Kanata looked at his alarm clock. 2:58 AM.

"I can't sleep." He muttered to himself.

As he rubbed his eyes, he thought he saw something bright purple in his room. He glanced around and saw nothing, so he ignored it.

Suddenly, a pink light appeared and disappeared in front of him, blinding him momentarily. He bolted upright, his heart beating furiously. What was that?

Another light, blue this time, swooped in front of him and into the air. Kanata was paralyzed as he watched the three lights hover above him. Are they aliens?

"Do not be afraid," said the pink light in a gentle voice. "We will not harm you."

He watched in amazement as the specks of light transformed into three teenage girls, wearing ratty robes. They were heartily laughing amongst each other, oblivious to the fact that Kanata was nearly having a heart attack.

"Who are you?" he asked weakly.

The girls stopped chatting and looked around at him.

"So sorry, we forgot our manners." The blue-robed girl cleared her throat. "I am Aya, the Sister of the Past."

"I'm Nanami, the Sister of the Present." The purple-robed girl said, winking.

"And my name is Christine, the Sister of the Future. My mother is French." The pink-robed girl said, showing Kanata a shy smile.

Nanami rolled her eyes. "No need to tell everyone that our mother is French, Chris." She turned to a flabbergasted Kanata. "We are the Fates."

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"The Fates!" She seemed annoyed that he didn't know about them. "We're the gorgeous, all-knowing seers of the galaxy! Geez, what do they teach you guys in school these days?"

Aya whispered fearfully, "We've come to tell you the secrets of your life, Kanata Saionji. We come with a warning."

"A warning?" He was definitely alarmed now. "Is there danger? Should I tell Miyu?"

"You should tell her," Nanami smirked, and her sisters giggled. Apparently there was an inside joke Kanata didn't know about.

"If you're just fooling around, you'll have to leave--" he started, but Christine swooped down on him with a menacing look in her eyes. "Your future is in grave danger!"

"What are you talking about?" He was getting irritated by these girls' wild ideas of fun. "I need to get some sleep, so if you don't mind…"

Nanami sighed. "Aya-chan, will you get this thing started already? I'm getting tired of his whining."

With a nod, Aya grabbed Kanata's hands tightly.

"Hey!" he protested.

She ignored him and started chanting a sort of prayer. Her eyes flashed red as she said in a hoarse voice, "I have seen your past… Kanata… Saionji…"

Kanata felt dizzy as scenes from his past flashed through his mind. Eating pumpkin with his mother, growing up with his dad Housho…

Playing with Luu, doing chores with Wanya…

Arguing with Miyu, fighting with her, calling her an idiot, making her mad…

Aya let go of his hands. "Is this girl Miyu a friend of yours?" she asked, her voice returning to normal.

Although Kanata was shaken, he sensed that they knew his answer already. "Yes. A good friend."

"Just a friend? Tsk, tsk, tsk… You don't seem to treat her very well."

"We tend to get in arguments."

"Don't you want to treat her as she deserves?"

"Well… I used to treat her badly…" He was getting defensive. "But now, I treat her just fine."

The sisters looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

Nanami smiled. "Very well, Kanata. Let us see into your present."

As she took his hand and began chanting, the last twenty-four hours played in Kanata's head.

Getting up early to cook breakfast, having a nice conversation with Miyu…

Seeing her trip and teasing her… Having a big fight… Watching her leave the house in a fury…

Waiting anxiously for her… Having another argument as she returned very late at night… Yelling at her…

Feeling guilty…

Thinking about her so much that he couldn't sleep…

"Is that what you call 'treating her well'?" Nanami asked condescendingly as she let go.

He massaged his aching head. "I told you, we always get into fights." He said through gritted teeth. These girls had no right to pry, especially in matters concerning him and Miyu. Only the two of them understood their weird relationship.

"I especially liked the part where you called her a 'fat, clumsy cow' as she was leaving," Aya noted.

"Oh? I liked the part where he said, 'Miyu, you big idiot, where the hell have you been?'" Nanami said.

"But you've got to admit, it was pretty sweet the way he seemed to worry about her," Chris added.

The sisters turned as one to Kanata, who had the impression of being cornered by wolves. "What?"

"You like her, don't you?" Chris said to Kanata slyly.

He feigned innocence. "Who?"

"Miyu Kouzouki."

"No way!" He tried to sound indignant, but he only sounded embarrassed and defensive.

Nanami started singing. "Kanata and Miyu, sitting in a tree,"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" chorused her sisters. They fell about laughing.

Kanata felt his face turn red. "Shut up."

"Admit it!" chanted the girls. "Admit! Admit! Admit!"

