This is what I expect to be the final chapter to "I Like You". To those who like my story, thank you so much for your reviews and constructive criticism. I know Mei was a touch OOC last chapter, but I wanted to show that under the right circumstances, she'd eventually start letting herself loosen up a little with him. So for those who hate that I made Mei a touch warmer to Kouichi than she would be in the anime, I apologize. Without further ado, here is the finale to "I Like You."

As Mei began to stir from her slumber, she began to notice a few things that didn't seem normal. First off, she was far too warm, but it was a comfortable warmth. Secondly, she noticed that she was in the living room, where as far as she could remember, she never so much as nodded off. Third, there was something that sounded and felt like someone breathing right below her. She slowly looked up and sure enough, Kouichi Sakakibara was sound asleep right in front of her. Before she had time to wonder what the heck was going on, memories of the previous day's activities began flooding her mind; inviting him to stay the night, his confession, going shopping, flicking flour at each other as he cooked, enjoying his ramen, then falling asleep next to him on the couch.

She couldn't believe so much happened in a single day. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even act herself towards the end of it all, either. Normally she just likes talking to him, but ever since his confession and insisting on cooking dinner, she felt…different. She wasn't sick, not that she knew of, that couldn't be it. She hadn't taken her eye patch off yet, so she couldn't tell if either of them was dying, but it certainly didn't seem like it, so that likely wasn't the problem. Did he do something to the ramen that made her act like this? She shook her head as she quickly dismissed the thought. Not only had been with him when he bought all of those ingredients and there wasn't anything here he could use to make her feel any different, but Kouichi Sakakibara was easily one of the nicest people she's ever met since her twin sister, so there was no way on earth that he did anything on purpose. So what was it, then? What was it that made her insides burn and tingle every time he smiled at her? What was it that made her feel like she could melt whenever he held her in his arms? Just what the hell was it that made her want to be around him every second possible? She didn't have time to ponder these questions, however, because Kouichi was beginning to wake up. Covering his mouth with his hand as he yawned, he smiled gently at her.

"Good morning, Mei-chan. How are you this morning?" She looked down at his chest to try and hide the blush and embarrassed look on her face.

"Fine, Kouichi-kun… I'm sorry about falling asleep on you." Kouichi smiled and gently touched her head, noticing how soft her hair actually is.

"It's alright, Mei-chan. Why don't we just get up and I'll make us some breakfast and a bento for later?" She nods at the suggestion as she gets up and stretches, loosening up some of her stiff muscles as Kouichi grabbed a small bag of his personal toiletries from his bag before making his way to the bathroom to get himself cleaned up. All the while, Mei is sitting on the couch thinking about her new boyfriend.

He liked to ask questions, too many questions at times, but that inquisitive nature of his seemed to draw him to her in the first place. Then there was how caring he was when it came to others. She saw how concerned about Ikuo Takabayashi's health he was when they first met during P.E., not to mention how concerned he was about how she grew she grew up in Kirika's home. He had a small playful side every so often that even she found amusing, and he didn't overdo his playfulness either, which was a good thing. Having conversations with him was never actually boring because she could tell that, like herself, he was more intelligent than a lot of kids his age, if Naoya Teshigawara was of any indication. He was extremely friendly as well given how popular he was when he first arrived, which could very well be attributed to his caring nature and intellect. He could even cook, quite well as she found out last night, and if she were dead honest with herself, he was quite attractive. Almost as if the universe was trying to say something, Kouichi stepped out right at that moment and smiled at her before heading to the kitchen.

"Bathroom's all yours, Mei-chan. I'm gonna get started on breakfast, okay?" Mei nodded as she went to the bathroom to perform your usual morning rituals while Kouichi started wiping down the counters again and started cooking.

About twenty minutes later, we find Mei sitting in a chair sketching in her pad as Kouichi brings over their breakfast of miso, steamed rice, tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), and broiled salmon.

Both: "Itadakimasu."

They both start eating, and once again, Mei is amazed by Kouichi's skills in the kitchen. They ate in relative silence, only occasionally talking about possible plans for the day. Once they were finished, Kouichi took the dishes to the kitchen, washed them and put them away before grabbing his bag and opening the door for Mei to exit first. They soon made their way outside where they began walking in a random direction, simply enjoying the silence of each other's company. After a few minutes of silence, they eventually made their way to the playground that they sometimes visit. Once there, Kouichi put his bag down as Mei sat on one of the swings, holding each chain in her hand as she let out a quiet sigh. Noticing this, Kouichi went over to sit in the swing next to her and gently touched her hand.

