Kouji was unbelievably happy that he was able to patch things up with his uncle. While there was still the lingering thought of what could’ve possibly happened, especially with the unexpected arrival of Isako. That could be pushed aside, as things were now taken care of.

“So, headmistress…” There was however, another question that he had still around. “Why are you here?” It wasn’t planned at all to meet her here, so it was mere coincidence that the two are at this point.

“Well, I came here, to give your uncle a piece of my mind.” Her work meetings ran all the way through to the next day. In fact, there were still a few more that she needed to take care of. However, with this free time she had this morning… Let’s just say she decided to track down Yokakura’s home to tell him to leave Kouji alone.

“Still as rash as ever.” His uncle quipped. They restarted their petty arguing, while the two teens were still in the room. “And you wonder why we broke up.”

“I can’t believe these two dated.” Kouji commented.

“They dated... With each other?!” Teru was stunned at that revelation. The way they talked to each other, it seemed even worse than when she was considered enemies with Kouji.

Those two would’ve continued to fight, were it not for the one thing that everyone had in common. Their stomach growled louder than their words, as breakfast was yet to be consumed.

“Guess that’s what I get for heading out first thing in the morning.” Kouji was then reminded as to why he left so quickly this morning, and shook the thought out of his head. What happened in his room, should stay in his room. Though, speaking of that, he wondered what Anastasia was up to.

“Since you all decided to pay me a visit, maybe we should go out and grab a bite to eat.” Yokakura brought up the idea, to which all but Isako agreed to.

“I’m sorry, but some of us have more important things to be concerned over.” She referred to a meeting that was nearing its time. “As for you two. Let’s meet at the train station at about… One.”

“That’ll be fine with us.” Kouji and Teru accepted the terms, and the lady left them with his uncle. When she was gone, that was when he asked for the next important question. “So, what place were you planning on?”

“I was thinking of that convenience store I work at, you know, employee’s discount.” He offered.

“Smart idea.” Kouji was cool with the frugal plan, Teru… Not-so-much.

“I can see where you get it from.”

***

The place that Yokakura worked at was part of a bigger chain, known as an Eight-Eleven. It usually had a decent amount of people coming and going, but the nighttime was usually when it had more business. Being located by the nightclubs and bars certainly didn’t hurt.

During the day though, it had more closer to what one would call delinquents skipping school instead. As they entered the automatic doors, Kouji had a flashback to when he did exactly just that. An image of himself, standing just outside with stolen bag of chips, made him physically recoil. But he had to remind himself that the boy he used to be, no longer existed.

“Hey Yoka.” The employee at the register greeted his co-worker. “I didn’t think I’d see… Wait, huh?” He noticed Kouji right behind his uncle. That wasn’t a sight the man thought he’d see in his life.

This prompted a short explanation from Yokakura. Pretty much summed up the morning, where he also oddly decided to include the part when Isako knocked down the door.

“Sounds like a really interesting morning.” His friend had a bit of a nervous laugh to that sentence. “But I’m really glad that things worked out.”

“So am I.” Yokakura smiled at the thought. “Well, you two kids go choose whatever you want, I’m paying.” So they did, but since he also told that to Teru, that made the clerk realize that she was with them.

“Wow, I never thought your nephew could get a girlfriend like that.” He commented, which she overheard.

“We’re not dating!” She yelled out instinctively out of embarrassment. However, the real humiliation came when the three guys looked at her like she was crazy. “I mean, he’s just my tutor.” She used her hat to cover up the bright red blush in her cheeks as she escaped into one of the aisles.

Kouji was unsure of what to make of that reaction. With how hard she denied it, he was kind of offended, if he was being honest.

Wait, why should he be getting offended? It’s not like he liked her, or anything… In fact, now that he was thinking it, Teru wasn’t even considered when he thought about how pretty the girls he tutored were.

Which, honestly speaking, that was mean of him to forget about her. The truth is that girl was really cute, even if a bit tomboyish. But then again, she does have a sweet side to her, as hard as that was to believe. There was some charm to her, that would get anyone’s attention.

“So what are you getting?” He followed her into the same aisle. However, because of her outburst, she was a bit more defensive than usual.

“Nothing…” She muttered, as she grabbed a chocolate cornet. That was definitely something to him, as the two went to the hot dog stand. Kouji got himself a hot dog covered with cheese, while she got a chili dog instead. All these actions felt so weird to him, with how cold she turned.

“Looks like you guys got everything.” Yokakura, commented on their choices, which also included some soft drinks. Definitely not something Kouji normally drank, but today was a good day to indulge a bit. His uncle paid for everything, and they went outside to find a spot to sit and eat.

“So, you and the headmistress.” Even if she wasn’t very talkative with Kouji, she certain was the one that started the conversation with the trio. “The two of you were together?”

