"You're here?"

Large innocent eyes twinkling in excitement and a wide smile on his face, Shin eagerly ran in for a hug whilst also being mindful of your injured arm. You had to bend down for him to reach you. He giggled when you returned the embrace and your heart melted.

For the past week, you've been taking Shin to his daycare as well as walking him back home. Needless to say, you've gotten pretty close to him. But also for the past week, you still hadn't talked to Tamashiro about the incident with the previous (Y/n). It was a lot harder than you thought it'd be, especially since you're technically doing it on behalf of someone else.

So here you were on a weekend hoping to finally have the conversation.

"It's a Sunday!" Shin tilted his head to the side. "Why are you here? Oh! Are you here to play with me?"

"Not today, sorry. I wanted to talk to your mother."

With a cute pout on his lips, he let out a quiet 'awww'. You chuckled and ruffled his hair, promising that you'd come to play next time.

"You wanted to talk to me? What about?"

Tamashiro was at the door. You've never seen her on a weekend before, so her in a casual attire was new to you. Her long black locks were tied in a low effort ponytail with bits of hair falling from the sides of her face and she was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Standing up, you said, "It's something a little serious this time."

"Serious? That's rich coming from you," she teased. "Come in then."

You shook your head. "No need. I have to go somewhere after this, so I'm hoping it won't take too long."

You had a feeling that Tamashiro had an inkling of what type of conversation would be taking place. She ushered Shin to go in the house. Though he was disappointed, he nodded in understanding and enthusiastically waved you goodbye.

"How should I start this...Guess I'll be straightforward then. We've met in the past before, right? During a film session."

"So you are bringing that up." The female sighed, her usual unapproachable expression softening a little. "I assumed that you pretended to not know me because of the incident so I went along with it."

Well, it was more like I didn't know about it. But that works too.

"That was the initial plan, but I realised that it wouldn't do any of us good. I want to clear this up. When the previous––when I messed up during the session, why didn't you cut it out? The main focus of the whole shoot was to tour my parent's bakery." The incident explained why the previous (Y/n) was in such low spirits when she first met Kashi. "I was only twelve, you know? That didn't do wonders for my self-esteem."

Tamashiro nodded, displaying no signs of indignance or desire to object your words. "Before anything, let me say this first," she said, tone firm and serious. "I'm going to give you an explanation, not a justification. By no means am I trying to excuse my actions. I can't even begin to imagine how harmful they were, especially to a child. Whatever you decide to do with the information, I will respect it. You can spend the rest of your life hating me and only stop by to see Shin.

To start, it was my first job as a tv producer. I was still new to everything and had a superior watch over me. After we shot that...incident." Tamashiro looked like she was walking on eggshells, worried that she would offend you or cause unpleasant memories to surface. If only you could reassure her that you were not the (Y/n) she was talking about.

"...I assumed it was going to be cut out. However, my superior brought up how keeping it will garner attraction. Even if it was negative, it was still publicity. Actually, he seemed to be more pleased that it was something negative." She mumbled an insult to the guy under her breath. "Everyone was on board with the idea and it was difficult for me to stop them. Still, I should've spoken up instead of giving into their peer pressure. I regretted it, I felt disgusted at myself.

I was put in charge of promoting the show and had an idea. I made sure that it reached as few people as possible. It ended in a huge argument, a lot of cursing––mainly from me––and I got fired." A short laugh left her. "Worth it, everyone there sucked anyway. I was thinking of apologising to your parents, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was sure that I would make things worse by showing up." She looked at you. "So that's what happened."

You were silent for a moment, processing her words. It was difficult. You weren't the one who had their vulnerable moment exposed on camera and to the public, albeit a small crowd. The past (Y/n) did. You couldn't feel anger, sadness, or forgiveness. All you could experience was understanding and relief that you have some clarity. Would the past (Y/n) forgive Tamashiro?

"I'm thankful that you explained it to me." Clearing up a situation in a straightforward manner? That was so refreshing. "I want to put everything in the past behind. Don't get me wrong, I'm not running away from my past or anything. I just want to start fresh." You smiled. "So I forgive you. Let's continue being friends."

The comments your parents made about your big personality change, them being wary about letting you talk to Tamashiro on your ride home from the hospital––all those things made a lot more sense now.

You mentally apologised to the past (Y/n) if she didn't approve of your actions or way of handling this situation, you give her your condolences if this incident ruined her self-esteem and she was never able to resolve it since you replaced her, but you can't base your actions on her. It might sound a little cruel, but this was your life now.

