"Hold still!"

"But it hurts!"

"Shut up!"

"Ow!"

Mori grunted in irritation as she continued applying the alcohol swab on Ueki's bleeding cheek, who continued to flinch away despite being a super-brave-heavenly-being-who-won-a-god-knows-what-tournament-years-before-and-helped-the-whole-world-regain-their-memories kind of guy.

"I'm almost done, idiot," Mori snapped, surprised that she was being so fierce. "Just stay still!"

Ueki sat still, keeping his stubborn face. Mori sighed in exasperation as she finished using the piece of alcohol swab. "That should stop it from infecting. Now let me just..." She said, taking out a piece of bandage.

"No!" Ueki protested. "You're going to hurt me more. Let me do it myself."

"Idiot! You couldn't even handle a band of thugs yourself! Thank god Sora-san came in to help us." Mori said, leaning back to stop Ueki from taking the bandage. Sora was the lady who had turned Ueki into a cat back then, and it had been weeks since Ueki turned back to normal, and Sora remained friendly with them. Sora also remained strange and like Kobasen, likes to appear out of nowhere. Mori swore those two were related somehow.

Ueki just muttered while he sat down obediently and let Mori gently, or try to, cover his wound with the bandage. Ueki flinched violently when Mori let go. "Stop overreacting, stupid." Mori snorted as she cleared the first-aid equipment.

"You were lucky I came in time to save you." Ueki retorted as Mori returned the first-aid kit to where it originally stood.

"I guess you're right." Mori sighed, watching Ueki move to sit down on the sofa. She didn't stop him. Instead, left for the kitchen to make some tea.

Just her luck, Mori had decided to take the short way home by cutting through the alleyway. Who knew a bunch of thugs would be there to harass her? Mori had toughen up the past few years, but all she could do was kick and slap and scream like any girl would, not that it did any good. It was thanks to a certain green-head flying out of nowhere and kicked the guts out of the bad guys, who were dazed for a moment or two but got to their feet and beat Ueki without holding back. It was really thanks to a certain blonde who likes to wear high-heeled boots, a long coat, and a large hat, that they managed to escape. Sora helped Mori drag Ueki to Mori's house, which was nearest, but had to leave for some...er....urgent business.

There, Mori patched Ueki up. If he wasn't a Heavenly Being, he was sure to be in the worst condition. She didn't really appreciate the fact that he had to take off his shirt to bandage his wounds that were on his back and stomach, but, hey, his back was turned to her, so it wasn't a big problem. She also didn't appreciate the fact that Ueki kept complaining about how she fiercely applied the ointment and alcohol swabs and bandage.

Mori sighed, not realizing how loud it was, as she waited for the water to boil, leaning against the counter. She did appreciate the fact that Ueki had shown up to save her. It was all thanks to Sora in the end, but Ueki was the first to show up. And Ueki didn't fall down until Sora came and beat the crap out of the guys; also, Mori didn't know why, but Sora had a habit of carrying a baseball bat around once in a while.

"Hey, do you need any help?" Mori jumped at the sound of Ueki's voice, close behind her. She hadn't noticed him coming up to her.

"No thanks." Mori answered as the kettle began to whistle. To her annoyance, Ueki ignored her and turned off the fire before she could, and lifted the kettle.

"Be careful! You diot!" Mori cried, her frustration spilling out when Ueki winced at the pain on his wounded arm and dropped the kettle, the hot water splashing out. Mori and Ueki jumped away in time, and thank goodness the kettle was made of hard metal. "You idiot!" Mori repeated as she fetched a towel to wipe up the mess.

"Sorry." Ueki mumbled, and Mori instantly felt sorry for yelling at him, but he didn't have to help her all the time, especially when he's already injured. Ueki knelt down beside her as Mori mopped up the hot water slowly.

"Say Ueki..." Mori said hesitantly, wanting to interrupt the tense atmosphere. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Hmm...?"

"Why..." Mori coughed, wanting to phrase the question casually. "Why do you always jump in to save me whenever I'm in trouble?"

Ueki busied himself by letting his gaze follow the movements of Mori's hands. "Isn't that what I do?"

"Er...yeah. But you're not a superhero or anything, or some police guy or whatever. You're just...a high school student. Students shouldn't get into fights." Mori pointed out.

Ueki shrugged. "You're my friend, right? I mean, really good friend. If you're in trouble, why shouldn't I save you?"

Damn it, don't say such things so casually! Mori wanted to yell, feeling her face heat up as she stood up to wring the water from her towel and knelt down again. "Yeah, but Sora-san came, didn't she?"

"Of course she did. But," Ueki paused, thinking. "What if she hadn't? And I didn't? Would you rather be...harassed by those punks instead?"

Mori coughed again, remembering the situation she had been in. "I can take care of myself, thank you."

"I don't think so." Ueki disagreed. "You were screaming like a girl."

"I am a girl, thank you very much." Mori snapped, fighting the urge to hit him. She sighed and relaxed. "But you could always call for help, you know, instead of hurting yourself."

"Hey, think about why those guys harassed you in the first place. It was because it was kind of dark and no one was around, right? Where could I get help? Run a mile?" Ueki replied sarcastically.

Mori shrugged. "That sounds more typical and expected than jumping into a fight you know you'll lose." She said matter-of-factly. "You know, like call, at least, for the police. And then jumping in, at least." She shrugged and added, "That's what any normal kind of person will do."

There was a pause and Ueki replied, fixing Mori with the most serious and intense gaze she had ever seen him use. "Yeah, but I'm not any normal kind of person."

Mori felt her face heating up again and quickly broke away from his gaze, standing up quickly and wringing the towel.

She tossed the towel into the sink and picked the kettle up, filling it once again with water before placing it on the stove. She heard Ueki get up behind her, and silence filled the air again. She was aware of Ueki's presence behind her and she forced herself not to turn to him.

"Mori," Ueki said, finally. "I will protect you, no matter what." Before Mori could respond, however, he had left the kitchen, grabbed his bag, and left the house.

Mori silently watched the water boil, comprehending what Ueki had said.

A/N: Okay, this might become a twoshot instead. Yes, Sora is from my old (deleted) fanfic "The Cat Stranger". I love her so much =3= She's a really cool OC.

Sorry, I've been so obsessed with Hetalia and stuffs that I forgot about Law of Ueki :O NOOOOOOEEEZZZ. But cheer up, once I finish Black Maid and Onward Singapore, I MIGHT make a LoU and Hetalia crossover :3

Enjoy the (very mild) fluffiness.