This is the sequel to Sunset Stained Petal. You don't need to read it to understand this story but it'll give some context. This story takes place one year before canon.

Takato is 9, Shiuchon is 6.

Warning: Underage sex

Takato never saw her again after that day. All he'd left of her was her phone and a note saying she was sorry. And that was it.

When mom and dad found out he didn't go to Hirokazu's for a sleepover they grounded him for a week. But once he was free again, he immediately went to look for Rumiko-san at their usual meeting place.

Still, no matter how many times he returned to the ice cream parlor, the woman was nowhere to be seen. The owner pitied him and promised to call him if he saw her again. He took the owner's words and gave up looking for her there. It didn't take long for him to eventually give up altogether.

A year passed by and his memory of her faded away day by day. And then the phone she gave him rang.

Takato abandoned his homework to reach for it, frantically flipping it open to see a new message. Hope filled his chest. He thought the owner must've found her, but the sender was unknown. The message itself was what broke him.

"Takato, don't look for me anymore. Be safe."

There could be no one else who could've sent that except her. He tried sending a message back to that number a few times but never got any reply. A week later still with no new messages, Takato threw the phone in a box and taped it shut. His change in demeanor didn't escape his parents.

"You haven't touched your food," mom said in concern during dinner.

"Not hungry," Takato muttered, not feeling like eating ever again.

School was boring as always. Class, homework, sports, and more boring stuff. Hirokazu and Kenta invited him to play soccer with them but he declined, preferring to hang out on the school roof instead. Turned out he wasn't the only one with that same idea.

A girl a few years below his grade was hugging her knees, crying. He couldn't help but notice some distinctly non-Japanese features her messy hair couldn't hide away from him.

"Are you okay?"

The girl flinched, looking up at him only to turn away in embarrassment. Her face was a beautiful pale complexion, a stark contrast to his own tan skin. She quickly wiped the snots from her face and stood up to leave but he grabbed her arm before she could.

"Here." Takato offered a handkerchief and sent an assuring smile when she hesitated. She took it upon his insistence.

"Why are you crying?" Takato asked while they sat near the fence overlooking the school, watching other students playing below them.

The girl sniffed, downcast. "Bullies."

Takato nodded. That explained why she had made doubly sure nobody could see her from where she was sitting.

"I hate bullies too," he said.

She raised her head, allowing him to get a better look at her face. She had pudgy cheeks dotted with a make-up of sort to look like blush, deep purple eyes lined with fresh tears, and a sad expression that had no rights to be on such a cute face.

"D-do you think I'm weird?" she asked hesitantly.

Takato shook his head. "Not at all! If you're weird then I must be weird too, because you look just fine to me."

"But I'm not like everyone else here."

The girl pulled at her vest's collar to prove her point. What she was wearing sure wasn't any kind of clothing Takato was familiar with, and her Chinese features did stand out a little in an otherwise normal Japanese school.

"And?"

"Huh?"

"And what? Sure, you look different. But you're not weird because of that."

The girl stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. A third and fourth one if her constantly changing expression was any indication. She eventually looked down again, but Takato could see the telltale of a smile on he lips.

"I'm Shiuchon," she muttered.

"That's a pretty name." He smiled back. The girl nodded, tints of pink blooming on her cheeks while he spoke. "I'm Takato. And like I said, you look as normal as anybody else. If anybody told you otherwise, then they're lying. So don't cry anymore, okay?"

The girl raised her head with a flash of her teeth, her glittering purple eyes gazing deep into his. From then onwards he never saw Rumiko-san in his dreams anymore, for in her stead was another figure with a smile as bright as the sun itself.

"Thank you, Takato."

"Take this!" Takato yelled as he pulled the trigger on his water gun. Shiuchon didn't manage to dodge in time and the water landed on her hair.

She stomped her feet, glaring at him. "No fair! You didn't give a warning."

"But I did!"

"Hmph!"

