"Look out! Miss Hikawa!" Daisuke reached out for Reiko and fell.
"Ouch!" Reiko said.
"Are you all right, Miss Hikawa?" Daisuke said.
"Sorry! But how'd you get underneath me, Niwa?" Reiko said.
"Oh, this sort of thing is always happening to me. Anyway, we've fallen pretty far." Daisuke said.
"I'm sorry. It's my fault. I wonder if we can get back up?" Reiko said.
"There seems to be some sort of pathway, so let's try our best to get up there." Daisuke said.
"Yeah." Reiko said.
"Come on." Daisuke said.
"Ouch!" Reiko said.
"This way is a long way, but the pathway isn't quite as steep, so... Miss Hikawa? What's wrong?" Daisuke said.
"Nothing. I'll catch up with you in a second, so you go ahead." Reiko said.
"Go ahead? Are you all right? Do you need a hand?" Daisuke said.
"No, it's fine. I can stand okay." Reiko said.
"Could it be that your foot is..." Daisuke said.
"No, that's not it. There's nothing wrong with my foot." Reiko said.
"But..." Daisuke said.
"I just twisted it a little. I'm all right, so don't worry about me." Reiko said.
She's so stubborn! What should I do? To be honest, this isn't... Daisuke thought. "Get on. Don't push yourself. It'll get worse."
"But...No way! I'm definitely too heavy! I'll be fine." Reiko said.
"The sky doesn't look so good, and it seems like a thunderstorm is coming, so we'd better hurry up." Daisuke said.
He lifted her on his back and she leaned on him. She shivered. This was bad. Injured like this, she couldn't keep her form for long.
"Daisuke...put me in your backpack." Reiko said.
"W-What?" Daisuke said as the weight on his back fell away. "Reiko?"
He looked down to find an injured fox. "What the..."
She whimpered. "I'm a kitsune. Please keep my secret. I kept yours!"
Daisuke lifted her and put her in his warm backpack. "You have nothing to worry about. I always wondered why you were so...um...foxy."
Reiko scowled in his backpack. "You sound like Dark."
Xxx
"Reiko! Niwa! This isn't the place, right? Geez!" Kuri said.
Xxx
"Oh, no. He'll hear my heart pounding. Calm down, heart!" Reiko said.
"Hey, Niwa, isn't this path too steep?" Reiko said.
"A little. But we need to have someone take a look at your foot soon, and it looks like a squall is coming. It may hurt your foot a little, but we're very close, so..." Daisuke said.
"He's sweating a lot." Reiko said.
"Really, this hill is just like the noises that Wiz makes. Kyu (steep)..." Daisuke said. "I slipped again."
Idiot. Why are you trying to lighten up the atmosphere? You should be exhausted already. Reiko thought.
"Is your foot all right? Does it hurt?" Daisuke said.
"No, it's fine." Reiko said.
"We're almost there." Daisuke said.
The truth is that I've always known. We became classmates for the first time in the eighth grade. He's clumsy and seems unreliable, but he always tries very hard. He looks timid, but not cowardly, and he always thinks things through carefully. And when I'm with him, I agree with him on so many things. The truth is, I... Reiko thought.
"Here we are, Miss Hikawa. I'll set you down. Does your foot hurt, Miss Hikawa? Miss Hikawa?" Daisuke said.
"Stop doing that! When you say Miss Hikawa, I can't tell if you mean Kuri or me! Don't worry about it. Forget it." Reiko said. What am I saying?
What? Why am I... Daisuke gasped. "Sorry! I'm sorry, I'll be right back."
"Niwa!" Reiko said.
"Reiko!" Kuri said.
"Kuri!" Reiko said.
For the first time in a while, I thought Dark was going to show up. But I'm not changing. I really am... I don't have time for this! Daisuke thought.
Xxx
"It looks like a minor injury, so the pain will go away soon. Go easy on it for a while." Doctor said.
"Yes. Thank you very much." Reiko said.
Xxx
"Was it okay?" Daisuke said.
"Fine. She said it was minor." Kuri said.
"That's good." Daisuke said.
"Really, I'm the one who got tired. Since Reiko felt bad for you, she asked me to lend her a shoulder." Kuri said.
"Well, I'm sorry. Back then, I had to..." Daisuke said.
"It didn't bother me at all. Thanks for everything." Kuri went back to her room.
Xxx
"Hey! All of the sudden, I'm exhausted!" Kuri said. "Hey, did something happen?"
