Summary: Nina's life is filled with so many problems when she returns to Earth. Tsujiai and Yuta always seem to be around to help her now that Ayu has problems of her own. But what happens when she finds out that they are trying to win her heart? Will that be another problem that only she can fix?
Chapter 1
If you ever came to visit the town of Nina Sakura in a hot day, you would probably find all of windows in the houses thrown open, which was a desperate attempt for the people to get the tiniest bit of a refreshing breeze. Every person was probably locked up inside their houses, perhaps having their cool refreshments or perhaps soaking their hot bodies in the tub to keep them cool.
But if you came to a certain house, you might find a teenage girl, probably eighteen or nineteen by her height, with light brown shoulder-length hair, outside her house. And if you knew Nina Sakura well, perhaps even well enough to know that she wasn't a normal teenage girl, but was a witch from her world called the Magic Kingdom, you would have guessed she was up to something that involved magic.
And just so it happened, another girl, this time with a mane of magnificent brown hair and mysterious gray eyes suddenly walked by, carrying two heavy grocery bags, one on each hand. Ayu Tateshi. She was accompanied by a handsome boy, who was the known heartthrob of their school, aside from Hiruki Tsujiai. He was none other than brown-haired, brown-eyed Kaji Tetsushi. Both were currently dating, and much to Ayu's relief, she and Kaji were getting along pretty well.
"Hey Nina, what are you doing outside on such a hot day?" Ayu asked.
It took Nina a while to realize that Ayu was actually speaking so her, but she wasn't in a hurry to answer, even though she knew it was rude. She looked up to Ayu, with her eyes carrying a rather gloomy expression and replied, her voice sounding a little hoarse.
"Looking for Rio. He stole my report." the girl replied with a glum look on her usually cheerful face. Even her hair, which was usually held up in two childish pigtails, looked dry and unkempt.
Ayu and Kaji looked at each other, both secretly trying not to laugh. That report Nina referred to had been due for three days already. Both knew that they had no right to look down on Nina, since she never studied in a school for humans like they and Hiruki Tsujiai (another friend who knew Nina was a witch) did. Even though the competition for the Holy Stones had been over for a month already, Nina still struggled in school, and would have dropped out if Ayu, Kaji, and Tsujiai didn't help her.
Sometimes, Ayu wondered why Nina even returned to Earth to live the rest of her life here. If she returned to the Magic Kingdom, she would probably be well-known, and since her magic level increased, she probably could get along with her old school there. But still, Ayu was relieved that she didn't have to have her memories of Nina erased. Nina was her best friend.
"Do you want us to help?" Ayu asked.
Nina looked like she wanted to consider her best friend's offer, but seeing that Kaji was there, and perhaps they had planned to do something together, she just shook her head as she got on all fours and began crawling on the ground. Ayu looked at Nina with a surprised expression, for she didn't really approved on getting dirty.
"Nina, why don't you just use your magic?" Kaji suggested, the tone of his voice stating that he wanted to get out of the burning sun.
"I can't, even though my magic level is higher than it used to be, I still have to rely on my palmtop. But Rio hid it somewhere so I can't conjure anything!" Nina replied.
She crawled towards a bush, and pulled the branches aside. To her dismay, Rio wasn't there. Nina knew why Rio did this. The kitten was caught nicking some tuna from the refrigerator, so Nina locked him outside. Rio probably wanted to get even with Nina, so he must have found a way to break into her bedroom. Nina guiltily remembered forgetting to close her bedroom windows.
"Nina!" It was her mother.
She looked nothing like her daughter, though everyone is quite certain that Nina inherited her clumsiness. But still, no one could blame Nina's father for falling for this woman. The most striking emerald in the world was no match for her green eyes, and her long, wavy, brown hair, which was now held back by a ponytail, used to be captivating in the eyes of most men in her younger years, when it had been let down.
"Oh, Ayu and Kaji, nice to see you! I've just prepared some lemonade. Would you like some?" Her mother asked when she stopped the two friends by the gate.
"Oh no, we were just heading home when we spotted Nina." Ayu replied.
Mrs. Sakura looked a little disappointed, but she waved them goodbye. Ayu and Kaji left, a little hurriedly to Nina's eyes. As Nina found another empty bush, she finally stood up, with earth on her bare knees, the tips of her shoes, and her elbows to her hands.
"Nina, come inside now. You might get sunburned. And besides, you will find a surprise in the kitchen."
