AN: Wow, wow. Who would have thought this day would ever happen, right? Kakigouri will be updated for the first time nearly four years. This was a long time coming, but I'm certainly glad to be finally getting my ass into gear. I'll make this short and sweet. This update is dedicated to all you lovely reviewers who continued to encourage me during the years of what I will now call the Black Out Period or BOP for short.

(5/28/13)

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own Harukanaru or its lovely characters.

Words to know: Kakigouri – shaved ice usually flavored with syrup. Comparable to a snow cone.

Mondai nai – "not a problem" (loose translation)

Kakigouri

By Peachie-chan

Chapter 4: Day 4 – Of Heaven and Earth

"We're going out!" Akane called out to her mother as she busied herself with slipping on her shoes, Yasuaki following her example.

"Yasuaki-kun?" Shizuka called back.

"Yes?"

"Please take care of Akane," the older woman laughed lightly as she poked her head out from the kitchen and offered the emerald-haired houseguest a small wave.

"Mondai nai," he replied.

"Honestly mom," Akane moaned in displeasure, "I'm the one taking care of him!"

"Uh huh. Sure, Sweetie."

Slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder, Akane then looked over at Yasuaki and held out her hand to him. The older man obediently reached out his hand and held onto hers without a voice of protest. The two then proceeded out the door into the scorching, sun-drenched world outside.

"I want to go back inside," Yasuaki voiced immediately as the red-headed teenager closed the door behind them.

Akane nodded slowly in agreement, yet reluctantly began to lead Yasuaki down the steps and onto the street. Even though they were both lightly dressed, she in a light cream-colored summer dress and him in a faded red t-shirt with tan shorts that fell right to his knees, the pair felt little to no relief from the oppressive heat.

"I know, I know…but that businessman, Tomomasa-san knows where we live and managed to find my phone number," Akane groaned in misery as they walked and turned the corner down the block. It was bad enough that she had to take care of Yasuaki, but adding the role of Ryujin no Miko to her ever growing list of responsibilities was like the icing to her cake of misery.

The pair walked in silence for several blocks, Akane being unsure of what sort of conversation to start up, while Yasuaki seemed quite content with the lack of interaction between them. And yet…

The onmyoji's eyes trailed down to Akane's smaller handing, holding his own larger one tightly. The girl always seemed to be leading him by the hand much like the way a mother would with a small child. Yet that notion did not bother him in the least. It was practical, after all the city was a crowded and hectic place. Also being separated from Akane would only bring her more unneeded problems and worries, something he though best avoided.

Necessity did not explain the dull sensation of warmth in his chest whenever her hand took his, and he was fairly certain that this did not have to do with the weather. Yasuaki was not used to such intimacy as all of Abe no Seimei's students were uncomfortable with his presence. They thought him to be a monstrosity. To think that a common girl like Akane never shrank away. Never.

"Tomomasa-san is rather eccentric, don't you think?" Akane asked curiously without looking up at him.

There she went again, asking for an opinion that he could not really give.

"It is not wise to judge someone after a day. If Tomomasa acts in a similar manner today, then I will agree with you on the basis of consistency."

Akane sighed.

Yasuaki felt as though he had once again fallen short of the young woman's expectations.

"I hope one day you'll tell me your likes and dislikes and other things like that in such a way that even Tomomasa-san would be jealous."

Yasuaki said nothing, not that Akane expected him to respond eagerly. Yet after a few minutes of less than awkward silence, the young woman heard a noise of some sort.

"Ran…"

"Did you say something, Yasuaki-san?" she asked curiously as she slowed her pace and looked up at her usually silent companion.

"Ran…she is what I dislike."

Akane stopped walking all together. She couldn't believe it. He actually had an opinion! To think that the very first thing Yasuaki disliked was a shared dislike. The redhead could already imagine herself and her new "friend" having long heated debates about which quality Ran possessed that was the most foul. Thus the mutual hatred would form some unbreakable bond between Akane and Yasuaki.

The girl sighed contentedly as she dreamed of her and Yasuaki becoming close friends. And between men and women did becoming close not mean eventual marriage? Still wrapped up in her fantasy, Akane playfully slapped Yasuaki's shoulder, ultimately resulting in an unamused onmyoji. Marrying Yasuaki would not be so bad. He was very visually appealing to the eye and such sudden breakthroughs with his personality surely meant that he would be much more human-like by the time she felt ready for marriage.

