Chapter 16: The path we make for ourselves

She paced back and forth in front of the vending machines, her thoughts in complete disarray, her frustration growing by the minute. How was she supposed to react? What should she do? What should she say?

Her world was turning too fast, she couldn't grasp anything. She needed help, but who-... Moko-san!

She stopped and dug her phone out. 'Please be there, please be there!'

"Kyouko, I swear, if you're going to-..."

"Moko-san!" That desperate cry made the young actress stop her sentence mid-rant.

"Kyouko, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Ts-Tsuruga-san, he…" Wait, she couldn't spill his secret to anyone, even if she trusted her best friend. What could she say then?

"Ah, he confessed?"

"Y-Yes, no, well, yes, but…" How could she explain things?! She started hyperventilating.

"Kyouko, calm down. Breathe." Her friend's voice enveloped her, soothing. She took big chumps of very needed air.

"That's it, deep breaths, slowly." Kanae waited in silence, until she could hear Kyouko's breath evening. "Now, tell me. What has that idiot done this time?"

Kyouko could almost see her friend's annoyed face. It helped her focus, and she started from the beginning.

"He… We went for a walk after we arrived to the shrine I told you about, and we got caught in the storm, we fell off the path and he got hurt, and I was so scared because he wouldn't wake up, so I checked for injuries, and there was the rain, but there was nothing to shelter us from it, and I was so scared, Moko-san! I couldn't do anything, and he was just lying there, he could have been dying, and I couldn't do anything! I could have lost him, Moko-san! I almost lost him! I can't lose him!"

She was bawling her eyes out now, earning weird looks from the people around her.

"Wait wait wait, Kyouko, you're talking too fast. You said you fell? Are you okay?" She could hear the worry in her friend's voice, but she couldn't stop crying now that she had started.

"I-I'm fine, It's just a twisted elbow, a-and Tsuruga-san is fine, too, we're at the hospital, but I can't stop crying, Moko-san!"

"Keep breathing Kyouko, you have to keep breathing. Long, slow breaths. That's it, good, just keep at it." Kyouko desperately clung to her phone as she listened to Kanae, slowly calming down. With each new breath, she let go a bit more of the fright that had gripped her tightly. She had kept it in when Tsuruga-san woke up, focusing on other things - and his use of her given name was a perfect distraction - but what she felt when she thought he might not be alright… That had just blown up in her face when she had tried to tell Kanae what was wrong. She had wanted to tell her friend about how confused she was now that he had confessed to her, and about the whole childhood fairy prince thing without betraying his trust, but...

She sniffled, still listening to Kanae's voice. He was okay. She was okay, now. She wasn't going to lose him. Everything would be alright. She dried her eyes.

"Moko-san?"

"Yes, Kyouko?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Yashiro-san, if you don't stop that I'm going to ask the doctors to make you leave." Ren said, irritated by his manager's incessant pacing.

"Ah, sorry Ren." He took a chair next to the bed. And started fiddling his fingers. Ren rolled his eyes. This was hardly better.

"How come you look more nervous than me? She's not going to do anything to you." 'It's not your heart she's going to break' Ren silently added.

"I'm worried for you. She looked pretty angry. I'd be less worried if you would just tell me what you said or did to her. Last time she got angry at you, you were depressed for weeks."

Ren said nothing, but thought he'd be happy if she was just angry. That would mean he wouldn't lose her completely.

He sighed. The worst part was, he didn't know what would make her leave him. Would it be his scary past? His lies? Or his confession? For which one would she hate him more?

He sighed again. There was no use torturing himself now. He would know when she came back. If she came back. She wouldn't break her promise now, would she? Not that he could blame her if she did…

The door slowly opened, revealing a red eyed Kyouko.

"Kyouko-chan! Are you alright? What happened?!" Yashiro made a step towards her, but she held up her hand.

"Yashiro-san, can you… Can you let me talk to Tsuruga-san alone, please?"

He looked at his charge, who nodded. "Of course, Kyouko-chan, I'll just be, er… Well, call me when you need me."

