Winds of Autumn
Summary: (AU) After promising her mother she'll make something out of her life, Suzuhara Misaki attends the prestigious college, Deus. There begins the tale of six unlikely people bound to fall in love.
Good morning, lovely readers! It's Tanicao/Tani/Cao-chan reporting! For now, let's say Cao-chan, kay? Anyway, please enjoy the second chapter of "Winds of Autumn!"
Oh, and sorry about spelling Misaki's name wrong in the first chapter. My bad, my bad. It's still good, right?
Disclaimer: Dudes, if I owned Angelic Layer, I would so make it longer than just five volumes or twenty-six eps. So, Angelic Layer not mine.
"So it's true that you're really leaving?" she asked, her stray brown locks, her only two, floating in the breeze.
The other girl turned around and smiled, short, blonde hair waving behind her.
"Yeah. I can't believe I'm moving away from you, Misakichi. I'm going to miss you… so, so much. And… I'm really sorry about your mom…"
Misaki shook her head. "It's okay Tamayo-chan. I loved her very much, but we didn't know each other all that well. I'm… let's talk about you. You promise you'll call me at least once a week?"
Tamayo nodded.
"Promise that we'll still be best friends?"
Tamayo nodded again.
"And," Misaki said, blushing, "if you ever get a boyfriend, you have to swear you'll tell me immediately."
Tamayo laughed.
"But of course! And you too," she added, "as I imagine you'll get one before me."
Misaki shook her head. "I'm not pretty or incredibly athletic like Tamayo-chan."
Tamayo laughed and stepped closer to her friend. Her hair shone golden in the sun. Slowly she grabbed her friend's hands and pulled her into a hug one last time under the sunset. "No, Misaki," she said softly. "You're beautiful."
Chapter 2 – Friends, New and Old
"Ah!" Misaki groaned to Hikaru. "We have so much homework! I don't think I'll ever be able to finish it!"
Hikaru grinned. "I think you can, Misaki-chan," she said encouragingly. "You didn't skip a grade for nothing."
"Easy for you to say, Hikaru-san," Misaki muttered. "You, the unbelievable teacher's pet! I didn't think that was possible in college!"
"Hey! I resent that! And you're a teacher's pet, too!" Hikaru droned. "Did you hear Shirahime-sensei fawning over you yesterday? And that's the only class we share, too.It's enough to make one puke!" Misaki blushed and Hikaru added, "Oh, and when will you remember to not call be 'san?' I'm telling you; 'Hikaru-chan' or just 'Hikaru' is perfectly okay! The only thing I can say is at least it's not 'Shidou-san.' That would make me puke. Anyway, what are you still doing here? Didn't you tell me you were eating out with your friend at noon?"
Misaki nodded, then sighed. "Yes, Hikaru-san. And I can't call you 'chan' because you're just so…"
Hikaru sighed. "Am I that intimidating?"
Misaki blushed. "No! No – ah – I mean… You're just so much taller and you have better muscles and you're so pretty! I can't just call you 'chan;' it would be really awkward."
It was true. Over the past few days, Hikaru only surprised her more and more. She was brilliant, a volleyball player (who, of course, made it to the top team), and comfortable around girls and guys alike. Misaki also became more and more shocked at Hikaru being held back a grade. She assumed it was because she started early, but that just didn't seem the case. Either way, the reasons couldn't have been academic.
Batting her eyelashes, Hikaru said, "Oh, Misaki-chan, you make my head swell. Anyway, get out of here and go to your friend!"
Misaki nodded. "Y-yes!"
--------------
"It's Saturday," Misaki said aloud as she checked her watch. "Hikaru-san is right; I really shouldn't study on Saturday. And I get to see Tamayo-chan after all this time! Ah! I'm so happy!"
"About what?"
Misaki spun around, at the familiar voice. "Um… hello?" she asked timidly. "Tamayo-chan?"
"Misakichi!" And with that word a blonde whirlwind ran over the sidewalk straight into her best friend's arms and gave her an enormous bear hug.
