A/N: I am soooooo~ totally sorry for this really really long delay. I had too much stuff going on in school that I had no time to finish the fic. Anyway, I take it back. This is supposed to be the last chapter, but I can't finish the essay yet, so technically this is the second to the last chapter. I hope you guys are happy. ^u^
Chapter 13
The first thing Fuuko Kirisawa noticed when she woke up was that she wasn't in her bed. That it was bigger, softer, nicer, the type she'd expect to find in mansions-and that if this were a dream, and she was quite positive it was, she'd better get a move on to see what kind of castle she had woken up in.
Groggily swinging both feet from the bed, she stood up and languidly stretched, removing all sleepy bones from her body. Before her was a large window with rich purple draperies folded at the side. Curious, she looked out to see what kind of magical kingdom she has entered in her dream, but was greatly disappointed, then confused, at the sight of the train station.
What on earth is this castle doing in the middle of Shibuya district?!
But then again, all of her dreams were odd. Scratch that. It was already a given that if you have a dream, it was bound to be odd, though it can either be a nice kind of weird, or the bad kind of weird. This thing going on right now, was definitely some sort of a nice kind of weird. For one she was glad that it wasn't raining as hard as it was back in the real world.
Oh yes, the real world. It would still be raining heavily there. She would be curled up in her decent bed. Not as extravagant as her dream-bed here, but it held all her necessities, such as her 3 pillows (one for her head, one to hug, and one to prop her legs on), the fluffy pink bunny Yanagi had given her earlier for her Christmas (which she accepted with a reluctant grin), the huge brown teddy bear Recca had given her (which almost always ends up on the floor with her constant tossing and turning), and the Hello Kitty comforter that she was supposed to give Ganko for Christmas (but it turned out that the girl had one exactly like it, so she ended up using it instead).
Soon, she knew, she'd wake up in the real world, and all that she'll remember in this dream was this majestic room. Resolved to find out more about her castle in the middle of Shibuya district, Fuuko made her way outside as she noticed that she wasn't in her normal flannel pajamas. She wore a shirt to big for her, and jogging pants that were even longer. Frowning, she wondered what happened to the cotton pajamas that she was supposed to be wearing. She was in a castle for crying out loud! Surely the wardrobe they have has more class than these large hand-me-downs.
She headed purposefully towards the towering mahogany closet and was fairly disappointed to find it empty. It seems that she has to make do with this oversized apparel. Sighing, she made her way to the large double-doors as a certain painting caught her eye. It was a painting of Ganko and Kaoru chasing butterflies. And behind them, under the shade of a tree, sat the rest of Hokage.
She frowned again, as a certain realization hit her. She wasn't surprised. At all. Not even the tiniest bit of excitement seeing this beautiful painting in her dream. Usually she'd feel much exuberant just at the sight of someone she knew in one of her nicely weird dreams. And now she feels as if she has seen this painting somewhere before…
And her mulling was promptly interrupted by the rumbling of her stomach.
Her footsteps didn't make much of a sound along the imposing corridor, for the reason that she was barefooted. It was normal for her, since as she recalled, she was barefoot in all of her dreams. And it was for the better too, as there might be fire-breathing dragons that would suddenly materialize (or in the case of another dream, Recca's eight dragons came very close to skewering her because she burped) if she moved too loudly.
The main destination in her mind was the kitchen. At the back of her mind, she was wondering if she would find the kitchen in time before she passes out from hunger. In a place as large as this, who knew what sort of labyrinth the grand hallways are presenting her. She might not get out of this dream alive! She might die in her sleep! She might-
Staircase. It leads to the lower floors, where most kitchens are conveniently located… She silently thanked her subconscious before she ended up in the deeper territories of trepidation.
But now, looking at what seemed to be the ground floor of her castle in the middle of Shibuya, it seemed awfully familiar to her, as if she has been here before.
And at that moment, the distinct smell of waffles wafted through the air.
The girl silently marveled at how acute her senses seemed to be in her dream. Everything looked real, felt real, and even smelt real! The smell of the waffles has been now accompanied by that of fried bacon. An odd combination for her taste, but she was hungry and she couldn't care less.
But then her superhuman sensitivity might end as she ate. She highly doubted that she'd be able to revel in those bacon and waffles, no matter how good they smelled. Oh well, there's a limit for everything…
But that everything didn't seem to include the other inhabitants of her dream.
