Natsumi hopped out of her seat the instant the final bell rang, wanting to beat Ryuu outside today. She hoped that if she gave herself enough spare time, even if she was stopped, she would still make it out front first. She ran through the halls, zigzagging past people the best she could. She shouted apologies to the ones she couldn't avoid completely. She turned a corner a bit too sharp and couldn't pull up fast enough so she barreled into the person standing there. She fell back onto her butt with a sharp cry and a groan.

She looked up to apologize, but it died when she met his red eyes. Ryuu was staring down at her with a raised brow and Natsumi groaned.

"So much for beating you to the front...You know you could offer me a hand." She mumbled, pouting slightly. She heard his soft chuckle as he held out his hand, surprising her. She took it and he pulled her up with little effort, still smiling slightly as he looked down at her.

"Maybe if you slowed down more, this wouldn't happen." He said as soon as she was on her feet again. She puffed out her cheeks, frowning at him as she was unable to come up with a retort. It was the truth, but she was still irritated with him pointing it out. He must have sensed her lack of response because he chuckled again and turned to walk away.

Natsumi snapped back to reality and quickly caught up to him, keeping pace with his easy strides. She looked up at him, her usual smile returning as she remembered their conversation at lunch. She hummed softly to herself as they walked out of school together, catching even more attention than at lunch.

She let the silence sit until they were on the street heading towards her home. Then she glanced at Ryuu once more and returned to her duties.

"I decided yesterday that we should focus more on your grammar, so that's what we'll be doing today." She explained and he gave no response, just kept his attention ahead of him. Natsumi sighed and clasped her hands behind her back, mumbling under her breath,

"Gee that sounds great! I'm so lucky to have a wonderful tutor like you." She glanced at him to see his lips twitch as he fought against the smile. Seeing this made her smile and giggle as she looked up at the sky. But her smile fell when she saw the grey clouds rolling in.

"I hope it doesn't rain later." She whispered and he glanced down at her, watching the frown form between her brows. When she started to turn her attention back to him, he was once more looking ahead. They went through the same routine as she let him through the front and they walked towards the elevator. She leaned against the wall, gripping the bar for dear life.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Ryuu asked, making her jump and look up to see him looking down at her tight grip on the bar. She leaned back further, trying to hide her hands behind her back and blushed as she looked away.

"No...I have a fear of heights and falling...I used to have a nightmare that I was trapped in one of these before it...I just don't like them." She whispered, hiding her embarrassment from him. He didn't respond and Natsumi felt her cheeks

blaze as she knew he was probably calling her a fool in his head. But at least he was decent enough not to say anything.

As soon as the doors opened she jumped out with a sigh of relief and began to walk towards her apartment. She let them in and slipped off her shoes as she walked into the kitchen. Her mom wasn't there and she didn't see any signs of people being home.

"Mom must have run out for something." She mused out loud as she turned to see Ryuu following behind. He raised a brow as he looked around,

"They're okay with you being home alone?"

"Technically I'm not alone. Mom knows that you are going to be coming over until our sessions are over, so she probably figured you would protect me." Natsumi laughed as she opened the fridge to rummage for her snack and some drinks. She glanced at him over her shoulder to see him leaning against the island with his phone in front of him.

"Cola or diet?" She asked and he glanced at her, his eyes lingering for a second before flicking back to his phone as he mumbled,

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"Cola."

Natsumi grabbed their cold drinks and the bowl of strawberries her mom left her. She held out Ryuu's soda to him and then led the way to her room once more. They settled into the same positions they had before as Natsumi opened one of her textbooks to the story she wanted to have him read through. She was pleased to see that he was having an easier time reading through the words, although he still mixed them up at times.

They worked efficiently, although Natsumi had to steal his phone from him half-way through as he kept getting distracted by its beeping. He had glared, but it forced him to focus on the worksheets once more. Natsumi worked alongside him, showing him easy tricks to remember sentence structures. She felt a rush of accomplishment when he watched her and listened to her speak. She felt like a real teacher and it filled her with a vast amount of joy.