When the door closed behind him, a heavy silence fell in the room. Ren was doing his best to not let his anxiousness show, but he was starting to really envy Yashiro's fidgeting. Kyouko finally moved. She slowly made her way to him, and frowned.

"I still don't know how to react. Honestly, I don't even know how to call you anymore. I know one thing though."

Ren gulped.

She lunged at him, and he had half a mind to protect his head, just in case she had forgotten about his concussion. He froze when she encircled him with her arms, her head hiding in his chest.

"I've never been so scared in my whole life. Don't you ever do that again. I thought you might be…"

"I'm sorry." He didn't dare say her name, too afraid to set her off again.

She slowly let go, but didn't look at him.

"I guess we should discuss the way we'll be addressing each other, I suppose I can't call you Corn, it's too close to your real name if I'm not mistaken."

"How did you…?"

"I made the same mistake with your father, but he corrected me straight away instead of letting me call his son a cereal. You are also built the same way, it's a wonder no one ever thought about this possibility."

He stared at her in disbelief. "You really are-..."

"So," she rudely interrupted, "I don't want to call you Tsuruga-san anymore either. And you can't call me Mogami-san, or I swear I'll make sure you get another concussion. I guess… I guess you'll just have to call me like you used to. I'll call you Ren. This is non-negotiable."

His gobsmacked expression would have made her laugh if she wasn't so tense. It was a bold move on her part, forcing him like that, but he was her dear friend right? He was also her God-like senpai, so she might still be very disrespectful, but she wasn't being too unreasonable, was she? She tightly clasped her hands together. Any moment now, he would react, and she would know-...

"Of course, Kyouko-chan." He smiled heavenly at her, relief and love clear on his face.

She blushed. Oh yeah, this was the man she was in love with too. And he had confessed to her!

She hid her face in her hands. How could she have forgotten that part!

"D-Don't look at me like that!"

"Like what?" He sounded genuinely surprised. She glimpsed at him through her fingers, and saw his confused face. Much better. She removed her hands, but was still beet red.

"D-Don't make me say it, Ren-san. It's too embarrassing. I can't deal with this right now, please, can we just talk about this later?"

When he showed no sign of comprehension, she sighed.

"F-Feelings." He stopped breathing, a deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face.

"I mean, we will talk about this. But not right now, I can't. Please?"

"O-Of course, I'm sorry if this is too much. I know I shouldn't have burdened you with all of this, but I wanted to come clean. About everything. I'm sorry." He really looked contrite.

"It's okay. We'll figure it out, one thing at a time. For now, let me focus on having my dear fairy friend back, okay? I really missed you, you know?"

"Thank you, Kyouko-chan. I'm glad to have my childhood friend back, too."

They spend hours talking about everything that had happened to them after 'Corn' went back to his world. Of course, there were some parts that they already knew, but it felt good to talk about it as if they were just two friends rekindling.

They hadn't noticed how much time had passed until Yashiro timidly knocked on the door. He squealed in delight when he saw how close they were (Kyouko was sitting comfortably on the bed, her hand finding Ren's from times to times when the story was too painful for him), and nearly had a heart attack when he heard them call each other so familiarly. They had assured him that no, they weren't going out together, which led to an embarrassing moment where Kyouko pretended not to hear all the disappointed innuendoes Yashiro was making at Ren's lack of manhood. And she hid her face with a groan when Ren snapped and said that yes, he had confessed to her, and no, it was none of Yashiro's business what her answer was, and if he could please stop talking about it.

The man complied, but didn't stop throwing pitiful glances at Ren, convinced that he had been rejected but was too proud to say so.

Ren had told Kyouko that even Yashiro didn't know about his real name, so they couldn't speak freely in front of him just yet.

To be honest, Ren was having a hard time believing what was happening. He had confessed to everything, every dirty secret he had, even his feelings, and Kyouko was still here, next to him. They even were closer than ever! He could finally call her Kyouko-chan again, and she had stopped putting him on a pedestal. He had gone from untouchable senpai to childhood friend in a heartbeat, and maybe, just maybe, he could hope that her blushing face and tender looks might mean… No, he shouldn't go there. He was already so happy that she cared for him as a friend, he didn't need to wonder about her feelings for him, at least not right now. She was at his side, that was all he needed.

