Hey guys! Just a short drabble that I thought about right after watching Bloom Into You. The aquarium looked so much like the one used in the BSD game so I thought...why not have Chuuya talk to Touko? Hope you enjoy!

Touko Nanami had always hated herself.

For as long as she could remember, she had been searching for that kind of identity. They say when you grow up, you always see yourself in that one particular person. In Nanami's case, it was her sister. Ever since she was a child, she always looked up to her sister as some kind of aspiring hero, someone that she would see herself growing up to be.

Mio Nanami was the student council president and in her final year of high school. She was gorgeous, intelligent, and very popular; everyone loved her. Boys wanted to be with her and girls wanted to be like her. However, no one would ever love her as much as her little sister did. Touko was in elementary school, and she knew exactly where she wanted to be because this was a position that her sister had. That was quite ambitious for a 10-year-old, Touka had believed.

In the fall, there will be the Cultural Festival. This massive school event was an open house filled with vendors, exhibitions and fun for the whole family. Every club and class would do something to show their school spirit, and everyone had their eyes on the student council. They would be putting on a play, with Mio as the main star. This was the talk of the school, and everyone was looking forward to the student council showing what they can do. Mio was very talented, and this would, as many students would put it, make her famous in the long run. She did have that star quality power.

However, that important moment never happened.

A traffic accident brought everything to a screeching halt. They say it was a drunk driver who lost control, but whatever happened…it cost Mio Nanami her life…and Touko's sense of self-worth as well.

From the funeral onward, Touko only thought about completing what her sister started. She would become student council president and then fulfill her sister's dream. She didn't care about what happened afterwards. Relationships never really interested her either, only this dream was all she hung onto.

She won the election by a landslide and now they were preparing for the play. A girl named Yuu Koita was recruited into the student council after becoming Nanami's election manager, and she got her friend, Konomi, to write the script for the play. Touko cared about this girl deeply, from her salmon-pink hair to her adorable fingers to her sparkling green eyes. She always told Yuu how much she cared, even if the girl never quite reciprocated her feelings. However, this was fine. How could anyone fall in love with her when she herself doesn't love who she is? The last thing she wanted was to be hurt again.

The girls grew closer and Touko could already tell that Yuu felt the same way. She warned her plenty of times to stop falling in love with her, but all that ever did was bring more pain. She could not stand it any longer.

After visiting her sister's grave, she stood at the station and stared at the tracks below her feet. A part of her wanted to jump, but she knew she had something to complete. Where would she go once the Cultural Festival was over? She wasn't sure. She was playing the role of her sister and fulfilling her dream. She never thought about what would happen next.

As she subconsciously took a step forward, the train zoomed by, snapping her back to reality. She shook a little. How could she think about jumping? Her phone went off, showing a text from Yuu. Of course, she knew that there would be someone who cared about her.

"Want to hang out?"

Maybe this was what she needed right now - a distraction to keep her from her thoughts. She answered the text and walked away from the station.

Later on, she met Yuu at the aquarium. They would see the dolphin show and then see the penguin march later that day. Sounds like a perfect afternoon, but she still found herself wrestling with her thoughts. As they walked in, she noticed a charm hanging from Yuu's phone.

"I didn't know that you love jellyfish"

"It's not a jellyfish," Yuu corrected. "It's an octopus."

"Oh," Touko cleared her throat as she stood corrected. "Hope you don't mind, but you mind if I straighten myself up?"

Yuu blinked as she looked at her senpai. "Are you sure? I mean we can both go if you-"

Touko cut her off, "No it's okay. I'd prefer to go alone. You get us some seats for the dolphin show, okay?"

Yuu cocked her head in confusion as she pondered what the other girl meant. She must be going through some anxiety issues again. "Okay, I understand," She said, "Don't take too long okay? I will see you in a few."

"Sure," The raven-haired girl turned and walked down the halls. There was no light, except from the faint glow from the fish tanks that scattered about the room. Fish of many colours, shapes and forms swam in their respective homes while ripples from the water reflected off the walls and floors.

She sat on the bench to catch her breath. All what she wanted at that moment was to cry, but she didn't want Yuu to see her in such a state. She didn't want anyone to see her, how much she hated herself.

"Are you okay?"

Touko quickly spun around while seated on the bench. Her eyes widened at the sound of a man's voice from behind her. So someone is watching her. What can she say? "I-I-I-I'm fine…" She stammered. "N-no need to ask me. So please go along with your day."

"You seem to be a girl in pain," the man observed, "You clearly need help." He stepped out from behind a fish tank. Touko stared at the newcomer with narrowed eyes. He may have been a few years older than she was, with red hair hanging loosely to one side and red bangs hanging freely to the middle of his face. He wore a brown leather jacket over a layered black and white shirt and casual blue jeans. A silver ring hung in a chain around his neck. Black gloves and dressy, black leather shoes completed his apparel. He had eyes that were as blue as the water in the fish tanks, and an amiable smile on his face.

"You clearly want to ignore me," Touko accused as she stood her ground. "I told you to go along with your day."

The man stood his distance. "If I ignored you, then I would feel like a douche bag. This is a public place, you know. Sometimes it helps if you talk things out. So yeah, I'm going to keep pressing until you do that."

