Affection Part 3 - Affirmation

Caution: This fiction contains mild violence and sexual references that may be inappropriate to younger readers, if you are easily offended Do not read this, I take no responsibility for your actions as a result. Most of the dialog in this book is considered to be in Japanese, as its set in Japan and all the character's speak Japanese. Don't be put off by phrases like "My English is very bad" Written in English, its actually supposed to be Japanese. Of course, Sometimes I will use Japanese words, because I like them. There will be a completely glossary of all the Japanese 'Romanji' words I use at the end.

<><><>

Affection. A warm story in a cold part of Japan.

Part 3 - Affirmation

By Dare Richardson.

<><><>

Nate woke up, and strangely enough for him, he wasn't tired. He just awoke and was ready to go. Nate thought for a second, not sure of why he had this sudden change, whether it was this new life or just excitement for moving in to his new house. Either way he liked it. He took the pile of towels that had been left outside his door, and headed towards the bathroom.

<><><>

Tohya was surprised. For the first time in over a year she felt no need to stay in her bed. Despite the coldness of the fall morning, she couldn't just close her eyes and roll over like she had done so many times before. She swung her legs around and sat on the edge of her bed, still disorientated by her apparent willingness to rise. Tohya understood though, she was anxious. Anxious to get to work. Another amazing feat for her, considering she hated almost all the aspects of her job. She looked towards the shower. 'I bet he is hungry...' She thought trivially.

<><><>

As Nate placed his futon back into the Oshiire, he was startled by a knock at his door. Looking down he saw he was respectable after his shower. He had his clothes on, and a towel wrapped around his head, in the same way most girls do. Nate closed his Oshiire and crossed the room. He took another quick glance around before opening the door, to find Tohya standing in the doorway, with a small paper bag in her hand. She was dressed in a loose pair of black jeans with a metal studded belt. Over her shoulders was a plain dark purple T-shirt, and her hair was held up in 2 metallic chopsticks.

"Ohayoo Gozaimasu!" Nate said with surprise.

"Ohayoo Gozaimasu..." Tohya drawled. She stepped into the room past Nathan. "I thought you might be hungry." She said, sitting cross-legged on the Tatami floor. Nate scratched the back of his head, and a growl from his stomach answered her. He crossed the room and joined her on the floor. Tohya pulled open the bag and produced a box of donuts, and a couple of large cartons of orange juice.

"Wow, so do you run a pastry delivery service?" Nate teased as he jammed half a donut into his mouth. Tohya just raised a slim eyebrow at him and sighed. She picked up one of the donuts and began to eat it, though she just nibbled at the topping first. Nate watched her, enthralled, as she finished the topping and then began to eat the rest of the donut. "How odd..." He said with a smile. Tohya just shrugged and half smiled again.

"Did you sleep better last night?" Tohya asked. Nate nodded as he finished of his donut and slurped from one of the cartons of orange juice. Tohya giggled a little at seeing this. Her hand once again covered her mouth, half to stop Nate seeing her smile, but also to stop herself spraying Nate’s room with half chewed donut. Nate smiled again.

"I gotta work on getting you to smile today, too..." Nate said. Tohya just shook her head with another strange half smile.

"I'll smile when I feel like it..." She said, casting a glance around Nate’s room. She saw a small rucksack and a laptop computer bag. "Is... that all you brought with you?" She asked with disbelief. Nate just nodded again.

"I didn't think I'd need much stuff..." Nate tried to explain, half wishing he had come slightly more prepared. Tohya just finished her carton of orange and stood up.

"Come on, we have half an hour before work, lets get you moved into your new house." She half smiled again. Nate picked up the rubbish from breakfast, and stood up. He walked across the room and picked up his laptop bag, while Tohya picked up his small rucksack and slung it over her incredibly slender shoulders.

Nate opened the door and Tohya walked in front of him. Nate threw the trash into a recycling bin and they walked out of the Ryokan. Nate stood looking around for a second before he saw Tohya's face break into another half smile.

"You have no idea where you are, do you?" Tohya giggled again. Nate just shrugged.

"Well, you showed me the house, and we turned right out of the bookstore. So we go this way." Nate deduced. Tohya half smiled again. She shook her head.

