Mina-san! Genki? I hope you're all doing well. I've been super busy lately-like super super busy. I know it's been awhile since I updated so it means a lot that you're still here to support me. Thank you for those who reviewed for my previous chapter. I often read those for inspiration.

Consider this chapter an early Thanksgiving gift. Thank you for your continued support.

No Telling

Chapter 33

Sayumi managed to make it to class early despite the little sleep she got. She slid open the door to her classroom and sauntered to her desk. Noticing the empty seats surrounding her, she turned to see the usual group of fan girls huddled together. It wasn't anything unusual. Every morning they would assemble and talk about the latest this and that. But what was unusual was that Meiko and Yuki were participating in the circle this time.

Much to the disappointment of her male classmates, Sayumi too squeezed herself into the crowded assembly and peered into the center where the girls were hovered.

"I'm so envious! She's so lucky to take a picture with him! He's so cute!" the girl holding the magazine squealed. The other girls nodded and agreed with her. But suddenly, the girls frowned. "Look at her. She ruined the picture!"

Sayumi's eyes wandered curiously to the magazine cover. The blonde model was smiling at the girl on the other side of the picture. Her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh my..."

...

"...gosh! Kuroko. Don't sneak up behind like that!"

"Furihata-kun. I want to see." Kuroko looked innocently at his alarmed teammate. Furihata handed Kuroko the magazine in his hand. Kuroko's sky blue eyes scanned over the cover page of the magazine.

"So it wasn't my imagination..." Kagami suddenly appeared behind Kuroko, giving the poor Furihata another heart attack.

"Nope." Kuroko answered accordingly.

...

"I'm bored." Aomine kicked the edge of the desk in front of him.

"Sorry Aomine-kun. Um...um...here. I'm sorry." Sakurai bowed to his majesty and put forth a magazine he bought that morning before going to school. The navy-haired boy grinned at his friend who never failed to offer something of value.

"Heh. Kise." The boy rocked comfortably in his chair and flipped to the next page. He read a few pages, but then suddenly closed the magazine. He looked at the cover, blinked twice, and looked again. "Huh?" He looked at Sakurai for some assistance.

"I'm sorry. I don't know who she is. I'm so sorry."

Aomine scratched his head. He could've sworn he would remember a face like that. Frustrated at not remembering, the tall boy slumped back down on his seat and closed his eyes. Sakurai carefully scooted the magazine back into his bag, but was shocked when the tall player suddenly stood up.

"I'm sorry!" Sakurai yelped after falling back into his own seat. "I thought you finished reading. I'm sorry," the frightened boy wailed.

"It's Sayu."

"Sorry?"

"Sayu."

"Sorry."

"Not sorry. Sayu."

...

Kise leaned on his elbow and stared out the window at the clear blue sky. His other hand grasped his cell phone, waiting for a call that he knew would come sooner or later. And indeed, one came during lunch. A smug formed on his face when he saw the caller ID appear on the screen.

"Hello?" Kise's sweet voice answered, feigning surprise.

"Kise!" a voice sounded through the phone.

"Yes Kinenocchi?" Kise grinned and walked out the classroom, leaving a trail of fan girls staring curiously at his back.

"Wipe that grin off immediately." Sayumi's voice came out demandingly.

The frustrated girl hung up on the blonde after giving her order.

Kise leaned back casually outside his classroom wall. He guessed that she probably saw their picture on the magazine. Honestly, he did not want that picture to be on the cover either. It just so happened that the staff selected that picture to advertise his "young, fresh, and dreamy" image. The young model, of course, had no say in the decision. It also came as a shocker when his agent sent him a copy. From the moment he looked at it, he felt uncomfortable. It wasn't that it may lead to some gossip, but because he didn't want to share the Sayumi that belonged to only him in that special moment. He scolded himself for being so hypocritical-the day before, he was thrilled that they took the picture, but today, he dreaded it.

Kise brought his phone up to his ear once more and whispered, "I'm not grinning Kinenocchi."

He knew that there was no one on the other end to hear his words, but he needed to get it out of his system. Kise drew a deep breath and sighed. Sayumi Kineno never treated him like the others. But would it be too much to ask if she did ever so often?

...

The minute Sayumi stepped into the park, she found Kuroko and Kagami staring at her. She looked at the smaller boy then to the taller boy and then back at the smaller one.

