Once again, Fanfiction has changed a bit. And what's the change this time? Having a "filters" button whenever you go to an archive (I don't know how else to explain it. XP). Just how many times has Fanfiction changed its "appearance" since it first appeared on the internet in 1998? 50? 100? 500? You know what, I don't care. I can't complain about it. Anyway, enjoy!

Iloveallanime16: I don't think there's anyone who's a bigger masochist than Ayame (Which was why I put her in both games). XD


New Years' Eve had arrived. It was only a day before the new year, and I'm not that excited about it – in fact, I'm never that excited when it comes to New Years – but it's nice going into a new year.

My parents and I were going to a New Years' party at dad's workplace. Dad told us that the people who worked there were allowed to bring family members, including children, as long as they didn't drink any alcohol. I never plan on drinking alcohol, even when I turn into an adult, so I wouldn't be stupid enough to do that.

We arrived at the building dad worked at, and dad said, "Here we are."

Out of curiosity, I asked, "Which floor is the party?"

"The top floor, and the second to top floor."

"Ah."

We all got out of the car, and I pulled my hood up, because it was snowing again. Actually, it had been snowing since sometime before Christmas.

Mom and dad ran ahead of me, but I widened my eyes, and exclaimed, "Oi! Wait for me!"

I ran after then, and in a matter of seconds, we entered the tall building.

As soon as I was beside my parents, I practically yelled, "Why didn't you wait for me?!"

Mom rolled her eyes, and replied, "Kita, we parked the car close to the building, so there was no need to wait for you."

Gee, way to sound harsh, you jerk!

That was the most "insulting" name I could think of for my mom. I wouldn't call her a bitch, because I'd feel bad for myself, since she's my mother.

Anyway, I grumbled inaudible words, and my parents ignored me. We went into an elevator, and mom asked as the elevator doors closed, "Kenichi, which floor are we going to, first?"

Dad answered as he pressed one of the buttons, "We're going to the second to top floor."

"Oh, okay. What's going to be there?"

"You mean what kind of food and drinks there'll be?"

"Yes."

"Well, there's going to be wine, caviar, and as for food, there will be fruit, vegetables, and other snacks."

I thought with a small smile, At least there'll be healthy food. Not that I don't like junk food, but I'd prefer to eat healthier.

Soon, we exited out of the elevator, and we saw that the floor was crowded by other employee's.

I widened my eyes in surprise, and dad seemed to notice my expression, because he asked, "Are you this surprised, Kita?"

He chuckled, and I answered, "Yeah, kind of."

Another chuckle escaped his lips, and he said, "Anyway, I've been told, by some of the other employee's, that they have kids who go to the same school as you."

My eyes widened again, only I asked, "What?"

"Some of their kids go to the same school as you."

My mouth parted, and I stayed silent.

Wow, that was unexpected.

I asked my dad another question, "Can I go look around?"

He nodded, "You may."

With that, I began to look around the floor. I turned my head both ways as I entered a big "room". I wouldn't call it an office, because an office is smaller. Much smaller.

Anyway, I walked through the "room", but heard a familiar voice.

"Kentomuro-San?"

Blinking my emerald eyes, I turned around, only to see Matako Kijima.

I raised an eyebrow, and replied, "Kijima-San?"

"Well, I didn't expect you to be here," Matako said as she crossed her arms, smirking.

I rolled my eyes, and said, "My dad works here, so…yeah. Does your dad work here as well?"

"Actually, both my parents work here."

"Hm," I hummed.

"Anyway, I'm sad that Shinsuke-Sama isn't here. Neither of his parents work here, so that makes me sad."

"You said that already," I muttered.

She ignored me, though, and continued, "But at least there's food. I haven't eaten anything today, so the only thing that's making me happy is the food."

I rolled my eyes again as she walked away from me. And come to think of it, I was getting hungry. I haven't eaten anything since lunch, which would explain the reason why my stomach was growling.

I landed a hand on my stomach, and thought, I better eat something from the snack station.

Shrugging my shoulder, I walked to the snack station. There, I saw all kinds of healthy foods. From apples, to broccoli.

I smiled slightly, and grabbed an apple. I then took a bite of it, and noticed how juicy it was. It was probably the juiciest apple I've ever eaten, but that didn't matter. I was hungry, so I also grabbed a couple of crackers, and a bottle of orange juice.

