Okay people, I did some research on Kira's name, cause there's been people asking about it. Kira, as it turns out, originated in Persia, which is now Iran, I think, which is where my name originated from! In Cyrpus, Kira means 'sun', and it is popular in Japanese fiction. Kira, means 'light' in Japanese, but due to its pronunciation, it's been translated as 'killer'. That's why, in Japanese anime, there are characters that have the name and turn out to be killers. It's been known to some that Kira are names for people who are good but are also killers at the same time, e.g Kira Yamato (which is Kira's full name, funnily enough, purely coincidental though), who's a boy in Gundam Seed who's really good but kills enemies in war. There, everyone happy? Great!

keia mizuki: Yeah, I was wondering what kept you from reviewing! But I'm glad you're back and reviewing again. Thanks for liking it!

jhydl: I'm uploading every three or four days. I just wait for the hit stats to get to fifty, then I upload again. So now that it's reached fifty, here's the new chapter!

neko11lover: Oh my goodness, you're right! Gomen gomen, sorry! It's supposed to be Sendoh, not Kira. Their first names sound so alike kasi e...I'm really sorry... Yeah, unfortunately Sendoh is breaking up with her. He likes her though..you'll find out of you read this chapter. And I don't know about you, but I sailed through geometry fine. Algebra, I was able to do okay. Calculus was a killer. I took it twice in UP before I passed it. All those horrible theorems...limits and I just don't co-exist.

DigitalLavender: Yay, new reader! Kira's name is explained over there at the top.

moodygal: That's okay. As long as you keep reading!

jenjen: Thanks you! Here's the next chapter!

You Mean, Rukawa has a best friend?

Chapter Sixteen

When Kira answered the door the next afternoon, she could sense foreboding. She was usually accurate in sensing things. If you were best friends with one of the coolest humans on earth, how can you not be? But she didn't really use that to describe Rukawa Kaede, not to his face, anyway.

When she saw Sendoh standing there, she could immediately tell that whatever he had to say was something that wouldn't be to her taste at all. Although a smile was planted in his face, his eyes weren't holding the same cheerful look he usually had back when their lives weren't so complicated.

She never imagined that fighting with Rukawa would complicate things to no end.

Then again, they didn't fight often. The last time that they fought was way back in junior high, when someone, in other words, every girl in their school, planted in Kira's head the idea that she would never be as important to Rukawa than basketball.

The more they told her this, the more the idea tightened its hold in her brain, until finally, she blew up and had a big shouting match in the middle of the hall, which culminated in Kira throwing a basketball in Rukawa's face and declaring that if he loved the game so much he might as well marry it, and then reminded him that he shouldn't invite her to that wedding.

The fight was now completely ridiculous to her, but they were so angry at each other that Kira decided to go to another school rather than the one where Rukawa was going. Summer came and went, but they didn't patch things up. Kira had felt the same feelings that she was feeling right now: loneliness, and longing to hang out and be friends with Rukawa once again. But it was only until a month after their start of high school did they patch things up. It even happened in the most obscure way.

She had seen Rukawa in the Ryonan High Gym, leaning at the open door. In the beginning she did a double take, to make sure that that really was Rukawa by the door. She knew she couldn't be mistaken. That was his profile all right. She noticed that she had gotten taller then, and she was having a great debate in her mind whether or not she should go up to him and talk.

To help her, a ball went wooshing past Rukawa and landed on her shins. Whoever threw it was powerful, and her shins stung on impact. She winced when Rukawa turned, but she grabbed the ball, and threw it back to one of the players, someone called Koshino, who apologized profusely, gave Rukawa a curious glance before going in the gym and closing the door behind him.

She was rubbing her shins when Rukawa was suddenly just three feet away from him, and muttered, "are you okay?"

Kira nodded mutely, not really sure what to say. All that came out of her mouth was, "hi."

"Hn."

She tried to stand up straight, but her shins still stung, and the point of impact was starting to turn red, and in a few days, form a large blue bruise.

"You're not okay." he muttered again.

"I'm fine," she retaliated, not looking at him directly in the eye.

He pointed on his back. "Come on."

She frowned. "What?"

"Hop on."

"No."

He glared. "Now."

