Yay! Karen and Koji are finally going out! To tell you the truth, when I wrote the story, I got chills and was excited near the end. Last chapter was THAT good!!! Anyway, here's another heartwarmer that I think you'll love. I haven't been able to put up more chapters in the morning because my cousins were still here because the Thanksgiving party was also a sleepover and they dragged me to go to Stevie B's, Gamestop, Hot Topic (with blackwolf), American Eagle (my hyperactive cousin), and the Apple Store. We had a pretty good time except for American Eagle. I'm not a fan of their clothing. I'm more like blackwolf. Hot Topic, Gamestop, Stevie B's are my favorite places that I went to. So anyway, I hope I didn't offend anyone with my opinion on American Eagle. So enjoy the story! I feed bad reviews to my alligator sharks.

Talking
Thinking/Memories
Important words/Emphasis

Chapter 12: The Perfect Gift

The next day, Koji woke up to a beautiful, fall morning. After he got ready, he wanted to finish work as quickly as possible to go and talk with Karen. He felt so happy after Karen finally told him that she loves him. After finishing work, he went ahead to the inn to go and talk with Karen. But when he went inside, Karen wasn't there. It seems that he arrived a bit earlier than he thought. So instead of going back, he just sat down next to Cliff and grabbed a drink with him.

"Hey Koji! Boy, last night was awesome wasn't it? Ann and I kept talking for hours! So how was your moon viewing day?"

"It was… um… great."

"You don't sound happy… did Karen ditch you?"

"No, I am happy and no, Karen didn't ditch me. I don't think I'm ever gonna forget about last night."

He still couldn't forget when he touched lips with Karen's. The feeling still ran through him and when he grabbed the wine bottle, he was still shaking with excitement that he accidentally dropped it.

"Karen and I are going out now."

Cliff formed a huge smile on his face and patted him on his back.

"Alright! Congratulations man!!! Let's buy you another drink!"

Then, Karen went inside the inn. She looked around and found Koji sitting next to Cliff. She ran over to him and glomped him with happiness.

"Hey sweetie! I couldn't find you at your house…"

She gently held Koji's face and kissed him. Koji smiled and returned the kiss.

"I thought that I would find you at the inn. But you weren't there so here I am."

Cliff smiled at Koji and left the stool.

"Huh? Hey Cliff, where're you going?"

"Oh, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom for a bit."

Then Karen sat in the same stool that Cliff was sitting in. She smiled at Koji and gave him another kiss.

"I wanna talk to you about last night…"

"Well, what is there to talk about?"

"You know, I just wanna talk… Koji, I thought last night was amazing… I never felt like that before… I really love you Koji… I really do…"

He smiled and put his hand on the side of her face and rubbed her gently.

"I love you too…"

"Oh, before I forget, my birthday's coming up!"

"That's cool, remind me to get you something pretty…"

He kissed her and went off. She stayed behind and went over to talk to Ann.

"Hey Karen! How was last night?"

"It was wonderful. Simply wonderful. Koji held me so close and then…"

She blushed madly and smiled. She put both of her hands on each side of her face and turned away.

"…we kissed…"

Ann squealed with delight and hugged Karen while jumping around.

"Congrats Karen! You two are finally a couple!!!"

"I know, I've never been so happy before…"

Meanwhile, Koji was inside the mine, looking for Orichalcum ore, but he couldn't find any. He asked Saibara for help on Orichalcum.

"Orichalcum? Bah! You'll never find it in the place you're looking for!"

"Well, what do I do?"

"Listen here. Orichalcum is a very rare metal ore only to be used for special things. Gifts for Girls. You bring me Orichalcum, and I'll make you a present that I know Karen would love!"

"But where do I find it?"

"Use your head. Orichalcum is very hard to get. You can only find it in a place that's hard to get."

Koji thought about it for a while and left. He walked for a bit in the woods and then came across the lake. He looked across and found a cave.

"Is that a mine?"

He wanted to go across, but there's no boat or anything. So then he tried to swim across, but as he got halfway there, something caught his foot. He tried to get it off, but it was already too late. He sank into the lake and tried to swim back up, but unfortunately, he drowned. He stayed in the water for hours until a mysterious voice called out to him.

"Koji…"

"Huh? Who's there?"

Then, a figure appeared to him. It was a woman dressed in blue with green hair. She looked really beautiful. Was he dreaming?

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Spring Goddess… Koji… If you wanted a gift for Karen, you should've came to me…"

"I didn't think that I would have the need to…"

Suddenly, a large flash came into Koji's face. He woke up, all wet, and we found himself on the surface laying there. Suddenly, when he got up, he felt something in his pocket. He pulled it out and it was a shiny white rock.

"Is this… Orichalcum?"

