A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for such a really slow update! Hope this chapter will serve as a compensation. :D Please visit my profile for the replies to the reviews I have received and for you guys to hear the song as well as its translation (since it's a Korean song. :)


Dreaming of a Luminary

'Growing Fondness'

Chapter 3

"Sakuno, Sakuno, wake up, Sakuno. Sakuno, wake up!"

"Wha...? Whoa!"

"You're going to be late if you don't wake up now." Her grandmother stated casually.

That made Sakuno dash to the bathroom, ready for an icy bath.

"Good morning, Grandma!" she added as she entered the bathroom.

~oOo~

Sumire, Sakuno's grandmother, prepared her a breakfast of fluffy scrambled eggs and warm waffles. It was a great stimulant to Sakuno's still half asleep mind. The scent of the food just sends you to heaven! It pumps you up to do productive things all throughout the day.

"Ah," she said as she sniff the food in front of her, "This is just right." She warmly smiled at her grandmother.

Sumire chuckled and said, "Yes, but you better hurry up!"

"Yes!"

Sakuno: ate as fast as she can, put on her white socks and black shoes, and prepared her things for school. After that, she bid her grandmother goodbye with a sweet kiss on her cheek.

She walked on the gray sidewalk without much thought until she remembered seeing big yellow feline eyes right before she was fast asleep. That made her halt on her tracks. She paused as she tried to think what that could have been.

"It's vaguely familiar."

"Meow!" Came a soft purr behind her.

She turned her head to see a black cat about to cross the street. But before it did, the cat gave her a sort of small nod as if to regard her presence. Sakuno dropped her jaw. Never did she see a cat do that once.

"Oh well."

Her eyes flew across the street only to see a familiar man wrapped in thick clothes. Upon making an eye contact with her, he hurriedly went away.

A distant ringing of the school bell breaks her silent train of thoughts.

"Shoot! I'm late!"

Sakuno made a mad dart to the school. She barely made it. Panting, she made her way to her classroom and settled down on her chair. She is ready to tackle the day's lessons.

~oOo~

The day passed without many incidents. She did not precisely remember things, her lessons to be exact, except Tomoka's occasional fangirling.

"Mou, fangirling."

"Kyaaaaa!" Tomoka shouted during their recess. "You just gotta know them Sakuno! All of them are absolutely sent from heaven!"

"Ummm, that just a waste of time." She replied.

"You don't understand the life of a fangirl." Tomoka said while placing her hands dramatically on her forehead.

"That's because I'm not one." Sakuno retorted.

"Don't you know how hard it is?" She said while fake tears formed around her eyes. Sakuno distanced herself from Tomoka a little.

"Anyway!" She said lively. She is erratic, isn't she? "The members of the Band of Princes are oh-so-handsome-and-awesome!" Tomoka said in a not-so-small voice.

"Pipe down! Nobody wants to hear that." Sakuno said with stern eyes.

"Did I just hear Band of Princes?" A voice suddenly asked out of nowhere.

"Kyaaa! They are just perfect, aren't they?" Another voice said.

"Yup, yup that's right." Tomoka said to the gathering crowd of fangirls. "And as a president of the official fanclub—"

"Ummm," Sakuno abruptly interrupted Tomoka, "since when were you exactly the president of the fanclub?"

"Oh, about a few minutes ago." Tomoka heedlessly replied. "As I was saying, we need to tell them our undying love!"

"Hurray!" The girls applauded and cheered to this.

"Girls, what is your obsession!" The newly self-declared president asked.

"Band of Princes! Awooo! Awooo!"

Sakuno was dumbfounded with all this. Even so, she continued watching them. She remembered that they were still inside the school's premises yet here they are, howling and cheering to their hearts' content.

"Calm your booty ladies!"

But it went unheard in the vast ocean of sixteen year-old girls. Slowly afterwards, the girls started to disperse. It seems that they have finished "planning" their activities for the recently founded fan club.

Ring!

That signaled the start of classes and the end of the break. She quickly disposed her waste and bid Tomoka goodbye as she went to her own classroom. Somehow, it all went smoothly for Sakuno. Nothing too important happened, at least for her.

"As usual."

~oOo~

Another long tolling of the bell was heard a few hours later. It was time for lunch. Just in perfect timing for stomachs were already grumbling. Delicious scents of mouth-watering food filled the air as students opened their lunchboxes. Fried chicken, rice wrapped in seaweed, octopus shaped sausages, omelets different colored vegetables- everything was appetizing!

Sakuno sighed as she sat on a chair and laid her own metallic lunchbox on a table. She opened it.

"Aw," Tomoka said from behind her. "That is so cute!"

"What's so cute? It's just food." She replied.

"But it's styled so cutely and beautifully that I don't want to eat it."

"You won't be eating it. I will. Duh, it's my lunch!" Sakuno said while sticking out her tongue to Tomoka.

"What a meanie."

This time, Sakuno gave a little chuckle.

"So, what do you have for lunch?" She asked.

"This." Tomoka said while pointing at her lunch.

