A/N: Let's start with someone new, okay? Thank you for choosing to read Sister Strings)


The Spark

"I won't allow you to play with his feelings, nee-chan," Takano started as she poured him a cup of coffee that morning.

"I'm not planning to do that, Masamune," she replied, taken aback, "What kind of person do you think I am?"

"I'm just saying," continued her brother as he leaned against the kitchen counter with a cigarette in his mouth, "That I only want you to push through with this thing you want to do today if you are absolutely sure that you're ready to put him back in your life and not because you want to have someone to run to or rebound from…"

Ana poured herself a cup of coffee as well, and poured a bit of milk before she clasped it between her hands, "This is where that began, isn't it?"

Masamune looked at her with his honey-brown eyes, but said nothing.

"I leaned upon him, just absolutely adored everything that we were becoming," she started, "But when I thought that I was taking advantage of his love for me, I didn't immediately realize that I was in love with him I thought I was a horrible person, and… I just left,"

"Which actually made you the horrible person," Takano said after puffing out a small cloud of smoke, "You didn't even tell me anything until you were an ocean away. What was with that?"

The young author, clad in her night gown, walked over to her brother, set her coffee down on the counter, and gave him an apologetic embrace, "You were going through some pretty tough things too, Masamune," she said, "I didn't want you to think that I was broken, after you've looked up to me so much,"

"You idiot," and Takano chuckled, lightly ruffling her raven locks, "The reason why I want you to tell me these things is because I look up to you and I want you to know that I am always going to be here for you, whether or not I'm in some shit myself. You've been there for me when nobody was, so I'd like to repay the favor,"

Ana beamed at him, and Takano smiled right back.

Pulling away and picking up her cup of coffee, Ana heaved a heavy sigh, "Do I have to tell him that?"

"By all means necessary, please." And Takano pressed his cigarette butt into a tray, picked up his coffee cup and began to get ready for work.

"There will always be that one person who, no matter how much things have changed, you will always have a thing for. "

"You're lucky you reached this part of the cycle,"

Ana nearly jumped off her seat as Yokozawa sat before her and snapped her out of her stance.

"You've got a few days until they start to become zombies or something," Yokozawa added with his trademark grimace.

"I guess I better find some cover before Masamune comes crawling for my blood," she countered with sardonic humor.

Yokozawa stared her down, "What do you want, Ana?" he demanded coldly.

"I…" why was he acting like that all of a sudden? Remind me again, Takano, who's tsundere? "I wanted to talk to you,"

"You can do that by calling," he was about to stand when Ana reached out to grab his hand.

"Please?" she was begging him now, even with her heart thumping because it just absolutely pained her to see him turn his back on her, "Just this one more time?"

Yokozawa looked at her, then sighed and sat back down, "Masamune put you up to this, didn't he?"

"Yes, but even without him I still wanted to talk to you," she replied, withdrawing her hands from his hand and setting them on her lap.

Narrowing his eyes, Yokozawa glared at her, "He told you I was still in love with you, didn't he?" he demanded, "And if that's what you want to talk about, it's useless because I already have someone else-"

"Tell me about it."

She didn't know why she said it, and why she said it in such a casual way as well. Somehow, it pained her when Yokozawa said those words, but she just wanted to know. Yokozawa seemed appalled by her as well.

"What did you just say?" he asked her almost breathlessly.

"Tell me about this 'someone else' that you've got," Ana answered him slowly. She didn't even know why she was saying it as nicely, but she wanted to shout at him and demand the information from him because he kept it a secret from her but she knew that she had no right to say such things Yokozawa wasn't her possession, and he was free to do as he pleased. And especially after what happened to them, all of that was clearly out of place.

He was hesitant, "… Why?"

The food arrived, and all they did was gaze intently into each other's eyes. A large plate of white-sauced pasta arrived for Ana, and a dory-fillet with lemon sauce and rice arrived for Yokozawa, but all they could do was just look at each other. Ana could literally feel her heart thumping against her chest but she fought it back greatly.Don't you go leading him on again, you dumb girl! Don't you go hurting a man who loved you so much more than once.

"I just don't want you to be guarded again," she said slowly. Yokozawa's eyes widened, "And, I could feel the tension when I touch you, or approach you without you expecting it and… it burns, you know? Because I'm so used to just to us being… Us,"

Yokozawa sighed, but decided to say nothing about it. Taking the knife and fork, he looked at the food and said, "Let's eat first,"

And they spent the rest of the meal in a painful and loud silence.

X.o.X

"It's you,"

Ana's ears perked up as Yokozawa said those two words but she didn't really understand. Their food had been taken away and only two cups of coffee remained on the table. The young author looked at him with confusion in her eyes, "What?"

"Yesterday," Yokozawa began explaining, his blue eyes turning to her, "You told me not to be guarded, because it's just you," he sighed heavily, "But that's actually it. I'm guarded because it's you if you only had any idea what happened after that, you would-"

"I know everything that happened after that, and believe me when I say I absolutely understand,"

Yokozawa was surprised at the heavy, miserable tone that she was using. She was usually the epitome of sunshine, so it was new to him to see her like that. It was clear to him that there was something more that they had to talk about.

"I know what Takano could tell you," Yokozawa began slowly, "It would be what I would have told him… But tell me this: why? Why would you leave me like that just after I told you that I love you?"