She nodded,enjoying the prospect ofa piggyback ride."Okay."

After that, it was as if the fight never happened.

Kira now thought that it would take more than a hit in the shins with a basketball to fix their relationship. Sendoh was looking at her, apparently thinking of what he should say, or how he should say it.

Kira decided to help him. "Is it good news or bad news?" she asked.

Her stare demanded the truth, so Sendoh said weakly, "Bad."

Kira sighed. "You're breaking up with me, aren't you?"

He didn't answer.

She wasn't stupid. She had seen this coming. She even expected Sendoh to break up with her sooner than this, on the count that she had been acting like someone who hasn't gone over their previous relationship. She knew that Sendoh didn't deserve that, nor did she want that for him. He needed someone who, for one, be happy to see him, and two, not wallowing in self pity.

She felt herself smile, a small fake smile that she had been wearing for the past week. "I knew you would." She finally said.

Sendoh didn't look amused at all. In fact, he even looked slightly frustrated. "Do you know why?"

She nodded, and answered in a dull voice, not looking at his face but instead at his feet. "Because I've been nothing but a stupid depressed girl wallowing in self pity and searching for something that there's no way for me to get?"

"That's a stupid reason."

She looked up, startled, "What?"

Sendoh repeated. "That's a stupid reason."

She rose to her full height. She didn't appreciate having anything to do with being stupid right now.

"Do you want to know why?"

"Pray tell," she said sarcastically.

"I'm glad to see your sarcasm hasn't been sucked out by your depression and wallowing-ness."

She snarled.

"I'm breaking up with you," he began, "because you love someone else."

Kira didn't answer. Then –

"What?"

Sendoh let himself in, pushing her back, sat her down next to him, and held her hand. "Listen," he said, "I like you. I really, really like you, and you like me too, right?"

She nodded. There was no need to talk, just nod or shake her head as his eyes bored into hers.

"Though no matter how much I like you," he said, then hesitated, looking down, then looked at her weakly and said, "I'm sorry, but I just don't love you."

Kira felt a small stab in her heart. Though strangely, she thought it should have hurt her more than that.

Sendoh looked at her straight in the eye. "Kira, do you love me?"

Kira saw nothing but the truth, the raw question was boring in her head, and before she could stop and think about it, she felt herself shaking her head.

Sendoh gave her a small smile. "I knew you don't," he said, "but there is someone you love isn't there?"

His eyes demanded the truth, she could feel it, and she knew no matter how convincing her lies might sound, he would know what those are and would demand the genuine, true answer from her. She felt herself nod, as only one man was pictured in her mind, and that man wasn't the one whose eyes reflected her face.

"I love Kaede," she whispered.

"Knew you would," said Sendoh, a small benign smile in his face, unlocking his eyes from hers and resting down the couch.

Kira blinked a few times, and stared at Sendoh. "Did you just hypnotize me or something?" she asked shrewdly, narrowing her eyes.

"I have that effect on women," he answered, smiling. He looked exhausted, but in a satisfied sort of way.

Kira looked away from him, not sure whether what he was saying was the truth, or even if it made any remote type of sense. Then she looked out the window. This was, by far, the easiest break up that she had had in her entire life. Feeling slightly guilty, she turned to Sendoh, "Sorry if I led you on or something," she said weakly.

Sendoh waved it off. "Like I said, I really like you," he said, "I want you to be happy, and I know you'll be happy with Rukawa more than you'll be with me."

"But I like you too." she said weakly, in a high small voice.

"And I would put that dearly into my heart," he answered, clutching his chest dramaticaally, "But I'm sure that I'll find someone who would like me enough to love me and vice versa."

"I'm sure that would happen," smiled Kira.

Sendoh flashed a grin at her. "With looks like these, how can it not?"

Kira threw a pillow at him, then gave him a hugged him sideways so her head was resting on his chest "Thanks Sendoh."

Sendoh put a hand on her chin, lifted her face and looked down at her. "Now just because we're not together doesn't mean that you can't call me Akira anymore." He said.

"Right," she said, "thanks Akira."

Sendoh hugged her tight.

"We're still friends right?"

"Of course."

She knew that that was all they would ever be.