Got back from the three-month hiatus. So sorry for that. School kept me busy... and lazy xD

"No seriously, you went into the haunted mansion?"

Kano flopped down on the couch, Kido's iPod in his hands.

"And you were with him?"

He scrolled through the playlist, randomly selecting a song.

"So you're into that, huh? Trying out thrilling park attractions with a guy you just met hours ago."

Plugging in the earbuds, Kano tried to drown himself in the music blasting through them.

"What's with you? Don't make it sound like a first date or something, we just got Kisaragi out of there."

"Now you're putting words into my mouth."

"He was just the first person I saw, okay? I would've gone with you if you were close by."

But you know I'm just a call away, he had wanted to reply, but the girl had already walked ahead of him.

Kano closed his eyes and slumped further into the couch. Ah, she's really starting to change. Seems like my cute little Tsubomi doesn't want to rely on me anymore.

He knows it's for her own good that she's become independent, but comforting and easing each other's troubles was the sole foundation of their relationship, what connected him to her. And if that completely stopped...

But then again, maybe she was about to call him when she bumped into Shintaro. Maybe she was already looking for Kano that time but Shintaro was unfortunately at a closer distance. Yes, that has to be it.

"Hah, I just made a big deal out of it again," he mumbled.

"Hey."

One of the earbuds had been pulled out all of a sudden and a cold voice spoke so closely into his ear, sending chills down his spine. He was able to recover quickly with a grinning mask though, as he looked up at his leader leaning over the arm rest.

Kido held onto the earbud, seeming to intend to melt him with her glare. "I've been looking all over for this," she tilted her head towards the device.

"But at least it's not lost~"

Her frown only deepened. "This is considered theft, Kano. If I was any other person—"

"Alright, I'm sorry," he held up his free hand in surrender. "I won't do it again," he added, yet kept his smile on. "I'm still a minor though, so I'm still under juvenile—"

"Sure, sure. Now move," Kido squeezed herself in between the arm rest and him before putting in the earbud she held.

Kano peered up at her. "So I'm taking this as 'apology accepted'. But Kido, suddenly wanting to spend time with me...?"

"It's not like I have any other option. This whole place just got cleaned yesterday, I don't need to do the laundry until the day after tomorrow, the stock in the fridge and cupboards could still last for a week, and it's a good three hours before lunchtime," she replied in a monotone.

"Ooh, Leader's pretty busy, huh?"

"And I'd appreciate it if I get some kind of help sometimes."

"But I'm not good at most household chores, you know that."

"Yeah, right," she rested her head back on the couch. "Hey, change the song."

Kano scrolled down the list again, selecting another track.

"Ugh, don't like that."

Kano clicked 'Next'.

"That either."

Next.

"Nope."

"Why are they even still in here then if you don't like them?" Next.

"I don't necessarily... don't like them. There are just right tunes for every mood... and some that I simply can't delete for no reason at all. Next." Her head lightly bobbed in time with the beat of the new song. "There, this would do."

Kano shrugged and leaned back on the couch again. "So you're in the mood to laze around with a rock song..."

Kido didn't hear him, as she was immersed already into the song, her fingers drumming against her leg. She only spoke as a new song started, "Hey, learn to ask for permission before touching someone else's property, alright?"

That triggered a memory of Shintaro awkwardly touching Kido's shoulder to get her to pay attention to something he had to say back then. Kido had shaken the hand off immediately in her surprise, much to Kano's delight, but still. "I should tell him off too then," he muttered.

"Huh?"

"Hm?" he glanced sideways at her and smiled. "I said 'I understood.'"

Kido raised an eyebrow. "You sure mumble a lot today," she remarked, but quickly dropped the subject as she looked away and added, "Next song."

"Why? This sounds good already." Kano chose another one anyway. "I see you've got new songs."

"Yeah, I got them from Shintaro. Unbelievably, he's into some cool songs too."

Forget I brought that up. He fiddled with the earbuds' cord. "Ooh, that is surprising."

