Hey, guys. I have a message for you at the bottom, so please read it.

I awoke from my bed, groggy from yesterday.

'I wish yesterday never happened.' I thought, sadly.

I got out of my bed slowly, thinking of all the bad things that could hurt my family.

'I don't know what I'd do if my family got hurt because of my past.' I thought.

I leaned against the wall and sighed, upset.

'If it weren't for them, I'd probably be on the streets, stealing from everybody.' I thought, reflecting on my life.

'What if..' I thought, a look of horror was on my face, when Aya walked by.

"Brother, what's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

'Should I tell her?......Probably not.' I thought against telling her.

"I'm just thinking, nothing's wrong, sis." I told her, patting her on the head.

"Are you sure?" She asked, putting a comforting touch on my arm.

"Yea, but I do want you to come with me on my next job. Tell Soshi and Miyu about it and wear black for tonight." I explained to her.

"What do you do?" She asked, worried and concerned.

"You'll see." I said, mysteriously.

Aya didn't look convinced, but someone interrupted her.

"Bubby! Do you wanna see the sun rise with us?" I heard Hina call.

I walked to the window, where the sunrise was happening.

"Beautiful!" I heard Hina say.

"It sure is." I replied, my sadness gone.

"Bubby, can we play all day today?" Airi and Euru asked me.

"I have to go to school." I started to say.

"No, today's Saturday!! You don't have to." Daiki said.

"Well then yes, all of us can hang out. Hey, what if we went to a diner?" I asked them, happily.

"Yea!" They cheered.

"Ok, go wake everyone up." I told them.

They started up the stairs until there was a knock on the door.

I opened the door to see Ritsu there.

"Hi, Ritsu. What brings you here?" I asked, curious.

"Well, um, maybe, if its ok, do you, um, wanna go out?" Ritsu asked, nervously.

"Oh, I was going to play with my...." I started, until I heard the little ones giggle and race back down the stairs.

"Hibiki. Hang out with Ritsu. You never hang out with kids your age. Go ahead. We'll keep each other busy." Taiga said, a smirk on his face.

"Are you guys sure?" I asked, bending down to their level.

"Yep!" They all said.

"Well, ok. Let's go, Ritsu." I said, following an awestruck Ritsu out the door.

"So, where do you wanna hang out?" He asked me, snap out of his shock.

"I know a cool dinner we could visit." I suggested.

"Yea, let's go there." Ritsu agreed, happily.

I smiled at him and his face turned a light pink.

"Ok, Rit. Follow me." I said, taking off in a sprint.

"Hey, wait up." Ritsu said, racing to catch up.

I turned around and his face was flushed pink, probably because of running.

"Come on. We're almost there." I said, still running.

He raced up behind me and grabbed my hand.

Ritsu has caught up with me at this point, so I slowed down a tad, to let him catch up.

Once we reached the restaurant, I opened the door, the familiar chime rang in my ears.

"Hey, Silica. What's new here?" I asked, and this blue-headded lady turned around.

"Habu, nice ta see ya. Where've ya been? And who's y'all been hangin' with?!" Silica asked me, then turned to Ritsu.

She had bright blue hair and blue eyes to match. She was fairly tall and her outfit was skimpy at best.

"Can I have a meal with my friend?" I asked, sweetly.

"No." She said, denying me.

"Please?" I asked.

"No."

"Pleeasee?"

"No!"

"Pretty pleaseeeeeee?"

She sighs and shakes her head.

"Fine. But only cause you helped me." She said, going into the back to go get some food.

"Who's this?" Ritsu asked, curious.

"Oh, she's the one who helped me out of that circus. I also helped her as well, when she got caught by police." I said, smiling at the memory.

"Oh." He said.

"So. Ritsu, what's your family like?" I asked.

"Well, it's just my dad and all of the Kasanoda syndicate. They want me to be the next Kasanoda gang leader. Their all goofballs." Ritsu said, a small smile on his face.

"You smiled." I pointed out, smiling at him.

His face was turning to a light red now.

"Here's y'all's orders." Silica said, putting our plates down.

"Thanks, Silica!" I called out.

She gave a wave, still walking away.

"Yum!" I said, before digging in.

I scarfed down the warm food like their's no tomorrow. Ritsu stopped eating and looked up at me.

"Hibiki?" Ritsu asked, after I finished.

"Hmm?" I responded.

"Do you.....wanna.....go....go to.....the...park?" He asked, nervously, for what I don't know.

"Sure. I love strolls down in the park." I replied, happily.

So, Ritsu and I walked out of the dinner and towards the park.

The sun was high in the sky and there was a slight breeze.

Once we got to the park, I sat on a bench and relaxed, soaking up the sun.

"Hey, Ri?" I asked.

"Yea." He replied.

"If I get taken by some person in the future, get my family out of there." I said, opening my eyes and sitting up.

A serious look on my face as I looked Ritsu dead in the eye.

"I can do that for you, Hibiki. Now, I get to ask a question." Ritsu said.

"What's up." I said, curious.

"Do you like me?" He asked, a concerned look in his eyes.

"Yea, I think your a great friend." I said, making a green arrow come out of nowhere and strike Ritsu in the chest.

"That's not what I meant." Ritsu said, once he recovered from the arrow.

"What do you mean?" I asked, oblivious.

"Do you l...lo....love..me?" Ritsu asked, stuttering.

Then I thought about it.

'Hmm, maybe I do. And Ritsu's not bad looking. But what would my family think?' I thought, contemplating it all.

"Ri." I said, catching his attention.

He likes up at me with sad rejected eyes, before I even said anything. I sighed and looked at him. I didn't really like him.

"I....."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Hi, guys.

So, did you like it?

I hope you did.

I'm so sorry for not updating.

I had my phone taken at one point, and life got hetic and crazy. It was too much to hold on to.

So, just expect updates to slow a little.

I'm sorry, and wait patiently for the next chapter.

This is chapter 16.