Author's note: Hey! It's been awhile I decided to not make you guys wait any longer and update this ASAP. On a completely unrelated note, my best friend definitely and absolutely DID NOT threaten me to update faster. Just thought you guys should know. Review ;)

Chapter 1

My childhood friend

A little girl was crying at a desolated park. She had scratches and cuts on her arms and feet while her short dark brown hair was slightly tousled and decorated with some twigs and dirt. A blonde haired boy passed by and saw the little girl crying. As he was a typical five year old that was filled with hero complex at that time, he bravely strode up to the girl and asked what was wrong. The girl looked up and the boy found himself attracted to the most beautiful pair of ruby red eyes.

"Hey. Are you okay? Why are you crying?"

"T-The others told me that I'm a monster b-because of my eyes. N-No one wants to p-play with me and be my friend."

The boy scoffed and said, "That's stupid. I think your eyes are pretty."

The girl looked at him and saw that he was serious.

"Y-You really think so?"

"Yup and if no one wants to play with you, then I'll play with you. So, friends?"

The boy held out his hand and the girl had a shy smile on her face. The boy grinned and without realizing it, they were playing happily and the park was filled with laughter. Soon, it was time to go home and the girl was feeling sad at the prospect of losing her new friend but the boy promised that they would meet up again tomorrow. They did and each day, they played new games or were content to just spend time with each other.

One day, the boy was drawing something on the ground by using a twig and the girl could not help but gasped at how beautiful it was.

"Wow! You're so good at drawing!"

The boy blushed and said, "It's nothing."

He continued to draw in hopes of being able to impress her and it did. The girl's eyes were wide with happiness and excitement. That day, they were so engrossed in their activity that they did not notice that it was time to go home. Their parents came to look for them and saw them. The boy's mother smiled at the girl hiding shyly behind her parents while the boy's father grinned.

"Yasu-kun, who is your friend?"

The boy beamed and said, "Mom, this is… is…"But frowned when he realized that the both of them never bothered to introduce each other. He looked at the girl and said, "I never got your name." The parents facepalmed while the girl turned red but introduced herself.

"M-My name is Mizuho Inori. N-Nice to meet you."

The boy grinned and said, "I'm Sawada I-Ieyasu. Just call me anything you want. It's hard to say my name."

His parents smiled at that and introduced themselves.

"I'm Yasu-kun's mother, Sawada Nana. Nice to meet you, Inori-chan, Mizuho-san, Mizuho-san."

"I'm Sawada Iemitsu, Ieyasu's father. Inori-chan, thank you for befriending my son. Mizuho-san, you guys have such a lovely daughter."

The Mizuho couple bowed and Inori's mother said, "Ah! No. It should be us thanking your son for befriending our daughter. She had troubles making friends because of her eyes. My name is Mizuho Shouko, by the way."

The girl's father nodded and introduced himself, "Mizuho Takumi. Pleasure to meet you. Indeed, she had. I hope that your son will continue to be friends with Inori."

Said son perked up and said, "Of course I will. I like Inori-chan."

Inori blushed lightly and said, "I-I like you too, I-Ieyasu-kun." But then she frowned and continued, "It's really hard to say your name."

The boy grinned and said, "Why don't you give me a nickname? I'll only allow you to use it."

"R-Really?"

A nod.

"Then… Ah! I know! You are very good at drawing so I'll use the name of a famous Italian painter, okay?"

"What's his name?"

"His name was-"

A girl twitched in her sleep.

"Why?! Why do you have to go?"

Inori was crying and her childhood friend could only watch in despair. The Mizuhos consoled their daughter while the Sawadas felt guilty for separating the both of them.

"Please don't cry, Inori-chan. I promise I'll come back one day."

"P-Promise?"

"Yes and when I come back, we will never be separated again."

The boy took out a pair of custom-made hoop earring his grandfather had given him for his birthday from the pocket of his shorts. It was made from platinum and had diamonds decorating it but was made for androgynous purpose so either gender could wear it. He took one of it and slipped it to the girl's left ring finger and gestured for the girl to do the same with him. Inori was puzzled but did it anyway. He then proceeded to lightly kiss his friend on the lips and grinned when he saw Inori blushed.

"W-Why did you do that?"

"I saw people do that on TV when they want to get married and now, we are married."

The men sputtered at this while the women squealed at the thought of being in-laws. Inori blushed a shade darker but nodded. She smiled shyly and said, "Then, I'll wait for you and learn how to be a good wife while waiting for you."

The parents nearly died because of the extreme cuteness and had to hold themselves from crushing the two children. The announcement for the Sawadas' plane came and Inori waved at her friend-turned-fiancé.

"I'll wait for you to come back, Giotto!"

Giotto turned around for the last time and smiled.