Takato watched in amusement as she pouted. The street in front of the bakery was not as busy today so he thought they could play with his newly bought water guns. With his longer feet it was more of a one-sided match than anything. He relented to her accusation.

"Alright, alright. I'll treat you to bread as an apology. How about that?"

Shiuchon's pouting face brightened and she eagerly nodded.

"I want one with chocolate!"

"Sure, sure."

After taking some defect chocolate filled bread from the bakery's kitchen, he brought her upstairs to his room along with a jug of tea mom made for them while Shiuchon took care of their cups. Her eyes immediately went to his lofted bed when they entered.

"It's so high." She stared at it in awe.

"Your bed isn't like that?"

"Nah. It's just a boring old bed." She puffed her cheeks.

"When I asked mom and dad to buy a bed like yours they were like nooo, it's too high. What if you fall? Bla bla bla. Ugh!"

Takato chuckled at her animated description. "Well, then. Wanna climb up there?"

As if her eyes were the night sky itself, they twinkled in hope and glee at his offer.

"Can I? Really?"

"Sure. Just be careful with the ladder."

"Yay! You're the best, Takato!" She hugged him to which he replied in kind.

Shiuchon visited more often since then. He had a feeling hanging out with him was just an excuse so she could spend more time playing on his bed.

Shiuchon wasn't a typical girl. Or at least not how he imagined a typical girl would be like. She was the sun incarnate, full of energy enough to power the whole of Shinjuku with just a dollop of her laughter. If she could bounce like a ball, he was sure she'd have shot into outerspace from sheer excitement alone.

But while she wouldn't hesitate to stick her hands in dirt and soil her clothes, there were moments where he could see her feminine side taking over. Such as the make-belief doll family they were playing.

"So this is the mom, she goes to work every day. And this is the dad. He makes the most delicious food in the whole world."

Takato pursed his lips, curious at the choice of profession.

"Why not the dad who goes to work, and the mom cooks?"

"Cause I can't cook, duh," she says that as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And you can make bread, which means you can cook."

His finger was halfway up before he decided not to correct her, just so he could focus more on the implication he was too slow to catch.

"So the dad is me and you're the mom?"

He barely saw her nod, too transfixed on her beaming, innocent smile that left butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He could feel the heat rising to he cheeks even with his eyes turned away from her.

"Say, Shiuchon. Do you want to go somewhere fun tomorrow?"

The dolls she was playing with hung in the air while she considered his words.

"What kinda fun?"

Takato scratched his cheek in abashment, the words sticking to his teeth like chewing gum. His heart was beating like he'd just finished a sprint race,and when he finally uttered the words out, the room might as well be an oven with how hot and sweaty he was.

"It'll be like a date. I-if you don't mind that is." He stammered out.

Shiuchon seemed to really not mind if her cheer was any indication. Mom slid the door open just in time to see her throw herself onto him and bounce on his laps in joy.

"Well, isn't someone happy today?" Mom chuckled and put down a tray of snacks and orange juice.

Shiuchon climbed down his laps to reach for a cracker. "Takato's taking me on a date tomorrow," she said with muffled voice as she chewed.

Takato hid his face behind his cup of orange juice, too embarrassed to look at the grin mom was giving him.

"That sounds fun. Any place in particular, Takato?" the woman asked, no doubt enjoying his embarrassment.

He muttered low enough just to be heard. "The ice cream parlor. And maybe the park," he added as an afterthought, his blush growing at an idea slowly forming in his head.

Mom chuckled again and ruffled his head. "My son's growing up so fast."

"Moooom!" He whined to her and Shiuchon's amusement.

"Alright, alright. I'll leave you two alone."

When it was just the two of them again, Takato's gaze once more fell onto Shiuchon's beaming smile.

"So, a date?" she said gleefully.

He nodded, just as enthusiastic. "A date."

The ice-cream parlor man greeted him when Takato led the two of them in.

"Kid! Haven't seen you in awhile. I'm sorry I couldn't find the woman you're looking after," the man said before turning to Shiuchon. "Is this your friend?"

