Nagihiko's breath quickened as he reached the school. Today...today was the day.

Today was the day he would confess to Mashiro Rima.

__

Rima was sitting in the royal garden, sipping her cocoa casually. However, her pale eyes were troubled.

"Rima?" Kusukusu looked up at Rima, her gaze worried. "Look! A funny face!" The chara continued on to make her usual face.

In response, Rima sighed, looking at the tiny blond chibi floating beside her out of the corner of her eye.

"Kusukusu, can you do me a favour?" she asked her chara.

Kusukusu tipped her head. "What is it, Rimaaaa?" she sat down on the table, her legs spread apart with her face in her hands. It was, truly, a strange pose.

"Find Nagihiko. I...need to talk to him..." Rima's face tinted a rosy colour, and Kusukusu snickered. "Sure, Riiimaaaa!" she darted off.

Rolling her eyes, Rima couldn't help but steal another glance at the chocolates she had worked so hard on.

A box of small, heart-shaped chocolates lay on her lap, wrapped in a pale purple box with a pastel blue ribbon.

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Nagihiko turned to Rhythm. "Okay, here's the deal. You don't character change with me, okay? The LAST thing I need is you ruining this! Temari, that goes for you, too!"

Temari looked up. "That goes without saying, Nagihiko. Why should I ruin your special moment?"

Rhythm snorted, looking away. "Little-Miss-Perfect, eh?" he said coldly.

"Nagihiko, Rhythm's being- Nagihiko?" she turned to her bearer to see his eyes were full of tears.

"Dude, what's wrong? Worryin' about the confession?" Rhythm floated down. "Just keep it cool and it'll be fine, man!"

Nagihiko looked over at his charas. "What if she rejects me? What if somebody else gets to her before me?"

An image of Kirishima crossed his mind. He clenched a fist. "I WILL confess to her today..." he swore, "No matter what!"

"Oiiii! Fujisaki!" Another voice crossed his ears. "What's wrong? You look like you got rejected or something!" Kukai ran over.

"..." Nagihiko said nothing, and continued walking on glumly.

"He's just afraid of being rejected, Souma-kun!" Temari said sweetly. "What about you? Did you ever confess to your sweetheart?"

Kukai grinned. "SHE confessed to ME! ...Then, Yaya came and made up the word 'Kutau'! Way to ruin a moment!"

Daichi nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Iru and Eru got in a big fight with Pepe about it. I just couldn't stop them." He sighed. "Oh, girls..."

Temari frowned. "Hey, Daichi, I'm a girl, too!" her eyes flashed. "Or have you forgotten that?"

Nagihiko looked away from the scene. Now was his chance to slip away!

Quickly and quietly, he raced off, heading to the Royal Garden.

__

Rima twiddled her thumbs, a little bit of doubt crossing her mind. What if she was rejected? She couldn't bear to think about it.

"Rima-chan?" her golden gaze darted up to meet a light brown one. "Why are you here so early?"

Rima tried to ignore the feeling that was taking over her stomach. She could feel blush coming to her face. No! He couldn't see her blush!

She quickly his her face with her hair. "Hello, Nagihiko," she said coolly. "I had some paperwork to finish. Being the Queen's Chair is hard, as you know."

Nagihiko nodded. "I know, I know. Remember, I used to be the Queen!"

Rima laughed. "It sounds so weird to hear you say that, Nagi!"

She stopped. Since when did she call him Nagi?

"Trust me, that's not the we- Did you just call me Nagi?" A small blush arose onto his cheeks. She never called him that!

Rima nodded. "Y-yeah. Anyway. H-Happy Valentine's Day, Nagihiko! I...I made these for you. I just sometimes do things like this, and I thought these shouldn't go to waste, so I thought about giving them to you!"

She thrust the box into his hands, still not revealing her pure red face.

Nagihiko blinked, and took the box. "Thank you, Rima-chan," he smiled. "I...well...have something to tell you..."

Rima looked up. "Y-you do?"

Nagihiko nodded, the tiny blush on his cheeks growing. "It's about romance."

Rima looked away pointedly. "R-romance, eh? Why should I care? Not like it concerns me! After all, nobody likes me!"

"That's not true!" Nagihiko blurted out. "I..Kirishima-kun li-"

"I mean besides people I've completely rejected. He never even crosses my mind!" retorted Rima. "Know anybody else?"

"Y-yeah...Listen, Rima. This is important!" Nagihiko's eyes were full of determination. He could do this.

Rima blinked. "What?"

"When I first met you, I thought that you were an angel fallen onto earth. However, you were so cold. An angel of ice. However...slowly, as I got to know you, I realized...that's not you at all! You're sweet, funny, and beautiful, both on the inside and out. Before I knew it, I was finding myself coming to school, looking forward to seeing your face. And, w-well..." Nagihiko broke off, looking at the ground. "I began having strange feelings in my stomach when I talked with you. Rhythm just told me I was hungry, but Temari said a strange thing. She said I needed to examine my feelings. So..well, I did. Just seeing you, hearing your voice, your laughter, tumbling out like bells. It makes me happy." Nagihiko smiled.

Rima blinked, and began to blush. "I.."

"And...Rima....I...I l- You know what? I'll just say it. All this time, I've been hiding behind pretty words. The thing is, Rima-chan, I like you! No...more than that...is this what love feels like, Rima? If so, I think I just might love you." Nagihiko let out the breath he had been holding.

Rima's eyes were glazed over. "Say that again."

Nagihiko blinked. "Hm?" he leaned down to look into her eyes.

"I said, say that again." Rima smiled slightly.

Nagihiko took a breath and closed his eyes. "I love you, Mashiro Rima. I love you with all my heart. I always will," he said simply.

Rima let a single crystal tear fall. "This is a joke, isn't it? Some cruel prank, made for making me hurt."

Nagihiko shook his head frantically. "You're wrong!" he told her. "I really do...love you..." He lifted her face up with one shaking hand. "Look into my eyes, Rima-chan. Am I lying?"

Rima looked into his eyes slowly. There was no lie hidden deep within the brown mysteries. He loved her. That was all there was to it.

Rima smiled again, pure joy shining brightly on her face. "I can say it now. I love you, too, Nagi!"

Nagihiko smiled, a mixture of relief and happiness on his face. He wrapped his arms around her. "Thank goodness..." He held her tightly.

Rima was shocked for a second, before she made up her mind. She kissed Nagihiko slowly.

Nagihiko smiled, then kissed back.

Two words could describe them; True love.