Tamashiro gave you a skeptical look. "You don't need to force yourself."

"Okay, how about this. Have my back when I confront Hayami-san for lying in her interview."

"You're going to do what?"

You laughed. "Kidding, kidding. Probably. What I'm saying is, help me out sometime in the future. Then we can call it even."

Silent for a moment, Tamashiro then sighed. "You've definitely changed since then."

"Like I'm an entirely different person?"

She shrugged. "Something like that. I'm glad you talked to me about this, it's been weighing me down for some time."

"Uhm...Is it okay if I come out now? I forgot to do something!"

You looked over Tamashiro's shoulder and saw Shin peak from behind the door. He seemed really eager and an adorable smile was on his lips.

"Yeah, that's fine! What's up?" you asked.

Hands behind his back––he looked to be hiding something?––he ran up to you.

"Put your hands out please!"

"...Sure?"

You bent down and then did as he asked. Shin giggled before placing a piece of paper on your palms. Turning it over, it revealed a drawing.

Wait, hold on. This is really good.

It wasn't some detailed masterpiece you'd find in a museum, but it did not look like a drawing someone of Shin's age could do. With several bright colours and in crayon, Shin drew you and him holding hands and walking together.

"Is this for me?" you asked.

"Duh!" He giggled. "It's my thank you gift for walking with me!"

Why is he so cute??

"Thanks for that." You chuckled. "You're super talented."

Shin's expression lit up at your compliment and he looked over to his mother, his eyes expressing a silent message of 'did you hear that? She called me talented!'.

You would've loved to stay and spend some time with Tamashiro and Shin, but you needed to be somewhere soon. Bidding goodbye to both of them, you head back home in a very good mood.

You opened the door to your house. As you were about to take your shoes off, your mother rushed up to you with a wide grin. "(Y/n), your friends came early! I asked them to wait inside the house," she said, pinching your cheeks. "I'll be heading out with your father now. Have fun!"

Wait, two? If you recall correctly, today was the day you and Kai decided to hang out. Who else could be here? You turned around ready to question your mother, but she had already left the house. Before anything, you put up Shin's drawing on the fridge. A satisfied smile on your lips, you then made your way to the living room.

You first saw Kai. Okay, expected. But when you looked over to who was sitting next to him, your eyes widened in surprise.

Kasumi is here?

Their back was turned to you, so they hadn't noticed your presence just yet. Plus, they seemed to be preoccupied with something. Quietly approaching them from behind, you tried looking over Kasumi's shoulder. She was holding something––wait, was that a photo of you? Well, technically not you. It looked like a picture of the past (Y/n).

You leaned against the back of the couch and smiled at Kasumi. "Having fun there?"

Kasumi almost dropped the framed photo in surprise. Frantically, she settled it on the table––though she made sure to not damage it––and shot you a look of disbelief.

"What the––don't creep up behind people like that!"

"You're the one in my house." You laughed and turned to Kai. "You should've told me your sister was going to come. I would've prepared another batch of flowers."

You pushed yourself off the couch and sat on the one across the siblings. Now that you've gotten a proper view of them, you couldn't help but notice how good they looked in their casual clothes.

Kasumi's brown hair was tied into a high ponytail and sunglasses sat on top of her head, she wore a beige cropped shirt with a knot in front followed along with dark blue high waisted baggy jeans, a black handbag on her side, and she also wore a thin gold layer necklace. Oh, and of course, she had her usual dark red lipstick. Kai, on the other hand, was wearing a dark grey sleeveless hoodie––which definitely showed off his biceps––long dark blue jeans, a small black bag on the side, and also had stylish sunglasses on top of his head.

"Why the hell do you both look so hot on my couch––I mean, what's Kasumi-san doing here?"

A furious blush painted Kasumi's face while Kai had a smug look, he said something along the lines of 'of course, what did you expect?'

"You––how the hell am I supposed to start this conversation when you're like this?"

"Like what?"

Kai rolled his eyes at his sister and harshly nudged her. "Himari, stop beating around the bush already."

Kasumi scoffed and mumbled something under her breath before hesitantly meeting your gaze. "Look, I came here to apologise."

You blinked. She said what? At your silence and dazed expression, Kasumi shifted in her seat uncomfortably and you quickly pulled yourself together. "I––huh?"

Kasumi looked like she wanted to facepalm at your actions. "Geez, were you even listening?"

"Yeah, I heard you. But, like––why? Did you just wake up one day and thought 'yup, I'm going to apologise to (Y/n) today?'"

