Part III: Chapter 1
"Did Elizabeta tell you about that new transfer student?" Feliciano grinned as Mei wiped the counter. They both worked part-time at the family owned cafe not far from the school and they were just closing for the night.
"We have a transfer student?" Mei frowned. Normally she was up-to-date on all of the comings and goings of the school, courtesy of her best friend Elizabeta. Then again, Elizabeta was one year above her, so maybe that's why the gossip hadn't filtered down to the lower grades yet.
"Yeah, everyone says he's really nice." He said a bit too casually.
"Feli, no." Mei threw him a stern look. She knew that tone. He'd been trying to set her up on dates for awhile, but her heart wasn't in it. She still reserved a corner of her heart for Kiku.
"Meiii," he whined.
"I already told you-"
"Hey people!" Elizabeta burst in with her long, golden hair glamorously tussled and green eyes alight with a look Mei recognized all too well. The owner of the shop had long since given up on telling her not to come in after store hours.
"I hate you guys," Mei muttered and Feliciano flashed her a weak, semi-apologetic smile.
"I want you two to meet the new kid." Unperturbed, she waltzed in, dragging a rather flustered boy behind her.
Mei froze. She was dreaming. This had to be some kind of joke. The boy was rather short, shorter than Feliciano, but still taller than her. His smooth, raven black hair fell just above his eyes. His cheeks were flushed, whether from the cold or out of embarrassment she wasn't sure, and he tripped over his shoes as Elizabeta dragged him over. Their gazes met and Mei felt her heart ache familiarly. But there was no recognition in the dark, solemn eyes she knew so well.
"This is Kiku Honda," Elizabeta announced, giving Feliciano a sly wink. Was this God's way of mocking her? Was this some sort of test?
"I'm so happy to finally meet you!" Feliciano went around the counter and threw his arms around the other boy, completely disregarding formalities. Kiku Honda stiffened and quickly wriggled out of Feliciano's embrace.
"S-sorry. I don't like physical contact." He stammered apologetically.
"You'll have to get used to it soon if you're gonna be hanging with us!" Elizbeta ruffled his hair with motherly affection, furthering his discomfort. "Oh and this's Feliciano and over there is Mei." She gave her friend a meaningful glance and Mei reluctantly moved away from the safety of the counter to where her friends were. She did her best to recover her cheery smile and waved at Kiku in greeting. He smiled back and in that moment she could've sworn she saw her Watcher.
They chatted for awhile. She learned that Kiku Honda was born in Japan, but had lived most of his life in America because of his father's work. He was an only child, but he had a couple of cats and a dog. He was rather shy and socially awkward. He didn't smile much and he laughed even less, but when he did Mei felt a tug on her heart that she hadn't felt in a long time.
.
When Elizabeta drove him away, promising to catch them for lunch tomorrow, she and Feliciano started their walk home. Their houses were in opposite directions, but he insisted on walking her home. Though she wasn't sure if she could rely on him if anything were to really happen, she was grateful all the same.
"Sooo, what'd ya think of him?" Feliciano asked after awhile. Despite his light tone, he sounded a little anxious.
"He seemed nice," was all Mei could think to say and a short silence followed.
"I recognized him from your painting, you know." He said quietly. "I don't really understand who the boy you painted was or why he was so important, but he seemed to mean a lot to you and I thought maybe if you saw him…" He trailed off and Mei smiled at him. She wasn't sure what to think of Kiku Honda, but she knew that Feliciano had had good intentions. She was lucky to have a friend like him.
"Thanks Feli."
His sunny smile returned and he happily changed the subject to a new Italian restaurant that had opened in town and he wanted to go try. Mei laughed and let her spirits rise again as she tried to forget the dark, ancient eyes that lingered in the back of her mind.
That night she couldn't sleep. All of the feelings she'd tried to bury over the last year stirred in the hidden crevices of her memories. She threw her arm over her eyes. This was too much.
God, please. Why would you send him to me? I never wanted a replacement.
"He's not a replacement, Mei." A gentle voice drifted towards her and she shivered.
"I missed you." It was the first thing to come to her mind and she hadn't planned on saying it, but as soon as she did, she knew it was true. She felt a soft gust of wind as Kiku laughed. He hadn't laughed in a long time. She shifted her arm so that she could see him. His hazy form seemed more transparent than usual- as though a wave of her hand would make him dissipate into the night air.
"I never left."
"Still." She reached out for him and relaxed when he took her hand in his. "So is Kiku Honda a reincarnation or something?"
"Humans are only given one life, Mei."
"I know, I know. So who is he? Why does he look exactly like you?" He didn't answer right away.
"Some things are not meant to be revealed. I have already pushed the extent of my limits as a Watcher."
Her eyelids grew heavy and she stifled a yawn. "Will you stay this time?"
She could barely make out his smile as she struggled to stay awake. "I will always be here, even when you can't see me."
A/N: Two chapters in one day! :D The whole human!Kiku and angel!Kiku might be a bit confusing, but hopefully it'll become clearer as the story progresses~
I actually realized a few days ago that I hadn't written anything to bring closure to Yao's subplot, so we'll probably see more of him in within the next couple chapters.
Also, a friend sent me a link to someone's Tumblr post in which they kindly reviewed and shared this fic and I just wanted to give a shout out to them because that seriously made my day! I'm glad that people are still enjoying this, especially since I haven't really written anything quite like this before ^^