The Start of Something New
Pairing: Kurko x Rin
Genre: Romance & Hurt/Comfort
Disclaimer: I do not own Maburaho or any of its characters.
Author's Note: Hello! This is my first Maburaho fanfiction. I've been watching it for a while since Thanksgiving vacation and came across some fanfiction. And as a yuri fan, I've decided to pair up my two favorite characters since no one seemed to do it. Yes, I know it's a little weird once you read this, but I'll explain it later. So please, enjoy the story!
It's a day after graduation. Yuna and Kazuki are sitting on a bench near the entrance of the school, enjoying the nice fresh air. Kazuki looks over at his girlfriend while clutching the gift in his pocket. He seems a little nervous about this, but he knows that it should be done and is very confident about it.
"Yuna?" he says.
"Yes?" the pink haired girl says.
"I know we've been together for a long time and went through some tough courses together, but in the end, our love never stopped." He walks over, goes down in one knee and reveals a small blue box. He opens it, revealing a beautiful diamond ring.
"K-Kazuki?" the pink haired girl gasps.
"Yuna," he says in a serious voice. "You were the most precious person to me and had helped me through lots of obstacles, even when I was a ghost. But now that I was revived, I can now say these words." He gently takes her hand. "Yuna Miyama . . . will you marry me?"
The pink haired girl didn't hesitate at all for this question, so instead, she jumps into his arms happily and says, "Yes, Kazuki! Yes!"
And so, after a few seconds of starting lovingly at each other, they lean in and share a heartwarming kiss to fulfill their promise.
"Eh? You two are engaged now?" Kuriko asks two days later.
"Yep!" Yuna says, happily. "That's what happened!"
"Sorry we couldn't tell you two right away," Kazuki says while putting a hand on the back of his head. "Yuna was really enjoying herself after the proposal."
"That's because I'm going to become your true wife!" Yuna says.
"Congratulations," Rin says softly.
"Now then," Kuriko says walking up to Kazuki. "What will you two do now? Oh, I know. How about going on a little honey moon? Or maybe renting a hotel and doing some naughty stuff over there, hm?"
Kazuki simply panics. "W-what!? No! There's no way we're going that far! I don't think I'm even ready for it yet!"
Yuna hugs him from behind. "Don't worry. I'll tell you when the time comes."
"Actually, what Yuna and I are doing is we're moving to a new place, starting tomorrow," Kazuki says.
Both Kuriko and Rin gasp in surprise.
"You're moving?" The blonde asks.
"Yes!" Yuna replies. "We're moving to Hokkaido and start our new life there while attending college."
"I see," Rin says.
"Well then, I wish you both luck," Kuriko says with a smile. "I hope you two have a happy life together."
"Thank you," Kazuki says, smiling back.
"Oh, yes!" Yuna says. "Thank you very much!" She turns to her fiancé. "Come on, Kazuki! Let's start packing!"
"Okay," he says. "Yeah, it's better to be prepared than late." He turns to the two girls. "Kuriko, Rin. You two were the best friends any guy could ever want and I hope to see you two someday. You also helped me go through many challenges and I had fun with you two."
"Me too," Kuriko says.
"I feel the same," Rin adds, softly.
Then, Kazuki gives each of them a hug. "Good-bye, Kuriko and Rin. I hope you live a good life as well."
"We will," Kuriko says. "You don't have to worry about us."
Kazuki nods and turns to his girlfriend. "Come on, Yuna. Let's go pack."
"Sure!"
With that the two walk off, turn and wave at the two girls one last time before heading off. Kuriko and Rin's faces turn into a frown and turn away. For some reason, something inside their hearts is still longing for the one person they had loved.
"Kazuki . . ." Kuriko whispers.
"Shikimori . . ." Rin says.
Silence fills the air as the two stand there, saddened and disappointed that the man they had loved left them. They turn to each other and shrug.
"Well," Kuriko says. "Time for me to head home."
"S-same here," Rin says, turning away. "What are you gonna do for the rest of your life?"
"Well . . . I'm still going to work for the Kazetsubaki for a while and then . . . try to live my life on my own. What about you?"
"I don't know. I'll probably visit my family from time to time, do more kendo training, nothing special." Rin replies.
"I see." Kuriko says as she furrow her eyebrows while looking down at the ground. "Well then, I'll . . . see you around."
"Yes," Rin says. "See you."
With that, the two go in separate ways. But they stop halfway, putting their hands to their chest. They can still feel a heartbeat considering that they were thinking about Kazuki. However, neither of them could let that stop them from moving on.
