Quick Recap: This is from Miyuki's point-of-view. He has formed a rivalry with the handsome new student, Hayate Oshiro, who has taken an interest in Izumiko. There is a festival coming up - Oshiro and Izumiko's class is doing a dance performance but Izumiko isn't participating in the dance. Miyuki has suspicions about Oshiro.

Disclaimer: Red Data Girl and it's characters do not belong to me. That's obvious...this is fanfiction lol

There wasn't much for my class to do to get ready for the Tanabata festival since all we had to do was buy fireworks. This left us with a lot of extra time while the other classes were busy with their own preparations. It was a great feeling not having to do anything and I was sure to give myself credit for the convenient idea. Even so, I wasn't able to completely relax. I had to keep an eye on Izumiko. Oshiro was in the same class as her, making things complicated for me. There was no way I could keep them apart when I wasn't even there.

Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I let out a frustrated grunt at the thought. The last time I became this frustrated was when my father made me change schools. I walked alongside the school building before I reached the busy area in which students were setting up booths and activities. The sky was without a cloud; the sun blindingly bright and hot. My eyes squinted as I scanned the mess of people for two long braids. No one else had hair like hers. Within a few seconds, I spotted her kneeling down in the luminous, green grass and measuring a kimono on one of the girls. Seeing her concentrated stare made a light smile form on my lips. Oshiro suddenly moved into sight, tapping her shoulder and my mouth quickly turned to a frown.

"Izumiko! I brought you a water. It's really hot out here today." the boy laughed, holding out a water bottle for her. 'Wait! What was that I heard? He was calling her by her first name!' My fists tightened without my notice.

"Thank you, Oshiro-kun!" she reached out a pale, dainty arm and gladly took the water.

The blue-eyed boy started sheepishly rubbing the back of his head again, which I assumed was a nervous habit of his. His mouth opened as to say something and closed again. Izumiko had already turned back to the girl in the kimono, making her last few measurements.

"You. . . you can call me Hayate if you want." his cheeks revealed a faint blush.

"Huh?" She turned back around. "What was that, Oshiro-kun?"

This was a good time to cut in. I was agitated enough as it was.

"Izumiko. Why don't you take a break for a bit? It's not good to stay out in the heat for so long."

"Ah, Sagara-kun!" She flashed me her adorably innocent grin. Oshiro, on the other hand, looked the opposite, giving me a vicious glare. I threw one right back at him before taking the delicate girl's hand and leading her toward a shady spot beside the school building.

The two of us relaxed together in the cool grass. I didn't think much about what I'd do after getting her away from Oshiro. I wasn't sure what to say, so we sat in silence, watching the people shuffle around. My eyes inconspicuously shifted over to her. She seemed tired. What could I do? Ever since Oshiro came into the picture I felt like there was something I had to do to keep her beside me, but what?

I hesitantly reached my hand around her and gently pulled her over to lean against my shoulder. I could feel the girl become tense as I did this, but she didn't say anything. My face softened as I looked upon her head, studying the detail of her stray, brown strands of hair, the part that ran perfectly straight down her head, and the flow of her braids. She took advantage of this position and began to relax, while I had to constantly control the urge to touch her hair. We've been through a lot together. I was the one who watched her grow into the more confident girl she is now. If she got closer to Oshiro, would she leave me behind? It didn't seem like something she would do, but I couldn't help my uneasiness. Ever since I met Izumiko, my emotions became confusing.

"Sagara-kun?" her gentle voice cut through the silence, interrupting me from my thoughts.

"Hn?"

"Do you. . . think I should dance at the festival?"

Her question was unexpected and I needed time to think of how to respond. I didn't want her to dance in front of other people. I wanted to be one of the special few who had seen her dance, but how could I put it in a way that didn't seem completely selfish?

"Er, the dancers have already been assigned haven't they?"

"Yeah. . . but Oshiro-kun said I should."

"Tch. Only do it if you want to, Izumiko. It doesn't matter what he wants."

She replied with a giggle, catching me off guard.

"What?"

"That sounds just like you, Sagara-kun." she sighed lightly into my sleeve with a smile.

