There were ten minutes until the New Year.

Mirai ran around the large room her friend Kaoru had rented for the night. There were plenty of people there, each of the seven best friends who called themselves the Pleadies Saints having brought someone new. Most of the guests were mingling and Mirai swore she saw Kaoru and Umiks kissing behind a flowered curtain. (The design was of curly lavender sprigs, in shades of bright purple and dark violet, but that wasn't the point.) Kazumi's police officer friend was also flirting with Kazumi's friend who ran a bakery shop (what were their names?)

However, Mirai had a set goal in mind. At twelve, she would find Saki and kiss her. Ah, Saki. The blonde girl was the subject of Mirai's long-standing crush, and that day, Mirai could finally reveal her feelings. Turning her head back and forth, trying to find Saki, she noticed Kazumi, and her eyes narrowed.

Kazumi. The copy of Michiru.

Kazumi. The girl Saki had a crush on.

To be fair, Mirai saw why Saki loved the girl. Kazumi was beautiful, with long, glossy black hair and slender legs. Tall and elegant, Kazumi was much prettier than Mirai.

Mirai clutched her soul gem. She couldn't get upset. She had a mission. Taking stumbling steps forward, the magical girl scanned the room for Saki. The silver-haired girl shouldn't be too hard to miss, with her large glasses and soft, downy locks. There were only nine minutes left, and she was panicking.

"Ah!" she yelled as she bumped into an icy cold body. Feeling soft skin on her own, Mirai looked up into the blue eyes of Niko. The girl impassively looked down, and Mirai just stood there for a whole thirty seconds, stunned. "I'm so sorry!" Niko didn't change her expression.

"Watch where you're going next time," she commented while walking off. Mirai stood to watch Niko leave, then realized she had wasted quite a lot of time, and she still couldn't find Saki. Really, where could the girl be? Spotting a glimpse of red, Mirai headed over, determined.

In the end, the red was only the light refracting from someone's wine. The red liquid sloshed onto the floor when Mirai, hurriedly passing, accidentally bumped into the holder.

"Hey!" It was a magical girl, not one from their town, but all the way from Mihikitaria. Mirai briefly wondered who invited her, then realized a girl like this would just invite herself.

"Yeah?" retorted an irate Mirai. "Whaddya want?" The girl gestured at the wine on the ground.

"Aren't ya gonna clean that up?" The girl swaggered, pushing her hips out and leaning her head back slightly. The pink-haired girl sighed and began to move away, soul gem at the ready. If this girl attacked, she needed to be prepared. "Whaddya think yer doing?" The brunette tackled Mirai, her arms moving quicker than she could see. Pulling her to the ground, the girl forced Mirai's head into the stain on the carpet. Grimacing, the pinkette kicked up, but the other girl was stronger, and using powers was a big no-no. But this… this was just plain embarrassing. And there were 8 minutes left.

"Ugh!" Mirai strained up, feeling as though her back was breaking. The girl pressed down, rubbing the girl beneath her into the stain. Mirai's salvation was unexpected and came in the form of a blonde girl.

"Kirika, no need for that. I will clean up the stain." Mirai scampered away to find Saki once Kirika's hold was lifted. Normally she would retaliate, but now there was a more important task. Still, Mirai cast a longing glance behind herself as Kirika cleaned up the stain.

Of course, there was still no way to find the girl. Mirai's lead was false, and Kazumi's policemen friends were flooding the place, decking the halls with navy blue uniforms. It was almost like swimming in a sea, except this sea sweated and talked. Mirai tried not to bump into anybody, but that was quite difficult, as she soon learned.

A tuft of silver stood out among the navy and brass buttons. Pushing forward (she received a lot of dirty stares for that one) Saki was in plain sight. The girl was nervously walking over to Kazumi, and Mirai's heart sank. Of course. She wasn't the only one with schemes for midnight. Disheartened, Mirai rushed out, tears streaming down her face into a cupped hand. Sitting on a park bench, she hugged her teddy bear (the only one she brought.) Stupid Michiru. Stupid Kazumi. If only Saki noticed Mirai's crush- but, what if the silver-haired girl thought that made Mirai weird?

Tears soaked the dolls' silky threads.

"Hey." Mirai looked up, stunned. Saki stood above her, blocking out the light, her hands jammed in her pockets. "What are you doing out here alone?" Mirai's only response was a sob. So Saki sat down next to her, having to squeeze in order to fit.

"I wanted to do something," blurted out Mirai. Her watch read 6 minutes to midnight, but that didn't matter anymore. "To kiss my crush on New Years. But that doesn't matter now." Saki smiled down at her friend.

"You should at least try," she softly declared. "Or are you afraid?" Mirai blushed a heavy red.

"B-baka! I'm not afraid." Saki giggled softly at Mirai's stammered denials. "But, I think they have something else to do. They don't like me the same way."

"Maybe you're right." Mirai jolted up, nearly banging her shin on the seat. "But I planned to do the same thing."

"Then you should do it," bluntly stated Mirai, hiding her face from view. The doll muffled her voice, while her watch reminded her of 5 minutes. "They should be lucky."

"Out friendship is more important," serenely smiled Saki. "So do it, Mirai! Kiss your crush." They were silent for a while, until only 3 minutes remained. This was what Mirai had wanted, but in the end, was she too chicken? Saki tightly grasped Mirai's hand. The pinkette could only feel happiness for those seconds. She was more important than Kazumi, and they were holding hands. This was pure bliss.

2 minutes to go, and Mirai couldn't do it.

"I can't!" she exclaimed. "My crush loves someone else." Saki hummed.

"I think this is one of those 'you never know until you try' moments. There's still time, you know. 1 minute." Mirai panicked as she realized her watch was a minute behind, then calmed herself when there was a chorus of voices inside, counting down from 60. "Mirai, I believe you can do this!" Inside, the cosmetics salesgirl said 50.

"I'm too afraid," murmured Mirai.

Kirika said 45.

"Go in there and kiss," playfully pushed Saki, causing Mirai to blush again.

Niko said 40.

"I'm really afraid," blurted Mirai, hiding her face again.

The blonde girl said 35.

"What's the worse that could happen? Come on, 35 seconds left."

Umika said 30.

"They could stop being my friend and hate me forever."

Kaoru said 25.

"You're a wonderful person, Mirai. If someone does that, they don't deserve you."

Satomi said 20.

"You don't understand…"

The policewoman said 15.

"15 seconds, Mirai. You don't have much time, so hurry. You don't want to have to wait for next year."

The chef said 10.

"Saki…"

Kazumi said 5, the tension growing thicker in the air.

"Yeah?"

Everyone shouted 0, and somewhere a bell chimed. Mirai gathered her courage. Saki looked vaguely disappointed though she tried to hide her feelings.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Saki winced from the power of Mirai's lungs, then gasped as their mouths met. Their tounges intertwined, and for a second, they were the only people in the world.

"Oooh," shouted their friends from the window. Saki and Mirai blushed as they turned away from each other. "Are they doing with tongue? I wanna see!" The two girls turned back to each other, gazing into the other's eyes. This time, Saki initiated the kiss.

And Mirai was never happier than that moment.

Alternate Ending- Saki doesn't go after Mirai

Mirai sat on the bench by herself, crying a well of tears. Inside, Saki had reached Kazumi, and she had initiated a kiss. It was New Years. She should be Kazumi, kissing Saki, The brunette didn't even know the truth.

One tear fell (splat) onto her soul gem, and Mirai's tears turned into laughter as she held her head within her hand. The gem shattered into a million pieces, the light shards rolling on the ground.

Saki? she wondered, eyes rolling back in her skull. Will you… notice me now?