Never in her whole life did she have a dream with HIM in it. Never. Never ever! So why start now? Why in her beautiful castle in the middle of Shibuya?
"WHY?!?!?!?!"
Tokiya merely shrugged off her infuriating whining and placed the plate of bacon on the table. He glanced at her through the corner of his eye to find Fuuko's face plastered in a look that can be called complete abashment.
"W-w-w-what are you doing in my dream?!!!" she demanded through her sputtering. "You can't be here! This is MY dream!"
"Excuse me?"
Fuuko crossed the gap between them in a flurry and poked him with a finger. "You feel real," she mused. "But it shouldn't be that way!"
Tokiya watched the girl with vague thoughts of vexation, amusement, confusion, and surprise, all criss-crossing at the back of his head. Just what is Kirisawa trying to play at here? Is this some sort of game, he wondered. Did she expect him to play along, or did she really think she was dreaming? She seemed like it. How could a person wake up and the he was dreaming anyway? Did that even happen?
Apparently, it was happening right in front of him. The confusion in Fuuko's face couldn't be mistaken for anything else. She couldn't be drunk, he mulled. She didn't even finish her one can of beer last night.
And he absolutely refused to think about the whole 'drugged tea' idea.
It was an irony in itself, as he found himself pouring her a cup of the said drink and pushing it towards the flustered girl, who took it without any question. And stared at it. And stared at it even more, much to his dire irritation.
"This is tea," she said in an unusually calm voice. "It's earl gray tea… How come I know that? I've never had tea before." She asked, looking at him with a gaze that clearly said 'you know everything so tell my right now WHY!'
"You drank it yesterday."
"I did?"
"Yes, you did," he answered with a hint of finality in his voice, his patience already worn thin. "Kirisawa, you are not dreaming. You are in my house. You are in my kitchen. You are holding a cup of earl gray in your hands. And you are about to eat breakfast. Understood?"
Fuuko grinned. "Wow, you are so much like the real Tokiya Mikagami, except for the fact that you talk a lot…"
"Eat Kirisawa, that you may finally realize that YOU ARE NOT DREAMING."
Before taking the cup to her mouth, Fuuko waggled a disapproving finger at him. "Mi-chan never raises his voice to females. You should know that. You won't be a good dream-alter-ego if you don't know what Mi-chan is like."
All Mikagami could do was roll his eyes. And after much stalling (as she realized how easy it was to irk this dream-alter-ego Mikagami just like the 'real' one) Fuuko finally took a sip from the tea.
And the warm, unbridled taste brought her back to the reality. Rather, brought her back enough sense to realize that she IS already in reality. And everything before her was real… Like the sight of Mikagami looming over her with a grim look painted on his face.
"What?" she asked defensively.
He watched her for a few more seconds before taking his own seat and pouring himself a cup of tea. "You're weird, you know that."
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious."
They ate in companionable silence. For Mikagami, it was merely how things always were ever since. Eating in silence. Relishing on the goodness of the food (which he made). Leafing through the day's newspaper. It was all part of the routine that he has enjoyed ever since. Save for the fact that he had someone with him. But still, he was grateful that Kirisawa was respecting how he preferred to spend Sunday mornings at his house.
But Fuuko wasn't feeling to peaceful yet. A thousand questions raced through her mind, to be then answered by memories of what happened the other day every time she took a sip from the tea. Soon, she found herself downing her fifth cup, and when she paused to catch her breath, she found Mikagami looking at her with an intrigued look on his face.
"You finished the tea, Kirisawa."
"I- I did?" she asked unbelievingly. "But this is just my fifth cup an-Oh. My fifth cup…" She smiled wanly and handed him the nearly empty cup of tea. "Here. You want?"
Tokiya looked at the half-empty cup with a mildly appalled look before pushing it back to her. "No thanks. Monkey germs, remember?" was what he was supposed to counter, but the response seemed to have been caught in his throat as their hands touched… The familiar jolts of magnetism came coursing through their skins-perhaps even deeper-again. Just like yesterday.
Yesterday…
Yesterday wasn't a dream, after all. Mikagami surmised. He woke up today, feeling rather peeved at himself for waking up in the kitchen table. Apparently, he has fallen asleep while he was writing down the rest of his essay, just as he finished his 'talk' with Fuuko. Needless to say, last night was definitely surreal, enough to make him think that everything was just a figment of his imagination.