The next few days were hard for everybody. They had started filming in the mountains, and the temple was too far for them to use it as a shelter anymore. The weather was capricious, and camping turned out to not be as fun as it had seemed. People were tired, grumpy, and spent more time wet than dry. They all wanted to go home as fast as possible. All except two.

"Ren-san! Come, quick ! Look at this, it's a rabbit hole! Do you think it's inhabited?"

"Yes, Kyouko-chan, and I believe it's a whole family, look, do you see the tiny marks here? There's probably five or six children in there."

"So cute! I'd love to see them!"

"Well, maybe we can try to observe the hole tonight, they might come out if we're really quiet."

"That would be fantastic, Ren-san!"

"I think I'm going to get cavities from just looking at them. Are you sure they're not going out, Yashiro-kun?"

Yashiro looked tiredly at the director, who was observing the not-couple. "I'm sure. I could have sworn they were too, but this is just them being friends, believe me. It took them forever to come this far, I think it'll take them another decade to become sweethearts."

There was no need to conceal Ren's feelings to people anymore, he was wearing them on his face constantly now. He didn't even bother denying them, when asked. He still claimed they were friends, but only smiled if people asked about his feelings for her.

Yashiro guessed he would have to talk to the actor when they got back to civilization. He was certain that if they weren't in the middle of nowhere with no signal, the tabloids would have had a field day with all the rumors the crew could spread, with pictures as proof. There was no protecting them from the media anymore, it was too late for damage control. Yashiro only hoped Kyouko was ready for this.

"Alright, lovebirds, playtime's over, let's get the cameras rolling!"

The scene they were about to film showed Eri and Ryu climbing the mountain, hoping that the summit would be the purest spot for Eri to breathe. With each new step, strength was leaving the fairy, and increased Ryu's fears that they would not make it. He was almost carrying her now, and soon she wouldn't be able to stand on her own.

"Ryu, let's stop." She tried to catch her breath, while he gently lowered her to the ground.

"Okay, let's take a break. Here, try to drink a bit, this is purified water."

Eri looked at the offered bottle, and shook her head.

"I know you can feel it Ryu, we're not going to make it. I'm not going to make it. I'm so sorry, but this is the end. I'm sorry."

Tears were threatening to fall as she turned her sad gaze at him.

Ryu wouldn't stand for it.

"No. No, you can't give up. Not now, not ever! I'm going to carry you to the top of this damn mountain, and you're going to feel better, and we'll live there if we have to, I don't care ! Please, Eri… Don't give up." He fell on his knees next to her.

She took his hands and kissed each of his fingers lovingly. "It's going to be okay. I'll always be with you, in your heart. I'm never going to leave you, not really. I will look over you, see you live, fall in love, and have kids. I'll see your grandkids laugh at how old you are, I'll see you shower them with love. I'll be there for every important moment of your life. And when you have lived a long, happy life for the both of us, we will meet again. Do you understand what I'm saying, Ryu?"

She caught a tear from his cheek and let her hand rest there. It was very important for her to see that he would value his life, that he would try to find happiness without her.

"You're asking me to live without you. Don't make me do this, please. I love you Eri. I love you so much, I don't know if I can do what you ask of me. My life had no meaning before I met you, you know that."

He leaned into her hand.

"I love you too, Ryu, from the bottom of my heart. I will always love you. It's because I love you so much that I want you to have a happy life. Please, promise me you will."

They were both crying freely now. Ryu knew that she wouldn't rest in peace if he made her an empty promise. He closed his eyes, his hand tightening on hers. He remembered all the moments they had together, all the happiness she had brought him, all the laughs, the angry moments, the love, the feelings they had shared together. She had taught him how to feel, how to live.

He re-opened his eyes, and tentatively smiled at her. "Alright. I promise. I promise I'll do my best to live for the both of us. I can't promise you I'll love another though. If you want grandchildren so badly, I guess I can always adopt a child."

She laughed at his joke, relief seeping through her. "Good enough for me. Thank you, Ryu."

She closed her eyes, her hand falling from his face.