"This road is a big circle," Tohya said. She turned left and began to walk. Nate followed, an in almost a second, he saw his new house. "They seemed further away, didn't they?" Tohya asked. Nate nodded. They both crossed the quiet street and walked up the stony path to the house. Tohya pushed open the door and they both stepped inside. Tohya again clutched onto Nate's shoulder for balance as she removed her shoes and placed on the white slippers in the Genkan. Tohya then stepped up and placed his bag by his room. Nate stepped up onto the main area of the house and placed his laptop by his door.

"Wow... Moving has never been so easy..." Nate said with a smile. Tohya half smiled before unzipping Nate's bag. "Hey!!" He protested, But Tohya had already opened it. The smell of dirty clothes came to her nostrils and she screwed up her face.

"Stinky..." She said. "These need washing..." Tohya stood up and picked up the bag.

"Hey, I can do that!" Nate protested again. Tohya just half smiled.

"Oh really? Would you care to point me to your washing machine then?" Tohya asked with a tone of superiority. Nate just scratched the back of his head. "I thought so." She zipped up the bag and flung it over her shoulders again. "Come on" She beckoned with one finger, before leaving the house. Nate followed her obediently, but to his amazement, He saw a familiar face in the neighbors garden.

<><><>

Nathan stared in amazement at the man stood at around 6'4 the one who held the same determined look on his face, that showed some obvious experience in spite of his young age. His hair was red and spiked up and dressed in what looked like a tunic, or some kind of martial arts garb. Tohya walked over towards him with a quick hello and a wave. Nate made to follow her. As they reached him, he bowed deeply. Nate and Tohya returned the bow, and it was only when the man stood up, did he recognize Nate for the man at the airport.

"We met a couple of days ago!" The red head man said, though it was stated as a question. Nate nodded,

"In the airport terminal." Nate seemed to finish for him. The man nodded and gave another bow.

"Arigato Gozaimasu." He said. Nate just smiled as Tohya looked at him with an inquisitive look on her face. "My name is Hattouri, may I enquire as to your names?" He asked incredibly politely, Nate and Tohya were taken aback by his level of politeness. They looked towards each other for a second before turning back to Hattouri.

"I am Nate, and This is Tohya" He introduced with a wave of his hand. Hattouri nodded again.

"Tohya-San," He nodded to her before turning his bow to Nathan. "Nait-Sama" He said, before straightening up. Nate smiled at him. "What brings you to this part of Japan?" The redheaded man of honor asked.

"I live here now." Nate explained by pointing towards his house. "I just got a job in the bookshop around the corner." Hattouri smiled. "What took you to England?"

"My work. I am a bodyguard. I was in charge of security for the England tour of Japanese fashion idol Tohya-Hime!" He said proudly. At the name he mentioned, Tohya half gasped, half sighed. "Do you know her?" He asked Tohya.

"Hai, My sister, Kasumi. How was she?" Tohya said, Nate looked towards Tohya suspiciously. '...A sister with all the looks...' He thought back. 'How could someone look better than her?' He thought with a slight smile. He would have never admitted it to her, But he thought Tohya was incredibly pretty, despite her incredibly slight frame.

"Tohya-Hime was doing well. She is just resting for now." Hattouri explained.

"Did you like England?" Tohya asked. Hattouri looked at Nathan slightly before shaking his head and hands at the same time.

"I do not wish to insult Nait-Sama's homeland." He said with a strange look in his eyes.

"Seems like he hates it almost as much as I do." Nate joked, Tohya giggled and covered her smiled again, though this time she wasn't fast enough. Nate caught a glimpse of her smile before she hid it. It was an incredible smile, that lit up Tohya's entire face. Her eyes widened with it, and revealed there deep blue colour beautifully. But all too soon, it was covered and vanished before Nate’s eyes. Hattouri laughed.

"I... all the people there were so rude..." Hattouri explained as Tohya looked down at her watch. She grabbed Nate’s shoulder.

"Were late!!!" She warned. Nate gasped. "We have to go now, Hattouri-san!" Tohya explained. Hattouri bid them farewell as they started to walk down the road to work.

<><><>

Despite being late, they both walked at a leisurely pace down the road. Tohya shrugged the backpack onto her shoulders to make it rest more comfortably. "That guy was a real screwball!" Tohya said with a half smile. Nate looked towards her as he laughed.

