So then we come to the most important sentence in the world ^^ * Laugh *

~ VIII ~ I love you

"AKI!", Heiji waved to her as she came out of the house. It was February 14th, the day Akira moved back in with her brother as his cousin.
"You again?" Aki grumbled to himself: "I have nothing to say to you! You would like to be a man!"
"What a greeting ...", Heiji held his head: "I thought you were happy about my escort ..."
"I don't, you idiot! Why should I ... Hey, this is my bag!", Aki grabbed her bag, which Heiji had taken from her.
"I'll wear it for you, what else? Women shouldn't have to carry so heavily," said Heiji and ruffled Akira's hair: "Will you let it grow now? That would suit you better."
"Stop it! I'm not a dog!" Complained Akira and took a step faster.
The kimono she was wearing was one of Kagome's and hers a little too big. In addition, she wasn't used to walking in these women's kimonos, which meant that Aki almost stumbled.Heiji pulled her back to her feet by the arm: "Don't be too hasty, little one. Not that you get your kimono dirty."
"Why do you always have to annoy me?", Aki hissed at him and straightened the kimono: "I'm not related to you, or anything. I don't even like you! You're a ninja, a dishonorable, lying ninja, who did this to me ... "
"That was also Shinji's wish and apart from that, I'm only a man. Aki-chan, don't zick around so artificially, yes? After all, you like me and you would do nothing better than give me the chocolate, that you have in your hand ... "
"What? But it is ...", Akira thought feverishly, how did he know that again? "For my brother! It is also a good thing to give your brother something."
"Oh ... what a shame ... I was hoping that I can stay here ...", Heiji sighed and put Akira's bag in front of her parents' house.
"What do you mean?", Aki frowned: "You're leaving?"
"Well, why should I stay here if I have no reason.Shizun will be loved here and I have to go back to his brother. Maybe it's better ... So at least I don't have the problem of always having to see you ... ", Heiji shrugged his shoulders. He turned around and just wanted to leave.
"Hey!", Aki looked after him: "You're leaving me? I thought that you were serious when you said that you like me. You can't just let me sit!"
"Do I?", Heiji grinned back over his shoulder: "You didn't make me any chocolate ... That's why you don't like me ... And I was really happy ..."
Akira looked at the floor. It just boiled inside her. He always annoyed her and was just intrusive, but that was exactly what she liked about him ... She really had made him a blackboard, why didn't she give it to him now?
"Heiji ... why do you love me?"
"Why? I don't know ... I just find you too cute and that's why I love you.Why do you ask? ", he smiled at her:" Don't worry about me, I'll survive it ... It's the first time that I got a basket, but well, that's life ... "Heiji waved to her as he left once closed, but after taking his own steps he had to stop.
Akira followed him and clung to his back: "I want you to stay here!"
"Aki?", Heiji looked down at her and tried to turn around: "Did you take that from me? That I want to leave the province?"
"What? Yes, but ..."
"I wanted you to be honest with me, but you are so stubborn that I have to lure you out of the reserve. Little one, I really like you, but you have to meet me a little if this is to work out with us ", he put his hand on her head and put on a mild expression on his face:" What do you mean? Can you ignore the fact that I am his shinobi? I will never give up that ", Heiji Akira interrupted and looked deeply into her the eyes."Here!", Akira simply held out the bar of chocolate in response to him, which she had decorated with a lot of effort ... In the end it wasn't too nice, but it was better than nothing.
"You did?"
"Hm ...", Akira looked at the floor, was that embarrassing, then she felt a kiss on her cheek: "Do you want to marry me too?"
"What?", Aki stared at him: "YOU IDIOT!"
"That was a joke," grinned Heiji mischievously.
+ ~ * ~ +
"Kyoko?", Plogo went through the adjoining building, as the main house had not yet been rebuilt and looked for his daughter. He, good man, hadn't noticed much of the attack on his life. Shizun had simply told him a fat lie that he promptly believed.
"Where is she?" The feudal lord wondered and closed the door to Kyoko's room again.
"Is he gone?" Asked Shizun, who was hiding with Kyoko as if they were criminals.
"That's just my father! What was that supposed to mean?", Asked Kyoko, who was lying below him: "You are heavy, get off me!"Shizun had thrown himself on top of her and behind the bed, so that both of them could not be seen: "What? I'm not that heavy ..." He helped Kyoko up and sat down on her bed: "So what do you want from me? You asked me to come here after lunch. So there must be something important, right? "
"You have no manners, that has to change quickly. How do I stand there when my father announces our engagement and you act like a monkey ..." Kyoko said with a stern expression and sat down in her large armchair.
