Konnichiwa! I got reviews faster than I expected.

This is the final chapter. Sorry, but I don't think I could drag it on any more.

All right, I hope you enjoy the last chapter of Love Me? Rayearth doesn't belong to me, it belongs to CLAMP. Enjoy!

Ascot hid in his room all day after the ball. He literally hated himself. He had to keep his feelings inside the previous times that the magic knights visited because everybody was around. However, when he had Umi all to himself, he still couldn't say anything. And Umi was warming up to him so much too...

A knock came at the door. "Go away," he mumbled. The person was not to be deterred. The knocking persisted. Ascot eventually got fed up with whoever it was and opened the door. "What do you want?" Ascot yelled.

Umi stared back at him, eyes wide. Ascot noticed who it was and immediately apologized. "I-I'm sorry...I'm just a bit..." He hung his head, blushing with embarrassment. Why did he do that?

Umi smiled sadly. Ascot had seemed stressed the whole week the magic knightswere there. "I just came by to check on you," she said. "Caldina sent me. I think she was afraid that you'd bite her head off."

Ascot turned even redder at hearing that. He was ashamed with himself. "Uh, sit down..." he said, waving toward his bed.

Umi seated herself, looking around the room. It looked like the type of place that any normal fifteen year old boy would have. It was a bit messy, messier than usual due to his neglect. There were also, to Umi's hilarity, many copies of the hat that Ascot normally wore strewn around the place. Apparently he wore a different one every day.

He wasn't wearing his hat now though. Probably because nobody was around. Umi couldn't help staring at him. He looked more grown up without the hat.

Ascot noticed Umi staring at him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Umi snapped out of her assumed trance and shook her head. "It's just...you look better without your hat."

Ascot's eyes widened. Caldina had said the same thing, but coming from Umi it sounded more like the truth. "T-thanks..." he muttered.

"Um..." Umi said nervously. "I just wanted to tell you that the barrier's fixed."

Ascot started up in surprise. "That...that means you're going home today..." he said hopelessly. He'd failed...

Umi nodded. "That's right..." She cleared her throat. "I just came here to tell you...this has been the best week of my life..."

Ascot looked at her. Umi wasn't acting like herself...

"I'll come back next week! I promise!" Umi said earnestly. "I don't think I could have stayed longer anyways..."

"Why not?" Ascot asked.

Umi blushed. "I didn't want to be a burden to you...you always looked so sad to me..."

Ascot was stunned. Umi had almost seen through his heart. He WAS sad...but not for the reason she thought. "It's not because you were here! I'm happier when you're around, Umi!" He blushed. "It's just...I didn't...I had..."

He stopped talking abruptly. Umi had thrown her arms around him. "I don't like to see you sad, Ascot..." she muttered into his shirt. "It makes me sad too..." Ascot was speechless. The only thing he could do was hug her back.

Umi looked into Ascot's eyes. She saw trust trust...and she knew that she trusted him as well.

For awhile, they just sat like that. Umi told Ascot her worries and he tried to help her make sense of them. In turn, Ascot told her about himself.

This didn't last.

"Umi, where are you? We have to go!" Hikaru's voice rang through the air.

Umi jumped up with a start, almost knocking Ascot off the bed. Her face was as red as a tomato. What was she doing? This wasn't like her at all!

"I-I'm sorry, I have to go!" she stammered in apology, running out of the room.

"Umi...Umi, wait!" Ascot called out after her. She was gone.

No, he thought. I'm not going to let her leave! Not without telling her how I feel! He ran after her as fast as he could.

"Umi, where were you? I was looking around for an hour!" Hikaru said.

Umi was still red in the face. "It was nothing, Hikaru...getting my stuff together..."

Hikaru growled. "But you didn't bring anything!" Umi was at a loss for words. She had no excuses. She had no idea why she didn't just tell her where she was.

"Are you ready to leave now, Umi?" Fuu said. She was also a bit shaky.