"He isn't that bad..." Nate defended. "Maybe a little odd..." He continued to look at the strange half smile that she had on her face. Her blue eyes were shining a little in the morning sun and despite the coldness, Nate felt a little warm.

"You just like him because he called you Sama..." Tohya teased a little. Nate shrugged as they turned around the corner onto the bookshop's street.

"That too..." He smiled. Tohya giggled again, only this time Nate was facing forwards, so he didn't see that Tohya didn't cover her smile. As they arrived outside the bookshop Tohya turned to him.

"Wait here, I'll go put your clothes in. I need to get the keys too." And Tohya disappeared around the corner. Nate stared off into the sunrise and looked back. In the last 8 months, even with the ridiculous royalties he got from the Samurai power cartoon, even with the money and the occasional women that came with it, he had never been as happy as he was in this small village. He smiled to himself when an angry voice pieced his thoughts.

"Why haven't you opened yet?!" Nate turned to see the short man who had been gracious enough to employ him. Nate smiled.

"Hello, Shoda-san. Umm, Tohya just ran upstairs to get the keys." And as soon as his words finished, Tohya dashed back around the corner with a key ring in her hand. Her blue eyes rolled as she saw Shoda. She walked forwards and unlocked the doors.

"Were 2 minutes late, Gonna fire us both?" Tohya asked sarcastically. Shoda just grumbled as they all stepped inside. Nate instantly began placing some new boxes on the shelves. Tohya sat down grumpily behind the counter and switched on the till. Shoda grunted again.

"You 2 better make sure you sell plenty today!" He said angrily before he left the building. Tohya sighed again before taking a sheet of paper from a pile and sketching something. Nate began to whistle a tune. After a few seconds of whistling to the enchanting melody Tohya looked up.

"What’s that?" She asked. Nate just shrugged without turning around.

"Its the first Thing I wrote. Never really gave it a name." Nate explained. Tohya looked down to her drawing and carried on.

"Its cute..." She said as the bell rang, announcing a customer. Nate noticed that Tohya almost smiled when the woman, with short black hair and a thick pair of glasses came into the shop. She was dressed in a loose white shirt and short pencil skirt. Tohya stood up and crossed the room.

"Tanabe!" Tohya said as she gave her a hug. The girl returned it with a sweet, yet strangely nervous smile. "Your back!"

"Yeah," The girls voice came. It was a slightly shaky and held the same nervous tone as her smile. "Thought I'd come and see how your doing. I need a new book too!" She said. Suddenly she looked up at Nathan. "I thought customers weren't allowed on the ladders." Tohya giggled and covered her mouth, while Nate hopped down from the ladder.

"This is Nate. He is the new help here." Tohya explained. Nate bowed to Tanabe, as she dipped back.

"I'm Tanabe," She explained.

"I'm Nathan Fielding. Its nice to meet you, Tanabe-san!" He said.

"Nathan Fielding aren't you.." She was halted when Tohya shot an elbow into her ribs. She put on a half smile.

"Yeah, he wrote the theme tune for Samurai power!" Tohya said, before dragging Tanabe towards the counter. Nate continued to put some things on the shelves. Tanabe picked a book from the romance section, before her and Tohya sat down at the small table in the middle of the shop. "Sorry about that." Tohya apologized. Tanabe just shook her head.

"Its ok, But is he really?" Tanabe asked.

"Yeah. He is the guy." Tohya responded.

"Did he come here for you?" Tanabe asked. Tohya laughed and shook her head.

"No... No he didn't. He had a job offer." Tohya explained. Tanabe suddenly clicked.

"Does he even know?" She asked, and her face contorted into a wry smile. Tohya just shook her head and returned the smile.

"Hey, Tanabe-san." Nate called as he started to replace some Manga comics. Tanabe turned to him. "See if you can get her to smile." He called. Tanabe looked back at her.

"He thinks I don't smile." Tohya explained and shrugged.

"Well you don't smile enough." Tanabe explained. "Wow... I had no idea he was so cute." Tanabe said under her breath. Tohya went slightly red.

"Neither did I..." Tohya admitted. "Kinda glad he is though..." She smiled slyly.

"So... do you still?" Tanabe asked. Tohya just nodded.