"My monkey is yet to come ..." Shizun thought.
"What?", Kyoko stared at him: "Your what?"
"My monkey. A really cute chimpanzee. His name is Ibiki and is still very young. I just couldn't bring him because I didn't want him to get used to it and you would say no in the end. You will like him," Shizun said: "But what do you mean? When your father announces it? Do you really want to marry me?"
"Well ...", Kyoko leaned back in her chair and put a grape in her mouth: "I noticed that I have no choice but to make you a man.Father doesn't say so, but if I refuse, we will surely fall soon. You also liked me ... Even if you still have to change 170 degrees. "
"Ten degrees and not a millimeter more, so I come towards you more than I actually want. Little one, it's you who depends on me, not the other way around. I'm the way I am and I'll take you that way too, the way you are. Bitchy and strange, "Shizun shook his head. That was the last thing he would think of to change about Kyoko. Who was he that he had to do something like that to himself? She certainly wouldn't really want it either, because then he would no longer be himself.
"Hm ... What if I don't want you anymore?"
"Then you don't want me, you want someone who doesn't exist."
"Okay, I understand, so you don't give in ...", Kyoko sat up in her armchair and thought for a moment. Her father would surely be more than pleased and she had already got a foretaste in the form of a night of how it could be with him.In the last few weeks, in which he lived in the palace and he was close to her, her reservations had dissipated in favor, all that was missing was a definitive yes from her and Plogo would officially announce the engagement: "How big is your fortune? "
"My fortune?", Shizun grinned at her eagerly: "So that's what it's about you, my gold, my silver and my jewels, lands and so on ... You won't be disappointed, believe me, but if that's why you want me, I'm yourself really offended. It depends on the people and not on their possessions. "
"This marriage is supposed to secure the existence of my homeland", Kyoko swallowed. Again he had that spellbinding twinkle in his eyes that made her just answer him without her wanting to and so she had to quickly come up with a reasonably passable excuse.
"Your father has already explored that enough," Shizun got up, went to Kyoko and propped himself up with both hands on the arm of her chair: "You spoiled.little thing, do you think I'll lay everything at your feet that I have? I have to take care of your province and also of the lands that belong to me. There's still something left, how much I won't tell you, but it will have to be enough for you. Your standard of living will not be affected. "
Kyoko looked up at him, he was quite close to her: "If that is the case, my prince, then I will give in to your outdoors and become your wife to the delight of my father."
"Oh, are you doing that?", Shizun refrained from laughing: "Don't talk so swollen, Kyoko, it makes me feel like an old man."
"Isn't that you?", Kyoko sneered cheekily and sighed: "Here, this is for you ... It's Valentine's Day after all ..."
"Chocolate?", Shizun took off her heart and took a bite: "Did you make that? It's quite passable ..."
"Quite passable?", Kyoko swallowed, she had expected more than this stupid word.
"Yes ... here, try your work!", Shizun broke off a piece and put it in his own mouth."How now ...? I should ...?", Kyoko stared at him, then she took heart and kissed him to poke the chocolate between his lips, but she couldn't get away from him.
+ ~ * ~ +
Night had fallen and the sun was still sending out its last rays.
Kagome had hesitated to give Shinji her chocolate until the last moment, because she just couldn't bring herself to tell him. Her panel was a square one she had ascribed with an incredibly long text that began something like this: Well, it's not what it looks like, or is it, um no ... so I don't know ...
"Inu Kami ...", Kagome had borrowed Shinji's husky and went for a walk with him, now they were on their way back, at the edge of the forest, between the palace and their house and therefore also near Shinji's home: "I've got something here for you! ", beamed Kagome Inu Kami and knelt down to him.
The husky looked at her questioningly as she tied a red bandana around him, then barked happily."Do you like it? I did that for you so that you don't always end up empty-handed, but you have to do me a favor for that," said Kagome and patted the confused-looking Inu Kami on the head: "So listen, I have here something for your master. Are you so dear and bring it to him? "
"Rough!" Said the husky, wagging his tail.
"Thank you, Inu!", Kagome was happy and tied the bar of chocolate to Inu Kami on a red velvet ribbon around her neck: "So and