"But Mom, I have to - "
But she obeyed anyway, seeing that her skin was a little bit darker and stingy. Besides, Rio would never spend the day hiding outside. Maybe he managed to smuggle himself into Ayu's house, or maybe even to any person who would gladly take care of him for the rest of the day.
She was quickly reminded by her mother to wipe her feet because she just mopped the floor. Nina did what her mother wished, and headed for the kitchen. She could use some of that lemonade. She was sweating from head to toe, and smelled of the earth she had recently crawled on. What more could one expect of Nina than be thirsty?
When she arrived at the kitchen, she saw that a gray-haired boy wearing a white shirt and red trousers sat on a chair, happily sipping lemonade through a straw. The little boy spotted Nina and let out a childish squeal, as Nina grabbed him by the neck of his shirt.
"Rio, you have it, so hand it over." Nina said threateningly. She shot the boy a death glare which meant: Don't you act innocent in front of me, boy!
"All right! All right! I hid it under the sofa. Now let me go!"
But Nina had released the boy before he finished his final sentence. She quickly ran to the living room sofa and went down on all fours again, getting some earth on her mother's clean floor. She held out her hand and felt her way under the sofa. A little later, she felt something papery so she pulled it out. She was supposed to feel relieved, but one look at the piece of paper and she was sent screaming.
"Nina! What's wrong?" her mother asked as Nina reappeared into the kitchen, with her report on one hand.
Nina paid little attention to this question and headed for Rio instead, who suddenly looked too frightened for words to describe. She shoved the report in front of the boy's face and yelled, "RIO, SEE WHAT YOU DID? MY FIVE-PAGED, HANDWRITTEN REPORT HAS BLACK SQUIGGLES ALL OVER IT! EVERY SINGLE PAGE!"
"But I didn't do it!" Rio finally managed to muster his strength to reply to the terrifying girl in front of him.
Nina was too angry with Rio to reply. She threw the report on Rio's face and stormed out of the kitchen. She didn't know where her feet took her, but she wanted to get away from her home. Salty and hot tears were produced by her eyes and mingled with the sweat on her face. She ran and ran, and finally collapsed, face-down on the grass when her feet were too tired to carry on.
As she sobbed, she didn't realize that someone was headed her way. That specific person stopped suddenly, his tracks leaving a strange echo, which caused Nina to stop crying. But she didn't care if the person was Rio. She went on with her sobbing. Let him stare. I don't care.
But that person wasn't Rio. Nina felt him step into the grass and sit down beside her. Nina waited for him to speak, but that person never spoke. Instead, she felt his arm rub her back gently in a soothing rhythm. Nina felt her cheeks burn hot, but she felt a little better with this. Finally, the person spoke, with a familiar voice Nina never thought she'd hear.
"Tell me what happened, Nina," It was Tsujiai.
Nina looked up. Sure enough, it was him. Nina felt her cheeks burn to the point that she thought they were too red to describe. She liked Tsujiai more than she liked any other boy, because they had a lot in common, and he always understood her feelings, sometimes even more than Ayu ever could.
She hiccupped a little, as she struggled to form the words as she explained what Rio did, how hard she had worked to make her report presentable and neat, and even all of the countless trips to the library she made just to get enough research so she wouldn't fail. She didn't ask for anyone's help, even though Kaji, who was an expert in English literature, offered to help her.
Tsujiai listened quietly, and never interrupted Nina. Once Nina had finished, he helped her up. This was the only time Nina realized where she really was. She was in the field of the town park. But as she realized how dirty she was, and how clean Tsujiai was, she felt a little ashamed. A girl was always expected to be clean, and boys dirty, not the other way around.
"You're a mess. Why don't you come to my house so you can tidy yourself up?" Tsujiai offered.
"Thanks a lot, Tsujiai." Nina replied sheepishly.
Tsujiai led Nina to his house. It was similar to Ayu's, for her also lived by himself since his parents were on a business trip in Europe, but as Nina expected, a little messy and disorganized. But nonetheless, it was neat, for a teenage boy. The living room had a very old but durable sofa, a TV set, a table filled with things like magazines, books, and other boyish things.
Tsujiai led Nina through a door to the bathroom. It was small, but fair enough, since it had the basic necessities a bathroom needed: soaps, shampoo, a bathtub, a toilet (Nina was relieved to see that Tsujiai cleaned it beforehand), a sink, a mirror, and some toothpaste and toothbrushes that belonged to him and his parents.
"You clean yourself up while I prepare." Tsujiai said, closing the door behind himself.
