Six-thirty arrived in what felt to Aoi as mere seconds. He had been able to convince Ren to instead come over to his place, and was grateful that his aunt had to work today. Really, she had to work practically everyday, being the manager and all. Still, time with no adults around made everything easier, whether he had friends over or not.

Aoi had barely finished tidying up when the doorbell rang out. He placed the broom back in the broom closet where it belonged, and went to answer the door. Out of habit, he rose to stand on his toes and peeked through the peephole, even though he knew who it would be. Rolling back on the balls of his feet, he opened the door, and his guest walked in.

"Come on in." He said. She paused at the door, and her eyes ran over him, measurably surprised.

"Aoi?"

"Yup."

She smirked. "It's interesting. You barely look like the same person."

Aoi let out an aggravated sigh, tugging on his collar. He was currently dressed in a polo and khaki cargo pants. It was uncomfortable, but necessary for the moment.

"You make a pretty attractive boy, you know. Why ever did you start dressing like a girl?"

He scowled. "Take a seat. I'll explain in a moment...Maybe."

She smirked but obeyed, and finally noticed the snack on the short table before her. It was a good-sized plate, filled with mochi and an assortment of daifuku flavors. She couldn't hide the amused smile on her face, and delicately picked one up.

"Does this make me a cannibal by eating this?" She asked, attempting to break the blue haired boy's serious facade.

It worked; Aoi let out a snicker, his mouth twisting into a small grin.

"Shut your mouth, Midori."

... ... ...

Ren rang the doorbell, and folded her hands neatly, waiting for the boy she already considered a good friend to open the door. She heard a call of 'One second!', and smiled to herself. Aoi, even before she had met him in person, had struck her as a very clean and meticulous person. It was very refreshing. That was likely the reason for the delay.

A few moments passed before door swung inward, revealing an attractive blue haired boy with severe eyes. It took her a moment to realize the handsome boy before her was Aoi.

The strength of her stare must have embarrassed him, because a light blush warmed his cheeks. He averted his eyes, focusing on her attire. She had chosen a rather unisex outfit; if she hadn't worn her breast binder, she would have appeared as a tomboyish, maybe even athletic girl.

"Hello, Aoi-chan." She said politely.

"Hey." He responded, stepping aside, waving a hand to invite her in. She entered, glancing around. Yep, he had definitely been cleaning. Everything shone and sparkled, and the fresh smell of Pine Sol clung to the floor and furniture.

"This way." He directed, and took the lead. She fell in line behind him, following, even though she already knew the basic layout of the house from her visit earlier. As they came into the living room, she became distracted by a cluster of picture frames, practically every one of them including Aoi. A particular one caught her eye: a small picture of him and the girl from the cafe- the one Ren had kissed on the cheek, named...Misaki?- all the Maid-Latte employees, a darkly tanned woman she didn't recognize, and a tall blonde boy next to Misaki. Both the blonde boy and Aoi, dressed like a girl, had a hand on one of her arms, with Misaki turned and berating the tall boy. Her eyes, however, settled on Aoi's hand, holding the maid's arm much like he had held hers this morning. He was leaning close to her, giving a warm smile. He never smiled like that in Ren's presence.

The smile was clearly for this Misaki. Even though she hadn't done anything wrong, Ren still felt a faint resentment towards her.

"Hi there, Ren."

A voice that didn't belong to Aoi broke Ren out of her thoughts. She straightened and turned, her eyes rising to a red-headed girl that she recognized easily.

It wasn't easy to be civil to someone that had been so rude, and certainly not any easier to talk to someone you had slapped across the face in front of a crowd of people. Especially when you regretted it. But she couldn't bring herself to be mean in the company of Aoi, so she did the first sensible thing that came to mind.

She held out her hand. Midori stared at it in mild surprise and confusion.

"Truce?"

The flame haired girl grinned crookedly, all awkwardness forgotten, and gripped Ren's hand tightly. They stood there for a moment, their faces concentrated. After a moment, Midori's voice rang out.