"Which reminds me," Kido lightly pounded her fist against her palm, "what time did Shintaro and Momo say they'd be coming over?" She straightened up all of a sudden, almost pulling out Kano's earbud.

Behind his mask, Kano felt uneasy with her sudden excitement. "Hmm... after lunch?"

"Oh," she leaned back to relax again.

But just then, the doorbell rang.

Kido raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hey now, you didn't remember it either," Kano held up his hands. Great, now I jinxed it.

Kido pulled out her earbud and stood up abruptly, but the cord got tangled between her fingers, pulling out Kano's earbud in the process. Mumbling a "Sorry" without looking back at him, she hurriedly went to answer the door.

"You'll get these grounded in no time, you know," Kano picked up Kido's abandoned earbud.

"Good morning, Leader-san!" Momo greeted as soon as the door was opened. "Good morning too, Kano-san!"

"Good morning~!" Ene chirped in a sing-song tone from the phone in Momo's hand.

"Uh, morning," Kido stepped aside and opened the door wider.

"Morning," Kano greeted back as the idol entered the base, dragging a luggage bag besides the backpack on her shoulders.

"It's just you two?" Kido inquired.

In his head, Kano did a victory dance, but so soon did he trip on his own feet when he realized that Kido expected Shintaro. There was a slight change of tone in her usually 'cool' way of talking with the other members. Kano didn't want to try determining her slip of emotion, though.

"Nah, oniichan's just lagging behind as usual," Momo pointed with her thumb outside as she parked the luggage bag beside the couch and started taking the backpack off.

Too bad. "Looks like someone went overboard with packing," Kano smirked. "It's just a one-night stay, remember?"

"Oh, no, this is oniichan's backpack." Momo then smiled sheepishly, "I offered to carry it for him, because he's already occupied with our surprise visitor."

"Surprise visitor?" Kido repeated, alarmed.

Just then, Shintaro appeared by the door, holding a cage with a bundle of white jumping around inside. He seemed nervous as he looked back and forth at Kano and Kido. "Hey, uh, I've brought my pet bunny Tono over, because I can't leave her alone in the house. Is that... alright?"

Kano saw Kido's eyes light up at the sight of the bunny. Her hand was twitching as well, probably getting the sudden urge to pet it yet was held back by her 'cool' façade.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure it's totally okay, right Kido?" Kano grinned at the girl still standing by the door, who was smiling at the bunny until all attention was turned to her.

Kido's smile faded as she straightened up. "Yes, of course," she immediately turned to close the door, but her red face was something Kano didn't miss. "It's not like we could send you all the way back home."

Oh, I could, Kano's eyebrow twitched. We might actually do him more of a favor if we let him stay back home with it. No offense to the bunny though.

"Tono," Kido turned to the cage again, only to be surprised when Tono looked at her when she mentioned its name, "i-is very welcome in here."

"I think she likes you," Shintaro remarked as the bunny hopped towards the edge of the cage where Kido was standing close to.

Unsurprisingly to Kano, Kido slipped her fingers through the cage bars to pet Tono. He thought it was cute, except Shintaro was staring at her too with a dazed expression.

"Kido really can't resist cute little animals, huh?" Kano cooed.

This brought Kido back to her senses. She quickly retracted her hand, stealing a glance at each person, from Kano, Momo and Ene, and Shintaro. Kido blushed lightly right then and turned away to walk over to Kano. "Shut up," she snapped, snatching her iPod from him. "I was just being considerate."

Kano felt his phone vibrate right then. Ene had sent him a picture of Kido's earlier scene with the bunny. He smiled, more so because of Shintaro's head cropped out of the photo.

Hibiya and Konoha arrived soon after. Seto, who's on half-day at work, had fetched Marry on his way home.

For the entire hour, Kido remained quiet and listened to her music, as she watched the other girls and Seto (of course) fuss over the caged bunny on the coffee table. Kano sat beside her, pretending to amuse himself with the television like the little boy lying on the other couch. Konoha helped himself with the newly-bought loaf of bread, while Shintaro sat close to the coffee table, keeping a watchful eye on the bunny.