"I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you!" Tamayo said, delighted. "Oh, Misakichiiiiii! I missed you!"
"I missed you, too, Tamayo-chan," Misaki gasped. "But you're suffocating me."
A second later Tamayo was off her and blushed. "Super sorry, Misakichi. Is it just me or have you grown shorter?"
Misaki rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up. Have you shrunk taller?"
Tamayo laughed. "Yeah, yeah! Oh, yeah! Misakichi, I want you to meet a friend of mine! Koutarou-chan, come over here!"
A boy standing over on the sidewalk awkwardly glanced at the two girls and walked over. Tall, short hair, nice, warm eyes, and perfect posture were his attributes. Nothing really out of the ordinary, but pleasant enough anyway.
He bowed. "You must be Suzuhara Misaki-san. I'm Kobayashi Koutarou." His voice was firm, but gentle.
Misaki returned the bow. "P-pleased to meet you, Kobayashi-san!" In the corner of her mind, Misaki could've sworn she had heard his name somewhere before, but figuring it was just from Tamayo, she let it drop. The two smiled at each other in a comfortable silence until Tamayo interrupted it.
"Ooh, Misakichi, already flirting! You've really changed! And lover-boy, this is such a surprise! So, you two lovebirds call each other by your first names! Friends of mine are friends of each other… or maybe a little more," she hinted, casting a wink at the two of them.
Both Misaki and Koutarou turned identical shades of red. "Tamayo," Koutarou groaned.
"T-tamayo-chan," Misaki stuttered.
Tamayo scowled. "You want me to leave so you guys can kiss?"
The reaction was immediate
"NO!" both shouted at once.
Tamayo giggled. "Ooh, denial," she teased and the three walked off of the campus and out to lunch, arguing the whole way.
--------------
"Really? Koutarou-chan owns a dojo? That's amazing!"
Koutarou blushed as he sipped his lemonade. "Not really," he muttered. "It's a passed down kind of thing. The dojo has belonged to my family for ages, and since I'm not going to college, I decided to take over. My dad's been kind of sick lately." Catching Misaki's worried look, he hastily added, "He's not going to die or anything. He's just sort of old."
"Thank goodness!" Misaki exclaimed. "That would be terrible!"
"Are you two sure you don't want to leave me alone? You're doing a good job of leaving me out of the conversation anyway."
"No!" Misaki and Koutarou shouted causing them both to turn bright pink and become interested in their drinks. All during lunch, Tamayo had sent hints that the two were in love, hints that were profusely denied.
"Well, you two are good for each other," Tamayo declared. "Anyway, Koutarou-chan, Misakichi has never had a boyfriend and you've never had a girlfriend, so it's a pair made in heaven!"
Misaki frowned. "But if that's the case, Tamayo-chan, then you and Koutarou-chan would also be the perfect match."
Tamayo seemed about to retort, but Koutarou beat her to it. He laughed. "Don't be silly, Suzuhara." Changing the subject, he added,"Oh, and did you know that Tamayo works at the same dojo as me?"
Grinning, Misaki said, "Really, Tamayo-chan? I'm so happy for you; you've always wanted to work at a dojo!"
Tamayo grinned. "Yup. Actually, have you gotten a boyfriend, Misakichi? I'm not sure, but I had heard there are a lot of cute guys at Deus."
Misaki's thoughts traveled to the boy who gave her the room key yesterday. "There definitely are," she said dreamily.
Tamayo smirked. "Ooh, our little Misakichi has a –"
"No! I mean, I don't even know his name, but…" Misaki stammered, but soon faltered. Why was she thinking about the polite boy anyway? He probably already had a girlfriend.
"Anyway, Suzuhara," Koutarou interrupted abruptly, "How's school been going for you?"
"Oh school's been fantastic! And so has work! Even though the stores are so big! And my roommate, Hika-"
"Your roommate?" It was Tamayo. "Hey, what's she like? If you like her, I'd like to meet her sometime soon."
