- Please note that when Yukio's text is italicized he is speaking in English.

Watashi wa anata no tame ni
(I do it for you)
Anata wa watashi no tame ni
(You do it for me)
Shougai wo sasageru ai NO Uta
(To grant each other life--our song of love)
Subete wa hitotsu ni natte
(When everything becomes one,)
Hitori ja naku tte hitotsu de
(One without loneliness)
2-do to futari wa mou hanarenai
(We'll never be apart again)

Magenta Rain
Chapter Three, The New Transfer Student

Was that it?

All Kazune had to do was say "I'm alright", and that was the end of it?

Karin sighed heavily as she stood just outside her classroom. From there she could hear the chatter of her classmates as they rejoiced over Kazune's return to school. They were loud and excited - feelings that she just could not share with the rest of them. Even if he was smiling and acting like his old self, she wasn't sure that was really him. How could anyone just get better overnight?

She couldn't accept it.

It's not that simple! she told herself. It's not! It never is!

She raised her hand to the door, and hesitated.

Kazune wasn't alright. She was certain of that much. It wasn't unlike Kazune to push himself beyond his own limits. Even if he was still hurting, even if he was still feeling insecure, he wouldn't allow himself to show it. He would continue on as normal and pretend that none of it was there.

The worst part was that she could never tell when he was doing that.

"Ah, excuse me?" a voice called out to her from down the hallway.

Karin turned so that she could face the newcomer. He was walking quickly, practically jogging towards her.

She assumed that it was a 'he', anyways. He had long, flowing red hair that swung loosely behind him as he moved. And as he approached her she could make out the details of his face. Everything about him was… the only word that she could think of that suited him best was feminine - delicate, even. The only thing about him that told her he was a guy was the fact that he was wearing the school's male uniform.

"Yo!" he greeted her, skidding to a stop a few feet away from her. He grinned wolfishly.

"Um, hi," she replied, staring at him.

Without another word he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumple piece of white paper. He unfolded it and played with it, trying to straighten it out as best was possible. Once satisfied with his work, his grin widened and he held the paper out so that Karin could see what was written on it.

"Could you tell me where this classroom is, Beautiful," he asked.

Karin stared at him for a moment. The last part of what he'd said - was that another language? She'd never heard the word before, if it was even one word. What the hell did It mean?

She stood there, blinking at him.

He blinked back.

"Oh…" he drew out the syllable, and tilted his head to one side. "Are you an exchange student, too?"

Karin bit back a growl. Who the hell was this guy and what did he want with her? The current situation involving Kazune was complicated enough without some idiot foreigner entering in to make things worse. Even if the extent of his involvement would only go this far, at the moment that felt like too much.

"No? I'm wrong?" he chirped. "You have such pretty blonde hair, I thought maybe you were!"

She bowed her head and bit back a sigh. She'd been doing that too much lately. She needed to hold a more positive attitude.

Was the positive of this situation that if she helped him that she wouldn't have to face Kazune yet? Could she really consider that a positive thing?

It'll have to do for now.

He pushed the paper closer to her. She took it from him and let her eyes roam over the typed words that were on it. She shook her head slowly.

There went her moment of avoiding Kazune.

"You're in my class," she told him, handing the paper back.

The boy took the paper and nodded eagerly. "Yes? And where is that?"

Is he an idiot? she mentally growled. He was giving her a headache. She pointed at the door she was standing in front of. "This classroom."

"Ah, thank you, thank you!" he gushed.

"Uh, yeah, no-"

He through himself at her, squealing and laughing. Karin blushed deeply as his arms wrapped around her body and held her tightly. She raised her arms to push away, but that only encouraged him to hold her a little tighter.

"Such a beautiful girl shouldn't be crying," he whispered into her ear.

Karin gasped. She could feel her face heat up even more.

"I-I wasn't…" she protested, beginning to squirm.

"Really?"

If it was possible, he held her a little closer, his grip just a little tighter than it was a moment earlier. He buried his face against her neck. She gasped again, her body froze. She closed her eyes and lowered her forehead so that it was resting on his shoulder, suddenly feeling dizzy.

This feeling…

It was such an intimate embrace. The way he was holding her was so comforting, so reassuring. If she gave into everything now and cried, he'd continue to hold her just like this and support her. The world and all of it's problems could slowly melt away, and all that mattered was that he was holding her now. Everything would be alright. Everything would find a way to work out.

Somewhere in the distance, a door slid open.

That didn't matter.

"Karin!?" Kazune's very shocked voice pierced through her tranquil thoughts.

She squeaked, and with all of the force she could muster she pushed herself away from the crimson haired boy. He didn't fight her this time, and even took a step back away from her. His eyes went round as he stared at Kazune.

Her classmates gathered around Kazune, their voices that had been so excitedly chattering about his return were now rising to talk about herself and the foreigner.

Karin stared at him for a moment. His eyes were round in surprise, mixed with anger and something that resembled pain. She looked away. It was an odd expression on him, something she'd never seen before. But as with all of the other 'first times' she'd seen this past week, she couldn't face this one.

She cast her gaze to the side, still blushing furiously.

"Ka-Kazune… kun… I…"

"Ah, I wasn't aware that my beautiful savior had a boyfriend," the boy tittered.

Karin jumped. How could he think that?

"We… We aren't…" Then she silently added, I like Kirika-senpai, anyway…

The boy's face lit up suddenly. Karin took a step back, just to be careful. But he seemed to have lost his interest in her as he approached Kazune instead. The wolfish grin that he had used to greet her resurfaced.

"My, there aren't many boys quite as beautiful as you," he cooed.

Kazune's expression changed to the calm, yet irritated, one that she was most familiar with. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at him.

Karin, Himeka, and everyone else in the classroom watched with wide eyes as the boy continued to work his way closer to him. He took Kazune's hands in his own, leaning in so that their faces were only inches apart. He smiled; Kazune frowned.

"Really, you're so," he cooed, brushing his fingers lightly against Kazune's cheek, "beautiful."

Kazune visibly paled.

Karin took a step forward. "H-Hey, you…"

His eyes widened; a fine tremble shook his body. He was scared, terrified of him. Karin mentally cursed herself as she rushed to push the boy away from him. She turned to face Kazune, who was whimpering softly. He raised his hands to his face, hiding it from… something.

I knew it. I knew he wasn't ready to be here, her mind screamed at her.

"Karin…"

She blinked. One hand was reaching out for her now, shaking. Unshed tears glittered in his eyes. He looked so hurt, so desperate.

What was going on in his mind?

"Ka… Kazune-kun?" She reached out for his hand.

"No…"

His legs gave out beneath him. She dove for him, but one of the other guys in the classroom caught him before he hit the ground. Himeka was instantly as his side, quietly calling out "Kazune-chan" to him. The KazuneZ were gasping and screaming, crowding around him as the teacher tried to push everyone back.

Karin glanced back at the red-haired boy that had sunk back into the scenery. He was staring at Kazune with oddly amused eyes - a gaze that made her feel very uncomfortable.

Noticing her stare, he shrugged and smiled softly at her.

"I've never made a man faint before."

Ah, and so... that's the first chapter in well over a year. I had a lot of stumbling around to do, as well as getting myself in the appropriate mood for it. I'm sorry that it's only one scene, but it's also over half the size of the other two chapters, or so I reasoned with myself. I hope that I can recapture some old fans and make some new ones with this.

Up to date chapters and discussions about my stories can be found on my forum. We're always looking for new members. Come and take a look around, won't you?

- Makami