No wonder; the bunny must be this lonely guy's only favored companion for these past two years, Kano smirked. Bringing his attention back at the TV, he found himself yawning. Soon his eyes started to droop so low he had to close them already, a result of being out too late again last night.

Kano didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until after he woke up with a grumbling stomach, which was probably caused by the aroma coming from the kitchen.

Kido was gone, so was Konoha from the dining area (leaving a plastic emptied of bread, and crumbs all over the table). The others were still playing with the bunny that was now out of the cage.

He smirked, thinking Shintaro must have been freaking out right now. But then he had to stop and look around again at the lack of commotion. No, there's no hikkiNEET thrashing about in the room.

Kano bolted from the couch and into the kitchen, where he found Kido busy by the stove, Konoha bribed with more food to keep him away from her, and Shintaro... leaning on the counter, watching his leader cook.

Still oblivious to the new person in the room, Kido tasted the broth and nodded approvingly, before turning to the older teen and the android. She was silent for a few seconds, before finally asking, "Uh, Shintaro, would you mind tasting?"

Kano couldn't see her face. All he knew was that whatever her expression is right now, it's making Shintaro blush. He cleared his throat, catching the attention of the two (Konoha's too busy trying out the strawberry-flavored pocky to be bothered). He'd put on a mask to show he's alarmed. "Shintaro-kun," he pointed behind him, "Tono's running amok."

Shintaro's eyes widened. "I knew it! I shouldn't have left her alone with them!" he exclaimed as he took off towards the living room.

Kido raised an eyebrow at Kano. "What are you up to?"

Kano smirked. "They took it out of its cage, and it was hopping about. What I've told him was my 'interpretation.'"

Kido rolled her eyes and turned back to the stove as they heard Shintaro's frustrated scream.

"So," Kano was suddenly beside her, "you said something about taste testing?"

Kido glanced at him. "Ah, yes. Here."

Kano then closed his eyes and opened his mouth to receive the spoonful of stew broth. Hot stew broth. His eyes widened as he made a weird sound that could be described as a cross between a choke and a slurp. He jerked back, wiping off the contents that had spilled out from his mouth.

The green-haired teen chuckled as she handed him a glass of water. "Now, who said I'll blow it cool for you?"

Kano drank some and pouted. "I think I just burned my tongue."

"Come on, don't be dramatic. It's not that hot."

"Well, at least it tastes good... based on what I was able to take in."

Kido smiled and stirred the beef stew once more. "Good." She looked back at him. "I'm sorry though."

Kano tilted his head to the side and shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "On one con—"

"Kido," Konoha suddenly piped up from the counter, "I want to taste too."

"No need." Kido turned the stove off. "Lunch is ready. Set the table, Kano. And forgiving doesn't need conditions. And keep your hands off the cupboard already, Konoha." She sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "I was wrong about the stock lasting for a week; I forgot you are coming over too."

"You're going grocery shopping then?" Kano grabbed Konoha by the arm as the said android reached for the cupboard. "I'll come along with you, okay? It's so boring in here."

"Weren't you the one who came up with this... gathering?"

True, it was Kano who had suggested another 'bonding day' for the whole Dan, to celebrate because of having two additional members, Hibiya and Konoha. He just grinned.

"And no, you waste too much time wandering off just to put in unnecessary stuff in the cart when you get back."

"Hey, I told you I'll pay for all those... someday~" he winked, dragging a reluctant Konoha out of the kitchen. As Kido turned back to the stove, he added, "But you won't bring someone else along, will you?"

"Well... I'll think about it."

Kido went off to the supermarket alone after lunch... but can't go back home alone, according to Shintaro, of all people.

"And how did you know she needs help?" Kano clenched his fists under another mask.

Shintaro held up his phone. "She texted."

Why? She needed help again, and she settled for Shintaro once more.

"But I don't think it's addressed specifically to me," Shintaro shrugged.

"What?"

This guy... he doesn't even seem interested to help her out.

First his neechan, now Kido... what's up with his sisters preferring someone who doesn't even bother paying attention to them?

A perky ringtone echoed across the room.

