One day in Kenjiro's house around 11 AM, the telephone rang. Ema picked it up and answered while brushing her hair.
"Kenjiro's house..." Ema answered.
"Ohayō gozaimasu, Ema-chan," the caller greeted.
"Oh hey, Yukiko," Ema replied. "How are you?"
"Genki desu, arigato!" Yukiko responded. "Kōmen, Ema-chan, but I need to ask you for something."
"What is it?" She asked.
Yukiko paused, then responded:
"You see... I love someone, but I–"
"Abodo, isn't he?" Ema asked, unimpressed.
"H-Hai," she answered, blushing.
"Silly, I already know you are engaged," Ema said. "It's totally normal and even beautiful to love your future husband, so don't hide anything."
"A-Arigato," Yukiko replied, blushing with a smile. "I love Taro, but I feel like I'm not providing enough care toward him."
"How's that?" Ema asked.
After a few seconds, Yukiko explained, coughing:
"He's responsible for cooking, he cleans the house, he buys the groceries, and even went to the pharmacy yesterday when I had a fever."
"All of this and he still works?" Ema asked, surprised. "Are you alright now?"
"Daijobou, I feel well now," Yukiko responded. "He's free today, and has not woken up yet."
"So, you want to do something... like payback?" Ema asked.
"Sō desu ne," she answered.
Ema thought for a while, two fingers on her forehead. Then, she said:
"Well, Yukiko, no need to doubt yourself. That's how Abodo acts with everyone. He's helpful and cares about everyone."
"Hai, demo... I also want to make him love me more," she added.
"I don't know... maybe you can try something like... staring at him?" Ema suggested.
"Staring?" She repeated, confused.
"Yeah, the glare can mean you can't stop thinking about him... or something," Ema explained, feeling a little awkward.
"Naruhodo... arigato, Ema-chan!" Yukiko replied.
"Good luck, sweetie, remember to call back and share the results!" Ema cheered, closing the line.
A few minutes later, Taro woke up and went to the living room, seeing Yukiko.
"Ohayō, Yukiko!" He waved. "How are you feeling today?"
"I'm feeling well, arigato," she responded.
"That's a relief," he replied. "Take care of yourself. I'll prepare breakfast."
After he entered the kitchen, Yukiko whispered to herself:
"You can do this, Yukiko! Ganbatte!"
Yukiko followed him toward the kitchen, doing nothing but staring firmly. He noticed her a few seconds later, asking:
"What's the matter, Yukiko? You need something?"
"Nani mo nai," she responded, keeping the same stare.
"Okaaay..." Taro replied, confused.
After he finished, he put the dishes and spoons on the table, and she kept the same stare. While eating, he noticed she didn't even blink since she sat, not eating anything.
"You better eat before it gets colder," he said.
She grabbed the spoon and began eating while staring at him.
"Is there something on my face? Because you are acting... different," he asked.
"No, everything is alright," she answered with a serious tone.
Then, he continued eating, feeling a little nervous.
Back at Kenjiro's house, the telephone rang again.
"Kenjiro's house...!" Ema answered.
"That's me, Ema-chan," Yukiko responded. "I don't think staring worked."
"Well, it's a little random," she replied. "How about... calling him with affectionate names?"
"Affectionate names?" Yukiko repeated again.
"Right, keep calling him with sweet names, like love, honey, or anything," Ema explained. "I heard a lot of couples do this together!"
"Demo... we're not married yet," Yukiko said.
"Married or not, they still call each other with that," Ema replied. "Try it!"
After Yukiko closed the line, she headed to the kitchen where he washed the dishes.
"How are you doing... honey~?" Yukiko asked with a playful, quiet tone.
"I'm all good, Yu... h-honey?!" He exclaimed, blushing.
"Hai, don't you like me... darling~?" She asked, getting closer.
"I... I do, but why are you calling me that?" He asked, confused.
"Nothing special," she responded. "Variation can be better, right... sweetheart~?"
"Y-Yeah, but we're not–" He began.
"Ara, let me help you wash... baby~!" She said, approaching closer to his ear.
"N-N-No need to!" He exclaimed, blushing intensely. "I'm... almost done!"
