I've been a huge fan of "Another" ever since the anime came out several months ago. Every week it came out, the first thing I'd do is watch the new episode to see if anyone would die next, what more of the mystery of Class 3's curse would be revealed, or if the friendship between Kouichi and Mei would improve as it did every other episode or so. I'm not entirely certain why it took me so long to write a fanfic for this show, but here it is. I don't own Another or any of its great characters, not so great characters, the plot-line, or the Final Destination-style deaths.
It was a normal Friday afternoon as we find Kouichi Sakakibara, a curious, intelligent, and kind-hearted 15 year old boy walking his friend, a quiet, introverted, pale-skinned 15 year old girl named Mei Misaki to her home as he always did when she looked at him and asked something that's been on her mind.
"Sakakibara-kun?" He looked at her curiously as she said his name.
"Hmm? What is it, Misaki?" She looked ahead before asking him her question.
"Kirika wants me to ask you to stay over tonight." He looked at Mei in confusion. Despite how often he was at Mei's home, he hadn't even seen Kirika since that evening he first met her when he found out about the class' charm against the calamity.
"What? Why does she want me to stay over?" She looked ahead with the slightest hint of sadness or disappointment on her face.
"She's visiting a friend of hers that's in town until tomorrow and doesn't want me along, so she figured you could stay over and keep me company. She says she worries, but she really just wants to make sure I don't go anywhere."
Kouichi actually had to think about that for a moment. He was certain nothing bad would happen, but due to the calamity that he recently learned about, he realized that it never hurt to be cautious. Still, he did really like hanging out with Mei, and he could finally get to cook for her like she had asked a few weeks previously. He decided that he'd stay with her and get to know her more over the weekend, but there was one thing he had to do first. Without answering, he took out his mobile phone and dialed a number, waiting as it rang three times before receiving an answer.
"Kouichi-kun? Where are you? Are you okay?" He couldn't help but smile at how much his relatives worried about him.
"I'm fine, Oba-chan. I'm with a friend of mine from school. I'm just letting you know that I'll be staying over their house tonight, so I'm just gonna pack a bag when I get home and head out, okay?"
"Ohh… Alright, Kouichi-kun. I'm lying down early for the night, so have fun and please stay safe, alright?"
"I promise I will, Oba-chan. Bye." He hung up and placed his phone back into his pocket before smiling at Mei.
"It looks like you have a houseguest for the evening, Misaki. I promise I won't be any trouble, though, okay?"
Mei gave a very small smile as she nodded before they continued walking in silence towards Kouichi's house. About an hour later, they find themselves walking down the stairs into the basement filled with Kirika's dolls. She then made her way to the doll that resembled her and lightly stroked its hair.
"Sakakibara-kun…" Kouichi could tell that she had something important, and most likely difficult, on her mind. She almost never hesitated when they talked. She either told him something, or she didn't.
"What is it, Misaki?" She looked at him over her shoulder with her deep red eye.
"Why do you hang around me so much?" He looked shocked as she asked such a question before looking down with a sad and hurtful expression, thinking that she hated having him around.
"I don't mind your company, Sakakibara-kun. I actually like it. What I want to know is why you seem to like being around me all the time." A look of relief and understanding washed over his face as he smiled a little at her.
"Why would I mind your company, Misaki? You're intelligent, quiet, great to talk to, and you have a really calming aura about you." She turned towards him with a confused expression on her face.
"Aura?"
"Yeah. It's the type of energy that you give off. Everybody has one, and depending on the type of aura they have, that's usually the type of people that will want to be around them." She looked away so her patch-covered eye was facing him as she held her elbows in her hands.
"Aura… is like a magnetic energy that brings people it's compatible with closer… But what I want to know is… Why does Sakakibara-kun like my aura? It can't be that nice if everyone would rather keep their distance from me. Yet you're the only one that can't seem to stay away… no matter how much the class told you to. Why?" She very lightly tightened her grip on her elbows.
Kouichi stared at her in surprise as she spoke. Everything about her made her seem like she was the type to be a loner, wanting to be alone and away from the crowd. To a degree, it probably was true, but in actuality, she really was just too shy and quiet to make her way to the crowd. She needed someone to go to her and show that they genuinely wanted to get to know her, rather than just be another face in the crowd. Once realizing this, Kouichi quietly set his bag on the floor and carefully made his way to Mei. Before she even realized it, he wrapped his arms around her as she gasped in surprise.
"S-Sa… Sakakibara-kun… W-what are you-"
"I like you, Misaki-chan… as more than a friend or someone to talk to… I really like who you are as a person. The more I learn about who you are, the more I want to be around you." She widened her eye in complete surprise at hearing his confession. She had absolutely no idea that he felt this way about her. She just thought he was fascinated by her and his naturally curious nature would of course want to know more about her. And if she were honest with herself, there was a well-hidden part of her heart that felt the same way about him. Though she initially locked it away so she wouldn't have to deal with it, it came back to the forefront of her mind and heart with a vengeance as she settled into his embrace.
"Sakakibara-kun… you… you're warm…" Much to Kouichi's surprise, she actually squeezed the front of his shirt in her hands and snuggled closer to him. Once the shock of her actions wore off though, he gently tightened his embrace around her petite body.
"Sakakibara-kun… no one has ever said that they liked me before… I… I don't know what to do now…" Kouichi couldn't help but smile a little as he continued to hold her.
"Well Misaki, typically when someone says they like someone, the person they told tells them their honest feelings about it. Do they like them back the same way, is it only platonic, or something else completely? It's up to you how it goes from here. You don't even have to answer now if you don't have one. It's not like we don't see each other often."
"Yeah… Sakakibara-kun… what if I told you that I like you too? What would you say to me?"
"If you said that, then I'd ask you to be my girlfriend, Misaki-chan." He said, not missing a beat. Well, he did miss that her heart skipped a beat when he said that. She couldn't believe it; the one guy in her whole class that she not only respected as a person, but liked far more than even her own mother actually asked her to be his girlfriend. She let go of his shirt and took off her eye patch and placed it in her pocket before looking at him with both her normal ruby eye and her doll's emerald eye that could see the color of death.
"I'd like that very much. I do like being around you, Sakakibara-kun." He smiled gently at her as he gazed into both of her beautiful eyes.
"If we're going to be together like this, don't you think we should call each other by our first names… Mei-chan?" She looked at him with surprise but smiled very gently.
"If you say so… Kouichi-kun." They smiled at each other as Kouichi picked up his bag and followed Mei to the elevator that led them upstairs to her home, where they'd spend the night in each other's embrace for the first of many times.
Sorry that this fic was so short, but I just wanted to see how well I did at actually writing an "Another" one-shot before going into making a story as long as my "New Rules and New Romance" story. I probably could've had them kiss, but I figured Kouichi wouldn't go that far after JUST asking her out. I'll likely have another story where they actually go out on a real date. I know this show is still gaining popularity, but I need reviews people. And please no flamers. This is only my second story and my first one-shot, so if you do have complaints, make them constructive and not destructive. Thank you very much.