"We're on a date!" Shiuchon answered for him, prompting a smile out the man.

"My, I shouldn't bother you two then." He rolled up his sleeves as if preparing for a battle. "What'll it be then? Chocolate?"

"Ooh, ooh! Chocolate, please!" Shiuchon stood on her toes and raised her left hand since her right was holding his.

"And you?" The man turned to Takato.

"Va–" he was about to say but backtracked, remembering the hurtful memory associated with the flavor. "Um, I think I'll have chocolate as well."

When they were seated and had their orders ready, Takato watched Shiuchon greedily inhale her ice cream and making a mess as she did so. She froze when she noticed him staring. The combination of her embarrassed face and the ice-cream smudged all over it roused something in his chest.

"Cute." The word escaped his lips faster than his brain could think. His eyes widened when he realized what he'd said. He tried to explain, but the words died in his mouth when he looked her pleased, abashed smile.

"You mean that?" She asked, looking down and fidgetting under the table.

He nodded. The butterflies in his stomach flapped faster and faster when he answered.

"You're the cutest girl I've ever met."

Takato had had his fair share of crushes. Rumiko-san was one, but the less he talked of her the better. There was also the Katou girl from his class who he'd sometimes steal a glance at when she wasn't looking. But even then, neither of them could compare to Shiuchon.

Her chubby cheeks, her bright eyes, her short legs that forced her to tiptoe whenever she wanted to reach something high...

If his friends knew, they'd laugh at him for liking a girl in first grade. What nine-year-old went out with a six-year-old after all. But Takato knew he liked her, grade difference or not. After all, his parents weren't the same age either but they were still married.

"Only my mom ever called me cute," Shiuchom muttered, refusing to meet his eyes.

Takato smiled, the heat that rose to his cheeks only growing hotter. "Then I'll be the second one to call you that."

They finished their ice-cream in silence, their eyes occasionally meeting each other in a game of who was better at sneaking a glance without the other noticing.

"Where are we going?" Shiuchon asked, her tiny hands shaking in excitement in his own. He only gave her a nervous smile in reply as he led her to the playground. It was noon and the sun was glaring right above them. The blush he definitely sported thankfully went unnoticed.

"There's no one here," Shiuchon said upon noticing the empty park. Takato nodded shyly.

"It's good this way. We don't want anyone to see us."

"Is that so?" She tilts her head in with that cute curious face of her. Takato brought her to the dinasour-themed hut in the middle of the playground.

"I come here a lot before school to play card games," he said, hefting himself up the tall hut to sit under the closed off-dome that made its head. He held out his hands for Shiuchon to grab. "Here."

He grunted, feeling his arms being pulled off as he helped her climb onto the upper floor. Shiuchon took a quick look around the dome before her eyes settled on the three shoe boxes lying against the wall.

Takato smiled and reached out for one of the boxes. "It's just cards. This one is Hirokazu's, a friend of mine." He showed her the collection of colorful Digimon cards.

"Why can't anyone see us if we're just going to play cards?" Shiuchon picked a piece of card to study. Hopefully Hirokazu wouldn't notice the fingerprints she'd leave behind, or he'd be dead.

"Well..." Takato looked away shyly, fully aware of the rising tent in his pants that was thankfully hidden behind the box. "I'm actually thinking of a different game."

Shiuchon put the card back down and made a pouting noise.

"Just say it already." She puffed her cheeks. Takato chuckled nervously to her rising annoyance.

"Alright," he said. Gulping, he slowly put down the box to reveal the bulge that had appeared in his crotch area. He blushed. "This is the game I'm thinking of."

"What's that? Did you hide something in there?"

Shiuchon was understandably confused. He hadn't known of this part of himself either before... well, that. She leaned forward slightly to look between his legs better.

It was already uncomfortable with his thing growing under there. Her fixated eyes on it only made it all the more difficult to ignore the swarm of butterflies raiding his stomach and flying lower and lower...

