She saw him sitting with his back against a wooden pillar, eyes staring off into the evening sky. The image was so captivating, that the girl took a moment to admire the golden-haired beauty. With his glasses fixed against the bridge of his slender nose, his dark blonde hair swaying aimlessly along with the summer's breeze, he looked like a living piece of art even Michelangelo would envy.

Ittosai, unaware of Sayori's presence, leaned his body against the pillar. His brows arched together as he silently debates whether now would be an appropriate time to join them inside or should he wait a bit longer. He was never fond of such celebrations, nor did he have much experience with them. Plus, with his actions in the last few months, he was not sure how to approach the group. Though, the thought of leaving the Princess alone with a group of men wasn't appealing to him either.

Lost in his own thoughts, Ittosai failed to notice the Princess' approaching from afar.

Before she could call out to him, a sharp pain suddenly hits the side of her right temple. The pain came too sudden and with such an intense pressure, that it made her lost her footing and fell off the wooden platform.

"A-Ahhh!" She let out a loud yelp as she landed on her backside. Her voice broke his train of thought, as he hurried over to her side.

"Sayori!" He called, "What happened!?" His voice was stern, but there was genuine concern behind them. She tried to laugh it off as he lifted her up back on the platform.

"T-Thank you," she mumbled while scratching her cheek embarrassingly. He let out a sigh and crouch down to check her leg.

"What were you doing? You could have seriously injured yourself." He scolded.

She flinched at his comment, "I'm sorry."

Realizing his harsh tone, he rubbed his forehead apologetically, "It's okay, you don't have to apologize. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

A smile lighted up her face, "Ah, I was looking for you!" For a moment, he forgot how to breath. Her smile is a dangerous weapon, he thought.

"Oh."

"Yup, I saw you sitting there so I wanted to surprise you," she laughed, "but I guess I had a bit too much of a drink and lost my balance." Sayori lied as she gave him an apologetic smile.

"Be more careful." He said as he patted her head, although he knew too well that it would be impossible for her to do so.

"Yes," she chimed happily. As I thought, being near him gives me the best feeling.

"Let's go back inside, it's getting cold out here." Ittosai got up on the platform and extended his hand to her. She smiled brightly and was about to reach out to grab his hand when a second wave of pain washed over her.

"Ow!" Sayori instantly curled her body, trying to force the pain to go away.

"Sayori!" Ittosai fell down next to the girl as her body swayed towards his. "What's wrong? Does it hurt that bad? Should I get you to Kadokura?"

"N-no, I'm really fine," she panted, "J-Just a little dizzy." She grabbed onto his warm hands.

"Are you sure? You don't look too well." He hugged her close to him. Her temperature seems to be normal.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She assured him, "You go on ahead inside, I'll be in a bit."

He pulled away and stare into her eyes, "Is there something you're not telling me?" His concern eyes reflected on hers and a small pain tugged against her chest.

"Of course not," she whispered softly just enough for him to hear. "If there's something wrong, you'll be the first to know, okay?" Her soft hand reached up to touch his cheeks and chuckled as a deep velvet blush appeared on his face.

"F-Fine, you promise?" He stuttered, trying hard not to advert his gaze. He was never good around woman nor did he ever experienced being touched first by a woman like this.

"Hehe, I promise." She was not sure where she got the courage to do what she did, but at that moment, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"Y-Y-You!" He was so flustered; it was hard not to laugh. "W-W-What's got in to you today?!"

She chuckled, "It must be the wine. Will you please get me some water?"

"G-Got it," he hurried to get up, "Stay here and I'll be back with water!" She kept a bright smile on her face until his figure disappeared back into the main halls.

The pain grew more, and more intense as she pressed her hands against her temples. Suddenly, a green light glow before her and engulfs her into a warm white dimension.

"The pendant…" she whispered. Her fears were beginning to come true. As she pulled out the green pendant, she could see Hatsuhime's spirit appearing before her. "Ahh, you're Hatsuhime!"

The young tomboy grins and nodded her head, "Yup. Thank you for saving my life! I owe you, well, my life basically."

Sayori flustered as she stood in front of the real princess, "No, no, it's not just me! Everyone's efforts are in it as well." They exchanged a few more thank you and polite greetings before Sayori's face turned gloomy. "So…it's time to go back isn't it?"

Hatsuhime was taken by surprised at the girl's straight forward attitude. Then her eyes became soft with understanding sadness as she nodded her head. "I'm sorry, if we don't get back to our own time then both of our spirits will eventually fade away and we will die."