"How's it going?" Sayumi asked weirdly as she placed her bag down on the bench. Her eyes glanced over at the magazine next to Kuroko's bag. Her right eye twitched at the sight of the cover. "Kise's pretty popular huh?"

"When did you become a model?" Kagami asked as he slipped into the seat next to her.

"Very funny," the girl answered sarcastically, still embarrassed from the photo.

"Kineno-san. Next time, wear blue." Kuroko slipped into the other vacant seat next to the girl.

Aomine strolled in and found Sayumi sandwiched in between the two Seirin boys who were taking turns teasing her. His dark eyes darted to the girl's new basketball shoes. Naturally, a smile formed on his face as he casually walked to his friends.

"You see this?" Kagami swiftly dodged Sayumi's attempt to grab the magazine and passed it to Aomine.

The dark haired boy grinned. "Yeah. Never knew Sayu had a twin," he teased.

"I agree. Complete opposite," Kagami added.

Kuroko laughed, causing Sayumi to hide her face behind her hands. "Even Kuroko...I feel betrayed. I don't look that different."

"You kind of do..." Kagami said earnestly.

"You're nothing like that in real life, especially up close," Aomine said bluntly, not attempting to spare any feelings. Although those words were only meant to tease her, Sayumi took it more on the serious side. She was never really confident in her own appearance. Having people, especially boys, point it out, took away more self-confidence. The disheartened girl responded by crouching down in defeat.

The two taller boys tried persuading the Sayumi to get up, but she didn't budge. Even when Murasakibara walked in after Akashi, Sayumi remained stubbornly glued to the floor. Kagami explained the situation to the latecomers. Murasakibara hovered over the crouching girl, completely engulfing her in his large shadow. But before he was able to grab her, a quick figure beat him to it.

With one swift motion, Kuroko yanked the black hairband holding onto Sayumi's taut ponytail. She lifted her head to see Kuroko.

"Yes?" she asked half-heartedly.

"I wanted to get your attention." Kuroko extended his pale hand to the girl. The second she took his hand, he pulled her up easily. In the split second that she leaned towards him, he whispered something into her ear.

The observers weren't able to catch the specific words, but they could only guess as Kuroko feigned innocence and walked onto the courts, leaving a blushing Sayumi trailing behind him.

"Tetsu..."

"Didn't know he had it in him..."

"It's not everyday Kine-chin blushes like a girl. To be able to do that..." Murasakibara and the rest of the bystanders mentally applauded. "Kuro-chin is a womanizer."

"Tetsuya is not to be underestimated." All the boys nodded at Akashi's statement. Kuroko Tetsuya, the phantom player, undeniably possessed a charm that they have yet to fully uncover.

...

By the end of the week, the magazine was almost completely forgotten-or so Sayumi had hoped. It was Friday and the girl was doing final cleaning at the studio when her manager approached her.

"Sayumi-chan. I need you to help with something important." The boss handed her teenage assistant a bag. "Instructions are inside. Don't be late." The busy woman wandered off, leaving a curious Sayumi staring at the bag. Any other time, she would peek inside, but it was rare that she was dismissed early so she took the chance to return home first.

...

"Obaa-chan. I want to quit my job."

"Sayumi-san. A responsible person carries through."

"I'm not carrying through with this." The furious teen opened the bag and pulled out a baby blue stringed bikini. "I mean...how did they even guess my size? I mean seriously..." Sayumi held out the exposing swimsuit.

"Sayumi-san. Your job is to assist your boss until she takes her maternity leave. You know she really appreciates you."

"But I'm not wearing this."

"It's tomorrow. Isn't it a little too late to cancel?"

"I'm not wearing a bikini."

"Isn't your boss giving you a chance to do some modeling?"

"It's not modeling Obaa-chan. It's called being an 'extra.'"

"But you looked so cute on the magazine."

Sayumi's eye twitched. Even Obaa-chan saw the magazine and bought a copy. The exhausted girl looked at her smiling landlord and let out a sigh. She would never win against Obaa-chan.

"Fine. The pay isn't too bad."

"Remember to tie the strings tighter, they slip sometimes," the elder lady teased.

Sayumi slumped up the stairs, half wondering why she was still keeping such a job. She glanced at the clock sitting on her nightstand and immediately shot up to change into her athletic wear.

...