"It's my... dick," he braved himself enough to say and fought the aggressively growing heat on his face.

"You mean your peepee?"

He nodded, looking away. "Yeah, my peepee. But big boys don't call it that anymore," he added, remembering the few times the adults around him snickered when he mentioned the apparently cutesy word.

"Anyway, I thought I want to play this game with you. It's just..." He tried to enunciate his thought by moving his hands around. After some more hesitant hmms and backtracking, he leaned forward and very, very lowly whispered in her ear. "We need to play this game naked."

When he pulled back, he watched realization dawning on her blank face before it was covered completely in red. Shiuchon bit her lips and played with the fabric of her shirt, all the while her eyes was kept on Takato's tented pants. She didn't seem to be as shaken by the no-clothing rule as much as he was. She broke the awkward silence with a resolved "Okay."

"Okay?"

She nodded, looking into his eyes. "I want to play."

"Alright, uh..." Takato hesitated when he stood on his knees to pull his pants and underwear down. Shiuchon's eyes were opened wide, tranfixed on his lower half. He suddenly felt his courage dwindling, a mixture of embarrassment and humiliation rising inside him. Stammering, he found his own eyes setting on Shiuchon's crotch as well. "C-can we do it together?"

"Oh. Uh... Okay." She gulped, the red having never receded from her face. Takato felt his own face doing much the same.

They were both soon standing on their knees. They mirrored each other, their hands clasping onto the waistband of their pants.

"Have you seen anyone else naked before?" he asked to fill the awkward silence but was also a little bit curious. He remembered bathing with his parents and finding out how hairy they were down there.

She nodded. "My brothers. My sister too. We bath together sometimes."

"I've never seen a girl down there before. Just my parents."

"So I'm the first girl you'll see naked?" Shiuchon asked with a giggle. Though she was embarrassed, Takato could see the tiny teasing smile on her face. "Then I'll be the first girl to see you naked as well."

Her words left Takato stiffening under his pants. He felt his blush growing but he giggled as well. "Yeah, I guess so."

It was kind of true. Rumiko-san might have been younger than his parents, but she was still a grown woman.

Somehow, Takato didn't feel that embarrassed anymore. In fact, he was eager. He'd be showing the most vulnerable part of himself when he revealed himself down there, but having Shiuchon be there to witness it filled him with this strange glee. She mirrored his grin.

"Alright." He readied himself, careful to not hurt himself while he pulled his pants down. "One... two... Three!"

Takato didn't move his eyes when Shiuchon slid down her pants to her knees. There, between her legs, was a fleshy mound separated in the middle by a slit. Her pussy.

While Takato admired her smooth underside, Shiuchon too was tranfixed on his dick. Now that it was out in the air, it was steadily growing into full size. His breath hitched when Shiuchon grabbed it with not so much as a warning.

"Hey–"

"Why is it growing?" She leaned down and watched in amazement. Takato shuddered, feeling her breath blowing onto his dick with how close she was.

"Y-yeah. It does that a lot. Especially when I play with myself." He'd spent nights reliving that day, but his hands paled in comparison to Shiuchon's soft caress as she studied it.

"How do you play with it?"

Rumiko-san had used her hands to play with his dick to milk out that sticky white stuff. But he also remembered her sucking him and playing with it with her tongue.

"I usually use my hands, but it's kinda hard to do when the white stuff hasn't come out yet."

"White stuff?"

He felt dirty suggesting it, but the feeling of something flowing inside his dick prompted him to guide her hands to grab him tightly.

"Squeeze it. Gently," he added, afraid she'd use too much force. But the brief few seconds she jerked him back and forth was heaven. He almost let out a moan, but Shiuchon stopped when the clear substance began to flow out.

"It's sticky," she said as she wiped some off her hand and stretched it between her fingers. Takato's gaze eventually landed on her taunting girly part that was just barely out of his reach.

