Disclaimer: The movie and most of the lines/dialogue are not mine. Neither is most of the plot.

The Misted Glass of An Angel

"She's what?"

"Married."

"You're joking, Seta. Wouldn't she have told us something like that? I mean its marriage!"

"Haruka, you have to believe me. She showed me the ring and the picture."

"What ring? There is no ring on her ring finger."

"She wears it on a necklace. She has it on a necklace because her husband made a mistake and got a ring a size to big."

"You know the story too? How much did she tell you?"

"A lot. But…it hurts, you know?"

"Seta?"

"Hm?"

"N-Nothing."

"C'mon Haruka. One friend kept something big from us. Lets not have that between ourselves."

"…Will you ever…Nah. Never mind."

"Haruka."

"…Will you ever, you know, love again?"

"I…I don't know Haruka. I don't know. I just need an angel to show me the way."

"Oh." I guess it was then that I realized I would have to forget my first love.

.~.

I walked into the now busy café, dropping all my belongings behind the counter. I quickly donned an apron that matched with the new color scheme. I'd have to be the cashier since that is what needed to be filled.

It was a busy day, as it usually was. We closed for our own lunch break during which someone decided to drop by.

Kitsune entered the café, smiling and bouncing. She chatted with a few of the waitresses then made her way over to me, dropping down into the booth across from me. I stared at her neck, finally taking in the necklace and simple chain it hung off of. She waved her hand in front of my dazed face.

"Haruka? Yeah, hi!" She quipped, looking pleased.

"What did you do today, go meet your husband?" I replied callously. Her smile dropped at the corners and the light left her eyes.

"About that…" Oh no she didn't. I was going to have a go first. Then she could explain herself.

"What do you mean 'about that?' That was everything! That is a major part of your life! You're married! How could you not tell us that? We opened our hearts and families to you! You…you just ignored that and lived a lie! I mean, marriage! That is such a huge chunk of your life! And you kept that from us…I thought we were your friends…" I was going for the sympathy note with the last remark.

"Are you done yet?" My head snapped up at her nonchalant reply. She sat there examining her nails as if they were the most perfect things on Earth. Her eyes came up to meet mine. "Now, it's my turn."

"For what?"

"My story."

"Oh."

"I got married to Koan when I was nineteen. Young, I know but we were hasty and well, young. When he proposed, he gave me this ring. It was a size to big but it became a joke between us. We were happy at first. You know, the perfect young couple in love."

I raised an eyebrow. "Perfect?"

"You haven't been married yet. You wouldn't know. Anyways, it was all fine and dandy until an issue came up. Money. He wanted to become a doctor-"

"Does that explain the visits to the hospital?"

"Will you let me finish?" I nodded.

"So he wanted to become a doctor but our parents had disowned us after our elopement so he couldn't get money from them. We were young so we both had day jobs and I had a night job to help us out. It worked because eventually he passed and became a doctor. However, it came with a price."

I was about to ask what when I decided to just let her finish.

"The price was our marriage. During the five years it took for him to become a doctor, we had some rough times. All of our money went towards his education. I took alternating classes a few times and finished my education but it placed a strain on our money. We barely had enough for groceries let alone bills. It was hard."

"So, what happened?"

"Our marriage began to dissolve. We'd have fights everyday until one day it got out of hand. By then, I had found a stable job as a fashion expert for a magazine and it paid more than his three jobs combined. He wasn't off to a good start as a doctor. I mean, he was a genius and as a heart specialist he'd done a lot of research but it wasn't getting him anywhere. And then the male ego, hurt already, couldn't take it that I was the breadwinner of the moment."

I waited patiently as she took a deep breath.

"Ko-"

"Ko?"

"His nickname. Ko began to look around for jobs, wherever they were available. He was a heart specialist so it was pretty easy. He got offered a job here, in New York. What I didn't know, however, is how much he hated our marriage at the moment. One night he came home with divorce papers and we had another fight. That was the big one. He told me later that night that he was leaving because he got accepted here. I wanted to come but…he threatened divorce."

"He threatened divorce if you came with him?"

"Yes. His pride was hurt. He was supposed to protect me from everything yet he had failed in one major category. My own health was failing. That's another reason he became a heart specialist. Plus, he wanted to be the breadwinner. He called me up later and told me about it. But by then I was mad. So I just hung up on him. Then I decided to come here. I needed to find him."

"Did you?" She smiled wryly.

"I found him. Not his heart."

"What?"

"It was something he used to tell me when our marriage was…good. He used to say, 'Kits, only you can find me and my heart.' I believed him. And so here I am trying to find his heart. And mine."

I followed her in falling silent. So that was the story of her marriage. "Do you have a picture?"

Kitsune began to pull one out but then the alarm clock set up behind the counter went off. I smiled apologetically at her and reached over the table, grasping her hand. "Later." She nodded. I got up and made my way to the counter, ready to play cashier again.

The rest of the day crawled to a close. Customers came and went, giving us good money for the day.

I shut the cash box and locked up the restaurant. I didn't have MBA classes today so I just decided to head on straight home. Another war had most likely broken out so I needed to be there to stop it.

On the way home I met up with Kitsune who seemed pensive. She walked in step with me, occasionally glancing at me.

