"Nautical stripes so don't look good on you," was the first thing Kaoru's cousin said as he came in through the front door. Kaoru had been out of the house since late last night; it was nine in the morning now, but Mariko didn't even ask where he'd been, didn't even seem to have noticed his absence.

His aunt came out from the living room to see what the commotion was about, and now she stared disapprovingly at her nephew's shirt. "I agree. Go change this instant," she ordered with a sour look on her face. "And what happened to your school uniform?"

Kaoru said nothing – just smiled. He may not look good in polo shirts. Red horizontal stripes may make him look like a fool. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Kaoru had never felt more beautiful.

"That shirt doesn't even fit you. Way too big..." Mariko muttered as she and her mother walked back into the living room, no longer interested now that they had given their two cents.

If only she knew, Kaoru thought, who this shirt belongs to...

[Can you believe it? This is the first thing I've put up that I'm one hundred percent satisfied with, and it's so short.

Anyway, I'm quite proud of this. It's short, but I find it to be cute... Leave a review, tell me what you think. Pretty please?]