Kai was amused at your baffled expression. "I'll explain that. Long story short, she was worried about––"

Before the male could finish his sentence, Kasumi punched him in the shoulder. "You promised that you wouldn't say anything!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do when you're going at the pace of an old woman?"

"Did you just call me an old woman?!"

"So what if I did? What are you going to go, beat me with your cane––"

For the next few minutes, you watched in silence as the siblings bicker and fight. Who would've thought that Kasumi's handbag would be such a deadly weapon? They were so engrossed in their argument that you grabbed yourself a drink and came back without them realising.

"Okay, guys. I think we should get back on topic now," you said, but you weren't able to get their attention. You sighed and then cleared your throat. "I have a date with my boyfriend in a few minutes, we should hurry it up."

Both siblings stopped dead in their tracks and shouted in unison, "You what?!"

"Oh wow, that worked." You smiled. "Perfect! Now I've got your attention. Kai, you were going to say something."

"Right, I was. Himari––"

Kasumi threw her handbag at Kai. "Stop! I'll explain everything myself!"

"Then talk already!"

"I will!"

You took a sip of your drink. "You guys are fighting again."

Kai stuck his tongue out at Kasumi. You had a feeling if it weren't for the fact that you were here, Kasumi would've landed an uppercut on him right then and there. To be honest, you were kind of curious how that would play out.

Kasumi cleared her throat. "Look, I was a total bitch to you. And I wanted to say sorry, even though you were kind of annoying––" Kai gave Kasumi a look and she stopped herself.

You laughed. "No, I totally get that. The fact that I kept being so friendly to you can be off-putting. I gave you flowers and kept coming back to you even though I had no good reason to." Back then you only acted friendly to Kasumi for the sake of the game you're in. However, now was a different case. You genuinely wanted to be friends with her. "Though it's hard to explain why I did those things, I promise you it was not out of ill intent."

"I'm the one that's supposed to be apologising here...but yeah, I did find it annoying––well it was more like frustration because I didn't know why you were being so nice to me." She sighed. "But even so, I assumed you had some ulterior motive. Looking back at it, it was stupid of me to push you away and still hung out with those other girls."

"They were the ones who poured water on your head, right?"

Kasumi nodded. "I honestly only kept them around because it was convenient since my mother liked the fact that they were from esteemed backgrounds. I should've seen it coming when they dumped the water onto me. They only latched onto me for my background. So when the opportunity came to be Hayami-san's friend, they were quick to leave."

Your eyes narrowed at the name. "Hayami-san? What, did she purposefully bribe them or something?"

Kasumi was a little taken back by your sour tone. "...I don't know. I don't really care anymore, they're out of my life now." She was silent for a moment before taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly. Her hands were clasped together and she averted her eyes away from you. "You...you said back then that the offer to be friends was on the table, right?"

Your eyes lit up and you sat up straighter. "Are you implying what I think you're implying?"

At your eagerness, Kasumi's cheeks grew warm. Kai commented on that and ended up facing the wrath of her handbag again.

"Geez, why do you need to look so excited? You're acting like you've won the lottery."

You giggled. "Nah, winning the lottery doesn't compare to this."

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. "God, you're such an idiot."

You laughed at her remark. Who would've thought Kasumi would come to you herself and befriend you?

Kasumi cleared her throat. "Look, I don't know why you tried to befriend me, why you were so tense when you approached Utari-san on the rooftop, and why you were fixated on getting me to stop bullying Aimi-san. But I'm not going to use that as an excuse to push you away. I don't want you to think I want to be friends with you because my old ones––even you can even call them friends––left me. I...want to try again and put everything in the past behind me. So...yeah..." She groaned. "That last part did not make sense."

You chuckled. "Same here. Kasumi-san, I hope over time that we can learn more about each other."

"Himari. Just call me by my first name."

You smiled. "Really? Okay, then feel free to call me (Y/n) then!"

There were a lot of things you didn't know about Himari. Such as why she bullied others in the first place, her connection with Utari, and the details of the student she allegedly expelled. But those answers will come within time. For now, you're going to appreciate your friendship with her.

Kai tapped his sister on the shoulder. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Himari slapped his hand off her. "I was getting to that." She looked over to you. "I also wanted to say...thanks for..."

"...For?"

"The flowers," she mumbled. "AndIwasalsoworriedaboutyoubecauseofthefire."

"You're welcome for the flowers, but what was the last part about?"

"Hmph! It's your fault for not paying attention."

"She said that she was worried about you thanks to the fire incident," Kai chimed in. "I kid you not, she was depressed for the entire week."

