Final Kiss ~No More Tricks~
Author's Note :
With the true extent of Momo's meddling revealed, Rito is in no mood for the youngest Princess' games. Will Momo be able to get back into Rito's good books? Or will she make an even bigger mistake? My convoluted 'what if' story comes to an end.
Start :
"Momo… what did you do?" Rito repeats when she doesn't answer him. He continues flipping through the notebook, seeing the plans Momo had set in motion for him and each of the girls. "Why would you do this to-"
"FOR you, Rito-san." Momo interjects. "I did it for you, not to you." A slight quiver comes into her voice. She has never seen Rito this mad before, especially towards her. "I just wanted you to see how great it could be if you allowed yourself to get closer to all the girls who love you."
"But you didn't ask us how we felt about it!" Rito says. He looks down at the book. "You made Mikan think I was going to run away and leave her behind." He flips to another page. "And Kotegawa was so angry I thought she was never going to talk to me again." His eyes go wide as he flips to yet another page. "And Yami! We could have both been killed!"
"But think of how happy everyone is now." Momo argues.
"That's not the point." Rito yells. "They could have all ended up hating me instead! I knew you were up to something, especially with Momioka and Run, but I never would have thought… all of this." He sighs. "Everything has been so crazy around here ever since…"
As Rito trails off a thought suddenly comes to his mind. He begins to quickly flip towards the beginning of the notebook. Momo, realizing what he is doing, snatches the book from his hands. "No! Rito-san, don't."
"Momo." Rito says slowly. "Why did your parents come to visit that day?" Her lack of an answer tells Rito all he needs to know. "You made me think I was going to lose Lala forever!" He says. "Your father could have blown up the whole planet!"
"Father would never do that." Momo says, but Rito has stopped listening.
As he storms out, Nana pokes her head out of her own room, looking annoyed. "What's all the yelling about?" When she sees Rito coming out of Momo's bedroom, her face turns red. "Hey, what are you doing with Momo you-" She stops mid sentence when she sees the furious look on Rito's face as he walks past. "-beast?"
The next morning when Mikan comes downstairs, she finds Momo already in the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards. "Good morning Momo-san." She says, a little puzzled. "What are you doing?"
Momo jumps a bit at the unexpected voice. "Oh, Mikan-san." She says. "I just thought it would be nice for me to fix Rito-san some breakfast this morning."
"I'm sure Rito would have been happy, but he already left for school a while ago." Mikan says.
"Huh? But it's still summer break." Momo says, looking a bit deflated.
"He said he didn't have anything else to do today so he was going to help out with some of the club activities instead. Kotegawa-san has been asking him to help out with her morals and decency club a lot lately."
Momo slumps down at the table. "Oh." She says.
Mikan sits down next to her. "Did something happen? He seemed a little strange this morning when I talked to him."
For a few moments, Momo doesn't respond. Mikan is about to stand when she finally speaks up. "Mikan-san, I think I screwed up big time."
"Oh I'm sure it's not that bad." Mikan says. "What did you do?"
Mikan sits staring at Momo a short while later, after she has finished speaking.
"So… everyone? You tricked everyone into kissing Rito?" She asks, trying to remain calm. "Even me?"
"Yes." Momo says quietly.
"So those papers I found in Rito's room?" Mikan asks, receiving a nod from Momo. "And you were the one who tricked Yami into running away from Earth with him?"
"Well, I had help from Mea and Nemesis for that one." Momo says. "But yes, it was all my plans."
Mikan sighs loudly. "So that's why everyone has been acting so weird lately." She says. "I'm a little relieved actually, and surprised that I didn't catch on earlier."
"So you're not mad?" Momo asks with a nervous grin.
"I'm plenty mad!" Mikan shouts. "But I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to." She says in a calmer voice.
"But he was so angry. And now he seems to be avoiding me." Momo says.
"If I know Rito, he's probably more angry at himself for falling for it than he is at you." Mikan says, trying to comfort Momo. "He'll calm down soon. Why don't you go catch up to him at the school?"
Momo smiles. "Thanks for being so understanding, Mikan-san." She says, turning to leave.
"Oh, Momo?" Mikan calls after her. "You're also doing all the cooking and cleaning for the next three weeks."