After about fifteen minutes, she stood up, brushing off her skirt. "Thank you, Sagara-kun. I'm going to go back to work now." She attempted to hide her face, but I could barely see that it was shaded red. My heart began to beat faster. 'Maybe she does like me. I just need to give her time. Right?' Ugh, thinking about such trivial matters made me feel so unlike myself. To think that a little delicate girl could do this to me.

The day of the festival fell on July 7th - the 7th day of the 7th month. My class got most of the day to roam and do activities. The fireworks and the dance performance would not begin until evening. Izumiko busied herself in helping to prepare the set and the dancers. I took advantage of my freedom to stay with her and keep her company. Occasionally, Mayura and Manatsu would drop by to see how we were doing. Their class was working on food - takoyaki, curry, dangos… I observed the schoolyard which was covered with stands and was nicely decorated. Some people had already written their wishes on tanzaku (the colorful strips of paper) and hung them up.

"I can't wait for tonight," Izumiko turned to me, smiling. "It's supposed to be clear, so we will be able to see the stars. I wonder if we will see Orihime and Hikoboshi…"

I knew Izumiko loved traditional Japanese folklore - it was something she and I especially had a connection with; her living in the Tamakura shrine, and me being a Yamaboshi.

The Tanabata festival is known for its romantic background. It is when the deities, Orihime and Hikoboshi, who lived on opposite sides of the Milky Way, met and fell in love. However, Orihime's father a powerful Kami became angry when neither of them did their work after falling in love. So he punished them and sent Hikoboshi back to the other side of the river. Now, they can only meet on the 7th day of the 7th month - only once a year.

The dance which Izumiko's class would be performing was going to tell this story.

"I really wished I could see you dance, Izumiko." I heard an unwanted voice behind us.

"Oh, Oshiro-kun!"

His blue eyes rested softly on her but when they turned to me, became cold. He knew I didn't trust him and purposefully appeared while I was there.

"Maybe I'll get to see you dance one day, right Izumiko?"

Stop calling her by her first name. You're not that close. My brows furrowed and my eyes penetrated him.

The shy girl looked a bit uncomfortable and replied, "M-maybe…"

See? She doesn't want you around.

"So, um, whenever you decide to take a break, do you want to grab something at the food stand with me?" he asked while glancing at me for half a second.

"Oh… sure."

His eyes closed, a big innocent-looking grin formed on his face ."Cool, I'll see you then."

Izumiko waved back at him as he walked away. Then, a long pause.

"Do you seriously trust that guy?" I asked her quietly, still staring after him.

I could feel her turn toward me, but kept my gaze ahead.

"Why not? He's a pretty nice guy… I think I have a chance of making another friend."

"I'm your friend." my voice became firm.

"Am I not allowed to make more friends, Sagara-kun?"

"You're the Yorishiro. There are dangerous people out there who have ulterior motives, you know. It wouldn't hurt to be careful."

There was a pause. I knew that all Izumiko wanted to be was a normal girl. She didn't like being reminded that she was different. I turned toward her to see an aggravated expression. I sighed.

"Look, I'm sorr-"

"I'm going to prove to you that there are good people here. Oshiro-kun just wants to be my friend." She has changed since I first met her. The determined look in her eyes indicated that. The petite girl stood up and went behind the stage curtain, braids following after her. "I'm going to change into my kimono."

I, too, had stood up, fists clenched. Damn it. I didn't mean to make her angry at me. I only wanted to protect her… I mean, that's my job.

Hey, everyone. Thanks for still reading this update after... WOW it's been two years!?

Well, I'm in college now and I have to adult so I've been quite busy. I also am a WebToons author so I have been working on that non-stop, I haven't written any fanfiction - much less, watch any anime or read manga - in a long time!

I randomly decided to read one of my old fics after getting an email notification of a review. Aaand I already had most of this written out from a couple years ago so I thought - why not finish this chapter? I have ideas for this fic, now, but who knows when I'll actually get to it. I miss writing though.

Anyway, leave a review so I know if anyone still reads this. If so, I may start writing out another chapter (even if it's a little sloppy).