A loud sound of an alarm clock resounded throughout the room and a pale hand shot out to shut the annoying contraption down. A figure rose up from the bed and rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. She glanced at the alarm clock and saw that it was seven in the morning. School starts at eight so she had another hour to kill.

"A dream of the past, huh? I wonder if he still remembers our promise."

She decided to get up and went through her morning routines. After she was dressed in her school uniform, she took her glasses that was lying innocently on top of her study table and wore it. She tied her hair to a single ponytail and glanced at the mirror to check her appearance. The image that was reflected was a slightly pale girl in a ponytail wearing Namimori Middle School uniform. She also left a few strands of hair to frame the sides of her porcelain face and her glasses rested on top of her nose, shielding her plain brown eyes.

Satisfied, she grabbed a hoop earring that had diamonds embedded on it and wore it on her right ear. She went downstairs and proceeded to cook some breakfast and bento for her to eat at lunch later. She ate her breakfast and after she had finished clearing the table and washed the dishes, she looked at the clock on the wall to see that it was fifteen minutes to eight. She walked towards a picture of her parents and clapped her hands twice.

"Dad, Mom, I'm going to school now. Please continue to protect me."

She picked up her school bag with her bento inside and after wearing her shoes, she walked out of the front door and locked it. The walk to her school was peaceful and she smiled when a breeze gently caressed her face and played with her hair. She was nearing the gate of her school but frowned when she noticed that there was a commotion.

"Sasagawa-chan, please look at me."

"Kyoko-chan, please go out with me."

"Kyoko, I have an extra ticket for the movies and is wondering if you want to come with me."

"Sasagawa-sama, good morning."

Kyoko Sasagawa smiled and her fans blushed. Inori rolled her eyes.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm sorry but I'm afraid I will have to decline your offers."

The fans deflated at this but did not let it to dampen their spirits. One of them saw Inori and said, "Ah! Good morning, Mizuho-san." Inori nodded and said, "Good morning. Please move aside for a little bit. I don't want to be late for class."

"Ah! I'm sorry."

The boy moved aside and Inori nodded her thanks. All of them watched her walked away and some of the boys started to whisper amongst themselves.

"Man, Mizuho sure is scary."

"Really? I don't think so. It's really our fault for blocking the entrance."

"But, she really does not have any sexual appeal, huh? Her dark brown hair is not that rare in Japan, same with her brown eyes. Her grades are slightly above average except for Chemistry, okay in sports. Her attitude is fine. All in all, an average person."

"You got that right. Other than her double C cup, I can't see anything attractive about her."

A boy bonked the heads of the gossiping boys and seethed, "You idiots! What nonsense are you spouting in front of Kyoko-sama?!"

The Namimori's No. 1 Idol just smiled to show that she was not offended but deep down, she felt annoyance at the thought of another girl being more popular that her. Calm down, Kyoko. She's just an orphan who is a nobody while you are the queen of the school. Kyoko thought to reassure herself. She excused herself and she entered her classroom which was 1-A. She was greeted by all of her classmates but one. Inori Mizuho. Said person was sitting on her seat at the furthest seat at the back near the window, clearly enjoying the good weather.

Kyoko decided to ignore her and went to her seat. She chatted with her best friend, Hana Kurokawa, while waiting for the teacher to come. Meanwhile, a certain black haired boy was currently facing a certain brunette. The boy was sitting in front of the brunette so he turned around in his seat. Said brunette glanced at him before turning her attention back to the outside world and said, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The black haired boy beamed and replied, "Mizuho-san, can you help me with our Chemistry homework? That's your best subject, right?" He practically pleaded with his hands in front of his face, similar to how a Japanese people pray, and his eyes closed. Inori looked at him and did not reply for a while, making the boy squirm lightly.

The boy was Ugetsu Asari, the most popular boy in their class and quite possibly the whole school. He had a kind and cheerful nature which made it hard for people to hate him. It was also due to this and his expressive brown eyes that he had a massive fanclub but of course, he was ignorant about it. Sadly, his personality did nothing to help him in his studies.

Finally, she sighed and said, "Don't call me Mizuho-san. It makes me feel old."

The boy opened his eyes and beamed, "Does this mean you're helping me?"

"Yes, Asari-san."

The boy frowned.

"Hey! If I'm not allowed to call you formally, then you're not allowed to as well."

A raised eyebrow.

"What am I supposed to call you then?"

"Just call me Ugetsu."

"Then, you have to call me Inori."

"Ah… I can't."

"Why?"

"It feels weird to address a girl by her first name."

"Then, what are you calling me?"

A thinking pose.

"Hime."

"Why 'Hime'?"

"You remind me of a princess."

An incredulous look but a nod.

"Fine. So, which part do you need my help with?"

"Ah! It's this part."

Ugetsu showed her and Inori studied the problem. It was about the empirical formula and Inori understood why Ugetsu was struggling. Many students had trouble with this part as well, especially if they did not pay attention.