Himari looked at her brother in disbelief. "You––"

"Hah! I took away your handbag already. Try again."

"I have fucking hands."

Another fight ensued as you calmly took another sip of your drink.

Kai huffed. "Show some gratitude! I was the one who suggested the idea for you to come here and apologise to her."

"You almost dragged me here!"

"You still decided to stay!"

"That's because..." She furrowed her eyebrows, struggling to string together a response. "God! You're so annoying."

Instead of replying with his usual remarks, Kai laughed and Himari shot him a baffled look.

"Sure, sure." He jumped off the couch and stretched his arms over his head. "Finally, all the talk is over. Let's go out and have some fun now!"

===



"Let me get this straight. (Y/n) has her arm in a cast and you both chose to go to an amusement park?"

You and Kai both looked up from the map, already considering going on the bumper cars, and both nodded at the same time. Himari sighed in disbelief, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You guys are seriously morons. What if she injures herself even more?"

"Don't worry, I've got a plan," you reassured.

She raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Really now."

You and Kai gave her a confident thumbs up as you said, "I'll be extra careful."

Himari did not look impressed. "Yup. Complete idiots."

Kai smirked and patted you on the shoulder, whispering 'leave it to me.' "We can go get fairy floss on the way," he said. "My treat."

"Fairy floss?" Suddenly, Himari looked a lot more compliant now. "What the hell are we standing here for? Let's go."

Despite Kai suggesting the idea to bribe Himari, he was just as eager to get fairy floss. While eating, the three of you made a game plan for the day, discussing what rides and games looked interesting. The conversation was really quick to go off course as the siblings began talking about the different sweets they could try. They looked really serious about it, too.

You then heard a child crying. It seemed like Kai and Himari heard it as well since they stopped their conversation. Glancing around, your sights eventually landed on a little girl crying in the middle of a large crowd. If you had to make a guess, she must've lost her parents amongst the sea of people.

You planned to help her, but Himari was one step ahead and had already left her seat. You and Kai exchanged glances and agreed to tag along. Himari bent down to the girl's level. Seeing the brunette, the child's cry quietened a little.

"Let me guess, you can't find your parents?"

The girl sniffed and nodded her head. Himari reached into her handbag and helped wipe her tears. It seemed to calm her down.

"Crying isn't going to help, you know."

"Th-then what do I do?" The girl looked like she was going to cry again. "I-I can't find them. What if I never see them again? I didn't mean to wander off, I swear!"

"Calm down, calm down." Kai stepped up. With a confident smirk on his face, he proudly said, "I bet finding your parents will be a piece of cake!"

Hope reflected in the girl's eyes. "R-really?"

Kai nodded. "No sh––I mean. Of course! You can't see them because you're too short. If you were half my height, you'd find them instantly," he said. "So? Need a lift?"

The girl was a little taken back at the offer, but she eventually gave a timid nod. Kai swiftly lifted her onto his shoulders and she giggled in the process.

"See anything, captain?"

"Uhm...oh! Wait! I think I see them!"

Kai carefully settled the girl down. After that, reuniting the girl with her parents was a quick and easy process. The parents profusely thanked the two and they both shrugged it off. With a cheerful wave and thank you from the child, they parted ways. She gave them a parting gift as well. Himari and Kai both received a heart-shaped keychain.

Kai huffed. "It's so childish. As if I'm going to keep it."

You shot him a doubtful look. "You say that as you carefully put it in your pocket."

Himari closed her compact mirror after having applied a new layer of lipstick. "I'll keep it, but it doesn't fit my style."

You glanced over and noticed that she attached it to her handbag. With a sigh, you said, "You guys are a bit too much."

It wasn't hard to not lose the siblings in the crowd since Kai was so tall and Himari was always checking up on you. You breathed in the aroma of fried food, your curiosity was piqued when you heard people screaming from rollercoasters, the wide variety of games and eye-catching prizes made you stop and stare for a moment; there was so much to do here and you didn't know where to start.

"Oh, hey! There's a basketball game," you pointed out. "Woah, the prizes look super cool."

There were huge plushies on display. Some of them could easily be more than half your size.

That immediately caught Kai's interest. "What, you want them?" He approached the stall and stole a glance at the game. "That's way too easy. I'll get the grand prize for ya."

The man in charge of the games did not seem to appreciate Kai's words. But his frown was quick to turn into a cocky smirk. He accepted Kai's money and gestured him to the game with a derisive scoff.

"Good luck," he said. Though, it sounded more like he was mocking Kai. If you didn't quickly usher Himari along, she would've thrown hands right then and there.

