"I didn't think it'd be this huge!" Haru's eyes had that twinkle of awe in them as she ogled the 4 floor mall.

I smiled, still on a mood high, hands stuffed in my jersey. "I'm going to empty my inheritance. I don't want to be tracked down by using the same account."

Haru linked her arm in mine, "First stop, bank."

The odd looks didn't deter us and let's just say, a little over 5 hundred thousand yen is a thick wad of bills to be sitting in your pocket. After that, I let Haru explore, trying to keep up. Clothes were easy up until the apparent lack of undergarments I was informed of. Currently, Haru had me staring down a lingerie store.

"Come on!" She beckoned with a big grin, knowingly.

The rest of the argument went a lot like this:

"No." "Yes." "It's not happening." "You are a girl, Tokaku, this is normal." "I refuse." "If you come with me then I'll let you pick."

Annnnddddd...cue tomato face again...

"They're your panties!" It came out much, much, MUCH louder than intended.

"That's the point." "I don't own you." "I don't know, you are a bit possessive." "I am protective." "They both start with P." "I am not prepared for that." "See! Another P word!" "Jesus, please stop. My normal attire does not include lace. I will do almost anything other than this today."

My temperature rose with every syllable. Now the thought had been planted. I wasn't ready for it yet, but now it's there. A glance at my cherry red complexion and the way my eyes pleaded, she hesitated. "Okay. I'll hold you to that though!"

A sigh of relief involuntarily escaped me. "I'm going just across the court to the gym then, meet me there!"

She acknowledged me, I'd seemingly disappointed, despite it being expected. I had no desire to rush into everything. I didn't know if this would work or if I'd be able to stay without attracting danger. I waited for her to enter before heading over.

The gym was average apart from a redhead with a pocky problem. "Azuma?!" My head snapped up.

My casual pace never wavered as we both covered half the distance between us, "You're different." It came as a mumble, mostly to myself.

"Well, it's probably the career change."

"I agree." Awkward silence. "You work here?"

"Yeah. Personal trainor. I also work construction. Hopefully soon I can just work here fulltime, but that's only if my sister gets a scholarship. So...uh, if you're looking to get a membership then I can set you up."

I nodded, "Sounds good." It felt like I should've said more to my ex classmate. So, I prodded the discussion. "I'm done with the clans."

Sagae had a split second of surprise before continuing to press buttons on the monitor. "You have superior skills in combat compared to anyone else in the class, I figured you'd cut your loses with Ichinose and go back to killing."

"I don't think either of us will react favorably if family is mentioned anymore." I pushed the fury back down before exploding.

Sagae held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay."

"I'm going to become a cop." It just slipped out.

"Well, there's another thing I never thought you'd say." Sagae handed me a card, "Swipe it to check in and out. It unlocks lockers, restrooms, & showers."

I nodded, shoving it in my pocket with everything else I'd yet to organize. I eyed the equipment trying to think of a response when I noticed a ring, which was rather inviting. "Hey, you up for some sparring?"

An awkward laugh resounded, "You'd kick my ass again, I kind of need my reputation here." Sagae rubbed the back of her neck trying to make time to come up with something to say. She scanned the area as if in hopes that something might stand out, but all that came of it was a high pitched angsty, "What the fuuuuuuuuuuck is she doing here..?"

I immediately got defensive as I noticed Sagae looking in Haru's direction. "Sagae!"

"Not Miss Sunshine!" Haruki pointed next to her, "HER!"

Haru was walking with a suspicious pink-haired woman, followed by a massive gaggle of men. What is this?! Then it registered through my thick skull, "Is that Inukai!?"

The redhead nodded with an almost condemned presence. They continued over in an animated conversation, but Isuke visibly got uncomfortable as soon as she noticed us watching.

Haru had a big goofy smile plastered to her cheery complexion, it made me happy to see her that way, like maybe she'd forgotten all the awful things that'd ever been done to her. I wish I could freeze everything right here. Then she'd never have to fake a smile or choke back tears. But that's not who she is or what she'd want. That would make it too easy.

Isuke went quieter with every step as a tense atmoshere sparked up. It was enough to make my hand twitch towards my thigh where my throwing knives were normally located before it hit me that I had changed into jeans after my shower. They were there, but barred by fabric. Haruki seemed to stiffen. So this is between them. Okay. A sigh of relief escaped me as Haru lit up even more at the sight of Sagae.

"Hey! I was just telling Isuke-sama about the graduation party we're planning!"

Sagae forced excitement. I don't think she was genuinely uninterested so much as distracted by the other new arrival's presence. "Sure, I'll give you my number for an invite, but I'll have to be quick about it. I'm on the clock." Haru let her type the number into her new cell phone provided by Yuri, the chairwoman. I swear, I've never seen someone type that fast before. Afterwords, she went back to work, leaving me curious.

It was only then that one of the older men had made an ass of himself. "Hey, baby, I'll give you my number too!"

Immediately Haru's hands moved to my shoulders barricading the space between him and I, inukai shook her head in that way that people do when they see someone make a horrible decision. My fist tightened, itching to punch at least one tooth out of that charming personality of his. I decidely stood down.

Haru leaned into me, her voice only reaching my ear, "Thank you."

She turned around, reaching out to the guy, who I now realized was not only hitting on her, but was also carrying her bag, I might've let it go until he chuckled, "Don't you worry about this, I'll hold onto it, if you'd like to repay me then there's a nice coffee shop around here."

"Hey, perv! Back off, she's taken and too young for you!" I really want to hit him. I lunged toward him, Haru covered her eyes, but after a second with no yelling, she cautiously peeked to see me grab her bag from him and a sigh of relief escaped. I glared, "Hit on her again and I'll teach you manners."

Isuke stifled her giggling, "Azuma has no manners, but those boots really are something shocking."

Haru immediately cracked up at the awful joke, hiding her face in my shirt so no one would see her teary eyes. Crying, for any reason, is something she avoided like plague. I did wear a small grin that Isuke raised an eyebrow at, but what I noticed more than anything was the longing that was written all over her face when she looked at us. It's none of my business.

"Anyways, here's my card," Inukai dropped it in the bag I held, "Let me know when and where the party will be." What is going on between them? Sagae bailed and Inukai just looked rejected.

When the circus left, Inchinose looked up at me, "I thought you were going to punch him."

"I thought I was going to punch him. But I figured you'd be mad, and I really didn't want to spoil everything."

"You want to go home?" She gave nothing away in her voice, being this close, I just wanted to breathe her in. Sunshine is the only thing I can describe her as.

I shook my head, "No, I'm good, let's do what we came for so that when we head back we won't have to go out again."

A playful expression consumed her face. "Oh, you mean so we have the rest of the night so you can fulfill that I'll do anything promise." Shit.

I winced remembering the embarrassment of earlier, with a groan I nodded. "I said almost anything. But sure."

"Correct answer." She affirmed taking my hand.