"Yummy." Sakuno said sarcastically.

"That's all you can say?" She asked with pouty lips. After a few silent moments, the two of them laughed. They shared each other's lunch. When they finished eating, Tomoka and Sakuno were very full and satisfied.

"Sakuno, you should really get a life."

"Don't I live one already?" She asked.

"No, I mean yes." Tomoka sighed in defeat. "It's just that, you don't really get out much and you don't have that 'social life' as everyone calls it."

"Uh, I don't really need one." She replied.

"It's unhealthy." Tomoka simply stated.

"But you have too much of it too! It's unhealthy!" She stuck her tongue once again.

They giggled.

"Seriously though," Tomoka said. "The members of Band of Princes are all handsome!"

"I have heard of them."

"Great! Your're taking your first step towards having a social life!" Tomoka proclaimed.

"Humph." She remarked. "So, what about them? They are just stuck up pretty boys. They are not that great."

"Didn't I just mention it?" Tomoka asks. "They are all very handsome!"

"That shouldn't be your only basis on being a fan of them."

"They do have talents!" Tomoka cried. "Especially Ryoma!" She then pulled out a humungous poster in front of Sakuno.

"This is Ryoma." She pointed to the youngest looking member. A flash of memory crossed Sakuno's mind. It was fast and cloudy but it left an imprint on her mind.

"Golden, cat-like eyes. Hmmm, vaguely familiar."

However, Sakuno just shrugged it off.

"He has a beautiful voice like that of an angel—"

"Have you heard angels before?"

"Then he can play the guitar—"

"There are others that can play better than he does."

"And he has the looks! He's practically the total package!"

Sakuno was taken aback. It was true in any way you see it.

"See, you are speechless."

"Everybody could see that."

"Ha! I win! You like them!"

"How could you easily conclude—"

Ring!

Both of them stopped from their argument.

"Have we been arguing the entire time?" Tomoka asked.

"Apparently," She stated nonchalantly. "We have to go!"

They hurriedly went into their classrooms after they finished cleaning up their mess. Their classes started and so on and so forth. Once again, barely anything registers into her mind. Although Sakuno took down notes, the day feels different. At most times, she thinks she could hear a familiar tune only for it to instantly vanish once she pays attention to it.

"Boring, boring, boring."

Ring!

"Yay!" Everyone in her room rejoiced for that signals the end of classes.

"Finally!"

Everyone started to prepare their things even though the teacher hasn't given a formal goodbye yet. All were ready to go. Everybody hastily went out of the room as soon as the teacher said his goodbye.

~oOo~

"Sakuno!"

She stopped in her tracks and turned to see her best friend, Tomoka, approaching her.

"Sakuno! Wait! Sakuno!"

"What!"

"Look at this," Tomoka drew her eyebrows. "No, wait. Hear this."

Tomoka took out her pink mini music player, adorned with rhinestones that were glimmering in the orange sun, with matching pink earphones.

"Wait for it."

She waited and then it began. A song that started out slow that turned into powerful at the end. It must have been the great playing of the drums that gave it so much power. Add in the powerful voice of the lead singer, it was catchy but a sad song. There was so much sorrow from it.

Tomoka repeated the song many times that she lost count. All she knows is that she was enjoying every moment of it. She was even humming to some parts of the song.

"Good bye, my love…"

"Even though my filling up tears soaks my whole body…"

"Step by step, you are getting far away from me…"

But as quick as it came, it was gone. Tomoka had turned off her music player.

"Well, I gotta go now! See ya tomorrow Sakuno!" Tomoka said while waving her hand as she ran towards the direction of her home.

"Bye!"

When Tomoka had left, Sakuno sprinted to her home. She arrived quickly but she forgot to greet her grandmother in her haste. She hummed as she went directly to her room. Once inside her cream colored room, she put her bag down with a thud and turned on her computer. She sat down on the ergonomic chair as she waited for the monitor to come to life.

"Sakuno?" Her grandmother asked as she opened the door to her pretty room. In her room hung a big painting of musical notes. It was to remind her of classical music. Her bed was a lighter shade of white with silken bed sheets. To contrast her white walls and bed, Sakuno's closet was chocolate brown. Her bedside table was chocolate brown too. Everything in her room was a balance between white and brown.

"Yes? Oh!" Sakuno stood from the chair and gave her grandma a quick kiss on the cheeks. "Sorry grandma." She said with a wide smile on her face.

"What are you doing?" Sumire asked as she watch her granddaughter sit back down on the chair.

"I'll just be searching something." She courteously replied.

"Hmmm, okay." Her grandmother said. "But you better come down and eat refreshments."

"'Kay."

"Good bye, my love…"

"Even though my filling up tears soaks my whole body…"

"Step by step, you are getting far away from me…"

Sakuno continued humming the song while she was surfing the internet for a certain band. The band she thought she disliked but for some reason she was getting addicted to their song. Little did she know, it was starting to grow on her.


Please read and review! It's highly appreciated! Until next! Please watch out for the 4th chapter!