"C-can I look at yours?" Takato stammered, not able to hold his curiosity any longer. She nodded and dropped to her rump, allowing him to push his head between her legs. His eyes traced every line and curvature making up her pussy, admiring its shape. He hiked up her shirt, feeling his dick stiffening the more he saw of her skin. He rested his palm over her thigh to carefully let his thumb run up the slit, stopping right at the tiny red nub slightly hidden beneath her folds. Shiuchon shuddered and made a squeeking sound. When he briefly inserted a finger into the slit, he felt her soft inside tigtening around the tip.

"Have you ever played with yourself?" He pulled his finger back and looked up to see her flushed face.

She fiddled with her fingers, eyes avoiding him from embarrassment. "No. I've never played this game. But..." She bit her lip in a nervous but excited smile. "It looks fun."

"It is." Takato grinned. "Want me to show you?"

She nodded shyly.

Takato pulled himself up onto his knees and asked her to raise her hands. As he helped pull her shirt and vest over her head, his eyes briefly traced over her curves, catching sight of her silky smooth skin, the pink nipples on her chest, and her cute little belly button. Takato had never seen anything more beautiful.

"You're pretty," he blurted out now that there was nothing hiding her naked body from his view. Shiuchon reddened at the compliment and didn't seem to know how to react. She eventually decided on anger. Cute version of anger anyway.

"You get naked too!" Shiuchon pushed him causing him to land on his butt. Despite the pain, all Takato could do was laugh. This only enraged her more.

"Stop laughing!"

"I can't. You're so cute!"

Because he was otherwise occupied emptying his lung out on the floor, Shiuchon took it upon herself to pull his shirt and windbreaker. She was having a bit of difficulty though when trying to lift them over his head. Before she could suffocate him in his own clothes, Takato lent a hand and swiftly removed the offending fabric from his head... only to come face to face with Shiuchon.

Takato didn't know if it was her starry eyes staring back into him, or her chubby cheeks that was tinted with the blush-colored make up she liked so much. Or maybe it was her small, perked lips that entranced him into leaning forward. Either way, before he knew it, he'd already cupped her cheeks and claimed her lips in a short but electrifying kiss. When he pulled back, Shiuchon was in somewhat of a trance, only broken by his kissing her again, this time on the cheek.

She looked at him, no anger, no blushing. Just looked at him like there was no one else but him in the world. He felt much the same, so he smiled, watching her gather her words in her head and slowly utter them out.

"You said I'm pretty."

"You are."

Shiuchon opened her mouth but closed it right after. This went on until she settled on just smiling back instead.

"W-well, I guess you're... pretty too," she said, looking him up and down. Her pause on his erection didn't go unnoticed, and he found himself unable to look away from her pussy either.

"I have an idea," Takato said after awhile.

Takato had originally wanted to pleasure her down there like Rumiko-san had done for him. The only problem was Shiuchon didn't have any part that he could hold in his hand like when he jerked himself. But hands weren't the only way to play this. Rather than trying to awkwardly tickle her with his thumb while she stuck out her crotch towards him, he figured he could use his mouth instead. The best part was they both could do it to each other at the same time!

With their clothes strewn over the floor, Shiuchon carefully climbed atop him and spread her legs over his face where Takato got a close up view of her pussy. He leaned up to bury his face between her legs and stick his tongue into her slit. At once, he was greeted with multiple sensations striking his tongue.

Shiuchon squirmed atop him but he barely registered it as he tried to process the salty taste of her entrance, the slit soft and stretchy on his tongue but slightly tight when he tried to push into her further. The sticky liquid leaking onto him was almost tasteless with a hint of sourness. The more he licked, the fainter the taste got.

"It feels weird." Shiuchon panted with her mouth hovering over his dick. Her hands that had been on his thighs eventually found their place on his sensitive rod, gently squeezing it like a toy. Not only this made him moan into her pussy, but because she had to support herself with her elbow, he became very aware of her chest and nipples that was now in direct contact with his skin.

