The wedding of Ikuto and Amu.

The day was happy for most. Not for Utau.

Utau wanted him to be happy. She wanted her brother to have a good life.

Amu was her best friend. She was always there for Amu, and Amu was always there for her.

She should be happy.

Happy for her brother and best friend.

But no.
Instead, she sits there, crying.

Ikuto and Amu mistake them for tears of happiness.

No. Utau's crying for all the times she's shared with her brother. All the wasted years trying to get him to love her as much as she loved him.

It was foolish for her to even hope. Right?

She wiped the tears off her face. She had to smile. Be brave and face the facts:

He never loved her. He never would.

As much as it hurt, she would have to move on. After all, there were other people...right? So many other people on the earth.

She could do this.

She would fall in love, and she would show the world that she was stong. That she could face this.

But still...she doubted her strength.

As much as she thought these thoughts, when she thought of the name "Ikuto", the tears came. And when the tears came, she couldn't do anything to make them stop.

She could remember when they got engaged.

The pang of regret, of sorrow, even anger, in her heart.

Anger directed at who?

Amu? Ikuto?

No, not them. After all, it wasn't their fault.

She had nobody to blame for her sorrow but herself.

Why'd she have to be so foolish? To waste her life on her brother?

The brother she knew, deep in her heart, would never love her as she loved him.

Amu looked so happy. Ikuto looked....well, he looked as apathetic as usual.

Utau couldn't help but wish, during the ceremony, that she was the one in the beautiful dress, looking stunning.

She couldn't help but wish that she could change places with the girl who stole the heart of her true love.

Was Ikuto Utau's true love?

Maybe, maybe not.

Would she ever find another?

She didn't know. She wouldn't know until that other came, if they ever did.

When the ceremony was over, Utau sat alone. She didn't go talk to her friends. Not even to her mother. Nobody knew what she had gone through. She was alone.

"Utau?" a clear voice rang into her thoughts.

"Kukai..." she murmured, looking up at the boy.

He loved her. She knew that much. He would die for her.

As much as she wished she could, she was still to unsure of her feelings to accept his love.

"Utau, are you okay?" he put an arm around her shoulders.

Utau looked over. "I-I'm fine..."

No! She wasn't fine! She would never be fine!

"Don't tell me you're fine, Utau," Kukai sighed, looking at her. "I know you're not. You love him. But so does Amu."

How did he know? How did he always know everything she was feeling?

Utau swung around to face him. "What do you know of my feelings?" she snarled. "Nothing!"

Kukai looked taken aback. "O-okay..."

She shouldn't have said that, she knew. At the same time, she couldn't help but be angry at him.

What did he know? He'd never loved somebody who loved another.

...Well, he had. He loved her. She loved Ikuto.

Kukai turned away. "Bye, I guess, Utau..."

Utau grabbed his shoulder. "Wait!"

Kukai turned. "What is it?"

She needed to know. She needed to know his true feelings.

Even though, in her heart, she knew he loved her. And she could never love him back.

Right?

Utau took a deep breath. "How do you feel about me?" she begged to know. "I just...I need to know."

Kukai's eyes glistened with compassion. With pure love. "I love you," he said simply. "But I've come to accept that you will never feel the same way. I just want to be there for you. I want you to know that if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, you can come to me."

Utau's heart broke. He loved her more than anything in this world.

Her eyes grew wet with tears as she collapsed onto his shoulder, crying.

Kukai wrapped his arms around her, tears falling from his own eyes. She had gone through too much for him to bear.

Utau looked up, and pressed her lips to his.

Kukai was shocked for a moment, before he kissed back.

Utau smiled as she broke off.

How could she have been so blind? The one she loved...her most important person....

Was Kukai.

"I love you, too," she whispered into his ear, holding him close.

She could make this work. She knew she could.

Because she loved somebody.

And this time, they loved her, too.