the party even if I was with you and Miyamoto. And I still have to get you something for Valentine's Day as a thank you."

Miki blushed slightly. Yamato didn't see, but Hatori certainly noticed and he smirked at her in response. Yes she had it bad, but she wasn't going to let her friend know that. Yamato still needed to sort things about with Suzuka. They might even become an actual couple as a result of it, despite his current feelings. Miki needed to stay aloof of the situation as much as she possibly could. She couldn't risk her own feelings getting involved and Suzuka finding about that she also had feelings for the same guy. It might not only ruin her friendship with the female long-jumper, but with Yamato too. It was a risk she wasn't willing to take. Not when things were still so unstable. She didn't want to be like that princess in the little mermaid fairytale that had caused so much pain and hardship, while unknowingly drawing the mermaid's intended lover away from her. Even though it was clear to her that Yamato had no inkling about her feelings and more than likely didn't return them, Miki couldn't shake the feeling that her confession would still damage their lives in some way. If it became clear that either Yamato and Suzuka shared each other's feelings then that was all well and good, she could live with that. However, if either one of them were rejected by the other, then Miki understood what Hatori had been saying, that it was possible they just weren't ready for a relationship or that they had feelings for a different person.

"I think I'll go down the track now" Yamato stated as he went to grab his gear. "Thanks Hatori, Hashiba."

They both nodded in reply as he closed the classroom door behind him.

"Are you sure about that?" Hatori wondered aloud. "Letting him go somewhere with Suzuka when it's clear that you have feelings for him yourself."

"It's not my choice to make" Miki insisted "the two of them need to settle things between them. I think he still has feelings for Suzuka and I won't ruin things for them by pointlessly telling them how I feel. I wouldn't make any sense."

"If you say so." Hatori replied as he shook his head. "But I think you're wrong. Yamato wouldn't be trying so hard to resist Suzuka's invitation if he thought they could still be something. I think he meant it when he called it quits with both her and Honoka."

"You're being serious again" Hashiba reminded him "and it feels strange to hear you say that."

"I look out for my friends" the blond said "and that includes him and you. We're all surprisingly honest with one another despite our obvious flaws. It's refreshing."

Miki shook her head and laughed a little, clasping her hands together in a knot. The lack of a sleeve hem on her wrists reminded her that she still had her track uniform on.

"I've always found that it's nice to have friends, don't you think?" Miki said as she turned and opened the classroom door. "I don't want to lose my friendship with Yamato, even if that's all we'll ever have. Well I have to get back to practice, see you."

"Just don't forget what I said" Hatori repeated "Yamato isn't as likely to go back to her as you think."

"Thank you" came her reply as she walked down the hallway "for making me feel better."

"Anytime" Hatori whispered under his breath.

Yamato and Miki were two of the only real friends he had. Sure he had a group of guys he'd mess around with and the girls he dated were gorgeous to the eye, but he had few people with which he could speak candidly. They actually cared about him and what he thought, despite disparaging remarks about his dream of having a harem. For some unfathomable reason he wanted those two to be happy together like he knew they could be. Suzuka was also his friend in a way, but he knew that at this point anything between her and Yamato would end badly. It just didn't seem right in a way. Maybe Miki had finally gotten to him, since he cared about her almost as much as he cared about his older sister in Sakima. Damn, he needed to stop thinking about all of this. Hatori wanted Miki and Yamato to get over it and get together already, but he knew he'd have to wait and see what happened after this weekend first. And man it was it annoying.