He was rather surprised as well to find the person who plagued his dreams last night to be equally, if not more (as she did wake up thinking she was still in her dream) flustered about everything.
Fuuko quickly pulled back and proceeded to busy herself with studying the bacon. It was a very interesting piece of meat indeed. Why, if she hadn't been cooped up in this place with Mikagami, helping him with his essay, she would've eagerly spent her weekend at the butcher shop learning how to make bacon cuts. And that was a very stupid thought, she amended. What the hell is wrong with her this time, aside from the fact that she was a tomato-faced freak who's addicted to tea and bacon.
Wait… Essay?
"Oh, erm, sorry I wasn't able to help with the essay Mi-chan."
"Hardly". Yet Mikagami knew just how much she was able to help with his essay. And it scares him, yes, scares him so, to even think that she has helped him realized more things than he was prepared to realize in this point of his life. It wasn't just about the essay anymore. That much he knew.
And a part of him still insists that the person before him wasn't JUST Fuuko Kirisawa, Fuujin master, and all-around monkey.
But he'd be damned if he were to admit all of this before her right now. He had his pride, still. But maybe someday, he might just tell her how much he appreciated this… All of this.
Fuuko's eyes narrowed as she noticed something odd with Mikagami's demeanor. "So how come you're not at all upset at the fact that you wasted an entire weekend with useless old me?"
"Ever the tenacious monkey, aren't we now?"
"You actually think you can change the great Fuuko Kirisawa with your pathetically drugged tea?"
Drugged tea deal again… Mikagami sighed resignedly. He highly doubted that she will let go of the whole drugged tea business.
"But really, now, Mi-chan," Fuuko repeated, her voice sounding rather sincere to his ears. "Sorry I wasn't much help with your essay. Guess you'll be getting your first F, huh? It's not so bad, really. I managed to survive 2 of them last year. I'm sure you can, too."
Tokiya resisted the urge to actually smile at the way Fuuko was trying to make him feel better. It wasn't an everyday occurrence that people actually did that to him. Or rather, it wasn't everyday that people noticed that he was in need of reassurance of any sort. Perhaps he should let her worry even more…
"Oh, come now, Mikagami! If I remember correctly, Domon had 9 of those dratted F marks combining this year and the last, and he's perfectly fine!"
A delicate eyebrow was raised, challenging her last statement.
"Er, okay, maybe not perfectly fine," she sheepishly amended. "But he is managing well for a hulking mass of a gorilla." She grinned when she noticed that corner of her companion's lips curl up ever so slightly.
"That's all well and nice, Kirisawa, recounting to me all your past failures in the academia, but I've absolutely no intention of following in you, or your said hulking mass of a gorilla's footsteps. I managed to finish that essay last night."
"You did?" she asked doubtfully. "How?"
"I sat on a chair, took a pen and started writing, that's how."
Fuuko flashed him a mock glare and shook her head. "Yes, I figured as much, but… I guess it's good that you finally had an idea on what to write next."
Mikagami merely nodded and proceeded to devour his waffles in a prim manner. Fuuko decided to follow suit, although devouring hers in a more unfashionable way, with the syrup slowly dripping at the edge of her mouth, much to Mikagami's exasperation.
"Bloody hell, Kirisawa!" he exclaimed all of a sudden, reached for the nearest napkin and wiped the trickle of honey quite roughly from her mouth. "You don't have to eat like a 5 year old!"
"Gee, thanks mum," she replied with a flash of a huge grin. "So anyway, can I read your final work?"
She was greatly amazed as a look of something akin to alarm came over his pale face. He cleared his throat, proceeded to finish the remains of his tea and promptly gave a stiff "No."
The finality in his voice hindered her from nagging him again, as she would've done without even a second thought before. But what about now? What has changed between them that she actually respected his privacy about this. Did some high-power deity decide to give her the boon of being able to read Mikagami through his voice and actions? It seemed like it, though, and she couldn't help but feel just a tad elated, and a great deal befuddled, at this revelation.
"Fine then. Maybe you can make me read it some other time then."
Mikagami was fairly surprised at her acquiescent manner. It wasn't just like Fuuko Kirisawa to give up without a fight. It wasn't even like her to give up at all! But he wouldn't prod this idea any longer. For now, he was just glad that she understood. At least he hoped she did. "Yeah, sometime."
