This is very short and probably not that great. But there aren't very many Sukitte Ii Na Yo fic's and I really wish there were. And someone might actually like it.

This is kind of inspired by the episode of the anime where Megumi is outside of the convent store and Kai shows up.

This was meant to be a friendship fic but it can be read as a romantic one, depending on whatever you decide.

The whole plot of Sukitte Ii Na Yo hits hard with me, especially Mei. If anyone wants to hear more about it go to the bottom and there is more info. If not, no big deal. Feel free to read on.

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Used To Be

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Kitagawa Megumi?"

To be honest Megumi wasn't really in the mood to deal with people. The only person she wanted to have contact with was the guy behind the counter of the store. And the only reason why he was special was because she had to deal with someone when she purchased her items at checkout. The voice that said her name was soft and high. It was most likely just a fan girl, the same kind of fan girl that she saw everyday at school. Putting on a sweet smile Megumi turned around to greet whoever was there.

"Yes?"

Megumi was right. Standing there was a young girl, probably the same grade as herself, a shopping basket held in front of her with both hands. Over all the girl was a bit plain looking. Her clothing was old and obviously worn out. Her hair was a bit messy and she wasn't wearing any make up. Almost all girls their age wore make up when they were out, she though.

"….I'm sorry to bother….you…."

The girl didn't make eye contact. Instead she looked down and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Her mouth would open and close, making her look like a fish out of water. Megumi didn't know what could be so hard for the girl to say to her. Maybe the girl was just really shy, so Megumi just waited-a smile on her face. You wouldn't be able to tell how annoyed the model really was.

"My name is Miyu….Ito Miyu…."

"It's nice to meet you, Miyu-Chan."

Megumi smiled as wide as she could and took one hand away from her own shopping basket to hold out to the girl. Miya finally looked up and away from the floor and was now staring at the out stretched hand in front of her. Megumi took the look on the other's face as confusion and shock, and was starting to feel a little awkward holding her hand out and Miyu not taking it. The last thing Megumi wanted to deal with was a mentally unstable fan.

"….We went to elementary school together. You don't remember….me?"

Megumi's smile turned to a frown and she brought her hand back to hold the basket with both hands. Megumi wasn't sure what to say. The only person she kept in touch with from back then was Momo. She hadn't stayed in contact with anyone from her Middle School, either.

"….I bullied you. I was one of the girls who bullied you."

"A lot of girls bullied me."

Taking a deep breath in Megumi held it and looked down at the girl in front of her. She squinted her eyes and looked at Miyu's face, trying her best to remember it. After a few seconds Megumi gave up; she couldn't place the name or the face of the girl. And she really didn't care. Letting out the air in her lungs she shrugged and turned away.

"No, please! Don't leave yet!"

Megumi sighed and turned around again. She didn't want to deal with people at all today. And she really didn't want to deal with a crazy fan, either. But the kind of person she absolutely didn't want to deal with at all was someone from her past that had hurt her.

"Why not? What do you want?"

"I want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for bulling you! Please, forgive me!"

Seeing the tears in Miyu's eyes didn't make Megumi think twice about what she was going to say. Tears didn't matter, just like it didn't matter how sorry the girl was. It all didn't matter in the end. What was done back then can't be changed or forgotten now. It might be forgivable, but again, it didn't really matter. Did it?

"I don't care."

After those three words Megumi turned around again, this time walking away. She gets to the back of the store and turns, walking back up the next isle to the cashier behind the counter. Through the corner of her eye Megumi can see the other girl in the same place as when she walked away. After paying for her items she turned and walked towards the automatic sliding glass doors, walking pass a familiar school mate with shaved sides of his hair.

Once she is outside she is stopped by the boy, his hand locked on her elbow. She turns to see him, one eyebrow raised and what she thinks might be concern. Megumi yanks her arm away but before she can make a run for it Miyu has ran out of the small store. She's began to cry and does her best to wipe them away.

"The last year of Elementary School my Father left me and my Mother for another woman. During my second year of Middle School my Mother got sick and wasn't been able to work full time. I've been out of school ever since and been working full time and there still isn't enough money!"

"That has nothing to do with me."

"….Sometimes I feel so scared about it all. I feel so bad about everything that I cry, thinking that I'll feel better afterwards. I cry about how ugly my body, hair, and face is. How pathetic my life is. About how I treated you and how awful I was. I cry and cry about everything but I don't feel any better!"

