Chaapter 64 A small gift

And so, awhile later in the mall of District 4's shopping square, in the food court to be precise, Naoki and Miyubi were sitting at a table next to each other...

"I can't believe I said all that in front of Kurokami...and that he saw me with my "nerd" mode...he probably thinks I'm a weirdo now..." Naoki, that had her head placed on the table, said with a depressed tone, as she sighed.

"Come on, Nao-chan, I thought that what you said was pretty cool and it was really impressive that you decided to stay with Munesuki-sensei...and your not a weirdo and I don't believe that Kurokami-kun thinks that your one either!" Miyubi said with a reassuring and happy tone as she head patted Naoki.

"Miyu...there's just no way, that was "cool"! It was embarrassing and sounded super lame! Why didn't Munesuki-sensei told us that she was suspended, again? I could have avoided saying all that and looking like an idiot..." Naoki said with an angry but more embarrassing tone as she raised her head and looked at Miyubi.

"Well, if I had to guess, it was probably because of her health condition again..." Miyubi said with a faint depressed tone as she sighed, something that didn't last long...

"Sorry for the wait you two..." Tatsurou, that was holding two rectangular plastic trays in each hand, said as he got close to the table Naoki and Miyubi were sitting.

"Oh, Kurokami-kun! That was fast!" Miyubi said as she turned towards Tatsurou.

"Well, burgers are called fast food for a reason, right?" Tatsurou said with a joking tone as he smiled and placed a tray with two burger boxes, two smaller boxes with french fries, and two cups with soda in front of Naoki and Miyubi.

"That I can't deny...and thanks, Kurokami..." Naoki said as she rested her head on her right hand and let out a sigh.

"Say, Izumi, Shimaki...is everything alright, with Munesuki-san?" Tatsurou asked with a worried and curious tone as he looked at Naoki and Miyubi that were not in the highest of spirits.

"To be honest, we don't know either, Kurokami-kun...both Nao-chan and I were surprised to hear that Munesuki-sensei got suspended too and since she still came to school to give classes, we thought that everything was alright..." Miyubi said with a faint depressed tone, as she looked at Tatsurou placing a tray with one burger box, one small box with french fries, and one cup with soda on the other side of the table she and Naoki were facing.

"I see...I'm sorry for asking you about this so suddenly, but I got worried and a bit curious upon hearing, Captain Terima, saying that Munesuki-san got suspended and I got even more when she said "again"..." Tatsurou said with an apologetic tone as he scratched his cheek a bit.

"You don't have to apologize like that, Kurokami...it's only normal that you would get curious, but it's like Miyu just said, we're not sure what's wrong either...we guess that she asked for a suspension because of her health problem..." Naoki said also with a faintly depressed tone, as she leaned a bit back on her chair while crossing her arms.

"A health problem, really?" Tatsurou asked with a worried and curious tone as he pulled the chair on his side of the table.

"Yes, from what Munesuki-sensei told us she's got a heart problem called, angina, apparently it narrows the arteries of the heart and restricts its blood supply, causing the blood to clog up in the arteries, this, in turn, causes pain in the chest, arms, neck or stomach...and this all happens by doing strenuous tasks or by being under severe stress..." Naoki said with a faint sad and informative tone as she moved her right hand a bit.

"That's why Munesuki-sensei sometimes suspends her activities in the Soteria, this normally happens when the pain is too much to bear and she needs some time to recover from the accumulated stress..." Miyubi said also with a faint sad tone as she looked a bit down and this was, what Kaome and Yumeko came up and would tell everyone that asked about Emiko's repeated "suspensions", for all that mattered Emiko had a "health condition" that made her unable to work in the Soteria for extended periods of time, it was a lie, but it was necessary to let Emiko keep her job and hide the reason behind her suspensions, but this lie ate Emiko up quite a bit as she hated to lie, especially to people that look up to her like Naoki and Miyubi...

"I see...now this explains why, Yumeko, looked so down and tired this week..." Tatsurou thought as he finally took his seat.

"I wasn't expecting this...when I met Munesuki-san, I never thought for a second that she had a condition like that she looked like she could give away and sell health, to be honest..." Tatsurou said as he crossed his arms a bit.