After the basketball game ended and the gang were drinking water, Kise appeared behind Sayumi and leaned down to whisper into the girl's ear.

"Ready for tomorrow?" the blonde asked slyly.

Sayumi responded by choking on the water she was gulping down. Aomine patted her on the back. After a few more coughs, she looked up and saw all the boys looking at her. She turned to the grinning model.

"Kise!" Sayumi grabbed the ball in Aomine's hand and launched it at the model who caught it and spun it naturally on his index finger. Kise began laughing at the girl who was turning redder than she already looked after playing basketball. Akashi looked at the model who straightened up to explain.

"Tomorrow I have a commercial filming at the beach. Since we were short on extras, one of the coordinators offered Kinenocchi to help."

Sayumi spun around and buried her face in Aomine's chest and muttered what sounded like "Kill me." Aomine started shaking a little and the girl looked up to see him laughing along with everyone else. Sayumi's face immediately flushed bright red.

"This isn't funny!" Sayumi pushed Aomine away before running out of the park. The last thing she needed was any more discouragement.

After leaving the seven boys standing idly in the basketball court, silence filled the entire park. They only stared at each other, unable to voice out the many comments floating in their minds. Soon after, they all headed home in their separate directions.

...

As soon as Sayumi arrived at the studio, her boss threw her into the van that drove off to the beach set. The ride was a rough one, but it reached the destination in only an hour. The automatic car door swung open and all the "extra" girls leapt out in excitement. It wasn't every day that they got an entire beach to themselves to spend with a famous model.

"Hurry up and get changed. Hurry!" the director screamed. "Kise-san is going to be here any minute." Upon hearing the blonde model's name, the girls squealed and stormed into the lockers of the private beach house to change.

By the time Sayumi got her turn to enter the lockers, the rest of the female models were out and taking photos. The girl already had on her swimsuit, but hadn't took off the jacket and jeans she had over it. She held onto the zipper, silently debating to take her jacket off or not. She zipped down, but thought again and zipped back up.

Seriously. What do they mean they need me? There are so many models eager to do this. They don't need me.

Sayumi's train of thoughts were cut off when a man's voice threatened to come in and drag her out if she wasn't out in ten seconds. Frightened, the girl quickly unzipped her thin jacket and wiggled out of her pants.

"...nine, ten." The huge door to the changing room flung open, causing a loud bam echoing throughout the locker room. The man motioned for the hiding girl to come out.

"Come out or I have to drag you out. We can't delay any longer."

Hesitantly, Sayumi stepped out of the locker. The man gripped her wrist and ran with her across the beach to where the rest of the film crew were stationed.

When the girl joined the rest of the models, she received many contemptuous looks. It didn't help that she was wearing the only light-blue swimsuit when the rest of them were in red, pink, or orange. Sayumi looked around to see if she could find anyone to converse with, but was devastated when everyone else already had his or her own groups. Acknowledging her defeat, the girl trudged under the comfortable shade of the large striped parasol.

"Ki-ne-no-cchi." Sayumi turned her head and looked into the dazzling golden eyes of the bigger figure towering her. A glint of excitement showed in his eyes as he studied the light blue swimsuit hugging onto Sayumi. Seeing so much skin exposed for the first time, Kise noticed that she was only slightly darker than Kuroko. Kise smiled and yanked her golden brown ponytail. He was joyed to see her blush at his little gesture of affection. When Sayumi turned fully to see him, she noticed the perfectly sculpted body of the model. He had a muscular build, but a thin figure. His peach-colored skin was probably softer than hers. She could've never imagined to have such a friend.

"You're the prettiest girl on the beach." Kise looked intently at the shorter girl. Sayumi immediately burned red and looked down shyly.

"Don't exaggerate," she mumbled while keeping her head low.

"What if I'm not?"

The stunned girl slowly lifted her head only to find Kise inching forward and her bright eyes widened. Frozen by his mesmerizing gaze, Sayumi could only close her eyes and took smaller breaths. Though she didn't see, she knew that the blonde came really close since she could feel his breath.

Is this really happening? This is so embarrassing. Why did I close my eyes? This must be a dream. My first kiss cannot possibly be with a model. That's just surreal.

"...se! Kise!" a voice shouted across the beach.

Sayumi immediately opened her eyes just in time to catch a scowl on the young model's face. She placed her small hand on his arm and nudged him to go.