“Oh yeah, we dated for a bit.” He explained. The only reason they knew each other, was obviously because of their connection to Kouji’s parents. He was the brother of his father, while she was the best friend of his mother. It just was inevitable that they’d eventually try things out between the other.

“It looks like the two of you officially broke up, when mom and dad died.” Kouji added his assumption to the story, which was a correct belief.

“Yep, leaving like that certainly doesn’t help the relationship.” He recollected the day when it occurred. Telling her what he was doing, that argument than ended things. “But, we probably wouldn’t have lasted anyway.”

True, that incident was the straw that broke the camel’s back. However, that relationship was already on the rough waves as it was. The two of them were just too different, and difficult, for it to work out.

“I’m sorry Kouji.” Yokakura apologized again. “If the two of us were better at life… Then maybe we could’ve taken care of you together. And things wouldn’t have gotten so messed up.”

“It’s fine uncle.” Kouji responded. “You can’t control everything that happens. We just have to deal with the consequences, when they happen.”

“Hmpf, I guess you’ve had to do too much growing up.” His uncle joked. “But enough about me, what about the two of you?” He turned the tables on them, asking about their love lives. “I’m sure being the only boy, that options aren’t exactly limited for you. But what about you, young lady?” Yokakura chose to direct his sights on Kouji’s friend.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She tried to deny giving any answer, as she took a sip of her drink. “You know I go to an all-girls school.”

“True.” He conceded a bit. “But, you don’t go anywhere after school? Or perhaps your parents know some wealthy families with boys your age.”

“No.” She shut him down. “There’s no boys I’m interested in, that’s it.” His uncle physically leaned back from her harsh tone.

“Yeah, you’re being kind of invasive.” Kouji came to her aid.

“Sorry.” His uncle apologized. “I didn’t mean to make you upset, I just wanted to get to know my nephew’s friends better.”

“It’s fine.” She forgave him. “I just don’t like talking about it, okay?”

“Okay, so what about you Kouji.”

“Eh?” Did that man just forget what just happened seconds ago? “What about me?”

“Well, I just wanted to know if you found yourself a nice lady while you were gone.” He said, it wasn’t meant as being too prying. Besides, they got to know his past relationships, so he felt why shouldn’t he? “I know you’re a pretty serious boy, but surely someone’s captured your attention.”

“Well.” Kouij took a look at Teru, a little embarrassed at the idea of letting her know about it. Still, it’s not like he’s about to drop names or anything. “...I guess you could say that.” That caused the girl’s ears to perk up in response. Did he really just say that, she thought.

“Heh, I knew it.” His uncle teased him. “I bet she’s really pretty, right?”

“When you say it like that…” Hearing it made him feel bashful. Hopefully his uncle would actually agree about Himawari’s physical charm. But that’s not really why Kouji liked her, there’s just something else to her that was hard to explain. “...Yeah.”

The more Teru heard this, the less she liked it. But what could she say? So now she knows that Kouji likes someone, and she was certain that girl wasn’t her. The girl’s heart skipped a beat, when she spent a split second on the thought that he might’ve been referencing her. Yet, that was a pipe dream at best.

“I’m done.” She said, crumbling up the wrapper from her chili dog. The girl was more than ready to leave. “Are we ready to head out?”

“But you didn’t finish your cornet.” Kouji pointed to her half eaten treat.

“I’m full.”

“Then can I have it?” He put out his hand when he asked. “It’s be a shame to waste something like that.” Teru paused for a moment. To her, that was an odd request, but it was probably a normal thing for him. It’s just that she was… Well she was worried about that whole indirect kiss deal with sharing food. It was like he didn’t even care, which is what got her feeling a bit upset. That’s when she felt how he saw her, not as a girl, but simply as a friend.

“...Fine.” She tossed it to him, which caused him to bumble it around in an attempt to not drop the thing. “Enjoy.” Her sarcastic tone was not lost on him, but he still did take a bite out of it.

“Well, when you’re done with that” Yokakura stood up and stretched out his legs. “We can head back home and wait until Isako is ready to leave with you all.”

“Actually, you should go ahead.” Kouji told him. There was something he had to take care of before that was to be done. “I need to talk with you, Teru.”

“Oh, well don’t let me get in the way of your confession.” He gave out a hearty laugh, while the young boy rolled his eyes in response. “Okay, I’ll see you two later then.” With that, it was just the two of them. Out here in front of some convenience store, where nearly no one was at.

“So what do you need?” She asked, wondering what was taking him so long to say something. After all, he’s the one that wanted to talk. For a little while, Kouji didn’t say anything, contemplating if he should be asking what he had in mind. “Well, what is it? Don’t tell me your uncle was right that this is going to be some lame confession.” She teased, which then prompted him to correct her.

“I’m thinking of staying here.”