"Kitsune, what's wrong?" I asked, not even looking at her.

"I'm just thinking. Seta loves me, right?"

"Yeah…" I had no idea what she was getting at. Even the way she was going was hurting me. Forgetting your first love isn't easy.

"Well, I love Ko."

"I know. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Tell me who you love." I guess my brain slowed to a halt but my legs kept on moving. I soon hit a streetlamp and sure it hurt but Kitsune knew. She knew I loved someone and I bet she knew whom too.

"You already know." I whispered, gently massaging my offended elbow and head.

"I just want to hear you say it, admit it. You're trying to forget him. You shouldn't."

"You have your love! You don't need to hope!" I lashed out. She didn't understand. She didn't understand.

The rest of the trip home was silent.

.~.

When I reached my street, I heard a wailing. I soon realized it was coming from Mutsumi's house. I crept up to the door, afraid of any bodily harm she may inflict on the person whom frightens her. Kitsune crept up behind me.

I gently knocked on the door, surprised when it flew open and a teary-eyed, red-nosed Mutsumi flung herself forcefully into my arms. I bit back my yelp of surprise and awkwardly placed my arms around Mutsumi. She continued sobbing like a small child. With the tears soaking through my jacket and shirt, I led Mutsumi inside her house and set her down in a chair.

"Mutsumi, what's wrong?" That was Kitsune. Frankly, I didn't care. I mean it was Mutsumi. She would cry like this if her favorite soap opera star died.

"H-he left meee!!!" I winced as her whiny voice reached my ears.

"I don't blame him…" I muttered. Mutsumi heard. Indignantly, she sucked in her breath and turned to me. It would have been intimidating if she didn't break down again.

"That's so meeeaannn…"

"Why'd he leave you?" Kitsune shot me a warning look as I opened my mouth.

"He sa-said he was con-confused. Silly boy!" A torrential amount of tears came flooding from her eyes, wetting everything. Turning to me, Mutsumi pointed to the tissue box.

"Tissue!" I handed her one.

"Thank youuu!" She broke down in the tissue.

.~.

I reached my home after 'comforting' Mutsumi. Inside, I could already hear the raw voices of my mother, Kanako and my grandmother yelling.

I opened the door and was greeted with screaming going on. The three were the only ones in the living room. But there was another sound coming from the kitchen. Not wishing to disturb the fight that they were so pleasantly having in the living room, I crept into the kitchen to find Shinobu sobbing.

"Shinobu? What's wrong?" I dropped my stuff and shrugged off my jacket. I bent down in front of her chair, grasping her hands in mine.

"No-nothing. I-I'm fine." At that moment, my grandmother hit a particularly high note and Shinobu cast her eyes downwards. I understood immediately. Grasping her arms, I shook her gently.

"Shinobu, you need to tell me! What's wrong? What did Grandma do?"

"She…sh-she said she ha-hated me-e…" I suppose saying I was stunned was enough. My grandma had never outright said that she hated Shinobu to her face. So now, that she does it…she's just getting worse. And I couldn't just let that stand.

I walked into the living room, where the yelling match persisted. I reached for Kanako, tapping her arm. She turned to me and when she saw my face, dropped out of the conversation. My mother and grandmother didn't notice.

I did the same that I did to Kanako to my mother. My grandmother fell silent when she saw my mother and Kanako standing behind me.

"Who do you think you are?" I whispered. Grandma flinched. "Just who do you think you are?"

"Your grandmother!" Hina had recovered her footing. But not for long.

"Don't grandmothers teach love, compassion, strength? What do you teach? Hate, anger and fear. Most children grow up seeing love in the family. Love! But with you and my mother…trying to kill each other with words. We grew up seeing your hatred! Only your hatred! Only your hatred." I was emotional, crying.

She was silent. My words didn't affect her. But my mother was sobbing. I turned and went up to my room, Shinobu and Kanako following me, going to their own rooms.

A season of heartbreaks.

.~.

This chapter has a lot on Kitsune's past, which comes into play in the next chapter(s). Sorry for the delay. I had Spring Break but I was watching The West Wing the whole time. I love that show ^.^;

Updates will be really slow until June. I have a lot coming up so I'm trying to balance it all out. Plus, school has to come before fanfiction.

velocet- No problem! I was actually afraid of the stick thing…I hope it won't be coming down on my head any time soon ^.^; Want a brownie?

Black Sarena- Thank you! I got this off of a movie so that's how I made everything how it is. But don't worry. There will be happy endings for everyone!

Gotenks01013-Aww! Thanks! I try! And I won't give away the ending…though I think you know what's going to happen…

Digibaka-I can see why your friend was crying. I was bawling! It's such a good ending. You should watch. I love 'Bend It Like Beckham'! It just personifies what we have to go through so well! I adore it!

mr-winkie- I try to keep things interesting ^.^ I hope this chapter was top notch. It was kind of hard because there's lots of information in here that I didn't know how to arrange. And plus, I wanted to make it believable.

Erica T- Hello! Don't worry. When I start a fic, I finish it. And plus before I start one, I always let the idea fester in my mind for about two months before I begin to write. That way, if it's still there after two months, I know I'll stick with it.