Maya's eyes snapped open as the sunlight streamed in.

She felt herself turn scarlet as she realized how close her face was to…

he really hasn't changed much since childhood, she mused as her eyes swept over his peaceful expression, the hint of a smile on his lips…

Maya turned, if it was possible, even redder when her eyes reached his lips. Just yesterday, those lips had been…

She averted her eyes, trying not to think of what she had just done.

have I made a mistake?

For some reason, she didn't think so. This was Yuta. She could trust him. So she continued to lie in his warm embrace, and she couldn't help an amused snort when she saw him using the second pillow.

I guess he does plan ahead.

The little sound she made woke up the Kirishima prodigy, who blearily opened his eyes… then yawned.

"Morning," he whispered.

"…good morning," she murmured back, hoping she didn't look as shy as she felt. Yuta, however, knew her since childhood, and the way she blushingly avoided his eyes only made him smirk.

Isn't that cute…

To her surprise, he brought her body closer to his, and Maya froze in embarrassment as she realized that there was only the thin blanket separating their bare bodies. Yuta chuckled.

"It's okay," he murmured in that deep, soothing voice of his. "I'm not going to do anything."

His hand lazily drew soothing circles on her back, and the two began to drift off to sleep again.


At noon, the two cooked lunch together, and as they worked side by side, there was a time when their hands momentarily brushed, ever so slightly.

They exchanged glimpses and instead of the usual blush and gaze aversion, they held the warm glance before continuing to cook.

Yuta… I know you're just trying to help me forget about the prince.

thank you… it's working.

Maya… I wish this would last forever…

I really hope the truth doesn't come out…ever…


"Hey…"

Maya looked up from her pasta.

"Do you want to go on a date with me? Later?"

Maya blinked in surprise… before letting out an amused laugh.

"Well, I think I see what you're doing, but okay."

"Good…" Yuta smiled. "Let's go watch a movie together."

"Hmm…well, it is a Saturday night…" Maya shrugged. "Why not?"


Maya had to stifle her snorts throughout the movie. It was about some sort of magical girl who had to save the land, but then again… people in the Human World sure had strange ideas of what happened to magic users.

After the film, she and Yuta left the theater, unable to stop laughing.

"That was horrible!" she exclaimed. He wiped away tears of mirth.

"Everyone said it was supposed to be-"

"Maya-chan! Yuta!"

Yuta froze as Maya turned to see Nina, accompanied by Tsujiai Hiroki.

"Kirishima. Orihara," the quiet boy acknowledged.

"Ne, ne, did you two see the movie too?"

To Maya's surprise, Yuta put his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah… we did," he said aloofly, looking as casual as ever. Maya could only stare at him in confusion.

What is he…?

And then it hit her; he was trying to show Nina that he didn't care.

Well… it's not like he's using me or anything… right?

"Well, we're going out for ice cream now!" Nina said cheerfully. "You guys want to come?"

"We're okay," Yuta answered. "We have to go back home."

"O- Oh… okay!"

Maya wordlessly followed him as he led them behind the building, then transported them home in a flash.


"…so."

Yuta refused to look her in the eye.

"You still have feelings for Nina…" Maya said matter-of-factly.

"…Maya…"

"It's okay," she said suddenly. "I already knew that. It shouldn't bother me."

"Maya…"

"It's fine," she continued to speak, her words growing rapider and rapider. "I mean, you've loved her since childhood."

"Maya-"

"Besides, it's not like we're lovers or anything, and-"

"Maya," he interrupted softly, his hand brushing her cheek. "You're crying."

"No…" she tried to move away from him, but he persisted, and coming forward, gently swept away the tear that had been trailing down her soft cheek. He leaned down… and pressed his lips against her tear trail… then the tip of her nose… down to her lips…

That night was a repeat of last night, with cries, and sweat, and tears, and whispers of 'I love you' filling the air.


Maya swiftly brushed her hair the next morning, hoping her eyes didn't look as swollen as she felt. She quickly zapped herself a swift Glamour spell, and the redness vanished.

"Yuta!" she snapped. "We're going to be late for school."

He jumped out of the bed, and quickly snapping his fingers, was dressed in the uniform, hair neatly combed down.

"All set."

She rolled her eyes, and he swiftly grabbed their lunchboxes, before the two of them ran out of the house.


Several days later, Maya lay in her bed, hands outstretched at her sides as she gazed at the ceiling. The house was silent; Ruru was taking a nap, Chiru had left a while back, muttering about how the house was 'too pure' now, and Yuta…

Yuta was visiting Nina.

Maya frowned, not liking how her stomach turned at that idea.

What is wrong with me?

am I in love with Yuta?

She sat up and began to seriously ponder it. As it was, it was futile to try and assume she didn't at least have attraction to him; that much was obvious. She had a crush on him; that was a given.

But did she love him?

She took a deep breath and began to think of the past month together with him.

Well… there was no doubt that she loved him; he had been there for her, had suffered for her, had empathized with her…

And this past week... they had been making love every night, and it felt so natural, so right, to do it with him.

