[Well, he's got her there. She has noticed, though she had brushed it off more as one of his little quirks, the friendly teasing, the lighthearted flirting. She never thought more of it because, well, he had been - and still was, in some ways, - just a child to her. Apparently he wasn't, anymore.

The look she gives him next is one vaguely of apology, but also one of seriousness. He wanted to be treated like a grown man, then she was going to treat him like one.]

Oh, Masaomi. You know that there's no one in this universe that I love more than you. [She holds his cheek gently, smiling fondly, a little sadly.] But I believe you might have confused those feelings a little. You are very dear to me, yes, and there is no one who understands me the way you do, but I'm afraid I do not feel for you the way you think you feel for me.