"Three weeks!" Momo whines. "You know, Mikan, it barely took any pushing to get you to ki-"
"Excuse me?" Mikan interrupts, glaring at Momo.
"I mean, yes ma'am!"
Momo picks at her lunch, finding she has no appetite. She looks up expectantly any time another group of students walk by, but there is no sign of Rito. She spent the entire morning looking for him to no avail. "He's avoiding me." She thinks. "How am I supposed to fix this if he won't even talk to me?" She sighs and pushes the tray of food away, disgusted.
"Oh no, trouble in the Yuuki household today?" Nemesis asks with a smirk as she slides into the seat across from Momo. "A princess should eat with more dignity than this." She begins helping herself to the food on Momo's plate, not waiting for a reply.
"This is your fault, you know." Momo hisses, glaring at Nemesis. "I had everything under control until you sent Rito up to my room yesterday."
"Princess Momo." Nemesis says, shaking her head. "You'll never get back on his good side with that attitude." She pauses to take another bite. "Yuuki Rito was already suspicious of you. He was going to find out eventually. I simply pushed him in the direction he was already going."
Momo continues to sulk, but her glare fades away as she realizes the truth. "It's all my fault." She concedes. "But how am I supposed to fix this now?"
"Easy." Nemesis says, rising to her feet. "He'll calm down soon, and then you go to him and confess everything. Throw yourself at his feet, begging for forgiveness." As she says this, Nemesis kneels on the floor beside Momo, looking up at her with sad eyes. The display draws the attention of several other students, embarrassing Momo.
"And then." Nemesis continues. "When his defenses finally start to come down… you seduce him." Nemesis leans in closer to Momo, enlarging her breasts and showing a generous amount of cleavage in the process. This of course draws even more onlookers.
Momo leaps out of her chair, pushing Nemesis away. "You're no help." She says, exasperated. "That will just make him even more angry." She stomps away from the crowd of curious students, her face beat red.
Nemesis just shrugs and sits back down to finish Momo's lunch. "You'll find a way, Princess." She says.
"Wait, Rito!" Lala catches him as he comes through the front door. "I need to talk to you."
Rito's angry mood lightens a bit when he sees the worried look on Lala's face. "Sorry, Lala." He says. "I just have a lot on my mind today." He tries to continue up the stairs to his room but Lala holds him back.
"It's about Momo, right?" she asks. When Rito doesn't respond she pulls his arm again, forcing him to turn and look at her. "Rito, please listen."
"Did you know?" He asks. "That the whole thing with your parents was one of her tricks?"
Lala nods. When Rito looks shocked, she says. "Not when it was happening. Mama called me afterwards, when they got home."
"And you weren't angry at Momo?" Rito asks.
"I was a little angry at first, but then Mama told me that Momo had been in love with you for a very long time." She smiles at Rito. "They talk about you all the time, when Momo calls home."
"They do?" Rito asks, his anger replaced by curiosity.
"Yes. All these tricks of hers, she thinks it's the only way to make sure everyone is happy." Lala lets go of his arm finally. "Will you at least talk to her, Rito? I'm worried about her."
Rito hesitates. "OK, Lala." He finally says.
"She's in her room now." Lala says. "She hasn't come out since she got home."
Rito knocks on the door to Momo's bedroom a second time. "That's odd." He thinks. "Lala was sure she was in there." He pushes the door open slowly. "Momo?" He says. "Is everything alright?"
As he enters, he sees Momo standing in the centre of the room, holding one of Lala's inventions. It looks familiar, but it takes him a moment to recognize it.
"Wait, Momo, what are you doing with Lala's memory eraser?" He yells.
"It's OK, Rito-san." Momo says, turning to face him. "I know how to fix this." She holds up the device. "Lala told me she fixed it after the last time, and I only need to erase two weeks instead of a whole year."
"Momo!" Rito exclaims, panic evident in his voice. "You don't need to do that."
"If everyone just forgets the last two weeks then we can all go back to the way things were, and you won't hate me anymore." Momo says. Her eyes are red and puffy, as if she has been crying for some time. "I promise I won't play any tricks this time around." She holds the device up high.
"Momo, stop!" Rito yells as he leaps across the room. He moves quicker than Momo had expected and manages to knock the device out of her hand, however, as it strikes the ground it activates and a large blue globe encircles them both. It glows brightly and then quickly moves outward. As the light leaves the room and expands further out, the loud buzzing sound that had filled the room dissipates.
