An Untold Love Story

Witch-Mistress-Animaru

A/N: … cooking instant noodles and risking overcooking it…I don't know how to continue but I'll do my best!

I now have a plot! I have added original characters and I'd like you to meet them.

Raven Gaoru – Kanata's look-alike in Miyu's new school. He's been courting Miyu ever since she came to their school. However, he is definitely more arrogant and sure of himself than Kanata ever was. Yet he is infinitely sweeter a guy than Kanata, who has never even confessed his feelings to Miyu, not even when she left. Will Raven steal Kanata's place in Miyu's heart?

Mizore Yuki – (An intended pun of snow and sleet) the president of Miyu's class; blue-haired, with ice of coolest blue; Raven is the love of her life. She reminds Miyu of Christine when it came to Raven.

1: Separate Lives

A year has quickly gone by. The fresh green leaves of spring made way to the full blooming of flowers and plants. The trees eventually yielded to Mother Nature and changed their wardrobes — rich gold and fiery red leaves swirled in the cold autumn air. Finally, the boldly-dressed leaves lost their flare and a miserable cold swept everything as winter came to pass.

Yes, indeed, a year gone in a haze. Indeed, a year has passed everyone by.

The friends Miyu left behind that fateful day — Aya, Nanami, Christine, Santa…everyone…whatever happened to them?

Nanami and Santa unexpectedly ended up together. For the past few months, the two have been in a rather ridiculous on-and-off setup. Santa seems clueless of the fact that he's going out exclusively with Nanami and keeps on doing odd things that annoy her — like not making it on a date because he saw an authentic records store on his way to their meeting place.

At the present, Nanami is pissed off with Santa who forgot their fourth month together altogether because he spent all his savings on 'some cheap junk,' or so Nanami says. Santa insists that it was a 'opportunity of a lifetime,' having those bird records — or something like that.

Aya is having writer's block again on the play she is writing for the year, and without Miyu to haggle every waking moment of the day, she started annoying the hell out of Nanami recently. Nanami said it was all that she needed right now (rather sarcastically), and on the verge of breaking down, she screamed at Aya to leave her the hell alone — that did the trick. No, Aya did not get offended or anything like that. She has found her masterpiece, or so she says. After the shouting scene, Aya fled to her writer's den to begin the story of the next play, leaving Nanami in her misery.

Christine has started stalking poor Kanata from school on the way home. She still has not gathered the courage to ask him out, yet she's been more violent lately — an unexpected turn of events, as everyone thought now that Miyu was gone, she would have toned down. Maybe the pressure of Kanata's fan club as competition has gone to her head.

As for Kanata, he hardly changed — or so everyone said. He was still the same competent leader and student. He recently got the lead in Aya's masterpiece of a play, something he doesn't look forward to, as the lead of the play turned out to be a psychopathic individual who screams "Leave me the hell alone" in the middle of the street about five times a day…at least, so Aya said.

Christine, meanwhile, is enchanted by Aya's masterpiece simply because she plays the psychopath's shrink-cum-detective…meaning she got many scenes with Kanata enough to make her blow her steam. She hardly cared that the psychopath has a girlfriend and is also an accomplished stalker — and that the 'fan club' got to be his stalked victims.

Everyone and everything hardly changed, except maybe for Nanami and Santa's unexpected relationship. Otherwise, both are very much the same. Santa is now begging Kanata to loan him some money (not to make up to Nanami, but to buy some antique gadget he saw at a secondhand shop.). Aya and Nanami eventually got on good terms again ("Not that we were ever in bad terms," Aya said. "One furious scream hardly counts as a quarrel.")

But for Miyu, everything has changed. Ever since she switched schools, everything has changed.

First there were the classes — her teachers, her classmates treated her with both awe and humongous expectations, being the daughter of Miki Kouzuki, 'that great astronaut from here.' Then there were the times she missed the old crowd so much…Aya's stints, Nanami's no-nonsense attitude, Santa's craziness, Christine's wide and deadly imagination. And…admit it or not, she missed her squabbles with Kanata, her arguments with him that shook the house. She missed his devil-may-care but nevertheless responsible attitude, his sensible outlook in life. She missed having him worry about her, having him mad at her — just having him around her, just like she missed Wanya and Ruu.