<><><>

"NATE!!!" Tohya yelled. Nate came from the backroom to see Tohya and Tanabe at the door. "You coming to have lunch?" She asked. Nate nodded and made for the door. They all stepped outside and Tohya locked the shop behind them.

"Where are we going?" Nate asked. Tanabe looked at him strangely.

"How long have you been in this town?" She asked. Nate smiled.

"About 2 days." Nate said. "Does it show?" He asked with a smile.

"The only place to eat around here is the cafe next door." Tohya explained as she turned. "Its not great, but we make do... Sells nice donuts... well you seemed to like them." She half smiled at Nate.

"Ohhhh..." Nathan suddenly realized. They started to walk towards the cafe when they noticed a red haired man with a strange tunic walking towards the door. Nate recognized him instantly and called out to him. "Hattouri-San!" He called. Hattouri turned towards him and waved.

"Konnichiwa, Nait-Sama and Tohya-san!" He said politely before turning to Tanabe. "I do not believe we have had the pleasure of an introduction." He bowed.

"Oh... umm... I'm.." Tanabe stumbled before turning very red. "I'm Tababe... I mean Tanane... I mean..." She attempted nervously again. "TANABE!!!" She suddenly yelled at herself. They were all taken aback by this outburst.

"Oh..." Hattouri said. "It is nice to meet you Tanabe-san!" Tohya and Nate giggled simultaneously.

"Hey, Hattouri-san." Tohya said. "Want to join us for lunch?" She invited. Hattouri rubbed his chin for a second.

"Yes, I have a while before I need to go to work." They all stepped inside the shop and sat at a small table in the corner than Tohya directed them to. Hattouri and Nate sat on one side, while Tohya and Tanabe were one the other.

"This is a nice place..." Nate said as a woman came around and gave them a menu each. Tohya, Tanabe and Hattouri opened them and began reading, while Nate just opened it and nervously stared at the pages. His mind was a blank as he scanned over the symbols on the paper. 'Kanji...' he thought. Tohya seemed to have sense his apprehension.

"What’s wrong, Nathan-san." She asked softly. Nate just rubbed the back of his head and started to blush.

"I can... speak Japanese, but I can't really read it..." He admitted with his face going red. While Tanabe and Hattouri seemed to laugh a little, Tohya looked at him sympathetically. "I guess I never really learned to read it..." He shrugged. Tohya almost smiled.

"I guess speaking 2 languages is hard..." She said softly. Nate shrugged again.

"Not really. I can hardly speak English" He joked. Tohya laughed and covered her face again. Nate was hoping to get another peek at that smile that lit up her face. He was disappointed. "Maybe I'll just order a donut."

"Healthy..." Tohya said sarcastically. "Donuts for breakfast and Lunch." Nate shrugged.

"I don't know what else they serve." He explained. He looked at the menu and scanned for one of the few Kanji he did recognize. He couldn't find any.

"They make nice Onigiri..." Tohya explained, as Nate smiled at her.

"Cool... I'll try them, whatever they are." Nate said. Tanabe laughed to herself. As a waitress came over she smiled.

"I'll have the Onigiri." Tanabe said.

"Me too!" Nate said.

"And me" Hattouri responded. The waitress turned to Tohya.

"I'll have a donut..." She said with a halfsmile at Nate. Nate just rolled his eyes.

"It is strange." Hattouri said as the waitress walked off. "You do not look like your sister." He said to Tohya. Tohya shrugged.

"Yeah... One gets the brains, the other the beauty." She said sadly. Tanabe smiled and turned to Hattouri.

"How do you know her sister?" She asked.

"I have the honour of being her body guard." He said boldly. Nate began whistling the tune that had entranced Tohya in the bookstore. She listened to it and it raised her mood slightly. As there lunches came, Hattouri looked down at the gold watch he wore on his wrist. "Its time for me to go." He said. Closing the box on his tray of Onigiri. "I shall see you all soon." He said, and dissapeared out of the shop with an incredible speed and strange grace for a man so large. Tanabe sighed as he left.

"Just another guy to think I am a screwball." She sighed. Tohya giggled as she started to nibble the topping off her donut. Nate looked down at the 4 riceballs infront of him. He picked the first one up and bit into it.

"Don't worry about it" Tohya told her. "I know your a screwball too, I still like you." She teased. Tanabe rolled her eyes as Nate laughed. Tohya took in a deep breath as she saw him laugh. 'How cute...' she thought to herself. Her face cracked into a half smile again.

