A/N: Sudden inspiration... It hurts my head!

Disclaimer: Sometimes inspiration knows when to stop... I own my socks...

Theme: 64. Long-Haired Sword-Wielding Beauty

Pairing: Ayako and Bou-san

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When she was young, Ayako always dreamed of finding her true love. Literally. But before she could kiss him, she would wake to the sound of the servants urging her to get ready for her tutor. She would scold them and ask to be woken later in the day. They tried but their timing was absolutely horrible.

"My prince will come! I know it!" She'd exclaim constantly but with nothing to show for it.

As she got matured, so did her 'princely image'. She would get asked out just walking down the street but Ayako would take one look and bluntly refuse them.

"My prince is someone who's tall! He should have long hair and... and he has to be a sword-wielding samurai!" Fourteen-year-old Ayako would exclaim to her father on the rare occasion that he was home.

"Really? Why?" He'd ask, chuckling.

"So he can protect me! I am a princess!" Ayako would giggle at how silly her father was being and then run away to bully one of her servants into doing her homework for her.

Soon she reached the age where she knew that her 'prince' simply did not exist. While she wouldn't openly admit it, she cried harder than she ever had before.

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"Ayako, come on! Naru's going to have our hides if we don't hurry up!" Bou-san shouted to the miko as she picked up a camera to load into the SPR van.

"I know, I know! Why do I have to do the hard work?!" She whined just before she dropped the camera. She winced, waiting for the crash of the camera to ring in her ears but it never came.

"If it was so hard, you should have told me. I'll help." Bou-san held up her camera and the one he was already holding and looked at her seriously.

"You didn't have to do that..." Ayako tried to glare at him but as she looked straight into his eyes she found herself lost.

"Bou-san, Ayako, Naru's getting..." Mai trailed off when she was the two gazing deeply into each others eyes. 'That's wayyyy too cliché.' She thought but dashed off to give them privacy anyway.

"Why are you so serious now?" Ayako asked after finally tearing her gaze from his. She tried to keep the blush from forming on her cheeks but failed.

"Because I like you." His reply was nonchalant and casual but Ayako knew he meant it.

"No, wait..." He corrected himself and Ayako tried not to show her heartbreak.

"I love you." And he captured the surprised girl's lips in a chaste kiss and Ayako knew she had found her prince.