Ayano sat propped up in bed, her mind not yet allowing her to go to sleep. Just at the break of dawn today Kazuma, Ren, and her had defeated the demon Belial. But of course there were more important things to think about than having saved the entire city not even 24 hours ago...
He… he kissed my hair. She looked up at the ceiling as a light blush rose to her cheeks. Then he pat me on the rear and sent me into the pond. What a jerk! Nevertheless she lowered her gaze to her hands and slowly brought them together. Still, I can't help but wish that… She stopped her thoughts for a moment. No, wait what are you thinking! He's nothing but a perverted jerk! Another pause. But he's a really cute perverted jerk. She sighed, unable to make up her mind. He's just a player who can never admit he's wrong. At that moment a little voice in the back of her mind spoke up.
You know you like him. Just admit it and get it over with. What's there to lose? Ayano tried to swallow only to have it catch halfway down her throat.
What is there to lose? There's everything to lose! I can't just tell him I think he's amazi-. She stopped, thinking about what had almost just gone through her mind. Shaking her head violently back and forth she tried to clear her mind of that thought. What if he's not interested? Besides, I'm not sure even if he's ready to move on. Seeing Lapis clearly brought up some feelings he thought he had been rid of. That voice nagged at her again.
That didn't stop him from flirting with all those other girls before. They're normally all over hi-
THAT'S ENOUGH OUT OF YOU. Ayano angrily thought while slamming a mental door in the voices face, throwing on an imaginary padlock for good measure. I haven't seen him with any other girls since he ran into Lapis, although it's not like much time has passed. Some muffled sounds came from behind the mental barrier. Thinking back a few minutes to before Kazuma had dumped her in the pond another thought came to her mind.
What had he been saying right then? "I have to live with my past but it won't control me. Now is the only thing that matters, and that's what I'm going to protect. And I swear I'll protect all of you." Like I'm some stupid doll that can't even defend herself… More muffled noise. Man had that got her mad. He should be treating her like an adult and not some kid! How could he be such a jerk?! The noise behind the padlocked door grew louder, to the point of obnoxious. I mean it's not like I'm going to go and die on him! I can take care of myself! Why doesn't he understand that!? The noise behind the door grew so deafening she couldn't even hear herself think. Relenting from her previous decision she tore off the lock and threw open the barrier.
BECAUSE HE CARES ABOUT YOU! Ayano's mouth dropped open, stunned at her own thoughts. Her mind was blank. Does he… does he really care that much about me? She thought back to when she saved Kazuma from himself, and what Catherine had said back at the hospital. "When she said he needed to remember what was worthwhile she meant you!" The last word rang over and over in her mind.
Do I really mean that much to him? Am I really the reason he came back to his senses? She held her hand up, partially blocking the light on the ceiling. Ayano groaned and rolled onto her side, hitting the switch to turn out the lights. She grabbed her pillow and pulled it to her chest before curling up into a ball. No matter how tired she was there was no way she could fall asleep now. She had too much to think about.
Author's note: Alright I'm going to try and not waste your time with these notes. No one wants to hear some guy rambling on and on. First of all, thanks for reading my story, I appreciate it.
Second of all I have not very much fiction before. I've read a lot of fiction and fanfiction though, and I read through a few of Kaze no Stigma fanfictions on this site before starting this story. In my opinion a lot of the stories were lacking a level of polish that bothers me while reading, so that's when I decided to write this. I want a good story that reads clean, and captures the reader's attention. I'm allowing all comments at the time, but if you're just going to bash the story or whatever save your time and mine and don't even post it. All other comments are welcome.
If you're reading this right at the initial publish it's obviously very short, ~650 words. Don't worry I am going to try and make the chapters about 5k words a piece, although actual length will probably vary. Probably sometime next week (starting 3/9/14) I'll have the first real chapter up. I would love to do it sooner but real life sucks. If you want to edit the story or do something other than comment please PM me and we can discuss it. Anyways thanks again for reading, feel free to comment, follow the story ect. It's appreciated!