Chapter 3

"Kazuma! It's time to get ready for school! Get out of-" Kazu's sister opened the door to his room to find her brother already out of bed, dressed and throwing some books in his bag.

"Hey sis, I gotta go in early today. I'll see you later."

He hurried past her and she stared after him as he left and she crossed her arms in confusion, "Okay then…I wonder what's gotten into him."

Kazu managed to get to school just before the main crowd of students flooded their way inside and he waited by the door scanning the students for a familiar face.

When he finally saw Emily and Yayoi coming up to the entrance he waved and called out to them. He quickly realized that that may have been the wrong way to approach her, because as soon as Emily spotted him her face morphed into a panicked expression and she raced past him into the school where he couldn't follow her with his ATs on.

He heard Yayoi sigh behind him and he asked, "What did I do?"

"She's probably just scared to hear your response," Yayoi shrugged.

"Oh…she, uh, told you huh?"

Yayoi rolled her eyes and patted him on the shoulder as she moved past him, "It wasn't that hard to figure out."

Kazu sighed and approached his locker, pulled out his school shoes and changed out of his ATs. When he arrived at the class room, some of the track and field club members were talking to Emily and Yayoi so he didn't try to interrupt.

Instead, he sat heavily at his desk and planned to corner her at lunch because he'd go crazy if he didn't talk to her and sort this whole situation out.

It was too bad that she managed to slip away from him at lunch as well.

"Aw c'mon!" He yelled in frustration after he couldn't find her in their classroom or on the roof. He didn't even have an idea of where to look next,"Where could she have gone anyway!"

()

Emily was ashamed of herself. She was actually hiding in the classroom of one of her track club teammates, and she was pretty sure that she wouldn't be found here.

She knew that everyone could tell that she was avoiding Kazu, but she couldn't help it. She had caught herself completely by surprise when she had confessed her love to her crush. She had gotten so caught up in their conversation and she had been so tired from Agito's training and the battle that it had just slipped out. But talking to him felt natural and right and…she was so embarrassed!

Emily groaned and let her head fall on Yayoi's desk, "Why did I have to go and open my big mouth?"

"Maybe this is a good thing," Yayoi said with a shrug as she picked up a piece of omelet with her chopsticks, "You'll never know what he really thinks if you keep avoiding him. Never."

Her pointedly made conclusion stabbed Emily in the heart and she turned away from the other girl's face.

"He probably thinks I'm a freak."

"Don't make me repeat myself."

After lunch, Emily snuck back to her desk just as the teacher began his lecture. Uncomfortably, she could feel Kazu's eyes boring into her back but she refused to turn around to look at him. She was dying to know what he was thinking, but she was too scared to find out.

As soon as school let out, Kazu left in order to make sure that his newest plan was executed properly. Thanks to a heads up from Yayoi, it would be useless to try and catch her at practice or at Kogarasumaru's meeting, but he did know where she would probably be instead.

He went home first to drop off his stuff and then headed for Emily's normal running route and as he suspected, she was racing down the deserted road on her ATs. She was looking straight ahead so he supposed that she couldn't see him perched on the wall.

"Ada-," He started, then thought better of it and called, "Emily!"

Her head snapped up in surprise and her face turned red at the sight of him. She screamed something inaudible and sped up and whether it was accidental or intentional, Kazu wasn't having that. He vanished from the wall, moving so quickly that his hat fell from his head and Emily suddenly found herself reclining in his arms.

She was too bewildered to even utter a sound of exclamation, and was only able to stare at him with wide eyes and her mouth slightly parted.

"You've been running away from me all day, but I have something to say to you, and you're not getting away this time."

He tightened his grip on her for emphasis and Emily blushed even harder if it was possible but nodded. He took a big breath that was partial relief and partially in preparation of the words he had been hoping to say all day.

"I'm really flattered that you like me and I'm sorry I'm so dense. Looking back, you were always there to help me and I feel like you understand me better than anyone else. I'm comfortable around you," Now that he had her undivided attention he placed her on her feet careful to hold her up by her waist enough so that there was no pressure being exerted on her ATs, "So I guess what I really wanted to say was, I really like you too."

"What?" She gasped, her brown eyes wider than what should have been possible, "You-Is it…? Do you really mean it?"

Kazu laughed a little at the mystified look on her face, "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't."

Emily's heart felt like it would explode out of her chest and she channeled the feeling into throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tight. He reciprocated by tightening his arms that encircled her waist. It wasn't the first time he had been this close to Emily, but it was the first time he noticed how good her hair smelled and he told her so.

There wasn't a darker shade her face could turn so she simply muttered "Thanks," and slowly pulled away though she was reluctant to do so, and he seemed to feel the same.

"So where do we go from here Kazu-sama?" Emily asked looking up at him through her lashes.

He blushed and scratched his head, "I guess we have a lot to talk about, do you want to grab something to eat?"

"That would be great!" Emily exclaimed while smiling brightly.

()

Yayoi had just walked through her front door when her text message jingle went off. She put down her school bag on the couch before pulling out her cell phone and checking the message. Her eyes scanned it quickly and a small smile crept on her face before she giggled softly, "Good," she said out loud as she typed a response, "I'm happy for you."

Quickly, she typed out a message to Buccha who had been worried following the events of the night before that read, "Everything's fine now. She said they're on a date." She added a smiley face for good measure and mere moments later she received a thumbs up expression in response. She was just about to put down the phone when he sent her another message that made her laugh out loud.

"Wait until Ikki and Onigiri find out!"

A/N- And that's the end. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!