He felt the sides of it and noticed how smooth it was. He smiled and ran back to Saibara who took the Orichalcum and told Koji to come back in 3 days, which was just enough time for him to get the present to Karen on her birthday. Meanwhile, Karen was at the waterfall, thinking about Koji. She touched her lips on where Koji kissed her. She still couldn't believe that he kissed her. She was so happy and Koji held her throughout the whole night. And now, she just can't wait for what Koji was about to give her on her birthday.

"Koji was so romantic last night… I love him so much… I wonder what he'll give me for my birthday…"

The next day, Karen went to look for Koji to ask what he'll give her.

"Come on honey, why can't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry, but it's a secret. If I tell you now, then the feeling wouldn't be right. I think you'll love it though. Well, anyway, I gotta get to the inn for something. Love ya sweetie…"

He kissed her and was off. Karen really wanted to know what was going on so then she went inside the inn to find out herself. But once she got in, everything looked perfectly normal. She found Koji coming out of the kitchen, brushing flour off of his hands.

"Koji!"

"Karen? What are you doing here?"

"Oh! Well… I thought that you would feel alone, so I came to check you up. What's wrong with me coming here?"

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong."

"Well, I'm gonna talk to Ann."

As she reached for the door, suddenly, Koji stuck his arm out and blocked the door.

"Okay, what's going on?"

"Nothing! Nothing's going on, it's a secret."

"Come on! You can tell me!"

"Nope, it's a huge secret!"

"Umm… alright then…"

In the next two days, it was Karen's birthday. When she woke up, she went down into the kitchen and found her favorite omelet on the table. Then, her parents came out bearing gifts. Sasha gave her a small pink teddy bear and Jeff gave her a perfume set. She hugged her parents for the gifts that they gave her and then went off to see Koji. Once she has arrived, she looked inside his window and found him putting something in a small box. She knocked on the door and when Koji came, the box was gone.

"Hey Koji!"

"Hey sweetie… happy birthday…"

He kissed her on the lips and then she blushed and hugged him.

"Oh, aren't you sweet? I love you…"

"Heh… I love you too…"

"I saw you with a box, what's inside?"

"Box? What box?"

"Come on, don't play dumb… I know I saw you with a box… just tell me and it'll be over."

"Heh… can't… It's a secret."

"Is it my present?"

"Maybe…"

"Fine, then let's go to the inn!"

He grabbed her arm before she could leave.

"Wait! Let's not go to the inn yet… it's a bit too early."

"What do you mean 'too early'? The inn is always open at this time."

"Yeah, but why not go someplace where we could be… you know…"

She blushed and kissed him again while staring deeply into his eyes.

"(giggle) you mean alone?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, alright! Let's go see a movie!"

So then they went to the movies that was a mile away from Mineral Town. After the movies and many tears, they headed straight back to Mineral Town. They sat near the waterfall and talked for a bit, to get to know more about their childhood.

"So Koji, what was your birthday like?"

"Not really much… my parents did get me whatever I wanted, but it still wasn't enough for me… what I really wanted on my birthday was to be with my friends… but that still wasn't enough for me either…"

"Well, what was enough for you?"

"Well… I can't really say… it's too personal… I would never tell anyone about this… not even you… Sorry Karen…"

She smiled and rested her head on his shoulders.

"It's no problem Koji… I understand. I have the same situation as well."

"I know, the guy offered you a record deal and you turned it down because of something that I will never know."

"(giggle) you remember really well don't you?"

"Yeah… I remember back in the city where I used to live, after my summer vacation, people kept saying that I changed."

"How?"

" They kept saying that I'm not who I used to be anymore. I always used to be the kid who would never say much and just become spoiled rotten. But then… some things happened… my grandfather died… and I was never that spoiled kid ever again… I can't tell you why though... it's too embarrassing…"

She smiled and looked at the river. Koji looked at his watch and saw that it was already almost dark. He grabbed Karen's hand and finally took her to the inn. When she opened the door, the entire place was dark.

"Did the inn close already?"

Then, Koji turned on the lights and Karen saw everyone shouting out "Surprise!"

"Koji… you did all of this for me?"

"Yeah… a birthday wouldn't be right without all your friends… Oh and here…"

He took out the box from his rucksack and gave it to Karen. It was covered in white wrapping paper with a giant red bow tied on top of it. She opened the box and was taken back by what Koji gave her. Inside the box was a gold necklace with pieces of jewelry inside.

"Koji… it's… beautiful… But how? I thought you can only make jewelry in the winter…"

"Let's just say that… I got it from a friend…"

He held her gently and kissed her. She closed her eyes and felt his warm lips on hers. And just like Moon Viewing Day, he whispered gently into her ear.

"Happy Birthday Karen… I love you…"

"I love you too…"

And just like that, everyone celebrated Karen's birthday. Wine bottles were opened and tons of merriment was in the air. The party lasted throughout the whole night and Koji and Karen were the last two people that left. Koji gave her one final kiss for the night and went home. As Koji went home, he looked up at the sky, and found a gentle snowfall.

"Winter's coming… The snow looks like flowers fluttering in the breeze… I wish you could see this Karen…"