"Um, like this, right?" Before soon, Takato was awash with another sensation that enveloped his dick in a wet and warm touch. Shiuchon was sucking him like a lollipop, and it was as heavenly as he remembered it to be. "How is it?" She asked but because her mouth was full, it came out more like "hwwzzd" instead.

The vibration from her mouth coupled with her playful tongue sent him reeling backward, too overloaded with the intoxicating feeling. It felt like she was scratching an itch he never knew he had.

He moaned, lying his head on the ground to stare at her saliva-covered mound.

"Yeah... Yeah, like tha–" Her teeth grazed his skin, immediately halting his pleasure and causing him to jolt in fright. "H-hey! Be careful!"

Shiuchon raised her head and tilted it in confusion, leaving his dick in the air to slowly lose some of its size. He knew Shiuchon wouldn't bite him off, but... He cringed at the thought alone.

"Takato?" Shiuchon called him, concern in her voice. He couldn't see her face clearly from this angle, but her worry for him reminded him that he'd been afraid of his own friend. "You okay?" She asked again when he didn't answer.

"Um, yeah." He let out a sigh he'd been holding.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No, no. You just surprised me a little."

"Oh."

"Yeah." He smiled. This was Shiuchon after all. There was no way she'd hurt him. He shouldn't have doubted her. "Just be careful with your teeth."

"No teeth. Okay." Shiuchon's enthusiastic but understanding response made him chuckle. His droopy rod soon stood tall again within just a few seconds of her kneading him with her incredibly soft hands. She definitely should try baking sometimes. "Ddyyllgthzz?" she asked.

He didn't know if she meant whether he liked her sucking him off like a piece of candy or if he found her sending quivers through his spine more enjoyable with that magic vibrating sensation. He was personally leaning into the latter, especially when she started to blow on him like he'd sometimes do with a cup of water and a straw. It was more like she was enjoying blowing spits on him, but he couldn't complain if it felt amazing.

"I think I like you more," he teased and was rewarded with a half-angry grunt that sent another quiver through him. He panted with a chuckle. "Okay, okay. Slow down a bit. I can't be the only one having fun." He leaned up to resume eating her out, putting extra attention on where his own teeth were at all times.

Her delicate flower, warm and wet, welcomed his tongue's entrance deep inside itself. While his tongue explored every nook and cranny of her hole, his thumb found its way to the curious little nub that sat at the topmost of her slit. Shiuchon had reacted strongly earlier even when he'd barely touched it.

Her violent moaning onto him when he rubbed it both proved his theory and sent him to the edge. Barely able to think straight, Takato did his best to pleasure that little spot while trying to contain his squeek, struggling to keep his tongue moving inside her.

Shiuchon was already shaking atop him, her pace slowing down yet the vibration from her silent grunts and moans only made it harder for him to fight his own sensual noises. This fed into a cycle with them shouting each other's muffled name into their crotch.

This reached a breaking point when Shiuchon all of a sudden burried her head into his balls while her inside convulsed around his tongue. She made what appeared to be a muffled screaming that sent him into the cloud. Unable to fight the dam that was bursting inside him, his toes curled, and he felt liquid fire gush out from inside him into Shiuchon's waiting mouth, only replied in kind by her own juices splashing onto his face. His hips thrust upward, jerking erratically over and over as he squirted every last bit of his milk out, screaming Shiuchon's name.

For a brief moment, he was in heaven. The feeling eventually subsided, but left a faint tingling sensation all over his body. Shiuchon rolled off of him, coughing violently.

She collapsed on the floor. "Ugh..."

"Shiuchon!" Takato reached over and pulled her up to see her face covered in cum. He was relieved to see her satisfied smile and playfully bopped her head for worrying him. She seemed to still be in a daze, so he let her be and lay down on the floor. When she broke out of it and locked gaze with him, a soft chuckle escaped her.

