A/N: See the prompt? Now you understand why this took so long!


Love

The warm summer breeze blew through the air, rustling through the leaves on the trees in merriment. The sun beat down on the swaying grasses and rippling, mirror-like water of the lake, the heat not intense just yet, but had the potential to become that way. The sky overhead was a vibrant blue, not a cloud in sight. It was a beautiful day, and that's just what Kazuto was thinking as he looked around at the sight before him. He looked at the trees as they swayed and watched as his classmates walked along with him, some of them not even paying attention to what the teacher was saying. Today, they were supposed to be on a historical field trip visiting the places where the ruins of the Edo castle used to stand and things like that. But Kazuto, being the nerd that he was already, knew pretty much everything that they had come to learn, so he just used the time to enjoy himself.

He smiled as he felt the warm wind tousle his hair, the effect leaving him feeling content and peaceful. He usually wasn't the outdoorsy-type, but this, he could get used to.

"Hey. Whatcha thinkin' about?"

At the familiar voice, Kazuto turned his head and was slightly surprised to find Asuna smiling at him.

He tried not to make things awkward as he shrugged. "Nothing really, just that it's a nice day."

"Hmm…" Asuna hummed in agreement, looking around at the park, holding her messenger bag with both hands as it hung from her shoulder. "Yeah. It is. I can just remember the last time we were here too. That was such a nice day as well."

Kazuto's eyes widened slightly as he looked at his ex. Was she really going to bring up memories from when they were dating?

The girl simply smiled, looking around thoughtfully. "You were saying a bunch of stuff I never really thought about before, how this place was like its own isolated little world."

He didn't say anything, just looked around as she said these words to him. He remembered that, and he would unashamedly admit that he still thought that way. He liked to play with the idea, let his mind wander with it and see where it took him. Having a place of isolation like this in a world dominated by technology that could hack into your personal data was truly a solace.

Asuna seemed to be thinking along similar lines as she spoke again. "I've liked the idea ever since then. It makes this place almost seem like a kingdom, as if it had never stopped being that way."

For a second, Kazuto could remember exactly why he had loved Asuna, but now that he thought on those reasons along with the reasons why they broke up, the affect wasn't the same. Asuna was a good person, one of the kindest he had ever met, in fact, but they had too many differences to completely understand each other to the point where they could live together forever. Although, being reminded of the things they had in common made him think that maybe they could be just friends.

"Alright class, we will stop here for lunch. Be ready to pack up and leave by 12:30."

Kazuto and Asuna, watched as the teacher gave her announcement and left, leaving everyone near a picnic area by the lake.

"Did you bring a lunch?"

"Uh, yeah," Kazuto answered, patting his book bag for emphasis.

"Good. Why don't you come eat with me and Rika? It'll be nice to officially catch up. And don't worry, Rika promised to behave," she offered, adding that last part when she saw the look on his face at the mention of her best friend.

"I guess... Why not?"

"Great. Let's go find her," the girl said, and with that, she tugged on Kazuto's sleeve at the elbow, pulling him in the direction she wanted to go.

Kazuto wasn't really sure what to do at this point, so he just let Asuna pull him along. In the interest of a possible friendship, he tried not to make things weird with his speech (knowing himself, he would accidently say something that would earn him a slap to the face or something). It didn't take them long to find Rika, who was sitting at a bench under a tree waiting for them. Once she saw them, she waved with a free hand, her other holding a sandwich. Asuna waved back walking over to sit with her. Kazuto made to follow, but he stopped when he caught sight of a familiar person in his peripheral vision.

It was Shino. She was just standing there, bag in hand, watching as everyone sat eating and talking together. Her eyes slid around at them all, taking them in with a neutral expression until her dark gray eyes met Kazuto's. He stared at her for a while, their gazes locking as she just looked back.

"Asada?" he called, something inside him compelling him to speak. It was more of a question, but he somehow already knew what she was feeling and why. Before he could say anymore, Shino just shook her head and walked away, going in the direction away from him, from everyone, and to another section of the park.

Kazuto's onyx eyes stared after her, a certain yearning sensation growing in his chest as she left. He had been about to ask her if she wanted to eat with them, and he really had been hoping she would accept. They may have been a bit at odds recently, but his goal to help her hadn't lessened at all. In fact, if he did say so, it was stronger now.

Why though? he suddenly thought as his resolve confused him. Why did he want to help her so much? Not that he wouldn't help anyone, but his drive to help her seemed stronger than it should have if she were just some other person. Was it because he saw so much of himself in her…? Maybe, but that didn't feel right. Sure they were similar, but they weren't carbon-copies of each other, even he could see that. No, it had to be something else.

He tried to evaluate just what she was to him, but even that was a muddle of thoughts in his head. She had turned from the girl who he tripped on the sidewalk, to his classmate, the girl who hated him, his friend, his online friend, and then finally the girl who hated him again. Right now, he wasn't sure exactly where they stood, but he knew that he still wanted to help her, the yearning in his chest was proof of that. Perhaps he still considered her his friend? Yes… and no. He compared his feelings for her to his feelings for say Rika or Keiko, but it just wasn't the same. So, he took it up a step and compared it to his feelings for Sugu. It was more accurate, but still not exactly right. He wasn't sure he was as close to Shino as he was to Sugu. With a jolt, he finally compared it to the feelings he had for Asuna when they had been together… No… that still wasn't right. Maybe his feelings were similar to that, but it more resembled his feelings for Sugu. So he couldn't be in—in love… could he?

The boy shook his head. No. That wasn't possible. He barely knew Shino. Why would he be in love with her if he barely knew her?

But I do know her.

The thought sent shivers down his spine. Now he was really confused. Just what was Shino to him?

"Kazuto!" he heard Rika call. "What are you still doing over there?"

"Uh, right. Sorry!" he said back, going over to sit with them. For now, he decided to push aside those confusing thoughts and live in the present. He had half a mind to go after Shino, but if she wanted privacy, he would let her have it. That didn't mean he would stop trying to help her… for whatever his reason was


A/N: Yeah, so now that I finally figured out what to do for this stupid prompt, the next few should write easier since I've already been thinking about them.

On a different note, I want to give a shout out to Warrior1311 who is now my editor for this story and IDWF. He's great and now I'm glad to say that my writing quality will improve from here on out :)