"Momo." Rito says. "I don't want to forget the last two weeks. "This isn't the way to fix it." He hugs Momo tightly. "I would never hate you."
"Oh, Rito-san." She cries. "I'm sorry."
Rito holds her for a while longer, until she stops crying, then he pushes her to arms length and bends down to pick up the device.
"How do I fix this, Rito-san?" Momo asks.
"Well, first we need to find out how much damage this thing caused." Rito says, holding up the memory eraser. "And then, you have some explaining to do to everyone you played a trick on."
Just then, Lala comes into the room. "Hey, what was that bright light all about?" She asks.
Ignoring her question, Rito asks. "Lala, what do you remember about the last two weeks?"
"The last two weeks?" Lala repeats, looking puzzled. "Oh, you mean all the girls you've been kissing, Rito?" She smiles at him and leans in, trying to get a kiss of her own.
Rito sighs in relief while avoiding Lala's advance. "I guess that answers that question. The memory eraser still doesn't do anything." He hands the device to Lala and takes Momo by the hand. "Come on, we've got work to do."
"Hey, Rito?" Lala asks, examining her invention. "What's this thing?"
"What?! You already knew?" Momo says in alarm.
As expected, they found Yami at the library. Unexpectedly, however, she was not surprised at all by Momo's story.
"Yes, Princess Momo." Yami says calmly as she continues to examine the bookshelf in front of her. She pulls down a book from the shelf and begins flipping through it. "Mea admitted everything when I confronted her about it."
Momo jumps back as Yami steps close, but she simply proceeds to a nearby table and sits down to read. "And you're not mad at me?" She asks nervously.
Yami pauses for a few moments as if considering something. "I do not enjoy being used as someone's tool, Princess." As she says this, she transforms one hand into a blade examining it closely before returning it to its normal form. "That was my old life."
Yami turns to regard Momo. "But I hold no ill will towards you, Princess Momo." She says, bowing. "And I thank you for telling me the truth."
Momo breathes a sigh of relief as she turns to leave. "Princess." Yami says, causing her to turn back once more. "You will not interfere with my relationship with Yuuki Rito again." The stare Yami gives her convinces Momo that this is a statement rather than a question.
"Of course, Yami-san." Momo says, nervously. She hurries to leave, glancing over her shoulder at the dangerous assassin.
"That went well, I think." She says to Rito as he meets her by the door. "So, who's next?"
"How do you feel about helping out with some club activities?" Rito asks.
Rito hands Momo another stack of posters. "More?" She whines. "Just how many of these does your club put up, Kotegawa-san?"
"We have two more hallways to do. And you agreed to help out as punishment, Momo-san." Yui straightens one of the posters that Rito had just hung up, then returns to her own work.
"You're getting off easy." Nana snorts.
"Well I think it's fun!" Mea says, cheerfully. On the opposite side of the hallway, Rito can see that she is helping Nana hang some of the same posters. They all contain a similar 'Warning' message, and a picture of someone who has been deemed a danger to the school's moral decency. Most of them are pictures of the principal.
Rito sees that Mea has stopped to draw a heart around one of the posters. "Mea, what are you doing?" He asks, moving in to look closer. Upon inspection, he sees that the poster is a picture of himself. "Hey!" He exclaims, turning to Yui.
"Oops." Yui says, pulling the poster down. "That must have been printed by mistake." She takes away the stack of posters Mea was holding and gives her a new stack. "Hang these ones instead."
Mea replaces the missing poster. This time the picture on the front is of Momo. Both Rito and Mea look at Yui. "That one's not a mistake." She says.
As Rito and Momo are leaving the school, they find Nemesis waiting for them at the front entrance.
"Look at the happy couple." She says, laughing. "I guess you took my advice then, Princess Momo?" She asks with a wink.
"No!" Momo says. "Rito-san is helping me apologize to everyone I tricked."
"Oh?" Nemesis says. "That sounds boring." She steps up to face Rito. "And I suppose you're expecting an apology from me as well, hmm?"
"That would be appropriate." Momo says sternly.