"Ow, okay, uncle!" She laughed. Ren laughed as well, relaxing. It dawned on Aoi; they were testing each other's strength. How classic. He heaved a overly dramatic sigh, and the two girls smirked before taking a seat; Ren falling gracefully, and Midori flopping down with her limbs thrown about unceremoniously. The boy sat as well, running a hand through his hair. Ren found the boyish gesture funny. Aoi certainly had changed in just one day. She couldn't help but wonder if her influence had anything to do with it.

"Okay, Ren? I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you know that Midori is a lesbian?"

"Bisexual." Both girls said in unison. Aoi let out a short laugh, and continued.

"And you know that she knows the truth about you being a girl." It wasn't a question, and the lack of surprise in her eyes proved he was correct.

"Okay. Well, um... I guess that's it."

"How does it feel to be the only one in the room who's a dude? Me and Ren could double-team you." Midori waggled her pencil-thin eyebrows, a mischievous smile on her face. Aoi flushed a bright crimson.

Ren and Midori couldn't help it; the expression on his face set them off in a fit of giggles. His cheeks grew impossibly hotter, and his eyebrows pushed down over his eyes.

"S-shut up!"

Ren's bright laughter continued, but the girl next to her cut off abruptly, and the devilish glint returned to her eyes, the gears in her head turning. Clearly, Midori was concocting a plan, and her glances at both Aoi and Ren indicated who it involved. It sent a shiver through Aoi, and the look quieted Ren, who studied the ginger girl incredulously.

"You know, I think I wanna play a game."

Aoi swallowed. "A game?"

"Yeah. Midori wants to play dress-up."

... ... ...

"I can't believe I allowed this. In my own house!"

Aoi was still fuming. Midori -curse her!- had managed to get both Aoi and Ren into clothes that matched and accentuated their true gender. And then she had sent them off, to go on a date to none other than Maid Latte. He insisted to himself it wasn't a date. After all, he barely knew Ren. It was a lie that wasn't going to work much longer, but he planned on wearing it as thin as he could. It did the job for now.

Still, he could feel his sanity ebbing away with each step.

Ren, on the other hand, looked absolutely fine. Either she was excellent at hiding her discomfort, or she simply didn't feel any. It was impossible to tell, as both of the alternatives were equally likely. This, along with the extremely boyish attire Midori had forced him into, did not add up to a good start to the evening. That Baka Mochi was going to pay dearly.

"Aoi?"

The blue haired boy steered his mind away from hostile thoughts and felt them drift to his...date? No, that wasn't the word. Ren was cool and all, but he couldn't think of her as anymore than an acquaintance. Anyway, there was someone else who he liked as more than a companion. Someone who... probably would never know how he felt. He was much too cowardly to confess.

"Aoi."

"Huh?" Aoi responded, sounding mentally incompetent.

The girl gave a worried, thin smile. It didn't suit her. "We're here."

Glancing up, he realized she was right. "Go on." He said, sounding rude. He didn't care; his mind was on more important things. Ren gazed at him for a time, but he paid her no mind. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her turning to enter. He followed her in, and they were quickly seated. Aoi absentmindedly noticed the lack of customers. They took their seats, though this was intended to be a social place, neither of them spoke. It wasn't long until a maid came to ask for their order. Aoi forced himself to concentrate on the menu, and was almost successful in losing himself to the various dishes, until a voice broke the awkward silence.

"Aoi? What are you doing here?"

Looking up, he was surprised to see Misaki. Which, really, didn't make sense; she did work here, after all. He didn't want her to think he was with Ren, and racked his brain for a coherent response, an excuse, anything.

"Mi-Misaki! Uh, hi."

He sounded like a complete moron. Luckily, Ren put on her pretty girl face and came to his rescue.

"Hello. Misaki, is it? It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ren." She gave the older girl a friendly smile, which the dark haired maid returned. It had worked, more or less; Misaki's attention had been drawn away from him.