Defeated, Touko sighed. "Fine, I will"

"Mind if I sit down? I was with some family but got separated from them."

"Be my guest."

The man sat down on the other end of the bench from her. Even though he was older than she was, he clearly was shorter than her. "So why are you so depressed?"

Touko took a moment to collect her thoughts. When she was able to find her voice, she folded her hands in her lap and nervously adjusted her long dark hair behind her ears. She told him about the cultural festival, about her sister, about what she is doing to fulfill her sister's dream, and about the play they are doing. This play would be about an amnesiac girl who's learning about herself through three different people - her sister, her classmate and her lover. Touko would be the star in this play, much like how her sister would have been the star in hers. She also told him about Yuu as well. Before she finished, she added one more bit: "I just don't know where to go from here. I like Yuu very much, but I am afraid of going forward. I don't even like myself so why would anyone truly care about me?"

"That's your problem," the man said as he looked at her. "You're trying to be like your sister that you don't even know who you are. You're too afraid of opening your heart so you're making an excuse that you hate yourself. You are having an identity crisis and it shows."

"What do you know about identity?" Touko snapped.

"Because I know what it's like," the man said. "My past is very complicated, and it's a long story so I don't think that a girl like you would understand. However, there's a difference between you and me. I know who I am. Overtime, even though I was living with no memories of my previous life, I created my own memories. Perhaps you should do the same. Let me ask you something. Who are you? What sort of things can you be proud of right now?"

Touko pondered for a moment. "Well...My name is Touko Nanami. I am the president of the student council. I have my best friend Sayaka Saeki who I look at as a sister…and I am rather close with the members of the student council. Yuu Koita is a girl that I really like…and she and I are actually spending some time together right now-"

Before she could go further, the man stopped her. "See? That's something that you should focus on right now. Your sister may be gone but she's still a part of you. You think that just because she's gone you can be another her? If she were here right now, you think that she would appreciate this unhealthy obsession by being her?"

Touko was taken aback by this. "Wha-? What are you-"

"Honestly, if ANY of my friends were still here right now and they saw me the way you are now, they would smack the ever living shit right out of me and tell me to stop acting the way I am. You need to focus on yourself and this Yuu girl. The present is what is making you who you are. Who you have is making you who you are. Let them be your anchors. Your sister will always be proud of you, I'm sure of it. So do this for your own benefit and take that plunge for yourself. That's all you need to do. You've accomplished enough, now go forward and reap those benefits. Stop holding yourself back. That's not how you survive in this world."

Touko froze as she listened to the man's lecture. She never knew who this man was and yet he had the audacity to rant to her about this. Just who was he? However, what truly mattered was that he was absolutely right. He seemed like the kind of person who had similar trauma to her.

"Now, I want you to stand up, brush yourself off, and find this Yuu girl now," the redhead instructed, "I'm sure she must be very worried about you."

Touko stood up and straightened up her skirt. "Fine, I'll go after her. I appreciate the talk, even though I don't really know you."

The man scoffed as he smirked. "Figured that you could use a bit of tough love." He frowned as he looked at her. "But do remember what I told you. You're young and your life is worth more than that of someone else's. Find that sense of identity and hold onto it. Hold on to those you care about too…because if you keep living the way you are now, they will drift apart from you... " He held onto the silver chain firmly. "And you will lose them forever."

Touko softened her eyes. It definitely seemed that this man knew what he was talking about. With a soft smile she looked at him. "I will definitely remember this talk…though you never really told me your name."

The man smiled as he looked up at her. "Nakahara…Chuuya Nakahara."

"Well Nakahara Chuuya-san," the girl bowed, "I must take my leave." She straightened. "Will you go to the Dolphin show that's starting soon?"

"Perhaps, if my little sister wants to," Chuuya answered.

"Well, if I don't see you again, then have a good day. Bye!" Touko waved at the ginger before leaving the room.

"Chuuya!" A blonde-haired girl squeaked when she ran up to him. "Where did you run off to?" A man with long hair and frosted tips walked after her.

"Sorry guys, I was just doing a bit of self-reflection," Chuuya answered as he sat up.

"Who was that girl?" The black-haired man asked.

"Just someone who needed some help," Chuuya answered. He looked at the two, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Akutagawa, Elise."

Elise pouted as she crossed her arms. "Just don't go wandering off or else Rintaro will give you an earful. Not that it really means anything…"

Chuuya chuckled as he ruffled her hair. "Don't worry." He looked at Akutagawa. "But I'm ready to go to the next thing if you are."

"Dolphins!" Elise exclaimed excitedly.

"I got our tickets to the show," Akutagawa said as he held up two passes. "I was able to get seats on the 4th row to the left. That way I won't get splashed."

"Heh, good," Chuuya answered. "Let's go then."

As both groups watched the shows that followed, they knew that brighter days were just on the horizon. Even though they would never join paths again, their hearts would be lighter and full of joy.

As for Touko, she laughed while she and Yuu were in their parkas. All she needed was this moment. She will sort out her life eventually, but right now she will take Chuuya's words to heart and keep looking forward. She had nothing to worry about; all she had was her future and the girl right next to her.

So what did you think? Leave a comment and let me know! Until next time, ja ne!