Kai laughed. "I don't need good luck from an old man like you."

The man's face crinkled in anger and you overheard him mumble something along the lines of 'we'll see you talk again when you lose'. He seemed to be confident in his statement. You looked over at the prizes and noticed that no one had won any yet. Not even the small ones where you only needed to score two shots had been won.

...Could it be that he rigged the game? Wasn't that totally illegal?

Himari seemed to catch onto your thinking. She leaned over and whispered to you, "there's no use reporting that jackass. He knows that getting the authorities here will be a huge hassle. There's no need to waste our time on him."

"Then, what should we do?"

For the first time, you saw a confident smile on Himari's lips. "Just watch. My brother might be insufferably confident, but it isn't for nothing."

You nodded after getting over how cool her smile looked and focused your attention on Kai. Out of the five attempts given to him, he needed to score all five to get the grand prize. It sounded like a good deal. After all, the price paid to play the game didn't even amount to a fourth of the easiest prize to get. You were a little nervous, but that sense of unease was quickly dispelled when Kai swiftly got all five scores. Heck, he didn't even look like he tried.

The man paled, and a small round of applause came from those who witnessed Kai's shots. Seems like a few of them knew it was rigged having tried the game themselves. With witnesses, the stall owner begrudgingly handed over the grand prize.

Kai threw the plush over to you and made fun of you when it smacked your face, muffling your 'thank you' to him. The plush was a light brown teddy bear and not only was it incredibly huge, but it was also super soft. Sleeping with it will be heavenly.

"Told ya it was easy. Even if the rings were smaller, oval-shaped, positioned at the wrong angle, and the ball was overinflated."

You looked at Kai with wide eyes. Did he just call the man out? In front of a crowd, too?

"I heard that! You––" The man was lost for words. "Nonsense! Are you accusing me of rigging the game?"

Kai smirked and placed something on the table. It was more money.

"Wh––what are you doing?"

"What else? I'm going to make you go bankrupt."

"Y-you can't!" He slammed both hands on the table, face red with fury. "There's a rule where it is only one try per person!"

You raised an eyebrow. "Really now. Where does it say?" You would've looked more intimidating if you weren't struggling to hold the plush with one arm.

The man's words were tangled with his tongue and he shot you a glare. "This is why I hate kids. I'm going to call the authorities if you keep this up."

Himari scoffed. "Sure. We'll wait."

The man did not call the authorities and only screamed for the three of you to get out. Since there was a small crowd that witnessed the whole thing, you didn't doubt that rumours about the game would float around. No one will be coming to this game anytime soon. Looks like Kai wasn't lying when he said that he was going to make the man bankrupt.

Kai noticed your struggle in carrying around the plush so he took it off you and carried it himself. It was kind of endearing seeing someone so physically imposing as him carry something that screams fluff.

Himari rolled her eyes. "Show off."

"You're just jealous that you couldn't get (Y/n) anything."

That seemed to spark something within the female. Her eyes fixated on a huge claw machine that also had plushies as the prize. It wasn't as large as the one Kai won, but they were still a lot bigger than regular ones. Without a word, she approached it.

"Which one do you want?"

Her voice was so demanding that you almost mistook it for a threat.

"Uh..." You said that first one your eyes landed on. "The dolphin?"

With a nod, she inserted the coins. Normally, you'd expect her to be meticulous about where she was aiming the claw. But the female simply moved it around a couple of times, shrugged and said 'good enough', and slammed the button for the claw to drop. With a nonchalant look, she crossed her arms as she watched the claw pick up the plush perfectly. People who happened to walk by and witness the sight did so in shock and awe.

"Here." She threw the plush to you.

You caught it, still stunned at how flawlessly she obtained it. "Th-thanks."

Kai almost tried to do the same, but you stopped him before it sparked into a competition. You did not want to have millions of plushies in your possession.

You three eventually went on rides. It was a little funny asking the staff each time where you could put your plush for safekeeping. And for bumper cars, since your arm was injured, you switched between riding with Himari and Kai. And they were competitive. They refused to target anyone else but each other.

There was also a moment where a poor guy just asked you for directions, but Kai mistook him for hitting on you and almost drove him out. Someone accidentally bumped into your shoulder and you had to stop Himari from throwing hands. The Kasumi siblings were really something else.

While walking, Himari had tripped thanks to a random bump on the pathway. Thankfully, Kai managed to grab her hand in time and stopped her from falling.

"You have eyes. Watch where you're going," he said.

Himari glared at him. "Shut up."

