A/N: Here's the final chapter of "The Ultimate Inventor Meets the Ultimate Mechanic!" Please read and review, and enjoy!

The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: The Ultimate Inventor Meets the Ultimate Mechanic!

Chapter Three: I Like You!

"…and then Soda-kun showed me how to…"

Komaru and Ibuki barely held back a sigh as they listened to Miu drone on and on about her latest hangout with Kazuichi.

I'm glad that she's happy, but can she shut up about him for just a minute? Komaru wondered as she forced herself to listen to Miu continue to talk about the mechanic.

"Man, I can't believe a vir…guy like him taught me so mu…uh, guys?" Miu frowned as she asked "What the fuck is wrong with you? You look bored as shit."

"Um…" Ibuki started "Iruma-chan, it's just…you've been talking nonstop about Kazuichi every day for the past month."

"Yeah, Mioda-chan and I kinda want to talk about something other than you and your boyfriend once in a whi…Iruma-chan?"

Komaru trailed off as Miu bit her lip and blushed as red as a cherry.

As Miu squirmed subtly in her seat, Komaru asked "Iruma, are you okay?"

Ibuki's eyes widened as she realized "Iruma-chan, are you and Kazuichi da…"

"Ah!" Ibuki and Komaru yelped as Miu stood up and dragged them by the wrists away from the dining hall and out of earshot, blushing with every step she took.

XXX

"Hey!" Komaru exclaimed as she and Ibuki found themselves shoved into a broom closet, only for Miu to follow them inside and close the door behind them.

"A broom closet? This is so uncool!" Ibuki complained before Miu shushed her.

"Are you trying to humiliate me?!" Miu exclaimed as she blushed dark red and fidgeted nervously.

Komaru's eyes widened as she realized "Iruma…do you like Soda-kun…mmph!" Komaru found her voice muffled as she found Miu's hand covering her lips.

"Stop talking, or I'll…I'll…I'll use one of my inventions to zap your panties into the Boys' Locker Room!"

Komaru blushed as she nodded frantically before Miu huffed and removed her hand from Komaru's lips. Both Komaru and Ibuki looked at Miu with concern as she continued to fidget nervously with her fingerless gloves.

"Um…Iruma-chan…" Ibuki started nervously. "Ibuki doesn't want her panties to get zapped…but we're all girls here, and we're your friends. If you like Kazuichi, it's okay to admit it…"

"…Fine you, fuckin' virgin! I admit it, I like Kazuichi!" Miu huffed before she blushed and shrieked "Eek! I can't believe I said it! I'm so embarrassed!"

Komaru's eyes softened as she understood Miu's feelings of insecurity.

She's…a little more loud and vulgar, but her feelings…they're not so different from Makoto's when he was starting to date Kyoko…

"I can't help it!" Miu ranted as Ibuki stared at her. "I never thought I'd run into anyone who could teach my golden brain something! I'm learning new things every time we hang out, I'm not wasting as much time inventing shit, and he's…kind of fun to be around, surprisingly. But why would he want to be with a slut like me?"

Alright, I can risk losing my panties if it means helping her through this! Komaru resolved as her eyes narrowed in determination. "Iruma-chan, if you like him, then tell him that."

"Eep!" A flustered Miu shrieked as she panicked "Are you crazy?!"

"She's totally right, Iruma-chan!" Ibuki agreed with an assuring smile. "You've gotta serenade him with your soul, let him know the tunes he makes your heart drum!"

Komaru shook her head in amusement before she commented "Maybe serenading might be a bit much, and Iruma-san't an inventor, not a singer."

"Oh…right…" Ibuki giggled bashfully.

"Still, Mioda-chan has the right idea. You just gotta tell him how you feel about him! If you do that, you'r ehonest with him, and maybe tone down the vulgarity a little bit, he'll see you're serious and he might give you a chance. So, take the chance, Iruma-chan!"

"GO GO GO!" Ibuki cheered "Become a duet with Kazuichi, Iruma-chan! There's no way he can say no to you!"

A bolstered Miu grinned and exclaimed "You're right! There's no way he can resist someone as gorgeous and genius as me! Ahahaha!"

Well, she's back to normal… The two girls sweatdropped as Miu opened the closet door before she turned back to look at them.

"Look, I don't say this often…but thanks."

Komaru smiled and nodded before she turned back to Ibuki and suggested "Why don't we go back to the dining hall and get our food before it gets cold?"

Ibuki nodded enthusiastically before she and Komaru faced Miu.

"You coming, Iruma-chan?"

"Nah, I'm gonna get back early and finish my lesson plan." As Komaru and Ibuki raised an eyebrow in confusion, Miu complained "What? I wanna get everything out of the way so I can plan my confession to Kazuichi! That a crime?"

"No, no." Komaru assured her as she scratched her cheek. "Alright Mioda-chan, let's get back to the dining hall."

"Yum-yum!" Ibuki cheered as they turned around and began to walk back to the dining hall.

Miu grinned and stealthily snuck out a futuristic ray gun out of her pink skirt and fired it at the two unsuspecting colleagues before she pocketed it and ran off,

"EEK! IRUMA!" Komaru and Ibuki shrieked as Miu ran away, muffling her giggles beneath her gloved hands.

