They walked into the bar together while Azusa was still talking to Kenji about the last of the details of the house before they finished it, and Toru was talking and laughing with his father and Chiori.

Hideo saw that they went in together and he gave Toru and Azusa both of his thumbs while winking and grinning and it earned a chuckle from Azusa and eye roll from Toru.

Apparently all of the elders in the village were such pranksters and juveniles and working together to plot last night's scheme.

Only this time, Toru didn't mind. He just wanted them to be happy and to enjoy his time with his friends and family without any lingering regrets. He just felt that he needed to do that before it was too late.

Everyone seemed to conspire together and put him to sit beside Azusa on the long communal table where the food was already prepared by Hideo. Chikara joined them with a pout, but when Azusa gave him a slice of the fresh sashimi, he beamed again.

Toru watched their interaction and since he knew Chikara since he was a baby, he knew that the young man had a heavy crush on Azusa. Maybe if he was still at that age, he would be too, because Azusa was such a perfect woman. So far, he didn't see any flaw in her, and he thought that everyone had a flaw, and that included him. He kind of wondered what kind of a flaw that this woman had, and whether he would be able to tolerate it in the long term.

The sudden intrusive thought almost jolted him out of his seat.

Long term?

He was only here because he was having a three month vacation, and he had to leave as soon as the time's up to go back to his hardcore life as a detective.

Azusa was a resident here, and he just met her for not even twenty four hours and he already thought about the long term?

He could not help but observe her closely.

What kind of witchcraft did she put him on?

From this distance, he could smell her fresh scent mixed with sweat and it caused his nerves to go on a frenzy, like he was in heat.

He tried to focus on the meal in front of him, but when her strayed hair flew to his face, he instinctively tucked it behind her ear and almost kissed her bare neck, but he stopped himself in time, followed by the gaping look from the others.

Azusa looked at him with something unreadable in her beautiful eyes, but then she broke into a smile and put a huge shrimp tempura on his plate.

"Eat this." She piled a whole lot of other stuff on his plate and he wondered how she knew all of his favorite food.

After the rest of the crowd exchanged excited looks between themselves, Chiori decided to be their spokesperson.

"So, Toru, Azusa, we are happy for you guys." She smiled widely and Toru could see a tear in her eyes. "I know you guys will make a perfect pair ever since I saw Azusa here, wandered into this place, alone with her ginkgo tree."

The others nodded in agreement, while Toru was speechless. He was so stunned with this progress and was about to refute all of that because he didn't want Azusa to feel awkward or burdened by the misunderstanding. But he felt Azusa touched his hand and smiled – giving him an imperceptible shake of her head, telling him without words that he didn't need to worry about it.

It wasn't that he didn't like the notion that somehow he and Azusa were doing something together on their first night together, but wouldn't it make it look like she was a cheap woman for doing it with a man she just met? He liked her a lot, and he didn't want to make her suffer for such a trivial thing such as gossip like this.

And he knew how vicious the gossip surrounding her was already spread by none other than Karen.

The next thing she did though, surprised him.

Azusa grinned and she linked her arm to Toru's, and that little intimate act assaulted him more in his apparently primitive part of the brain, since he sported a hard on by just being touched by a woman. No, by the close physical contact with this particular woman.

He was not someone who easily got aroused just by being touched by any woman, or by being in close proximity with one – even as alluring as Azusa. He was not some neanderthal for chrissake.

But this woman was different.

She… incited a lot of feelings and strange reactions from him, and he didn't understand why when they only just met last night.

"Don't worry you guys, me and Toru? We get along very fine. We talked a lot and became friends overnight, right, Toru?" She pinched his biceps and he almost came from the sudden flashing of memories that flooded into his brain – almost blinding him from their ferocity.

He saw that he woke up next to Azusa and they made sweet love even when they were still half asleep, it was their favorite time of the day before they started with their routine. He saw that they went on a date at the arcade and he stole some kisses from her – followed by making sweet love outside their home, in the outdoor jacuzzi.

And the last one he remembered clearly was when he touched her stomach and it was rounded and full, and he knew that she was pregnant with his child.

Toru was hyperventilated with the assault of memories and he almost fainted from them, when someone slapped his back and strangely, got him back on his feet.

The nauseated feeling like he was thrown in the turbulent sea was gone in a sudden, and all the memories suddenly dimmed when he heard Azusa made a small gasp at the person who just slapped his back in an overly friendly manner.

"Hey y'all, what's up?"

The person who slapped the back of Toru was a man with a face identical to Azusa, and he wore an all black ensemble, with his black hair tied back in a ponytail. He wore a lot of leather and earrings – which looked a little bit out of place in this rural country, but he didn't give a shit as he sat beside Toru with an overly familiar manner.

"'Sup bro, heard that you're banging my sister last night, is that the truth?"

The man looked calm and all, but Toru could feel the heat radiating from his heterochromia eyes that were identical to Azusa, and he knew that this man meant business. He felt like this man could easily snap everyone there in two and roast them before anyone could say gesundheit.

This man radiated danger all over his body.

"Azuma! What are you doing here?" Azusa stood up faster than lightning and she pulled the newcomer with her. "Excuse me everyone, this man is actually my twin brother, Azuma. I apologize for his rude behavior."