AUTHOR'S NOTES:  Jeez, this story is getting long.  My longest story yet, and I haven't gotten bored yet, have you?  I hope the pace is kept even.  Is it?  Well, even if it wasn't, this chapter is definitely out of the ordinary.  We see me try my hand at some kind of romance.  Well, we're all in this together!  Please keep pulling for me and reviewing.  Here's a promise: I won't make any more goal number for reviews.  It's not really the number of reviews that matters to me, it's the quality.  I hate reviews that say, "It was good."  I like the ones that say, "It was good, and I liked how you said this, but I think that this part was awkward, I felt very surprised when you made this person act in this way—I think that it suits them very well, etc."  Those always encourage me more than short ones where people just "like" it.  Please think about this in your reviews (or don't, you know, whatever).  I'm done wasting your precious time with these fore-notes.  See the after-notes for my contest results.  I'm sure you'll all be pleased (I certainly was)!  One more thing, a DISCLAIMER; I don't own McDonald's, or even work there.  I'm sorry for the long wait in between chapters, I've had a lot going on with me recently (AKA: boyfriend trouble).  Anyway, I produced this chapter especially for you, so enjoy it!  By the way, I didn't have anyone edit it, so there may be many errors.  I am finished with this quarter bonus though (it really is practically a quarter of a page), so I'll shut up now.

CONTEST:  I'm so sorry!  I told all of you the wrong date.  I was thinking 11/21 (still my birthday) but then I decided to write in November because some people do the numbers a little bit differently.  So I ended up confusing myself and writing November 11, which is indeed not the correct date.  I'm sorry for any confusion that I may have caused.  Please look to after the story for the results—and don't forget to read my story!

What Wasn't Meant to Be by Sushifishie

Chapter Seven: Tightening Up

"Sei!" Kira screamed as her frizzy hair whipped around her face.  "This is so—FUN!" she finished as they whipped around another corner.

            It was finally the long awaited trip to "Wataki Garden,' the promised amusement park.  The first years had been contemplating this day for weeks.  It was a day to finally take a time out from school and be themselves for once.

            At this point, Sei and Kira were on the most popular roller coaster at 'Wataki Garden,' the Shooting Star.  The ride had a powered launch of sixty miles per hour, at which point the trains immediately ascended a steep cliff where it felt like the coaster wouldn't reach the top.  It hung there for a moment defying gravity before finally dropping down a steep cliff.  The train then whipped around many bends and loops until finally it slowed to a stop at the embarkation station.

            Kira and Sei were on the last bend when Kira said that, and finally came to a stop a few moments later.  The train lurched to a halt, and a woozy Sei and excited Kira climbed out.  Well, Sei hobbled more than climbed, but that was because of the ride.

            Giving him an inquisitive look, she asked, "Are you okay?"

            He chuckled a little and assured her that he was just fine.  "Can we just sit for awhile, please?"

            Kira laughed at this.  She saw by the look on his face that he was only a little shaken up and in no danger of blowing chunks (unless they decided to go on another ride).  Choosing to help him instead of merely laugh, she offered, "Can I get you a can of juice or something?"

            He nodded and watched her hurry off to find a machine.  Sei sat back in the bench perfectly content.  This was the chance of a lifetime—to hang out with Kira on an almost-date that he didn't have to pay for.  He couldn't believe his luck!  He had her to himself for the entire day, and the long lines for all of the rides gave them plenty of time to talk.

            Seeing her coming back with some grapefruit juice, he held out his hand to receive it.  He took it with a happy, "Thanks!"

            "A bit spirited for being ill, aren't we?" Kira smirked.

            This caused Sei to go into a fake coughing fit.  At the end of it, he cleared his throat and asked in a mock hoarse voice, "Better?"

            She covered her mouth and let out a little giggle, responded, "Sure.  Next time, though, remember to turn your head."

            Letting out a chuckle, he shook his head in amusement.  "I will, as long as we don't go on anymore roller coasters."

            Pretending to walk away, she called, "What do you mean 'we?'"

            Sei leapt to his feet.  Hurrying after her, he yelled, "Kira, wait up!"