"Munesuki-sensei tends to hide this problem from everyone and not let it take her life over...but it has become more persistent as of late..." Miyubi said again with a faint depressed tone, as she sighed.

"Honestly she could have told us...we can't do a lot...but we want to at least be there and help with whatever she might need..." Naoki said with a faint sad and angry tone as she also sighed, something that Tatsurou didn't let them do for too long...

"Well, I understand that you two are angry because no one told you about this and when the only thing you want to do is help and be there for Munesuki-san...but we also got to take her feelings into consideration here...she probably didn't tell you anything and asked everyone to keep it a secret, because she cares about you two and she just didn't want you to worry with her own problems...that's what I think at least..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone as he looked at Naoki and Miyubi.

"I won't deny what you just said Kurokami...but it's still a bit frustrating that no one told us and that we can't do anything to help..." Naoki said as she briefly smiled and Miyubi nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't put it like that Izumi...now that you know what's wrong, you should do your best to support Munesuki-san and help her with anything that might help her to recover faster...but knowing you two, I don't think that you need to be told to do that, right?" Tatsurou said with an encouraging tone as he tilted his head something that made both Naoki and Miyubi blush a bit.

"You're right, Kurokami, being angry won't solve anything and won't help Munesuki-sensei recover..." Naoki said as she sighed a bit.

"That's right, looks like the "Little recovery angels", are back in action, Nao-chan!" Miyubi said with a determined and excited tone as she clenched her hands, something that made Naoki look at her with an embarrassed expression.

"Huh? "Little recovery angels"? What's that Shimaki?" Tatsurou asked with a very curious tone, as he tilted his head.

"Well, that's what Munesuki-sensei calls us, when this usually happens with her, we usually spend a lot of time together and help Munesuki-sensei with whatever she might need...but in all honesty, it's mostly getting and giving lots of head pats and hugs to help her relax!" Miyubi said with an informative and happy tone, as she raised her index finger.

"I see..." Tatsurou said as he rubbed his chin and smiled.

"Miyu! S-Stop spouting nonsense, already! Kurokami, that's not true at all!" Naoki said with a very embarrassed tone, as she pointed at Miyubi.

"Heh? But it's true and your always the one that does the most and that get's more head pats than me!" Miyubi said with a very faint angry tone, as she pouted.

"T-That's not true at all and the head pats are always evenly given to both of us...!" As Naoki said this she briefly glanced at Tatsurou that smiled as he looked at her, this made Naoki blush again.

"I-I mean...we do this to help Munesuki-sensei and it's not like I enjoy getting head pats or hugs...but she insists on giving them and I feel that I shouldn't say no..." Naoki said with an embarrassed tone, as she looked away from Tatsurou and Miyubi.

"She's really bad at denying that she likes to be head patted..." Tatsurou and Miyubi thought as they briefly laughed.

"A-Anyways... let's... let us eat our food before it gets cold!" Naoki said with an angry but also embarrassed tone as she turned to the tray in front of her and Miyubi.

"Sure thing!" Tatsurou and Miyubi said as they looked at their respective trays and soon enough they began eating...

"Say, Shimaki-san, how's your injury?" Tatsurou asked with a worried and curious tone as he grabbed a few fries.

"Hmm? You don't need to worry, Kurokami-kun, it wasn't that bad of an injury and I might not look like it but I'm super tough!" Miyubi said with a reassuring tone that turned into a smug one as she flexed her arms a bit.

"I see...that's good to know!" Tatsurou said with a relieved tone as he smiled and ate the fries he was holding.

"You really don't need to worry! By the way, Kurokami-kun, if you don't mind me asking where did you learn that kick you gave to the Magician hunter?" Miyubi asked with a very curious tone as she grabbed her soda cup.

"I'm also curious about that ever since you told me about it, Miyu...so where did you learn something like that, Kurokami?" Naoki asked also with a curious tone as she rested her head on her hand.

"The kick I used? Oh, you mean the dropkick, I hit him with, right? Well, to be honest, I learned it from Yumeko..." Tatsurou said with a faintly embarrassed tone as she scratched his cheek a bit.

"Heh? Really?" Both Naoki and Miyubi asked at the same time.