"Oh, I received her text too," Momo suddenly said. "I think it's a group message, maybe you're just about to receive it late, like I just did?"

Kano felt his phone vibrate in his pocket right then.

'The bags were heavier than I expected. At least one of you get over here and help me out,' read Kido's text message.

Oh.

Kano jumped up from the couch. "I volunteer. See ya~" Without waiting for a response from anybody, he dashed out the door.

Nighttime came. Everyone huddled at the living room after dinner.

Momo, due to her busy schedule, was given the honor to pick the day for this 'bonding session.' So since today was the start of her three-day vacation from work and their mother was coincidentally off on a business trip (they didn't ask for permission, the good children they are), she thought this would be the perfect time for an overnight with the Dan.

But right now, all they could do was sit in silence, waiting for some kind of good suggestion for an activity. It had already been decided that they can't do makeovers, for obvious reasons (and because Kido's glare was too scary for anyone to second that suggestion of Momo's). And surprisingly, no one was up for spin-the-bottle.

It's been a good ten minutes of silence, until Kano finally broke it. "Let's go on a mission then~"

"Isn't it a bit too late to go out?" Hibiya asked.

"Who said anything about going out?" Kano walked over to their stack of DVDs and pulled out one with a spooky little girl on its jacket. "We'll have a scary movie-only marathon. But no screaming, covering your eyes, hiding your face, or sleeping until the last movie. You just simply have to watch. You can't excuse yourself either during a movie, of course." Kano picked out more DVDs. "So I suggest you relieve yourself or get all the snacks and drinks you'd need before we start."

Momo and Marry were excited as they left for the washroom with Ene still on Momo's phone. Konoha hurried to the kitchen as soon as he heard he's allowed to eat, with Hibiya following close behind.

"And since when did we have a lot of horror movies in stock?" Kido crossed her arms.

Seto and Kano smiled sheepishly at her.

"Well," Seto said, "these are the only good ones out there these days."

"Come on Kido, this will be fun," Kano winked at her before turning the DVD player and television on.

"But shouldn't Kido have the final say with, well, deciding on a 'mission?'" Shintaro suddenly said from his spot near the table where Tono was sleeping in its cage.

All three guys looked at Kido right then.

Kido's eyes widened in surprise. "W-well, it's better than nothing."

"Hah, Shintaro-kun's just scared, isn't he?" Kano grinned as he turned the lights off, the only light now coming from the television.

"Of course not, I was just... worried, that's all," Shintaro sat back on the couch, on Kido's other side. "I mean, remembering that time at the haunted... oh, never mind." The poor guy got too frightened by Kido's glare to even finish his sentence.

Kano laughed as he watched them. "Ah, if it's about that, there's no need to worry," he sat beside Kido and put an arm around her shoulders. "Tsubomi-chan's knight is finally here by her side to protect her from all those monsters and ghosts and—"

"It's just a movie," she shook his arm off. "I won't get scared that easily."

The other members got back into the room right then - some of them with a bunch of food in tow - and settled themselves either on the couch or the floor.

"If you say so~" Kano pressed 'Play.'

She was bluffing, of course. A few minutes into the movie, Kano saw Kido pull out her iPod and put on her earbuds to drown out the horrifying sounds from the television. But as she selected a track...

"Huh? It's grounded?" she whispered, trying to adjust the jack.

"I told you so~" Kano murmured close to her ear.

Startled, Kido moved away from him and bumped into Shintaro, who apparently witnessed her struggle and had already pulled out a pair of earbuds. "Here, you're lucky I have a spare one always ready."

"I'm afraid she can't take that though," Kano smiled, carefully taking Kido's beloved iPod and earbuds from her and pocketing them. "Don't you remember? We have to watch. But since your earbuds didn't work, you're still in the game, Kido."

Kido frowned as she sat back and faced the television. "Hmph. Fine."

Just then, the heroine from the movie screamed as the ghost slowly revealed its bloody face.

Kido flinched at the sight, her hands automatically holding on to both guys' wrists.

Kano didn't bother hiding his frown.