            She turned and gave him a heart-startling grin.  Walking slower, she continued on, giving him fair opportunity to catch up.  Finally, he did after a few seconds of sprinting.

            "I'm hungry!" Sei announced once he head reached her side.  "Let's go get something to eat."

            "You know how much grease is in these foods, right?" she asked.  "Aren't they kind of gross-looking to you?"

            "Of course!" he chirped.  "It's all part of the fun of going to an amusement park!"

            "Well," she said, getting in the spirit.  "What sort of filth do you want to eat?"

            "How about a burger?" he said, pointing to a McDonald's.

            "All right," she agreed with a slight grin.  "If we're going to eat greasy foods, we may as well go all out."

            "True!" Sei nodded.  "Good point, good point."

            They approached the stand with equal looks of distaste—Kira at the food and Sei at the excessive packaging.  The environmentalist in him was kicking in, and Kira was about to have a cow about the greasy food.  Each wearing a grimace, they refrained from lecturing the vendor about the quality of his merchandise, and instead each ordered a cheeseburger and cola.

            Walking back to the bench, they took a seat, Kira on the right, Sei on the left.  Like a lady, she propped her left leg over the knee of her right and let it dangle off the edge.  Like a typical guy, this intrigued Sei beyond belief, and once again, he found himself admiring the slender, smooth look they had.

            Kira noticed him staring and gave him a glance—one that told him to watch himself.  Quickly, he looked up and dug into his food.  Kira did the same, but not without giving the meal her sincere regards.

            "Nasty stuff, this burger is," she said, trying to form a complete sentence that actually made some sense.

            "C'mon, Kira," Sei pleaded.  "Please just try to enjoy it."  Then, in a joking voice he added, "Suck it up, soldier!"

            This caused Kira to burst out laughing.  Trying to stifle it, she stuck her hand over her mouth, making air swish through the cracks between her fingers.  A funny noise resulted from this, and she just started laughing harder, no longer trying to cover it up.

            "Jeez, Kira!" he said in surprise.  "What's so funny?  The joke wasn't THAT good!"

            She pointed at his mouth and continued to laugh.  She finally managed to say between giggles, "It wasn't that funny.  I just never imagined that the drill sergeant would have a piece of meat caught between his two front teeth!"

            Instantly, Sei began to rub the front of his teeth with the tip of his tongue.  Sure enough, a small strand of meat came out from between the gap in his teeth and was quickly swallowed before anymore embarrassment could occur.

            "You're starting to remind of the stories Mom told me about your dad!" she remarked.

            "You guys talked about us after we left?" he questioned with fake indignity.

            "Yes," she said, going back from playful Kira to normal, quiet Kira.  Sei wasn't so sure that he approved of this transition.  But, he had to deal with it nonetheless.  Calmly, she added, "Was that bad?"  Then she cracked another dazzling smile.  She was only playing with him.

            "Absolutely!" he exclaimed.  "But honestly, though," he began more seriously.  "What did you guys talk about?"

            "My mom just told me about how she knew your dad and their connections, why they broke up and everything.  She told me some funny stories about him, too."

            Sei moaned, "But that's unfair!  I didn't get any dirt on you or your mom, so why should you have some on us?"

            "I'm just special, I guess!"

            Sei was happy that Kira was in a joking mood still.  Just a month earlier, back when he'd just met her, she was perfectly silent and afraid of him, it sometimes seemed.  But as soon as she'd gotten to know him better through painting with him, she had begun to come out of her shell.  Little by little, she'd become easier to tease, and it was almost as if her personality had not exactly transformed, but been refined.  Some points of it were dulled, and others were highlighted, and now she was a different person when she was near him.  It made him feel almost proud.

            "You know my painting of you?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.  As soon as he gave a slight nod, she continued, "I showed it to our supervisor, and she loved it!  She showed to some art collectors and they loved it, too.  One of them recommended it to an art show that's going to be held at the community center in a couple of weeks (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from eleven o'clock to eight, to be more exact)," she added quickly under her breath.

            "That's great, Kira!" he congratulated, giving her a pat on the back.  Slurping up the end of his drink, he pointed to an attraction that caught his eye.  He said, "How many Sei's do you think that you can see at once?"

