On that day, she did not return to her temporary home after school.
Instead, after changing into her usual attire using her magic, she walked around the town aimlessly, entering shops on a whim, trying on some clothes, doing whatever she could to take her mind off the things she had witnessed earlier.
But nothing she did worked.
Sure, she had known that Rikka had feelings for Mana, just like everyone else in their little group knew about everyone feeling the same for Mana. She just never expected Rikka to be that bold and confess.
When it became evening though, she got hungry.
Looking around, she saw one of those American-style cafes that were all the rage lately, the kind with a stage for singers or bands.
Deciding she had nothing better to do, she entered.
She sat down at the counter and ordered a drink and a snack.
While she was waiting for her order, her mind finally calmed down a bit, letting her think about the whole situation.
Mana...Mana had been snatched away. Mana was now Rikka's girlfriend. While she felt happy for her friends, it hurt. It really hurt.
Suddenly, she felt tears running down her face. She let her head hang down, using her hair to hide her face, creating a small personal space around her.
She didn't even look up as someone sat down next to her.
"Is something wrong?" The person next to her, a girl or young woman judging by the voice, seemed concerned about her. Not like she cared.
"Leave me alone." She still didn't bother to look up.
The other girl ordered a drink and took a sip before turning to her again. "It's about Mana, right?"
This made her look up. "How do you..." She stopped in surprise when she recognized the face looking at her. "Makoto..."
"It's been a while..." The other girl's greeting was still awkward, even after all the time she had spent in this world.
"What are you doing here?" A justified question; Kenzaki Makoto, the national idol, rarely appeared in public after all.
"Well...It's because of her." She pointed towards the stage, right at the singer, a young girl with blonde twintails singing about a lost love.
"Wait...you have a date?" Regina gasped.
Makoto nearly spat out her drink. "What? No!" Wiping her mouth, she turned back. "She's my kouhai at Davi's agency who works part-time at this place, and she asked me to sing a few songs later as a surprise for the guests."
"A kouhai, huh? Well, she does look quite young..."
"Actually, she's a few years older than me."
"Really? What a shame, and here I thought I found a scandal on you..."
"A scandal? What kind of scandal?"
"Dunno...something like 'national idol using her status to charm younger girls'?"
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, then." Makoto took another sip. "Back to you...Did something happen with Mana?"
"Can't fool you, huh..." Regina hung her head. She took a short moment before she finally answered, only saying two words: "Rikka confessed."
"...Oh." Of course, Makoto, being one of their closest friends, completely understood.
Regina let out a sigh. "Of course, I'm happy for them, but..." She couldn't stop little teardrops forming in her eyes again.
"But it hurts, seeing the one you love getting stolen?"
"Yeah..."
"I know the feeling... But I pretty much always knew it's gonna be either you or Rikka who would get her in the end, so I accepted it. "
Regina just couldn't help staring at her, the mouth wide open. "You...loved Mana too?"
"I still do...she was the first who didn't just treat me as Makopi, the idol, but as Makoto, a normal girl."
Well, yeah... That's just how she is..."
"How about you? What made you fall for her?"
"Pretty much the same...remember when you girls found out about my father, or the time I got brainwashed?"
Makoto remembered, of course. "Back then, Aguri-san was always preaching us to kill you...and, to be honest, I agreed with her."
Regina gave a weak laugh in response. "Can't really blame you for that..."
"But, you know, Mana was always like 'we can save her, we have to save her'. She never, not even for a second, gave up on you."
Yeah...That sounds like her..." Regina blushed a little at the thought of Mana being that worried about her.
"Actually..." the idol started, forcing the blonde to turn her attention back to her, "It made me a bit jealous."
"Jealous? You were...jealous? Of me?"
The idol looked stern as usual, but the light pink shade on her cheeks gave her away. "Look, it was not out of love...Not at this point, at least. It's just..." She took a deep breath. "I wanted to have a friend like this, someone who would always be willing to help me in a pinch..."
"I see..." Regina understood. "You know, when I first met you girls, I felt the same... Maybe that's why I wanted Mana for myself. And instead of fighting me, everyone became my friends, and then..."
"You fell in love with her?" There was no teasing in Makoto's voice, only curiosity.
"Not just her..." the blonde sighed, "All of you, more or less. But yeah, the one who made my heart beat the most was Mana."
"You felt that way for ...me too?" The idol was visibly surprised by the confession.
Regina blushed a little. "How could I not, after all you girls did for me?"
"Is that so..." Makoto turned to her drink, acting like nothing happened. The light shade of pink on her cheeks gave away her embarrassment though. "Thank you, I guess."
For a few minutes, there was an uncomfortable silence between them, both of the young women focusing on their hands, only interrupted by an occasional sip of their respective drink.
"You know..." It was Regina who finally spoke again, making the idol look at her again.
"You know..." she repeated, before speaking on, "I was all alone since I was born. No friends, only my father and a few books..." She looked sad for a moment, barely long enough for Makoto to notice it. "All I had were fairy tales about some princess finding their prince and the like..."