He lost his temper. "All right! So I like her! Big deal!"

"Somehow, I don't think 'like' is the word you're looking for," Chris said.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, this 'innocent' act you're doing is getting pretty old," Nanami informed him.

He swallowed hard. "Fine, I love her."

Chris pretended to ring a bell. "Correct! So now that you've finally figured it out, you have to tell her!"

"What?!" he yelped. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" demanded Aya.

"Because," he spluttered, "she'll think I've gone crazy! Or worse, she might avoid me! I can't tell her!"

"So you really, really don't want to tell her?"

"No," he said firmly. "And I'm not changing my mind."

The sisters sighed.

"You forced us to do something we really don't want to do." Nanami said threateningly.

"It'll scar you for life." Aya whispered.

"It'll haunt your dreams forever." Chris warned.

Kanata asked nervously, "Why?"

"I will show you your future, Kanata, because you leave us no choice." Chris held his hands tight, chanting, her eyes flashing red…

Kanata felt the dizziness again, only this time it was much worse; it overwhelmed him.

Visions started playing in his head.

Miyu leaving for America… Feeling lonely and empty without her… Entering college, dating, trying to find a replacement for Miyu…

Dropping out of school… Becoming a monk… Living in isolation, deep in the mountains… Spending his days regretting that he had never told Miyu how he felt…

Hearing the terrible news from his dad: Miyu had committed suicide…

"No… Noooo!" roared Kanata. "Make it stop!"

Chris let go of his hands. "Are you okay?"

He was shaking. "Miyu…" He looked at the sisters, who were no longer smiling. In fact, they looked grave as he asked, "Why did she commit suicide?"

"She was lonely," Aya said quietly, "just like you were. Only, she couldn't take it. She loved you very much and the last memory she had of you was your fight."

"Our… fight?"

"Yes. I saw into the future; after this fight, Miyu would decide to join her parents in America, thus setting off the chain of events. That's why we had to warn you." Chris explained gently.

Nanami nodded. "That's why you have to tell her now, before it's too late."

"Thanks. I mean it. Thanks a lot." As he stood up, he paused, a thought occurring to him. "You don't do this a lot, do you? I mean, do you always warn people about the dangers in their future?"

Smiling, Chris shook her head. "No. It's just that you and Miyu have gone through so much… We decided to step in and give you a little push."

Kanata gratefully smiled at the trio. "You've saved my life. And Miyu's too, now that I think of it…"

"Keep safe, Kanata," Aya said kindly as she and her sisters prepared to leave.

"Take care of Miyu," Chris reminded him.

"Don't fight so much." Nanami said.

"Don't worry, I have it all under control." Kanata waved at the girls, who winked, transformed, and flew away. He watched until he could see nothing but tiny, brilliant spots of light.

Now, the hard part. He swallowed and knocked on Miyu's door. "Miyu?"

There was no answer.

For a second, Kanata feared that Miyu already committed suicide, but he pushed the thought out of his brain. Chris would have told me…

"Miyu! I'm coming in!"

The door slid open and he saw Miyu lying on her bed, motionless.

"Miyu?" he whispered. "Can we talk?"

She opened her eyes to reveal tears. "No, we can't."

"Miyu, please…" He sat beside her and took her hand. "We really need to talk."

She brushed her tears aside. "Kanata… I can't take this anymore…"

"I know… Miyu, please listen," he said desperately. "I know I've done you wrong so many times… But I realize that I should do better… I can do better."

Miyu sat up and gazed at him. "What are you saying, Kanata?"

"I'm in love with you," he said clearly. "I have loved you, I love you, and I will always love you."

For a few minutes, she just stared at him speechlessly.

Then she wrapped her arms around him. "Kanata-kun… I never thought you'd say that."

"Me too."

"I love you, too." She placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm glad you confessed, Kanata-kun."

He returned the kiss. "You have no idea how glad I am, too. Imagine, if I hadn't confessed tonight, you'd be dead in twenty years!"

Miyu looked at him as if he was crazy, but he didn't care. He would explain later. What mattered now is that they were together, and happy.

"They're really meant to be," sighed Nanami as she and her sisters watched the couple on a dusty crystal ball.

Chris said, "Kanata actually believed that Miyu was going to commit suicide!" They laughed.

"One day he'll figure out that you messed up your prediction on purpose," Aya warned.

Chris smiled. "So? I bet he's not sorry he told Miyu how he really felt."

A million light-years away, with a beautiful girl in his arms, Kanata wasn't sorry. Not one bit.

I like the idea of 'fate' bringing them together. It's so romantic! R&R pls.!