"Likewise." Her eyes flickered to Aoi. He could see she was suspicious. So much for being invisible, which had been his hope. Or at least make Ren disappear.

"So, how do you know Aoi?" Misaki asked curiously.

"Well, I-"

"She's just some chick from school. She just dragged me here. I don't even like her." He blurted out. He noticed the hurt shoot across Ren's face, but he ignored it, and continued ignoring her as she rose, a shadow hiding her eyes. Misaki wasn't looking at Aoi, but stared at Ren, an expression he couldn't recognize on her face. It scared him, and he felt like his hopes of ever getting Misaki to like him were slowly fading away.

"Goodbye, Aoi."

He didn't respond, and Ren stared at him. He didn't even grace her with a response. As she left, Misaki began to leave too. Aoi moved to stand and follow.

"Misaki-"

He was interrupted as she grabbed the collar of his shirt and judo-flipped him over her shoulder. He hit the ground with a heavy, painful thud. The cafe fell silent, and he caught a glance of Satsuki along the sidelines, a disappointed mask over her usually cheery face.

"You can't see it. You're an idiot."

He refocused on the girl above him. "What?"

"That girl needs your attention. Why you would ignore her, I cannot fathom. Why?"

He didn't answer.

"WHY?!"

A strange courage, a new-found power, surged through him. And he found himself telling her exactly why.

... ... ...

Aoi walked home, his walk slow and unsteady. He wasn't thinking about his destination, or his path. All that was on his mind was the scene that he kept playing over and over in his mental theater.

"I like you."

She stared at him, her anger vanquished and replaced with shock. He had caught her off guard, that's for sure.

"W-what?"

"Misaki. I like you."

Her response had been nervous, of course. But she had made one thing clear.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't feel the same way. She did have a boyfriend. But the pain of rejection for someone like Aoi was more than a blow to the emotions. It was a fatal strike on the self- esteem.

As he shuffled forward, he found himself stopping in front of a house that seemed familiar. He shook away the feeling, instead moving to face the street. It was over dramatic, but for a second, he considered it. Stepping in front of the line of cars... It would be fast. Hopefully.

But it would be stupid. Killing himself over something like this? It would upset... someone. He couldn't think of their name...but he could imagine them. He wanted to find them. But as he began to leave the curb, his foot slipped, and he felt himself begin to fall.

"You idiot!"

A hand shot out and caught his wrist, yanking him forward. Aoi and the stranger tangled, and Aoi found himself on bottom, pinned. He pulled out of his mind and came back to reality. He recognized the person.

"Get off me, Gintarou." He said coldly.

He glowered. "Make me, you scumbag." The red haired boy jerked Aoi to his feet, gripping his collar angrily.

"I ought to break your scrawny little neck."

"But you won't, Oniisan."

Both boys directed their attention to someone hidden in the shadows. Stepping out, Aoi wondered how he never saw the similarities between the siblings.

"Midori? You and Gintarou are siblings?"

She pointedly ignored Aoi. "Oniisan, let him go."

Reluctantly, he released him. Aoi pivoted to face her. "Thanks, Midori." He said sincerely.

Her response was to slap him across the face. He retaliated instantly, shoving her.

"Don't touch me." He hissed. It seemed Midori wasn't here to help him. She stopped forward.

"You destroyed her! Why can't you help her?" Her cries grew more shrill as she swatted at Aoi. The teen boy was stunned. What was this about?

When he voiced his confusion, she let loose a terrible, broken laugh.

"You really don't know? Renata, you piece of crap! You keep breaking her. You-" She choked off, tears overwhelming her. Gintarou comforted her in a half-hug, his critical eyes tearing Aoi apart. But he really didn't understand.

"Renata? What? I don't know who you're talking about!"

The red haired boy looked at him piteously, as it he understood Aoi's pain. "Come on. You look like you need help." Gintarou sighed. "A lot."