"Yeah, Yumeko loves martial arts, especially wrestling and UFC...so I learned a few moves since she made watch fights with her, whenever she had to keep an eye on me when I was younger..." Tatsurou said still with his embarrassed tone as he looked a bit away from Naoki and Miyubi.

"I'm actually impressed that you can perform those kinds of moves without any prior training, to be honest..." Naoki said as she looked at Tatsurou eating some more fries.

"I did have a few chances to use them here and there, to know how to use them...! Wait, please don't get the wrong idea here, it's not like I was picking fights to get better at performing these moves!" Tatsurou said with a very embarrassed tone as he flailed his hands a bit, something that made Naoki and Miyubi giggled.

"Don't worry, we believe you, Kurokami...oh, I almost forgot here!" Naoki said as she grabbed the small box with french fries and placed some in Tatsurou's tray, surprising him a bit.

"What are you..." As Tatsurou said this he was interrupted by Naoki.

"This my way of thanking you for helping me and Miyu from getting into trouble with our gym teacher earlier today..." Naoki said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as she placed the small box she was holding on her tray again.

"That's right! Here Kurokami, have some of mine too!" Miyubi said with a happy tone, as she did the same as Naoki and gave some fries to Tatsurou.

"Come on, you don't need to thank me..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone as he scratched the back of his head.

"Listen if you didn't do that we would have gotten both into trouble and late for our meeting, so just accept it, ok?" Naoki said as she grabbed her cup and drank a bit from it.

"Ok I'll accept it...but say, won't you two get in trouble tomorrow?" Tatsurou asked more worried than curious.

"Well, if I had to guess, Kobayashi-sensei, won't tell the other teachers, but she's going to make the next gym class, hell on earth..." Naoki said with a depressed tone as she stooped drinking and sighed.

"Hell on earth, really?" Tatsurou asked with a curious and worried tone.

"Yes, usually when someone in Misaiko causes trouble, the teachers make collective punishments, in a way, it's to deter anyone from causing trouble since everyone gets punished in the end, so we all tend to do our best to "keep our noses clean" as the principal likes to say..." Miyubi said also with a depressed tone as she sighed.

"I think Yumeko told me about it once...but isn't this going a bit too far?" Tatsurou asked as he took a bite from his burger.

"Well that's what's to be expected of a private and renown school such as Misaiko, but I have to agree that it's is unfair with the way they do these punishments by making everyone go through it, even the ones that didn't do anything..." Naoki said as she let out another sigh.

"Then we probably shouldn't have run away then, huh? Since your classmates will get in trouble because of it..." Tatsurou said with a guilty tone, as he scratched his cheek a bit.

"Don't worry staying or running away wouldn't have changed a lot and both Miyu and I are used to these punishments thanks to the other troublesome girls, so don't ruin your head thinking about it too much...but speaking of which, I'm a bit surprised with you, Kurokami..." Naoki said as she tried to change the topic a bit.

"Your...surprised?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he tilted his head.

"I mean, we just got our reward and you already went and bought something a bit expensive...honestly you didn't strike me as the type of a person to spend money he just received..." Naoki said with a faint mischievous tone, as she grabbed some fries again and looked at Tatsurou's school bag.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Izumi, I just have been thinking about buying this for someone for a while now and since we got that reward, I thought, "why not buy it now"...and as for the rest of the reward I'll save up, since you never know when you'll need it, right?" Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone, which turned into a reassuring one as he scratched the back of his head.

"I see...wait! Buying this for someone? Does it mean, that's it's not for you?" Naoki asked with a very curious tone, as she placed her hands on the table.

"W-Well...yes, this is a gift for someone..." Tatsurou said as he briefly blushed.

"A gift, I see...but I have to say, a gift this expensive is bound to be to someone very important, right, Kurokami?" Naoki said with a very smug tone as she smiled and glanced at Tatsurou, that blushed upon realizing that perhaps he shouldn't have bought this "gift" in front of Naoki and Miyubi or telling them that it was meant for someone, to begin with.

"So, Kurokami, mind filling me and Miyu about this, hmm?" Naoki asked with a curious and mischievous tone as she smiled, at a very embarrassed Tatsurou.

"I...I-I mean...well..." Tatsurou said as he looked to all sides trying to find a way to get out of this situation, while Naoki kept looking at him with a suspicious look on her face.

