When Misaki reach the top of the staircase, she went to knock in Takumi's door—only to see that the bathroom light was on, which told her that he was in there. She heard the shower running as well, and so decided to confront him once he finished washing up. She wasn't about to barge into the bathroom and apologize to him.

A sudden image of a topless Takumi with nothing but a towel wrapped loosely around his hips popped into Misaki's head, causing her to turn a bright red color. Don't be a pervert like him, Misaki. Do not.

Forcing herself to think of something else, Misaki's mind wandered back to the package she'd gotten. What could that have possibly been? Maybe it'd be better to check now?

She quickly crept back downstairs, and as expected, the package was sitting there on the floor right where she'd left it previously when she arrived at home.

Strangely, it was a pretty large package. Obviously small enough for her to carry it home, but the size still got her wondering about the content inside. To top it all off, nowhere on the box did it say who sent the package. I hope there's nothing dangerous in here, Misaki prayed. She knew it was silly, but still, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Misaki picked at the transparent packaging tape until the end lifted up a bit. She pulled it off, and almost cringed at the loud ripping sound. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she didn't want Takumi to know she was here right now. Even though she hadn't technically done anything wrong, she was still nervous as hell to face him.

Misaki ripped open the side of the box, reach her hand inside, and eagerly though slightly cautiously pulled out something from inside…

…And it was another cardboard box, this one slightly smaller than the last. Misaki frowned, now beginning to wonder if this was just a prank. He could be finishing up his shower any moment now…I need to hurry, Misaki told herself. Again, she did the same process as last time, peeling off the tape before opening the box.

This time, there was a very tiny box—maybe around the size of her palm, if that. Another difference was that this box wasn't cardboard—it was black and almost velvety. Curiously, Misaki lifted the top to the box. Only then did she realize that it was a ring box.

Inside was a beautiful ring with a thin sterling silver band encrusted with small rhinestones, and a single gem in the middle. with two different colors swirled together in the middle—pink and amber. This must've been so expensive. I'll return it back to whoever sent it to me when I figure out who did it in the first place…

Misaki then noticed that taped to the inside of the top there was a note. She gently took it out and read it.

Hey Misaki! Hope you're enjoying your little private time with Takumi ;) Haha, but in all seriousness, you do realize you only have a little under a month there right? Well, that's besides the point. I bought this ring for you since it reminds me of both of us—the colors don't quite match, just like our personalities, but we're still the bestest of friends! And don't worry about the cost. I know you're worrying. Love ya! From Sakura~

Misaki smiled. Sakura knew her so well. Deciding to abide by her wishes and not return it, she decided to wear it. I wonder if one day Takumi and I will be engaged and get married…? she wondered, causing herself to blush once more, but still wasn't against the idea.

She then grinned at the thought, and almost mindlessly slid the jewelry onto her left hand ring finger. Just for a little while, she wanted to pretend she was Takumi's fiancée. Even if he was mad at her right now.

Misaki almost instinctively started walking towards the steps as soon as she heard silence. The water had turned off in the bathroom, so she knew he was finishing up his shower.

Walking up the stairs, Misaki purposely went up at a slow pace. She was buying herself a bit of time to think about what she was going to say to him when she saw him.

As soon as Misaki heard the sound of the bathroom door opening, she began to make her way up the stairs at a quicker pace. She wanted to face him now since she was most confident right now—also, showers make everyone feel better, right? So he should be in a better mood when they talk?

The first thing Misaki saw when she reach the top of the staircase was the all-too-familiar tall and handsome figure she'd grown to love. Takumi. Her face turned red at the sight of him—not because she was nervous—well, she was nervous, but the reason for her flushed face was because he looked exactly like he did in her mind earlier.

Wet, blonde hair with beads of water shimmering at the tips of it, only enhancing the golden hue and making it look even more amazing on him. Of course, she hadn't missed the fact that he wasn't dressed at all. She forced herself to rip her eyes away from his abs. She turned an even darker red color upon seeing that the only thing keeping her from seeing him fully nude was the white towel wrapped around his hips. To make it even worse—or better—one side of the towel was slowly slipping down and revealing more of his hip, leaving more than just a little to Misaki's imagination.