It grew first into a giggle, but he wasn't surprised when her laugh began to ring in the domed hut as she failed to contain it. He watched her heave her last laugh in somewhat of a pained sigh, mirth sparkling in her eyes.

"That was fun," she said, her head falling onto his outstreched arm.

"It was." He smiled back. And for a moment, everything felt alright in the world. Just the two of them gazing into each other's eyes as they lay against each other.

Later, Takato offered his windbreaker to clean up their mess. He helped wipe her face clean of the sticky white stuff before wiping her own juice from his. But their lower parts were much more difficult.

He had to squeeze himself multiple time to get all the liquid out, and even then he still felt some waiting to just flow out while he wasn't looking. Shiuchon just giggled when he repeated the process on her underside.

The stain on the floor left by their juices would probably be gone in no time. Probably. It was definitely out of their mind when they descended the hut, fully dressed again. Takato huffed as he caught Shiuchon who'd decided he was a fireman's safety net. The force from her jump almost tumbled him backward.

They cleaned their face at a nearby tap, and just because she could, Shiuchon splashed the water on him while he was distracted. He splashed some back and was surprised it didn't devolve into a revenge-splashing match. He supposed their game had exhausted them enough to have another excitement.

"Thank you for walking her home," Shiuchon's mom said from her house's entrance.

"It was nothing." Takato smiled. The woman gave a cursory glance to the windbreaker Takato was carrying on his shoulder, making him realize how naked he felt without the outerwear on his body. Well, he had been naked-er though.

"We had looots of fun!" Shiuchon chimed in, raising her arms and moving them in an arc to describe the amount of said fun.

"Well, I'm glad you did." The woman addressed Takato. "I hope my daughter didn't trouble you too much."

Shiuchon puffed her cheeks at the offhand comment and pulled on his sleeve. Her kicked puppy eyes were rather a bit much, especially when her mother was just right there listening.

"Takato, look at her! She said I'm trouble. She's a meanie."

Takato didn't know how to respond to that, but he defended Shiuchon anyway as damage control. It was scary looking at the woman's sweet smile knowing she was fuming inside. Shiuchon honestly didn't help by sticking out her tongue at the already affronted woman.

"You don't have to worry, auntie Mayumi. Shiuchon was a treat. She's been anything but trouble."

"See? I was a good kid." Shiuchon grinned smugly at her mother.

"Yes, yes. So I've heard." The woman sighed good-naturedly. "Thank you again for looking after her, Takato."

Takato nodded and was about turn to leave when Shiuchon called him.

"Wait, I forgot something!" She ran up to him and gestured for him to lean in closer.

"What is i–" He was taken off-guard when she planted a surprise kiss on his cheek.

"That game was fun." She whispered with a giggle. "Let's play again sometime, okay? Love you!"

He just nodded dumbly as she ran back up to her mother, unable to process anything else other than the feel of her soft lips. He rubbed the wet spot on his cheek, swearing to never wash it again.

Shiuchon's mother just gave him a knowing smile. He didn't even realize when the both of them had gone inside and closed the door.

At dinner, mom gave him a strange look when he had yet to touch his food.

"Takato, the food's going cold."

Takato only nodded absentmindedly, his mind still on Shiuchon's smiling face from earlier. He sighed dreamily.

"Mom, dad. I think I'm gonna marry Shiuchon," he said while admiring his rice bowl.

"Marry whoever you want. But eat first and then do your homework," mom said, giving him her conditional consent. Homework was annoying to do, but he nodded anyway.

When he slept that night, only Shiuchon's soft laughs and giggles colored his dream. A stupid grin formed on his face as his dream-self fed her a spoonful of ice cream.

"I like you, Takato," dream-Shiuchon said.

"I like you too... Hehe... Zzz..."

Takato x Shiuchon is a rarepair that's I've been stuck with for awhile. Can't believe I finally got a proper fic with the pairing at its center instead of like a vague background relationship.

Anyway, next chapter is gonna be Shiuchon's pov, and then we'll have the epilogue.