But in love with him…?

Maya still wasn't sure. But… But there was something similar to that feeling in her heart. She wanted him to stay with her. She wanted to be by his side.

She nodded in satisfaction. She had that confirmed.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Maya's head. She hesitated, but grabbed her wallet.

She would confirm for herself tonight!

All she needed were some items to help her.


"Bye, Yuta! Bye Ayu-chan!"

Nina waved from the door as Ayu and Yuta waved back, then began to walk down the street together.

"Hey… before we go… could we have a talk?"

Yuta raised an eyebrow. "All right…"


Ayu led him to the park, where they sat on a bench. There was silent momentarily, until…

"So… you're finally asking me out, huh?" Yuta asked cockily, leaning towards Ayu. She sweatdropped and shoved him away.

"Nice try."

He chuckled. "At least I can be sure you'll always be ready to reject me."

"…I want to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"…why did you help Orihara-san?" Ayu narrowed her eyes. "You were the one who helped her with the Holy Stones, weren't you?"

Yuta remained silent.

"Yuta-kun?" Ayu persisted.

I have to tell someone… I'm going to explode! Should I tell her...?

...I might as well tell Ayu. The truth has to come out sooner or later.

"I… I guess I have a lot of explaining to do," he sighed. He took a deep breath, then finally admitted his secret.

"I wasn't actually kicked out of my house."

Ayu's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"I… left my house on my own. I asked my family to tell people that they kicked me out, to make up excuses as to why I was gone."

"But why?" Ayu persisted. Yuta shamefully lowered his head.

"…I thought Nina could get the Holy Stones without me. That's why I left the Human world. But… But right after I left, I watched Maya get the Orange Holy Stone. And I realized that maybe Nina needed more help than I thought. So… I came back to the Human world and stayed with Maya."

It started to click together in Ayu's head. "So… that's why you didn't want to stay at Nina's place. You stayed at Maya's place… to distract her?"

"I… I did things I'm not proud of," he admitted. "When Maya was reaching for the Blue Stone, I made a building invisible so that she couldn't see it… she was so close to hitting it, but I realized at the last minute… it wouldn't be a good idea, so I revealed it. And the Pink Stone… I couldn't figure out how to deter Maya from it… so I…"

He faded into silence.

"Yuta-kun?" Ayu prompted softly.

"I pretended to be in pain," Yuta murmured, shame in his voice. "I held Maya's hand and guilt tripped her into staying on the ground as Nina got the Holy Stone."

"But Nina would have to marry the prince, then!"

"That's been Nina's dream since she was a child, Ayu!" Yuta turned to her, frustration shining in his crystal eyes. "If she wanted to marry the prince that badly, I would do anything to make sure she gets that dream!"

"But why didn't Orihara-san get suspicious?" Ayu protested. "Couldn't she see that you were distracting her?"

"…"

"…Yuta-kun," Ayu warned. "What are you hiding?"

"…I thought…" Yuta paused, then tiredly rubbed his temple. "I thought… I could seduce Maya."

Ayu nearly fell off the bench. "Excuse me?!"

"I thought… if I seduced Maya, she would hesitate, and that would distract her from getting the Stones."

"But… But…" Ayu struggled to grasp for words. "Yuta-kun, that's just so cruel."

"You think I don't know that?" he said, slightly more harshly than he intended. "Maya was my friend too, you know… but for Nina… for Nina, I-"

The sound of a bag hitting the ground snapped him out of his reverie, and he and Ayu both turned… to see the last person Yuta would have wanted to hear that conversation.

Orihara Maya stood there, broken.

N- No. Why…? Why did you have to be there? Yuta's eyes widened, and he slowly stood.

Maya immediately turned and ran out of the park.


"A- Ah, Orihara-san!" Ayu called after her in a panic, but Maya ignored her.

Yuta's words pounded through her mind, and little by little, she began to rethink the past month. Suddenly, Yuta, who had seemed so reliable, so trustworthy, was a demon in her mind.

I'm so glad Yuta's here…

This stupid girl…

Yuta… thank you.

You're so gullible…

Is that what you thought of me, Yuta? That's how you saw me? You seduced me… so that you could help Nina? Was that all I was to you? Nina's competition?

Yuta, smiling at her… Yuta, holding her in his arms… Yuta, reciting Shakespeare to her… Yuta, who held her close when they made love…

But no… it wasn't making love, was it? Maybe to you, it was, but he just needed to get laid so he could save Nina.

You just gave him yourself… he was probably laughing at you when you thought he actually cared, didn't you, Maya?

You whore… look how easily you fell for him.

Whore.

Whore.

Whore!

Whore!

Maya ran to her house, half-blinded by her tears.

"Maya!" Chiru squawked as she stumbled in, hugging herself. "What on earth happened to you?"

"Ch- Chiru?!"

"Eh, I figured… no matter how pure the house is now, at least it was my home," Chiru shrugged. "I guess you're stuck with me longer."

Maya smiled through her blurring tears.