"Are you okay?" You looked down at her heels. "Ah...they're––"

"Broken. I can see that." She sighed.

You helped her to a bench while Kai opened his bag and pulled out a new pair of shoes. You and Himari looked at him in surprise.

"What? I figured this would happen."

Himari rolled her eyes. "Do you think I'd wear––oh, they're not bad."

Well, that issue was resolved quickly. You three continued to go on different rides, try out new food, watch performances, and even began purposefully looking for games that were rigged so you could call the owner out. During all that, a sudden gust of wind blew harshly. You and Himari were fine, but Kai's hair took an L from it.

"Oh my god, you look so dumb," Himari said.

After that, she then ushered Kai to take a seat. Without saying anything, she began retying his hair.

"God, can't you sit still for three seconds?"

Kai scoffed. "Can't help it if your nails are so annoying."

"I will rip out all your hair right now if you keep that attitude up."

Despite her words, Himari became more mindful of her long nails when fixing Kai's hair. After she carefully tied it to a neat mid ponytail, she let him check using her compact mirror and phone. Kai nodded in satisfaction.

You smiled. Their relationship was on the line between heartwarming at how much they looked out for each other, but also concerning with how often they're at each other's throats.

"There's an outdoor ice skating rink. Should we go there?" Kai asked.

"I was seven the last time I set foot in a rink, but sure. What do you think, (Y/n)?"

You had no idea if you knew how to ice skate or not, but you agreed anyway. How bad could you be, right?

Well, sometimes you exceeded your own expectations. Just not in a good way today.

Holding onto the wall of the ice rink for dear life, the idea of moving even a millimeter terrified you. Kai and Himari had no issues and were able to skate around flawlessly.

Himari, what happened to never stepping foot in a rink ever since you were seven?

"Come on, (Y/n). It's easy once you get the hang of it!" Kai shouted. It was nice how encouraging he sounded, but it would be better if you knew how to skate.

Himari nodded. "Sticking by the wall isn't going to help, you know."

"...Can I just get the penguin helper please?" Yes, it was for kids. But you rather have your pride shattered than your bones when you fall.

Kai skated over to you and abruptly took your hands, peeling you off the wall. Your heart did three hundred backflips in panic and you fell forward. Thankfully, he was there to help maintain your balance. You've never held someone's hand so tightly until today.

"Kai, do not let go."

"I'm not tryna kill you here. But stop looking down at your feet, that's going to mess with your balance."

You swallowed and slowly looked up. That's when you noticed the close proximity between you and Kai. And since the guy was so tall, you had to bring your neck up to see his face.

"Okay...now what?"

"Keep your skates apart, but not wider than your shoulders, feet pointed forward, and move your body weight from one foot to the other," Himari instructed from behind you. You flinched at how close her voice sounded. What's with the sudden intimacy from both siblings?

Kai and Himari continued to give advice on ice skating. Himari was there to help correct your movements whilst Kai guided you to perform said movements. It was both amusing and touching to see how panicked they looked every time you almost fell. They would scold you afterwards, though.

The initial fear you felt turned into comfort with their help. And finally, you were able to skate on your own. Though not as well as Himari and Kai, you could at least go from point A to point B.

"See? You were worried for nothing," Himari said.

Kai smiled proudly. "Of course she'd get the hang of it! It was all thanks to me."

"Oi, don't just take all the credit!"

"All you did was spout some random words. I actually helped her!"

Ah, yes. It would be odd if they didn't argue every hour.

"Wait, shut up for a second." Himari checked time. "I need to go. Hair appointment. We'll continue this conversion later."

The image of Himari calmly arriving home and then suddenly shouting at Kai so she could continue their argument was hilarious to you.

"Should we all head home then?" you asked. "I don't want to leave you alone."

Himari dismissively waved you off. "I'm not a kid. Besides, this was meant to be a day with you and my brother." She paused for a moment. "...We can hang out some other time."

You blinked, processing what she just said. "Wait, could you mean––"

"And now I'm out of here before you say something stupid."

If it weren't for the fact that you were still in the ice rink, you would've stopped the female and got her to elaborate. But that didn't stop the wide smile plastered on your face. She basically suggested a date. No one can change your mind. To think at the start she wouldn't even want to hold a conversation with you.

Snapping you out of your daze, Kai laughed. "You really like Himari, huh?"

"I mean, you as well. You both are great friends of mine." You smiled. "It's nice being around people you don't need to be wary of."

