CHAPTER 1

"And cut! That's a wrap everyone, thank-you all for your hard work this past year!"

The sounds of exhausted cheers could be heard from the people both in-front and behind the camera as the lights went back to their full brightness. Hugs and choruses of high-fives could be seen as everyone was congratulating each other for a job well done. A few even wiped a few tears from their eyes, knowing that the project was finally over. Relieved chatter was also prominent within the hubbub of everyone gathered, and one could see flowers given to the director, who had accepted his gifts while blushing and humbly giving his gratitude to his crew and cast.

In the centre of it all, a girl of seventeen could be seen animatedly talking and waving her arms about with the actors and actresses that surrounded her; giving them smiles and hugs as a few tears leaked out of her eyes. Her name was Sana Kurata; the main actress of the film that everyone had just finished filming. Beside her, her co-actor, Naozumi Kamura, was giving everyone his thanks and congratulations for all their hard work. Both held flowers in their arms, and bags of goodies around their wrists. Despite having their arms full, they still made the motions to give their gratitude as best as they could, for this was a film that had taken a lot of hard-work and soul in-order for it to be completed. It took a whole year out of their lives, which meant that, since the movie had now wrapped up, it was time for the two film stars to return back to their everyday lives, with interviews and photoshoots here and there. For Naozumi, this meant that he'd go on to finish shooting commercials and T.V. spots that he had lined up. There was no need for him to go back to school—at-least, a public one, as he had resorted to on-set schooling ever since he was young for the ease of young actor. As for Sana, she loved the experience of going to a public school, so she had never shied away from one, even while she was making a career for herself. With the film being complete, she would go back to Jinbo high-school, and hopefully make a home with her friends there once again while they completed their final year. They were used to her always being away, but this was one of her most biggest projects yet—she wondered if this time, they would still treat her kindly, and with open arms.

Sana was shaken from her thoughts when Haruna Yamamoto, one of the crew's notorious photographers, all but wildly waved and chirped out whilst holding her camera, "Sana! Naozumi! Look over here!", causing some chuckles as the people that had surrounded them made some room, so it was only the pair left standing in the centre. "Let's get a good photo, okay?" She grinned, crouching a little as she got ready to capture the moment.

"Oh Haruna," Sana giggled, shaking her head as she knew that Haruna would find some way to make this photo look less like how it was perceived and more appealing to the masses. She gave Naozumi a nervous look while he gave her a comforting smile back, flashing his bright teeth.

"You ready?" he smiled, already wrapping his left arm around her waist. His hand gripped her hip as he looked over at her, still smiling.

Sana felt a light blush creep into her face, but she kept her cool. She didn't look over at him, but instead over at Haruna. "Yeah, I'm ready." For some reason, the way that Naozumi looked at her made her feel a little nervous at times, but she figured that it was because of his startlingly blue eyes in comparison to her honey brown ones. Be that as it may, she knew him for most of her life, so she didn't know why the feelings of uneasiness sometimes crept their way into her skin.

"Alright, one, two…" Haruna trailed off, giving them a three with her hand up in the air. Onlookers on the side looked at each other knowingly; feeling a bit of tension between the two—Sana was just a little dense to realize just how the person beside her was feeling—perhaps if she knew, she'd understand her feelings of uneasiness.

At the sight of the three on Haruna's hand, and the click of the shutter, Sana felt a light kiss press against her right cheek, and her eyes widened just as the moment took place. Her left hand unknowingly gripped Naozumi's hand on her hip in her surprise, and as they separated, she looked over at him, frowning. "What was that for?" she asked, her frown quickly shifting to a nervous smile. She looked around at the people that had been watching, who had gone back to talking amongst each other, while Haruna looked like she had won the lottery. Sana clutched her yellow dress tightly, her cheeks feeling hot. It wasn't that she had received any kind of physical touch from Naozumi before—it was usually only through acting—this was the real deal; he had kissed her, albeit it was an innocent one on the cheek, but a kiss nonetheless. It was not expected.

Naozumi shrugged with a soft smile. "Just felt like it," he said. "Think of it as my gift to you for being such an amazing co-star, time and time again." With that, he waved at her, then turned away to go talk to a few people who had gathered around him, as if nothing had happened.

Sana still found herself frowning as she bit her lip. Her heart raced and she could still feel the imprint of his kiss on her cheek, and she turned around to excuse herself from those who had wanted to talk to her, saying she needed the bathroom. Her stomach felt like it was tied in knots as she exited the main stage area, following the route that would take her to the ladies' room.

Upon entry, she checked to make sure there was no-one in any of the stalls. Satisfied, she turned to the mirror, planting her hands on the counter as she took a look at herself.

She still had a blush on her cheeks, but it was quickly fading. Choosing to tie up her strawberry blonde hair in a ponytail, she bit her lip as she willed herself to ease her racing heart. Her skin prickled as she thought back to the kiss. Why did she feel so weird about it? Why did she feel guilty about it?

All signs pointed back to the guy that she had wanted to talk to before she left to go filming in the United States—Akito Hayama. He was someone she had a raging crush on at her school, but wouldn't fully admit her feelings; that is, until the day that she was going to leave. But, as fate would have it, when she had bravely confessed to him, he had turned his head away, saying that he wasn't interested—that, in-fact, Fuka Matsui, her best friend, had asked her to go out with him the week prior and he had said "yes". He went on to say that him and Sana wouldn't work out, what with her busy schedule and all. His words, which felt cold, were, "It's better off this way."

She had felt the floor fall from underneath her feet. She had sworn that he had liked her back; it had just taken her a few years to realize that fact because of her denseness. Was it because she was too afraid to have admitted her feelings; had she been too late? She felt betrayed by Fuka, for not having told her before Akito had, but she was angry at herself for not having confessed earlier. She hadn't expected this outcome, and it made her feel ill each time that she thought of it. Was it because of her life as an actress? Was it because she wasn't around all the time? Or were those feelings that they had shared but never spoken aloud, all a figment of her imagination?