"No," Rin says. "Shikimori is with Yuna now. There's no turning back now." She keeps on walking off.
Meanwhile, Kuriko is thinking the same thing as a little ghost appears beside her.
"So," Elizabeth says. "I heard Yuna and Kazuki are engaged. That's really amazing!"
"It is," Kuriko says softly, not even bothering to look at the little girl.
"What's wrong?" the white haired girl asks, looking at her mother-like figure in concern. "You're not happy?"
"I am," Kuriko says. "It's just . . . that I'm sort of tired that's all."
"It's only the afternoon," Elizabeth points out. "But if you say so, then I can see why you're in this condition. Do you want to rest up?"
"No. I have some things to do."
"I see." Elizabeth couldn't understand why Kuriko would be this way, but decides to not ask any further. And so, the two keep on walking back until they arrive at the dorms to clean some things up.
Meanwhile, Rin is inside her own room, almost done cleaning out everything when she comes across a photo on the nightstand she had been keeping. It is a picture of her and Kazuki when they were going on a "date" together when he was still a ghost. She was afraid that if she had returned his ashes, he would lose his memory, but luckily, that didn't happen. Still, seeing that photo, makes her heart beat once more. She finally realized that she was in love with him once he had took a taste of her food one time and was being really honest about it. Thus, he is kind to her most of the time. Now she's really wondering if letting him go was the right thing to do.
"Why?" she whispers as she gazes at the picture. "Why am I still feeling this way? This is what Shikimori wanted, isn't it? I should be happy for him. So . . . why?"
She realizes that Kazuki is still on her mind, yet she can't let it go. She wanted to be with him instead of Yuna and maybe wanted to marry him as well. After all, he was the only one who was the kindest to her. But . . . she also knows that Kuriko loves him, too. So, it's not possible to steal Kazuki if Kuriko were to have him as her boyfriend. They've been doing that often whenever one wants to spend time with Kazuki.
"I want to let him go," she whispers. "But . . . my feelings for him won't stop. Oh, Shikimori." She clutches the picture to her chest. "I really wish I could be with you. Because . . . I love you."
Inside Kuriko's room, the blonde is almost finished packing when she felt that she needs a break for a bit and is now sitting on her bed. Elizabeth floats around the room, observing the boxes that Kuriko had just placed near the door and looks over to see a little pile of clothes still in the corner of the room.
"Um, Kuriko?" she says. "Aren't you gonna do the rest of your clothing?"
"I'll get to that later," Kuriko replies. "Right now, I've been working my butt off since 3 hours ago. Can't I take a break once in a while?"
"But . . . where will you go? Do you have any idea?"
Kuriko thinks about it for a moment. "I'll try to live my own life. I mean, my older sister's out of town, I don't know what my parents are doing right now. So . . . the only thing left to do is go someplace where I can live a new life on my own."
Elizabeth can tell something is wrong just by looking at the blonde's troubled expression. "What about Kazuki? What's he gonna do?"
Kuriko gasps at his name, but relaxes shortly after. "He and Yuna . . . are moving to Hokkaido tomorrow. They are going to start a new life together there while attending college."
"That's great," Elizabeth says, happily. "I'm so happy for them!"
"Yes. I'm glad, too."
"Well, do you want to see them one last time to see them off? I mean, it would be proper to say good-bye to them before they leave, right?"
Kuriko sighs softly. "I suppose."
Elizabeth's smile fades and looks at the blonde in concern. "Is something the matter? Don't you want to see Kazuki and Yuna and say good-bye to them?"
Kuriko looks away a bit. "It's . . . a little more complicated than that."
"What do you mean?"
Kuriko stands up and goes up to the pile of clothing and throws some of them aside. She then picks up a silver dress and holds it up to her level, examining it. It takes her back to the time when she wore that to the Cinderella Ball her sister had told her to attend and had to take Kazuki along with her. It was during those times when she had to return his ashes, but was unable to something inside her isn't right. But right when she confessed her love to him, his ashes finally returned to him. She herself had been in love with him as well as Rin did.
"Kuriko?" Elizabeth says. "What's wrong with that dress?"
"Elizabeth," the blonde says as she shows the little ghost the dress. "Remember this? This is the one I wore when I had to attend the ball with Kazuki. And we've had so much fun together right up till the end. I was so happy that I could be alone with him."
"I'm sure you did."
