Misaki and Usui had been taken and steered into the building the second they had shown the ticket they had won by passing the trial. Now Misaki was being stripped and changed, with a couple of girls putting together what looked like an extremely girly outfit, and another few doing something foreign to her hair.

She hardly noticed what the group of over-enthusiastic girls was doing to her, though, her mind still caught on those few moments during the sunset. Usui's eyes had glowed with electric green fire in the light of the dying sun, blazing with passionate intensity as he looked down at her. His presence had been everywhere, that strong, warm aura enveloping her in its protective sphere even though he never touched her. In that one instant, she had felt a completely mad urge to lean up, to close that little bit of distance…

You mean, like I love you?

He said those words so casually. So easily. He knew exactly how he felt, and made no attempts to keep it from her. Usui didn't expect a response from her. That's not why he said it. He told her simply so that she knew what he felt for her. So that she knew exactly what she was to him.

But what was he to her? It had to be killing Usui, having Misaki know his true feelings and seeing her do nothing, hearing her say nothing, to validate those feelings. Kuuga had been on the mark. Usui was enduring her. Enduring everything she put him through, just so that he could cling to his hopes that it might really be worth it. That she might feel the same. That a relationship between the two of them might not be crazy or impossible.

The two of them really were like fire and water, as Erika had said that day in the café. Their personalities were so different from each other, at total opposite ends of the same spectrum. Usui was always so cool and calm. Nothing ever phased that guy. She, on the other hand, was always on edge, always wound up. She was a big ball of nerves and stress where he was easy-going and relaxed. She had never once heard him raise his voice, even when she was sure he was pissed. There were a total of two times that she had ever even seen Usui's sure fury on his face, and both times were branded into her mind. Misaki couldn't remember having ever seen or heard any indication that he threw his weight around, getting into fights he already knew that he would win. Her voice was almost constantly a shout, her strength something she felt she needed to prove, or else the boys would try to walk all over her. And yet, despite these observations, she refused to acknowledge that she took any notice at all of Usui Takumi.

Could she really deny that strange feeling she always got around him anymore? Should she? He was the only one that had ever made her feel this way. Sure, Hinata did love her, in his own way, and being around him was easy and effortless, just like when they were children. But Hinata didn't understand her, and he made little effort to. He was stuck in the past, seeing her as a girl she no longer was. He still saw the little girl without daddy issues who had never been to an aikido class. That girl had been gone for a long time.

That easy, long-time childhood relationship was something she lacked with Usui, but it hardly mattered. The seventeen year old paid attention to her, asked little, random questions and took note of the tiniest, most insignificant details of her life, just for the opportunity to know her better. He always asked her opinion. Always asked her questions designed to let him see into her head, and at the same time made her think herself. Usui Takumi wanted to understand her, and he did a damn good job at getting what he wanted. In the process, he actually even helped her to understand herself a little better, though she was loathe to admit it.

Her heart seemed to race whenever she was with him. Strange feelings clouded her mind whenever they walked together, talked together.

Damn, she thought. I'll have to talk to him somehow.

"All finished! You look amazing in that!" squealed the girls around Misaki.

She blinked rapidly and looked around, realizing where she was. And more importantly, what she was wearing.

So this is what they meant by "special service…"

~…~

Usui could hear the enthusiasm of the girls even through the walls as they dressed Misaki. The guys trying to help him were rather quiet by comparison, but not in a rude way.

He looked out the window of the classroom, at the now dark sky. The fireworks would be starting soon. The light from the bonfire was bright enough that he could see it in a wide circle, without even having to actually see the fire.

Ayuzawa…

She was cruel. She really was, but he loved her all the same. The prez was just so clueless that, at the same time that it drove him crazy, he also found it rather endearing. It was strange to him. No girl had ever caught and held his interest the way Misaki Ayuzawa did. He'd never felt that kind of passion, the overwhelming desire—no, the need—to protect something so valuable. It was an emotion staggering in its strength.

What was she thinking about now, he wondered? He hoped that she was thinking about him, about what had transpired between them not an hour ago. Was it foolish to hope for such a thing? He had been clinging to the belief that they could work, that whatever she said, she did truly love him, but was he wrong? Was he just being stupid, chasing after a girl who would never chase after him?

No. He refused to believe that. She cared for him. Maybe she didn't love him, not yet, but she cared for him more than she was willing to admit. He knew it. There was no way that something between them would never be able to work. The two of them worked perfectly together, like a well-oiled machine. Together, they were unbeatable. She would always be there to bring him light; he would always be there to save the day. That was how it would always be, and he would never have wanted it any other way.

"So are you two actually a couple?" asked one of the guys unexpectedly. Usui blinked and looked around for the speaker. It was a boy of average height, with short, spiky brown hair and dark blue eyes. Probably a freshman, but possibly a second year.

"Why?" asked Usui.

"I just heard the girl complaining about how she hadn't even wanted to do the challenge," he said hesitantly. "She said you tricked her into it."

Usui chuckled quietly.

"I guess I sort of did."

He was perfectly aware that he hadn't actually answered the boy's question, but that didn't seem to bother the boy very much. Usui had neglected to give him a straight answer because, in truth, he wasn't sure how he could. The young man had every intention of making it so, but with Ayuzawa fighting herself and him at every turn, it would be a long, hard road for the both of them. Still, the blonde was nothing if not determined, and was extremely good at getting what he wanted.

"Should we do something with his hair?" he heard someone mutter.

"Leave it," was the response. Smart move. Usui wasn't overly fond of other people messing with his hair.

"Well, then, we're done."

Usui looked down at himself. Huh. Not really what he would have chosen to wear for himself, but he could not wait to see Ayuzawa's matching outfit. He was sure it would just make Aoi fall over himself in giddiness.