Disclaimer: It's sad, but I DON'T own Hana-Kimi or it's characters... *sniff*....

This story/chapter is dedicated to my darling Rose-chan ( .net/u/1290995 ) and Keoi ( .net/u/819526 ), who are great authors and friends!!!!

(This is my first fanfic so please don't kill me!! xD )


In Your Eyes

"Hey Ashiya, what's up? Why is Sano not with you?" Asked Nakatsu the arriving Mizuki.

"I don't know where he is," answered the girl. "He suddenly told me that he has to go to a very important meeting. And then he left."

Nakatsu smiled – he had another chance to win over Mizuki-chan's heart! "Let's go to the mall without him! We'll have fun like this or like that! Come on! Let's go!" he said while pulling her with him.

After they turned around a corner Mizuki suddenly froze. "Mizuki, hurry!", whined Nakatsu. "What's..." he started. But in this moment he saw it too. In front of them was Sano – in a tight embrace with an unknown girl, kissing kissing her passionated.

Ashiya was heartbroken. She couldn't stand this sight; it hurt her too much. Without realising it, she started to cry, turned around and ran away, leaving the still motionless Nakatsu. The girl ran without watching out for her surroundings and after a while she crashed into someone...

"Are you hurt? What happened? Is someone hurt??!" Nanba Minami looked at her intensive, scanning the masked girl with his eyes. "Why are you crying?" "It's nothing. I'm fine. Really. It's just that something flew in my eye", she answered between sobs. Suddenly, the older guy hugged her from behind. As Ashiya tried to free herself he whispered in her ear: "don't lie. I can see it in your eyes – the pain of unrequited love.". With this he hugged her stronger, crashing her frail frame against his own body, letting her tears wet himself. And without realizing it she told him about her last 'encounter' with Sano. Some minutes and many tears later Mizuki was able to pull herself together. "Nanba-senpai", she started, looking at him with puppy eyes. "Why are you so nice to me?" At the same moment the boy suddenly rose up, pulling Mizuki to her feet. "We have to go. Curfew is soon." he stated, ignoring her previous question.

On their way back to school Nanba suddenly caught Ashiya's wrist which made her turn to face him. "There's something you have to know. If you want to, you can stay with me in my room for a while – just in case you want to keep out of Sano's way."

Mizuki needed less than a moment to decide. "I'd really appreciate to move in with you, but are you sure that I wouldn't be a burden on you? I don't want to cause you any trouble..." "Of course it's ok! My room is big enough for 2 and it would be good to have someone who keeps me company." he answered with a smile. Overwhelmed by her happiness, Ashiya hugged the guy. "Now, we really have to hurry.. Otherwise we won't be able to grab my things, Nanba-senpai!" she stated while pulling him with her.

And on their way back to the dorms both of them didn't notice one thing:

Each of them held the others hand like an anchor.....