"Come on, Nao-chan! You can't point your finger at Kurokami-kun for having bought something expensive for someone, when you bought me that exclusive Fruits basket manga box set on my birthday or that time when..." Miyubi said with a faint angry tone as she looked at Naoki while pouting.

"Alright, I get it Miyu! No need to tell that to everyone about the gifts I gave you, jeez..." Naoki said with an embarrassed tone as she moved her hands in a way to stop Miyubi from saying anything else.

"Good! Now, what else do you need to do?" Miyubi asked as she crossed her arms.

"I know...I'm sorry being so forceful, Kurokami..." Naoki said with an apologetic tone as she briefly bowed towards Tatsurou.

"It's ok, Izumi! It's only normal that you got curious..." Tatsurou said as he laughed a bit, but he stooped as he looked at Miyubi that gave him a thumbs up, without Naoki noticing, something that made Tatsurou blush.

"D-Don't tell me that Miyubi found out something?!" Tatsurou thought a bit panicked as he looked at Miyubi, that for a matter of fact didn't found anything, she just didn't want, Naoki to bother him about it.

"It's already a bit late, so why don't we finish up eating and go home?" Naoki asked as she looked at Tatsurou and Miyubi that nodded, as they proceeded to eat their food...

And so a bit later after they ate and cleaned the table, Tatsurou, Naoki and Miyubi were now close to the Monorail station, in front of the shopping square...

"What a day! Thanks for inviting us, Kurokami-kun!" Miyubi said with a happy tone as she stretched a bit.

"Same here, Kurokami!" Naoki said also with a happy tone as she smiled.

"No need to thank me, we needed to do this to celebrate our hard work, right?" Tatsurou said as he laughed a bit.

"With that, I have to agree!" Naoki said as she also laughed.

"Well then, see you..." Tatsurou said as he turned towards the Monorail station, but he was stooped by Naoki.

"Kurokami, hold on a second..." Naoki said as she got close to Tatsurou.

"What is it, Izumi?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he turned around and looked at Naoki.

"It's about...what I said earlier in the meeting today...I well...I really meant it...when I said that I'm going to stay with Munesuki-sensei when she comes back and...the other thing...about all those bad things I did and said..." Naoki said with an embarrassed tone, as she fidgeted a bit.

"We already talked about it the other day in the hospital didn't we, Izumi? What happened between us, when we met is water under the bridge for me now and I understand a bit why you acted like that, suddenly having someone trying to take your chance of training under the wings of your idol, I would be a little angry too, to be fair..." Tatsurou said as he scratched his cheek a bit.

"So you don't need to say sorry all the time or feel bad about what happened it's ok and I'm happy that we're friends now!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone as he placed his hand on top of Naoki's head and gently head patted her, something that surprised both Naoki and Miyubi.

"Crap! I'm so used to do this to Shirayuki or Marie that I did it to Naoki without thinking!" Tatsurou thought as he quickly took his hand off from Naoki's head.

"I-I'm sorry, Izumi..." Tatsurou said with an apologetic tone as he looked at Naoki that blushed a bit.

"No need to say sorry like that it's ok, Kurokami..." Naoki said as she looked a bit away from Tatsurou.

"I-I see..." Tatsurou said as he scratched his cheek.

"This was unexpected again..." Tatsurou thought as he also looked a bit away from Naoki, but it didn't last long...

"Ahem! But kurokami, you better not get all that comfortable with Kuroiwa-san! When Munesuki-sensei comes back, I'll go back to her just like I said, but once I'm finally ready and deserving of being Kuroiwa-san's Intern, I'll come back to her for good, you hear!" Naoki said with a determined tone as she pointed with her fist at Tatsurou and smiled.

"I see, but you don't need to worry about it I don't plan on keeping Yumeko all to myself, so I can't wait to have you on the team!" Tatsurou said also with a determined tone as he closed his right hand and in the blink of an eye, Tatsurou and Naoki gave each other a fist bump.

"Now this, how it should have been from the start!" Miyubi thought as she looked at Tatsurou and Naoki and a smile appeared on her face, but this moment wouldn't last long...

"Oh! And Kurokami about what happened in the hospital the other day when you carried me..." Naoki said with an angry tone as she looked at Tatsurou that jolted upon hearing her.