"They're waiting."

After seeing his pleading golden eyes, she reassured him that she'll follow right behind. Kise scanned Sayumi's face one last time. He couldn't tell how she felt about him. His heartbeat was so loud that it covered all else. He didn't want her to hear. Noticing the minimal distance separating them, Kise quickly pulled away, once again creating more breathing room for the both of them. Her sheepish smile comforted him and he responded with a bright smile.

"I'm off then." Seeing her nod, Kise jogged casually across the beach, leaving huge footprints in the white sand.

I thought I was ready, but maybe I need a little more time.

He turned around to see Sayumi pick up her white sandals and fix her ponytail. He breathed a sigh of relief before turning around and jogging the rest of the distance.

When the time's right, I'll definitely tell you.

...

When the slow girl finally reached the other models, one of the female staff dragged her away. Assuming that she was in trouble for being late, the other girls snickered and their jealousy for seeing the model talk with her completely disappeared.

From the corner of his eye, Kise saw Sayumi being dragged off to the opposite direction.

"Director-san. Where is the staff taking the girl in the blue swimsuit?" Kise asked curiously.

"We have an important business company visiting. The staff was probably short on hands. But don't worry. We have enough models for you to pose and take pictures with. Kise-san. Smile."

The blonde silently complied. Honestly, he was a little disappointed. But on the other hand, he was glad that no pictures of Sayumi in her revealing swimsuit would ever appear on any magazine covers.

...

"There is a very important business partner dropping by today. We didn't know that he brought along his son so be a good girl and keep him company," the female staff blurted out desperately. She glanced at her wristwatch and picked up the pace. "He's around your age and he's already learning from his father. But today's meeting is a little different and my boss would like to talk privately. So you keep him entertained."

Sayumi nodded obediently and followed the stressed woman into a beach house. The older woman motioned her head to hint that the rich son's boy was sitting on the couch. Before Sayumi had time for any questions, the busy staff member dashed out to do other preparations.

Tasked with entertaining the guest, Sayumi nervously approached the redhead. She lightly tapped on the boy's right shoulder, only to be looked at with beautiful heterochromatic eyes. A smile formed on the girl's delicate face. All the previous tenseness and nervousness evaporated the second she recognized the important business guest's son was no other than Akashi Seijuurou.

Akashi secretly enjoyed knowing that his presence always gave the girl a breeze of relief and comfort. But he realized that she also brought to him something of comparable quality-something extending farther than the usual friendship between a boy and a girl.

"Well? What are we going to do for the next hour and a half?"

Sayumi flashed a secretive smile and skipped out the door. Akashi crossed his arms across his chest and followed the girl out. Sayumi went into a room, leaving Akashi waiting outside as she searched for a ball.

If he hadn't been paying attention, there was no doubt he would've been hit by the flying volleyball spiked directly at him. But he was Akashi Seijuurou. And Sayumi knew that. The redhead easily caught the ball with his outstretched hand. He waited patiently as the culprit stepped out in her measly swimsuit and flaunted her figure.

"That's for staring."

"How can I not stare?"

Sayumi expected a sharp comeback, but didn't expect anything like that. Before any misleading ideas infiltrated her brain, she ran across the beach, prompting Akashi to follow.

Upon reaching the already set up volleyball net, Sayumi took off her sandals and tossed them under the closest parasol before beginning preliminary stretches. Akashi removed his shirt, revealing a flawless porcelain body. Sayumi was not the only one furtively gaping. This was already the second time in a day when he heart pounded uncontrollably. Anymore, she would probably nosebleed.

"Sayumi. You can't play volleyball without facing your opponent."

Reluctantly, the girl turned around to see Akashi. She was slightly disappointed to see that he already threw back on his shirt, but she thanked him quietly. He, of course, already triumphed over her reaction. He confirmed his effect on her and so he didn't see the need to tease her any further. Akashi set the ball and Sayumi smashed it back violently; thus, beginning their first volleyball game.

...

Sayumi waved goodbye to Akashi as he entered to the car with his strict-looking father. Though he didn't return any gesture, Sayumi knew he saw her, and that was enough. She knew she knew rarely anything about the stoic redhead. Akashi was always so quiet and reserved-revealing nothing about himself or his family. She especially noticed that he had increased his guard when around his father. But that was okay because even though he acts indifferent, his eyes give him away. His eyes already lost much of the hostility that she saw when they first met.