Nina locked the door and spotted that there was a pail filled with clean water and a dipper to go with it. Using the dipper as a basin, she filled it with water and placed it on the sink. She washed the soil from her face, her arms, and her legs. There was still earth on her clothes, and Nina wondered how she was going to get it off when there was a knock on the door.
"Here, these are my mom's old clothes. She doesn't use them anymore since it no longer fits, so you can have it." Tsujiai handed a pair of faded jeans, a white shirt, and a towel when Nina opened the door.
Nina thanked him, locked the door once again, and wiped the water from her body. She undressed and placed the fresh clothes on. The clothes were a little loose but Nina didn't mind. She stepped out of the bathroom and found Tsujiai sitting on the sofa, with some paper and pens. He was eating at a cold chicken pie from the refrigerator.
"Much better. Well, come on Nina, let's get started with your report." Tsujiai said.
Nina was surprised but glad at the same time. "We're writing my report?"
The boy's eyes looked at her with beaming curiosity that Nina felt quite uncomfortable. But he quickly recovered from his bashful act and quite asked her to sit down. Nina, since she didn't know what else she could do, sat down beside him.
With Tsujiai's books on English literature, Nina was quite surprised that managed to finish the report in a few hours. Tsujiai guided her once in a while, pointing out mistakes or making suggestions and Nina always followed suit. She was at ease when she worked with him, for he always never left her alone.
When the five-paged report was finally finished, Nina glanced at the wall clock and saw that it was almost time for dinner. She thanked Tsujiai and said that it was time she headed home. Tsujiai agreed, since he still had to cook his own dinner and wished Nina the best for her report.
"Even though it's late, I know you'll still earn it." Tsujiai said.
"I could never have done it. Thanks a lot Tsujiai!" Nina said.
Once she was on her way home, carrying her bundle of clothes and her report, she came across Ayu and Kaji. They were outside Kaji's house, and they looked like they had been standing for a long time. Nina felt like it was best not to intrude, so she quietly passed the house, only to find herself eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Ayu, I'm really sorry…" It was Kaji.
"But Kaji, when will you come back?" Ayu's shaking voice asked. A bitter thought occurred to Nina that Ayu was crying.
She didn't want to hear anymore. She broke into a sprint and ran all the way home. Hoping that Ayu and Kaji didn't realize that she had heard them. Seeing Ayu's sorrow was always weakening for her. This was the strong bond of their friendship, and Nina never wanted to see Ayu this sad, most of all - cry.
When she finally arrived home, she spotted Rio on the sofa. He let out a squeal and ran away. Mrs. Sakura came from the kitchen. Once she saw Nina, she threw her arms around her daughter and began to cry. She mouthed words, saying that she was relieved to see Nina fine and unhurt.
"I went to Tsujiai's house. He helped me write my report." Nina replied.
Thankfully, her mother wasn't in the mood to give her a telling off. Instead, she brought Nina to the kitchen and told her to eat. She took the dirty clothes from her, and placed a plate of steak and mashed potatoes topped with gravy. Nina ate ravenously, and finished the dinner in a few minutes.
Deciding that she ought to prepare for school, Nina headed upstairs. Besides, she had to make-up with Rio. But no sooner had she reached the fifth step on the staircase did the phone ring. Her mother answered it and Nina froze on her tracks, because her mother looked a little worried.
"Nina, it's Ayu…" Her mother's voice trailed off as she handed the receiver to Nina.
"Hello? Nina?" a sobbing voice erupted from the receiver.
Ayu was crying! Nina wanted desperately to hang up, but she knew that her friend needed her now more than ever, so Nina mustered the courage to keep the receiver steady on her hand. She sat down on the sofa, because she knew that Ayu wanted a long conversation with her, with the way things were.
"Yes, Ayu?" replied Nina. "What's wrong?"
"It's Kaji. He's – he's - " Ayu muttered, giving out involuntary hiccups that Nina had to press the receiver against her ear to understand Ayu's words.
"Yes?" Nina asked weakly, grasping the receiver tightly that her palms were turning white and sweaty. She felt her stomach churn the steak she ate a little too quickly.
"Lea – leaving! He's ne - ver coming back!" Ayu's voice suddenly hoarse that Nina wasn't sure if the person speaking was Ayu at all.