I finished up the apple moments later, and I threw it in a nearby garbage can. I also ate my crackers, which were good, by the way. The crackers were salty, but not too salty. The amount of salt in it was just right.

Just as I finished eating a dozen crackers, I heard two voices say my name.

One voice said, "Hello, Kita-San."

The other said, "Hey, Kentomuro-San."

Turning around, I saw Toshiro and Suri. Toshiro had his hands in his pockets as Suri clasped her hands together.

I gulped down the chewed-up crackers, and replied, "Oh, hey." When I didn't see Kyra, I asked with a raised brow, "Where's Kyra?"

Suri sighed, "She's sick, so she was forced to stay home."

My jaw dropped, but I wasn't all that shocked, because she probably got the flu, since it is cold outside.

I sighed as well, "So does that mean she's in her out-of-control mood?"

Suri nodded, "Yes. Because of that, dad stayed home to take care of her. My mom works here, though, and she wanted me to come, so I did. I'm worried about Kyra, though."

Toshiro ran his fingers through his hair, and said, "I'm just glad I don't have to take care of her when she's sick. The last time I was at her house, while she was sick, she tied me up."

Oh god, I remember when Suri-Chan told me that. Kyra tied him up like bondage.

Toshiro added, "Until she's feeling better, I don't want to be near her."

"I thought you hated being near her, even when she's not sick," I jokingly said with a smirk.

Toshiro rolled his blue eyes, and replied, "I do, but she's always wanting to be close to me, whether I like it or not. I think the reason why is because of that stupid kiss in the play we were in."

"Did you like kissing her?"

"EH?!" He yelled, and then glared at me.

Just then, his mother walked by, and landed a hand on his shoulder. She told him, "Toshiro, you should be happy that you finally got to kiss a girl."

Toshiro also glared at his mother, and yelled once more, "I'M NOT HAPPY! I'LL NEVER BE HAPPY THAT HAPPENED! KYRA-SAN'S A BRAT, SO SHE'LL NEVER BE MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"I never said that, though I'm pretty sure you two would be an adorable couple."

His cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he scolded, "Mom, will you cut that out?! We'd never make an adorable couple, because Kyra annoys the hell out of me!" Toshiro walked away from his mother, Suri, and I, and I gave out a chuckle.

His mother pouted, "Won't my son ever stop being stubborn?" She shrugged her shoulders, and walked away as well.

Suri gave me a cracked smile, and said, "Sorry."

"Why're you apologizing?" I asked.

She paused, and then mumbled, "I don't know."

I chuckled once again, and patted her on the shoulder. I walked past the orange-haired girl, and opened up my orange juice.

After walking across the "room" I leaned my back against the wall, and took a sip of my orange juice. Since the orange juice was in a cooler, filled with ice, it was cold, but it was so cold, that it was delicious…if that made any sense whatsoever.

I took a few more sips of my orange juice, but I suddenly saw Toshiro and Matako fighting over something.

Out of curiosity, I walked towards the duo, and when I was close enough, I realized that they were fighting over a wine bottle.

Seriously? I thought they weren't allowed to drink wine.

But I saw the label on it, and found it that it was actually cider, not wine.

I thought again, Oh, its cider. Never mind.

Matako growled, "It's my cider!"

"No, it's mine! I'm thirsty!"

"There're other beverages, you know!"

"But I prefer cider!"

I rubbed my forehead, and murmured almost inaudibly, "Shut up, you two. You're causing people to stare at you."

This reminded me of when Kyra and Ayame were having an argument about wishes at the shrine.

My mom grabbed the bottle of cider away from the two, and she exclaimed, "Knock it off, you two! You aren't five anymore! There's plenty of cider over there!" She pointed at a table, lined with cider. I blinked, feeling a bit lost, because I didn't see those bottles there before. Maybe they were set up after I walked through this "room".

Sweat drops rolled down Toshiro and Matako's cheeks, and they looked at each other, but glared at one another before they turned away. Toshiro took the bottle from my mom's hand, and Matako went to the table to grab her own bottle.

I sighed, and said to no one in particular, "They're so childish."