Finally, she glanced at his face. No wonder he hasn't cracked a single joke nor perverted remark. She was surprised to see that he looked even angrier than before. His emerald eyes showed obvious traces of fury, pain, and disappointment in them, and even though he was definitely mad earlier, he didn't look like this. He wasn't even looking directly at her, but instead at something else beside her it seemed. Wasn't a little bit of time supposed to make everything better?

"...Takumi…?" she asked hesitantly, no longer embarrassed about the fact that he was practically naked in front of her, but that he was obviously very, very angry. His eyes were narrowed, and that's when she noticed that he was focusing on something. She tried to follow where he was looking, but couldn't. It almost looked like he was staring at her hand, but that made no sense.

…Hold up.

Misaki glanced at her left hand—the hand he'd been staring at—and gulped. She immediately turned to him to explain.

"Takumi, you don't understand—"

"You're engaged," Takumi stated. It wasn't true, obviously, but he thought it was. "Congratulations," he told her, although his tone said otherwise. Then, without warning, he walked into his room and disappeared without another word.

Misaki gaped at what had just occurred. Determined not to let this continue on, she followed after him. She twisted the doorknob, and luckily he didn't lock the door, so she easily pushed it open.

"Takumi, please, you don't understa—" Misaki started, only to freeze upon seeing him in the process of untying the towel around his waist. "U-Uh, sorry!" she exclaimed, before slamming the door shut. Luckily, she hadn't seen anything. Had she come in even a few seconds later she would've gotten a good view of…something.

She waited outside his door for a good two minutes or so before he walked out, this time fully clothed. He wore a white t-shirt along with some baggy shorts.

"What do you want?" he asked impassively as if he didn't care about her one bit. She felt chest tighten at the thought.

Misaki took a deep breath. "Um, about the ring," she started, twisting it off her finger and instead placing it on her right hand middle finger. "I-I'm not engaged."

He rose an eyebrow. "And?"

"And…I don't like Tora," she confessed.

"But you went to go visit him not too long ago?" Takumi seemed confused by now. Misaki shook her head.

"I just went for a walk," she said. His face relaxed. "But I happened to run across Tora," she had to add, causing his eyebrows to furrow in frustration once more.

"So you did go to see him."

Realizing her mistake, she immediately said, "No, I didn't."

"Then why did you—"

"Takumi, the only person I love and would ever even consider marrying is you!" she blurted.

...Oops.

Misaki let out a nervous laugh. "Ahaha. A-As you were saying…?" she tried to change the subject. Did she just seriously tell him that she was considering marrying him?

Takumi's eyes were wide, though he still wasn't fully convinced. "But what about earlier? You had a ring on your left hand ring finger," he said. Misaki blushed, not quite wanting to tell him this story.

"I, um, see, Sakura gave it to me as a friendship ring and I just suddenly thought of m-marriage…" she gulped, "and our future and stuff, so, uh, I guess you could say I acted out an idea that came to my mind…?" she offered.

"What was the idea?" he inquired. Misaki knew she was forgiven the moment she saw a small and very discreet smirk playing along his lips. It was barely noticeable, but definitely there.

She turned redder at this. "Y-You and, uh, me—I mean, I, were e-engaged, a little bit," she stammered. Then, finally, he pulled her into his chest for a hug.

"A little bit engaged?" Takumi chuckled. "You're an interesting one," he observed.

Misaki felt tears stinging at her eyes in relief. He forgave her. "I-Idiot…!" she cried. "I thought you'd be mad at me forever!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his torso. Misaki knew this was very unlike her, but just for the moment, she didn't exactly care.

"I thought I lost you to that green-haired brat," he murmured, burying his face into her hair. Misaki sighed.

"He's really not all that bad…"

"His hair looks like a bunch of snot and dead caterpillars bunched up into one monstrosity," Takumi continued. Misaki stared at him in horror.

"Dead caterpillars and snot?" she crinkled her nose in disgust. "Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?"

He nipped at her neck, earning a small squeak out of the raven haired female. "I'm a very possessive person," he said.

"I-I don't see how that has anything to do with my question," she rolled her eyes at him, as he continued to trail small butterfly kisses along her neck and jawline.

"I love you, Misaki," he said, still completely ignoring her earlier statements.

Deciding to speak the truth this time and not blurt out some retarded answer like "I love Tora" and get herself into another argument with her boyfriend, she spoke, "I love you too."