"W-Wait, Izumi!!" Tatsurou said as he slowly backed away from Naoki that grabbed his right wrist.

"If you're a man, you take your punishment like one!" As Naoki said this, Tatsurou briefly closed his eyes and Naoki pulled him close, but when he opened them again, Naoki had her head close to Tatsurou's ear.

"Kurokami...if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have had the courage to talk to Miyu again and I would have done a very terrible mistake because of it...so...thanks for doing that and also sorry..." As Naoki said this she let go of Tatsurou that was quite surprised with this turn of events but it didn't last long as Naoki, hit him with a gentle head-flick.

"And you better not do that again, you hear me, Kurokami!!" Naoki said with an angry tone, as she gave Tatsurou a wink.

"Sure thing...Izumi..." Tatsurou said as he rubbed his forehead a bit while he smiled.

"Well then, see ya around!" Naoki said as she turned her back and walked towards Miyubi.

"See you, Kurokami-kun!" Miyubi said with a happy tone as she waved at Tatsurou.

"Same here, see you one of these days Izumi, Shimaki!" Tatsurou said as he also waved at Naoki and Miyubi that were soon enough on their way home.

"Well then...time to go home..." Tatsurou said as he turned towards the Monorail station but he suddenly stooped and blushed a bit.

"I'm a bit nervous about giving this to Shirayuki...but what am I thinking, it's just a gift, she deserves it and it's something that she'll need, above all else! And now that I think about it there's another place I need to go..." Tatsurou said with a determined tone, as he turned towards the shopping square again and meanwhile not too far...

"Say, Nao-chan, what did you tell Kurokami-kun, before we parted ways?" Miyubi, that was walking next to Naoki asked with a curious tone, as she tilted her head.

"Nothing special...just gave him a friendly warning to not do what he did in the hospital to me ever again..." Naoki said with an embarrassed tone, as she looked a bit away from Miyubi.

"Come on, Nao-chan...was it really that bad, to be princess carried by Kurokami-kun?" Miyubi asked as she let out a sigh.

"W-Well...it wasn't bad...but it was pretty embarrassing! The people in the hallway and the nurses were all looking at us and some were saying things like "cute" and "funny"..." Naoki said with a very embarrassed tone as she blushed.

"I understand...but you were really lucky, I wouldn't have minded being carried like that..." Miyubi said with a faint sad tone, as she let out a sigh.

"Well, Kurokami did carry you like that to the ambulance when...h-hold on, you what!?" Naoki asked with a shocked tone as she turned looked at Miyubi.

"Fufu, I'm just kidding, Na-o-chan!" Miyubi said with a joking tone as she placed her arms around her stomach and laughed, Naoki just pouted as she looked away.

"Oh, don't be angry Nao-chan! I only have eyes for you!" Miyubi said with a very happy tone as she gave Naoki a tight hug.

"W-What kind of nonsense are you spouting here! What's so good about me, anyway?" Naoki asked with an embarrassed and angry tone as she tried to get out of Miyubi's grasp to no avail.

"Well, your a good person at heart despite not showing it, you always do your best, you apologize when you make mistakes and do your best to get better, so they never happen again...and being small, cute and super hug-gable is just a plus! Do you want me to continue?" Miyubi asked as she looked at Naoki that was blushing even more than before.

"S-Shut up..." Naoki said with a very embarrassed tone as she looked down.

"Miyu has been acting like this ever since we talked that day in the hospital...but she's so happy about it...and to be fair, I don't dislike it either..." Naoki said as she briefly looked at Miyubi, then away.

"Ok, ok, I get it...but can you please let go of me Miyu? I can't walk like this..." Naoki said with an embarrassed tone and soon enough Miyubi stooped hugging her.

"Finally, now let's...what are you doing?" As Naoki said this she looked at Miyubi that was now holding her hand.

"Say can't we walk home like this, Nao-chan?" Miyubi said with a happy tone as she looked at Naoki.

"I don't mind if you don't mind either...oh, by the way, do you want to stay over at my place today?" Naoki asked as she began walking with Miyubi holding her hand tight.

"I would love to, but you have to first let me go grab a few things at my place!" Miyubi said with a happy tone, as she smiled.

"You're saying that as if our homes were in different Districts..." Naoki said as she let out a sigh while she and Miyubi kept making their way home...