"Naruhodo, call me if you're in need... sunshine~!" She replied, smiling innocently.
"T-Thanks..." Taro whispered, blushing more.
She headed to the telephone, starting to blush intensely.
Someone... kill me, she thought.
After that, she called Ema again.
"Ema-chan, that... didn't work well," Yukiko said, blushing.
"Yeah, Taro is a super shy person in the end," she replied. "What about... wearing something he likes you to wear?"
"Like what?" Yukiko asked.
"I... personally don't know," Ema answered. "Sorry, Yukiko, I have to help my mother. Figure that by yourself."
Yukiko sat on the couch, thinking of a custom to wear. A couple of minutes later, Taro went to the door, saying:
"I'll go buy some vegetables, Yukiko. I'll be right back."
After a few minutes, she turned on the TV out of boredom. While switching between channels, she stopped at a woman wearing an attractive maid dress. Yukiko remembered that she had a maid dress long ago, yet it was not attractive. Instantly, she used her {Equip Spell}.
Two hours later, Taro returned with the groceries.
"I'm back," he said. "Sorry for returning lately, the line was–"
He stopped talking, froze in shock the moment he saw Yukiko in front of him with the maid dress.
"Okaerinasai, Taro-sama," Yukiko greeted. "How do I look?"
"W-W-W-W-W-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh..." Taro struggled, his head turned completely red.
"Do you love it? Do I look cute?" She asked curiously, approaching.
Instantly, she bowed down, saying while winking:
"Be gentle, Taro-sama! Nya~!"
Taro struggled for a few seconds until he collapsed downward onto the ground.
"T-TARO?! DAIJOBOU KA YO?!" She shouted.
Returning to her call with Ema, Ema asked, unimpressed:
"It failed, right?"
"H-Hai... it was terrible," Yukiko whispered, broken.
"What did you wear?" Ema asked.
"M-Maid dress... sniff..." Yukiko answered.
"Did you say something... unusual?" She asked.
"Be gentle, Taro-sama," she admitted, ashamed.
"Yeah... this is wild, especially for someone like Abodo," Ema added. "It's not a big deal since you are engaged already... I guess..."
"Ema-chan... sniff, I think Taro hates me now," she replied.
"Don't say that, Yuki, it's just a misunderstanding," Ema comforted. "Maybe you can just show how you love him by doing, instead of words."
"Arigato, that's better," she thanked.
When Taro returned from washing his face in the bathroom, he went downstairs toward the kitchen.
"D-Daijobou, Taro?" Yukiko asked, worried.
"I'm alright, Yukiko," he responded quietly, smiling faintly. "It was just... surprising..."
"Kōmen, I didn't know that would happen," she apologized.
"No worries, it was nothing," he replied. "I'll go wash the vegetables."
She stopped him instantly, exclaiming:
"N-NO! Let me handle it all! Just sit down and relax!"
"Alright... but–" Taro began.
"No buts! Let me do it!" She interrupted, pushing him toward the couch.
"A-Alright... thanks," he replied, confused.
A couple of minutes later, she finished washing.
"Done!" She said.
"Great job, thanks again," he replied, smiling. "I'll go to the supermarket and–"
"I'll come with you!" She interrupted.
"Y-Yukiko, that's not necessary," he replied, surprised.
"I insist! Let me help you!" She refused.
"Sigh... fine..." Taro accepted, blushing.
When they arrived, they saw Mia there.
"Hey there, Taro," she greeted. "Who's that beautiful girl?"
"YukikoHiroshi, my fiancée," Taro answered, showing the ring.
"Wow! You didn't tell me you're engaged!" She reacted.
"Yeah, I wanted to leave marriage as a surprise," he replied, smiling.
"Ne, who is she?" Yukiko whispered.
"Her name is Mia, Jack's wife... and the second co-worker here," he responded.
"Naruhodo, demo how old is she?!" She asked firmly.
"Relax, she is around twenty-six," he responded calmly. "She was like an older sister to me."
"Souka... kōmen," Yukiko replied.
Minutes later, they headed home, carrying a bunch of shopping bags. Suddenly, they heard a portal downtown.
