A/N: So, the first part is also cross-posted in my UtaPri one-shot series Hearts Intertwined as the fourth one-shot "Sacrifice," but the second part (which turns this story into ReiAi) isn't. This is based off a prompt I found on tumblr. The prompt will be posted at the bottom of the second part so you aren't spoiled ;)
Enjoy~ More notes will come at the bottom of the second part.
Disclaimer: I do not own Uta no Prince-sama or the plot, just what I wrote. I also do not own the cover, I think the original source was featherblessings on tumblr.
~~Bittersweet~~
by Crystalized Flowers
Part One
"Aine! Look!" At their elementary school festival, Reiji points to a crowded booth where a mysterious woman smiled underneath her veil. "Why is everyone gathering there? Let's go check it out!"
"Reiji, wai-" The cyan haired boy tries to protest, but he is eventually dragged over to the fortune-teller by his cheerful brunette best friend. The two children join the crowd, Reiji standing on his tip-toes to peer over the taller kids, and Aine narrowing his eyes at the woman. With her lilac veil and her strange goldenrod eyes, she was simply suspicious. Her kind smile seemed to be deceptive and her coral hair is tied back.
"Who is she?" he mutters underneath his breath.
"You don't know?" He turns to glance at the small red-headed girl standing next to the booth, holding a basket filled with an assortment of potions. Her crimson eyes blink at him innocently as she tilts her head to the side, allowing some of her wavy red hair to fall across her face. "Haruka-nee is a well known witch. She can cure diseases, tell futures, remove curses, and perform magic." The girl smiles. "She's amazing."
Just as he opens his mouth to answer the girl, the woman - Haruka, it seems - finishes up with her booth. "Sorry, dears, but I have to go. I have to move on to the next town. Maybe next time." She adds to some young children who were whining about getting their fortunes told. "Let's go, Tomo-chan." She places her crystal ball in the girl's basket and begins walking away.
"A-ah! Coming, nee-san!" The girl struggles slightly with the heavy basket as she hurries after Haruka. Reiji's natural kindness causes him to swoop in and take the basket from her, surprising Aine.
"Let me help!" He winks at her, running off after Haruka.
"Ah, thank you!" The girl follows after him, Aine not far behind. Geez, what a troublesome best friend he had to look after.
By the time they reached the school gates, Haruka was already waiting there, unsurprised to see the two boys carrying the basket together, Tomo standing close to them. She smiles softly, kneeling down to the children's level. "Thank you, darlings. As thanks, would you like for me to tell your fortunes?"
Aine is still wary, but Reiji lets out an excited "Yes!".
Seeing Aine's hesitation, Haruka chuckles and takes his hand first, catching him off guard. He blinks at her with his large cyan eyes as she closes hers, concentrating for a moment before standing up. "Kisaragi Aine, right?" He gasps in surprise as she speaks his name. "Your future is a difficult one. Faced with a fork in your path, you'll have to choose. Would you rather make the one you love happy or save yourself? The choice is yours but it'll decide your entire future." She smiles mysteriously.
Aine understood nothing of what she just said.
He doesn't have a chance to reply because she then turns to Reiji, taking his outstretched hand. She has barely closed her eyes before they shoot open again, and she gasps, though her face doesn't betray her emotions. Her voice, however, shakes.
"Kotobuki Reiji... A devil out there has something against you. Your life will be a short one, cursed with death. Though short, it has a chance of being happy as long as you live it to the fullest. Your chances of surviving are slim, but not impossible given the right situation." She shakes her head gravely as she stands up, both boys gaping at her dark words.
"I'm sorry, my child. I wish you luck." With that, Haruka disappears through the gates, Tomo on her heels.
Aine and Reiji stand there shell-shocked, watching as she leaves. As Haruka and Tomo disappear around the corner, Aine's attention is caught by a sudden thud, and the unconscious body of his friend on the ground as he turns around.
"Reiji!"
...
Reiji often fainted at random times and was prone to getting injured or heart attacks. He was lucky so far that none of his situations had been fatal, but as he grew older, they became worse and worse.
The problem was, the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him.
Aine was the only one who knew. It had something to do with what the witch Haruka had told them years ago. It was a memory that Reiji had forgotten, but Aine remembered.
He bites his lip harshly before pushing open the door to Reiji's hospital room.
The brunette lies on the bed, wrapped in a body cast and in a coma from the accident he had gotten into recently. It was unnatural how prone to harmful situations Reiji was. If he played soccer, he always seemed to get hit in the head by the ball on accident. If he was reading in the library, shelves of books seemed to tumble down on to him. It was unnatural.
It was supernatural.
It must have been the curse of the devil that Haruka mentioned.
It frustrates Aine to no end about how he had no way to help his friend... no, his crush.
They had known each other since elementary school, and had stuck together ever since. Now in Saotome Academy together, Aine realized that he had developed feelings for his best friend over the years. He would confess but...
He didn't want to ruin their friendship, their short and soon to fade friendship when Reiji's curse finally caught up to him.
Tears sparkling in his eyes, he turns and races out of the room.
...
It's been three years since he had last spoke to Reiji. Ten since they met her. Aine muses over that fact as he stands on the beach, watching the sun fade beyond the horizon.
It wasn't that he didn't want to. But... Reiji had never woken up from his coma.
The doctors were giving up on him. His family was ready to take him off life support.
The nineteen year old alumni of Saotome Academy lowers his eyes to gaze at the sand. But he wasn't ready to let his first love go.
"Are you ready to face the fork in your path?" Haruka's voice seems to whisper in his ear, carried by the wind.
Yes. He slowly closes his eyes, his mind set.
That night, a young man with cyan hair is found washed up on the beach in a coma, and in the hospital, a brunette opens his space gray eyes.