He cradled her in his arms. "No, thank you. Thank you for teaching me how to live." He gently kissed her lips, for the first and the last time. She didn't respond.

He tightened his grip on her, and loudly sobbed.

Her body dissolved into tiny blue sparks, leaving only her clothes in his arms. They were the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Instinctively he knew it was her.

The sparks assembled to form a perfect sphere of light.

Behind it, a fairy appeared, and cupped it in her hands. She kissed it before it vanished into the sky.

"Thank you, young human, for granting this little one her wish." She smiled happily at him.

Ryu frowned, confused and angry. Why was this creature smiling? Didn't she understand that one of her kin had just died?

"What?"

"I guess this must be pretty confusing for you. Let me explain. Us fairies are born from dying humans with unfulfilled wishes. We spend our childhood in our world, away from the humans, until we reach adulthood. Then we get one chance, and one chance only, to fulfill the wish we were born out of. That wish can only be fulfilled in the human world. This little one's wish was to prevent another human from killing themselves, like she did. She wished to give a second chance to someone. I admit it is pretty rare for a fairy to actually reveal themselves to humans, usually we are but a whisper, a light trick to them."

"Wait, so you are saying that all this… Was her trying to fulfill her wish?" Ryu felt his heart on the verge of breaking.

"No, because you see… We don't remember what our wish was until it we either fulfill it or we run out of time. If we fail, we go back to the fairy world and just spend a peaceful and happy life there. But on the rare chance that we succeed… Well, I believe you will see what happens for yourself. It is time for me to return now. Farewell, young human."

"Wait, no! Don't go! What do you mean, I'll see what happens? Come back!"

But the fairy had disappeared as suddenly as she had come. Ryu looked down at the clothes still in his arms. He clutched them, feeling both confused and relieved. So from what the fairy said, she didn't die, and didn't return to the fairy realm… Was she on Earth then? "Eri… I'll find you, no matter what."

"CUT! It's a wrap, people! Now let's get the hell out of this mountain!"

Cheers welcomed these words. They had been filming for nine hours straight, from dawn to dusk, with barely a break, to catch up with the time they lost while Ren was at the hospital.

The actor took a deep breath. It had been a very intense day. The feelings Ryu and Eri had shared had taken a toll on him. He briefly looked over to Kyouko. She looked exhausted too, even though she hadn't been on the last scene. 'No rabbit hole observation for tonight, I guess'. He smiled at that thought. Ever since the incident, they had been having a very friendly relationship: they were spending all their time together, sharing their thoughts on everything. He had never felt so carefree before. He didn't need to hide his feelings anymore, she had accepted them, even if she still hadn't answered him.

There was a nagging voice at the back of his head telling him that things would change once they got back to Tokyo, but he pushed it aside, and enjoyed the time he had in front of him.

Of course things would change. He would be very busy with work, so he wouldn't be able to see her as often. And he was certain she would freak out once the tabloids got a hold of the rumors surrounding them. He had seen some of the crew take pictures of the two of them, he knew what would happen. But he didn't care, because she wouldn't flee this time. She was not blind nor deaf, she had noticed too, but she seemed to resolutely ignore the matter altogether. At least he knew it wouldn't come as a surprise to her when the media inevitably blew the thing out of proportions.

"Ren, let's go", Yashiro offered him a bottle of water. He thankfully drank it, and they both headed back to the changing tents. They would spend one last night camping, and then they would finally go back to civilisation. This was the last evening he could spend with Kyouko before some time, so he hoped he could make the most of it.

As it turned out, he didn't even see her, as, Satsuki-san informed him that Kyouko had passed out from exhaustion in their tent. They made up for it by walking together on the way down to the parking lot, and seating next to each other on the bus, under the knowing eyes of Yashiro and Satsuki.

The train back to Tokyo was filled with snores from the exhausted crew. Kyouko was back with Satsuki-san, who was using her shoulder as a pillow. The past days had been like a dream for the young actress.

She loved the new relationship she had with her dear senpai/friend/fairy prince. Sometimes she felt a bit awkward, especially when she got a bit too informal talking to her Corn, and remembered he was her well-respected senpai. He always seemed happy that she was taking those liberties with him however, so she figured it was fine.