She took another sip of her cocktail. "I always imagined falling in love with a prince. And when I met Mana..." her voice trailed off.
"You found your prince." Makoto picked up the topic.
"Yeah..." the blonde smiled a bit at the memory of the events a few years before. "Maybe that was the reason I wanted her for myself... I was jealous that she was spending so much time with everyone..."
Makoto remembered the old days as well. "Rather than jealous, I'd say you were pretty selfish back then." A soft smile appeared on her face. "To be honest, you were quite the handful back then. But.." a short pause. "you changed quite a lot since then."
"No..." Regina struggled to find the right words. "I didn't change..."
When she looked up, there were little tears in her eyes. "I didn't change a bit! I'm still the same selfish princess!"
Makoto gave her a few seconds to calm down. "Why do you think so?"
Regina was still a bit shaken. "I'm still ...sometimes I still feel selfish. Sometimes, I still feel like aP princess. Sometimes, I'm still waiting for my prince..."
"How about a knight?"
"Huh?" Makoto's question caught the blonde off-guard. "Well, I suppose a knight would be fine too, but..." Suddenly, her face turned red as she realized the meaning hidden behind the question. "Do you mean...?"
"Makoto!" Just as Makoto was about to answer, a voice, belonging to no other than her manager Dabi, called her.
The idol grimaced "Sorry, seems like it's my turn on the stage. We'll continue later."
With that, she left the counter, leaving Regina with some very confusing thoughts on her mind.
Soon, however, she was unable to focus on these thoughts as her attention, like everyone's was drawn towards the small stage. The small stage and the person, her friend, standing on there, letting her voice enchant everyone in the small room. The years of idol work had not done any harm to Makoto; if anything,Regina, thought, the experience she got had only made her even better than a few years ago when they had first met. A variety of songs, some of her own, but also some older pop songs and even one or two classical pieces resonated through the cafe, reaching everyone's emotions. And when she finished the last song, there was silence. A few seconds of pure silence, no one even dared to breath, before the applause branded over the room like a huge wave.
"Thank you very much." Makoto bowed to the audience, her face a perfect smile.
She waited until everyone had calmed down a bit before she spoke again.
"This was everything I planned to sing tonight. However..." she looked around the room, until her gaze focused on a single person, "I have one more song, a song that was made for a special person."
As the first few notes were playing, Regina looked up. She knew that song very well. This song, that had once been written just to reach her, only her.
And just like back then, the song managed to reach her heart.
Just like back then, Makoto was able to invoke these warm feeling in her heart with just a few words and a simple melody.
Just like back then, Regina's heart hurt, getting overwhelmed by a mix of emotions.
And just like back then, the singer was slowly walking in her direction, completely focused on her.
Just like back then, the idol reached out to her and gently caressed her cheek with one hand.
This time though, she didn't push her away, but immersed in the feeling of being touched, getting a bit of affection, a little bit of attention from someone.
They stayed like this for a moment, before Makoto leaned towards her and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
Everything around them seemed to go silent.
And a million questions popped up in Regina's mind as she tried to process the events.
Right now, right here, on the day she had lost her chance to confess to Mana, in some cafe in the city, her first kiss was stolen by a girl she had only seen as a friend so far.
And yet, she did not dislike it. Makoto's soft lips on her own, and the hand still gently resting on her cheek made her feel at ease.
Slowly, she raised her hand, trying to touch Makoto's cheek in the same way as well.
But just when she was about to touch the other girl's skin, the idol broke the kiss.
Regina opened her eyes and looked right into Makoto's purple pair of eyes, only a few inches between them.
She could feel Makoto's breath on her skin, the hand still gently touching her cheek, and, most noticeable, the lingering warmth still remaining on her lips.
"Sorry..." Without moving, Makoto apologized. "I shouldn't have done this..."
Regina shook her head, just a little, but enough for the other girl to notice. "I don't mind..."
"No..." Makoto finally pulled back a little, and now Regina was able to see the light shade of pink on her cheeks. "I want to say...I kissed you because I wanted to, but..." she took a quick glance to both sides, "I probably shouldn't have done it in this situation..."
The blonde looked around as well...and immediately realized the meaning behind these words: They were still in the cafe, and of course everyone present had been completely focused on Makoto's performance...which, of course, meant that every single person in the shop had seen the national idol kiss a seemingly random girl. The faces around them showed various expressions, ranging from mild surprise to big shock. Yet, it was so quiet that a falling needle would have been extremely loud in comparison.
"Makoto!" The same voice as before, now sharp and angry, cut through the silence.
"Oh sh..." Cutting of the swear, Makoto looked around and quickly localised the source of the commotion: Dabi, her manager, making her way through the crowd. And it was pretty obvious where she was headed.
"Regina..." The idol turned back, facing her friend again with a worried face. "Did you, in any way, dislike this...dislike me kissing you?"
"Eh?"The queestion caught the blonde completely off-guard. But, as she slowly understood, her face got redder by the second.
