I have decided to start a story for Murasakibara Atsushi. And, I am thinking of continuing the Kagami Taiga one shot since, readers have been asking me. I'll try and see if I can since the OC in Kagami's story is not as developed as Murasakibara's OC.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you all enjoy.

Bittersweet Caramel

Chapter 1

Amai Kaori (Sweet Scent)

The chilly autumn breeze began to blow, fallen foliage started to dance, and whirl. When they finally settled, the leaves created the most beautiful brocade of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns that covered the gloomy withering grass in front of Yousen High. Winter was approaching fast but, it was not a huge deal to the people who lived in Akita. The weather was mostly chilly year round anyways being so way up north of Honshu.

As the day began, students of Yousen High briskly made their way through the main doors to escape the chilly winds, and into their warm classrooms. Though, one young student seemed to be enjoying the light nips of cold air, as she had leisurely made her way through the court yard, and into the building. She lazily took off her shoes, slipped on another pair, and then went on her marry way to class, just barely missing the last bell.

"Akimura-san, you're pushing it again." Warned Fuji-sensei; pointing his piece of chalk at her. She shrugged and took her seat; it was right next to the window, 3rd seat from the back. As she sat down her classmate, Kana tapped her on the shoulder.

"Ne Miki, you didn't show up to practice again…" she paused, stared at Miki and then flicked her forehead.

"Heyyy! Easy now Kana, I already told you why…besides only another month okay?" She flashed one of her million dollar smiles at her. Though, Kana was not having it, she was tired of being both co-captain and captain of the volleyball team. "Aww, come on the team is fantastic without me there-"

"Shut it, Miki…*sigh* you are so lucky to have me as co-captain." Kana was reluctant to let Miki slide but, she knew Miki's situation could not be helped either. With her demeanor softening she ruffled Miki's dusty copper colored hair. "You'll make up for it later."

Miki swatted her hand away; "Yeah, yeah…" she muttered fixing her hair back into a loose bun. She took in a deep breath in and let out an exhausted sigh. The girl had been helping out her family convenience store for the past month, due to her father's unfortunate accident, which left him with a broken leg. Apparently, he had one of his 'I can fix anything' fits, tried to change the tiles on the roof of the shop, but instead he had tripped and fell. Thankfully, that was the only thing he broke. Thus every day after school until her father was completely healed, Miki would help her older brother Kenji run the store, but sadly that meant giving up volleyball for a couple of months.

Time at school passed in a flash compared to working at the store which felt like an eternity. Miki tried to amuse herself with 'people watching', not 'watching people', but 'people watching'. She enjoyed making up a customer's life story to pass the time and especially so if they visited frequently; that way she could add more to their story. Over the past month only a few intrigued her. A cute elderly couple who came to buy their dinner every other day, a short bubbly lady who always bought loads of cat food and makeup; she practically looked like a geisha. There were a few other odd characters but out of everyone Miki was the most interested in a rather tall and unique looking high school boy. He always came a little after six o'clock, picked out a whole basket full of assorted sweets and snacks, and then nibbled on a few as he paid for them.

When she first encountered him, Miki unlike other people noticed something else about him besides his height, or his odd colored hair and eyes. She took note of the sweet scent that seemed to follow him everywhere he went. Of course, after a while Miki concluded it was all the sweets he carried around and consumed.

Waiting eagerly, Miki looked at the store entrance. A few moments later, the abnormally tall, purple haired boy strolled in, took a basket, and went straight to the snack racks. As he looked through the different candies and treats, a small 'hmm' escaped his pursed lips. Curious Miki peeked from behind the counter, the boy was squatting down and holding different flavored Pocky in each hand; one was pumpkin, and the other strawberry. She peeked out even more to get a glimpse of his face, which looked quite deep in thought. Miki giggled to herself and decided to help the poor boy with his 'dilemma'.

"Since, it's autumn you should try the pumpkin flavored one, don't you think?" She then advanced towards him, squatted down to his level, and picked up a caramel flavored Pocky. "Or the caramel flavored one is another choice. Personally, it's one of my favorite flavors."

Her actions were so fluid and out of nowhere that the boy was a bit startled. But, he quickly composed himself, put back the strawberry flavored Pocky, and took the caramel one from her hand. "Oh~, that's an idea…okay, since I've haven't tried either one of them, I'll just get both." He shot her a wide smile and thanked her.

"Here is your change and I hope you enjoy the Pocky." She handed him his bag with a smile. He in return smiled, turned on his heel, and walked out, waving as he did so.

As always, Atsushi began nibbling on his sweets as he walked home and continued throughout the night. This boy was not one to saver each candy, cookie, or chip, nor did he stop. You could say that Atsushi's candy fixes were similar to that of a chain smoker. He was always, always found with some sort of snack in his mouth and if not then Atsushi would have 'sugar withdrawals', causing him to have a bit of a bad temper.

It was getting late, so Atsushi decided he better head to bed before morning practice. But, that little voice told him 'one more light snack wouldn't hurt'. He tried ignoring it, tossing and turning in bed. It had been only minutes before he threw the covers off, rolled over, stuck his hand into his bag of treats, and pulled out a box. Not caring what it was, Atsushi clumsily opened the box and wrapper and took a bite. A rich flavor coated his tongue, the frosting had melted away, but left a soft lingering taste behind.

"…Mmm…" He licked his fingers as he finished the entire box. He enjoyed the flavor and wanted to buy it again next time, so he held the box up to the moonlight. Atsushi's eyes glistened with amusement as he read the label for caramel flavored Pocky. He stared at the box for a moment before tossing the box in the trash bin and once again slumping back into bed. He began to drift into a deep sleep when he suddenly remembered he forgot to brush his teeth. But, as swiftly as that though came, it left. Atsushi was too content with the soothing taste of smooth caramel that danced on his tongue, to be concerned about possible cavities.