By now Megumi is silent and Kai's face is priceless. Miyu has stopped wiping at her teary eyes. Megumi's elbow drops and falls to her side when Kai lets go, now looking back and forth between the two girls. His face even more confused and, Megumi guesses, concerned. Megumi can only hear her heart beat race and Miyu cry.

"Because nothing has changed."

All she can hear now is her own voice. She isn't sure if she is really speaking the words out loud or if she is just concentrating hard on her thoughts.

"You aren't happy with yourself. Your still the same person as you were when you started to cry….the you who wasn't happy with yourself.…I don't care about what happened in the past. Nothing will ever change if you hold onto such things like that. I know….I used to be like that. But I've gotten over it, so should you. It's not worth holding onto."

"….I….I'm-"

"It must have been a hard thing to do….apologizing face to face. I think it must be have been. And, not that it should matter, I forgive you."

Realizing that she had been speaking out loud Megumi decides she is done. There is nothing left to say. She thinks Miyu must feel the same way, she bows deep and walks away in the opposite direction. But only one annoyance is gone and now the other has attached himself to her again. Too tired to care about what kind of a face she is making she turns around and looks at Kai. She is clearly annoyed by him and he picks up on it.

"What are you looking at?"

"I'm not really sure."

Not happy with his answer at all Megumi finds enough strenght to yank her arm away again than turns to leave. She only gets a few feet away before she hears him walking. It's only a few seconds later before he is walking next to her.

"'Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.'" He smiles from next to her.

"Get that from a Bruce Lee movie, did ya?" She says and rolls her eyes, not even looking at him.

He only laughs. Megumi takes this as a yes to her question. His laugh stops and so does he. She isn't sure why but she turns around. Kai has a smile on his face and a hand in the air. She tells herself that she doesn't care and turns and starts to walk away. All she wants to do is go home and eat junk food and watch the sky change colors as the sun goes down.

"It was cool!" he shouts out to her. "What you did was really cool!"

Megumi doesn't stop to turn around or to wave good bye, she doesn't even consider glancing back to see if he is still waving at her. She only guesses that he went on his way. She has no proof that the smile on her face is from what he said.

But she doesn't stop smiling the rest of the walk home.

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This is also a bit inspired by what I would like to say to the girl I bullied.

When I was in Elementary School there was this girl that everyone teased. I teased her to fit in with the other girls-so I wouldn't be picked on. But I mean, the entire fucking school targeted her. It wasn't just people in our grade, the younger and older kids did it, too. We all picked on her and we had no reason to, we just picked someone and she was that person. But she kept coming to school, and she kept coming, ignoring everything. Eventually though it got to the point where she didn't want to and she started coming less and less.

We called her names, we didn't look at her in the face, we made up mean rumors about her; we treated her like she had no right to be alive. At the time I didn't think about how big of a deal it was, I didn't understand how cruel I was being. I know it's not a good excuse, but I was in 3ed grade. I just didn't get how bad it was. And now that I think about it I wish I could have been as strong as her. She was probably a really good person. If I would have not been such a follower, been too worried about what everyone else though-I bet she would have been my friend. She was a really nice person, I remember one time she bought me like a cake or a cookie or something like that on my birthday. And one time it was raining and she actually gave me her umbrella (we both walked home, my house was further away). And I still was a bitch to her.

Before the school year was over she tried to kill herself. She had taken pills and actually died for a few minutes. I only saw her one more time. She was in a car and her Older Brother came to get her stuff from school-what wasn't stolen anyways. I think her Parents were still immature, they partied a lot and didn't care. I think her Brother did though. But I've always felt so bad. And I should. I hope I feel bad about it for the rest of my life. I mean I was part of the reason why someone in the 3ed fucking grade tried to kill their self. I wish I could find her and tell her I'm so sorry for what I did. And I wish she wouldn't forgive me.

But I think she would, because that's the kind of person she was like. Unless she's changed of course. After that I started to get bullied. So I laugh and think it's okay, what goes around comes around; karma stuff. If I could talk to the girl I bullied I would tell her thank you. She taught me something about how life works and how people are. I would also like to tell her that she is an amazing person. But mostly I would like to say I'm sorry.