After a few more minutes of skating around, you and Kai left the rink and walked around for a while longer. One of the games caught your attention. Specifically, a shooting game. The rules were simple, shoot the bullseye at least three out of the five times to win a prize. The lady running the game appeared welcoming and people seemed to actually be winning the prizes, so you doubt the incident with the basketball would occur this time.

"Can I give it a try? I want to try and win you a prize."

"With one arm?"

"...You can do anything if you believe hard enough, right?"

"What if you let your friend help you?" The lady suggested.

You looked at her, surprised. "Seriously? That's allowed?"

She winked. "There are no written rules prohibiting it. I don't see why not."

You thanked her and picked up the gun with one hand. Kai helped you steady it and aim. At first, the proximity was fine as he was just helping you adjust. But when it came to aiming, he needed to get closer to see from your perspective. You held your breath at how close his face was to yours.

"Okay, fire now."

He didn't need to tell you twice. You pulled the trigger and hit a bullseye.

"Hey! We make a pretty good team!" you exclaimed.

"Hah! As if losing was an option with me here."

After four more successful attempts, Kai allowed you to shoot on your own.

"Don't make fun of me if I miss."

"Can't promise anything."

You did your best to aim at the bullseye. Surprisingly, without Kai's assistance, you didn't feel that unsteady. You pulled the trigger and managed to get a bullseye.

"Hey, I might actually be good at this!" you exclaimed.

"Pft, you just got lucky!"

"Congratulations!" The lady clasped her hands. "Oh! There's actually another prize if someone happens to get all five shots. Please wait a minute."

She walked to the back of the stall before coming out with a large plush. It was an adorable grey bunny holding a carrot. What was up with all the plushies today? You could build an empire at this point. Kai seemed to like it, so you agreed to take it as your prize. Thankfully, Himari offered to carry the bear plush home and return it to you at a later time or else carrying everything would be a huge hassle.

For the remainder of the time, you and Kai hung out at a cafe. Listening to him talk about his athletic accomplishments was a lot more entertaining than you anticipated. You didn't have much to say about yourself so you let him do most of the talking. Slowly, the conversation died down and you mainly focused on relaxing. You had a long day, after all.

Looking out the window beside you and saw the sun setting, an indicator that it was probably time to start heading home. You also noticed a Ferris wheel.

"Before we leave, can we go on the Ferris wheel?" you asked. "I bet the view up there will be pretty."

Kai didn't respond immediately. In fact, he seemed to be lost in thought for a moment.

"Sure."

Hm? He seems quieter than usual. I expected him to make a comment on how boring a Ferris wheel would be.

You would've shrugged the thought off if it weren't for the fact that he kept being unusually quiet when you left the cafe, during the walk to the Ferris wheel, and even when you were lining up. You tried recalling if you said or did something wrong, but you couldn't think of anything.

You entered the carriage and sat on the seat opposite of Kai.

Maybe he's tired? That was a little hard to believe considering he was an athlete.

"Hey, Kai. Is there something wrong?"

No response. He looked really lost in thought. Kai's chin rested on top of the plush and he hugged it close to his chest, his eyes looking out the carriage window with a contemplative look. This was certainly something different. Well, you wouldn't say you disliked it. Seeing him hold the plush so closely was kind of cute––you were just curious what was up with him.

You stood up and walked over to the window.

"Woah, we're already pretty high up," you mumbled.

Seeing the amusement park from this view was fun, especially since you could identify all the places you went to. But what really caught your attention was the sunset from this view. Something about seeing the beautiful orange glow that blended with a ting of red brought you a sense of comfort and tranquility. In fact, this past week has been nothing but comfortable. No deaths, no fear of someone getting injured, no dealing with annoyingly manipulative people; you just lived life as an ordinary high school student.

You began to feel a little emotional at the thought. Will you be able to return to a normal life after the game? What kind of past would you discover when you progressed further? Is it possible for a day to come where your biggest stressor was getting a job or passing an exam instead of preventing a death?

Just until graduation, (Y/n). You've got this.

"The sight is really pretty, huh?" you mumbled, not particularly looking for a response.

"...Not as pretty as you."

"..."

"...Shit."

Upon realising what he just said, Kai looked horrified. You, on the other hand, just stared at him with wide eyes. Did he just––??

"Uh––I. I can pretend to not have heard that and––" If it was someone like Kashi, you would've just brushed it off as teasing. But Kai? You never expected him to be the type to say that. "Don't worry! I won't take it the wrong way––"

The male shook his head. "Can you sit down for a sec?"

You nodded and sat down. When you faced Kai, you noticed a red hue on his cheeks and his eyes avoiding yours.

