I practically bounced into the room, ah I even saw a squirrel! Ah right, -- Ichimatsu-niisan called me.

"Ichi, I'm here!" I shouted, hoping he could hear of course.

"Good, good. Come here a 'sec." He yawned.

Ichimatsu-niisan sounds more tired than usual, hopefully Karamatsu wasn't stressing him again.

"Hi, hi!" I rushed over to him, ruffling up his hair in the process.

"C'mon, my bed hair is already bad enough.." He scolded me playfully.

Ichimatsu-niisan always knew how to make me smile. I sat across from him so he could speak.

"Alright, I know we talked about this already, but... you know I want you to be happy right?" Ichimatsu looked up at me.

He sounded more serious than ever and the room became quiet. I stopped flapping my arms at the squirrel because this sounded important.

I nodded at him as he continued.

"Good. Does (Name) make you happy?" He asked another question.

I felt like this was a job interview sort of, so I tried my best to answer Ichimatsu-niisan's questions.

"Yes, (Name) makes me very happy, in here!" I pointed to my heart.

He seemed to understand, his eyes becoming wide for a moment.

"Really? How long have you felt this way?" He leaned in next to me.

I felt squeamish as I played with my hoodie sleeves, it was weird talking about these things. Usually I'm never like this.

I looked over at Ichimatsu-niisan, who looked less tired than when I came into the room.

"F-For a long time! (Name) is the most beautiful and sweetest person ever!" I blurted out, covering my mouth.

Ichimatsu-niisan said nothing for a long time, he only stared at the carpet, but I knew that wasn't on his mind.

He patted me on the shoulder, sending a jolt up my spine. He looked so intense I thought I was going to melt right in that room, but somehow I knew he wasn't angry.

"Jyushimatsu... I believe in you. I believe you can be happy with (Name) too." He said finally.

It was my turn to be surprised, since Ichimatsu-niisan never spoke like this. We talked of really happy things like cats and almonds.

"Thanks! But I only think it's fair that I be happy for you too, Ichimatsu-niisan!" I hugged him.

"Ah, so silly Jyushimatsu." He made a 'tch' noise.

Most probably couldn't tell, but I knew Ichimatsu-niisan was happy.