            "Huh?" she asked, not catching his meaning.  He lifted her chin away from the last bite of cheeseburger and to the specified attraction, the house of mirrors.  "Oh!" she said, finally getting it.  "I don't know.  What do you say we go find out?"

            Sei leapt to his feet and helped Kira to hers.  Hand in hand, they ran to the house of mirrors and entered with little hassle.  Once inside, they amused themselves by running hands first into the various mirrors, and observing themselves from odd angles (these odd angles being with various body parts pressed up against the fun house glass—nothing crude though).

            By the time they were halfway through the mirrors, they were laughing up a storm.  Sei, was trying to hurry and get out, but instead continued to run into mirrors.  Kira played the raptor and learned from his previous mistakes, never trying the same places that he did.  Soon, she was far ahead of him, and he was left behind in the fun house.

            After about five more minutes, Sei exited the attraction very proud of himself.  He'd gotten out of that hideous maze unscarred.  Looking to his left, he pulled on the girl's shoulder.

            "I finally made it out!" he exclaimed, only to his dismay, it wasn't Kira that he'd turned around, but a complete stranger in her place.  He yelled a thousand apologies before finally searching for the real Kira.

            He looked left, he looked right, but he didn't see her.  He even looked under a bush or two along the side of the main walk, but he couldn't find her.  Taking a seat on one of the nearby benches, he decided that she was still in the house of mirrors, and he would just wait her arrival.

* * *

What poor Sei didn't know was that Kira left at another exit.  She, too, was looking under stumps and over other people's heads for the one called Sei.  Not seeing him either, she got a little exasperated and did the same as Sei—she took a seat on a bench.

            As she sat, her thoughts drifted to the person she was looking for, Sei.  A few weeks ago, when Rei stood in for Sei as a temporary model for her painting, Rei had told her about what Sei had done at the end of ninth grade.  Even then, she still couldn't believe it.  Sei was one of the most level-headed people that she knew, and she couldn't imagine that he would kill himself for such a thing as bullying.  But—she was thinking of the Sei that she knew now.

            Sei had certainly changed since the point when she first met him.  That first day in the art room, he had been wary of the other classmates, but seemed to force himself to make a friend.  Now, she was certainly glad that he chose to be friends with her.  Back then, he didn't really have much personality.  Well, he did, but it wasn't accentuated.  It was like he didn't want to let his true self show to others and he stayed quiet to keep out of trouble.

            No, she reminded herself.  That's you, Kira.  You're the one who stayed silent because it was easier.  Sei was the one with enough guts to talk to a complete stranger.  Now look at us!  What would high school have been like if I hadn't become his friend?

            She stopped her thought-speech there.  She didn't want to think about what her life would be like without Sei.  He was like a pillar and she was like a ceiling—he kept her spirits high and supported her.  He was a rock that wouldn't move and a tree that couldn't shudder.

            When did his presence come to mean this much in my life? She asked herself.  She didn't know, but she did know that she couldn't live without it.

            She felt a solid presence approach her, so she lifted her head.  Bringing it up to eye level, she saw the figure of Rei.  His towering stature made her heart flutter, and she jumped up at the sight of him.

            "Rei!" she exclaimed, flustered.  "Where did you come from?"  This was another person that she felt comfortable with.  Even if she'd only known him for a short time, she felt close to him.  It was like they shared a red string, or they had a special bond between them.

            "I finally ditch—lost Rika in the house of mirrors," he replied, catching himself before saying something he might have regretted later on.

            "I guess that makes two of us!" she said with a smile.  "I seem to have lost Sei, too," she explained.

            From out of nowhere almost, Rei offered, "Well that's too bad.  Do you want to hang out with me instead?  I mean, since you lost Sei and all."

            Almost without thinking, Kira clearly answered, "Sure!  That'll be fun!"

            Rei couldn't believe what he'd just asked.  He supposed that it was all right to let Kira hang out with him—he was still gaining his popularity, though.  But it was still okay.  Since Kira was his brother's girlfriend (almost) he was sure that his friends would accept her as someone decent.  At least, he wouldn't get any weird looks for it.

