CHAPTER 12

BY THE HOSPITAL BED

Four hours later, Moka was still sitting in the chair. She had been approached by several people (mostly doctors) who tried to get her to move and receive treatment for her minor wounds, but she refused. Eventually, they had stopped asking and had left her alone. It was now nighttime, and Kurumu had come in to try to convince her to leave one last time.

"I said no, Kurumu. How many times am I going to have to say it?" The conversation had been going on for about twenty minutes, and neither person had been getting anywhere.

"Moka, why not? He'll still be here in the morning when we all wake up!"

"Be that as it may, I'm staying. He got hurt because he was protecting me; the least that I can do is make sure that he recovers." Kurumu threw up her hands, exasperated.

"Fine! Do what you want, Moka! I'll be in my room, sleeping!" She exclaimed, turning and strutting out of the room. Moka watched her go, then returned to staring at Tsukune. She wasn't going to move, not until he woke up. Suddenly, she was hit with a wave of exhaustion as the day's events caught up with her. She fought it for a few seconds, but then decided to give in.

It'll only be for a minute or two. She thought to herself. Only…for a…second…

"ZZZZZZ…"

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Tsukune groaned as he woke up from a deep sleep. He blinked twice, trying to recognize his surroundings, and then relaxed when he realized that he was in the medical room. He looked down at the wound that Corma had given him. It was wrapped up in bandages, some of which were a tad bloody, and he was pretty sure that he had more than a few IV's in his arm, but other than that he was all right. He looked his left and saw Moka asleep, snoring softly. She looks so peaceful. Tsukune thought. He had always thought that she was rather beautiful, but she was even more so when she wasn't going around barking orders at people. He continued staring at her as he let the unfamiliar feeling he got whenever he saw the princess. He knew that it was love the moment that it hit him, but rather than have been happy, he was instead scared. Who was he, a lowly commoner and servant, to fall in love with a princess? He would surely get in trouble for his supposed "crime"; he may even get punished. But in time, he found that he didn't care. He was in love with Princess Moka. It may have been a crime, but he was the kind of person who was true to his heart.

And his heart said that he loved the woman that he was staring at.

A woman who, apparently, had just woken up.

Well. Crap.

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Moka was awakened by the unmistakable feeling that she was being stared at. She opened her eyes and was instantly met with Tsukune's unmistakable eyes boring into hers. She was not, however, creeped out by this fact.

"Tsukune?" She asked, disbelieving.

"Um… hi, Moka. How are you?" Tsukune asked. The question, obviously meant to comfort, had the opposite effect on Moka: she instead started to tear up. Tsukune instantly tried to sit up and calm her down, but instead grunted in pain and was forced to lie down again. Moka, seeing this, forced the tears out of her eyes.

"Baka. I should be asking you that question." Moka said. Tsukune smiled.

"I'm glad to see that you are all right, Moka." He said. Moka could feel herself about to tear up again, but she forced the tears back.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Like I got hit by a bus." Tsukune replied. Moka instantly felt worse than before. She knew that she had to say something to let Tsukune know that what he did meant something to her. So, she swallowed her pride and said

"Thank you."

Tsukune was taken aback. "What?" He asked. Surely he must have heard wrong. The powerful princess Moka saying thank you? He couldn't believe it.

"I said that thank you Tsukune. You got hurt because of me." She said quietly.

"It was my pleasure Moka." Tsukune said, still in awe.

Moka looked at Tsukune, lying there in the hospital bed with a hole in his stomach because of her. But, the strange thing was, he didn't seem angry at all. He seemed happy that she was there, actually. It was the strangest thing; if their roles were reversed, she would have been furious at that fact, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Um, Moka…" Tsukune interrupted her reverie.

"Yes, what is it Tsukune?" He seemed uncomfortable and nervous, as displayed by his fidgeting and his heart rate going up slightly on the heart monitor.

"What was Corma to you?" Moka was confused by the question.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he said that he wanted to marry you and I was just wondering if, you know… that was something that you had considered doing with him." Moka stared at Tsukune and blinked once. Twice. Was he asking what she thought he was asking?

"No, not at all. He was just a…friend, I guess. There was nothing going on between us. The only reason that he wanted to marry me was so that his family would get control over my family." Tsukune seemed to visibly relax at her answer. Moka felt an inkling of hope rise up. Why did he care what she thought about Corma? "Why do you care?"

"Um…well…you know…" Tsukune increased his fidgeting and his heart rate increased. That, in conjunction with the healthy blush that he was sporting was only making Moka's hopes rise.

It's now or never. She decided.

"Tsukune, I asked you a question. What is your answer?" She asked again, leaning forward slightly. Tsukune's eyes started shifting, and he started stuttering again.

"Er… Well… You know…" He said, again not giving a clear answer. Moka leaned ever closer.

"Falling in love with the princess is considered a crime, you know." There. She had put it out in the open. Now all that was left was his reaction.

"N-no! That's not it! I just-" Tsukune's desperate searching for a different answer, any answer other than the truth, was cut off by Moka' ever face coming ever-so-closer.

"That's alright Tsukune." She said, now mere inches away. "I don't mind." And with that, she closed the distance between them, making their lips meet for the very first time. She put all she had into the kiss, hoping that Tsukune would understand it's meaning.

Because this was the very first time in her entire life that she had been so honest with someone and herself, and she was afraid of the consequences.

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At first, Tsukune was shocked. After all, what person in his position wouldn't be? He was a lowly commoner, someone of no significance whatsoever. Who was he to be kissed by Princess Moka? But, truth be told, he was ecstatic that she felt strongly enough about him to kiss him. He didn't want her to feel as if her feelings were unrequited. So, he did the thing that he had wanted to do since day one and kissed his Princess back.

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When the need for air forced them to, they broke apart. Both were panting and wondering if what had just happened was real. Tsukune was, for obvious reasons the more skeptical of the two, so he asked the question.

"Did that really just happen?" Moka looked at him, so unsure but at the same time more sure than she had ever been.

"Yes." That was the only answer Tsukune needed.

"We should go to sleep." Moka said quickly, trying to avoid any awkward silences. For all her regal poise and gait, she was entirely new to matters of the heart, so she wanted some more time to reflect on what had just occurred. Tsukune nodded, and they both looked away from each other sporting similar blushes. Moka reclined in the chair and preparied to fall back asleep, but then she felt Tsukune's hand slither into hers and decided that she could spare a few more minutes.

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Tsukune grew even more ecstatic when Moka didn't let go if his hand. He was still in a state of shock, but it was quickly giving way to the state of euphoria and sleepiness. Tsukune clenched Moka's hand a little tighter, then shut his eyes.

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Both of them were asleep before long, more happy and content than either had been in a long time.

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Well, here it is: the part where Tsukune and Moka get together! I really hope that I didn't mess it up too badly… Anyway, check back soon for the next chapter!

By the way, to NefCanuck: I want to thank you very much for your constant review and support for this story. It really means a lot to me!