The next day she was where he expected her to be, at the hot springs.
"I can leave if you want." She said without even turning to look at him.
"What kind of gentleman would I be if I made a lady leave in the middle of a relaxing bath?"
"You're not mad at me?"
"Not at all."
"Well, I do want to apologise. I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me. I was upset already and ... I still stand by what I said regarding the children though. That was wrong and I don't know if I can forgive you for that."
"The children are unharmed. You needn't worry."
"I guess that makes it a little better." The rabble of conversation grew louder as Hao's followers came to the baths.
"You're not dating my sister, neither are you!" Nichrom was in a heated argument with a few of the followers.
"Excuse me?" Nova turned around and had a stern look on her face.
"Nova, I didn't know you'd be here. And with Lord Hao, please forgive the intrusion."
"We were in the middle of a conversation." Hao said calmly.
"Whats this about dating and me?" It was clear she was irritated.
"I'm just saying none of them have a chance, they're not good enough for my sister."
"So now you wanna start acting like a brother? And what makes you think you have a say over who I date? That decision is mine."
"So I guess I don't have a chance either then." Hao laughed.
"I never said that."
"Wait, so..."
"Shut up Nichrom." She stopped him in his tracks.
"That depends, Lord Hao. Are you asking me on a date or are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"
"Which question gets me the best answer?"
"You're a smart man, I'm sure you can figure that out before the end of the day."
"Are we still on for coffee?" He asked.
"Of course. You can decide then what question it is you want to ask." With that she disappeared.
At the Patch cafe he was already waiting for her.
"My apologies, Lord Hao, I never intended on keeping you waiting. They keep asking me to work here so I agreed to do the odd shift here and there, but don't worry I'm still free to have coffee now."
"Good, I was beginning to worry. I ordered ahead. Cappuccino okay for you?"
"Perfect, thank you." They sat and talked for a while.
"So have you thought about your question?"
"I have. I want to ask you on a date."
"Good choice. Let's go!"
"Right now?" He wasn't objecting, he was just more expecting a later time.
"Why, you busy?"
"Not at all, lead the way." He gestured to the door for her to go first. On their way out they passed Radim at the counter, who presented their bill.
"How's about I work it off? I'll take one of your shifts?"
"Sure, Nova. Not a problem."
"Thanks, bye!"
They walked up a steep hill. Once they reached the top they looked out over the village and all the land the Patch owned, which was a lot.
"It's truly beautiful, isn't it." She sighed in contentment.
"Indeed, it is nice to relax once in a while."
"I come out here when I need to be alone."
"I can see why." He looked over at her, seeing her eyes sparkle in the sunlight. "I must admit though, I appreciate you being honest with me. It's frustrating for me to not be able to hear your thoughts but at least I know you'll tell me what you're feeling anyway."
"You still haven't noticed yet."
"Noticed what?"
"There's another reason I love coming out here. And being here with you makes it even better, for once I don't have to be alone to have peace and quiet."
"What?"
"We can't hear each other's thoughts, and there's no one else for miles. So for once, just in this moment, we can have some quiet."
"How is it you can hear people's thoughts too?"
"Family heirloom in a way, only gets passed on through the odd generation, only I managed to get it this time round. Along with a couple other abilities. Rather annoying though, isn't it. So this is my way of shutting it off, even just for a minute."
"Perhaps these abilities cancel each other out in a way and that's why we can't hear each other."
"Probably, doesn't matter though. Like you said, I'll tell you honestly what I think and feel, you have nothing to worry about. I have no reason to lie to you."
"I'm glad to hear that. So then tell me, how do you feel about me?" He caught her off guard and she stared at him for a moment unsure what to say.
"Well, you know... you're okay I guess. I mean you're more than okay, but I don't want you to think I'm coming on too strong or anything..."
"Haha, you're pretty cute when you're flustered like that. And I'd never care if you did come on too strong, at least I'd know exactly how you feel."
"I like you... a lot. That's for sure." She looked away as she was embarrassed she'd admitted it out loud.
"I like you too. So does this mean I get a second date?"
"You can have all the dates you want."
"You're not just saying that because of the whole 'duty to serve the Shaman King' thing are you?" She could tell he was still unsure of her feelings.
"Duty or not, no one makes me do something I don't want to do. If I didn't want to be with you, I wouldn't be."
"That's good to hear."
"Hao..."
"Y-yeah?" His eyes widened, anticipating what she was going to say.
"I promise you, I'll always tell you the truth no matter what. And I'll always stay by your side too. I may not always agree with what you do, and I will tell you when I don't, as you know. And for the record my answer is yes."
"Yes? To what?"
"When you asked me to be your wife after you become Shaman King." As she said this his cheeks went warm, he was blushing.
"You're cute when you're flustered." She giggled. She then leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. He kissed her back. They headed back to the tournament, they had only missed a couple of matches.
"Actually, Lord Hao, I'll meet you there, there's something I need to take care of first."
"Sure, just don't keep me waiting too long." He winked and Spirit of Fire took him up in the air.
About half an hour passed by and she appeared at the stadium. This time wearing Patch attire. Radim made the announcement that team Elemental had withdrawn from the tournament as Nova had decided to fully rejoin the Patch tribe and wished to dedicate her time to fulfilling her duties as such. Much to her surprise this seemed to disappoint a lot of people. Milo and Yasmin were often still seen by her side, as often as she was seen by Hao's. He didn't seem to mind her friendship with Yoh and the others either.
"I thought you wouldn't want to hang out with us after what happened with Ren?"
"I thought about it and the thing is, if I stay angry and full of hate for it, the only person I'm hurting is myself. Besides, I sense something in you has changed since then, you seem remorseful, and the look in your eyes when you found out who I was said it all. I forgive you."
"So, part of the Patch again, huh?"
"Yeah, it feels a little strange but also like this is where I'm meant to be."
"Yet you sided with Hao." Ren said coldly.
"It's a little more than that." She smiled.
"Oh, congratulations, you seem really happy." Yoh smiled too.
"Thanks Yoh!"
"So that jerk can get a girlfriend but I can't?!" Horohoro shouted in frustration, much to Hao's amusement.
"Well I better get going, there's a jerk I need to go see." They all laughed apart from Horohoro. She spent the remainder of the matches by Hao's side, often expressing appreciation for the different fighting styles and techniques the shaman were using.
"Why don't you come by my room tonight, we need to have a talk."
"Lord Hao, people might get the wrong idea. A woman visiting a man's bedroom late at night."
"Who cares what people think."
"I thought you did, haha."
"Not this time. So will I see you tonight?"
"You will. But before that, Yoh invited me to have dinner with them, hope you don't mind."
"Still friends with my little brother, make sure they treat you well, though I'm sure they will."
"I've been told that Ryu is an excellent cook, so I'm looking forward to it!"
"Don't enjoy it too much, we can make you a good dinner too."
"How's about we have dinner tomorrow and I'll compare which side has the better chef."
"I know you're joking but I'm interested to see."
"Then I'll cook for you, husband to be." As she said that, he began blushing again. She kissed him on the cheek but this time as she turned to walk away he grabbed her, gently, and spun her back around and kissed her on the lips. Everyone sort of pretended to look away apart from Opacho.
"Yay, Lord Hao and Lady Nova both seem so happy together, and that makes me happy!"
"Lady Nova?"
"If they call me Lord then they'll call you Lady."
"Oh, you can all just call me Nova, it's fine, really. And thank you Opacho." She made her way to Yoh's for dinner.