.::||::.

A/N: a very warm hello to ya if you’ve decided to read my original fic! i try to be good [tries VERY hard] … honest. -_- reviews are always, kindly appreciated ^^ thanks again for choosing to read it, and if there’s anything awful with it [which i believe there is -_-], just drop me a review ^-^v And please don’t comment on my English *smiles.* Miss ???, if you read this, PLEASE remember that you USED to (and still do ^_~)  fail me for English essays.

Disclaimer: charas AND story belong to me. ^^ don’t steal them please! other than that, songs featured are “Open Up Your Mind” by Mirai and “Her Most Beautiful Smile”(piano) – Rurouni Kenshin. My favourite songs! I can’t feature the whole song or my story will be too long.

Dedications: this is for my dearez anime-fanatics-gumi at school. im gonna miss ya guys nxt yr! ^sniffs^ esp. to auryn-chan (otherwise known as schwarz, the author of GREAT slayers fics!!), my fwn, and keax, my teammate. cheers to nightblades and ir~

.::||::.

.Prologue.

She walked listlessly along the city streets, oblivious to the sights and sounds around her. Her face was completely void of any emotions. It had been long, too long, since she slipped into such a trance.

            Lifting her head, she looked at the night sky and tried to remember when she had last slept in a proper bed. The realization of what day it was hit her hard. Real hard.

            Saturday. The day reserved for couples, she thought bitterly. Somehow, despite all her efforts, she had not managed to do what she set out to accomplish. She hated herself for that. Out of no where, the memories came drifting back to her. She felt faint, and the world around her seemed to slip into darkness. A lump rose in her throat. No. No …

            And the sound of raindrops hitting the pathway was the last thing she heard or remembered, before letting the darkness consume her.

.::||::.

.Nostalgia.

            She woke up to the sound of raindrops and tried to adjust to her surroundings. It all looked too familiar, didn’t it?

            “Miss … daijoubu des ka?”

            She turned and looked at her saviour. Saviour. She silently cursed her weak body. She disliked being saved, being the poor damsel in distress. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, sending him a look filled with contempt and disgust. She was supposed to be the strong person. Not the other way round. She did not need anyone, to take pity on her, to help her.

            The boy backed off a little. A slight smile spread across her beautiful face. It’s my apartment. No wonder it was so familiar. She took a moment to take in the way her apartment looked. It felt so good to be home. She laid on her bed, lost in her own thoughts.

            “Miss?”

            She snapped at him. “What?” And rubbed her eyes. It couldn’t be. She sat up straight, and stared at the boy, then scrutinized him from head to toe. The boy ran his hand through his dark locks of hair and gulped.

            “I was wondering … if you’re …”

            “How the f*** did you get here? And what am I doing here?”

             The boy now looked alarm. Good. She had managed to caught him off-guard.

            “Your house keys. You lost consciousness in the park. I happened to be there. I was wondering where to take you when your house keys and student ID fell out of your pocket.”

            Damn. How could she be so stupid? “And you thought you were so smart, acting on your own.” she spat out the words.

            The boy blushed a shade of pink, then nodded. She looked at him once more, relieved that this boy, no matter how alike he looked to him, he wasn’t him. [A/N: in case anyone gets confused here, the he and the him are two different people. ^o^] Him. Just a mere thought of him made her head spin, and she grabbed her side table for support. He grabbed her arm instinctively to help her, but she pried his fingers off furiously.

            “I can stand on my own.”

            “Ha.. Hai.” He bowed politely to her, then walked out of her bedroom and shut the door. He smiled wryly to himself. He would have never, in all the seventeen years of his life, imagined he would meet a girl like her. A total contrast to the girls he had dated. Or rather, she belonged to a different and rare species of the opposite gender. Before her, he lost his tongue. He was in her control.

He walked around her apartment. She lives here alone? A million questions ran through his mind, but he knew he barely had the courage to ask the hot-tempered girl. On reflection, he thought that she wasn’t exactly hot-tempered. Just very different, he mused.

            He walked to the small stereo placed on the coffee table and picked up a couple of unlabelled cassette tapes. He was just about to put one of them into the stereo when –

            “Don’t you dare touch my things. Who do you think you are, coming into my house uninvited and touching MY stuff? I don’t need any pity OR sympathy from you.” He knew he was right not to expect any gratitude from her. Ignoring her words, he popped the cassette tape into the stereo. She was furious. Hobbling on one foot, she made her way gradually through her living room. How dare he? He stood up and offered to help her, but all he did was receive a cold, hard slap. He grabbed her arm --

“moshimo ima subete ga umaku nante ikanai

makesou ni naru toki datte

hitomi wo tojireba kokoro kara

sekai ga miete kuru

(Even when it seems that nothing can go right

and you want to just give up,

if you close your eyes,

you can see the world from your heart.)

In this world when life can be so tough

You must be strong

Just believe in yourself and don't you fear

So open up your mind and close your eyes

Take another look from the other side

kodoku na yoru demo mayoi osoreru toki mo

ima wa hitori demo kono ashi de doko made mo

aruite ikeru hazu dakara

(Even on a lonely night, when you wander afraid,

you may be alone now, but

your feet can take you however far you want to go, so)

Just hold on tight hitomi tojita nara

Look inside yourself kagayaki ga aru kara

Yes, subete shinjite hoshii

You can take another look from the other side

(Just hold on tight, because if you close your eyes,

look inside yourself, there's a shining light there.