She beamed at him. The most radiant smile that he has seen from her… From anyone.
And he smiled back.
TBC
Chapter 13
The first thing Fuuko Kirisawa noticed when she woke up was that she wasn't in her bed. That it was bigger, softer, nicer, the type she'd expect to find in mansions-and that if this were a dream, and she was quite positive it was, she'd better get a move on to see what kind of castle she had woken up in.
Groggily swinging both feet from the bed, she stood up and languidly stretched, removing all sleepy bones from her body. Before her was a large window with rich purple draperies folded at the side. Curious, she looked out to see what kind of magical kingdom she has entered in her dream, but was greatly disappointed, then confused, at the sight of the train station.
What on earth is this castle doing in the middle of Shibuya district?!
But then again, all of her dreams were odd. Scratch that. It was already a given that if you have a dream, it was bound to be odd, though it can either be a nice kind of weird, or the bad kind of weird. This thing going on right now, was definitely some sort of a nice kind of weird. For one she was glad that it wasn't raining as hard as it was back in the real world.
Oh yes, the real world. It would still be raining heavily there. She would be curled up in her decent bed. Not as extravagant as her dream-bed here, but it held all her necessities, such as her 3 pillows (one for her head, one to hug, and one to prop her legs on), the fluffy pink bunny Yanagi had given her earlier for her Christmas (which she accepted with a reluctant grin), the huge brown teddy bear Recca had given her (which almost always ends up on the floor with her constant tossing and turning), and the Hello Kitty comforter that she was supposed to give Ganko for Christmas (but it turned out that the girl had one exactly like it, so she ended up using it instead).
Soon, she knew, she'd wake up in the real world, and all that she'll remember in this dream was this majestic room. Resolved to find out more about her castle in the middle of Shibuya district, Fuuko made her way outside as she noticed that she wasn't in her normal flannel pajamas. She wore a shirt to big for her, and jogging pants that were even longer. Frowning, she wondered what happened to the cotton pajamas that she was supposed to be wearing. She was in a castle for crying out loud! Surely the wardrobe they have has more class than these large hand-me-downs.
She headed purposefully towards the towering mahogany closet and was fairly disappointed to find it empty. It seems that she has to make do with this oversized apparel. Sighing, she made her way to the large double-doors as a certain painting caught her eye. It was a painting of Ganko and Kaoru chasing butterflies. And behind them, under the shade of a tree, sat the rest of Hokage.
She frowned again, as a certain realization hit her. She wasn't surprised. At all. Not even the tiniest bit of excitement seeing this beautiful painting in her dream. Usually she'd feel much exuberant just at the sight of someone she knew in one of her nicely weird dreams. And now she feels as if she has seen this painting somewhere before…
And her mulling was promptly interrupted by the rumbling of her stomach.
Her footsteps didn't make much of a sound along the imposing corridor, for the reason that she was barefooted. It was normal for her, since as she recalled, she was barefoot in all of her dreams. And it was for the better too, as there might be fire-breathing dragons that would suddenly materialize (or in the case of another dream, Recca's eight dragons came very close to skewering her because she burped) if she moved too loudly.
The main destination in her mind was the kitchen. At the back of her mind, she was wondering if she would find the kitchen in time before she passes out from hunger. In a place as large as this, who knew what sort of labyrinth the grand hallways are presenting her. She might not get out of this dream alive! She might die in her sleep! She might-
Staircase. It leads to the lower floors, where most kitchens are conveniently located… She silently thanked her subconscious before she ended up in the deeper territories of trepidation.
But now, looking at what seemed to be the ground floor of her castle in the middle of Shibuya, it seemed awfully familiar to her, as if she has been here before.
And at that moment, the distinct smell of waffles wafted through the air.
The girl silently marveled at how acute her senses seemed to be in her dream. Everything looked real, felt real, and even smelt real! The smell of the waffles has been now accompanied by that of fried bacon. An odd combination for her taste, but she was hungry and she couldn't care less.
But then her superhuman sensitivity might end as she ate. She highly doubted that she'd be able to revel in those bacon and waffles, no matter how good they smelled. Oh well, there's a limit for everything…
But that everything didn't seem to include the other inhabitants of her dream.
Never in her whole life did she have a dream with HIM in it. Never. Never ever! So why start now? Why in her beautiful castle in the middle of Shibuya?