"No..." the answer came slowly, like a shy bird. "It was my first kiss...that i had been saving for Mana all this time..But, now you were the one...And i kinda liked it..."
"I see..." A relieved smile appeared on Makoto's face. "Then...Come with me."
"Huh? What?"
Makoto's face came closer again, until mere millimeters separated her mouth from Regina's ear. And then, she whispered just a single word: "Run!"
And before Regina could even understand, Makoto took her hand and made a run for the door, pulling her along.
At first, she was too surprised to react, but soon, she was running on her own, still holding hands with Makoto.
"Hey, Makoto! Stop right there!" Dabi's voice followed them, but they didn't stop.
A few more steps, and they were outside. And they continued to run, until both of them were out of breath.
Are you...sure...this is...okay?" Regina asked, trying to get enough air to speak.
"Actually..." Makoto was trying to cath her breath as well. "Actually...I didn't...think this through."
"Then...Why did you run away?"
Makoto took a deep breath before smiling at her. "Because I wanted to take you away, my princess."
Regina looked down, hiding yet another blush. "That's... not like you at all..."
Suddenly, a soft hand was laid on her cheek, before it moved down a little, raising her face up by the chin. And once again, she was looking into Makoto's amethyst-like eyes.
"I will ask one more time: did you hate anything that I did to you today?"
"No...I already told you, right?"
Instead of a reply, Makoto kissed her again. It lasted only a short moment, but it made her heart race.
When their faces separated, Makoto smiled at her again and took her hand.
"Come with me, my princess."
Regina smiled back at her. "Lead the way, my knight."
The present day
"So this place is..." Regina took a bite of her toast and looked around.
"My apartment." Makoto sipped at her coffee.
"And yesterday, after we got here...did we...?"
"We did." Makoto stayed completely calm, even smiled at her.
The blonde turned red as a tomato. "How can you be so calm about something like this..." she mumbled as she turned her attention back to the breakfast.
Makoto was about to reply, but the sound of her phone stopped her. A look at the number, and for a split-second, there was a frown on her face. Nonetheless, she answered the call.
Regina couldn't make out the words, but the person on the other side of the line sounded pretty angry, judging by the volume.
Makoto mostly listened, and only gave a few short answers to the other person.
When she hung up, she seemed relieved.
"It was Dabi." she answered Regina's unspoken question.
"She sounded pretty angry..." The blonde looked worried.
"Not that surprising after the things that happened yesterday though..." Makoto grimaced, just like she had done the evening before. "We should be thankful for her, though. Yesterday, she called Mana and told her you'd stay the night at my place."
"That's good..." Regina leaned back in her chair, "At least I won't have to explain why I didn't come home."
"Oh, and Dabi also told me that we owe her the money for our drinks."
"Ah..." The blonde looked a bit apologetic. "I guess we forgot to pay..."
That statement made the two of them laugh for some reason.
After a few minutes had passed, Makoto stood up.
"Well, I gotta go now."
The blonde looked surprised. "That early?"
The remark earned a smile from Makoto. "I am a top idol after all. Idol business is hard, but it's worth it."
"Wait!" As Makoto was about to leave for work, there suddenly was strong grip on her wrist.
"You know..." Regina started slowly, not really sure how to continue "Last night was...I never did these things before..."
"Me too." Makoto answered "So what?"
"Well, technically speaking, I'm still a princess, so there might be in some serious diplomatic issues..."
"I see..." Makoto seemed to think about it for a while, a worried look on her face. Then, she seemed to have reached a conclusion, as she got up, went around the table, and got down on her knees in front of a surprised Regina.
"Your Highness, princess Regina" she started, her tone even more serious than usual as she bowed down into a full dogeza. "I, Kenzaki Makoto, knight of the Trump Kingdom, hereby apologize for my actions tonight and will take full responsibility."
"Hey..." Regina was starting to feel a bit uneasy about having gone a bit too far, "You don't really have to..."
"I will take any kind of retribution You see fit for my deeds. If You never want to see me again, I'll leave this town and never come back. If You want to throw me in jail, I'll turn myself in. If You want me to work it off, my life is yours. However..."
She got up on one knee and took Regina's hand, "If, however, You can somehow forgive me, I'm afraid I have to ask You to be my bride, until death himself do us part."
She looked up, seeing a very red and very speechless Regina stare at her. It took the blonde a while to gather her thoughts.
"Did you just...propose to me?"
The knight smiled at the princess, a slight blush on her cheeks as well. "Well...Seems like I did."
Regina's face got a fair bit redder as she thought about the event happening before her eyes. And, once again, she didn't answer for a while, until her voice finally broke the silence. "I'll...forgive you..."
Suddenly, Makoto's face was close to her own.
"See you later, my dear princess." A short kiss on the lips, and Makoto turned to open the door.
Regina raised a hand to her lips, tracing them, as if to reproduce the soft feeling of love she had been given just a second ago. "I'll be waiting."