"Mei-chan, what's the matter? Are you okay?" There it was again; his curious and caring nature all wrapped up into one package. Though she did like how attentive he was when it came to her. Usually, people just assumed she was always like this because it was her nature or something along those lines. In truth, she was lonely. She was lonely before she found out she had a twin sister, and she was even lonelier after she died. But since Kouichi began hanging out with her, the loneliness began to fade more and more from existence.

"I'm confused…" Kouichi tilted his head in confusion, but didn't say anything, figuring she had more she wanted to explain it. He was right.

"I don't understand you, Kouichi-kun. You are social, curious, friendly, intelligent, and kind… so why are you always hanging around someone as quiet and anti-social as I am? You probably could have dated almost anyone else in the class; Akazawa seems fond of you, and I could tell Sakuragi liked you. So why do you like me?"

Kouichi was both confused and relieved at the same time at what seemed to be bothering Mei. He was relieved because he actually thought he did or said something that upset her, but he was also confused about what actually was bothering her.

"Mei-chan, look at me." She turned her head towards him as she noticed his hands near her face. Eyes wide with shock, she didn't move as she felt her eye patch being removed before she noticed him placing it in his shirt pocket. She felt her face start to heat up as Kouichi smiled warmly at her.

"You're an intelligent, mysterious, introverted artist that has no problem with an overly curious guy like me. Why wouldn't I want to get to know you, Mei-chan?" Her blush darkened a little more as he winked at her.

"Not that it makes that much of a difference on why I like you, but you are really cute as well, Mei-chan." She blushed and turned her head away so that her normal eye was facing him before she felt a warm hand touch her cheek and turn her to face him again.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again, Mei-chan: I think your eye is beautiful, so don't feel like you have to hide it from me, okay?" She looked at him in shock and simply nodded, trying so hard not to blush from his warm hand on her face before she finally let herself smile a little.

"Thank you, Kouichi-kun." He smiled back at her and nodded before removing his hand from her face as they started talking again. They talked about what Mei's sister was like, what Kouichi heard about his mother, and they even discussed how and why the heck Mei was so certain that Akazawa and Sakuragi liked him. Eventually, they both left the playground and made their way along the river while they continued to talk. They were immersed in their conversation that neither had noticed how quickly time flew by until it began to get dark. Kouichi was the first one to notice as he gazed up at the sky.

"You know, you remind me of the moon, Mei-chan?" She looked at him in confusion but didn't say anything.

"Unless you know what to look for, you rarely see it for anything more than what it is. Others simply see something that only comes out at night. I see a soul that only truly shines when the circumstances are just right, and you stop letting your head see it and start letting your heart see it." Kouichi smiled as he looked at Mei.

"When I first met you, I thought you were just a quiet, strange girl that everyone didn't understand so they chose to ignore you. But then, I got to know the real girl underneath the eye-patch. You're an intelligent, quiet, strong, and beautiful girl, Mei-chan. I honestly think we were meant to meet for a reason." She stared at him with wide eyes before letting out a small smile.

"I don't know what to say, except…thank you, Kouichi-kun…" She stepped closer to him and moved her right hand to his chest, right over his heart.

"I can feel your heart… it's warm… like you…" She then dipped her hand into his shirt pocket and took out her eye patch, placing it into her own pocket before gazing at him with both eyes. She held her hand out to him as he gently shook it, not unlike when she told him that neither of them existed to the class anymore. She gently smiled at him as she quietly spoke.

"I look forward to being your girlfriend, Kouichi Sakakibara." Kouichi looked surprised before smiling back and gently kissing the back of her hand, causing her heart to flutter as he spoke just as quietly.

"And I look forward to being your boyfriend, Mei Fujioka." She looked surprised at the use of her real last name smiling and they released their hands and went their separate ways, which wasn't far for Mei since her house was right across the street. As they made their way home, they interestingly shared the same thoughts.

Kouichi: 'Mei-chan's boyfriend…'

Mei: 'Kouichi-kun's girlfriend…'

Both: 'I could get used to that title…'

End.

And so ends my first Another fanfic "I Like You". I've been surprised by a few things since first writing this story. 1: that so many people liked it in the first place. 2: some even thought that the one-shot was meant to have multiple chapters. And 3: that people actually want me to continue creating Another fanfics. I want to know EVERYONE'S feedback regarding this story. Should I have made them kiss in this one? Should I make a sequel and then have them kiss? How well did I write the story as a whole in the first place? Please, let me know all of this and more in your reviews and messages. I love hearing what people really think (no, flames are NOT permitted).