Author's Note: omg I've been wanting to write this thing forever, lol XD and it's FINALLY DONE WHEWT. -sigh of relief-

Here's my first attempt at a fanfic, lol.

Now, I've read and loved a lot of Loveless fanfics by a lot of really talented writers, but I couldn't help but notice that a very precious few were written from Yuiko's perspective; so this time I decided to do something a bit different.

Heyhey, don't get me wrong, I loves me some Soubi/Ritsuka (yaoi OTP!! 33), but this time I wanted to try something totally new. And since I adore Yuiko's character so much, I totally wanted to give the one-sided thing a shot. xD So, here goes you guys!

(Oh, and sorry if I skewed her character at all; this ended up quite a bit more . . . serious . . . than I intended it to originally. Hope I didn't make her too OOC. orz)

Anyways. X3 Enjoy!

.x.

Rinse. I have to rinse him away. Forget him. Forget them. Rinse it away . . .

The girl raced down the street as fast as she could, never breaking stride, the words echoing again and again in her head to the pace of her footsteps. She concentrated as hard as she could on the rhythm of her stride, doing her best not to allow any other thoughts into her head, squeezing her eyes shut to keep away the tears. I have to forget him . . .

Yuiko did her best to listen to her better judgement. She really tried. But no matter how far she ran, no matter how much she repressed the memory, she couldn't block out the image of his face, the face of the boy who'd haunted her dreams for so long. The dark-haired, sullen-faced boy, young and quiet and sweet, youthful cat ears still perched innocently upon his head. The boy she'd come to know so well, the boy who rarely smiled, that boy, her boy . . . her Ritsuka.

But he isn't really mine, is he? He'll NEVER be mine . . . Yuiko stopped for a moment, gasping for breath, unable to keep her pace any longer. Leaning against a lamp post for suppourt, she allowed herself to fall to her knees, letting out a desperate sigh. I give up. A pair of cat ears twitched beneath her messy pink hair as she shivered in the cold, wishing the brisk night chill could numb her insides too.

. . . What's the use, there's no forgetting him. Unable to help herself, she buried her face in her crossed arms, doing her best to suppress a sob.

.x.x.

It had taken her so long to realize it. Why did she have to be so clueless? Why couldn't she have grown up and faced the facts for once?

Because she loved him. She loved him so much it hurt, so much that it made her tender, fragile little heart ache. So why couldn't she be happy for him? Why couldn't she put on that innocent little smile and offer to make him lunch, just like she always did? Maybe strawberry jam. She knew it was his favorite. And he'd smiled when she'd given it to him for the first time, that first time in the schoolyard, her eyes full of tears as her so-called friends threw the shattered remains of her hard work to the ground, laughing pettily. The first time he'd protected her, just as he'd protected her so many times.

Footsteps echoed behind her, and Yuiko tried her hardest not to look at the advancing figures, squeezing her eyes shut. Rinse them out. Rinse him away. Forget him . . .

But she allowed her eyes to slide open anyway, a bitter curiosity getting the best of her as she heard voices resonate in the alleyway behind her, a pair of voices she knew all too well.

"Ritsuka? What're you doing out so late . . . ?"

.x.x.x.

She knew he wasn't hers. Ritsuka's heart belonged to someone else, a fact she knew all to well.

His heart belonged to . . .

"Soubi? You idiot, where have you been? I tried to call you . . ."

. . . him.

.x.x.x.x.

Yuiko watched silently as the pair turned their backs; the light-haired brunette, and the sullen-faced, blushing catboy beside him. The boy she'd come so desperately to love. The boy she knew would never love her back.

She watched as Soubi put his arm around him; Ritsuka, her Ritsuka, the one she knew she could never have. She watched as Ritsuka blushed and pushed his arm away, tentatively allowing his own hand to rest comfortably in his companion's.

Rinse.

.x.x.x.x.x.