Restrained

"Nfu," Mizuki smirked, twirling his hair in his finger as always. "My data never lies, -chan."

frowned, crossing her arms. If it weren't for her religion, she probably would have strangled Mizuki by now. He seemed to like butting in whenever she felt horrible and made her feel more miserable. Though, somewhere in her heart, she hoped that what he said was true.

Impossible.

How could Mizuki merely use data to find out how someone feels about you? knew that data, no matter how powerful it is, has its share of flaws, too. The heart is an unpredictable thing, after all. Besides, wouldn't want to ruin the friendship she had taken such a long time to build with Fuji Yuuta.

It would be pure torture for if he started to ignore her. Not when she was able to stand close to him and laugh with him. Even the thought of that happening was unbearable.

That wasn't the only problem, though. Her best friend, , was in love with Yuuta too. So, how could possibly confess to him? She'd only feel bad.

's mind was in a whirl.

**********

She remembered the first time he came to St. Rudolph, after transferring from Seishun Gakuen. had heard rumors of him being the younger brother of the Seigaku Tennis Club's tensai, Fuji Syuusuke, but those rumors didn't matter to her. What was strange was that she was practically unable to take her eyes off him since he entered the classroom. Something about the boy intrigued her.

"Class, listen up! This is Fuji Yuuta," the teacher bellowed, getting everyone's attention. "He'll be starting school here in St. Rudolph, and I want all of you to treat him nicely."

"Yes, teacher," the students chorused.

By then, had already made up her mind to try speaking with the newcomer. She was curious about him, and she needed to do something about that curiosity.

**********

Right after the bell rang, a whole group of students had flocked around Yuuta. could barely make out what they were asking him, but most questions were about whether he was the younger brother of Fuji Syuusuke. It seemed to displease Yuuta a whole lot. He stormed off, ignoring their questions.

made a mental note to try not to offend him.

Now, she was going to find him and try speaking to him.

**********

After searching for Fuji Yuuta around the school for quite a while, was almost ready to give up and go home. Why did she think he'd be around at this time? It was already way past dismissal time.

It was then that she spotted him, standing outside the tennis courts with a tennis bag slung around his shoulder. He looked absolutely gorgeous just standing there -- wait, she wasn't supposed to be thinking such things.

Without hesitating, she ran up to him. As he turned around, she flashed one of her brightest smiles at him while trying to catch her breath.

Yuuta raised an eyebrow. "You are..?"

" , from your class!" She replied, panting, still keeping her cheerful smile plastered on her face. "I thought you'd need someone to show you around the school, because you're new here and all."

"Oh, thanks," Yuuta gave her a weak smile.

With that, grabbed his wrist and dragged him around the school, making sure he got familiarized with the place. The library, the various rooms, the canteen... She took him almost everywhere around the school. Somehow, she wished this day would never end. Being with him like this felt... Nice.

"And these are the tennis courts," grinned sheepishly. "But I'm sure you knew that already, since I ran into you here and all. So, are you planning to sign up for the tennis club?"

Yuuta nodded his head, smiling softly.

**********

Since that day, had been on rather good terms with Yuuta. Of course, whenever she hung out with Yuuta, , her best friend, would be there as well. That was when started falling for Yuuta. could remember the many times would dreamily look at him before turning to her with a queer smile on her face, telling her how cool Yuuta looked that day or how much she was in love with him. All those times, she would only smile back at her friend, not saying anything.

She never told that she was in love with Yuuta as well.

If only she knew how much she was going to regret that.

**********

It was raining, and had just finished her club activities. Walking along the corridor, she could hear the pitter-patter of rain falling onto the windows and hushed voices coming from inside her classroom. Curious, she peered in, only to find her best friend, , and Yuuta inside.

Deciding not to interrupt, she stood at the doorway. Unintentionally, her ears picked up on their conversation.

"I've always liked you, Yuuta-kun," she could her say. felt her heart twinge. A love confession. "So I was hoping that you'd go out with me..."

's heart was pounding. 'Please say no... Please...' was all she could think at that time. She was being selfish, she knew that, but even so... She couldn't stop herself. She had loved him for a very long time.

The silence was unnerving. Waiting for his reply, had almost forgotten to breathe.

"...Alright," came Yuuta reply. felt her heart tear and shatter into pieces.

