DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AIR GEAR.

Note; Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

This is an experiment! And WARNING! OOC's are likely to happen! I can't control their personalities and make them in-character! But i'll try my best! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Kazu x Simca. Ikki turns down Simca, Kazu saw it and tried to cheer her up but he ended up falling in love with her.

LOVING THE SWALLOW

It was almost everyday that Simca would pass by the Nomayanos' house to visit Ikki, successfully bribing Mikan with video games, Ume with materials for her dolls and makes sure that big sister Rika is not around when she visits in search for Ikki. Ringo would be the one to tell her to go away but it's not really registering to the Swallow. If not the house she'd be at the school where she knew the Kogarasumaru would have their meetings about strategic plays. Agito would be the number one person to try and shoo her away. Not like the Swallow was taking any of it seriously.

But her continuous visits to try and converse with Ikki has gotten to Ringo and Ikki's nerves. It's about time that they make her realize that Ikki's mind is settled in dating Ringo and marrying her in the future.

"Hmm, how should I say it?" Ikki asked. "Simca I'm sorry but I love Ringo, you should go find yourself another boyfriend instead."

Ringo hits Ikki's chest. "You sound rude!"

"Well.. how about.. 'Could you please stop bothering us? We're already dating, get a clue!'" with that, he received another hit from his girlfriend. Yes, they were anoyed of Simca's persistence to chase Ikki but the least they could do was turn her down nicely. "It's no good. There's no nicer way to say it."

"Of course there is! We just have to think this through!" Ringo tried to be optimistic about it.

"How about we set her up to see us practicing how to turn her down and she will just get the idea." Ikki suggested with a grin, however Ringo just ended up shooting him a glare.

"You're being undiplomatic about this." she points out.

"Even if you say that, it's really hard to say this in a nice way. I mean, how are you going to say it if you are in my case?" Ikki challenged the latter and she got his point and sighed.

"She's not really a bad person you know? That's why I'd feel bad if you were to turn her down in a bad way." she confessed. Ikki understood her feelings immediately and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'll try to work on this tomorrow, okay? Don't worry."

"Ah! Kazu-kun! Is Ikki there?" Simca asked as soon as she arrived at the empty classroom where they'd usually have their short strategic meetings. However, there was no one there but Kazu who was reading a magazine. Simca was by the window, smiling brightly.

"You drove him away. No, you drove everyone away. Agito is currently looking for a new place to use as our meeting place so there are no meetings today." he informed her but she didn't seem to care.

"Thanks. I'll just go look for him then!"

Simca planned to jump off the building to go to the Nomayanos and see if Ikki is by any chance staying there at the moment. She had her AT's on anyway, the landing won't be bad. But Kazu noticed her constant visits as well as Ikki and Ringo does. "Simca." He called and she pauses. "You do know that Ikki loves Ringo now, don't you?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then why are you still chasing after him?" out of curiosity, he asked as he placed down the magazine he was reading.

The pink-haired girl looked down for a second before looking at Kazu to catch his gaze. "I love him. Even if I know he will never choose me over her. I still love him."

"I know it's none of my business but it hurts me to see this whole love triangle ruin everything. Ikki wants to turn you down in a nice way but he can't do it without hurting your feelings. It's unlikely to reject someone's feelings and not hurt them but he's aiming for the impossible nonetheless." he explained to her with a serious tone. The Swallow closes her eyes for a while and Kazu could've sworn before she closed her eyes tears were about to fall.

"I see." she finally says and opened her eyes and her lips forming a smile. "Well then, I won't bother him anymore."

"H- Huh? That's it? Just like that?" it was out of the blue, he didn't expect a good outcome and now the results are here, he didn't expect it.

"Ikki is a nice person. I know what you're saying is true. I didn't realize I'm bothering him to the point that he'd aim to do the impossible. Even so, I'm selfish to feel happy that he doesn't want to hurt me." she tells him with the smile still on her face. "He doesn't have to say it to me if he can't. I feel much better hearing it from his best friend."

Even if there was smile on her face, it's impossible to hide the pain she was feeling.

"But you know, he did like you before. You were the reason he began to use AT, you were the reason that he was able to fight his first match and get deeper into AT's. I'm grateful for you just as I know he is grateful as well." he tried to sweet-talk her about the good things to lessen the pain. But it only worsens since those good things he was talking about.. is all nothing but a memory.