Yes, I want you to believe in everything.

You can take another look from the other side)

Just hold on tight kokoro kujikete mo

Reach into your soul ashita ga mienakute mo

Yes, ikiru tsuyosa ga areba

You can take another look from the other side

ai no subete ni deau made...

(Just hold on tight, even if your heart is breaking.

Reach into your soul, even if you can't see tomorrow.

Yes, if you have the strength to live,

You can take another look from the other side,

until you find all that is love...)

…”

            She knew she was defeated. The anger inside her, had always been washed away whenever she heard this song. Her heart softened, and she slumped into her sofa, with tears misting in her eyes. You said it was our song. That no matter what, you’ll be here. She couldn’t cry. She had to be strong. But still, defeated, the tears slowly slipped down her face.

“ … …

Just hold on tight kokoro kujikete mo

Reach into your soul ashita ga mienakute mo

Yes, chigau sekai ga atte

You can take another look from the other side

ai no subete ni deau made...

(Just hold on tight, even if your heart is breaking.

Reach into your soul, even if you can't see tomorrow.

Yes, there's another world out there.

You can take another look from the other side,

until you find all that is love...)”

            The song slowly faded. He looked at her still form. He didn’t realise it then, but now he saw her in a different light. She was beautiful. Beautiful, in a way, which was also hard to look at. Just the unfathomable expression on her face, just one look at her, could break anyone’s heart. The tears kept on slipping down on her face, but she made no attempt to wipe them off. She just stared at the stereo.

            She was at a loss of words. She felt that familiar rush of nostalgia. How she longed for the past. How she heart ached everytime Saturday arrived.

“Saturday. It’s a day for us!”

            “Us?”

            “Baka. Saturday is a day for couples! You and I.”

            And the Sakura Festival. She remembered the promise, made to her. Of how she would never have to spend watching cherry blossoms alone again. She was so naïve. Too naïve for her own good. To believe that he was her soulmate. As the next song came on, it brought even more tears to her eyes. Damn that bloody piano piece.

*Piano* “Her Most Beautiful Smile”

            Finally. The piano piece ended. He stood there, amazed by her by the second. How could she just sit through those songs, with tears streaming down her face, but still look totally at peace? He decided to pluck up his courage and ask her.

            “Hey. Those songs …”

            She cut him off coldly. “Never. Ever. Touch. My. Tapes.”

            He nodded. She was straight to the point, and he knew it. Knew it too damn well, but he was still mystified by her. Curiosity gave him the courage. The courage to know her and her past. He stopped the tape and took it out, then put another tape in. What happened next completely shocked him. That song again?

            “moshimo ima subete ga umaku nante ikanai

makesou ni naru toki datte

hitomi wo tojireba kokoro kara

sekai ga miete kuru

(Even when it seems that nothing can go right

and you want to just give up,

if you close your eyes,

you can see the world from your heart.) …”

            He pressed the forward button, but the same song appeared. But what mystified him was the voice, the singer of the song. It was completely different from the previous song he had heard. This voice, had a strong edge to it, but he could hear beneath that. He heard the urgency in the voice, the unspoken words in the song. It was an appeal for help. And at that moment, he decided that he would make this girl known to the world.

Years of being in the music business had taught him well. The singer of this song, whether original or not [A/N: as in, whether the singer is the original singer or not. ^^ not the song], was clearly something. She had a talent. Suddenly it all made sense it his mind.

            “Is that your voice?”

            For once, he was bewildered as to why she didn’t retort at him but just merely nodded. She stood up and stopped the stereo, then stacked up the tapes one after another.

“My demo tape. I cut it when …” she stopped. She didn’t have the energy to go on. She was good at concealing her emotions and feelings, she knew that very well. So far she had been able to hide him from the whole world. To live on her life as she did, but painfully. If she went on, she knew she would completely break down.

“I’m starting a band! I need you as my vocal singer. Will you agree?”

She nodded, too happy for words. He needed her. In a way, at least. She thought she’ll never find anyone who needed her again, after her father died.

He beamed at her. “Great! But I need a band name.” Sighing, he plucked a dandelion and twisted it into a ring.

            She looked at the setting of the sun against the horizon. She was living in such bliss. Suddenly, it came to her. “Misora.”

            “What?”

            “Misora. Beautiful sky.” she answered simply.

            “Of course! You’re a genius!” He turned around and faced her, then slipped the ring onto her finger. Smiling, he pressed his lips gently against her. “Together forever … Rika-chan …”

            “ … and so I’m wondering. Would you join us?”

            Reality snapped her out of her fantasy. She looked at the guy, completely clueless. He gave a look of irritation.

            “I’m starting a band. As the manager and guitarist. Would you join us as a lead singer?”

.::||::.

So how was that? Hope it wasn’t too bad … or beyond your standards (sigh* i bet it is right??

*glares at readers accusingly) You don’t like cliffhangers? Well then … *what can i say* there’s gonna be lots of those around … but as long as you read on, those mysteries will be unraveled! lastly, i’m really sorry i can’t reveal the charas name now. i know it’s irritating. (but i’ve given everyone a clue here ^^) … gotta stop jabbering, and get to work for chap 2!! ^o^ R/R plz! (dun be that MEAN. R/R!!!!! it only takes you a few secs … _)