Ryuu was reading through the same book she had used yesterday when his phone rang. He reached over and picked it up, flipping it open without saying hello. He waited for a second and then closed it again, along with the book. He sat both on the table and sighed.

"My car's here." He glanced over at her with a grin, surprising her.

"Time's up teach." He teased and she smiled, laughing as she collected the pages and put them in his folder. She walked him outside to his waiting car, waving to the driver as she did. Natsumi was sure that she saw his brow rise through his sunglasses. She giggled until she felt the wind flow through her hair, making the strands float behind her. She turned and looked up at the darkening sky with a frown.

Ryuu glanced over as he started to slide into the car, seeing her staring at the sky. He glanced up at the storm clouds then back to the girl. She turned back to him, giving him a smile and a quick wave before running back inside her apartment building. Ryuu raised a brow, but slid into the car completely as the driver closed the door.

They made their way through several streets when the first drops began to hit his windows. He glanced up at the sound of the rain and watched as the steady stream picked up and the light rain turned into a heavy downpour. He reached into his pocket to call ahead for something when he came up empty. He frowned and checked his other pockets and his bag.

He sighed, looking out the window as he said,

"Turn around. I left my phone."

He waited until the car parked outside the building once more and the driver got out, holding an umbrella to protect Ryuu from the rain. He rolled his eyes and stepped out of the car, waiting as the driver closed the door behind him and then followed behind Ryuu up to the callbox. Ryuu glanced through the numbers until he found Kimoto's. He punched the buttons and waited as the line rang. He waited for her voice to come through and frowned when the machine clicked, cutting his connection. He dialed it again, figuring that the klutz had tripped on her way to the phone, but again the line rang before being cut off. He would be sure to have a word with her about ignoring him the minute she answered.

"Ryuu?"

He turned at the call of his name to see Mrs. Kimoto and Hiro walking towards him, both under umbrellas, carrying brown bags. She smiled as she walked up next to him.

"Why are you standing out here?" She asked as she fished out her keys, struggling to do so and keep ahold of the umbrella. Ryuu reached out and held up the item so that she could have a free hand. She gave him a thankful smile and was able to fish out her keys, unlocking the front gate and holding it open so Ryuu and Hiro could walk in. She looked to the driver, but he stayed where he was so she shrugged and let the gate close again before turning to face Ryuu.

"Shouldn't you be on your way home sweetie? It's getting late." She said and he handed her back the folded up umbrella and put his hands in his pockets.

"I left my phone in Kimoto's room. I tried calling up, but she ignored me." He said with slight irritation leaking into his voice. Akira blinked before lifting up her left wrist and checked her watch. She laughed and smiled at him once more.

"Oh honey, she's not ignoring you. She's not home." She said and Ryuu frowned in confusion as she motioned for him to follow and led the way to the elevator once more. He stood inside with her and a silent Hiro as Akira explained.

"Natsumi has a night job that she goes to at 6:30. She must have taken off the minute she saw you off so she could try and beat the rain. I hope she remembered the umbrella this time...I'll let you in so you can get your phone. Would you like some tea to warm you up before you go?" She asked and he politely declined as he walked to Kimoto's room and found his phone sitting on her desk instead of the table he remembered putting it on. She must have seen it and sat it there.

He walked back into the living area to see Mrs. Kimoto putting away the groceries and Hiro sitting at the island with several books open in front of him. Akira looked over to see him glancing outside at the storm as lightning flashed across the sky. She gave him a warm smile,

"Be safe getting home. I'll see you tomorrow and I'll let Natsumi know you got your phone back." She said and he nodded, heading for the door. He stopped when reached for the handle and glanced down to see an umbrella sitting in the holder. He couldn't help but roll his eyes as he glanced at the pink umbrella with tiny red strawberries. He sighed and walked back into the kitchen, surprising Mrs. Kimoto.

"Where does she work?"