Galaxia grabbed Hitomi by the shoulder, saying in surprise, "Whoa, whoa! Calm down a bit. He might be sleeping… or maybe he doesn't want to see you."
Hitomi lowered her hand, turned her back, crossed her arms, and said, "If you want, climb up from there." She pointed to a small foothold on a rock that led to the upper floor, where Aether's room was. "Go check if he's okay. Don't beat him up, okay? Give him something to remind him you're near him."
Galaxia raised her right hand, turning and saying towards Hitomi, "This is simply pre-" but before she could finish, Hitomi, full of courage, had sprouted wings and started climbing.
Galaxia, shocked, shouted, "Be careful… What are you? A goat with wings?..." And then she saw the red ribbon Hitomi had in her hair fluttering. "Hey, Hitomi!" she shouted, but Hitomi had already climbed onto the roof, just before entering Aether's room.
Galaxia told her from below, "Listen, Hitomi, cut a bit of the ribbon you have in your hair and tie it around his wrist."
Hitomi thought for a moment and decided it wasn't a bad idea. So, she rushed into the room.
The window was open. She saw him sleeping with the book open on his head. He hadn't realized a thing. She quickly walked towards his bed, looked at him with a self-satisfied expression, and started poking him in the stomach, until she heard from his mouth: "Mmm, you smell so nice today, Hitomi. Hehe, you're sweet. Maybe I should eat you?"
She widened her eyes, but also blushed. She hit him quite hard in the stomach, and Aether jumped out of bed. The book flew into the air. He saw Hitomi and shrieked in fear, telling her, "How did you get in here? We have doors, you know!"
Hitomi just laughed. "Good morning, Aether! First, you should have opened the door. Second, you shouldn't have left the window open. And third, since you weren't answering us, what was I supposed to do?"
Aether was stunned. He tried to fix his hair and clothes. "Fine, what are you to break in through the window? A winged goat?" he said.
Hitomi decided it was time. While Aether was talking to her and picking up the book, she took a small paper-cutting knife that was on his desk and turned toward him. When Aether saw it, he put the book in front of his chest, saying in a panic, "Whoa, wait a minute, let's talk about this! You're not a winged goat, you're a winged angel! I'll open the door next time, honest!"
She looked at him with amusement, untied her hair, took off her ribbon, and cut it in half. Aether saw her in the light of the midday sun streaming into the room. Her blonde-red hair was shining, and he felt his heart beating fast. Suddenly, the book became quite heavy, and his left hand clenched it tightly. As soon as her scent reached him, his left hand simply dropped, while his right hand held his chest.
Hitomi, full of unexpected tenderness, approached him and tied the ribbon around his hand. "I'll be there for you, through this ribbon. Remember that! I'll tie it here, on your left hand, so you can see it and remember." She tied it, took a step back, smiled, and tied her hair again.
Aether was flushed red, unable to speak. He thought, "How wonderful is this warmth of the ribbon on my skin, what a lovely vanilla scent, this promise is like a dream." Hitomi turned her back, playing with her hair, and as she was leaving through his window, she told him that "we'll be outside, if he wants to come out too…" and left.
Aether, on the other hand, was frozen and whispered, "What was that? Was my dream not a dream after all? Did I kiss her? She was so charming today... Oh, what has come over me!"
When Galaxia saw Hitomi climb down, she asked, "Mmm, how did it go?" Hitomi lifted her head, bright red, saying, "Do you think my ribbon is enough?" Galaxia put her finger on her chin. "Mmm, yes… he's a boy after all, it's something sweet and it smells like you."
Hitomi lowered her head and started giving Galaxia light punches on the shoulder. Galaxia started laughing, saying, "Oh wow, come on, my good tomato soup with eyes. Let's go for a walk!"
Thus, the two of them became bonded in a way no one would forget. From then on, Aether began to be more lively with the girls and spent more time with them.