"Why the hell is this so difficult..." he mumbled. He sat up straight and placed a hand over his heart. "And this shit is beating so fast as well."

...He isn't––was he?

Your hands balled into a fist on your thighs and your mind was filled with questions. You waited in anticipation for the male to speak. A small sigh left Kai and he finally made eye contact with you.

"I..." A frustrated huff left him. "I like you, okay? There, I said it!" His blush grew deeper. "And don't you dare mistake it for it being platonic!"

"..."

"..."

He confessed?? He just confessed, right?!

Your mind went into overdrive and you did not trust yourself to give him a coherent response. You felt your own cheeks grow warm and your gaze went straight to the ground. When you took a peak at Kai, you saw that he was equally as embarrassed as you were, if not way more. He covered the lower half of his face with his hand and looked off to the side. Occasionally sneaking glances to see your reaction.

You mustered the courage to properly face him again. "Uh––I just. I have never been confessed to. Sorry, I don't know how to––"

"Don't apologise, I sprung this on you out of nowhere." Kai took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He looked a lot calmer, but his face was still red. He then chuckled. "Pft, I didn't expect you to get flustered."

"Wh––says you!"

"Well, duh! I just confessed!"

Hearing him actually admit that he confessed to you did not help settle your frantic heartbeat. "Okay, okay. Time out, time out!" You made very elaborate hand gestures to stop yourself from looking at Kai in the eyes.

Why did he confess to you? What about you does he like? Why did he choose now to confess? There were too many questions!

"Look, calm down. I'm not forcing you to answer me. I just wanted to tell you," he said and sheepishly rubbed his neck. "I mean, it's normal to tell someone your feelings, right? If you leave it to the last minute, you'll regret it. That's why...I wanted to tell you as soon as possible."

"I-I see." His logic made a lot of sense. "Uh, is it okay if you tell me why? I'm not doubting you or anything, of course! I just wonder what it is about me that...you know."

"Made me fall for you?"

"Please don't say it so bluntly, my heart is at risk here."

Kai chuckled at your words. "It's nothing complicated. You're open-minded, hanging out with you is fun, and you seem like a good person. At first, I only appreciated you as a friend, but when I thought about the idea of dating you..." He shyly looked away. "...Well, it didn't sound so bad."

Listening to Kai gave you some time to calm yourself down. Instead of being overly flustered, your heart melted at his words. "I...that's sweet of you." You smiled. "But..."

"You don't need to feel pressured to give me an answer right now if that's what you're worried about."

You smiled. "Thanks, but I have a feeling that it's going to be a while. How do I explain this..." After all, your biggest priority was to recover your lost memories. You couldn't afford to get involved in romance. "I have a lot going on at the moment and I can't exactly commit to a relationship. I can't give you a proper answer until I resolve it."

Kai nodded. "I literally just told you that you don't need to give me an answer right away."

"Like...until graduation."

He nodded again. "You're saying that like it's a problem."

"Seriously? It's really far away."

"(Y/n), I'm not entitled to you or anything. Isn't it common sense to respect your decisions? I just wanted you to know my feelings. And don't take this the wrong way, but my life doesn't revolve around my crush on you. I'm going to continue my life as it is. So don't feel any stress and continue with yours. When you feel like the time is right, give me your answer," he said. "Obviously, it'd be great if you accepted right now. But I can't force anything onto you. That's a dick move."

You nodded, his words brought relief to you. "Thanks for understanding. Oh, and sorry for the weird reaction earlier. Like I said before, I've never been confessed to. It surprised me."

"You've never been confessed to before? The hell? That's hard to believe."

You were speechless and Kai realised what he said.

"Sorry, I always say what's on my mind. Gets me into trouble sometimes."

"...Yeah, I noticed."

With perfect timing, the Ferris wheel descended. When you finally got out, you let out a huge sigh of relief. Way too much happened in there and you needed the fresh air to cool you down.

Romance, huh? You didn't know how to feel about it yet. Even if Kai said to not dwell on it, you can't help but wonder how a relationship would play out. What kind of partner would Kai be? In fact, were you in any relationships in your past life? Was the previous (Y/n) involved in any? Oh man, you hope a past ex doesn't show up. That'd be difficult to handle.

Kai tapped you on the shoulder. "Let's head home. It's getting dark so I'll drop you off."

You nodded. "Yup, sounds good to me."

Well, let's put those thoughts aside for the time being. Of course, you didn't forget that there were still two deaths you needed to prevent this chapter. One of them being Kai's. Tomorrow, school starts and the game resumes. Break time was over.