"…you've been possessed by a demon of lust," Yasuaki stated matter of factly as he gently poked the smaller girl's cheek with the tip of his left index finger. "If you are not wary, it will consume you, body and soul. Surely then you will become a loose woman."

It felt as though all the blood in her body had rushed to her face in a matter of seconds. Akane was angry, so angry that she found herself struggling to form words. The end result was her merely opening and closing her mouth with the only sound coming from her lips sounding no better than a small animal attempting to growl.

"As if I would ever marry you!" Akane screamed angrily, point an accusing finger at the onmyoji.

Yasuaki stared blankly back at her while the people on the street quickly avoided what looked like a quarreling couple.

"I don't remember marriage ever being part of our relationship."

"I thought it was important to bring up to make certain that you knew it would NEVER happen."

Yasuaki did not even see it fit to humor her with a reply. Akane felt like a moron for even allowing the subject to be addressed as long as it had been.

"…can we just have things your way? I promise to be quiet," Akane grumbled in defeat.

The two walked in silence to their destination. If the redhead hadn't been so preoccupied with sulking, she might have noticed the ghost of a smile that remained on his lips for less than a second. Finally he won.

Tachibana Tomomasa had a reputation as large as the billions of yen he had acquired for playing the Nikkei Index. He was a know playboy and had dated more gorgeous women than Akane could count. It was even said that the teal-haired man had a direct line to the Prime Minister and was good friends with the Emperor. This incredibly powerful man was not only intimidating, but the most baffling man she had ever met in her life…Yasuaki not included. Why? Influential Tachibana Tomomasa, who could dine with any foreign dignitary of his choosing, had settled with the incredibly low standard of taking a high school girl and her emotionally vacant companion to a family restaurant.

"If it isn't my lovely Ryujin no Miko! How pleased I am to have you accompany me for lunch."

Akane stared blankly at the man sitting on the opposite side of the booth from her. Yasuaki remained seated at her side and matched the look on Akane's face if not surpassed it. She said nothing and the only sound heard was that of the onmyoji slurping his soft drink with his straw. Akane would have thought more about how his slurping seemed to have a bored connotation attached to it, but decided against it. Tomomasa politely ignored Yasuaki's presence and instead to focus his attention on Akane. Reaching over the table, the older man took the initiative to grab her hand and hold it gently in his own.

"I cannot thank you enough for coming here today."

"I didn't have a choice."

"Even though I burdened you with such a trivial request, you are kind enough to help me to the very end."

"Once again…I had no choice and you threatened me with violence that I don't even understand."

"Becoming Tachibana Tomomasa's only girlfriend seems to be a strange definition of violence, Motomiya-san."

The conversation was clearly going nowhere, causing the young woman to sigh in frustration.

"Listen…I only agreed to be your miko for Fuji-chan's sake, so I don't see why this little meeting is even necessary."

At this Tomomasa smiled charmingly at the girl he appeared to have a hard time winning over.

"I have another homework assignment for you, Miko-chan."

Akane hardly looked amused.

"You do realize you are asking a lot from a stranger, right?"

"It can't be helped," Tomomasa began with a light shrug of his shoulders, "The presentation of the ritual was going to be performed by children, and you my dear, are most certainly not a child. I need you to gather six more of your little guy friends to fill the other empty roles."

Six? What happened to the missing two? Before Akane even had a chance to ask Tomomasa sensed her confusion and replied again.

"One of the older boys in the previous group will remain as he was incredibly upset over Fuji-chan's accident. The second will be Yasuaki-kun. He seemed knowledgeable about the subject of Ryujin yesterday…and besides, despite his vacant personality he still possesses a body that can be used to fill a role. See? I was even kind enough to start your homework for you."

Great, even more responsibilities she didn't ask for.

"I want to compromise."

"I'm listening," he purred.

Akane found herself wishing that Fuji would have been present solely to keep the man on a leash.

"Allow me to skip practice until I find the six other people. There are only so many hours in a day, not to mention the fact that I have my summer homework and Yasuaki-san to think about already…having practice and then adding your 'homework' is becoming a bit much," Akane explained delicately as she remembered the stack of homework on her desk that Yasuaki's arrival had deterred her from.

"Fine, but we can only postpone your practice for a week. I rather you have two solid weeks of practice as opposed to one stressed out one," Tomomasa said with a small nod of agreement.