Meanwhile, in Tatsurou's apartment, in the kitchen to be exact...

"Say, Marie, did Tatsurou say around which time he would come home?" Shirayuki, that was wearing her usual Shrine maiden clothes with an apron over them, asked as she stirred the pot with a wooden spoon while she looked at Marie, that was sitting at the table tapping away on her phone.

"He wasn't sure...he did say around 18:00 pm...but it's already 19:45 pm..." Marie, that was wearing her sailor fuku with an apron over it and nun's habit on her head, said as she looked at her phone, then at Shirayuki.

"I see...I just hope that meeting went well...but say Marie you have been fumbling around your phone and smiling for a while now, what are you watching?" Shirayuki asked a bit curious as she turned the flames in the stove a bit down while looking at Marie that jolted a bit.

"I-I'm just playing a new game here...yes...a game!" Marie said with a nervous tone as she pulled her phone close to her chest.

"Really, you're just playing a game?" Shirayuki asked with a suspicious tone as she tilted her head and for a moment Marie became silent.

"Ok...you caught me Shirayuki, come here..." Marie said as she gently patted the chair next to her.

"You promise you won't be angry, Shirayuki?" Marie asked a bit nervous as she looked at Shirayuki taking her seat.

"Now I'm a bit scared..." Shirayuki said with a joking tone as she smiled.

"It's nothing to be scared about...but it's better to show than to tell, so here..." Marie said as she showed her phone to Shirayuki that had a picture of Tatsurou sitting at his desk in school while he rested his head on his right hand as he looked out the window of the classroom and for a moment silence reigned as Shirayuki saw this.

"Marie..." Shirayuki said with an angry tone, that made Marie jolt as she looked away from Shirayuki.

"You should be paying attention in class, Marie! Not take pictures! Or do I have to confiscate your phone now?" Shirayuki said with an angry tone, befitting of a mother scolding their child, as she looked at a shocked Marie.

"T-That's what you're angry about?! Wait, wait, no! You got it all wrong, Shirayuki, I would never slack off in class! You see, during lunchtime, I went to the bathroom and when I came back I saw Tatsurou like that and I just couldn't resist taking a picture...I'm sorry about not telling you earlier...but I was going to, I swear!" Marie said with an embarrassed tone as she fidgeted around a bit.

"It's ok Marie, I was just worried that you wouldn't be paying attention in class! You should always pay attention, alright?" Shirayuki said as she briefly pointed at Marie.

"I know and I'll do that don't worry...but now Shirayuki, tell me...what do you think of this picture?" Marie asked with a curious tone as she looked away then back.

"Well...what can I say...Tatsurou looks so cool and dreamy!" Shirayuki said with a pleased tone, as she placed her hand on her cheek and her ahoge wiggled around.

"I know right? I just couldn't resist taking it when I saw Tatsurou like that but I have to admit that the picture was really hard to take and I almost got found out by a group of girls in our class that came talking to me...but it was worth it!" Marie said also with a pleased tone she placed her hands on her cheeks.

"With that, I have to agree! But you're so lucky, Marie, since you have a phone you can have a picture of Tatsurou like this..." Shirayuki said with a sad tone as he ahoge drooped a bit.

"I'm so sorry, I completely forgot that you don't have a phone, Shirayuki...but worry not, I'll go to a photo printer and print this photo for you no problem!" Marie said with an apologetic tone that turned into a reassuring one as she head patted Shirayuki.

"R-Really, you can do that? But wait! What if Tatsurou finds out?" Shirayuki asked with a worried tone, but her wiggling ahoge told otherwise.

"Don't worry you just have to hide it well and we're golden!" Marie said with a happy tone as she kept head patting Shirayuki but it didn't last long as the door of the apartment opened.

"I'm home!" Tatsurou said as he entered the apartment and both Shirayuki and Marie just jolted as they juggled the phone around to each other.

"Hey, you two...what's wrong?" Tatsurou asked as he entered the kitchen and saw Shirayuki and Marie pale as ghosts.

"N-Nothing...we were just watching one of those scary videos on the internet..." Marie said with a nervous tone as she placed her phone close to her chest, Shirayuki just nodded in agreement.