"But . . . he's mostly happy with Yuna. He chose to be with her and I'm glad he's with her."
However, Elizabeth could tell that Kuriko is not happy. "Kuriko . . ."
"If Yuna were to let him go, I would've become his bride. But, that's impossible isn't it? I mean, Yuna loves Kazuki and he loves her." Kuriko hangs her head down. "It was his choice. And it was my choice to let him go. But . . ." She clutches the dress to her chest. "No matter how much I try to forget him, he's still on my mind. And . . . and . . ."
"You loved him, didn't you?" Elizabeth finishes.
Kuriko could only nod.
"Well, there's no turning back now. Kazuki and Yuna are now engaged and I think you did the right thing about letting him go. Yes, it's painful at first, but think about their feelings, too. Sometimes, you have to move on instead of holding on to the pain for a long time."
Kuriko looks up and smiles at the little ghost. "You're right, Elizabeth. Alright then, I'll go and see Kazuki and Yuna tomorrow before they leave. I should let Rin know, too."
"That's great!" Elizabeth says. "I should go, too! I'm sure they'll miss me as well!"
Kuriko chuckles as she puts down the rest of her clothing and goes to contact Rin.
Early the next morning, Kazuki and Yuna are already at the entrance with two huge bags of luggage. They had called a limo driver to come pick them up and it took about an hour an a half to get to the airport. Now, they are just checking their bags outside.
"Well, this is it, Yuna," Kazuki says, smiling.
"One step towards a new life!" Yuna says, cheefully. "Oh, Kazuki! I'm so excited to have us start a new life together!"
"So am I," Kazuki says. He takes Yuna's hands in his own. "So, let's have a wonderful new life, okay?"
"Oh, my. Are you leaving without saying good-bye already?" a familiar voice says.
Kazuki looks up and sees Kuriko and Rin standing in front of him.
"Kuriko, Rin," he says. "What are you doing here?"
"Elizabeth told me to say good-bye to you two before you leave," Kuriko replies. "And I let Rin know about it, too."
The small warrior just nods.
Kazuki smiles as he walks up to the two. "It's very nice of you to come and bid farewell to us. We couldn't thank you enough."
"Oh, don't be silly," Kuriko giggles. "After all, you and Yuna have each other now. So, you two have a happy life together."
"We will!" Yuna says. "Good-bye!" She hugs Kuriko and Rin. "We'll contact you sometime."
"Please do," Kuriko says as she comes close to Kazuki. "I want to know about how you two want to do naughty stuff, am I right?"
Kazuki blushes hard as he looks around nervously while waving his hands defensively. "K-Kuriko! W-we're in public! Are you sure you should be saying things like that!?"
Kuriko giggles again. "I'm kidding. You two just have a good time." She turns to Rin. "Hey, aren't you going to say something to them?"
Rin just stands there with her eyes filling up in tears. Kuriko takes notice and just puts her hand on her shoulder.
"Rin," she says, softly. "They have to leave soon. So, you might say good-bye now."
The dark-violet haired girl sniffles a bit before lifting her head up, giving her best smile.
"Good-bye, Shikimori," she says. "I hope you two have a good life together. You too, Yuna."
"Thanks," the pink haired girl says. "I hope both of you have a good life as well."
Kazuki waves to both Kuriko and Rin. "I will miss you two. Thanks so much for being good friends."
"Aw, don't say that," Kuriko says. "We'll be able to contact you someday."
"Ah, that's right."
"Now then, you two go off. Your flight's gonna leave soon." Kuriko reminds him.
"Hey!" a voice cries out. "Don't forget about me!" The little ghost flies out from Kuriko's chest.
"Oh, Elizabeth!" Kazuki says. "There's no way we'd forget to say good-bye to you."
"Yes," Yuna says. "Good-bye, Elizabeth."
"Bye-bye!" the little ghost says as she waves at them. "Have a good time!"
"We will!" Yuna says. "Well, we have to go now!" She and Kazuki quickly enter the building after they quickly wave at them one last time.
Kuriko, Rin and Elizabeth wave them farewell until the two are out of sight. The three of them look at each other before Rin turns away.
"So," Elizabeth says. "What do we do now?"
"I'm sure we'll find something to do," Kuriko says. "After all, it's early in the morning, so we should be able to find a restaurant or something to eat breakfast at." She turns to her little friend. "What do you think, Rin?"
She notices that the small warrior is staring at the front doors again, ready to cry.
"Rin?"