"To solve this, first you need to take this and this then you…"

The rest of the conversation went with Inori explaining and Ugetsu listening and solving the problem by applying the formula that Inori gave him. Soon, a friendship was formed between the two of them.

"Thanks for the help, Hime."

"No problem, Ugetsu."

They finished just in time for the teacher to come in and said teacher was smiling.

"Now, class. I know that we're almost nearing the end of the semester but we have some new transfer students."

Immediately, the whole class erupted into chatters as it was quite rare for them to receive a transfer student, let alone transfer students. Ugetsu turned around to face Inori and raised an eyebrow, silently asking if she knew about it. Inori shot him a look that said 'what makes you think I know about it?' Ugetsu grinned and twisted his body to face the teacher. Said teacher did not even notice their exchange.

"Now, please come in, the two of you."

The first to enter was a red haired boy and equally red eyes with a slight scowl on his face. He had a flame-like tattoo on the right side of his face that added to his charm, if the squeals of the newly formed fanclub were anything to go by. He glanced around the classroom and as if satisfied with it, he nodded to the other transfer student outside.

The next person to enter was the one that made Inori's eyes go wide with shock. He had a spiky blonde hair and sunset orange eyes. He was incredibly handsome, no doubt about that, and his lips were stretched slightly to form a tiny smile that did nothing to help the palpitating hearts of the fangirls. His eyes swept over the entire class and paused slightly when it reached her. Inori pretended not to notice.

"Now, why don't the both of you introduce yourself to the class?"

"Hai, Yamada-sensei."

The red head stepped forward and started, "My name is G. and that's all you need to know about my name. My best friend is this person standing next to me. My likes and dislikes are none of your business."

The boys, Inori, Yamada-sensei and the red head's best friend sweatdropped at that while the fangirls swooned. The blonde cleared his throat and again, he smiled before introducing himself.

"My name is Sawada Ieyasu and as mentioned earlier, I'm G's best friend. I like sweet things and coffee. My dislikes… well, I don't particularly hate anything."

Yamada-sensei nodded and said, "Do you guys have any questions to ask?" Immediately, hands shot up and the two new students were attacked with barrages of questions.

"Is G. your real name or a nickname?"

"Is your hair natural?"

"You guys are so handsome!"

"What are your favourite foods?"

"Where are you from?"

"Where do you live?"

And of course, let us not forget the most popular question.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

The two new students sweatdropped but answered them anyway. The blonde was the one to answer it for them.

"G. is his nickname but please don't ask about his real name. Yes, our hairs are natural. Thank you for the compliment. My favourite food is strawberry shortcake while G doesn't have any in particular. We're from Italy and we're currently living with my family. G already has a girlfriend while I'm searching for someone."

A girl asked, "Who are you looking for, Sawada-kun?" Giotto smiled wistfully and answered, "I'm looking for my childhood sweetheart. We were separated since we were kids and all I could remember about her are her beautiful red eyes, her name and her kind smiles."

"Does she live in Namimori?"

"Yes… or at least I think she is. We met in this town, after all."

By now, the whole class was moved by his story and the girls said, "I hope you find her soon, Sawada-kun. But, I can't seem to recall someone with red eyes in this town. Such unusual eye colour would have attracted attention."

Giotto looked downcast and muttered "I see." The teacher coughed and said, "Well, why don't we get you guys seated?"

She looked around and saw that the seats next to Ugetsu and Inori were empty. She then said, "G, you will seat next to Asari. Asari, raise your hand."

"Hai." Ugetsu raised his hand and G was about to go to his seat when the teacher spoke her next sentence.

"Sawada, you will sit next to Mizuho. Mizuho, raise your hand."

Giotto's eyes widen and he stuttered, "I-Inori?" Inori tilted her head downwards to hide her tear-filled eyes and mumbled, "Yamada-sensei, may I be excused? I don't feel so well." Yamada-sensei nodded and said, "Yes, you may. Be careful on your way to the infirmary, Mizuho."

"Hai, sensei."

Inori walked briskly to the direction of the infirmary while Giotto started to chase after her, completely ignoring the shell-shocked class.

"Inori, wait!"

The whole class turned to G for explanation and he said, "The name of De-Ieyasu's childhood love is Mizuho Inori."

"Eh?! But, Mizuho has brown eyes!"

G ignored the chaotic class and went to his seat. Giotto finally managed to catch up to Inori but before he could say anything, she had locked the door of the infirmary from inside. Giotto banged on the door and yelled, "Inori, open this door!"

"No! Go away!"

"I have the right to see my fiancée!"

At that sentence, Inori's grip faltered and Giotto managed to knock the door down. The former squeaked and tried to hide but there was not any place to hide at the deserted infirmary. Inori was cornered with her back against a wall and Giotto a few feet in front of her. Giotto smirked and said, "You have nowhere to run, Inori." before he slowly closed in on her.