"I see...must have been a really scary one then..." Tatsurou said as he laughed a bit.

"It wasn't that scary...but tell us how did the meeting go, Tatsurou?" Shirayuki asked as she got up from her chair.

"How did it went? Hmm...well pretty much like Yumeko said but it had a few unexpected moments..." Tatsurou said as he scratched the back of his head.

"I see...but you can tell us about it, while we eat dinner!" Shirayuki said as she turned towards the stove but she was stooped by Tatsurou.

"W-Wait Shirayuki...before we eat dinner...here..." Tatsurou said as he went inside his school bag and fumbled around in it for a bit until he took out a small box wrapped in gift wrap.

"For me? What is it?" Shirayuki asked as she moved the box around a bit.

"You're not going to know until you open it right?" Marie said as she laughed a bit and with that Shirayuki began to slowly un-warp the box.

"T-Tatsurou this is..." Shirayuki said with a surprised tone as she looked at the box that contained a brand new pink phone for her.

"Yes, it's a phone and it's the same model as Marie's that's simple to use, do you like it?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he looked a bit way from Shirayuki.

"I like it...but Tatsurou...you shouldn't be wasting money like this..." Shirayuki said with a worried tone, as she looked a bit down.

"Don't worry about it, I have been thinking about buying you one for a while now and since today I got my reward from the mission Yumeko gave me, I decided to buy it! And after all, not being able to call you when there's a problem is quite troubling, and also you help around the house a lot, so please accept it!" Tatsurou said as he briefly head patted Shirayuki.

"I understand but..." As Shirayuki said this she got interrupted by Marie.

"Come on, Shirayuki, Tatsurou's right! You do a lot here and a phone is something useful to have! And aren't you happy that we got matching ones?" Marie asked as she hugged Shirayuki.

"I'm happy, but still..." Shirayuki said as she looked a bit down.

"Now you're just being stubborn!" Marie said as she pouted a bit and Tatsurou just smiled as he saw this.

"Oh! And by the way Marie...this here is for you..." Tatsurou said as he reached for his school bag again and handed a gift bag to Marie.

"You got me something too? You didn't need to do that Tatsurou..." Marie said a bit embarrassed as she stooped hugging Shirayuki and gently grabbed the bag.

"Come on Marie, it's ok, just open it!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone as he looked at Marie opening the bag from which she took a plush doll of Kuriyama from the beyond the boundary anime.

"I-I can't believe it, you got me a Kuriyama plushie!" Marie said with a very happy tone as she looked at the doll then at Tatsurou.

"Well, you told me the other day that Kuriyama was your favorite character and when I went to buy the phone I saw a store selling it and I couldn't resist..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone as he looked a bit away.

"You really didn't need to give something...and I don't even know what to say..." Marie said a bit embarrassed as she blushed.

"It's ok and it's like I told Shirayuki you also help a lot around the house and you help me a lot by teaching me about magic, so don't think too much about it and accept it, ok?" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone as he briefly head patted Marie.

"We understand...but even so giving us something like this when we don't have anything to give back..." As Marie said this, Shirayuki followed suit.

"Feels really bad..." Shirayuki said with a worried tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.

"I already said it's ok and you don't have to worry about it!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone as he smiled, but it was in that moment that Shirayuki and Marie glanced at each other, before getting close to Tatsurou and placing her arms around his torso and hugging him, something that surprised Tatsurou quite a bit.

"S-Shirayuki! M-Marie! What's wrong?!" Tatsurou asked with an embarrassed and worried tone as he looked at Shirayuki and Marie.

"Nothings wrong!" Marie said as she hugged Tatsurou a bit tighter.

"We're just thanking you for giving us this!" Shirayuki said as she also hugged Tatsurou a bit tighter.

"Thank you, Tatsurou!" Shirayuki and Marie said at the same time as they kept hugging Tatsurou.

"I-I see..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone, as he looked a bit away from Shirayuki and Marie as they kept hugging him a bit longer.

"S-Sorry...for hugging you for so long..." Shirayuki and Marie said as they stooped hugging Tatsurou.

"I-It's ok..." Tatsurou said as he did his best to not show how happy he was for getting a hug like this and so a sudden silence filled the room.

"W-Well then, how about we go and place our gifts in our room so we can eat, Shirayuki? Marie said as she placed her hands together while she looked at Shirayuki.