Misao smiled broadly. "Yes! That was would be fantastic! Her name is Shi-"
"Your food," said the waiter and he handed the plates of an enjoyable lunch.
--------------
The sun glowed red, turning the clouds pink, the sky orange, and Suzuhara Misaki ran beneath, panting slightly. She had to get ready for the team! It was a lonely run as the grounds had filtered out and there was no one outside, no one but her and the birds and the earth… or not. Surprised, Misaki spotted another figure running far ahead of her, jogging at a slow pace.
Not wanting to be alone and not thinking quite straight, Misaki called, "Wait!" to the lone person ahead of her. The figure stopped and Misaki neared, she gasped. It was the boy from the other day! Hearing her, he turned around and when he saw her he smiled.
"You really do track," he laughed, "I thought I was the only runner! Especially because it's been so chilly."
Misaki blushed and said, "Well, maybe they would run because it's autumn."
The boy frowned. "Really? I don't care much for autumn. I think it makes me think of how summer burns away."
Blushing more, Misaki said, "Well, I really like autumn. I like the red color and the chill and the scarves and I think it's kind of romantic –" she gasped. "Er… well… you understand…" But the boy merely laughed, not unfriendly, and sent her a grin.
"Very romantic. Now, little runner, I'll race you to the block."
"Okay!"
The two of them sprinted along the sidewalk, trying to best each other. The boy soon took the lead and got to the end long before Misaki. But at the end, the two exchanged a smile.
"Thank you very much!" Misaki said. "That was really fun! And you ran hard and I thought…"
The boy laughed again. "You thought I wouldn't?" Blushing as red as the leaves, she nodded, and the boy's smile widened. "Ha, ha, that was a great race. I'm sure our track team will be strong this year." Checking his watch, he said, "Oh, it's almost six. I have to go study."
"Yes," Misaki said, half disappointed, half happy she got to spend time with him. It was a fun run and…
"Oh no!" she cried suddenly.
Casting a surprised look, the boy asked, "What?"
"I had to be at work fifteen minutes ago! Bye!" And with that, Misaki raced off back to the building, so fast she would have destroyed the boy in the race earlier. I forgot to ask his name, she thought bitterly. Oh well. She was so bad with names she probably wouldn't remember it anyway.
--------------
Mihara Oujiro smiled at Wizard as the two ate dinner, holding his glass delicately and charmingly in a perfect princely manner. It had been a long day of doing nothing. Wizard looked as bored as ever, as he fumbled with some device he received from that game and electronic store he worked at.
"Was work interesting today?" he asked his stony friend.
Wizard glanced at him briefly before looking down. "No, but I think that our manager has a soft spot for that new girl."
Oujiro frowned. "What new girl? And soft spot? I thought you told me he was the devil's spawn."
Wizard shrugged. "She came in like half an hour late or something, and he just brushed it off like it was no big deal. But I don't blame him. She's sweet, that girl. Cute, too."
Oujiro smiled softly; his friend never talked about girls. "Do you like her?" he asked.
Wizard shook his head, "No, not really. I think you would though. She reminds me a lot of that lady you loved."
"Then there seems to be a lot of people like that these days," Oujiro said, thinking of the girl he raced with on the grounds.
It was Wizard's turn to frown. "Really? If so, the world would be a nicer place, and it certainly isn't nicer."
Oujiro shook his head at his friend's pessimism. "Okay, so what's the new girl's name?"
Wizard looked at his friend straight in the eye. "This is the funny part. It might be coincidence, but…"
"But what?"
"Well, it's her name, Mihara. Her name is Suzuhara, Suzuhara Misaki."
Oujiro, in a very ungraceful manner, dropped his fork.
--------------
Author's Note: The second chapter, and the plot thickens! Oh, please, I'm begging you to review! Puh-leeze? does puppy dog eyes Anyway, I hope you look forward to the next chapter!