Umi had a slight clue why, but she didn't say anything about it. Instead she nodded. "Right...I mean, yes."

They all waved good bye to everybody in the palace and held Hikaru's hands. She started to activate her powers as the Pillar when Ascot burst in.

"Umi!" He cried out. Everybody turned to look. Hikaru was still preparing to teleport to Tokyo Tower. Ascot froze, but not for long. This was his worst fear, but he knew that if he missed this chance then he would never get another good chance again.

"Umi..." he began. He gathered all of his confidence but that still wasn't enough. Then he looked into Umi's eyes.

She was beautiful. Her deep blue eyes spoke volumes. She wanted to hear what he had to say at long last. He knew she wouldn't turn him away.

"Umi..." he said, "Umi, I love you!"

At the exact moment after he spoke, Hikaru teleported them back to Earth.

Ascot sighed with relief. He finally said it before she left. Suddenly, a staggering round of applause sounded from the docking area.

Caldina and everybody else in the castle was clapping as hard as they could, cheering. Caldina of course was leading the applause. "Well done, Ascot! Full marks for style and delivery! You were great!" She walked over and patted him on the back so hard that he nearly fell over.

"But...wait, what is all this!" Ascot shouted in alarm.

Clef laughed. "Well, you see, the portal wasn't actually broken."

"WHAT?" Ascot yelled, surprised.

Caldina laughed infuriatingly. "Well, me and Clef came up with a plan to get you guys together! He'd pretend that the barrier was broken so the magic knights couldn't get back to their own world. Then, I'd encourage you to tell her!"

Ascot frowned. "But you barged in on us whenever I tried to tell her!"

Clef nodded. "Part of the plan was for you to get some spine as well, Ascot. Frankly, you are a bit of a wimp."

"Where did you hear that word?" Ascot said, confused.

"From Hikaru," Clef explained.

"Anyways, now she knows, so everything will be alright!" Caldina said triumphantly.

Ascot shook his head. "We still don't know how she feels..."

Silence engulfed the room. There was a long wait ahead of them.

Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu had landed in Tokyo Tower. Nothing had changed at all. In fact, it was the same day as when they had left. Umi fell to her knees, her face the picture of surprise.

"Umi? Umi, what's wrong?" Hikaru said with concern. She and Fuu helped Umi up.

"Did he just say," Umi whispered, "What I thought he said...?"

After Fuu bought some chocolate for her sister, they parted their separate ways and went back home. Umi walked automatically, still processing what Ascot had said.

He said that he loved her...it was impossible. However, she thought, it did explain why he had been acting so nervous. The only time he spoke when he didn't stammer or blush was when he held her...

When he held her...he became something entirely different. Like a prince...

"Umi, what is it? You've been like this all week!" her father eventually asked her. She had been staring into space ever since she got back from Cephiro. Either that or she played with a pencil or looked out the window and sighed.

"I'm fine, Dad," Umi lied. She had a lot of stuff on her mind. Her father wouldn't understand at all. She was going back to Cephiro that day and she still didn't know how to respond to what Ascot had said...

"You don't look fine," her father said. "I'm worried about you, Umi."

So what else is new? Umi thought stubbornly.

"I have to get going, Dad, I've got to meet Hikaru and Fuu." She left the house, her confused father staring at her retreating figure.

When Umi arrived at Tokyo Tower, only Fuu was there. Hikaru was the one running late this time. They couldn't leave without her.

"Hikaru-chan told me that she has some chores to do so she'll be a little late," Fuu said. Her eyes were sad. "Umi, are you worried about what Ascot said?"

Umi looked up and nodded, blushing. "I...don't know how to react," she said truthfully. "I'm supposed to be the tough girl..."

Fuu smiled. "All tough girls have a little girl inside them that wants to show herself."

Umi huffed. "Yeah, right."

Fuu touched her hand to her heart. "I'm going to tell you a secret now, Umi."

Umi looked up. Fuu was blushing faintly. "What is it?"