She recently had a row with her parents, who can't seem to understand her loneliness. Sure, she had to put up with appearances. Sure, she had to adapt. But they can never change her overnight! In the end, she shouted incoherent nonsense all over the house, screaming her frustrations, venting off her spleen. The next day, the air was thick and stiff with tension as she bade both of them goodbye. Resentful as she was, she could not apologize, simply because she was still very much frustrated about her situation.

Yes. The year had gone in a haze — a dash of cold, insufferable snow storms, coupled with the wonderful colors of autumn, the freshness of spring, and the heat and life of summer. Everything seemed both awful and wonderful at the same time. That was what best described how she felt. It was never easy, it will never be. She was always too busy, always too exhausted.

She's had a good many friends and acquaintances; together with a dozen admirers and suitors (one even resembled Kanata, but not quite.). Yet she never entertained them. She was too busy to be normal, busy being a student…busy coping.

Oh, well, there were the rare times she was normal…almost.

But those moments were rare, and she always felt different from her classmates. There was always a barrier separating her from the others.

Like today, even when she has reached the third semester of her junior year, she still walked to school alone and returned home alone. Dozens of boys have offered to accompany her but she declined them all.

She just couldn't find the strength to open up and have new friends.

She entered her classroom and received the usual mandatory 'good morning' from everyone and returned the greeting.

Then she sat down to her usual seat, at the back of the room, keeping her head buried in her notes.

"Kouzuki-san," a girl's voice called her. She turned. It was Mizore Yuki, the class president. She can't help but feel her skin crawl as the girl fixed her cold stare on her.

"H-hai, Mizore-san?"

"I saw you yesterday. You were walking with Raven Gaouru-kun!"

Miyu frowned. She didn't walk with Raven yesterday. In fact, yesterday she went to the supermarket on the other side of town and saw some of the old crowd. She even chatted a bit, although it was obvious she wasn't part of their crowd anymore. It was a good thing Chris-chan wasn't there, since Kanata helped her with her shopping...

She reddened. Now she knew who Mizore Yuki was referring to.

"I wasn't, Mizore-san. That was a friend of mine, Ka..."

"It's impossible; I saw it with my own eyes! Tell me, are you seeing Gaoru-kun?"

"I told you that was —!"

"What's going on?" Raven Gaoru has just entered the room, his eyes narrowing. "Are you bullying Miyu again, Mizore?" He didn't bother with suffixes. Raven grew up in the States, being half-American.

But Miyu was no longer listening. She thought about her incidental meeting with the old crowd. Even Kanata was oddly polite, as though Ruu and Wannya never happened.

They saw her off and she managed to keep a smile on her face. Afterwards, though, she cried silently when she arrived home.

Didn't they miss me even a bit? I missed them so much...

0-0-0-

Kanata had just finished cleaning Saionji temple. He sat down in front of the television and switched it on.

His father returned to India and he was, once more, on his own.

At times like this, he missed Ruu and Wannya.

And, though he refuses to dwell on it, he misses Miyu the most.

He just saw her again, a few days ago. He never even realized how much he missed her until he saw her again. It's been — what? — Nearly a year since she left and transferred. Yet he can remember clearly everything, as if it was only yesterday.

They talked that day on the supermarket. But there were reservations. He can't help but be distant. He was afraid he'd blurt out something stupid if he dared to talk the way they used to.

Clearly, she wasn't one of them anymore. She certainly must have new friends. Her personality did not jive with loneliness and unfriendliness.

He sighed. He was still trying to act normally, trying to put everything behind him. He must be doing well, since nobody seemed to see his inner loneliness.

He switched the television off. He can't even concentrate on what he was watching.

Then he heard a knock on the door. He went out. It was Christine. He silently gulped.

"May I come in, Saionji-kun?"

"Ano, Hanakomachi..." He started.

"Thank you," Christine said and she entered.

He shook his head as Chris entered.

"Um...I better say this..." He could hear her talking to herself. "Ano, Saionji-kun, will you...will you..."

"Huh?"

"Wilyugoawtwidme? There, I said it!"

"Uh...can you repeat that? I didn't catch it."

"Um...Um...will...will you...g-g-go..." Steam was rising from her hair. Her face was continually reddening. "...out with me?"

"What?!"

TBC

A/N: What the heck. This is drama, UFO Baby style.