Without warning, tears started to flow onto her cheeks. As much as she wanted to remain strong, the pain in her heart broke that facade. She was never really strong to begin with. She wasn't about to let Yuuta know just how weak she was, though. She turned around, running out of the school building. At least the rain would be able to hide her tears. For now.

It would be able to hide this weak side of her.

She was standing just outside the school building, under a gazebo when she heard footsteps.

"-chan...?"

That voice. The one she didn't want to hear most. His voice. didn't want to turn back. She didn't want him to see how pained she was.

"-chan, you left your bag in the classroom," he said, holding out the bag to her.

"Thank you," she turned around, forcing a smile, before grabbing her bag from Yuuta and running off into the distance, leaving him standing there. She never looked back, never seeing how hurt Yuuta's face looked.

**********

"-chan, -chan!"

She wondered why she even came to school today. could hardly sleep last night, constantly tossing and turning on her bed. No matter how much she tried to sleep, she would just start thinking about Yuuta.

"Guess what? Yuuta agreed to go out with me!" said cheerfully, unaware of her best friend's feelings for the boy.

forced a smile, before resting her head on the table and covering her whole face with her arms. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't show that. She knew she should've been happy for her. But why did she feel so hurt inside?

Alas, Mizuki's data seemed to lie after all.

**********

The next few days were spent by avoiding Yuuta. Every time he tried to speak to her, she would excuse herself and leave as quickly as she could.

"-chan..."

"I'm sorry, I've to find a teacher right now. Goodbye, Yuuta-kun," She winced at how final that sounded. And again, she never looked at him; never seeing the pain on Yuuta's face.

**********

"-chan! I brought Yuuta to that great restaurant that just opened nearby," chirped happily. Yuuta and had been going out for two weeks now. Every time they went someplace, would be informed of what did with Yuuta, or where she brought Yuuta to. never knew that it pained her friend to listen to her stories so much.

"I tried holding his hand the other day, but he moved away so quickly... I think he's just being shy, right?" nodded her head in response, barely listening to what her friend was saying.

"Yeah, of course he is!"

**********

"-chan!"

stiffened. Pretending not to hear the voice, she quickened her pace.

"-chan!" Yuuta grabbed onto 's hand, frowning. "Are you avoiding me?"

"Of course not, Fuji-san. What is it?" She could feel his grip tighten slightly, before loosening. It came out so coldly. She had always called him 'Yuuta-kun' for as long as she could remember, but now...

"N-nothing. I'm sorry I bothered you." With that, Yuuta walked off.

Why did this have to feel so horrible?

**********

The next day in school was quiet. wasn't telling her about her dates with Yuuta, which was strange. Instead, was all quiet, sitting at her seat, not wanting to say anything.

"-chan?" tapped her best friend on her shoulder, but no response. She probably didn't hear her, she thought. She tried again.

"-chan," 's voice was soft and shaky. "Yuuta-kun... Yuuta... he..."

There was a long pause; took a deep breath, before continuing. "He broke up with me."

's eyes widened, but she kept silent. Part of her felt angry. Part of her felt happy; happy that they weren't together anymore no matter how selfish it seemed.

She had to find out why he broke up with her. Figuring that the best time to see him was after school, she waited at the front gate for him. As she spotted him walking out of the school, she ran up to him.

"Fuji-san.. iie, Yuuta-kun. I need to talk to you."

"-chan... Same here," Yuuta's voice was soft. "Could we go to the park nearby? It's quieter there."

**********

"Yuuta-kun, why did you break up with -chan?" asked.

Yuuta blinked, before sighing and scratching the back of his head. "I felt bad. I was just using her. There wasn't any love in that relationship," he replied meekly. raised an eyebrow, allowing him to explain further. "I used her to get close to someone I like... But in the end, that person just ended up avoiding me..."

felt her heart skip a beat. "Who?"

Yuuta moved closer to her, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear gently. "Must I make it so obvious?" Without any warning, Yuuta pulled towards him, embracing her and whispering in her ear. "Is this obvious enough...?"

blushed, pushing Yuuta away. "I can't... -chan likes you too!"

"Don't you like me...?"

"Of course I do... But--"

She then felt his lips upon hers, silencing her. His arms pulled her even closer to him. "I love you... And I know I'm being selfish..."

"You and me both."

Another kiss, one that felt so bittersweet.

**********

watched them, hiding behind a nearby tree, smiling. It would've been much easier if they were more honest with their feelings, but for now, mission accomplished.

##########

June 12, 2006
Written by: Setsuna
Edited by: Rikapyon!