Nemesis just laughs. "I think Yuuki Rito and I understand each other a bit better than that." She transforms into Haruna and bats her eyes at Rito. "Have you already forgotten our kiss then?" She asks.
Rito blushes and looks away. "That kiss doesn't count, Nemesis." Momo argues. "Rito-san thought he was kissing Haruna-san."
Nemesis sighs, transforming back into her normal form. "Some day you'll come to your senses and give me a proper kiss though, won't you, Yuuki Rito?" She laughs again as she walks away. "But don't worry, I won't steal anymore kisses intended for other girls."
After she leaves, Momo turns to Rito. "Just one more left. I think I want to do this one on my own, Rito-san."
"Are you sure?" Rito asks.
"You go ahead and tell Mikan about the party so she doesn't start making diner." Momo says. "I'll meet you at home."
Haruna is surprised to find Momo waiting at her front door when she returns from walking Maron.
"Uh, hi Momo-san." She says nervously, unused to receiving such attention from the youngest of the Deviluke sisters.
"Sairenji-san." Momo says with a bow. "I'm sure Rito-san already told you most of this, but I wanted to apologize personally to you. It was wrong of me to play those tricks on the two of you."
"Oh, it's really not necessar-" Haruna tries to say, but Momo interrupts her.
"No. It's very necessary." Momo says. "I should have considered your feelings first." She bows again.
"Momo-san." Haruna says, hesitantly. "You really love Yuuki-kun too?"
Momo smiles. "Yes. I really do."
"I've known for quite a while that I would need to compete with Lala for Yuuki-kun." Haruna says. She laughs nervously. "But I never thought I would need to compete with three princesses instead of just one."
"Actually it's four princesses now." Momo corrects, causing Haruna's eyes to go wide.
"Right. Four. And I know all those other girls love him too, and I know Yuuki-kun has his own feelings for all of them, but..." She pauses and turns to look at Momo, her voice getting quiet. "I think it should be up to him to decide what to do about those feelings."
"You're absolutely right, Haruna-san." Momo says. "That's why I'm going to stop messing with Rito-san's relationships and just focus on making him love me instead."
"I guess that's better." Haruna thinks to herself. "You know, I really did enjoy my date with Yuuki-kun, even though you tricked us into it." She says.
Momo smiles again. "I'm glad to hear it, because there's another reason I wanted to talk to you. I'm throwing a party for Rito-san tonight at the same restaurant. Will you be able to make it?"
"I'd love to." Haruna says. She pauses and a suspicious look comes over her face. "But, Momo?"
"Don't worry. No tricks this time. I swear!" Momo says, as she turns to leave. "We should hang out more often, Sairenji-san."
"You really think so?" Haruna asks.
"Yep. Who knows, we may end up being family one day."
Haruna chuckles. "I guess you're ri- wait, what?" She tries to ask Momo what she meant but she has already run off.
"You're a stubborn one, Sairenji Haruna." Momo thinks as she walks home. "But I think you're starting to crumble. Just a matter of time." She hums to herself as she skips along.
Rito feels a tug on his arm and is surprised when he turns and sees Lala walking beside him. With Momo's long day of confessions finally over, he had been enjoying a leisurely walk home.
"What are you so happy about?" He asks when he sees that she's smiling ear to ear.
"I knew you two would patch things up if you just gave her a chance!" Lala giggles. "And now we get to have a party with all our friends. It's going to be great!" Rito gives her a curious look. "Momo told me before you left this morning." She holds up a handful of shopping bags. "She wanted me to pick some things up for her. Do you think everyone will make it?"
"Run went back with Momioka to hang out at the beach for a few days, but Momo says they are planning to show up anyways." Rito explains as they continue to walk. "It sounds like everyone else is coming as well. I hope it's not too expensive."
"Relax, Rito." Lala says. "Momo has been saving her allowance from Papa for a while now. She wants to have this party to make you happy, so don't worry about anything."
"I guess that means everyone is happy and we can finally all get back to normal then, right?" Rito asks.
"Well…" Lala begins. "There is one more favor I wanted to ask you for." Rito lets out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, come on, Rito. It's just a little thing. And it's something you should be good at by now." She leans in and whispers in his ear.
"Wha- But Lala, that's what got us in this mess in the first place." He says. "I can't do that."
