"Is there something on my face, Yui-chan?"

Yui rapidly blinked, startled that her teacher had once again caught her staring. The child blushed in guilty embarrassment and looked back down to her assignment. After a few moments of silence, Yui answered in a small voice, "No, Kagome-sensei."

Kagome frowned at the lingering air of hesitance that came with Yui's rebuttal. She has been working with Yui for about two weeks, and there has been some progress. Yui no longer stuttered around Kagome and has obtained a small handful of friends as well. Kagome has noticed the little girl didn't seem to be very vocal around the other children, but when she did speak to them, a stutter came out every now and then. While Kagome was thrilled with the fact that the girl was improving, there was something obviously bothering her student and it saddened Kagome that Yui has failed to talk to her about it. She has been waiting patiently until now, but she couldn't wait any longer. Her curiosity had finally gotten the better of her and she had devised a simple plan to get Yui to confess to her.

'I don't like playing this card, but I don't think Yui will tell me the truth unless I do this…' Kagome thought with a small pout. She really hated using trickery to get answers. 'Well, let's get this over with.' She sourly thought. With a false sad tone, Kagome inquired, "Yui-chan, we're friends, right?"

Yui was quick to react to Kagome's fake sadness, and vehemently nodded her head "O-Of course we are! Kagome-sensei is my bestist friend!" she exclaimed in a loud tone. Her teacher looked at her in surprise. Yui's resolve in her previous, panicked statement faltered for a moment. 'No.' Yui thought. 'I can't back down from this. Kagome-sensei really is my bestist friend! I… I like being around her more than anyone else!'

Taking a deep breath, Yui restated her statement with more confidence. "K-Kagome-sensei, you're my bestist friend! Kagome-sensei and me will always be the bestist of friends! Right, sensei?"

Kagome was caught off guard for once. She was never for pretty words and empty promises, but how can she say no to that face? It was true that Yui needed to bond with people that are more around her age and encouraging this would only hinder that. As her teacher, Kagome should sway Yui and turn the child's focus toward other children, but… she didn't want to. She liked Yui's companionship way too much… More than a teacher probably should… There was no doubt, she obviously favored Yui the most... The answer pushed through her lips before she could have second thoughts.

"H-Hai." stuttered Kagome. Then a second later, she realized what she just said.

Crap. What did she just do?

Then for the first time ever, it was Yui who offered a smile. And…

And it was the most precious f*cking thing ever.

Kagome wanted to keep that smile on Yui's face…

…Because, it was her duty as her teacher.

…and, perhaps, as Yui's friend.

Kagome wanted to bring up the original question she had. She wanted to know what was bothering Yui, however…

"R-Really?"

"Yes. Really, Yui."

"Oh my gosh! Yay! Me and Kagome-sensei are gonna be bestist friends forever!"

At that moment, Kagome knew her fate had been sealed. She knew that her destiny had been linked and was slowly starting to intertwine with this innocent, little girl. Kagome wanted to whimper.

What had she gotten herself into?