Three and a half hours later…

It was about 15 minutes before New Years'. I knew time would fly by fast, but strangely enough, time was feeling too slow.

I crossed my arms, and sat down in a chair as I thought, Why does time feel so slow? I mean, I'm not impatient or anything, but I want time to go a bit fast.

I bit my lower lip, and all of a sudden, my phone started to ring. I blinked, and pulled out my phone, staring at me.

I wonder who's calling me.

When I opened my phone up, I found out that it was Kyra. I widened my eyes in surprise, and thought yet again, Oh, boy. I have a feeling Kyra's going to be yelling through the phone. Maybe she wants to wish me a happy new year, though.

I answered the call, and set the phone on my ear as I asked, "Hello?"

"YO, KITA-TOKI!" She shouted through the phone. I pulled the phone away from my ear, because she was being too loud.

I frowned, and wondered, Apparently, she tends to add fake honorifics whenever she's sick.

The last time she was sick, she added "Domo" to my name. I'm surprised I still remember that.

I asked, "Kyra, are you getting enough rest?"

"Tch," She scoffed. "Of course I'm getting enough rest! I was forced to stay in bed all day long, which sucked ass! I wanted to go to Toshi-grouch's house, but my parents, even Suri, wouldn't let me! That also sucked ass! I wish I could never be sick! WAAAHH!"

"Kyra, will you stop yelling?!" I nearly shouted, but tried not to, since that would cause people to stare at me awkwardly.

"Nah, I don't wanna," She said stubbornly.

I clenched my teeth, and growled, "You're a brat, you know that?"

"EEEHHH?!" She screamed.

Just then, I could hear her dad in the background. "Kyra! You shouldn't be on the phone! You need some sleep!"

I could also hear him stomping towards her. Before Kyra hung up, she shouted, "HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR, KITA!" With that, the call ended.

I held my cellphone in front of my face, and thought as a drop of sweat rolled down my cheek, Well, that was an awkward call.

I heard Toshiro ask me, "Was that Kyra-San?"

I nodded slowly, "Yeah. She was mostly yelling throughout the call, though."

Toshiro sighed angrily, "That's not surprising."

"She did wish me a happy new year, which is good."

He didn't reply, and he walked past me.

Over ten minutes have gone by, and it was getting closer and closer to the new year. Mom told me to stay by her and dad by the time everybody would scream, 'happy new year', though I thought it was a little unnecessary. But I didn't say anything, so I stayed with my parents.

A man turned on the T.V., and he changed the channel. There, we saw people outside, counting down, since it was very close to midnight.

Mom whispered in my ear, "Alright, Kita. It's just about a minute before New Years', so start counting down!"

I rolled my eyes, but as soon as the clock hit 11:59, I counted down anyway.

Everyone in the room said, counting down the clock, "59…58…57…56…55…"

I mumbled the numbers, and thought, You know, a lot of stuff has happened during this year. And it's mostly school-related.

"…42…41…40…39…38…37…"

I don't know…high school is so crazy. Wait, why am I thinking about school now? I need to count down!

I spoke a little louder, but I still couldn't hear myself speak.

Everyone continued, "…18…17…16…15…14…13…"

All the people, who were on T.V., smiled and started jumping up and down, as if they were going on a roller coaster. It was less than ten seconds before midnight, but I stopped counting down, because I felt there was no need to, anymore.

"…5…4…3…2…1…"

As soon as the clock hit midnight, everyone screamed, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Since it was so loud in here, I covered my ears with my hands, and yelled in my head, Why does everybody have to be so loud?! I understand that they're cheering off the New Year, but this is ridiculous!

As soon as I let go of my ears, dad and mom patted my shoulders. I looked up to them, and dad said, "Happy New Year, Kita."

I blinked multiple times, but smiled, and replied, "Happy New Year."

Some people were having wine, while others were throwing confetti at each other. Some of the confetti got in my hair, but I ignored it.

My smile grew bigger, and although I couldn't hear myself think, I thought, Yeah…Happy New Year.


Phew! I managed to write down another chapter! And the quicker I write them down, the quicker this story will be done! :D And I wanted to post a new story after I finished "Chibi's Are Too Cute", but...this needs to be done first. :P

Hope you enjoyed chapter 44! :)