He had asked her if she was angry that he had kept his real identity a secret, but she didn't see why she should. Afterall, it was not as if he had lied to her specifically, he had needed to lie to everyone, so that he could escape his father's shadow. She understood that, especially since she kept remembering how sorrowful young Corn looked when he talked about it.

There was one thing she kept pushing at the back of her mind. Ren never pushed her, never broached that topic, but she could feel his eyes on her and the question that he forbade himself to ask out loud. She couldn't give him the answer, not yet. She was being a coward, she knew that. But she couldn't think about her love for him right now, she needed more time to adjust to their new relationship first. 'Just a little more', she thought, 'let us stay like this for just a little more'...

Of course the media jumped on their story like a hungry dog on a delicious looking bone. When they came back to Tokyo, the rumors had already spread, and people were waiting for them at the train station. Yashiro had warned the President however, so they were rapidly escorted to his limo, without a chance for the reporters to bother them. They had heard some of the questions though.

"Tsuruga-san, is it true that you were hospitalized? Are you okay?"

"Tsuruga-san, what exactly is the nature of your relationship with Kyouko-chan?"

"Are you two dating?"

"Kyouko-chan, how did you nail the number one Bachelor of all of Japan?"

"When is the wedding, Tsuruga-kun?"

Once safely inside the limo, they met with the President. Yashiro had followed in another car, to give them some space.

"Well, I leave you two alone for a few days, and you've managed to make quite a mess! Congratulations, Ren, this is your second love scandal, I'm so proud of you!" He smirked at the scowling actor.

"I'm sorry, President, I should have been more careful, I'll-..."

"Mogami-kun", Lori interrupted, "I'm not angry at you, I said I was proud of you." Kyouko was red from embarrassment, again. She might as well start getting used to the color, it didn't seem she would stop blushing any time soon.

"Kyouko-chan, don't mind him, he's a sadist." Ren petulantly added. Lori chuckled. Kyouko looked scandalized.

"Ren-san! You can't say that! He's the President!" It was then that Lori caught up.

"Kyouko-chan and Ren-san, eh? So the rumors aren't totally fake, are they?"

"I-I mean…"

"She knows everything, boss." Ren interjected. The President looked at him in surprise.

"Everything?"

"Yes, even about Rick." Lori carefully examined Ren, then Kyouko.

"It seems you two have a lot to tell me… I'm listening."

And they proceeded to tell him all about their very first meeting, how Kyouko had thought he was a fairy prince - there Lori did his best to keep his face straight while Kyouko described the encounter like a magical tale, with Ren blushing like a teenager just listening to how she was describing him - even about the Corn stone and how Ren had first recognized Kyouko because of it. Then they went on with the accident, how Kyouko had quickly pieced two and two together, and how Ren had confessed everything. He kept his love confession a secret though, not wanting to put Kyouko in a more embarrassing position than she was. He did not doubt that the older man would soon know all about it, thanks to his meddling manager.

"So, now, everybody thinks we are dating, but we aren't, we are just friends liking to spend time with each other."

"Oh, don't play the naïve boy, Ren, it doesn't suit you," Lori scoffed. "People think you are dating because you are wearing your feelings for Mogami-kun on your face. Since she hasn't fled to the other side of the country just yet, I'm assuming you already confessed to her?"

Kyouko gasped, and Ren scowled. Neither said anything. Lori wore a very satisfied smile.

"And I'm guessing you guys aren't dating because Mogami-kun here needs time to sort out her feelings, right?"

"H-How did you know that?" Kyouko exclaimed, awed by Lori's deduction skills. She would be less impressed if she knew he had a very faithful spy that reported any progress in their relationship. Ren simply cursed his manager. Didn't waste any time, did he? He probably had reported everything to Lori when he had called for help with the reporters.

Lori smirked at them both, but didn't answer.

"Now, you have to be ready for the onslaught of reporters. This time, you won't be protected by anonymity, Mogami-kun, so I suggest you two figure out what you want to tell the media. A car will be driving you everywhere from now on, until things calm down a bit. Ren is used to that kind of things, he will be fine, but you can't go around on your bicycle, Mogami-kun."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Kyouko bowed. Lori smiled.

