"Paper Crane" part one
-endymion-
disclaimer: they're not mine! Not mine I tell you! NOOOOO!!!! '
(Nina)
I applauded along with everyone else as we watched the crowning of the new princess.
"Maya-chan looks so beautiful tonight, ne, jiisan?" I told my grandpa, who had his arms crossed across his chest.
"Hmph," he grunted. "That should have been you up there."
I laughed. Grandpa really wanted me to take the crown.
He's right. That should have been me up there. I was qualified, wasn't I? I got all of the Holy Stones didn't I? But I chose not to take the crown. It wasn't me the prince wanted. Maya-chan was the one he was looking for all along.
I'm glad we had that cleared up.
I'm not going to be a princess. I'm going home. They won't forget everything. I'll see Ayu-chan once more. And Kaji-kun too. And...
Tsujiai-kun...
I felt heat rise up to my cheeks at the thought of him. I remembered that episode in the Dark Zone. The feel of his fingertips on mine was etched into my memory forever. And the way he looked when we said goodbye...(this is the point where I'm supposed to sigh)
I never meant to like him that way, actually. It just sort of...happened. I guess it was because of Ayu's humongo crush on Kaji-kun. We hung out with them a lot in my attempts to get Ayu-chan and Kaji-kun together. Since Kaji-kun should always be the one near Ayu-chan, Tsujiai was the one stuck with me. Oh yeah, he also found about my little secret read: my witchy powers, and he was totally okay with it.
I just woke up one day looking forward to seeing him again. I found myself staring at the back of his raven head during class. It took me so long to figure it out. Heck, Ayu-chan figured it out long before I did!
"—can't they just finish the stupid ceremony so we can eat?" I heard jiisan grumble beside me. I shook my head, amused. Typical jiisan.
Gray-green eyes caught mine. Yuta's eyes. I grinned at him and waved. He smiled back, although it seemed forced, almost wistful. Then he turned back to the dancing couple. He didn't seem to be watching them though. His normally mischievous eyes were blank and unfocused.
I shrugged it off. Whatever. He was probably trying to think of a new prank he could play. He loved that kind of thing. Ever since we were young, he amused himself by causing trouble for everyone and stirring things up. Then he mastered the skill of non-persocom magic. You know, the kind where you only need to use your eyes and hands to do magic. He was a genius in magic, and he never lets me forget it. I still have far to go, because according to him, I lack concentration. But even though he gives me a hard time sometimes, he can be pretty cool too. He is my childhood bestfriend, after all.
Oh well. So much for reminiscing.
"Jiisan, I'm going to the garden," I said, turning on my heel, wanting to escape the formalities of the ballroom.
I chuckled to myself. I really am not cut out to be a hime. I'm glad I'll be going home in the morning.
(Yuta )
I studied Nina's profile from a short distance. For someone who just lost the crown to her rival, she seemed genuinely happy. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement for Maya-chan.
Well she should be. Happy I mean. She didn't want to be a princess anyway. Not really. Or, not anymore should be more accurate. She did want to be a princess since our childhood. It's every little girl's fantasy. But then she was sent to earth and she got to live the life of a normal human. She met good friends there. Ayu-chan, Kaji-kun and Tsujiai kun.
My teeth ground together.
At first, I thought, okay so Nina would be living in earth temporarily. I could deal with that. I could visit her during break. It wasn't that hard to go to the human world. It's just a simple matter of teleportation magic. And if there's something I'm good at, it's magic. I really didn't worry about her collecting all the stones and marrying The Prince because honestly speaking, Nina really sucked at magic. Back in Magic School I spent half the time helping her clean up after her mistakes and the other half laughing at her.
Then Nina met Ayu. I was kind of jealous of Ayu at first. She became Nina's best friend, which was supposed to be my position. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Ayu was better at the job than I was. I admit, I'm a lousy best friend. I always give Nina a hard time, especially when it comes to magic. But even though I teased her a lot and she had become a victim of my pranks at one time or another, I was there ready provide help if she needed it.
I wanted to make Nina jealous too so I dated Ayu. Stupid idea, really. Nina was such a kid. She didn't understand infatuation and love back then. Though I did find out why Nina was so fond of Ayu, the make-Nina-jealous plan was complete dud. What's worse is that Ayu found out how I felt for Nina. But she promised not to tell her. What a nice girl sarcasm aside..
Then Tsujiai had to happen.
I knew Nina forever. Tsujiai knew her for, what? Less than a year? A month? But the chemistry between them was amazing. They had way too much in common. Nina, stupid kid that she was, loved comic books and cartoons and toys. Same with Tsuijiai. And it didn't help that Tsujiai was thrilled to have a friend who was like she came straight out of a comic book.
Heh. He likes her, she likes him, end of story, right? But still that nagging feeling lingers at the back of my mind.
What if? What if things were different? What if I told her how I really felt for her early on? What if she reciprocated?
She caught my eye and she waved. I waved back and smiled at her hesitantly before staring off into space.
"Jiisan, I'm going to the garden," I heard her tell her eternally-grumpy grandpa before leaving. I suppressed the urge to snicker. Everytime there was a royal function, Nina never saw it through the end. She always left before everyone else, sometimes taking me along with her.
She'll be going back to the human world tomorrow. I might not see her for a very long time.
Hmm...
Time to answer those what ifs.
-to be continued-
Author's Babbles
And that's a wrap for the first part! I actually wanted this to be a one-shot, but it was becoming a little too long. I am in love with Yuta-kun (waves to Yuta fans). He didn't get to develop much of a personality during the series so this is my pathetic attempt in giving him one. And I believe its unfair for him to get stuck with Luna in the end. She's cool and all but...hehe..you know what I mean.
Please let me know what you think!
Next up: Yuta confesses. Will it be a happy ending for Nina and Yuta?
