It was a moonless night. Ran decided to go up to the SCRTC rooftop and bask in the star light and night breeze. As she got up the steps, she saw the silhouette of a tall, slim male. As a light night breeze blew past, his hair fluttered, making him look stunning even from afar.

That silhouette was Retsu.

As Ran looked at Retsu, memories started to unfold in her mind…

Retsu was about her closest friend ever in SCRTC. The very first time they met each other was barely 2 days after Master Shafu invited Ran to this "company". Her first impression of Retsu was that he was a tall, suave and cold artist.

Yes, cold. Throughout the first 2 weeks spent in SCRTC, they hardly said anything to each other, other than "Hi" and "Good morning". They trained by themselves then, and when they had some spare time of their own, Retsu would usually spend that time sketching or deep in thoughts, always keeping to himself.

However, one day, Ran decided to break the ice between them. She went up to Retsu and started talking to him. From then on, they gradually started to talk with each other.

Soon, the two JyuKen students became good friends. It also helped that they started to practice with each other later on, when they were more advanced in their JyuKen styles. In fact, by the time Jan joined their team to form the Triangle, they were such close friends, they were almost like…siblings.

Ran had all along seen Retsu as a brother, someone who she could relate to, someone who could understand her… But lately, she felt that her feeling towards Retsu as "siblings" has changed.

For example, if Retsu were to do something nice to her such as offering her a drink, or even at the mere thought of Retsu, Ran's heart would start to race, and blood would rush up to her face. Also, lately, whenever she saw Jan and Retsu spending an excessive amount of time with each other talking about guy's stuff, or when Retsu received yet another gift from his "secret admirers", she would feel this tinge of jealousy.

Jealousy.

Ran could not believe it at first, but she had developed a crush on Retsu. Retsu's charm and charisma was truly infectious.

"Hey, Ran. Never knew you were here too," a voice jolted her out of her thoughts.

"Oh…ah…hi Retsu," Ran replied, awkwardly trying to avoid gazing at Retsu.

Retsu sat down on the concrete surface, and then tapped the ground next to him, indicating Ran to sit there. Which she did. Almost immediately, they started chatting about trivial matters; about how training was going, how evil Rin Jyu Den was, how Jan screwed up his lunch by putting too much chilli flakes in his ramen…

Out of the blue, Ran made this statement, "Retsu…you've always been like a brother to me when we were in SCRTC."

Ran blushed. Retsu coughed once.

She continued, "But…I am…starting not to see you as a brother anymore…"

Now Ran's heart was thumping as fast as the speed of her fists during speed training. "How would Retsu reply?" she thought.

"I have always seen you as a sister," Retsu answered, staring into the night sky.

Ran's face fell. "So up to now, he still sees me as a sister…"

Then Retsu turned his face towards Ran and gazed into her eyes, with that look on his face, that look when he was determined to master a certain technique.

"But I no longer do."

Ran's heart skipped a beat.

"I have fallen for you, Ran."

How Ran felt at that moment was indescribable. She was about to pipe up "Me too!", but she was prevented from doing so.

At that very moment, Retsu placed a slender but firm hand on Ran's face, and planted a delicate kiss on her lips.

As the starlight and city lights shone on their faces while they were in contact with each other, Ran wished time would stop.

Then Retsu detached himself from her. He smiled a smile that would make any girl fall in love with him right away.

"I…like you too, Retsu," Ran mustered the courage to say what she had been itching to say.

And so for the rest of the night, Retsu and Ran spent their time on the SCRTC rooftop, in each other's arms, admiring the starry sky and city view.