Yes, I'm halfway through the Ghost Magnets thing (my other story), but I just wanted to get this out before it leaves my mind. Caught up in the burd and rice event, my apologies. Just consider this belated birthday dedication to Maki. Happy Birthday!

Ahem, enjoy!

Forgotten Promises

Prologue

"I love you Nico-chan. I'll grow up real fast for you so...wait for me, okay?" A cute five year old told me when I was 15. It was adorable and innocent, flattering even. Her violet eyes were earnest and hopeful, but she probably didn't know what she was talking about.

I answered her anyway. "Okay, Maki-chan. I'll wait for you."

Maybe because I didn't have any reason to reject her, maybe because she was a kid. I can brag about being confessed to and actually mean it. I didn't need to tell them it was a girl or that she was ten years younger than me. A confession was a confession.

"That's a promise?"

After all, it was something she'll grow out of. Kids were impressionable, it's normal for them to pick up things they don't fully understand but still go for it anyway. She was a smart girl, but most likely not an exception.

"It's a promise."

Just like that, my life took a 180. And I can't tell if it's a good or a bad thing. Love, relationships and the like were things I never thought about for very long, they just seemed so contrived to me. Yet here I am, at 25 years of age, still single and date-less—holding onto a promise that's most likely invalidated by now. I haven't seen little Maki-chan in 10 years, she should be 15 by now, and possibly forgotten all about me. I'm not sure if I'm just being dutiful, or I'm just stupid. Not to mention borderline pedophilic for even thinking about it.

I'm now a web designer, someone with disposable income before I realised. I had nothing else to pour my attention on other than the basic necessities. My mother worries about me a lot in the sense that I haven't thought about marriage at this point. As some sort of compensation, I found myself hopelessly deep in the hell that are idols, eventually trapping myself around its concept of quixotic connection. With the ridiculous amount I currently earn, this expensive hobby felt like nothing.

In recent years, this culture grew into a niche that contributes to the declining birthrate of the country. Men were its typical connoisseur, the idea of "illusory gilrfriends" became so effective that they wouldn't even bat an eye to real women. And as much as I'd like to admit, I'm probably one of them. I just know it would break my mother's heart to know this, and the fact that men did not appeal to me at all.

Rain poured down relentlessly on my way home from work, making me tighten the grip I had on my umbrella as these thoughts ran through my head. From an aspiring idol, I technically became a delinquent to society by being a nerdy, pedophilic homosexual. The change was too severe that I can see me father crying over this sorry excuse of a daughter somewhere.

But instead of feeling bad about it, I felt free, content even. I probably lived alone too much that I've become such a rebel, but I always thought Japan were too confined about what they thought was 'normal' and 'good'. In this vein, I came to realise that being the idol I dreamt of being was just as restricting as my environment. I didn't want that. I may want to bring smile to people, but who would make them smile if I can't smile myself? It's selfish, but my answer was pretty clear from then on.

I continued to turn around the corner that lead to my apartment complex. A small shelter for three baby cats was situated on a narrow alleyway to right of it, something I created for the poor little things. Pets weren't allowed as per house rules so I couldn't take them in with me. So instead, I made sure to attend to them everyday, checking on them and giving them treats. Today however, they weren't the only ones there.

I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't imagining things. Surely enough, a girl in her high school uniform was bunched up beside the cat shelter. The lack of anything to protect her from the rain had rendered her soaked to the bone, but she didn't seem to mind, just hugging her knees and staring at nothing as the second passed. Anyone in their right mind would call out and try to help in a situation like this, but not me. Just looking at her somehow spelled trouble. But I can't act like I couldn't see her either, so I took my chances.

"Um...isn't it cold?" I tried, making my voice as audible as possible in this ungodly downpour. I watched her slowly look at me, seemingly startled at the attention. Sullen yet sharp amethyst eyes, complimenting her distinctive crimson hair that framed her pale and perfectly shaped face. In the back of my mind, I thought she looked like someone I knew.

"Nico-chan?" A deep velvety voice came out of her, her tone unsure. It threw me off so much that I felt myself staring dumbly at her, trying to register what had just occurred. Did she just call out my name?

"It is you, right?" She said, the sullen look in her eyes now replaced by a hopeful glint.

I couldn't think. The moment her countenance sinked in, I immediately recognized her. She was only older, taller. Unless I was utterly mistaken, the girl before couldn't be anyone but—

"Maki-chan?"

That's right, let's get some age gap rolling around here. Two or three years gap ain't enough for me!

Feel free to diss!