Sayumi caught herself unconsciously smiling to herself.

After Akashi left, Sayumi returned the volleyball back into the little storage room behind the private owned beach house. She lifted the cover of the box and returned the volleyball to its original home. As she took a step to exit the room, she was pulled back. Seconds following, she realized that the dangling strings of her top caught onto something. Sayumi attempted to yank her swimsuit back, but it didn't budge. Unable to see through the dark, she struggled desperately to free herself from the unknown object.

After several minutes of futile tug-of-war, Sayumi admitted defeat. She stopped her efforts to tug her swimsuit and stood in the dark room. After not hearing any sounds or approaching footsteps, she took a deep breath and pulled off the bikini strings tied on the back of her neck. She ducked and removed herself from her bikini top. Given more room to move, she once again tried freeing her swimsuit from whatever it caught on.

Meanwhile, a bored boy strolled pass the beach house and was going to pass it by if not for the random shuffling nose coming from the back door of the beach house. Curious and intent to locate the source of the noise, the tanned boy found his way and stumbled upon the small storage room. Seeing that the door was already open, he welcomed himself into the dark room.

"Hello?"

The familiar voice paralyzed Sayumi. She literally panicked to the point she couldn't do anything. All she could do was stay still and hope he would pass by and ignore the room.

Sayumi could barely make out his face, but a little sign slipped from her mouth when she took hint that he was about to exit. Instead, his hand brushed on a switch. The lights flickered and eventually lit the whole room.

The half-naked girl stared blankly at the boy staring back at her. One hand covered her chest while the other grasped onto a thin blue garment that was caught in a hook-shaped object.

As much as he enjoyed the current view, the boy turned around. That wasn't fair. Seeing the girl he had a bias for expose so much skin and expecting him to simply turn around before getting a good look just wasn't fair. But he was a gentleman at heart. He immediately lifted his black tank top and tossed it backwards to the vulnerable girl. Sayumi caught it and slipped it on.

"Is it on yet?" his voice trembled with nervousness.

"Aomine..." Sayumi little voice called out. He lifted his head, but before he could turn around, she yelped, "Don't turn around yet." It was so embarrassing that she barely managed to muster up the energy to speak. She inhaled a deep breath and then finally gave him permission to look her way.

As soon as the dark-haired basketball player turned around, he saw dry stains of tears on her cheeks.

"Sayu. I didn't see anything. Your hand was in the way."

When she didn't say anything, he started to blame the source of the problem.

"Why are you even wearing that?"

"Work." Sayumi sniffed and stared back with her puppy eyes.

He nodded and helped her free her swimsuit. He snorted as he stepped back out on the hot sandy floor. He looked back at the room where Sayumi was still lingering.

"Come out."

"You can go first." Her little figure was once again engulfed by the darkness.

"Sayu." Aomine extended his hand out to the girl. After momentarily hesitating, Sayumi finally took his large hand and stepped out. She blushed seeing his bare chest. She blushed more when she looked down at his shirt she was wearing. It was so long it was only a few inches above her knee.

"Why...why are you here?" Sayumi need something, anything, to fill in the silence.

"I was going to visit a friend." After looking at Sayumi, he knew she didn't believe him.

"Follow me." Aomine pulled Sayumi to the more populated area of the beach. He didn't let go of her hand until they reached the popular restaurant on the beach. He walked over to the empty table and planted himself down and motioned for Sayumi to take the only other seat across from him. Few seconds later, a thin-framed, brown-haired boy waiter made his way to their table.

"Sayu. This is Sakurai Ryou."

The two teenagers made their acquaintances. Sakurai then brought his two friends an on-the-house beverage before rushing to serve the other customers.

Exhausted, Aomine placed his head on his folded arms, a pose he assumed almost all the time at school. After all, it took a lot of mental power to not look at the girl wearing his shirt with nothing but a bathing suit underneath without letting his thoughts trail.

Desperate to lessen the awkward atmosphere, Sayumi brought up a few topics, hoping to spark up a conversation.

"Sakurai-kun is really hard-working."

"Yeah." Aomine didn't shift from his lazy position.

"It's a nice day today."

"Sure."

"I'm thinking about going back to my waitress job and quit this one."

"Okay."

"Do you like the beach?"

"It's alright."

