Yume

"Wife?" Saya asked in surprise.

"Yume! I already told you that I don't remember you, and I doubt that I ever agreed to marry you," he said somewhat irritated.

The girl was taken aback.

"You... You don't remember our promise?" the girl asked to be sure.

"I have no idea who you are," he replied as coldly as possible, channeling his anger at her.

Yume fell silent and held back tears. Neo took the opportunity to grab Saya's hand and leave as quickly as possible.

"Eventually, you will remember and come back to me," Yume said hopefully and watched them go.

Not far away, they found a diner that caught their attention, maybe because of its size.

"What do you think about getting something to eat here?" Neo suggested.

"Sounds really good," Saya agreed.

"About Yume, sorry Saya, that girl has been hounding me since the cooking festival, claiming we're married. But I swear I know nothing about it."

"It's okay, I trust you."

Neo breathed a sigh of relief and opened the large restaurant door, revealing a beautiful place with two floors and numerous windows overlooking the city. There were so many places to choose from that they couldn't decide. Neo chose a seat upstairs near the window, where he could see the whole city - two things he loved. They sat facing each other.

"May I take your order?" Neo was distracted and didn't notice a girl with dark red hair and a waitress uniform standing next to him, waiting. When he looked at her, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Neo?! What are you doing here?" the girl asked.

"Do I know you? You're not going to tell me you're my wife too, are you?" Neo said, tired of his recent interactions.

"No, no. I'm Melody. Your girlfriend."

"Melody..." Saya said, annoyed.

"And do I know you?" Melody asked curiously.

"You have forgotten me, but you remember Neo, what a surprise. How do you know him?" Saya said annoyed.

The girl was surprised by her reaction.

"I'm his friend, we've known each other since childhood. I used to take classes from his mother."

"And you don't remember me?" Saya asked annoyed.

Melody felt a little guilty, thinking she was causing problems.

"I was just kidding, relax," Saya said with a light laugh.

Neo and Melody looked at her to make sure everything was okay. There was silence for a while.

"Anyway, what would you like to order?" Melody asked, breaking the tension completely and going back to work.

"CHEESE BURGER," Neo ordered excitedly.

"Something to drink?"

"A soda, guarana."

"And for you?" Melody asked, turning to Saya.

"An salad burger and a coke, that's fine."

"Alright, I'll bring it to you." She smiled.

Melody went to bring their order and left them alone. Strangely, Neo didn't know what to say; Saya seemed different - quiet and distant, looking out of the window. A silence hung in the air for a long time, making him increasingly nervous.

"Neo?" Saya called, breaking the ice.

"Yes?" he answered.

"What are we?"

"What do you mean?" Neo asked, not understanding.

Saya blushed deeply and nervously tried to answer his question. She tried to explain:

"You know... You don't know Yume... Melody is your childhood friend... And me?"

Neo finally understood what she was getting at and felt quite embarrassed because he didn't know how to react. He liked her a lot, so it didn't seem right to say that they were just friends, especially since he wanted more than that.

"We? Uh... We are... You and me..." he stammered.

Melody returned with her orders, breaking the tension.

"Here's your salad burger, miss, along with your coke."

"Yay!" she cheered.

"And for you, Neo, your cheese burger with guarana," she said as she placed it on the table.

The boy's eyes, however, noticed a small folded piece of paper next to the sandwich. He looked at Melody with a questioning look, and she responded with a look that said, "Grab it quickly and hide it. He acted quickly before Saya could see, took the paper and hid it in his pocket, while Melody sighed with relief at having been understood.

The two ate and enjoyed their meal, discussing the week's lessons and the movie they had seen, completely forgetting what had happened just moments before.

It was getting late when they decided to leave. They went to the counter to pay the bill together.

"Don't forget to check this for me, Neo," Melody asked kindly.

The boy was curious to see what he had received, but with the girl of his dreams in front of him, he couldn't ruin it. He decided to read it later.

"I won't forget," he assured himself before leaving.

Night had fallen and the sky was full of stars. The moon stood out among them, illuminating the dark, empty streets of Claws.

Neo decided to accompany Saya home to make sure nothing bad happened, as his friends had suggested. It didn't take them long to reach their destination and prepare to say goodbye.

"Well, we finally arrived," Neo said.

"Yes."

The two looked at each other and recalled how their day had gone.

"Thanks for today, Neo! I had so much fun," Saya thanked him, smiling.

Her smile was so beautiful, and she was so close to him, that he began to drift off. The moonlight made Saya look like a fairy. Neo was paralyzed as his body began to show signs of nervousness - trembling, sweaty and cold hands.

Before Neo could think of anything, Saya moved closer, her soft, warm hands touching his face - it was comforting. She was very red and seemed nervous, and she was so close that he could feel her breath.

"I'm not going to lose to Yume or Melody," Saya said determinedly.

And then her lips met his, warming his heart.