Fuu smiled. "Ferio told me the same thing that day."

Umi opened her mouth in shock. "No way! That's great! What did you say to him?"

Fuu giggled. "I told him that I felt the same."

Umi was surprised. "Just like that? You didn't even have to think about it?"

Fuu shook her head. "I didn't. The first thought that came to my mind was, 'this is making me the happiest person in the world.'" She smiled at Umi, tears of happiness in her eyes. "My first thought is usually the right one. That's why I was so quick to answer. I knew that if I thought about it, I'd find a million things wrong with it. That's just how I am."

"But I knew that I loved him. With all of my heart. And that's all I needed to know." Fuu took Umi's hand. "If you feel strongly enough, I'm sure you'll understand your feelings, Umi."

Umi smiled gratefully andsqueezed her friend's hand. "Thank you, Fuu."

"Sorry I'm late!" Hikaru cried out, rushing towards them at top speed.

Umi laughed. "You're just in time, Hikaru!"

Umi laughed. "I guess you're right about that," she said, casting a glance at Fuu.

Hikaru stared at the now giggling girls."Ready to go?" she asked.

Umi nodded, fire burning brightly in her eyes. Hikaru took the other girls' hands and they traveled to the land of Cephiro.

"Hey, girls! Glad to see you again!" Caldina said happily. She looked at Umi. "If you want to see Ascot, he's in his room. I haven't told him you were coming."

Umi's eyes widened and then she smiled. "Thank you, Caldina. That's exactly what I needed to know." She ran off.

"Now, where do you suppose she's going?" Ferio asked, appearing behind Fuu.

Fuu took his hands and said, "She's going to see the man she loves."

Ferio nodded understandingly. "And what about you?"

Fuu smiled, blushing with pleasure. "I'm doing the same," she said accepting Ferio's warm embrace.

Ascot was waiting impatiently in his room. Caldina said that if he waited long enough, he'd get a surprise. She had been gone an awful long time. Probably getting the surprise ready, he reminded himself. Someone knocked on the door, much to Ascot's relief. "Okay, Caldina, what's the surprise?" he said, opening the door.

Umi stood there, smiling up at him. "U-Umi!" Ascot stammered, blushing. "Uh...Caldina didn't tell me that you were coming this early!" He winced. He sounded like a complete idiot.

"I know, she told me," Umi said. "You're not wearing your hat."

Ascot nodded. "I wanted to welcome you without it...I mean, you said I looked better without it on..."

Umi giggled. "Stop talking," she said, putting a finger to his lips. "You talk too much." Ascot stopped talking.

"I thought about what you said all week and..." Umi blushed. "I...I feel the same way."

Ascot gaped at her. "You do?" he whispered.

Umi nodded. "I realized it when I thought about what happened before we left. When we sat on your bed and talked." She smiled warmly. "I felt happier and more at peace with myself then I ever have my whole life." She noticed something on Ascot's bed. "What's that?" she said, pointing at the slip of paper.

"Uh...that's..." he said, going over to pick it up. It was an awfully dog eared picture of Umi standing next to one of Ascot's friends, Caldina faintly shown in the background.

Umi laughed. "Do you look at this every day? It looks like it's been in a hurricane!"

Ascot blushed. "Not EVERY day...just now and then...it's an old picture."

Umi looked up at him, smiling mischeviously. "Would you like a new one?" she said.

"I don't have my camera..." Ascot muttered.

"Not that kind of picture," Umi said. "Here's what I mean." She jumped into Ascot's arms, knocking him down on the bed, her lips pressed against his. He stiffened for a second at the surprise of it, but then slowly eased himself into the kiss, putting his arms around her.

The rest of it, of course, is happily ever after.

Yay! My first finished story -does her 'I finished my story' dance- Strange that the first fic I finished was the last one I started, ne?

I hope you enjoyed that! I hope you'll read some of my other stories as well! Ja ne-waves-