"WHY?!?!?!?!"
Tokiya merely shrugged off her infuriating whining and placed the plate of bacon on the table. He glanced at her through the corner of his eye to find Fuuko's face plastered in a look that can be called complete abashment.
"W-w-w-what are you doing in my dream?!!!" she demanded through her sputtering. "You can't be here! This is MY dream!"
"Excuse me?"
Fuuko crossed the gap between them in a flurry and poked him with a finger. "You feel real," she mused. "But it shouldn't be that way!"
Tokiya watched the girl with vague thoughts of vexation, amusement, confusion, and surprise, all criss-crossing at the back of his head. Just what is Kirisawa trying to play at here? Is this some sort of game, he wondered. Did she expect him to play along, or did she really think she was dreaming? She seemed like it. How could a person wake up and the he was dreaming anyway? Did that even happen?
Apparently, it was happening right in front of him. The confusion in Fuuko's face couldn't be mistaken for anything else. She couldn't be drunk, he mulled. She didn't even finish her one can of beer last night.
And he absolutely refused to think about the whole 'drugged tea' idea.
It was an irony in itself, as he found himself pouring her a cup of the said drink and pushing it towards the flustered girl, who took it without any question. And stared at it. And stared at it even more, much to his dire irritation.
"This is tea," she said in an unusually calm voice. "It's earl gray tea… How come I know that? I've never had tea before." She asked, looking at him with a gaze that clearly said 'you know everything so tell my right now WHY!'
"You drank it yesterday."
"I did?"
"Yes, you did," he answered with a hint of finality in his voice, his patience already worn thin. "Kirisawa, you are not dreaming. You are in my house. You are in my kitchen. You are holding a cup of earl gray in your hands. And you are about to eat breakfast. Understood?"
Fuuko grinned. "Wow, you are so much like the real Tokiya Mikagami, except for the fact that you talk a lot…"
"Eat Kirisawa, that you may finally realize that YOU ARE NOT DREAMING."
Before taking the cup to her mouth, Fuuko waggled a disapproving finger at him. "Mi-chan never raises his voice to females. You should know that. You won't be a good dream-alter-ego if you don't know what Mi-chan is like."
All Mikagami could do was roll his eyes. And after much stalling (as she realized how easy it was to irk this dream-alter-ego Mikagami just like the 'real' one) Fuuko finally took a sip from the tea.
And the warm, unbridled taste brought her back to the reality. Rather, brought her back enough sense to realize that she IS already in reality. And everything before her was real… Like the sight of Mikagami looming over her with a grim look painted on his face.
"What?" she asked defensively.
He watched her for a few more seconds before taking his own seat and pouring himself a cup of tea. "You're weird, you know that."
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious."
They ate in companionable silence. For Mikagami, it was merely how things always were ever since. Eating in silence. Relishing on the goodness of the food (which he made). Leafing through the day's newspaper. It was all part of the routine that he has enjoyed ever since. Save for the fact that he had someone with him. But still, he was grateful that Kirisawa was respecting how he preferred to spend Sunday mornings at his house.
But Fuuko wasn't feeling to peaceful yet. A thousand questions raced through her mind, to be then answered by memories of what happened the other day every time she took a sip from the tea. Soon, she found herself downing her fifth cup, and when she paused to catch her breath, she found Mikagami looking at her with an intrigued look on his face.
"You finished the tea, Kirisawa."
"I- I did?" she asked unbelievingly. "But this is just my fifth cup an-Oh. My fifth cup…" She smiled wanly and handed him the nearly empty cup of tea. "Here. You want?"
Tokiya looked at the half-empty cup with a mildly appalled look before pushing it back to her. "No thanks. Monkey germs, remember?" was what he was supposed to counter, but the response seemed to have been caught in his throat as their hands touched… The familiar jolts of magnetism came coursing through their skins-perhaps even deeper-again. Just like yesterday.
Yesterday…
Yesterday wasn't a dream, after all. Mikagami surmised. He woke up today, feeling rather peeved at himself for waking up in the kitchen table. Apparently, he has fallen asleep while he was writing down the rest of his essay, just as he finished his 'talk' with Fuuko. Needless to say, last night was definitely surreal, enough to make him think that everything was just a figment of his imagination.
He was rather surprised as well to find the person who plagued his dreams last night to be equally, if not more (as she did wake up thinking she was still in her dream) flustered about everything.