            He wondered why he'd asked her in the first place.  With the awkward silence before he asked her, it just seemed like the right thing to do.  At least it had cheered up Kira.

            He looked to his side and noticed her with a little grin on her face.  She looked up at him and noticed his glance.  Her face reddened and she looked away quickly.  Rei wondered why for a moment, but didn't push anything.  She probably just didn't want to be seen with him.  After all, he was Rei.

            "If you didn't want to hang out, you could have just said you didn't want to," he said, trying to leave the tempting sullen edge off of his voice.

            "No!" Kira insisted.  "This is just fine.  I want to hang out with you!"  As if she'd said something wrong, she added quickly, "I mean, I don't mind hanging out with you, Rei.  It's fine like this."  She gave him a reassuring smile before looking back down at the path.

            The smile didn't reassure him at all, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.  He continued walking next to her.  In doing this, he noticed that she didn't look that bad.  Her brownish-blonde hair almost matched his (only hers was natural), and they looked good walking next to each other.  She was short and lean, he was tall and lean, and they made the perfect pair.

            Not as perfect as her and Sei, though! Rei reminded himself.  They still won the award for the cutest couple in his book.  From thin air, another thought came to him, completely (or so it seemed) unrelated to the first.  I've got to ditch Rika for real, soon.  I don't know who I'll choose next, though.  I don't really like Harumi that much, but who else is there?

            Looking down at Kira again, his heart gave an involuntary thump.  He looked back at the road and busied himself looking at the different rides, trying to forget that strange response.

            Rei saw not a ride, but Tatsuya!  He grabbed Kira's hand and hurried over to meet his friend.  As he ran over, dragging Kira behind, he noticed his friend watching them.  Tatsuya saw him and who he was dragging and seemed to tighten up.  He was instantly straight-backed and fully upright to his tallest.

            They met up with the tight young man a moment later.  Kira was panting slightly—her legs were a lot shorter than Rei's.  She found that Rei was still holding her hand even though they'd stopped running.  He had a looser grip on it for certain, but she still blushed a little looking at it.  Her heart gave an unexpected lurch, and she was pleased to know that Rei was busy conversing with his friend and not looking at her facial expression.

            Tatsuya was having similar thoughts about Kira.  At least she was looking away and couldn't see the way he was acting.  With his stiff shoulders and choppy speech, the only person who could notice that anything was wrong with him was Rei—and this amused him beyond belief.

            "So, what've you been doing so far today?" Rei asked him, his hand shaking noticeably and for no apparent reason.

            "Not much," he began, following Rei's eyes in their steady path to his hand, "just riding the coasters and other rides like the—" he stopped trailed off as Rei's eyes finally met with Kira's hand, finding the source of the shaking.  Kira had her small hand in his, and was obviously feeling a little nervous.

            "Cold, huh?" Rei commented.  "Here," he added, wrapping his leather jacket around her shoulders, "Maybe that'll help."

            She gave a brief shrug to accept the warmth, and then reddened.  Normally, Rei would have found this funny, and he tried to let out a smile, but a grin wouldn't come naturally.  He studied her red face more carefully, and Kira thought that he was expecting some gratitude.

            "Thanks," she said in a hushed voice.

            His heart gave an off-beat shudder, and he felt his face beginning to flare up, too.

            An older couple passed them by and broke into quiet chuckles.  This triangle was humorous to those who hadn't realized that this WASN'T a triangle.  For one, Tatsuya had never even met Kira before (as far as Rei knew), and he definitely didn't feel that way about either Tatsuya or Kira.  Kira positively liked his brother, and not him, he thought.  This image displayed in his mind seemed to calm him down, and his red face was replaced with a softer one.  He gave a shudder and cleared his mind of all these thoughts, bringing him back into the conversation.

            "Yeah," Kira was saying, "those were the days."

            Tatsuya nodded, "I'm glad that we left that school this year though, if we'd stayed any longer, then we would probably have been in a class twice that size, what with all the cuts they've had to make recently."

            "Yeah," she agreed again.  "I sure don't know what they're doing with our tax dollars!" she made a feeble attempt at a joke.

