Disclaimer: I do not own The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Someone does, though, and they must be very brilliant.

A/N: I hate to throw off the flow of things, but I strongly encourage you to read this article here, omitting the spaces, ( http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Toki_o_Kakeru_Sh%C5%8Djo ) before you proceed, as it influenced this piece very heavily, and this piece may not make sense otherwise. I apologize for the inconvenience.

x: twenty-one

Happy Ending

"Makoto, this is Sogoru Ken," Aunt Majo smiled keenly, "an old friend from high school."

Makoto gave the tall brunet a wide grin. "I'm Auntie Majo's niece: Konno Makoto. Nice to meet you," she remarked, giving the man a firm, but characteristically lackadaisical, handshake.

"Nice to meet you," he intoned, a smart twinkle in his eye. "Your aunt has told me a lot about you."

Makoto raised her brows inquisitively. "Oh, really?"

Majo laughed heartily. "Nothing bad, I promise."

Makoto broke into another grin. She hadn't heard her unusually reserved relative laugh like that in ages. "Auntie, I'm going to get something to drink, okay?"

Majo nodded serenely at her, then focused her attention back on the handsome man by her side. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Ken?" she murmured pensively, cocking her head minutely to take in the matured shape of his face.

"Yeah, it has, Kazuko."

Majo's brow rose comically, a mimicry of her niece's expression. "No one has called me that in ages," she beamed, hazel eyes luminescent.

"Why is that?"

"I don't remember why," she replied, searching his face curiously. "I think the 'Majo' nickname started up around the end of high school, sometime after you moved away."

"You remember that?"

"Vaguely." She placed a finger to her chin thoughtfully, frowning faintly, trying to chase memories that seemed to elude her. "Anyway, what have you been up to, Ken?"

He chuckled uneasily. "I've been here and there, traveling a lot."

"Sounds like you," Majo remarked. "Just like that boy Makoto accidentally fell for."

Ken glanced out the restaurant window. "That's unfortunate for your niece."

"Oh, she's very optimistic about it," contravened Majo lightheartedly. "How long are you planning to stay in town, Ken?"

"A while," he answered, examining Majo's visage carefully. He folded his hands atop the table. "Kazuko, do you happen to be in a relationship right now?"

She gave a small start. "No, why?"

"Would you like . . . to go out with me?"

Majo maneuvered a hand across her stunned expression, a transparent blush detectable on her cheeks. "Sure, Ken. I-I don't see why not."

His face dimpled into a smile. "Good to hear it. I've been meaning to ask you that for a while."

Majo blinked, feeling slightly off. "I . . . felt like I've been waiting for a while, myself." She cast him an abashed look. "It's silly, isn't it?"

He leaned forward, eyes penetrating her own. "Not really."

"Whoa, am I interrupting something?" declared a rather boisterous voice. A steaming cup of coffee descended to the table as Makoto scooted in next to her aunt.

"No, nothing at all," Majo insisted merrily. "Oops, Makoto. Could you stand up for a bit? I'll have to excuse myself for a moment." Makoto jerked clumsily to her feet, the coffee-flavored spoon hanging from her mouth. Makoto watched as her aunt meandered to the nearby restroom and disappeared behind the door.

"So, umm, really," began Makoto ambivalently, "did I interrupt something?"

"Well, actually, I was just asking your aunt out," spoke Ken frankly.

Makoto's almond eyes went wide. "Wow."

He answered with a chuckle. "Don't worry, Konno. If he's anything like me, he'll be back."

Makoto's fingers limply unwrapped themselves from the handle of the utensil. "What?"

Ken smiled cryptically at her, then pivoted his gaze to stare at the traffic out on the street. "You had to teach him how to ride a bicycle, didn't you?"

Makoto furrowed her brow in mystification. "How much did Auntie tell you?"

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, holding laughter in the double dark orbs. "She told me very little. I guessed the rest myself."

" . . . What?" Makoto mumbled, the gears in her head turning fruitlessly. "Are you—do you know—"

"Oops, am I interrupting something interesting?" chimed in.

Makoto drew her gaze away from the intriguing stranger and back at her aunt. "Not really."

They were smiling.

A/N: Ack, ack. It ended rather oddly. I couldn't think of anything. When I watched the movie again, I really did think that Makoto's Aunt Majo is Yasutaka Tsutsui's Kazuko Yoshiyama. And I was curious about that whole story, too. That's how this came about. Sorry for the long delay. Thank you for reading. Have a sing-song day.