"I know, Rito, but… you don't realize just how much it would mean to her." Lala says. "I'm sure she's happy that everything worked out in the end, but she needs to know that you have room for her in your life." She leans in closer and hugs Rito. "Please? For me?"
"She's getting too good at convincing me." Rito thinks, blushing profusely. "OK Lala." He says. "I'll go talk to her."
Rito finds Momo in her room, getting prepared for the dinner party. When she sees him she immediately runs over to hug him.
"Oh, Rito-san." She says, happily. She steps back and does a complete circle, showing off her dress. "Do you like it? I got it special just for tonight."
"It looks great, Momo." Rito says. He scratches his head nervously, wondering how to proceed. "Come on, Rito." He thinks. "There's no need to be shy around Momo. You've done this several times now."
"I wanted to thank you again." Momo says. "For all your help today, making things right with everyone. I couldn't have done it all without you."
"I guess there's just one last thing to set right then." Rito says, stepping closer.
"Huh? What's wrong, Rito-san?" Momo asks, confused.
Before he can change his mind or talk himself out of it, Rito grabs Momo by the shoulders and pulls her close, kissing her.
Momo's head spins. "Is this really happening?!" She thinks, feeling herself melt in his arms. "Oh, Rito-san!" She says as she wraps her arms around him. "I've waited so long."
"Momo." Rito says, throwing her down on her bed. She gasps as he climbs into bed beside her. "Momo." He says again.
"Hey, Momo?" Rito says, shaking her a bit more forcefully. He was expecting some sort of reaction, but not that she would faint immediately when he kissed her. "You OK?"
"Huh?" Momo asks, finally coming around. "Oh…" She looks over her shoulder at the bed, longingly. "Just a few more minutes."
"I didn't imagine that whole thing right, Rito-san? You really did kiss me?"
"Yes, Momo." Rito says with a chuckle. He takes a step back and smiles at her.
"Maybe we should do it one more time, just to be sure?" She asks sheepishly.
"I think one is enough." Rather than a kiss, Rito extends one hand to Momo. "No more tricks, right?"
"No more tricks. Promise." Rather than accept the handshake Momo wraps him in another hug.
Lala, spying on them from the door, squeals in delight as she runs in to hug both of them.
"OK, that's enough, you two!" Rito says, trying to push them both away. "Don't we have a party to get to?"
"You're late. Rito-san!" Momo chides as Rito finally arrives. Momo has reserved the entire room for them, and they are all gathered around one large table.
"Sorry Momo." He says. "I had trouble finding something nice to wear. For some reason none of the laundry made it through the wash today."
"That's alright. You can make it up to me with a kiss." Momo says, leaning forward.
Rito looks at Momo suspiciously. "You said you weren't going to try that anymore." Rito says.
Nemesis giggles as she changes back to normal. "It was worth a shot." She says, moving to take a seat next to Mea. As she leaves, the real Momo approaches, glaring at Nemesis.
"Take your seat, Rito-san." She says. "Everyone is here now." She points to a seat at the head of the table, between Lala and Haruna.
"They all seem so happy." Rito thinks, as he takes his seat. He sees Yami and Mikan talking quietly together. Nearby, Nana and Yui are arguing with Mea about something that is causing both of their faces to turn red.
"Come on Rito!" Lala says, waving a menu in his face. "Everyone is waiting on you. We want you to pick the first course."
Rito looks around the room and sees that Momo was correct. EVERYONE is here. He sees that Oshizu has accompanied Haruna. Further down the table Mikado and Tearju are sitting next to Yami. He also sees Risa and Mio chatting with Run and Kyoko. At the far end of the table, even Saki, Aya and Rin can be seen.
"Earth to Rito!" Lala says, shaking him by the shoulder. "Didn't you hear me?"
"Huh, what did you say Lala?"
"I said, are you ready to choose yet, Rito?"
End.
Author's Note :
This ends my first multi chapter story I've ever written. Thanks to anyone who stuck with me and read this to the end. I apologize if you were hoping for a more dramatic ending, but the thing I love most about To Love Ru is the fact that it DOESN'T end, ever. I already have notes and ideas for part two of this story, but I am going to take some time to focus on other projects for now. Feel free to let me know how you think I could improve my stories in the future, and I look forward to entertaining you again soon.