"Y-Yes let's do that...Tatsurou you don't mind setting the table?" Shirayuki asked as she looked at Tatsurou that jolted a bit.

"S-Sure, no problem..." Tatsurou said as he nodded a bit and with that Shirayuki and Marie grabbed her gifts and went to their room and when he was finally alone.

"I wasn't expecting to get hugged like that..." Tatsurou said while he placed his schoolbag on one of the chairs while letting out a sigh.

"I seriously thought that my heart would jump out of my chest from beating so much...I just hope they didn't hear it..." Tatsurou said as he made his way towards the cupboards to take out the plates and cups.

"But then again...that hug felt really good...I wish it lasted a bit longer...!" Tatsurou thought as he opened the cupboard but he stooped as he replayed the last thing he just thought in his head and the next thought he had was a big mental scream.

"W-What the hell am I even thinking? It was a simple hug to thank me and here I am thinking about how I wanted it to be longer! Just drop dead, Tatsurou, you moron!" Tatsurou thought as he placed his hands in front of his face and blushed...

And meanwhile, in Shirayuki's and Marie's room...

"Marie...do you think that hugging Tatsurou was a bit too much?" Shirayuki asked with a worried tone as she placed the box with her phone on the desk, next to the bed.

"Well...he gave us a gift and when someone gives you a gift you tend to hug that person, right? So I think we're in the safe here! Oh, you don't mind that if I put Kuriyama next to Amaya-chan?" Marie asked as she got close to the wooden drawer and pointed at Shirayuki's wolf plushie.

"I don't mind, now she'll have some company!" Shirayuki said as her ahoge wiggled around a bit.

"But Marie I'm still worried about that hug...my heart was beating so much...what if Tatsurou heard it?" Shirayuki asked with a worried tone as she blushed while she placed her hands on her cheeks.

"I don't think that's how it works, Shirayuki...but now that you mention it, mine was beating fast too...but, be honest whit me that's not the only thing, that's bothering you, right?" Marie asked as she finished placing her plushie next to Shirayuki's.

"Well...I'm still a bit worried about Tatsurou buying me a phone...their expensive, right? I...I just don't want Tatsurou to waste money like that on me when he might need it..." Shirayuki said with a worried and embarrassed tone as she looked down and intertwined her fingers.

"Shirayuki...I understand that you don't want Tatsurou to waste money, but he's kind of right, a phone is something useful to have around these days...he said it himself when I got mine..." Marie said as she got close to Shirayuki.

"And you also have to remember that he bought it because he got his reward from helping on that mission, he didn't really waste money and it's something that you needed, so please don't be worried about it, ok?" Marie said with a reassuring tone as she placed her hands on Shirayuki's shoulders.

"I know...but still using something so expensive, what if I break it?" Shirayuki asked with a worried tone as she looked at Marie.

"Come on Shirayuki, your not gonna do with the phone the same thing as that summer dress that Tatsurou gave you, right?" Marie asked with a stoic worried tone as she sighed, something that made Shirayuki blush a bit.

"Listen, Shirayuki, your always careful with everything you handle, so I'm sure you won't break it, to be honest, I think that this phone is the safest it can be in your hands, no questions asked!" Marie said with a reassuring tone, as she gently hugged Shirayuki.

"Thanks, Marie..." Shirayuki said as she blushed and held Marie's arms, but this tender moment wouldn't last long...

"And I have to admit, this was some good timing since now I can send you that picture I took of Tatsurou without a problem!" Marie said with a happy tone as she stooped hugging Shirayuki, that upon hearing her blushed while her ahoge pointed upwards.

"M-Marie...t-that's a bit..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone as she looked to all sides.

"You don't need to be embarrassed like that and if you think about it, it's safer to have Tatsurou's picture on the phone than having it printed and hiding it and you can look at it whenever you want!" Marie said as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, that I can't deny..." Shirayuki said as she smiled and her ahoge wiggled around a bit.

"Well now that this is done, let's go and eat dinner and after it, Tatsurou and I will help you setting your phone up!" Marie said with a reassuring tone as she grabbed Shirayuki's hand.

"I can't wait to do that!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone, as she and Marie began to make their way to the kitchen...