But the thought of Kaji leaving was too unbearable, even though Nina only liked him as a friend. Nina knew that Kaji was one of the people Ayu valued most. She knew that Ayu was madly in love with him, and Kaji was too. Nina never understood the word love,but she knew it was something that gave two people an inseparable bond. And that bond could never be broken, no matter how far apart they were. She only knew this because her mother told her when Nina asked what love was when she was a little girl.
"Nina? Are you st – still the - re?" Ayu asked.
"Yes Ayu," Nina replied.
This conversation only required Nina to listen to Ayu, so she just sat there and listened as her best friend poured all of the sorrow into her. Some people say that when one person has a bundle of problems, the only remedy for that is pouring out all of the problems into another person, so that the bundle of problems wouldn't be too heavy to carry.
It turned out that Kaji received a scholarship to a prestigious American school. Since his family had relatives who were willing to take them in, Kaji's parents told him that they were leaving two days from now. Of course, Kaji had known that they were going to move ages ago, but he didn't know how to react. He thought it would be best to spend most of his time with Ayu, and later tell her the truth. Ayu had nothing against this, for she wanted the best for Kaji, but she just didn't know if she would ever have the chance to see him again. For her, Kaji was to only boy she could ever love, and no one could ever replace him in her heart.
It was already ten when Ayu finally finished her little sermon. Nina's arm was tired from keeping the receiver steady, and her legs had gone "dead" from sitting in one position for such a long time. Nina's mother had gone to bed, and Rio was nowhere to be found.
"Nina, I will miss him." Ayu's voice had gone hoarse, but the hiccups were gone.
"Ayu, I promise that I will be there to help you whenever you feel lonely. I know that I haven't loved anyone like you love Kaji, but I know that love is something that cannot be broken. No matter where Kaji is, he will still love you. And I'm pretty sure that he will return to look for you," Nina answered, massaging her legs with her free hand.
"Your sure?" Ayu asked.
"Yes, I'm sure," Nina replied. "Remember, even magic can't conjure true love."
It was a rainy day when Ayu, Nina, and Tsujiai stood in the airport to say good-bye to Kaji. Kaji was dressed in traveling clothes, and he looked emotional as he said good-bye to each of his friends. Tsujiai wasn't crying (Nina wondered why boys thought crying was only meant for girls), but he looked grave when he and Kaji said good-bye to each other. Nina wasn't crying either, but she wanted to because she felt so terrible for Ayu, who was crying like a fountain. She and Kaji's eyes lingered on each other, and finally, to Nina's and Tsujiai's surprise, Kaji bent down and kissed Ayu on her lips.
Time seemed to have slowed down for Nina, but as the years passed she knew that the kiss only lasted for a few seconds. Kaji slowly removed his lips from Ayu and he mouthed a soft good-bye. Ayu wiped the tears away with a handkerchief and said her good-bye as well.
"I love you, Ayu and I will never love anyone else. I'll come back someday, I promise." Kaji said.
Ayu nodded and Kaji boarded the plane. When the plane was already in the air, Nina saw that Ayu was no longer crying, but she had a hopeful expression on her pretty face, her grey eyes eyeing the air and somehow, Nina felt something strange for the first in her life. Maybe it was because she was relieved to see that Ayu was no longer sad, but I believe it was the strong love that Ayu and Kaji had for each other.
Once they were outside, they brought Ayu home and stayed with her to comfort her, Nina and Tsujiai were all alone, walking on the sidewalk, none of them talking. Nina suddenly froze in her tracks. Tsujiai stopped and looked at her. To his relief, Nina wasn't crying but she looked like she was about to.
"What's wrong, Nina?" he asked.
"Tsujiai, I feel so helpless. Ayu feels so lonely and I can only offer words to help her. I've never felt what it's like to love someone." Nina said.
"It's not your fault, Nina. Only Ayu can help herself. You shouldn't feel guilty because you never caused any of this to happen. Besides - " a mischievous grin spread across his face. "you look ugly when you cry."
A normal girl would have taken this seriously but like what I said, Nina and Tsujiai had a lot of things in common, and Tsujiai understood Nina, so he knew how to make Nina laugh. Nina knew that Tsujiai didn't mean to be bashful, so she just chuckled as she walked on. She knew that she could always could count on Tsujiai to cheer her up.
llllllllllllllllllll
How was it? Please review. This is my first Ultra Maniac fanfic, and I was dared to make one by Amazoness Archer so please don't be too harsh. If I am inspired, I will continue writing, so please tell me if I should. Oh, if you happened to have read Kaji's family name as Tatsushi, sorry because I had very little time to edit the chapter.