A/N: So, one of my reviewers brings up a good point. The reason Misaki didn't know it was Rin chasing her was simply because she didn't look at who was chasing her (mentioned near bottom of the first chapter). And because Rin tackled her from behind while she was facing away from him, she landed face down and didn't see him then as well. By the time she could actually see him when she got up, Rin was already running around frantically and therefore hard to identify (imagine a large blur running back and forth).

Also, from what I've read/watched thus far, Rin appeared to be, well…rather anti-social and a bit less talkative during his middle school years and even seemed to skip school. So that, coupled with the fact that she wasn't always placed in the same class as Rin, caused her to not really remember the sound of his voice.

In fact, she isn't in the same class as Rin during this first year of high school either, as mentioned in this chapter. Sorry I didn't make that very clear in the last couple chapters. I hope I managed to clarify it.

"U-um, I've got to go buy my lunch before lunch is over," Misaki stuttered, starting to back away slowly to make her escape.

Rin suddenly pointed at Misaki, an accusing glare settling on his face. "So you're the one who's been giving me chocolates all these years!"

"Yeah…it was me," Misaki sighed, plopping down on the ground. She figured that it would be pointless to try to escape at this point. She still couldn't believe that she was caught by the very person she didn't want to be caught by.

Shadow sensed her distress and lightly pawed at her face. Misaki knew that was Shadow's way of telling her to cheer up. "Thanks," she whispered in his ear, scratching his ear affectionately.

Rin leaned in close to Misaki's face, as if inspecting her. "Hey…I've seen you before somewhere," he said slowly. Misaki squirmed uncomfortably at the close proximity of his face to her's, so Shadow made a swipe at Rin's face to force him to back away. A light bulb seemed to go off as he did. "I saw you at the old geezer's funeral!"

"Old geezer? Are you talking about Fujimoto-san?" Misaki blinked, tilting her head to the side. Shadow, who was in her arms, copied this motion.

"Yes. I do remember seeing you there. How did you know father?" Yukio questioned, crossing his arms.

"Well, my grandmother was an old friend of his. We came to pay our respect," Misaki began, a fond smile spreading across her face."Fujimoto-san always played with me whenever he came to visit when I was little, though it was only a few times a year. It was sad to hear that he passed away so suddenly. He seemed so healthy the last time I saw him. Grandmother even told me he had stopped smoking for over 15 years and..."

Misaki snapped her mouth shut when she realized she was babbling. "Ah! I was rambling! I'm sorry."

"It's alright. It's nice to see someone who respected father so much," Yukio smiled, "You could learn a thing or two from her, nii-san."

Rin scoffed as a loud rumble cut off his snappy retort. Everyone turned toward the blushing girl at the center of the semicircle the group seemed to form.

"S-sorry. I haven't bought my lunch yet," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around her stomach, a blush adorning her cheeks.

"We should probably go get some lunch now. We have a little less than 25 minutes left," Ryuji stated, glancing at a clock and walking to the cafeteria with Konekomaru and Shima.

Shiemi took Misaki's hands in her own and looked at her with sparkling eyes before Misaki could even blink. "You should have lunch with us today! Please? It'll be fun!"

Misaki was powerless against the girl's puppy dog eyes, something she had long thought she'd grown immune to after having Shadow around as long as she had. "S-sure. I was going to eat by myself today since my friends are spending lunch with their boyfriends' today. I'd be nice not having to be alone."

"Yay! We'll wait for you at the fountain," Shiemi cheered, latching onto Yukio's arm and dragging him off to the aforementioned area. [1]

Misaki let Shadow down and started walking to the cafeteria, only to be stopped again by Rin.

He gently grabbed her wrist and held the chocolates in his other hand. His eyes were downcast and his head was turned away from her. "What you say in the note every year…do you…really mean it?" Rin asked quietly.

Her eyes automatically shifted to the note attached to the box.

'You are not a monster, Rin. Happy Valentine's Day.'

From,
Your Guardian Angel and Secret Admirer

Misaki knew he was referring to the reason she wrote it. Even Rin could connect the fact that he'd started getting the chocolates after the incident. She was in his kindergarten class. In fact, she was in the same rabbit group as him. She was there when the other kids were calling him a monster, the day when he snapped.

A smile worked its way on her face as she pulled out of his grip and surprised him by pulling him into a quick hug. "Of course I do," she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. When she stepped back, she reached up and lightly bopped him on the head. "And don't ever think otherwise! Got it?" Misaki looked up at him with a cheeky grin on her face.

Rin couldn't help but smile in response. "Thanks…I'll see you in a little bit."

Misaki nodded and finally headed to the cafeteria to get her lunch, not noticing Rin watch her walk away with the sad smile on his face.

[1] I recall that Shiemi said she didn't go to the regular school, but I figured that she would occasionally join the boys for lunch. I'll double check on this just in case though.