"Um, Kido?" Shintaro peered at her. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh," Kido immediately let go of them and took a deep breath. "Of course. That was just... surprising."

Kano grinned slyly with his mask, but in truth, he was glaring daggers at Shintaro. Sliding his hand around her waist, he pulled her closer to his side. He took her cold hands in his free one. "True, our tough leader can't be easily scared like that. But just in case," he raised an eyebrow at Shintaro, "Kido could always rely on me."

Shintaro just raised an eyebrow and shrugged, lazily turning back to the movie.

Take a hint, hikkiNEET. He chuckled lightly as Kido removed his hands off her. He was glad she didn't move away though.

Kido was scared, that he could tell easily. And again, she was trying to hide it, like how she'd always done ever since, and even more now that the Dan grew bigger. Kano had to admit, Kido's not good at hiding her fears completely, especially when she's already extremely terrified, but he had to commend her capability to be discreet about it, thus keeping her 'calm and cool leader' reputation.

And that reputation seemed to be consuming her already—something Kano thinks he could blame on her eighth-grade syndrome—for she started keeping to herself more, slowly (and unknown to her) creating a gap between the two of them.

Kido sometimes tried to hide her emotions from him too, but in the end she'd always come clean anyway. But Kano was scared she might not anymore. That's what baffling him more, the possibility of her to start relying on others in the same way she relies on him. Or rather, and dangerously soon to be more applicable, used to rely on him.

This 'mission' he suggested served a double purpose, actually. Aside from finally getting them entertained - well, most of them - this was also Kano's way to let Kido know she could still trust him with her fears, and with any help she needed. That he doesn't want her to drift away too.

His thoughts were instantly interrupted when one of her shaking hands searched for his. She finally took hold of his right hand, and gave it a squeeze as their fingers interlocked.

There was a sudden shift in his mood just then, his worries washed over with relief and contentment. Kano ran his thumb against the back of her hand, making her flinch. And he smiled. Just holding his hand won't make her obviously frightened to the others. It was a secret only she trusted him to know, just like the old days. It's good to have this feeling back.

Kano appeared engrossed to the movies, but actually he never really paid much attention to them. He was busier with observing Kido's reactions, for she was determined as always to finish a mission, especially now that she can't cheat anymore.

He was still in charge of putting in a new movie, though, so his attention flitted to the television from time to time. He vaguely remembered the third movie's opening credits, for the next thing he knew he was already submerged in darkness.

A movement by his jacket pocket and a warm presence close to him stirred him back to consciousness.

He opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep, apparently. And Kido was leaning over him, her hand pressed against his stomach for support as she continued to frantically get her iPod from his pocket.

She succeeded seconds later and heaved a huge sigh. It didn't seem like she was about to get off of him yet, though.

"Kido," Kano whispered.

Kido gasped and looked up at him.

She was so close, with most of her face illuminated by the moonlight, that it took Kano a few seconds to remember he had something to say. "Watch where you're touching."

"Huh?" Kido looked down at both of them and pulled away immediately. "S-sorry," she tried to hide her face, when suddenly she looked up again as if she remembered something. "And hey, you failed the mission."

"Mmhmm, I figured," he shrugged. "And to think it was a mission I myself proposed."

"Yeah, that's pretty weak."

Kano stopped mid-laugh. "Woah, you're trembling. Were those movies really that scary?" he straightened up. "But then again," he grinned, "anything can be scary for you."

"That's not true. I... am not scared of ghosts, for one."

"Really?" Kano looked over her shoulder. "Then who is that—"

She squealed and tackled him onto the edge of the sofa. She held on to his shirt and buried her face against his chest.

He started laughing.

"Stop it, you're not funny anymore."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he calmed down and wrapped an arm around her as he looked around, wondering why it was so quiet.

The television and DVD player had been turned off. And everyone else was knocked out. Across from them, Momo and Marry shared the other couch. Seto fell asleep while sitting, his back resting against the edge of the said sofa. Hibiya was sprawled on his lap. Konoha was lying flat on the floor, hugging a huge bag of chips to his chest. Ene, whoever's phone she may be at right now, was silent. Tono still slept on its cage.

