Kenchi sighed. "Will you stop moping please, Miss Makoto?" he pleaded.
Makoto looked over at him from her place in the corner. "Oh…I'm moping?"
"You've been sitting in that corner hugging your knees to your chest for fifteen minutes. And it's weird to not see you smile, Miss Makoto," Kenchi informed her.
Makoto stood slowly. "Sorry. It's just…there's something that's bothering me," she said quietly.
Kenchi knew what it was. At truth or dare the day before, when asked if he had a crush on Makoto, his answer had been short, not-so-sweet, and to the point—no.
But no one had been able to see into his thoughts, or detect the secret, hidden loop-hole that Kenchi had discovered. That evening, his thoughts had gone something like this:
Of course I don't just have a crush on her. That's an understatement. Quite literally, I'm in love. I'm in love with her. So soon? Yes, indeed. So then, the answer is a simple no—having a crush is a sad understatement.
Naturally, he'd wanted to keep any feelings for the girl a secret. So his answer had been "no", to conceal it. But Makoto had been among those who truly believed him. Based on how she was reacting, Kenchi could only assume that she had feelings for him too. He was considering telling her when he saw Makoto take a black towel from the kitchen, wrap it around her head, and sit moping in the corner again. Desperate to revive her spirits while simultaneously keeping his feelings secret, Kenchi stood and walked over to her. "Sing for me," he urged. Makoto faced him.
"Um…OK." She stood. "But I'm not in a very happy mood, and the only sad song I really feel like singing is Marionette no Kokoro. I'd sing it, but my voice is way too powerful, and it sounds weird…"
"Show me," Kenchi ordered. "I'll try to help you."
Makoto shrugged and started to sing. She'd only sang the first sentence when Kenchi stopped her. "I found your trouble spot."
"Really now." Makoto rolled her eyes. "I've always known where it was."
"Try singing softer," Kenchi suggested.
"I never would have thought!" Makoto said sarcastically. "I've tried that. It just sounds even weirder."
Kenchi shrugged. "OK. Then what do you want me to do? It's weird seeing you mope like this."
Makoto shrugged. "I don't know."
Kenchi sighed. "Come sit," he invited her. "I have to tell you something."
Confused, Makoto sat beside him on the bed. "Yeah?" she prompted.
Kenchi took a deep breath. Here goes nothing... "Why are you moping? Is it because I said I didn't have a crush on you yesterday?"
After a moment's hesitation, Makoto nodded.
"I'd found a loop-hole. I didn't want you to know how I felt," Kenchi admitted. "To say I had a crush on you would be a sad understatement, Miss Makoto."
Makoto shifted and blushed slightly. "Oh...?"
"I think I'm in love with you, Miss Makoto."
Makoto looked like she might fall off the bed, or throw up blood, or spontaneously combust—or even do all three. She shifted uncomfortably again, but the color had returned to her cheeks. There was silence. Neither one moved. Neither one spoke. For a moment, it seemed like neither one breathed. Then, finally, Makoto opened her mouth.
"I, um…I like you too," she muttered.
"But I don't like you," Kenchi pointed out. "I said I loved you. That's different."
Makoto moved closer to him. "I-I know…I mean…I really like you…no, more then that…I just can't say it…"
Kenchi frowned. "Come on, it isn't that hard," he prompted. "I love you. That's all."
Makoto nodded.
"Now it's your turn."
Makoto turned to him. The look in her eyes was a mixture of many different emotions; strain, sadness, love…but most of all, relief. "I…I love you," she whispered, her voice soft, so quiet Kenchi almost missed it.
Gently, he cupped her chin in his hand and leaned in towards her, just as he had that evening when Abberleigh had dared Makoto to kiss him. But this time, when he reached her lips, he didn't turn away. They kissed until Kenchi started to lose breath and pulled away. Makoto was crying. Kenchi giggled and wiped her tears away. "Don't cry, Princess," he pleaded. Makoto threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.
"You have no idea…so long, I've waited…and now…" Her words came out choked in between her sobs.
"Stop weeping, then. If you're so happy, you should be smiling," Kenchi murmured in her ear.
"I know…but, I just can't stop…I'm so relieved…" She trailed off. "Thank you," she finished. "Thank you so much…"
"For loving you?" Kenchi confirmed, chuckling. "It's my pleasure, Princess Makoto."
Makoto let out a contented sigh. For the rest of the day (classes had already ended), they sat there like that, telling each other random facts about themselves, until the sun sank into the earth, and the shining, silver moon was floating in the sky in its place, when the two finally parted and slept.
All night, Kenchi dreamt of his princess.
(Author's Note: Usually, I don't go out of order like this. But I needed to do this romantic chapter from Kenchi's point of view, to make it that much more romantic. I might do this a couple more times, but for the most part I'll be staying in order from now on.)