"I know." she turned her back on him to hide her visage. She knew Kazu was trying to lift some of the heavy feeling of pain because he can see right through her smile. "Which is why what happened in the past, stays in the past. So will I."

Before Kazu can say anything, she leaped off the window and disappeared. Things went downhill.

"You talked to Simca already?" Ikki asked in surprise.

"Y- Yeah. She happened to pass by the school just as you expected." Kazu replied as he scratched the back of his head.

"IDIOT!" Ikki hits his friend in the head. "I told you it was a temporary plan! I already got my speech written! Now what am I going to do with it?!" Ikki roared but Kazu ignored his roaring.

"She said that you don't have to tell her that you're rejecting her feelings."

"Really? Well that's good! 'Coz I'm not sure how to execute my speech at all!" Ikki said with a smug grin in his face as he chuckled evilly for a moment. It was a serious matter and yet the Sky King is making a fool of himself and goofing off.

"But she was really sad." Kazu added, wanting to hint to Ikki that it's a serious matter.

"What should I do? Seeing me would hurt her even more!" Ikki reminded Kazu if he didn't notice. "She can just date that guy Spitfire or Onigiri if she wants to. Or Agito. Although I doubt Agito will even last a day with her. He's freaking noisy when she's around."

"You say those things as if you're giving her away. She's not an item!"

"I- It's not what I meant! I'm just trying to help her out! I mean, if it's a boyfriend she's looking for then I'm trying to suggest a few!" the Sky King says in his defense. He then noticed something off about Kazu.. "Wait.. you don't like her, do you?"

"N- No, I don't. It's just at that time.. after I talked to her.. I can see the pain she's trying to hide." Kazu admitted the reason why he was acting that way. "But you're not to blame and Ringo is also not to blame. I just feel bad for her that's all."

Ikki grinned and wrapped his arm around his friend's neck. "You silly rascal! Then go talk to her! Tell her how you feel!"

"A- Are you insane?! I already have a girlfriend!" Kazu shouts and threw Ikki's arm away from him.

"I'm not telling you to break up with Adachi. I'm telling you to tell Simca how you feel, that you sympathize with her and all that stuff. Then maybe she'd feel a bit better." Ikki expands his point.

"And let her bother me and Emily? No thank you!"

"Then you'd know how it feels to be in my shoes!" Ikki threw at him, making Kazu understand the point that Ikki was trying to say. "Look, I don't want to hurt Simca just as you feel bad for her. If there's anything I can do for her, I'd do it. Ringo says it's alright to have Simca as a friend but she can't be around if she's still in love with me." Ikki says as he walked towards the door to leave the room.

"You're harsh, Ikki."

Ikki stopped walking when he reached the frame of the door. "If Simca succeeds to convince me to fall for her.. then it would be Ringo in her place. Ringo would do the same and later I'd end up hurting Simca again. It's a cycle that I don't want to enter." as soon as he finished he left the room and closes the door behind him.

"I see."

The following day Kazu was out in search for the Swallow.

Emily isn't back from her tour in America yet. She and Yayoi-san won a thousand-meter dash as pairs and are now invited to join the one thousand five hundred-meter dash in America. It's been a two months since they got there and still they're not back yet.

He kept his phase slow, going to corners and sides of the road to make sure he doesn't miss a spot where the Swallow would possibly spend her time at. Luckily for him, she was by the river, sitting and looking at her own reflection.

Got her!

Kazu approached Simca and sat beside her. She didn't greet him or look at him though, her eyes are stuck on the reflection in the river.

"Simca-"

"-Look in the river." she tells him.

"I came to tell you tha-"

"Look in the river." she repeats and Kazu frowned. But followed her instruction to stop her from repeating herself. "What do you see?"

"Me." he says in irritation. "What about it?"

"Look closely." she says, her eyes still glued to her own reflection. Kazu rolled his eyes for a moment before staring at his own reflection. What was it that she wants him to see? He wasn't entirely sure what he's supposed to be looking at.