And only half of Shintaro's body was actually resting on the sofa he and Kido were on. And he's slipping.

Kido looked up at him as he started chuckling again. "What is it now?"

"You'll see in 3... 2... 1."

Shintaro fell on the floor with a thud, yet that woke nobody up. He even started snoring.

Kido pulled away and looked down at the red jersey-clad teen. "You're pretty mean to him today, you know."

"Nah, he's just too fun to piss off."

"Hmm," Kido sat back against the sofa and rested her head against his shoulder.

It seemed like she has no intention of scolding him about it, to his surprise. But he took that as a good sign. "Say, Kido. When you went into the haunted mansion—"

"Is this really the time to talk about that?" she frowned up at him.

"No, no, it's not meant to scare you. I just... want to know something."

"...What?"

"Well, for sure you've been scared to death in there..."

She lightly slapped his arm. "I wasn't."

He chuckled. "Ah, I'm sorry. Right, our tough leader won't even go so far as fainting in a place like that."

She visibly stiffened.

"Hm? Kido? Are you alright?" He smirked, "Is there something I need to know?"

A faint blush could be seen dusting her cheeks despite the darkness. "J-just get on with your question already!"

Kano grinned for a few seconds, before turning serious once again. "Well, since you've got this habit when you get frightened to grab onto the person closest to you, who is usually me, but at that time in the haunted mansion wasn't and instead was Shintaro," he looked away, "I was just wondering if you... well, held onto him or something, even for a short moment?"

"No, why would I?" Kido moved so that she was in his line of vision again, and grinned. "He's actually more scared than I was. And besides, he's just a stranger; he knows me no better than you do. He wouldn't be able to understand, and might have even thought of me as useless right then, because there really had been times when... I lost my cool. But clinging onto him never even crossed my mind, I swear." She pursed her lips. "And I've never really clung like that on anybody else, that's just awkward. And uncool. And earlier, it was just an accident. I never wanted that, and—"

A genuine smile slowly crept on Kano's face, cutting her off. "Hey, it's fine, I understand now," he gently touched her cheek. "It seems like it's pretty clear to you that it's been established: nobody else can protect you better than me. Not even Seto."

She smiled back. "Yeah, I guess. You're my favorite brother after all."

Both of their smiles faded after a few moments though, as they realized how close their faces have gotten. Yet no one dared to move, nor look away. Kano wasn't sure he even wanted to, anyway.

He felt his face heat up as he debated with himself on how to go on. He started leaning closer, but stopped as their noses touched.

She shivered at the close proximity, yet didn't break her gaze.

In the end, Kano lightly kissed her forehead. His lips lingered inches from her skin for a few more seconds as he felt her shoulders relax, before he finally moved back. "So, who else failed the mission aside from your favorite brother?" he smiled like nothing happened.

"Everybody but me did. I was actually the one who turned everything off."

Kano slowly nodded in understanding. "Wow..."

"Yeah, a great feat, right?" she said sarcastically. "But no," she frowned as he opened his mouth to say something, "I don't want to do that all over again. Besides, I have a feeling you cheated the whole time."

Kano blinked, feigning innocence. "I don't know what Kido is talking about..."

"Whatever," she kicked her shoes off and slid further away from him. "Anyway, we should get to sleep, it's so late in the night," she curled up on the armrest on the opposite side of the sofa.

"Right," he yawned and kicked his boots off as well, chuckling as one hit Shintaro. But as he moved to lie down beside her, he was shoved off.

"What are you doing?"

"Um, making sure I'm close enough to you for when you get nightmares?"

"I won't, I'm already fine." She turned away. "And they can't see us like that; they might... assume some stuff."

"Oh, okay," Kano shrugged, smiling down at her, and went back to lie against the other armrest. "But actually, that would help me a lot and make things much easier, more simplified," he mumbled to himself.

"What are you muttering about again?"

Kano grinned, lightly brushing his toes against hers. "Oh, nothing~"

Okay, this turned out way longer than I expected. And it's really rushed. Haha...

So um, read and review! :)