Author's Note: Because I was unsatisfied with the overly cheesy nature of Kitchen Princess, I decided to rewrite the plot from when Daichi kisses Najika. In this version, there's less of Najika, Akane witnessed Daichi kissing Najika, Sora never dies, there's more of Akane, and Seiya (as much as I love him) doesn't exist, or at least isn't part of the story. It's written from a switch of Akane and Sora's perspective (I like to believe that Sora wasn't an annoyingly perfect saint, and two-faced cold-hearted jerk Daichi thought he was). Some of the dialogue is directly from the book.

Please remember that this is my interpretation of things- you may have gotten a different impression from some of the characters.

Strawberries and Milk

Akane

"She's blushing." Sora said in amusement. I felt myself coloring even more to the roots of my hair. Well of course I was blushing! After all of the mean things I had done to Najika, I didn't expect her to consider me as a friend. I was touched, honestly.

"Sora! Didn't you come to congratulate Najika!?" I turned on him, anxiously trying to make my color less high and bright.

"Oh that's right, I almost forgot." Sora said as he pulled out a bundle of roses, handing them the kid-chef. "Here you go, Najika."

He kissed on briefly on the forehead, and I stifled a giggle as she blushed even more than I had been.

"Well then, good luck in the next round!" I said, holding up the cup in a toast, but something outside the window caught her eye.

"Daichi…?" She said in wonder as I checked out the window. Yup, it was unmistakably him, though I wondered why he wasn't stopping by. "I'm going to tell him the good news, since he helped me with the dessert, after all!"

She handed me the roses to put in a vase for her before leaving the diner. As I did so, I opened the window, leaning on the sill and out where Najika had just caught up with Daichi.

"Does it bother you that she's out there with him?" Sora asked as he joined me. My blush started to rise again and I turned away from him with a determined demeanor.

"Of course not. I know she wouldn't do that to me." I almost snapped.

"Sure she wouldn't, but what about him and his feelings?" He questioned. I looked at him, for a moment, but his face was blank, emotionless, and it had always been times like this where I thought that Sora had more to hide than any of us.

He didn't say anything else as I continued to watch Najika and Daichi. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Daichi seemed to be snubbing her. Why? I'm sure the whole world heard my heart drop when he kissed her out of the blue.

Or maybe that was my spoon? Because that dropped too.

"I- was that- I- I'm going to go." I finally muttered. "Tell Najika the dessert was amazing, and I'll talk to her in class."

"Akane, she's going to be upset if you don't finish it." Sora said quietly. I flinched, but I knew it was true. He picked up the spoon I had dropped and gave me one from an outer pocket, one of the Seika spoons.

I grimaced and almost slowly, went back down to my seat. Sora had placed my dropped spoon in the sink, and was now back at the window, looking out at the campus. A burning question that bothered me from the first day Najika came here troubled my mind.

"Do you think Daichi likes Najika?" I asked Sora's back. He stayed silent, as if he didn't know what to say, and his silence was my answer. "Right, of course he does. He's never given any girl this much interest romantically before. That's why he bought her that watch."

The door opened and Najika walked back in, her face red with embarrassment and her actions squirrelly. I was almost mad at Sora for making me stay. I felt like I had lost against Najika, and the deep jealous part of me still burned. I finally finished the last jelly and tucked the spoon into the pocket of my skirt.

"Thank you, Najika, that was great. I've got to go… to go… prepare for a job. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Oh! You sure you can't stay?" Najika asked, temporarily pulled out of her trance. Her face fell a little and I felt a lurch in my stomach that had nothing to do with the food. I nodded and grabbed my bag.

"Bye." I said shortly, not even waiting to hear her reply.

I stood in the parking lot for a bit before remembering that my mom was out today. Not that that was surprising. I turned towards home, and the sunny day seemed to be mocking the way I felt inside.

Stupid Daichi and his feelings for Najika. Stupid Sora for pointing them out. Stupid Najika for taking away the guy that meant the most to me.

No, that was being mean, she knew how I felt and I know how she feels about Sora. So why did it still feel unfair? But I didn't want to be the overly bitter jealous pathetic mean girl that I used to be.

Life is unfair… I thought as I slammed the door of my house behind me. Of course, it was empty and the echo just seemed to amplify itself.

The truth is, I've always liked Daichi. Always. And I knew from the beginning that I was so much different from Najika. And it made me jealous. She may not have had parents, but she grew up with a warm atmosphere and from the stories that Sora and Daichi told me, it was a very homey place.

Here, it's just my mom and me. I don't know what happened to my dad. Maybe he never wanted me, and maybe he died before I was born, but it's only ever been the two of us, except my grandmother, whose death left the house cold.

I've always wished I could go back to that time. When Sora and Daichi actually talked civilly to each other, when they were practically inseparable. I always thought that they'd be close forever, but that summer Sora went with his father to Hokkaido, it was quiet. When they came back, Sora and Daichi's mother was dead. I don't know what happened exactly, but that summer was a grieving summer for everyone. Sora and Daichi drifted apart, especially when their father remarried and alongside that, my grandmother died.

I couldn't do anything to bridge them back together, no matter how much I tried. There was just a silence there that I couldn't break, and the worst part is, I didn't know how to fix everything. We all just drifted apart.

That was also the summer that Daichi quit basketball. He had qualified for nationals, which is why he didn't go to Hokkaido, and his mom stayed with him. He lost though, because his mother had died right before his game. Maybe he linked doing well in basketball with the death of someone he cared, because he quit after that. I know he still loves it though, because on the rare occasion that I stay late, I see him practicing out there. I never know what to say though, so I just stay there, watching before heading out.

Sometimes I see Sora checking up on him too. Just for a moment, but after they met Najika, a little longer. I always wonder why I couldn't have been the one to bring them closer, but I guess that as long as they push themselves to be civil with each other, then it's okay.

Maybe I'm stuck in the past, but things have been changing, too much and too fast.