There’s no way you can defeat me, she thought with a smug on her face. But with each defeat and rematch, Taiyou-kun became better, her victories tighter and tighter, until…

“You’re the winner!” The TV said and the screen flashed the words while Tsukiko’ character lay dead on the floor, Taiyou-kun’ character swinging the adversary’s spine on the air.

The boy didn’t gloat or anything. He just turned to her, looking her with a weird glow in his eyes and I won written all over his face, despite showing the same calm expression.

“Again!” this time it was Tsukiko asked for another fight. She crossed her legs and leaned closer to the TV. It was her get serious pose.

“No,” he said in his low tone, but somehow it seemed determined and strong.

She almost dropped the controller, all the tension disappearing. “Why not?”

He stared the TV, avoiding her gaze. “I’m done with this game,” were his words.

“Why you brat…” Tsukiko dropped the controller and pinched his cheeks. “You’re gonna ‘retire’ just because you won once?” she pinched harder. “Quit while you’re ahead, huh?”

“No,” he looked away. She pinched a bit harder, trying to get the words out of him. “It’s…”

“What?” Tsukiko let him go and he rubbed the red cheeks immediately.

Taiyou-kun turned his head and Tsukiko did the same. The boy was staring the digital clock on her desk. It was almost 11 o’clock. We played this much… she thought… a second later she widened her eyes. The anime!

Tsukiko looked to the boy by her side, who scratched his cheeks. What should I do…? She was having a blast with him. Only when her friends slept over she had this much fun on a Sunday. But even on those days, she never missed her favorite show.

“There’s an…” he avoided her eyes, playing with his fingers a bit.

That face’s too cute, she though, giggling. I wouldn’t mind losing the anime one time to see more of this. I set to record it, anyway.

The boy took a deep breath. “There’s an anime I want to watch,” he said, his eyes fixed at the ground, his voice barely above a whisper.

Out of reflex, she poked his face. “Is that it? You don’t have to be so shy. Tell this big sister here what you wanna watch,” she said with a smug. Perhaps this’ll be mine only chance to be the mature one. Even if he wants to watch a kid show, I’ll watch with him.

He played with his fingers again, his cheeks a shade of pink, and not because she pinched them. “It’s… My Guardian Persona…” Taiyou-kun finally said.

Her mind was racing through the shows airing around this hour, but when the boy said the name, Tsukiko stopped poking him, and looked straight in his face. The next second, she smiled, and hugged him. “You watch it too?” she tried hiding her surprise, but the voice betrayed her.

Now it was his turn to be speechless. When Taiyou-kun understood what she meant, his face softened and a smile appeared on his lips. “Yes. Even though it’s for kids, I like it a lot since it’s about finding yourself,” he said, looking at her with those innocent and now sparkling eyes.

Tsukiko gulped. She liked it for the exact same reason. Although the characters seemed to have it all, they had their worries and many things Tsukiko could relate. But the best about the anime was that the characters tried their best to improve themselves and help those who needed, always making sure no one gave up on their dreams.

Ever since the first episode, Tsukiko became a fan, and bought everything related to the show and the manga. Hearing someone younger than her calling her favorite anime a kid’s show made her flush.

“You’re a kid yourself,” she said, laughing and ruffling his hair to hide her embarrassment.

Suddenly something popped in her head, and she gulped again. Should I show him? She considered for a while. Not even her closest friends knew. Actually, not even her senpai, whom she confided a lot, had the slightest idea Tsukiko did those kind of things. But I can show him, right? If it’s Taiyou-kun, he wouldn’t laugh, nor he’d make fun of me… He wouldn’t even judge me…

“Taiyou-kun… could you…” she hesitated, holding her own arm. He looked at her with his innocent face, and it was enough for her. “Could… you wait here for a moment?”

He was puzzled, but then nodded his head without asking. She left the room and after making sure the door was closed, Tsukiko went to her other room, the room where she kept the hidden part of her life.

That door looked like the others, with nothing indicating it was her room. It was mainly to pretend it belonged to her father. Because of that, Tsukiko’s friends never asked about it. She opened and quickly passed by the shelves containing her real manga and game collection, going for the dresser on the back wall. The skirt, top and accessory she wanted were buried under a pile of old clothes she barely used anymore.

I knew it’s embarrassing, Tsukiko thought after changing, but even so, I want to show him this. She picked up one of her pink lock of hair and tied it in a side ponytail with a heart accessory. While the main character had pink hair, Tsukiko was blond, but since her dye was already fading, the three pink locks were enough to look like the character.

If it were a contest, I’d lose right away, she thought, remembering the last time she wore this clothes. She had a pink wig, but still she came in third. Yuuno, a great cosplayer Tsukiko came to admire, won with her perfect cosplay.

Tsukiko breathed slowly, gathering her courage. Finally she walked out of the room and stood before her bedroom door. She almost knock on the door. “Taiyou-kun… I’m… I’m coming in,” she said in a faint voice.

Besides the contest, she had worn the cosplay in front of people before. It was in one of the maid café events. Apart from the staff and a few regulars she knew by face, everyone else were strangers who watched her intently and took many pictures of her. Somehow, dressing like this in front of someone she knew felt more embarrassing.

Taiyou-kun’ eyes widened and the next second he showed the biggest smile she’d seen from him. For the first time, he truly seemed like a kid his age. But that didn’t prevent her from blushing because of his shining eyes. Why are you looking at me like that? She wanted to say, but held her tongue.

“Could you…” He played his fingers and looked at the floor. “Make the pose…?” he asked, his face almost as red as her.

Tsukiko knew right away what he meant. She’d practiced for the contest, but even there and in the maid café, it was too much for her and she only made normal poses. She won the maid event even without it though.

“Please?” he said, raising his head, his innocent eyes shining even more.

Damn it! Too cute! She pressed his head down, making him look at the floor. “You’ll leave many girls in trouble with that face!”

When she stopped, he looked at her again with the same eyes. She gulped. Damn it! Tsukiko took a few steps back, raised her arms and formed a heart with her hands.

“Ne… negative heart… lock on…” She tried saying as she practiced many times, but it nowhere near that. It’s too embarrassing.

To Taiyou-kun, it wasn’t. Even if it was horrible, his eyes shone brighter and he clap his hands, making her blush even more.

“Stop that.” He did as she said, but kept looking at her with the innocent eyes. To make him stop staring her, she grabbed his shoulders and turned him around, making him face the TV. “The anime’s about to start!”

“Yes,” he said in the same low voice, but she could feel the happiness in him.

And for the first time, Tsukiko shared her secret and watched her favorite anime with a friend.