Fuuko quickly pulled back and proceeded to busy herself with studying the bacon. It was a very interesting piece of meat indeed. Why, if she hadn't been cooped up in this place with Mikagami, helping him with his essay, she would've eagerly spent her weekend at the butcher shop learning how to make bacon cuts. And that was a very stupid thought, she amended. What the hell is wrong with her this time, aside from the fact that she was a tomato-faced freak who's addicted to tea and bacon.
Wait… Essay?
"Oh, erm, sorry I wasn't able to help with the essay Mi-chan."
"Hardly". Yet Mikagami knew just how much she was able to help with his essay. And it scares him, yes, scares him so, to even think that she has helped him realized more things than he was prepared to realize in this point of his life. It wasn't just about the essay anymore. That much he knew.
And a part of him still insists that the person before him wasn't JUST Fuuko Kirisawa, Fuujin master, and all-around monkey.
But he'd be damned if he were to admit all of this before her right now. He had his pride, still. But maybe someday, he might just tell her how much he appreciated this… All of this.
Fuuko's eyes narrowed as she noticed something odd with Mikagami's demeanor. "So how come you're not at all upset at the fact that you wasted an entire weekend with useless old me?"
"Ever the tenacious monkey, aren't we now?"
"You actually think you can change the great Fuuko Kirisawa with your pathetically drugged tea?"
Drugged tea deal again… Mikagami sighed resignedly. He highly doubted that she will let go of the whole drugged tea business.
"But really, now, Mi-chan," Fuuko repeated, her voice sounding rather sincere to his ears. "Sorry I wasn't much help with your essay. Guess you'll be getting your first F, huh? It's not so bad, really. I managed to survive 2 of them last year. I'm sure you can, too."
Tokiya resisted the urge to actually smile at the way Fuuko was trying to make him feel better. It wasn't an everyday occurrence that people actually did that to him. Or rather, it wasn't everyday that people noticed that he was in need of reassurance of any sort. Perhaps he should let her worry even more…
"Oh, come now, Mikagami! If I remember correctly, Domon had 9 of those dratted F marks combining this year and the last, and he's perfectly fine!"
A delicate eyebrow was raised, challenging her last statement.
"Er, okay, maybe not perfectly fine," she sheepishly amended. "But he is managing well for a hulking mass of a gorilla." She grinned when she noticed that corner of her companion's lips curl up ever so slightly.
"That's all well and nice, Kirisawa, recounting to me all your past failures in the academia, but I've absolutely no intention of following in you, or your said hulking mass of a gorilla's footsteps. I managed to finish that essay last night."
"You did?" she asked doubtfully. "How?"
"I sat on a chair, took a pen and started writing, that's how."
Fuuko flashed him a mock glare and shook her head. "Yes, I figured as much, but… I guess it's good that you finally had an idea on what to write next."
Mikagami merely nodded and proceeded to devour his waffles in a prim manner. Fuuko decided to follow suit, although devouring hers in a more unfashionable way, with the syrup slowly dripping at the edge of her mouth, much to Mikagami's exasperation.
"Bloody hell, Kirisawa!" he exclaimed all of a sudden, reached for the nearest napkin and wiped the trickle of honey quite roughly from her mouth. "You don't have to eat like a 5 year old!"
"Gee, thanks mum," she replied with a flash of a huge grin. "So anyway, can I read your final work?"
She was greatly amazed as a look of something akin to alarm came over his pale face. He cleared his throat, proceeded to finish the remains of his tea and promptly gave a stiff "No."
The finality in his voice hindered her from nagging him again, as she would've done without even a second thought before. But what about now? What has changed between them that she actually respected his privacy about this. Did some high-power deity decide to give her the boon of being able to read Mikagami through his voice and actions? It seemed like it, though, and she couldn't help but feel just a tad elated, and a great deal befuddled, at this revelation.
"Fine then. Maybe you can make me read it some other time then."
Mikagami was fairly surprised at her acquiescent manner. It wasn't just like Fuuko Kirisawa to give up without a fight. It wasn't even like her to give up at all! But he wouldn't prod this idea any longer. For now, he was just glad that she understood. At least he hoped she did. "Yeah, sometime."
She beamed at him. The most radiant smile that he has seen from her… From anyone.
And he smiled back.
TBC