Manbagi Rumiko found herself enjoying the refreshing outside air as she and her grandmother took a stroll around the nearby park. Currently she found herself ruminating on her love life, or rather lack of it, as she stared at the kois in the pond.

Essentially no progress had been made in regards to Tadano and that disheartened her. Added on to the fact that she still felt as though she had little to no chance against Komi and she had started feeling dejected

Rumiko let out a long sigh and continued observing her reflection until her grandmother finally broke the silence.

"Rumi, do you know what the koi fish symbolizes?"

"Fortune right?"

Rumiko didn't know why her grandmother suddenly brought this topic up, however her grandmother often had her reasons for things so she figured it was probably best to pay attention.

"Correct, however do you remember what else they symbolize?"

"Perseverance and courage right?"

"Yes. Rumi I've noticed that there's something bothering you. You don't have to tell me what it is, but you're just like the koi in that pond, always trying your best no matter what and courageous to a fault. That's why I know that whatever it is, you'll be fine in the end."

Rumiko felt tears gathering in her eyes and a lump in her throat at her grandmother's comforting words.

"Thanks Grandma."

"You're welcome Rumi."

Rumiko was lying awake on her bed, her head filled with thoughts of the conversation that she had had with her grandmother earlier that day. She had been thinking on what she should do to try and win Tadano's heart, but her grandmother's words had reminded her of something important.

She wasn't a wallflower that sat idly by waiting for someone to come to her, she was a gyaru and she took what she wanted. She was going to confess, the only thing she needed now was Komi's approval. As much as rumiko may have loved Tadano she loved Komi just as much, and she could never break their agreement, thus she made the decision to call her.

It took all of the courage she could dredge up to hit that call button, not even knowing if Komi was awake at this hour, however she was scared that if she put it off until morning she may lose her nerve. Her phone rang once, twice, thrice, then there was a click that signalled she had been connected.

"Ah, er, hey Shouko, sorry for calling so late."

"It's fine. Is everything alright?"

"Ah, um, well the thing is I was talking to my grandma earlier and she said something that made me realize that sitting around wasn't my style."

Shouko's confusion was palpable in the silence, and Rumiko knew she needed to explain herself.

"I-I realized that I'm sick of waiting around for Tadano to realise my feelings. I want an answer one way or the other. So I-I-I want to confess to Tadano!"

Rumiko waited patiently for a reply, but the line stayed silent. Worried she may have offended her friend she speaks again.

"I'm sorry, if-if you don't want me to I won't. I just want to get it off my chest, besides what are the odds he'd ever pick me over you right? He'll probably just-"

"Good luck."

Those two words were like a balm to Rumiko's frayed emotions, soothing her and allowing her to stop panicking.

"Thank you."

For a few moments it seemed like Komi wanted to say more, but then the distinctive sound of the call being cut off came from her phone. With that out of the way Rumiko could finally get some sleep in preperation for the big day tomorrow.

Rumiko stood, waiting, in front of the same koi pond that her grandmother had taken her to see the previous day. She had asked Tadano to meet her here for her confession as she figured it was thematically appropriate to confess to him in the same spot she gained the courage to do so.

Rumiko was glad that Tadano had been free today, for she didn't know just how long her courage would hold up. In fact it was already starting to crumble, which was why she was preoccupying herself by thinking of what she would say when he arrives.

"Manbagi-san!"

Ah, and there was Tadano with his uncanny timing. Rumiko didn't know whether she should be glad he was here, or upset that she didn't get to figure out what to say.

"Oh, h-hey Tadano-kun."

A look of concern made its way across Tadano's face.

"Are you okay Manbagi-san?"

Sometimes Rumiko cursed Tadano's observational skills, however that's part of what made her fall in love with him in the first place.

"I'm okay, just, er, nervous I guess."

"If you say so. So you wanted to tell me something?"

"Right, about that, umm, err, uhh, I- ugh!"

Frustrated at being unable to find the right word, Rumiko's eyes flit around trying to find somewhere to look that wasn't Tadano's face. Eventually her sight landed on the koi pond they were standing next to and her grandmother's words came rushing back to her.

"You're just like the koi in that pond, always trying your best no matter what and courageous to a fault."

That's right, Rumiko was a girl of action, if words failed her then she'd just need to dredge up her courage and show him how she feels.

"Like the koi in the pond huh?"

"What did you say Manbagi-san?"

Ignoring his question, Rumiko plucked up all the courage she could, marched over to the love of her life, grabbed him by the collar, and then passionately smashed their lips together. The kiss only lasted a few moments before Rumiko pulled away from him again, but she knew that, even should she be rejected, she would treasure those few seconds for the rest of her life.

Manbagi took a few steps back to calm down and assess the situation. Thankfully, rather than being disgusted by the sudden kiss, Tadano seemed embarrassed by it. What little of his face that could be seen behind his arm was flushed a deep red color. Rumiko's heart leapt in her chest, and suddenly the words that seemed so hard to say earlier came out easily.

"I love you Tadano-kun, please go out with me."

It took a few seconds, long enough to make Manbagi worry, but finally Tadano managed a jerky nod. Rumiko's heart leapt into her throat.

"Really? Really really?"

Tadano audibly swallowed before answering.

"Yeah."

"D-do you want to go on a date together? Like right now? I know this little cafe nearby."

"Yeah."

Rumiko grinned, grabbed Tadano by the hand, and dragged him off on their very first date.

Later that day Rumiko sent Komi a picture of their date along with two words: 'Thank you.'