"It's alright, it's proof that you are becoming known, Mogami-kun. Just think of the good publicity it will make for DYFS! I bet Tachibana-san is very happy about this. A romance drama, on set and off! People crave that kind of thing, so they'll be sure to watch it."

Kyouko froze, realizing something.

"President, isn't that a bad way of getting known? It's like I'm using Ren-san to make people talk about me!"

"There is no bad or good way. No matter what you do, the main point of this industry is to get people to notice you. Of course, you could build a good or a bad reputation, depending on what you did to get yourself noticed. People will say that, indeed, you are using Ren, I believe that you will even receive threats because you stole their beloved Ren from them." He stopped Ren's sputtering with a look.

"However, the best way for you to counter the bad effects of this seemingly love scandal is to show your professionalism. Don't let any of this affect your work, let your acting prove that you deserve to be acknowledged for your talent, not your love life. You will need to accept a few interviews, of course, to set things straight. I'm thinking about the Ishibashi brothers? They usually interview musicians, but I'm sure we could find some way to get you there, other than in Bo's costume. How about we kill two birds in one stone and promote your drama's soundtrack? I heard Tachibana-san got his hands on quite the talented group for DYFS."

And they spent the rest of the ride going over the details of how they would deal with the media.

The next months flew by incredibly fast. Ren and Kyouko squeezed in some time to see each other, but things weren't easy, especially with the reporters acting like hunting hounds each time they saw one or the other. They had been repeatedly interviewed, alone or together, but no one really believed they weren't going out, so they kept going at them, hoping to find a proof that the two really were dating.

They had finished filming the last scene of the last episode of the drama. Kyouko quite liked the ending. She only hoped that people would like it too. The director was positively giddy. All the hard work that they had put was finally coming together. Once the montage for the final episode was done, Tachibana-san organized a party to celebrate both the end of the filming and the première of the first episode. He kept congratulating Kyouko and Ren for their wonderful acting, and he hoped they would cooperate with him again in the future. He then went to congratulate the staff, and left the two of them alone (strangely, Yashiro was nowhere to be found).

"It was such a wonderful experience! I'm going to miss Eri." Kyouko sighed, a content smile on her face. They had watched the première, and things had turned out to be quite lovely. She was amazed at how the special effects had made things look so real.

"Indeed, it was. I think I'm going to miss Ryu too," Ren answered. He then pause to look at Kyouko. "You look stunning, Kyouko-chan."

She blushed. "T-Thank you, Ren-san." She was wearing a pale pink dress, very similar to the one she had worn on the LME's dancing party so many months ago. Her hair was longer now, half of it was tied in a loose bun, the rest was gently falling on her shoulders. Instead of the pink gauze she had last time, she was wearing Princess Rosa, with matching earrings. Ren had had a hard time convincing her to accept them. It had been a thank-you gift from him, for accepting him as a friend, and helping him accept himself. It was on this occasion that he had discovered the power of the kicked puppy eyes attack on her. It had been devastatingly effective, and Kyouko now screwed her eyes shut if she even saw a glimpse of that attack surfacing.

Ren was very happy with how things were going with her. For all intents and purposes, they were acting like a couple, but Kyouko didn't notice that, which suited him just fine. He invited her to restaurants, they spent time at his place watching movies (he made her watch everything she ever was in, including the very alluring commercial for the perfume 'Confidence'. She had been very embarrassed), and sometimes she would stay the night, just because it was more convenient that way. Or that was what she kept saying.

He was almost certain that she loved him too, but he never pushed her. He wanted her to come to terms with her feelings on her own. Something was stopping her from admitting them, but he would be patient, and give her the time she needed to break that barrier by herself. That didn't stop him from showing his love for her every time he could, though. It was no wonder the media didn't believe them when they said they weren't together.

"You look very handsome, too, Ren-san." She was timidly smiling at him, eyes shining brightly, and a lingering blush dusting her cheeks. He couldn't help himself. He reached for her face, and gently pulled a lock behind her ear.