This time, the dark-violet haired girl snaps out of it and slightly turns her head. "Ah, yes?"
"I'm asking you if it's alright for us to have breakfast at a restaurant since it's so early in the morning," Kuriko reminds her.
Rin hesitates for a minute as she looks down at the ground. "You can do what you want. I don't care."
Kuriko frowns for a moment before smirking. "Oh, I see. You want Kazuki to take you along with him, am I right?"
Rin blushes. "W-what do you mean by that!?"
"I can tell by the look in your eyes," the blonde says. She wraps her arms around the small warrior. "But don't worry. Your good friend, Kuriko is right here with you."
Rin blushes even harder. "H-hey. What are you doing!? Get off me, now!"
"I can't help it!" Kuriko says. "You needed some cheering up, so I'm doing it for you!"
"Kuriko!"
Elizabeth giggles. "Ah, you two are hilarious! You two get along with each other just fine without Kazuki around."
"I know," Kuriko says. "After all, she's my precious little friend."
"K-K-K-K-Kuriko," Rin stammers while still blushing.
The blonde just giggles as she squeezes the small warrior tighter. "Don't run away now, Rin. We wouldn't want you to get lost."
"I can do just fine on my own!"
"Oh, really?" Kuriko squeezes Rin a little tighter. "Want to prove it? You know, I'm a strong person, so it might be impossible for you to-"
Before the blonde could finish, Rin flashes out her katana, successfully breaks free from Kuriko's grasp, jumps in the air and lands behind her. The blonde just smirks.
"Impressive," she says as she turns around, crossing her arms. "You know, you could've done that a bit sooner."
"Shut up! I was suffocating, thanks to you! There is a reason why I had to do that!"
Kuriko just giggles. "Alright, alright. I'll stop. Let's just go grab something to eat."
About 10 minutes later, Kuriko and Rin had already ordered their food and are now just sitting there in silence. Mostly, Rin isn't saying anything at all, which worries Kuriko. She's thinking that Kazuki is still on Rin's mind, but doesn't know why.
"Rin?" the blonde asks. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," the small warrior replies softly.
"You still look kind of sad though. Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes."
Kuriko hesitates for a second before sitting back on her chair. "Okay." She decides to not ask any further, but her curiosity is growing more than she realized it. The look on Rin's face tells her that everything's not alright.
Both of them remain silent even when they got their food. Kuriko looks over at Rin, who is picking at her eggs. A sad look comes over Kuriko's face as she tries various ways to properly ask her, but nothing comes to mind at the moment. So, she just sticks to eating until they are done.
Right after breakfast, Rin gets up from her chair and quickly walks off without giving Kuriko a chance to catch up. However, the blonde does catch up to her and keeps on chasing her all the way to an empty park. Rn keeps on running and looks back to notice Kuriko trying to catch up to her, so she keeps on running until she stops by a big tree to catch her breath. Kuriko finally catches up and stops as well.
"So," she says as she crosses her arms. "Care to explain why you were running away so suddenly?"
"It's none of your business," Rin replies coldly.
"Well, I think it should be my business," Kuriko says, firmly. "You've been down for quite a while, even after Kazuki left. Can you tell me what's wrong?"
"I told you it's none of your concern!"
Kuriko couldn't take this and rushes in to grab Rin by the shoulders. "Rin, we're friends. Why won't you say anything to me?"
The small warrior just hangs her head down with her long bangs hiding her expression.
"Is it about Kazuki? Is that why you're feeling so down?"
Rin just nods. Tears were starting to form in her eyes.
"It's okay. You can tell me," Kuriko whispers.
"Kuriko . . . was letting him go the right thing to do?" Rin asks suddenly.
"Of course," the blonde says. "Kazuki chose to be with the one he loved, so I'm happy with it. Aren't you?"
Rin sniffles as she shakes her head. "No. In fact . . . I didn't want to let him go. I just wish he hadn't chose Yuna and should've chose me instead."
"Rin . . ." Kuriko could understand what Rin is going through. She herself had gone through the same thing, though it wasn't as bad as Rin's.
"The truth is . . . when I found out that they were engaged, I felt my heart split in two. I should be happy for those two, yet why is it so hard to do that? My heart was still set on Shikimori's. But, like you said, Kuriko, he chose to be with his true love. Now, it's impossible for me to find another."
Kuriko comes over and wraps her arms around the small girl. "I understand. Just let it out, Rin. Let it all out."