"Do you like the beach because there are a lot of girls with big chests?"

Aomine immediately sprung up. "What?"

"Why do you like girls with big chests?" Sayumi looked at Aomine seriously. If this topic was going to spark a conversation, so be it.

Aomine knew he had to answer. If he didn't, he would just appear conceited. So he simply pointed at his own chest.

"Because they have big hearts."

Sayumi stared blankly at the teenager across from her. She was conjuring up possibilities for his answers (flat is boring or bigger the better). Dumbfounded as she was, his answer was still a little off. "That theory is totally illogical."

Aomine snorted. "It may sound simple, but it's been working so far for me."

"Okay then. Then how should a girl judge boys?" Sayumi challenged. Her little rhetorical question was just meant to tease, but it did more than just that. It created a little opening for something much, much bigger.

"Well, you just have to give them a chance." Aomine didn't fail to slip in a seductive smile that he knew Sayumi saw.

And with that, the girl's heart literally flew out. Her face turned beet red. She refused to lift her head for the rest of time they sat together, but if she did, she would've found an equally shy boy staring back with the gentlest eyes.

...

{Text from Sayu}: Are you home yet?

{Text from Aomine}: What do you think? I just walked you back home five minutes ago.

{Sayu}: Are you cold?

{Aomine}: I'm only wearing a tank top. What do you think?

{Sayu}: At least I warmed it up for you.

Oh my...Did I just send that? No no no. How do you unsend a text. Please don't read it! Huh? He responded. I'm so nervous I can't read this.

But alas, she couldn't resist. After preparing for the worse, Sayumi held her breath and peeked.

{Aomine}: Yeah. It's warm.

{Aomine}: What are you doing tomorrow?

{Sayu}: Nothing planned.

{Aomine}: Let's go somewhere.

{Sayu}: Okay.

{Aomine}: I'll be at your house at 11 tomorrow.

Her hand covered her chest. Her heart pounded loudly like a basketball being dribbled by no other than the navy-blue haired boy. Thoughts of him quickly filled her head: his hair, his eyes, his stature, his smile. Memories started storming into her thoughts: the park, their first meeting, the water fountain, his basketball, his jokes, his teasing, his encouragement, his gifts, his friendship, his care, his cuteness-him.

Sayumi found it increasingly hard to fall asleep as her mind conjured more thoughts of Aomine Daiki. She tossed and turned until she looked at Take-kun sitting next to her on her bed. Sayumi scooted up and held the mushroom in front of her.

"Take-kun. Did Aomine indirectly tell me to give him a chance?"

And strange enough, Take-kun's head slumped forward. Content with that, the excited girl finally fell asleep.

...

When it seemed like good things were finding their way to Sayumi, unexpected news breaks the chain.

It hadn't been even two weeks since she and Aomine met more frequently and grew a little closer when an unforeseen event arose. It all happened when the landlords called Sayumi down for a little meeting.

"Sayumi-san. Ojii-san and I are not getting any younger. That's why we want to fulfill a few things before we age any more. We're planning to travel around the world."

"That's great. When are you going?"

"The end of this week."

"I see. For how long?"

"At least two months."

Sayumi was surprised by the duration of their planned vacation. It then struck her. If they were going to leave for two months, she had to find a new place to stay.

"Sayumi-san. I already told your parents. You should give them a call. When we return, we would notify you and you can continue living with us. I apologize for the late notice."

"No need for apologies. Thank you so much for having taken care of me for so long. You and Ojii-san deserve to relax and enjoy."

The older woman smiled and walked back to her room to continue her packing. Sayumi looked at the time and dialed her parents in America.

It was then settled that if she couldn't find a place to stay by the end of the week, she was to return to America for half a school semester before returning back to Japan.

As much as she missed her family, Sayumi really preferred to stay in Japan where her friends were. And as much as the Kinenos wanted to see their daughter, they too had hoped that she would find some place to live in Japan. They knew that even if she returned, they wouldn't have much time to spend with her, taking into account their busy traveling work schedule.

Sayumi was tempted to tell her friends that she was going to return to America again, but the hope of finding a new residence prevented her from doing so. She chose to remain silent, telling no one, not even the boy whom she harbored growing feelings towards. After all, there was really no telling what can happen next. But being Sayumi, she could only be optimistic and pray for the best.

I'd like very much to hear from my readers. Jyaa nee~