"A portal! We have to–" Taro began.
"Leave it to me!" Yukiko interrupted, using her {Equip Spell}. "You return first, and let me handle them."
She gave him the bags and rushed toward the portal.
Yukiko... Taro thought.
When she arrived, she found two panthers with different colors. One of them was red, and the other was blue. The moment the red one noticed Yukiko, it rushed into her. She dodged and used {Sakura Rope}. Before she could bind it, the blue one tore it into pieces with massive speed.
"Sonaa! How could it...?" She gasped.
Before she could continue, the blue panther went behind her with massive speed. She managed to stop its claws with her katanas. However, suddenly, the panther burst with a powerful shockwave that knocked Yukiko backwards. She stood again on her own, unleashing a bigger rope.
She managed to bind it, however, the other panther rushed toward her with another massive speed. She stopped the rope and used her blades to block. Then, she jumped backwards before it burst like the other. After that, the red panther tore the rope and stood beside the blue one, locking their glares into her.
"They are too powerful together," Yukiko whispered. "It's too difficult to stop both of them with such speed."
The two panthers merged together into one like a magnet, then jumped onto her. However, several layers of shields appeared in front of Yukiko. The panthers managed to destroy some and jumped backwards before reaching her.
Taro joined her, standing along:
"Why are you here, Taro?" Yukiko asked.
"I left the bags in the supermarket," he responded. "Can I have the Azure Blade?"
She used her {Equip Spell}, giving him his sword.
"Sate... let's do it together!" He said, winking.
The moment the two panthers disunited, Taro dashed toward the blue panther, while Yukiko into the red one. The blue panther tried biting him, yet he stopped it with his {Azure Shield} within his sleeves. Instantly, he kicked it away and unleashed several {Azure Slashes} into it.
Meanwhile with Yukiko, the red one kept blasting red shockwaves, yet she kept deflecting it away with her dual katanas. After that, she stabbed the panther in the chest with both katanas.
Later, Taro noticed the portal was still open.
"Yukiko, can you heal them again?"
"Nandi? Aren't they dangerous?" Yukiko asked.
"Maybe, but since the portal is still active, I prefer returning them to where they belong," he explained.
After Yukiko healed the panthers, Taro let them return to their realms. After a few minutes, the portal was closed.
"These two were like twins," Taro said suddenly. "They combined into one and assisted each other."
"You saw that?" Yukiko asked.
"Yeah, on my way," he responded, smiling. "Despite being beasts, they cared about each other, just like you and me."
On their way back, Yukiko was silent for minutes, then said:
"Sorry for what happened today, Taro."
"Huh? What happened to apologize?" He asked, surprised.
"You know... my outfit, my weird talking... and how I'm disturbing you," she answered honestly.
He paused for a few seconds, then replied with a calm laugh:
"You are not disturbing at all, Yukiko. I'm glad, because I can always see you beside me. Every moment I spend with you... is something special I keep as a beautiful memory."
Yukiko remained silent from shyness. Then, he continued:
"Besides, I already know what you were doing all along."
"You knew?!" She repeated, shocked.
"Right, I heard you speaking with Ema," he responded. "I noticed how you pushed yourself harder to show how you care about me."
"H-Hai, I wanted to show... how I love you," she replied.
He blushed while keeping the same smile, saying:
"Well, there's no need anymore. You proved already long ago, and proved today from your heart."
Then, he added while blushing and looking the other way:
"About that dress... you looked cute with it, and still beautiful without it."
Yukiko blushed massively, until she sneezed.
"Sniff... arigato," she replied, wiping her nose.
"We better hurry back for your medicine," he said, handing a tissue.
"Taro... this is the second best day of my life," she added suddenly.
"Second?" He repeated.
"Hai, the first was the day we engaged," she responded.
He paused, then replied:
"In that case, this is the best third day. The second was the day we engaged. Without considering the upcoming marriage, the best was the first day we met. Or else, I would never know my Yukiko."
After she heard those words, she held his hand, smiling and blushing.
"Huh? Is there something?" He asked.
"N-No, just... let me hold your hand," she responded.
Then, they continued their walking...
...holding their hands tightly!