"Hey cous', can I borrow your red rrj close cap?" Phil suddenly came in Colline's room.
"What are you doing here?" Colline asked him.
"I'm fetching you because we have a gig."
"Gig? Where."
"Ah, anywhere. Now, can I borrow your cap?"
"The whole gang?"
"Yah. Now give me your cap."
"Wait." Colline opened her drawer of caps and looked for the cap her cousin was borrowing.
"Why are you borrowing it anyway?" Colline asked.
"Ah, I forgot mine. C'mon."
"Wait. I'm still going to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Ah… Mito's been courting me for quite a long time already. What if he asks me already, am I going to answer him?"
Phil looked at Colline mischievously.
"Hey, hey, hey, my little cousin is growing up now. Whooo!"
"Stop teasing me. I'm serious."
"You! Serious! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"Shut up Phil. And stop laughing at me!"
"Okay, what is it?"
"Am I going to answer him?"
"It's up to you. It's your decision. Do you like him?"
"I'm already liking him too."
"Then what's the problem? Answer him if you like. But what about your vice cap?"
"That's it. I don't know."
"Do you still like him?"
"Yah. But… maybe it's really only a crush."
"You sure?"
"Yah?"
"Then go ahead."
"So, I can answer him?"
"No one's stopping you. You were just waiting, weren't you? Because you have a childish mind."
"Aaah! Stop it."
"Why? It is true. It is just with the help of your vice cap that you grew up a little. But only a little."
"Aaah!"
"But I didn't know you would be able to make friends with him. I didn't know you were that aggressive. Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"Shut up. I just saw him soaked in the rain. So I gave him cover." Colline smiled as she reminisced.
"And you abused the moment."
"I told you to stop teasing me."
"Why? It is true."
"Aaah!. Give me back my cap."
Colline chased Phil away.
99-99-99-99-99-
The sun was setting down. Mito and Colline were sitting down on a bench. They were first laughing at each other, then, the scene became silent. Mito was the first one to break that silence.
"So Colline, are you really having fun when you're with me?"
"Yah. Why?"
"Nothing. I'm just happy to know that."
"Why?"
"Nothing."
Then there was silence again. But Mito broke it again.
"I'm feeling happy whenever I am with you. I'm feeling glad when you smile at me. I couldn't explain the happiness I'm feeling when you laugh with me."
Colline looked at Mito. Then Mito slowly looked at Colline.
"You know that I like you very much, right?"
"Ahmm… maybe."
Mito then held Colline's hands.
"I like you very much Colline."
Colline was stunned when Mito told her that face to face. Then Mito pulled something from his pocket, a small box. He opened it and showed it to Colline. It was a plain, silver ring.
"Colline, would you be my girlfriend?" Mito asked Colline while holding her hand and the box.
Colline wasn't able to reply immediately. She's still thinking hard. And then she thought of Kogure. But it also came into her mind the time when she asked Phil about this kind of situation.
Maybe it's really only a crush.
Colline smiled at Mito.
From a far, you could see that Mito became happy. And that he placed the ring on Colline's right ring finger. And then he hugged her.
99-99-99-99-99-
"Whooo! Let's celebrate. Yohei's got a girlfriend now! Whoooo!" Takamiya was noisily cheering for Mito on their way to school.
"So what happened? What happened?" Oksu asked exitedly.
"Nothing. I just gave her the ring and…"
"You had a kissing scene?" Sakuragi interrupted.
"Shut up. No, of course not. I just hugged her."
"Whooo! So where are you going to treat us?" Takamiya asked.
"It's food you're thinking of again." Sakuragi told Takamiya.
"How 'bout you Hanamichi? Haruko's already dumped you? Wahahahahaha!" Takamiya teased Sakuragi. And again, the two chased each other. But Mito was there, simply walking and smiling.
99-99-99-99-99-
"Nice pass Miyagi." Kogure praised Miyagi in their practice game in the gym. He was dribbling the ball when he came face to face with Sakuragi. And Sakuragi thought of a way to distract him.
"Hey glasses bro, do you know that Yohei and Colline are already on?"
Kogure was stunned, and Sakuragi was able to steal the ball from him. His eyes followed Sakuragi as he dunked the ball to the ring.
"Hey Kogure, what's happening to you?" Miyagi asked Kogure.
Kogure looked at Miyagi and then brought his eyes back to Sakuragi. Sakuragi was laughing at him.
99-99-99-99-99-
Kogure was preparing to go home when Mito blocked his way. They sat on a bench and talked.
"Ah, I'd heard that Colline already answered you." Kogure started the talk.
"Yah."
"Hope you two would be happy."
"Yah."
Then there was silence.
"Thanks for keeping your promise." Mito broke the silence. Kogure looked at him.
"Yah, you're welcome."
"Because if you didn't promise, maybe she wouldn't have answered me."
"Ha?" Kogure became confused. "Why?"
"Because it is you whom she really likes from the very first time."
Kogure's eyes got round and his ears enlarged.
"She didn't tell me but I knew it. And her cousin confirmed my suspicions for me. I didn't know she would ever answer me. Especially when I'd known that you like her too. So that's why I made you make that promise to me."
Kogure looked down slowly. It was like heaven fell on his head.
"You may say that I'm mean. You may think whatever you want. But I don't care, because I have her now. Thanks man."
"No, it's alright. I kept my promise."
99-99-99-99-99-
Kogure was walking home. He was slow. And then the rain poured down. He stopped and looked up and closed his eyes. He was feeling the drops of rain falling down on him. But it wasn't only the rain that streamed down his face.
Colline… I love you.
But also tears from his eyes rolled down his cheeks.
---THE END---