            "Wait a minute," Rei put in, holding his hands up.  "I don't get it.  You guys went to the same junior high?"

            They each nodded and stared back at him with impending eyes.  He turned away and remembered the way that Tatsuya had tightened up when he first saw them walking over.  It was either that someone bumped him from behind, he was hiding something, or—

            "So, you've always had a crush on her, eh Tatsuya?" he joked, jutting an elbow lightly into his friend's side.

            Kira had never seen a person get so red so fast.  She'd never seen anyone run that fast either, she thought as she watched his retreating figure mingle into a crowd, only to be lost among the many unknown faces.  Not willing to put two and two together, she ignored Rei's last comment and pulled the jacket tighter.

            "It's kind of cold out, huh?" he said, not really asking, but still expecting an answer.

            "I guess," she admitted, "I don't know why I'm shaking this much."

            Rei grinned, "Maybe you have a disease!"

            Kira grinned just to be polite, and tried not to take any offense at his statement.  Sometimes, Rei was mean without knowing it—he just had a cynical sense of humor that played with people in sometimes insensitive ways.  Still, sometimes insensitivity could be nice—

            "So, feel like riding that?" Rei asked, pointing to the ride that they had caught Tatsuya exiting from.  It was one of his favorite rides, as Sei had told Aya at the dinner a week earlier.  With its long arms hanging from the base in the middle, it was a ride that would scramble your eggs and your brains—hence the name "Scrambler."

            Kira looked at the ride with unease.  The roller coaster had played games with her stomach that she hadn't admitted to Sei, but this was most certainly going to be much worse.  But, as if wanting to prove her worth, she agreed.

            That was how she found herself sitting next to Rei in one of the cars.

            "Hold on tight!" the operator yelled before turning on the hideous arms.

            Kira was all right at first.  It wasn't so bad, just a dizzying spin that could have been done by twirling in a circle.  But just as she'd gotten her confidence up to that level, the ride got worse.  First they went upside down, and she could feel herself slipping out of her seatbelt—the one that she had firmly strapped herself in just moments earlier.  Next, they descended into an unexpected drop, and her seatbelt really did come loose.

            "Rei!" she shrieked, just as his arms reached out to grab her.

            Holding on tight, he grasped her small body as the ride culminated and concluded.

            She stepped out of the ride feeling rather wobbly.  Rei was still holding onto her, and he led her to a bench to sit down.  As they took a seat, Rei said in a pleading voice, "Kira, I am so sorry.  If I had known that would happen then I never would have asked you to go on that ride."

            Kira nodded acceptingly.  It wasn't Rei's fault, and his apology sounded so sincere that she almost wished that he would keep talking like that.

            "Are you okay, can I get you anything?" he asked with that same, concerned tone, which was totally unsuited to him.  He sat down beside her and put a reassuring arm around her shoulders.  This Rei was uncharacteristically pampering.

            Kira shook her head, not wanting him to leave.  He nodded, and sank comfortably into the seat.  He wouldn't leave her just yet.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:  Originally, this was merely the first half of chapter seven, but it ended up exceeding my usual length.  I'm strapped for time getting ready for Thanksgiving and my birthday, so I decided to leave it there.  The next chapter continues right where this one left off, so hopefully that will please you.  I tried to save you from a cliffhanger—I try to never end chapters like that.  I hoped that you like this anyway.  I'm sorry about my mistakes on the contest dates, please forgive me everyone!

CONTEST:  Well, here are the results (I put them in percentages because that made it seem like I had a lot more reviews than I really did, heehee)!

Kira/Sei: 20% (I love you guys, I never would have thought that they would get ANY votes!)

Kira/Rei: 70% (Yeah, yeah, we know—you guys are such conformists—just kidding, we love you anyway!)

Kira/Tatsuya:  10% (Don't ridicule me, I KNOW that it would never happen—unless—no, definitely never!)

These results were my present to you (on my birthday).  Now, for my next contest, guess my age!  No really, guess.  I've always wondered what age the readers imagine the author to be.  If you get it right, I will send you an email personally and give you many thanks.  But trust me, you won't ever guess.