"Don't look at me like that, Kyouko-chan, or I might just have to kiss you. And you wouldn't want that, now, would you?" Without meaning to, he had released the Emperor of the Night.

They had relocated to the balcony, where nobody would bother them. They tended to do that nowadays, just to enjoy each other's company. This was also one of the reasons why the rumors about them were so hard to deny.

It would be so easy to pin her to the wall and kiss her senseless. He was almost certain she wouldn't hate it, too. She was blushing hard, her breath speeding up, and she kept stealing glances at his lips. She had reacted so differently a long time ago, when he had wanted to thank her for her Valentine's gift. Like a petrified rabbit, about to be eaten by a snake.

He went down, and was about to touch her lips with his when he suddenly changed directions and aimed for her ear instead.

"You know I won't do anything to you unless you tell me to," he whispered and smirked when he noticed the shudder coursing through her body. Oh yes, she really wouldn't mind him kissing her, he thought. But not like this. He withdrew and enjoyed the sight of his affect on her.

She was clearly flushed. She nibbled her lower lip and closed her eyes. She stood like that for a few minutes, before she released a big breath and opened her eyes again.

Something had changed, he could see that. She stared at him, determined. The next second she had reversed their positions and was pinning him against the wall, kissing him senseless.

She pulled back, and put on a victorious grin.

"Stop teasing me, Ren, or I might have to kiss you again."

Ren was stunned. Had she decided? "You…"

"Yes," she smiled brilliantly at him, "I love you, Ren."

He returned her smile with his own. "I love you too, Kyouko." And he kissed her again, for good measure.

It had taken a while for Kyouko to take a leap of faith and leave behind her fears and doubts. Yes, she was still afraid that he would one day get bored of her and leave, yes she still doubted that she was as beautiful as he seemed to think she was, but she believed in him, she had chosen him, as he had chosen her.

Afterall, there was no one else she would trust more than her beloved senpai, her friend, and her dear fairy prince to start this journey. It was up to them to build their own happiness, day after day. There would be times when things would become rough, they would be annoyed with each other, and they may cry, but they would also laugh, forgive and savor each moment spent together. Wasn't that what love was all about?

The End

Epilogue

A man was walking down a street, simply enjoying the late afternoon sun. He let the wind whisper sweet nothings to his ears, his mind wandering from one thought to another, never really giving his full attention to anything. He looked at the beauty of the sky, and sadly smiled.

Not far from here, a young woman was sitting near a window, bored out of her mind. She wanted to get out, but her body wouldn't allow it. She had just woken for a two years coma, and was only starting to be able to walk. She looked with envy at the passersby, who could freely enjoy this very nice weather. Like this man, for example, who was looking at the sky with a sad smile.

She frowned. There was something about this guy… She suddenly got up, making her caretaker jump in surprise.

"Ryu…"

She hurriedly opened the window, under the scandalized cries of the woman that was looking after her. She fought when the woman tried to stop her from doing whatever she was planning to do.

"Ryu!"

The man stopped, and looked at her, no sign of recollection on his face.

The wind murmured softly in his ear, and his eyes widened.

"Eri?!"

"Ryu!"

"Miss, please, stop, you're going to fall out the window!"

The man ran to her, as the woman finally escaped from her caretaker's clutch, and fell from the second floor. Tears of joy were streaming down her face as she opened her arms towards him. He caught her, and they both fell on the grass, not unlike two years ago, when the man had been about to jump off a bridge.

"I missed you," he murmured, arms tightly wound around her.

"I missed you too," came the muffled answer.

The man looked at the sky, where he could swear he saw a flicker of light a few seconds ago.

'Thank you.' And then he proceeded to bury his hands in his lover's hair, and professed his love to her, over and over.

The fairy hovering above them smiled, and then disappeared in a myriad of iridescent lights, back to her timeless realm.

That's it folks! I'm finally done, hope you liked it. I'll be rewriting it, to correct all the mistakes I made, so if you feel like you could help me out with that, I'd love to have a beta going over the whole story with me.Please tell me what you thought, it's very important for me to know your opinion about this story.Bye!