All of a sudden, Ana's fingertips began to be very interesting as she avoided Yokozawa's gaze, "Because I loved you too," she said simply, her voice shaking, "But you would be surprised how I didn't know that…"

"I'm not really surprised," Yokozawa said with a frown, "But I don't believe you," his gaze at her became colder, "Had you loved me, you would have stayed,"

"I'm already admitting the fact that I was stupid, Takafumi," she argued with him, looking up with tears brimming in her eyes, which shocked Yokozawa, "The least you can do is think about how it could have been in my point of view!"

"Have you seen it in mine?" he demanded, "You know that I only went into Marukawa to follow you but we haven't even talked about this whole fiasco in five years! Why would you leave me to my misery, and my undying love for you, if you loved me too?" this statement earned stares from the people in surrounding tables so his voice dropped drastically, "Had you loved me, you would have stayed by my side…"

"Not if you deserved so much more."

At these words, Yokozawa's eyes widened. Did I just hear that right?

"What in the world," he began, concern emanating in his voice, "Would make you think that you didn't deserve my love?"

It wasn't just her voice now, but Ana had begun trembling too, her eyes turning back down to the hands she had placed on her lap, "You were… So nice," she started, "I was used to people liking me boys, girls, it happened," Yokozawa had to roll his eyes here, "But I didn't know how it felt to like one of them back… To love one of them back. You were different from how all of the other people who liked me acted around me you were who you are, and I liked that,"

To his surprise, her tear-stained face looked up at him, "And when you told me you loved me, I couldn't stand the fact that I was taking advantage of someone who's so honest and so genuinely caring and loved me, for that matter," she gulped and blinked a couple of tears out, "I couldn't stand the fact that you loved me and I didn't know if I loved you enough…"

Yokozawa gaped at her, "Ana…" he said her name softly this time, "We shared a room, became each other's best friends and basically just lived the happy life like we were married," he started, "We would sleep beside each other like it's the most natural thing to do. I told you I loved you and we made love… You left right after that, and nowyou tell me that you didn't know if you loved me enough?"

"I said I was stupid, right?" Ana retorted in between snuffles, "I… I thought it was best, you know? I was a horrible person to take advantage of someone's true love and you would eventually find someone who'd genuinely love you too…" she drew a deep breath here, "I only realized that I was honestly in love with you and I just couldn't handle the fact that it finally happened to me when Masamune slammed the facts into my head literally,"

Yokozawa sighed, "So it's true, then?" he leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, "That the guy who ends up with the main character in your book is based on me?"

Ana began trembling again and Yokozawa noticed that tears began streaming down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she cried, "It's just that…You were just crazy sometimes, and frustrating… But it pulled me in, you know? It was intoxicating, I can't explain it. It was a complicated emotion," she sniffed and attempted to wipe away her tears, "Whatever I did, I always missed you. And I want you to be the same around me again, because I can't lose you… I don't want you to leave my life. I've never been so comfortable with anyone else except you. Not even Kagami ever let me feel that way and I guess you'll always be the first person to make me fall in love…"

She knew that it was embarrassing to finally admit it but she wanted to be completely honest with him. She didn't want to leave anything unsaid anymore. Besides, she promised Takano.

Ana heard Yokozawa's chair move and graze the wooden floors. Of course he'd leave, you idiot. You're humiliating, crying like that. Honestly! She cried harder, expecting that she'd be alone just as she left him alone all those years back. I deserve this.

However, much to her surprise, a gentle hand pushed her chin up and her shocked amber eyes met with blue ones just as they were about to close and her lips met a pair of familiar soft lips. At first, she was so shocked she couldn't move but as Yokozawa kissed her deeper, she managed to finally respond and cup his face between her hands.

"Excuse me, sir, someone is endeavouring to contact you. Shall I tell them to fuck off?"

Pulling away after hearing his ringtone, Yokozawa smirked at her, "Still the easiest way to stop you from crying,"

Her eyes still livid, Ana's lips formed a soft smile at how he teased her, "At least you know it still works,"

The sales head straightened up and withdrew his cell phone from his pocket, "What?" he demanded, then he scoffed and frowned again, "All right. Tell them I'm on my way back," ending his call, he turned back to Ana, "I'm being called to a meeting," he started.

Ana wiped away the remnants of her tears, then nodded, "It's all right," she began, "You should go… I know you're working very hard and you're proud of what you've done~"

Yokozawa nodded and turned to leave, "Coffee tomorrow at three, all right?" he called back to her as he walked away, "Ask permission already!"

Wait. Wait. Wait… What?

"… Are you asking me out?" she called out just as Yokozawa reached the front door of the café.

He turned to her with a serious face, "Only if you see it that way."

Ana sank into her seat, sweating and nervous, a hot blush staining her cheeks. What am I going to do?

Right on time, her phone began ringing:

"Drop everything now, meet me in the pouring rain. Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain-"

"H-hello?" her voice trembled, "Mi-chan?"

"Hi love," the voice of her boyfriend rang in her ears, "I'm just checking on you, as usual… What's happening there?"

She paused for a moment and felt like crying again. There was much to be done in her life too much. And this time, she didn't need Takano to tell her twice what she should do. Besides, she didn't really like to be the cause of heartbreak, for anyone.

"… I have something to tell you,"


A/N: What was it Ana-sensei had to say?