"Is something supposed to happen?" he pulled his eyes away from the reflection to turn to Simca but she, while her eyes are still fixated on the water, uses her hand to push his face back to look at the waters. "Hey!"

"Keep looking." she says.

"For what exactly?" He decided to try and play her game.

"Do you get fond of it? Looking at yourself?" she asks.

"I'm not a narcissist!" he wanted to yell at her face but if he do, she might grab his hair or something and force him to look back in the river. "What are you trying to do anyway? Are you fond of staring at your reflection?"

"Don't you feel conscious of your reflection?" she disregarded his question and asked him instead. "If you smile or frown or cry. Would you care? While you look at it?"

"W- Well, I'm not sure. I didn't really notice." he said as he try to scrutinize what kind of expression he was making.

The Swallow chuckled at his response. "Of course, you keep on asking me questions that's why you're distracted!"

"Of course I'd ask! You weren't explaining anything to me!" he shouts at her but his eyes remained looking at himself, seeing his angry expression then he paused as he stared at the once-angry reflection of himself. Simca smiled knowing Kazu finally understood what she's trying to point out. "Just now.. I thought I looked ugly." he said and Simca laughed. "What?"

"It's not everyday someone admits their ugly." she says and Kazu wanted to get mad at her again but he stopped himself because he doesn't want to bring up that expression again. "I've been trying to control my sadness since yesterday but I couldn't smile even one bit.. until you came along."

"Is that a compliment or you're making me into your laughingstock?" Kazu continued to play her game but she just finished playing.

Simca sat up and started to wear her AT's. Kazu stopped looking at himself in the mirror to give his attention to looking at Simca now.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Where the wind takes me." she replies with a smile. Finally, the smile that doesn't bear any pain behind it.

"What if it takes you far away? I mean.. this place here is not our territory anymore." Kazu informed her in case she's not aware. He doubts it though, but just to be sure. "You should head back."

"There's no point in going back. I'll only see him." Simca says. She knows that Kazu will understand what she means. When she finished wearing her AT's, she got up and looked up the sky, seeing migratory birds going north. "I'll go north too." she muttered to herself.

"But I want you to stay!" Kazu said all of the sudden.

"I appreciate all the things you did to make this pain bearable for me, Kazu-kun. But I won't be bound her anymore. I have to go." she says and glides closer to him to give him a peck in the check as his reward.

With that short, soft feeling in his cheek, he felt that time had stopped.

At first he was confused why he had to look for Simca, he was confused why he was worried so much for her and went through all the trouble of finding her and talking to her... but now it's gone clear.

The Swallow smiled and turned away to follow the birds that was headed north. Kazu grabbed her hand before she could go. He had this feeling that if he let her go, she'd leave and they'd never see her again.

"Simca.." he calls her name softly and a bit hesitant. Simca turned to see him nonetheless, only to be surprised to be kissed by him. His lips pressed against hers. "..please don't go."

"Kazu-kun..?"

"I.. I don't want you to leave.." he says, his hand holding hers tightly. He was ashamed of what he did so he looked down. He was still hoping that somehow, it would change her mind.

"Kazu-kun.." Simca says with a gentle voice and releases his hand. Kazu closes his eyes, not wanting to see her part ways with him but not longer than that he felt someone wrap her arms around him. His head hitting her chest while the rest of his body being very close to hers. "..I'll stay. I'll stay for you."

He smiled and returned her embrace. Only his embrace was tighter.

In a rooftop building yards away from Kazu and Simca's location, Ikki and Ringo were watching.

"See Ringo? There's nothing to worry about." Ikki said while smiling.

"But you didn't do anything! You just sent your best friend to do all the work!"

"I didn't tell him to do any of that. He did it all by himself." Ikki explained. "After Adachi left, he's always been alone and reading. I figured that Simca was also alone so maybe the two can be friends. I didn't expect they'd love each other instead." he finished as he scratched his head.

"Well.. I think it's cute!"

"We should go now before they notice us." Ikki said but he knows that Simca already sensed their presence.

"Of course. Race you to the house!" Ringo challenged. "I'm betting my dinner for it!"

"You're on, Ringo!"

Ringo was the first to hop off the building while Ikki stayed for a while, looking back at Simca one last time, wanting to say goodbye to his first crush. Take care of her for me, Kazu.