A tiny smile graced Akane's lips as she relaxed slightly. Yasuaki at this point had chosen to focus much of his attention on the menu in front of him. She wondered if the man had any sort of preference, but soon realized he had never so much as piped in at dinner time for what he wanted. Yasuaki simply accepted anything that was given to him at meal time.

"What would you like to eat, Yasuaki-san?" Akane asked softly, knowing very well that there was no yakisoba, knowing that would be the first think he searched for.

Tomomasa watched the whole display in front of him with a gaze filled with mild amusement. The way the silent Yasuaki shifted his weight slightly as Akane leaned in close, or how his dual-colored eyes glanced down at her briefly as she pointed at the various items on the menu. While Akane was unaware of Tomomasa's interest in the two of them, Yasuaki was not. His eyes met the older man's for a moment before he scooted a fraction of an inch closer to the girl.

"I will try the hamburger steak you mentioned."

"Excellent choice, Yasuaki-san…but what should I get? Maybe the katsu curry…or maybe the spaghetti…" Akane mused as she lightly tapped her chin with her index finger in thought. "What about you, Tomomasa-san?"

The handsome man thought about his own choice before he flashed the red-head a charming smile.

"I was thinking about getting the banananana parfait."

"Eh? I bet that tastes amazing!"

"You are more than welcome to have a bite. In fact, I can even share mouth to m-"

"Instead of this pointless conversation, could you not be teaching Motomiya-san about the hachiyou she's suppose to find?"

Akane tilted her head to the side and looked up at Yasuaki. His face, unsurprisingly, remained as blank as ever. Still, there was something there that hinted at annoyance. Tomomasa noticed it as well and he seemed amused by it.

"Hai, hai, Yasuaki-san~"

"Then start."

"Such biting words," Tomomasa chuckled before looking back at Akane. "Shall we begin?"

"Yes, please," she mumbled. What else could she say? All she wanted was the awkward situation to end.

"Hachiyou are eight individuals tasked with protecting and aiding the Ryujin no Miko. One warrior representing heaven and the other earth together symbolize one of the four gods of the cardinal directions. And that should be the gist of it. Just get men to fill the spaces."

"I can properly ascertain who is suited for each role," Yasuaki added soon afterwards.

"And what role do you fit best, Yasuaki-san?" Akane asked curiously.

"Hachiyou of earth for Genbu, black beast of the north," the onmyoji replied without even thinking.

"Protect me well, Yasuaki-san," she said with a smile.

"Mondai nai."

A simple answer that Akane could not even being to understand the sincerity of.

"Thank you for inviting us to lunch, Tomomasa-san," Akane thanked graciously with a polite bow, only to be waved off by the man.

"It wasn't a problem at all. I'm simply sorry you and Yasuaki-san had to deal with me turning down so many women during our date," Tomomasa replied with a little laugh as their small group made it outside to the sidewalk. "And the temperature hasn't gone down at all…what a pain."

"We'll see you in a week."

"Ne, Akane-chan, if you ever get bored of Yasuaki-kun…you know where to find me."

The young woman replied with a hesitant laugh before she looked over at Yasuaki and made a face. The onmyoji stared at his caretaker for a moment before he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Akane behind.

"Well he's certainly acting in a way that doesn't suit him," Tomomasa commented softly. Akane had no other choice but to agree. With one more bow, she excused herself and hurried after her companion.

"Wait up, Yasuaki-san!"

Yasuaki only slowed down slightly, luckily it was enough to allow Akane to catch up. Once she reached his side, it wasn't her to grab his hand. Without warning, Yasuaki grabbed a hold of her hand, even making a point to lace their fingers together. Blood was quick to rush up to her face. Did he really not understand what he was doing? Akane blushed even darker as the handsome onmyoji inched his face closer to hers.

"So we do not lose each other in a crowd," he explained.

"Right…of course."

Akane watched as Yasuaki cast a glance back towards Tomomasa before starting to pull her along in the opposite direction.

"…Yasuaki-san…where are we going?"

"Morimura estate."

"…why are we going to your former prison?"

"Hachiyou, Seiryuu of earth."

Akane did not bother starting a new line of questioning. On some level she knew exactly who they were going to visit. The man who had wrote to her about Yasuaki a day or two before.

"Morimura Tenma."

AN: WOOT! That took a while. I've already begun to work on Chapter 5…even though it's been a long time, I hope you will consider to continue to support me. A review goes a long way : )

Here's hoping for a speedier chapter 5!