The princess answered as she sadly looked down at her feet, "Sayori, I'm so sorry I dragged you into this mess. I…I was being selfish; not wanting to die."

Before she can say anymore, Sayori smiled and shook her head. "Please don't say that, I'm extremely happy that I could save you." She went ahead and hugged the princess in her arms. "Thanks to you, I've made many wonderful memories here. If you let me pick, I would gladly do this again."

At her words, Hatsuhime hugged her friend tightly. "Thank you."

"Now, tell me, how is my condition back home," Sayori pulled away and smiled warmly at the Princess.

"Ever since we switched places, your real body went into a coma. Since time flowed differently, it's only been two months in the real world. Your dad is beginning to lose faith that you would ever wake up, but your mom is begging him not to give up. I couldn't do anything but watched. I'm so sorry."

Sayori's heart was filled with pain upon hearing her situation back in the real world.

"Mom, Dad…it must have been so hard for them."

Biting her lips, Hatsuhime finally asked, "I know this is unfair of me, but we only have a few hours before the portal closes and I can't send us back to our original worlds again."

The image of Ittosai flickered into Sayori's mind.

"Hatsuhime, please, let me have some time to say goodbye to Ittosai. I don't want to leave without saying anything." Sayori begged. The Princess' heart aches to have to be the one to separate the two, thus she agreed to Sayori's request.

"Thank you, and one more thing…"

She whispered her last request, before the white space releases her.

Rushing back from the main hall with a cup of water in hands, Ittosai found Sayori where he last left her.

"Here, I got you some water." He sat down next to her and as he handed her the cup, he saw the tears flowing out her beauty brown eyes.

"Sayori…?" Hearing his voice made her realize how much she'll miss him. Seeing her crying face, his heart felt like it was deprived of air.

"I'm sorry for not realizing your feelings." He said as he tightly wrapped his arms around her small body. She sniffed a bit before holding on to his back. They held each other in silence until she pulled away so that she could be face to face with him. This was not the goodbye she wanted to see.

"I'm okay now, so please, don't be sad." She said as she wipes away her own tears, "If you want to make me feel better, please watch the sun set with me, okay?" Smug by her beauty, he agreed and in a flash, carried her up to the top of the roof.

He placed her down and embraced her from behind. She lets her head rest against his strong, warm chest. Her heart aches, but she was happy that he's here with her at the very end. The thought of not seeing him again made her clings tighter to his arms.

"Hm, what's wrong?" He asked, feeling her grip on him tighten all of a sudden. Shielding her face away from him, she shook her head. "Nothing, just wanted to get closer." She said, "You're really warm, I'm scared that one day I might not be able to feel this warmth again."

He smiled and held her closer unaware of her teary eyes, "Silly woman, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know…I know." She replied sadly. "Say, if…if I were to disappeared, what would you do?"

"Why would you disappeared for no reason?" He asked confused at her question.

"Just hypothetically speaking," she answered, "Tell me, what would you do."

"Well, I would search for you and demand an answer to why you left me in the first place."

"…And what if you can't find me?"

He placed his face against her soft brown hair, "There's no if, I'll keep searching for you until my last breath; until that day where you'll return back by my side."

"Then until you do, you cannot die. You must live on, promise?"

"Of course," he pulled his face away, seeming to pick up on her unusual questions, "What's with all these weird questions?"

Unable to refrain herself anymore, she turned around to face him. "Can you say my name one more time?" She swallowed back the urge of crying in front of him. "I really like it when you call out my name softly like that."

He smiled innocently and with a slight blush, whispered her name. "Sayori."

The sound of his voice ran through her body like overlapping ripples on a water surface.

"Say you love me. I didn't get the chance to hear you say that," she whispered to him with tears running down her face. In the end, she couldn't stop herself from crying.

"What's wrong?" Now he is feeling uncomfortable seeing her in tears. "Did I do something wrong?"

She shook her head and tried her best to smile. "No matter what happens, just know that I love you and forever will love you, Ittosai." Although he didn't understand what's happening, hearing her said that she loves him brought a warm smile to his face.

"I love you too, Sayori." He pulled her in and they shared a sweet kiss underneath the crimson sky. His tongue twisting along with hers as their kiss deepens. Finally, she pulled away.

"What's going on? Why are you acting like this?" His voice carries a hint of fear. For the first time in his life, he found someone who loves him; someone who's he willing to protect at the risk of his life. But now, it as if she's slipping away from him. Her silence only reassures his hunch.

Yet, she only smiled, "