"See, At least Nathan-san smiles." Tanabe taunted. "Maybe you should smile more, then you wouldn't be so grumpy all the time!" Tohya just shrugged.

"Well, maybe..." Was all she could retort.

<><><>

Nate stood again on the ladder, rearranging the books according to the little knowledge of Kanji that he understood. He was extremely glad, that after this he had to restock the 'English Books' Section. He understood english, even if it was only moderately. Nate laughed out loud and attracted the attention of the 2 girls sat at the desk as he hopped from the top of the ladder again.

"Your gonna hurt yourself if you keep doing that." Tohya warned as Nate picked up a box of english books and made for his favourite shelf.

"I've taken worse falls than that." Nate said as he picked up a book of sonnets by the great Shakespeare. "Ahh, the poet, the writer, the master" He said looking at the book. "Shall I compare thee to a summers day, thou are more lovely and temperate." He began to recite in english, of course, Tohya had very little clue what he was talking about, but Tanabe seemed to understand.

"He knows poetry," Tanabe told Tohya, who was looking increasingly confused. "Wow, is there anything this guy doesn't do?" She continued underher breathe.

"What kind of poetry?" Tohya asked.

"One of the greats. A sonnet by the great play write himself, William Shakespeare." Nate explained to her, as he placed another book onto the shelves.

"What’s a sonnet?" Tohya asked, intrigued.

"A love poem." Tanabe told her. Tohya looked down again and continued to trace her pencil over the sheet of paper. A picture was appearing of Herself, Tanabe and Nate stood in the bookshop, almost exactly as they were now, only Hattouri was giving Nate a boost up, because Tohya had hidden the ladder. Both her and Tanabe seemed to be laughing. "Nice picture." Tanabe said. Tohya smiled, though Nathan was turning away and couldn't see it. "So why don't you smile infront of him?" Tanabe asked quietly. Nathan, however, heard it. He pretended not to listen and continued to put the books on the shelf.

"Just drop it, Tanabe..." She said sadly.

"I won't. I want to know why you don't smile." Tanabe asked simply. Tohya just looked down at her paper sadly. She erased her own face, and refilled the blank head with a smiling version of herself.

"Happy now?" She half smiled again. A bell rang to announce the arrival of another person into the shop. Nate was about to make towards the till before he recognized it was Shoda, his boss.

"Hello everyone." Shoda said. Tanabe and Nate returned the greeting, if only out of politeness. Tohya, however just grumbled something under her breath. Nate couldn't help but smile. Shoda walked over to the table and deposited a thick file infront of Tohya. "This months books." He said. "You need to sort out the paperwork."

Tohya looked down at the file. "You make this bigger every month just to annoy me, don't you?" Shoda just smiled and nodded.

"Well, I have a meeting to get to." Shoda said. "Keep up the good work, guys." He said. The short, balding man turned around and left the shop. Tohya opened the books and sadly gazed down at them.

"Maths..." She said, and Tanabe smiled. "What would I do without you?" Tohya grinned as she looked up at Tanabe. She took half the book and handed it to Tanabe. Tanabe smiled and fished a pen from out of her jacket.

"What’s a degree in advanced maths for if you can't use it." Tanabe shrugged and began work on the ridiculous sums.

<><><>

Nate trudged around the small supermarket with his basket in one hand. He came to the aisle containing pre-prepared food and smiled. As he filled his small basket with readymade meals, his thoughts wandered to Tohya. 'I wonder what she is doing...' he found himself thinking. 'Probably drawing some picture or something.' He thought. Nate found his way to the fresh fruit section and looked around. He was glad to find apples, pears and oranges. He didn't feel like trying exotic fruits just yet. He was just getting settled in.

'She is really cute though...' He thought as he loaded his basket with fruits. Nate looked hopelessly around the supermarket, and looked for some kind of drinks aisle. At first he had thought that he had found it. On closer inspection though, it was a toiletries aisle. 'Probably need some of these.' He thought, picking out what he hoped was shampoo, and another one that he knew was conditioner. He also loaded some soap into his basket and a small box of toilet paper.

