"Somebody's in looove!"

Saihara looked up at Tenko, who was hanging upside down from a bar on the ceiling. Her long braids were dragging on the floor, and she had a smirk on her face.

He rolled his eyes, "No."

She giggled, "Tenko knows these things! You can't fool her, no matter how hard you try."

Saihara said, "I really don't know what you're talking about."

Tenko crossed her arms, "Ugh, you're such a boy. Ah, wait, that's rude. Okay, how about... Ugh! You're so dense!"

Saihara chuckled at Tenko's attempt to sound less mean.

"Tenko means it!" she cried, "All you do is hang out with Akamatsu-chan. Like, whenever you're not being BFFs with Tenko, you're with her, and you constantly talk to Tenko about her... It's pretty obvious."

Saihara said, "Chabashira-san, I don't have a crush on her. We're just friends who happen to hang out a lot. Just like you and I... I don't have a crush on you, and I hang out with you most of all."

"That's different," Tenko said, "Cause you don't get all blushy and nervous around Tenko, and you don't get a stupid grin on your face when people say her name. But you do whenever anyone says Akamatsu-chan's name!"

Saihara responded, "You're blowing things out of proportion. We're really just friends."

"Tenko calls bullshit."

Saihara rolled his eyes again, "I'm not having this conversation."

He began to walk away, when he suddenly heard a thump behind him. Tenko had flipped off the bar on the ceiling, and was running towards him with a devious glare in her eyes. He moved out of the way just before she could strike him, but she looked determined.

Tenko said, "You should ask her out. The longer you wait, the more time there is for someone else to snap her up first!"

Saihara swallowed, "I-"

"Ha! You flinched!" Tenko cried, "That's solid proof that you're head over heels for Akamatsu-chan!"

"Keep your voice down!" Saihara hissed, "And that's not proof of anything."

Tenko pouted, "Your denial just makes it more obvious."

Saihara looked away, "I don't know what you're talking about. She's my friend and nothing more... We can't be anything more..."

Tenko froze, "Wh... Huh? S-Saihara-kun?"

Saihara sighed, "What if I did like her? What then, Chabashira-san? What could I do?"

Tenko said, "Love her! Ask her to dinner, take her dancing, show her how much you appreciate her!"

"I can't!" Saihara shouted, spinning around to face Tenko, "Don't you understand? I can't..."

Tenko stared at him with sad eyes, and he added, "She likes Harukawa-san. She told me so herself. I can't very well ask her to dinner, it wouldn't be right. She wouldn't even say yes!"

She lowered her head, "Oh... Tenko is sorry..."

Saihara shut his eyes, "No, don't be. You didn't know, and I should have been clear from the beginning. But I can't date Akamatsu-san."

Tenko said softly, "She doesn't know what she's missing."

"She's not missing anything," Saihara replied, "It's better if we're just friends... It's easier that way."

Tenko nodded, "Tenko gets it. She won't tell a soul, and that's a promise!"

Saihara smiled lightly, "Thank you."

Tenko reached forwards, and hugged him tightly.

When she let go, she held her fists up, "Okay! No more sadness allowed. We're gonna go watch a movie, and eat popcorn, and do stupid things all night!"

Saihara said, "I'm ready."

Tenko beamed, "Let's go! Tenko away!"

She raced away, and Saihara chased after her.

"So, when were you going to tell me about your crush on Iruma-san?"

"How did you discover Tenko's secret?!"

"I'm a detective. It's my job to be perceptive."

Tenko elbowed him in the ribs and pouted.