"Like what?" Reiko said.
"Like what? With Niwa." Kuri said.
"Nothing happened. If there were something going on with Niwa, wouldn't it be with you, Kuri?" Reiko said.
"That's right. It'd be me." Kuri said.
"For some reason, I've got a headache." Reiko said.
Xxx
I wonder what happened? I thought I was in love with Miss Hikawa, but before I knew it...Is it because of that happening? That's just being wishy-washy! Daisuke thought.
"That's right. I should be my usual self and behave naturally. Maybe I should try asking her if she wants to watch the stars together tonight." Daisuke said.
Xxx
"Sorry about what happened to your foot." Daisuke said.
"Yeah, but it's gotten a lot better." Reiko said.
"Will you be able to go to the viewing platform after this?" Daisuke said.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Reiko said.
"It looks like we'll be able to get a good look at the meteor shower." Daisuke said. "They said that it happens once every ninety years. If we miss it this time, we may not have another chance. Oh, by the way, where is Kuri?"
"She's just sitting around in the room." Reiko said.
Xxx
"Niwa!" Rumiko said. "Oh, good timing."
"Where is Miss Hikawa's older sister?" Daisuke said.
"Take this to Kuri. Seems like she got sick and is staying in her room. It's room 203, okay? Here! Later, then!" Rumiko said.
"Why do I have to do it? It's not good to go to a room where a girl is sleeping. I am a guy, you know!" Daisuke said.
"That's okay! Well, we're counting on you! We have to get a good spot." Rumiko said.
"What am I to them? If she takes some medicine early enough, she should be able to make it for the meteor shower in the middle of the night, right?" Daisuke said.
Xxx
"When a princess is bored, a prince would come to get her." Kuri said. "Reiko? What is it? Did you forget something? Niwa?"
"Well, here." Daisuke said.
"You came up all the way for me?" Kuri said.
"Miss Arakawa asked me to. Okay, take care." Daisuke said.
"Wait!" Kuri said. "Come in for a second."
"What? I shouldn't come inside..." Daisuke said.
"Don't worry about it, come in!" Kuri said.
"What is it, Miss Hikawa?" Daisuke said.
"Don't move." Kuri said.
Xxx
"I wonder if she's asleep? What? Did she get to feeling better and leave?" Reiko said.
"Why did you suddenly push me into the closet, Miss Hikawa?" Daisuke said.
"Oh, well. It's better if she doesn't have to take it." Reiko said.
"I'm sorry. I wanted to get a good look at you." Kuri said.
"It's okay to come out now, right? Okay, you go first. Watch your step." Daisuke said.
"Oh, yeah, I brought binoculars too." Reiko said. "What are you doing?"
She saw that they were now on the bed with Daisuke on top of Kuri.
"Well... This..." Daisuke said.
"Reiko, hey, don't get the wrong idea." Kuri said.
"Miss Hikawa!" Daisuke said.
"Ouch..." Reiko fell down.
"Miss Hikawa!" Daisuke chased her.
"Niwa isn't Mr. Dark after all." Kuri said.
"Miss Hikawa, wait! Miss Hikawa!" Daisuke said.
"Go away!" Reiko said.
"Wait! Listen! You're mistaken!" Daisuke siad. "Miss Hikawa? Are you all right? That wasn't what you thought. It was just an accident. Well, we only ended up being in that position by accident. So, well, in other words..."
"Why did you come here to tell me that?" Reiko said.
"Why?" Daisuke said.
"You like Kuri, don't you? Just leave me alone!" Reiko said.
"The one I like isn't Miss Hikawa. It's you, Miss Reiko!" Daisuke said.
"You're lying." Reiko said.
"I'm not lying. It was Miss Hikawa at the beginning, but before I knew it... When I realized it, I was thinking about you all the time." Daisuke said.
"What are you saying?" Reiko said.
"When I'm with you, I agree with you on so many things. I have fun talking with you. It's so natural." Daisuke said.
"What do you mean? What are you saying? Niwa! Say my name again." Reiko said.
"Miss Reiko..." Daisuke said.
"Yes... Me too! I think I've liked you all this time!" Reiko said.
"Miss Reiko...I won't run away this time." Daisuke said. Just watch. I'll keep it under control, for Miss Reiko as well.
Don't worry, I won't come out. Dark said.
Dark! Daisuke said.
You finally noticed your own feelings. Dark said. Later!