"Okay. Welcome back."

"What happened to you?"

Maya's smile faded, and was replaced with an icy glare. "Chiru…"

"Y- Yes?"

"Go prepare the portal."

"P- Portal?"

"I'm bringing my black magic back."

As she headed down to her basement, with Chiru flying in front, and Ruru on her shoulder, Maya forced her tears to vanish.

Well… at least my question's been answered. Now, there's no doubt.

I'm in love with Kirishima Yuta.


Yuta stared after the disappearing figure.

"Wh- What are you doing?!" Ayu violently shook him. "She's getting away! Go and explain!"

"…I…"

For some reason, Yuta couldn't move. He felt like there were two very big choices here.

It's here... I choose Maya or Nina.

"Come on, Yuta-kun, what's wrong with y-?"

"Tateishi?"

"K- Kaji-kun!" Ayu blinked in surprise. Kaji gave a pointed glance to her hand on Yuta's arm, and she quickly released it.

"I'm heading home now," he said lightly. "Want to walk with me?"

"Oh… um, sure!" she walked over to him, then hesitantly turned back to Yuta.

"See you tomorrow, Yuta-kun."

"…bye…" he responded absentmindedly, still staring after the figure that had already turned the corner and was gone. Kaji and Ayu eventually left as well, and Yuta, still frozen in that spot, forced himself to walk towards the bag Maya was holding.

Maya… what were you…?

His thoughts immediately faded as he saw rose petals, perfect and whole. Resting upon the rose petals were small tealight candles of white and pink. Although he didn't approve of her using candles, these were clearly meant for romance.

And in the center of the whole thing…

Yuta's breath caught as he realized that the neatly folded red cloth… was the red lingerie he and Maya had seen when they went shopping at that department store.

Yuta swallowed. Something had suddenly just occurred to him… when he slept with Maya…

Someone had constantly been whispering 'I love you'. He had assumed it was Maya, since he had been trying to seduce her… but…

There was no doubt about it. It hadn't been Maya. It had been himself. He had been whispering 'I love you' to her ever since they started making love.

He had to force himself to stop shaking, then, clutching the bag in his hands, teleported to Maya's house.


He looked around eagerly… then frowned as he saw that he was in her garden. He frowned in confusion, but concentrated, trying to teleport inside her house… but he couldn't do it.

He looked up at the house… and suddenly realized what it meant. Maya had created a barrier.

A barrier of black magic.

Which meant there was only one way in.


"Maya! Maya!"

Maya sat in the dark, surrounded by a circle of her glowing candles, a circular diagram drawn around her trembling body. She used to rely on it for protection, but it couldn't block out the sound of the desperate boy on the opposite side of the door. She reached for her spider locket, but realized it was gone.

That's right... I have nothing now. I don't have Yuta... I don't have the prince... I don't even have the memory from the prince anymore...

"Maya! Maya, please let me in!"

Go away… leave me alone…

"Maya, please!" Yuta banged on the door. "I know you're in here! Please come out and talk to me!"

Why? So you can laugh at me more, thinking what a gullible fool I am?

"Maya… Maya, I know what you heard in the park. Please, let me explain!"

Maya covered her ears with her hands tightly, shutting her eyes, trying to drown him out, but he continued to persistently knock. Yuta continued to bang against the door furiously, tears of frustration welling in his eyes.

"I know you don't have to believe me, but…" he swallowed, then raised his voice. "These past few weeks weren't all lies! I didn't plan for it to go this way!"

The prince rejected me… were you hoping for that, Yuta? Were you really that eager to make sure I didn't have my happily ever after?

"Maya... Maya, please…" Yuta leaned against the door, a sob escaping his throat. "Maya, I think I'm in love with you."

Stop! Stop lying to me like this!

Maya had to shove her hand over her mouth to prevent a sob from escaping her as well.

"Maya… can you hear me? I love you… I love you! Please, talk to me! I'll die without you," he sobbed. "I need you, Maya!"

Maya's eyes widened as she felt the barrier around the door stretch… then break.

Of course… the Kirishima Prodigy.

"Maya!"

Yuta ran in, eyes pleading with her.

"Please, hear me out, please. I know you must be furious, but-"

"D- Don't…" Maya edged away from him. "Stop it… stop hurting me!"

"Maya…" Yuta reached for her, and quickly enveloped her into a hug. "Please, I need you."

"No… No more… No more!"

She tore herself away from his grasp, and ran outside.

"Wait! Maya!"

Maya stumbled at the bottom of the stairs, but continued to run. It was dark, and she was disoriented, so she didn't realize it until she ran right into someone's arms.

"No!" Maya struggled. "Who-?"

"Maya…"

Maya froze at the rich-as-silk voice that murmured in her ear. She looked up… into a pair of sparkling gray eyes.

"I request your presence at the palace immediately," the prince murmured. "May I?"

Maya could hear Yuta running out of the house, and swiftly gave the affirmative.

"No!" Yuta ran to them, but before he could grab Maya's hand, she had already vanished.