He looked down at his almost fully loaded basket. 'Need some juice...' he thought to himself. He looked around again and checked the signs. He walked down one of the aisles and smiled as he saw Coca-Cola. 'Wow... I need some of this...' He picked up a few small bottles. After checking he had everything he needed, he moved towards the counter. He placed the basket on the conveyor and something caught his eye. It was a bottle of Sake, wrapped with a set of dice, and a few shot cups. He picked it up and attempted to read the Kanji on the front.

"Cho-Han Bakushi!" The woman behind the counter said, obviously she had picked up on Nathans confusion. "Its a game where you roll the dice in one of the 4 cups and try to guess if it is odd or even."

"Why does it have shot cups?" Nate asked. The woman grinned.

"Its a drinking game, if you get it wrong, you drink your shot!" She explained.

"Cool..." Nate said and put it with the rest of his shopping. She scanned the items through as Nate put them into a bag. He placed his card on the counter and smiled as she took it. She scanned it and placed it back on the counter. Nate took it and replaced it in his wallet.

"Are you alright?" The woman asked, she seemed slightly concerned.

"Yeah... just got something on my mind..." He said distantly.

"Girl trouble?" She asked with a slight smile. Nate just grinned and nodded as he took his bags and left the store.

<><><>

Tohya looked around the forest. "It really is beautiful...." She said with a sparkle in her blue eyes. Tanabe looked at her through her thick glasses.

"Why don't you bring Nathan-san here?" She asked with a cheeky smile. Tohya raised a slim eyebrow at her friend, before her face collapsed into a cheeky smile too.

"Someday I will..." She smiled. As they walked through the trees, shedding there leaves for the long winter ahead, Tohya began to dream up another picture to draw. A picture of her and Nate walking through this autumnal land.

"And now your gonna draw a picture of you two?" Tanabe asked with a smile again. Tohya nodded.

"You really do know me too well."

"Well, its hard not to, you have been drawing pictures of this guy for the last 9 months. Besides, how did you know what he looked like?" Tohya just shrugged as they came upon a bench and sat down upon it.

"I... just knew."

"Its amazing how he hasn't figured it out yet..." Tanabe said. "He must be pretty slow." Tohya looked at her sarcastically.

"Well, he did figure it out." Tohya admitted. "But I fed him some story about Tohya being a really common name and there being a lot of bookshops." Tanabe found herself laughing.

"At least you didn't openly lie about it." Tanabe moaned. "Can I ask you something?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Tohya raised an eyebrow sarcastically. Tanabe smiled.

"How do you really feel about him?" Tanabe asked. Tohya looked down sadly.

"Do you really need to ask?" She repeated with a very sad smile.

"Why is that something to be sad about?" Tanabe responded with seeing the look on her face.

"If he doesn't feel the same..." Tohya placed with a loose rock on the ground with her foot.

"So, are you gonna ever let him see you smile. It really is your best feature you know." Tanabe smiled. Tohya just shrugged. "Not even your sister can smile like you..."

"I know... you always say that, and I believe you." Tohya said. "That’s why I don't let him see it..."

"Because its your best feature?" Tanabe scratched the back of her head.

"Yeah... if that’s all I have to offer... whats he gonna think of me?" She said.

"Its not all you have to offer!" Tanabe moaned. "Your wonderful!!!" She complained. Tohya found herself smiling wildly.

"I... just know that I'm not gonna be able to hide it much longer." Tohya said. "He just makes me want to smile..." She tried to explain.

"Just like Rika and Elighzja." Tanabe said. Tohya laughed.

"Are you ever gonna get around to writing that silly book!!!" Tohya moaned.

Tanabe just shrugged. "I can never write enough..." Suddenly she grinned.

"Are you gonna let Nate see your pictures?" Tohya shook her head.

"Nope... well, not the ones of him. But the rest, yeah. I was gonna let him see my apartment tomorrow!"

<><><>

The red haired man walked through the doors of the large building. He readjusted his clothes in the full dress mirror. He always felt very self conscious while around Tohya-Hime. She always made him feel inferior in some way. But he just supposed she was just being herself. Her sister didn't seem to happy to hear about her.

He walked through a large set of double doors and into a studio, where a woman with long brown hair stood. She was dressed in a Victorian style corset and black dress. She had a beautiful figure and she was smiling widely, though it was a false smile. Hattouri walked to the side of the stage on which she was stood, and stood next to a photographer.