The kiss on the cheek from Naozumi had brought her back to her thoughts of Akito. She didn't belong to him; he'd made it clear that he didn't want to be with her. Despite this, all that she could remember was when he had kissed her in the snow during their middle birthday all those years ago as preteens, and how he had held her in a way that made her feel like she was the only person in the world that mattered to him. It was a kiss that shocked her; it was different than the first one that they had shared. Back then, she had no idea that he liked her— she had thought that he had only kissed her because she was there, and he was a perverted boy who only thought about things for his benefit (such as that lemonade soaked first kiss). Little did she know, he was trying to convey his feelings to her in the way that he knew how, but she was too oblivious to that fact. It didn't help matters that he had run away soon after kissing her, leaving her in her confused thoughts.

Even though the kiss Naozumi gave her was only a kiss on the cheek, and it was likely a co-worker/friend kiss, she felt guilty all the same for having another guy make a move on her, even if it wasn't, in her mind, a romantic move. She still liked Akito, but she didn't belong to him, and he didn't belong to her. Those were the facts. There was no time and place for things that just weren't real and tangible. She didn't belong to anyone except herself.

"All those boarding on flight NH071 to Tokyo, Japan, may now come forward. First Group to be called is Group A, I repeat, Group A. Everyone else, please stand by."

"I guess that's us," Sana said, getting up from her seat in the airport. She was dressed in a white airy long skirt, a collared pink tank top, and a pair of beat up sneakers. A small black backpack sat on her back that carried a few of her essentials (music, snacks, etc. for the plane ride over). In one hand was her suitcase, while the other held her plane ticket. She looked up Rei, her trusty manager, who nodded, his sunglasses on display as per usual. "You look like such a tourist, Rei." she giggled, giving him a big grin as she shook her head.

Rei cheekily grinned, holding up things he had bought from the duty free shop as he donned all Western clothing. He sighed happily. "It's been fun here in Los Angeles, but…"

"… but you miss Asako, don't you?" She shot Rei a smug look, elbowing him childishly. "Ready to be embraced by the arms that you love the moment we get back to Japan?" She made little kissy faces at him, laughing while twirling around in circles around him.

"C-cut that out, Sana!" Rei sputtered, an obvious blush fanning over his cheeks. "We're gonna be late to boarding if we don't go now." He cleared his throat before adjusting his sunglasses, ignoring the pointed stares at the two of them, thanks to Sana making a scene. "We'll see you soon, Naozumi." Rei tipped his head at the teenager, who had actually come to see the two of them off; he wasn't joining them on the flight back due to his booked commercials he had to do for a few weeks in Los Angeles. He had been standing idly on the sidelines, hiding a smile as he watched the two interact.

Sana eased her laughing, her smile slowly dying down as she grabbed her things that she had left sprawled on the floor during her antics. "Yeah, we'll see you, Naozumi." She walked over to him, giving him a genuine smile. "Thanks for seeing us off; you know you didn't need to do that." She reached out to pat him on the shoulder, giving him a grin. All thoughts of the last day of shooting had been buried in her mind, but it still rang through her head as she made physical contact with him. She just kept telling herself that it was nothing more than a thank-you kiss, as he had stated. There's no reason for me to get so worked up about it, she had thought. We're just friends. The kiss was nothing.

"You know that it's no problem," Naozumi said, reaching out to hold her hand that held her ticket. He paused, looking at Sana. She looked back, cocking her head to the side like a puppy would. "Sana…" He ran his fingers through his grey-coloured hair, inching just a little bit closer. "… I… I wanted to say—"

But he was cut off by Rei, who was calling out Sana's name. "Sana, come on, we need to get going!"

"Okay, coming!" she called back. She looked back at Naozumi, gently prying her hand free from his. "I'm sorry, but I've gotta go. Can you make it quick?" She honestly had no idea what he wanted to tell her, the poor girl.

"I—I…" Naozumi closed his eyes, shaking his head before opening his eyes. "… it's fine. I'll talk to you when I get back to Japan."

"Are you sure?" she asked. Part of her was curious about what he wanted to say, the other, she had the strangest feeling.

"Yeah. You go catch your flight. Text me when you land?"

Sana nodded, giving him a salute. "I will! Thanks again, Naozumi, see you soon!" She gave him a quick hug before running towards Rei, turning back to give him a cheery wave before she handed her ticket over to the flight attendant.

"See you." Naozumi said softly, sighing. It just wasn't easy with Sana, was it?

A/N: hello everyone! I'm back, after five thousand years. I've been wanting to write a story about Sana and Akito for a while now, and while I'm not promising that this will be updated regularly, I will do my best to get chapters flowing when I can (it'd be a miracle if I finish this story). It's also possible that I'll be revising/editing as I go along! This is so rough, I just plowed through it haha (title may or may not change as well).
I wanted to add that this story will follow our characters in their last year of high-school. It's ultimately a story that diverts down a different path than the manga and anime, but will end up with our favourite pair. Some moments of the manga and/or anime will be mentioned/featured as I see fit- these will help to shape my story. Of course, all characters and those moments mentioned belong to Miho Obana :)

In the meantime, looking for a Kodocha story that's still in the works and is an incredible read so far? Check out Dark Waffles Life As We Know It! Thanks to them, I've been inspired. :)

As for my The Way Things Once Were story, I'm so, so sorry—I don't think that I'll be continuing it (at this moment in time. But we'll see) but it's possible that there may be a new Inuyasha story in the works—one of a similar theme. One day I hope! But looking back on it… OOF. i'm curious if any of you from back then are still around?