And that's just what the small girl did. She burst out into loud sobs as she buries her head onto Kuriko's chest. Both of them had never experienced things like this before. And now since Kazuki was engaged to Yuna, it had been quite hard for the two of them to cope with it, especially Rin. She took it the hardest. After about a good 10 minutes, the sobbing slowly starts to stop. Rin turns her head to her right as tears keep on falling while Kuriko gently strokes her hair.
"Feeling better?" she asks.
"A little," Rin replies.
Kuriko looks up at the sky. "To be honest, I had the same feeling. I felt that I shouldn't have let him go either. But Elizabeth let me know that there are times when we have to move on. And this is one of those times."
"B-but, I loved him," Rin sobs.
"We both did," Kuriko says gently. "However, both of us need to learn to accept what others choose. You may not like it, but the other person might. We all have choices, Rin."
"I guess you're right on that one."
Kuriko smiles as she looks down and tips Rin's chin to her level, which makes the dark-violet haired girl blush. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"No."
"Good. Because I have something else to tell you." She leans in and touches lips with Rin's. Rin's eyes widen in shock at what Kuriko is doing to her. This only lasted for about 30 seconds before Kuriko pulls back.
"K-Kuriko!?" Rin cries as she backs away a few steps while slightly touching her own lips. "Wh-why did you do that!? What were you thinking!?"
The blonde just crosses her arms while still wearing a smile on her face. "You see . . . I happen to be bi-sexual. Yes, I was interested in Kazuki the whole time, but no one could tell that I'm also interested in other girls."
"Wh-why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Rin asks, still shocked at what she just heard.
"People might think I'm crazy," Kuriko replies. "Besides, most people knew about me coming after Kazuki's genes after all, so how could I tell everyone that I'm bi-sexual?"
"B-but . . . are you sure you should be doing this!? I mean . . ."
"It's alright." Kuriko says as she wraps on arm around Rin's waist and tips her chin with the other. "It's my choice to move on, remember? And I'm going to say this now." She kisses Rin again and pulls back. "I love you, Rin. I've had interest in you, probably when we first met. We've always talked and got along with each other. We even worked together when one of us had any problems."
"Kuriko . . ."
"So, will you . . . go out with me, Rin?" Kuriko asks.
Rin hesitates for a long time while looking down at the ground, blushing. "You know, people like me shouldn't be with people who are lesbians."
"Oh, are you saying that you don't like me?" Kuriko asks, teasingly.
"My family will kill me if I go out with a girl!" Rin shouts. "This is just insane!"
"Then, how about keeping it a secret?" Kuriko suggests. "There's no rule against that, is it?"
"I-I guess."
"Then, it's settled," Kuriko says.
"B-but don't think this is gonna work just because I became y-your girlfriend," Rin says.
Kuriko brightens as she gives her new girlfriend a tight hug. "Aw, thank you, Rin! I promise to take good care of you!"
The small warrior blushes furiously. "D-don't get so close, idiot."
"I can't help it," Kuriko says. "After all, we've become a couple. So, this is our new life now."
Rin looks up at her new lover with a worried look on her face. "Are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, I-I would love to go out with you, but . . . I've never actually been with another girl before."
"Don't worry," Kuriko whispers while caressing Rin's cheek. "As long as we keep this whole thing a secret, we should be all good."
"I hope you're right," Rin says.
The two stare at each other for a bit before leaning in close to each other.
"So," Kuriko whispers. "Ready to have the start of something new?"
Rin nods as she smiles. "Absolutely."
And then, the two share a warm, soothing kiss, fulfilling their promise.
A/N: So, uh, what do you think? I couldn't help myself. Once a yuri fan, always a yuri fan. So, here's a Maburaho story, yuri style! ;) I don't know of any romantic interactions between Kuriko and Rin except for episode 24 where Kuriko is hugging Rin. But I found that they were talking about Kazuki instead of each other, but I can consider that a yuri moment, don't you think? And besides, I had to come up with something in order for pair up Kuriko and Rin. So, I hope you guys liked this one shot.
Oh, if anyone wants a sequel to this, please let me know. I'm planning on writing it myself, but I want you guys to decide, too. My mind is a little fuzzy at the moment.
Also, for those of you who wanted a Kuriko x Rin fafnic, now's your chance to read this story. I just don't know why this category hasn't been expanding after time passed. Still, people read some stories and review on there. I just hope I get some reviews and not have to wait for about a year to get one. I'm not as patient as you might think I am, but I'm cool with it.
Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review. ;)