"Hey, Hattouri-san." The man said, and suddenly the woman looked at him. She shot him a cheery wave and a true smile.

"Hello, Hatto-Chan!!!" She yelled. Hattouri returned the wave.

"Hello, Tohya-Hime." He bowed. The woman started moving off the stage. Hattouri heard someone yell 'Take 10...' Tohya-Hime walked up to Hattouri and gave him a hug. Hattouri didn't return it, however, he just stood stoically, feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

"How have you been?" Tohya-hime asked. She released her tight hug and took step back. She was smiling wildly. Hattouri just shrugged

"I have been good, Tohya-hime." The brown haired woman with large brown eyes just giggled and waved her hand.

"How many times to I have to tell you to call me Kasumi."

"One more time, Tohya-hime." Hattouri smiled.

"You say that every time." Kasumi giggled. Hattouri nodded with another slight smile. Suddenly he remembered something.

"I believe I met your sister today. Tohya-san." Hattouri said. Kasumi gasped. She clasped her hands together infront of her chest and bounced on the spot.

"OHHH. How is she?" Kasumi smiled. She tilted her head a little. "I haven't seen my sister in ages. I wonder how Mai is doing..."

<><><>

Nate placed the last of his groceries in the kitchen before placing down the bag and investigating the drinking game he had just bought. 'Looks kinda fun...' He thought, placing it in a high cupboard. He walked back out of the kitchen and into his bedroom, where his laptop was plugged into a wall socket, and his futon was laid out. He sat on it and brought out the manuscript pad from his bag.

Nate smiled as he began to write down the notes to the first song he had ever wrote. The notes seemed to take to the paper, and though he only knew 16 bars of the song he felt like this could be what he was waiting for, something else to write. He finished writing the few bars and smiled. "I can write this." His pencil moved to the top, in an attempt to write a title.

A few seconds of thought, and a blank mind later, he just sketched the word 'Cute' at the top of the page. Nate placed down the manuscript and laid down on his futon.

<><><>

Tohya smiled and waved to Tanabe as she walked off around the corner. Tohya closed her door and flicked on the steel light switch. The dim light flickered on in her apartment as she crossed it to find her bed. Tohya sat moodily on it before picking up her huge pillow. She placed it in her lap and hugged it as she stared at the clock. '10:30... much too late to be drawing anything...' She thought sadly, as she had wanted to draw a picture of her and Nate walking in the snow.

She laid back on her bed, still with the pillow in her arms and took the metallic chopsticks from out of her hair. Placing them on her desk she smiled. 'I wonder if he will like my apartment.' Tohya made a mental note to check that all her pictures of him were safely locked away before she brought him up. 'Don't want him thinking I'm too odd...' She thought trivially as she stood up.

She crossed the room towards the dress mirror and stared into it again. Her purple hair was down over her shoulders, so she played with a few locks of it. It was the one part of herself she liked, because she changed it so often. It was the only thing about her she could change. She looked sadly at her body again and sighed. 'I hope Kasumi doesn't come back here...' She thought angrily. 'Its gonna be hard enough as it is, without her showing up with the damn perfect body...' She smiled sadly again and started to lift off her shirt...

<><><>

Ohayoo Gozaimasu - Good Morning.

<><><><>

Firstly I’d like to thank every person who read the first three parts, so, Arigato Gozaimasu  I’d also like to thank the reviewers for their kind comments and advice, that helped me write this part. I hope its got better and that’s the humor started! I think it’s a little time for some sizzle.

But I also have to apologies, because part 4 may be somewhat delayed, as I need to raise the funds for an upgraded account. The next part is gonna be longer, and I won’t be able to fit it on this account :D So thanks for the patience and I hope to get part 4 – Conjunction out to you ASAP!

And lastly I’d like to explain about why Tohya was so lacking in the first part. As I am a man, the only real expierience I have of women is when they are hanging around my house, spending time with me. So I have very little idea of what really happens in a womans head. Of course, I’ve been known to be quite girly myself (not that you’d know from looking at me) and so I often get included in, as my brother so affectionately calls it, girly talk. Using this I can… kinda write about Tanabe and Tohya being friends. So if the women seem a bit unbelieveable then sorry :D

Join me again for part 4!!!