Hah! Fuckin' virgins!

XXX

"I see…so you're thinking of asking Miu Iruma out?" Porkfeet asked as he stood with Kazuichi in the empty music room.

Kazuichi chuckled nervously as he ran his hand through his pink hair and confirmed "Yeah…it's strange, I never thought I'd ask out anyone other than Miss So…Sonia…"

Porkfeet smiled and noted "I see you're no longer calling her Miss Sonia."

"Yeah, well…she's engaged to Gundham, so it's not really appropriate for me to be calling her Miss Sonia…anyway, despite how vulgar she is, Iruma-chan's actually more fun to be around than I thought she'd be."

Porkfeet smirked as he remarked "Oh? I thought you'd have asked her out on the spot, considering how you kept that magazine of her back on Jabberwock."

Kazuichi blushed before he demanded "You can't tell anyone, especially not Iruma-chan! She'll think I'm a creep if she finds out I ogled a magazine cover of her!"

Porkfeet chuckled in amusement before he assured him "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Porkfeet's face suddenly turned serious as he advised "Though you should probably tell her yourself, especially if you intend to start a relationship with her."

Kazuichi sighed and pulled his cap over his eyes before he admitted "Yeah, I know…I'm just so embarrassed by how much of a creep I was when I was a teenager."

"Kazuichi…you've really matured." Porkfeet noted with an impressed air in his voice.

"Heh heh, you think so?" An embarrassed Kazuichi asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Porkfeet nodded and confirmed "Indeed you have. If you show Iruma that mature side of you…I have little doubt she'll see you as a worthy partner for her."

A boosted Kazuichi grinned as he exclaimed "You're right, I'm much more mature than I was in high school! I just have to be myself and I'll win over Iruma-chan in no time!"

As Kazuichi walked out of the music room with an extra spring in his step, Porkfeet sweatdropped at the mechanic's newfound enthusiasm.

Perhaps I boosted his confidence a little too much…

XXX

"Hey…Iruma-chan." Kazuichi greeted with an awkward smile as Miu approached him in the teacher's lounge, now empty since the other staff had gone home. "So…what did you wanna…talk about…?"

For once, Miu was completely oblivious to Kazuichi's nervousness as she was too focused on her own.

Grow the fuck up, Iruma! Just tell him how you feel and take what comes! She resolved as she bit her lip.

Kazuichi's brows furrowed in confusion beneath his cap as he asked out of concern "Um…are you okay…Iruma-chan?"

"F…f…fine…I'm fi…fine…" Damn it, what happened to that confidence from earlier? This should be easy; I even removed my goggles to make myself less goofy looking! Miu sighed and forced out "I l…li…lik…like y…yo…you…"

Kazuichi blinked in confusion as he cocked his head to the side and asked "Huh?"

What the fuck is wrong with him? Can't he see I'm pouring my heart out to him? A now frustrated Miu narrowed her eyes and threw her hands in the air before she exclaimed "Look, I like you, okay? You're intelligent, you helped me to improve as an inventor, and you'r enot half bad to be around, so I like you, okay?!"

Miu clasped her hands together and blushed as she looked down at her feet.

Eep! I can't believe I just came out and said it like that! Was I too intense? I was, wasn't I?

Wait, so she…she actually likes me? Kazuichi grinned and exclaimed "This is awesome!" as he pumped his fists.

"…Huh?" Miu asked dumbly as she stared at Kazuichi's joyful grin.

"Yeah, it means you feel the same way I do!"

"Wait…you do…?"

"Well yeah…" Kazuichi's sharp-toothed grin changed into a more bashful smile as he rubbed the back of his neck and explained "I've really liked learning about your inventions from you, and it's been really fun fixin' stuff together, so I…I realized I like you too, Iruma-chan. Actually…I kinda agreed to come here so I could…confess to you…"

"You…you were…?" Miu blushed as she gave a purehearted smile and asked "Then…do you wanna…go…steady…?"

Kazuichi nodded and agreed "Sure, that sounds nice."

Miu grinned and exclaimed "Ha! I knew there was no way you'd be able to resist a gorgeous girl genius like me! Ahahaha!"

…Maybe we can work on that cockiness… Kazuichi thought as he sweatdropped. "So…what should out first date be?"

"Huh? First…date…?" Miu paled as she realized Oh shit! I didn't think of anything! I was so nervous he'd say no that I didn't think of what to do!

Seeing Miu panic, Kazuichi assured her "Hey, it's okay, it's okay. I've got an idea, why don't we try and come up with an invention together this weekend and build it? It could be our own special thing!"

"Our own…thing…?" Miu smiled and agreed "I don't see why not. Alright, meet me at my lab on Saturday after lunch! I gotta get my beauty sleep in!"

"Awesome, it's a date…Iruma-chan…"

"Come on, we're dating now, so just call me Miu!"

Kazuichi chuckled and agreed "Alright…Miu. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, you too…Kazuichi." Miu bade farewell as they walked out of the teacher's lounge side by side.

As they walked down the hallway, they couldn't help but steal smiling glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking, only for them to look away and blush when they locked eyes.

My first date…I'm really looking forward to it!