As the sun shown on Mishima High School, I couldn't help but smile as I walked towards the building, accompanied by my close friend Miharu.

She was rambling heatedly about a topic I could not recall, because admittedly, I had not been listening, instead admiring the school that grew in size as we drew closer to it. I mused and wondered to myself about what this school year would bring, before my thoughts were interrupted by a loud shriek.

"Tennis!"

"Tennis?' I repeated, blinking. I then looked at Miharu, who faced me and smiled, her auburn locks billowing with the wind. During that one moment, I felt a slight pang of jealousy; I had always admired her interesting hair color.

Pushing those traitorous thoughts to the back of my mind, I smiled.

"What about it?"

"You haven't been listening," She pointed out, allowing a soft smile to grace her facial features. She didn't look frustrated, only amused.

"I took tennis over the summer, and now I'm obsessed with it. I just love the way the racket feels when I grip it… The way the slight vibration resonates in my skeleton as the ball hits the titanium—"

"Okay, okay, I get it," I said, laughing. Miharu was showing her obsessive side once more and I smiled to myself, knowing that in a couple of months she would completely forget about the sport she supposedly loved.

I'd known Miharu since my first year at Mishima High School, and we'd been good friends ever since that first day. I have to admit, we did not have that much in common: she was laid-back and most of the time, unconcerned. I liked to think I was disciplined and orderly, that I knew what my priorities were. In fact, the only actual similarity we had was our identical fighting styles.

That alone, held our friendship together.

Or so I thought.

Miharu was everything I wasn't, and sometimes I wished I were more like her. I wished that I could crack people up with a joke like she could. However, my attempts at humor mostly resulted in unwarranted sarcasm, which further proved various people's beliefs that I was boring and bland.

I didn't think pessimistic ideas like those would eventually spiral out of control. But then again, I didn't foresee a lot of things.

We eventually reached a junction where we would separate, since we had different classes.

"I'm late for geology, gotta run! See you at recess!" Miharu waved swiftly as if it was an action she had rehearsed countless times. I waved back and she sprinted away, disappearing after rounding a corner.

I entered my first class (Math) and sat down, choosing an armchair situated near the back of the classroom. The chairs surrounding me were empty as well. Satisifed with the fact that I did not need to worry about personal space, I placed my interlaced fingers on the armrest of the chair and grinned. Then, I waited for the teacher to arrive.

Five minutes passed, and soon they became ten. The class was becoming restless, and various classmates talked among themselves as I sat silently at the back. Soon, the door finally opened and I perked up, expecting a stern-looking man or woman to enter the room.

But instead, I got Jin.

Jin Kazama was a handsome man, and I realized this the moment he entered the classroom. Unfortunately, my female classmates also realized this, and some of them giggled and winked.

I was pleased to see that he ignored their flirtations. Instead, the boy seemed more concerned about finding a seat.

His eyes met mine.

I shivered slightly, and before I knew it, he was striding towards me, his face expressionless. I couldn't help it. I blushed.

He took that moment as a good sign, and as he arrived in front of my desk, he smiled.

I wanted to melt. Suddenly, math didn't seem so important anymore.

"Hello," he said pleasantly. "My name is Jin Kazama. What's yours?"

"Xiaoyu…" I mumbled, voice uncharacteristically soft. It was the total opposite of my frequent battle cries. "Xiaoyu Ling…"

"Mind if I sit here?"

I merely shook my head and stared at my lap, not bothering to even see what chair he had been referring to. But movement at the corner of my right eye signified that he was seated beside me.

I dared to look straight into his eyes – his beautiful, brown eyes – and smiled shyly. He smiled back.

Before that incident, I hadn't believed in such a concept, but at that moment, I truly believed that fate had led to our meeting.

We became friends, soon enough. He was a new student at our school and I took it upon myself to show him around. We only shared that one class, but that Math unexpectedly became the class I went to school for, just to see Jin.

I had fallen head over heels over him, and I wondered whether he felt the same. He was kind. He was tender. He was sweet. He was all these things, and only to me, and I felt possessive and triumphant, knowing he did not display such characteristics to other girls.

We were inseparable by the time a month passed, though not yet romantically involved. I kept him to myself. I didn't tell anyone about my friendship with the mysterious Jin Kazama, not even Miharu, and like any ordinary human being, I began to feel guilty about keeping a secret, no matter how minor, from someone who was practically my best friend.

And so, it was on that fateful day, September 22nd, a Monday, that I decided to introduce Jin to Miharu.

It was supposed to be a simple thing I would forget all about later on. But what I did not know was that such an act would eventually ruin it.

It had seemed so casual.

"Miharu, this is my new friend, Jin. Jin, meet Miharu."

"Hey," Jin smiled, and for a second I felt rage. Before that, I was the only girl he'd smile at.

"'Sup?" She grinned and looked passive, which was normal for her.

Yes, it had seemed so casual, and I smiled all throughout, thinking nothing of it.

I never expected that introducing Jin to Miharu would lead to my eventual downfall.

To Be Continued