I wanted to do this really badly. I have a Word document full of random bits for random stories (that's actually what the file is called), and I wrote this to stick somewhere in Crushed by a Crush when I'd written far enough. But in the end I couldn't do it without interrupting the main storyline. So then I thought it'd be better to make it a oneshot. Then I realized it actually makes NO sense considering it takes place after Yuki and Machi are dating and Aina still remembers watching Sorta Cinderella. So this never happened. Deleted scene, you might say. Or an alternate universe where Aina keeps her memory. Whatever pickles your cuke.

Dream

"Machi?"

Machi looked up from her textbook at Aina.

"Uh…" Aina said, "Hi… Do you have a minute to talk?"

Machi nodded and closed her book.

"My name's Aina, first of all… You probably don't know me."

"I've seen you before," said Machi, "You're in my class."

"Yeah. But, um… Anyway…" Aina sighed, which made it fairly clear to Machi that this was something that needed to be discussed. She scratched the back of her head and sat down in a chair in front of Machi. Aina then took a deep breath, making Machi wonder if she was about to give a rehearsed speech.

"You know when you have this crazy little dream?" Aina began. "It's like the only thing you want, and you just know that if you get it, you'll never ask for anything more. But you also know that it'll never come true… Maybe because it's just literally impossible, or because you don't know where to begin, or… Because you know it's not meant to be. So you don't do anything to try and make it happen. You think the best thing to do is forget. But you still find yourself thinking about it every minute of every day, just wishing you could have it, and you know you're only making it worse by hoping…" Aina's voice was choked, but she went on, trying to calm down. "And you think you're going to spend the rest of your life dreaming. And you know that not being able to make it a reality shouldn't kill you, but it does…" Aina paused. "I'm not making any sense, am I?"

"I understand," said Machi.

"I was hoping you would."

"And… Are you here to tell me your dream?"

"You probably need to know… Considering that you're…" Aina stopped herself, realizing that she needed to answer before she said anything else. "…It's Yuki."

Machi's face changed expression. Aina couldn't tell just what it was… Shock, fear, anger, or pity… It was very slight, which made it nearly impossible to distinguish which.

"I'm telling you this because I don't want you to feel that I'm intruding…" Aina continued, "You love him just as much as I do… Probably even more… He's just… He's the most amazing person that I've ever met. And… You're really lucky… Because he loves you back."

Machi wasn't really looking at Aina now; she still had that same expression on her face. Aina had done nearly all the talking, which was fairly new to her. But this was because, whatever her feelings about this, Machi was listening. Usually that was the place of Aina, so it felt… different. This time there wasn't yet a response to wait for. Aina wasn't sure what to say next… She just knew she wasn't finished.

"I know this must be weird for you, Machi…" said Aina, "I'm hoping that in time all this will go away… But I promise you that as long as I'm still in love with him-" Aina paused to interrupt herself - "And after... I will do nothing to come between the two of you. Because I know that somewhere out there… There's someone who's looking for me. I think… I just need to look harder."

Machi looked like she was about to say something, but she was very hesitant. Like she wanted to make sure Aina was finished. Machi soon knew that she was, and now it was her turn to speak.

"I knew," Machi finally said.

"Huh?" Aina asked, eyebrows raised in confusion.

"About your feelings for Yuki."

"How?"

"Well, first it isn't very difficult to figure it out…" Machi began, "And second… He talks about you sometimes. And he told me many of the same things you said… How you didn't plan on coming between us."

"So this was all completely pointless?" Aina asked, her face beginning to flush.

"No," said Machi, "In fact, Yuki told me that if you ever decided to confront me about this, then I wasn't supposed to stop you. He said that you needed to tell me yourself."

"So instead of informing you about it… I was really helping myself somehow."

Machi nodded. "Somehow."

"Come to think of it," said Aina, "I do feel… Relieved. After saying all that."

"He said you would… And after hearing so much about you, I am glad you came to talk to me. He told me not to start a fight, but I've actually been wanting to meet you."

Aina smiled. "Me, too… So, how long have you two been dating?"

"A few months now," said Machi, "We started during second year."

"A little before Tohru and Kyo started, right? …I guess it's a little weird to make that connection… But I used to think Yuki liked Tohru, so I'm still connecting them in my head sometimes."

"I thought that, too," said Machi, "Before the Cinderella play, anyway. Because she and Kyo kept acting weird around each other."

"Wow," said Aina, "I never noticed that, considering I had a nightmare about Yuki and Tohru after watching the DVD." She laughed at herself.

"I saw it before I really knew him… So I wasn't as distracted as you must have been."

"Plus you weren't interrupted by Kyo and Uo-chan beating each other with pillows."

"What?"

"Long story… I remember hearing all the squealing as soon as Yuki showed up."

"So do I," said Machi, "It was kind of annoying."

"I know! The fan club girls went insane, but all I could think was, 'he looks like a woman!'" Both girls laughed.

Just then, Yuki walked in. "Do you still want me to walk you home, Machi?" he asked. As soon as the girls saw him, they just laughed harder.

"What?" Yuki asked, completely oblivious as to what was happening. No answer; just more laughing. "Stop it!" Yuki pleaded.

Hehehe… I'm sure Yuki would rather they were fighting right now. Has Machi ever laughed before…? But anyway, the crazy little dream speech has been in my head for ages. I have lots of them, and almost all of them fall under the impossible category (as I have said to many people, I am the only one who can fully understand my brain). Now I finally found a story to use it in. Yay me! And yay you for being such a faithful reader that you read a story about an OC that never even happened in that storyline! You rule all for that.

I'm still working on the sequel BTW. A plot bunny that won't leave me alone, yet writer's block is driving me insane... I mean, I know where I wanna go, but I'm not quite sure how to get there. And I've kind of realized that Aina may be a bit of a Mary Sue... Uh... *sweatdrop* Trying to counter that... It may be why that story's only gotten one review since I finished it... Yeah, a lot of pressure on me for the sequel, albeit from myself. I've actually had this pretty much since I finished Crush By A Crush, though the aformentioned stuff made me hesitant to post it. Hrrm. But the sequel is still in the works. 'Twill be a oneshot. With an epilogue. So a twoshot, I suppose. It seems the original story has pretty much died *sniff* my regular reviewers left me... It's funny, next to Reawakening, I always considered that story my "baby" of sorts. Writing Aina has been kinda theapeutic for me. Which miiiight just add to her Mary Sue-ish-ness. This deeply worries me. And I'm rambling again. Aaanyway, thanks for reading!