Nishikata just stared at her, feeling more defeated than ever before. 'I ... lost?'

"I have to say though, I didn't think you could actually come that close." She eased up a little and her smile softened and became a little more genuine. "You really have changed."

"I still lost." He said before letting go of her shoulders and backing up slightly. 'Damn, why did I hesitate?'

"Still, I'm going to have to try harder to tease you now."

Takagi began to turn away as Nishikata felt the full weight of his failure. 'She looks so sad ... why couldn't I do it?' Another thought occurred to him that made his eyes go wide. 'Wait, why can't I still do it? The contest is over but ... I can still confess ... I'm going to regret this as soon as I realize how embarrassing it is ... I better hurry then' "Takagi?"

She paused, then turned back to him. "What is it?"

'I can do this.' Nishikata thought to himself as his heart pounded against his chest. 'I CAN DO THIS!' He quickly wiped the sweat from his palms onto his shirt and took one final breath and closed his eyes.

"Nishi-" Takagi was cut off as Nishikata wrapped his arms around the small of her back as he pulled her close, pressing his lips against hers. He instantly felt a surge of electricity rush through his whole body as his heart began pounding even harder than before. He felt a sense of bliss and accomplishment, but there was also something else, something off.

Nishikata quickly opened his eyes to see Takagi's eyes were still wide open. He quickly let go and jumped back and saw Takagi look almost horrified as she quickly stepped back while covering her mouth and nose with both her hands. 'Shit, did I misread this? Damn it, have I ever read her correctly?' He back up in shock, his feeling of joy and accomplishment replaced by compleat despair. "I ..." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry." He ran off into the crowd, leaving Takagi alone. 'Damn it, why did I do that? I shouldn't have risked it! I shoulnd't have been so stupid!'

Meanwhile, Takagi was only now overcoming the shock and began to process what had just happened. "Wait ... oh no, what have I done?"

"Seriously?!" Came a voice from behind her as someone began to push her forward. "The boy you've been into for a few years kisses you and you just stand there like an idiot? You're supposed to be more confident than that!"

"Sumire?" She asked. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough."

"Have you been spying on us?"

"Is now really the time?"

Takagi sighed and shook her head. "Yeah ... I need to find him."

She began working her way through the crowd in the direction he ran off in, as Sumire stood there and smiled. "I can't believe she froze up like that in front of Nishikata." She turned around and began making her way back to the main group. "Not sure what he'll be happier about, that she loves him, or that he got to see her totally caught off guard."

Meanwhile, Takagi was desperately looking for her lost crush, squeezing her way through the crowd, hoping to catch sight of him. 'Where could you have gone Nishikata?' She stopped and placed a hand on her chin. 'Let's think about this, he's panicking and surprised me, but he's still Nishikata, so I should be able to figure this out. He's not going to stay in this crowd, he's going to go somewhere he can be alone. But he's not going to leave completely because his other friends are still here That means he has to be somewhere outside the main area. I think I might have a good idea where to start looking.'

Meanwhile, Nishikata was sitting against a wall outside the main area with his arms crossed over his knees. "It's not like ... I really expected much else." He buried his head in his arms and closed his eyes. "I guess I lose again ... just like always."

"You don't always lose." Came a voice from right in front of him. He looked up to see Takagi standing there with her hands behind her back. "You have a few wins."

"Oh, hey Takagi." He said weakly as he pushed his way to his feet.

"Hey, Nishikata." She began. "You ... ran off."

"Yeah ... I did." He looked away as his face began to turn red. "Hey, is it possible ... that we could ... forget that whole ... kiss thing ever happened?"

She tilted her head and looked at him curiously. "I ... can't really forget about my first kiss that easily, especially when it hasn't even been five minutes."

Nishikata let out a sigh. "I was afraid of that."

"Besides." She leaned closer to him. "Even if I did forget about my first kiss, how am I supposed to forget about the second one?"

"Huh?" Nishikata began as he looked at her. "What second one?"

She placed a hand on his shoulder before wrapping both her arms around the back of his neck and pulling him closer. "This one." She pressed her lips to his, causing Nishikata's mind to start running at a million miles per hour.

'What the heck? I thought I read that wrong. Wait, does that mean she was just surprised? Did I actually surprise Takagi? She's still kissing me!'

She separated from him ever so slightly and looked at him annoyed. "Stop thinking so much and just kiss me."

Nishikata was surprise at first, but quickly overcame it as he wrapped his arms around the small of her back as they pressed their lips against one another. At first, it was small, the two of them gently pressing against one another, but soon they began to hold each other tighter, and the kiss grew in intensity and passion.

After a few more moments, the two of them quickly separated as they both began gasping for air. "Wow." Nishikata said between breaths. "That was ... wow."

"It was definitely better than I expected." She replied. She placed her head under his chin and closed her eyes. "This was well worth the wait."

"Yeah, you can say that again."

She rested her head on his chest as he placed a hand on her back. "Nishikata?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't assume this means I'm going to stop teasing you."

He smiled and placed a hand on her head. "Well, don't assume this means I'm going to stop trying to get back at you."

"You can try."