Sorry for the long wait! I would like to thank everyone who Reviewed my story, Favorited and Followed! Your reviews were really encouraging, especially since I am not comfortable about writing romance stories. Also, it's a pleasure to know that I know most of you from my other stories. This fandom seems kind of small, doesn't it? And for those of you who like Yaoi, I have just one thing to say: I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I might try to write that for you but let me get used to writing romance stories first! You guys are unbelievable; have pity upon my suffering soul!

Disclaimer: I don't own CFV.

Red String

Back then, when we met, you told me things had changed. You changed, I changed.

We always keep going around in circles, but we'll probably meet again through the red string of fate. Do you believe in it?

"I miss Akuma-chan." Aichi sighed for the tenth time that day as she absent-mindedly munched on her cheese and tomato sandwich. She sat alone during lunch, in an area of the vast playground where the cries and laughter of students could be faintly heard. No one at the canteen had spoken to her or offered her to sit down with them.

It's always like this. I can never make friends because of my shy and quiet personality...

The shade from the giant Maple tree lingered, dancing above her, occasionally blowing a soft, cold breeze to hover on her skin.

Aichi raised her head to admire the different shades of green and orange, signaling the coming of autumn.

She was reminded of past memories, when the back yard of her house used to have an old Maple tree, where she and her younger sister, Emi, used to play, collecting different coloured leaves and laughing merrily. Her mother used to watch them with a gentle, doting smile; eyes shining brightly like a crush of diamonds. Those moments of happiness caused a burst of warmth to spread through her, tugging a smile on her lips. She sighed softly, fingers twirling the grass next to her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a distant echo of a song she hardly recognised. She looked up and her eyes spotted a student, one she recognised from her earlier class- Miwa-kun, if she recalled correctly- the tree casting a faint shadow, while the sun illuminated half of his face. He did not pay her any attention, seemingly lost in the beats of the music coming from his red headphones. He looked up and blinked due to the sunlight blinding his grey-blue eyes, finally noticing her, and grinned brightly, waving with enthusiasm and brightness that would rival the sun's light.

"Yo, transfer student from earlier!" Miwa greeted her casually. He took off the set of headphones and instead placed them around his neck and walked up to her. Her blush intensified, and she tensed visibly before trying to think of a response.

What should I say...? Is it okay if I don't respond at all? No, this school is a new start... I'll try my best!

"H-Hello..." She paused, wide blue eyes looking around, unsettled, before they finally found the courage to meet his gaze. She shyly added, "And it's Aichi..."

"Then Aichi!" Miwa beamed, happy with the girl's response. "It's odd to see someone here."

Aichi tilted her head in curiosity, making Miwa chuckle. "Huh? Why?"

"Well, me and Kai often eat lunch here. Students don't usually come to this place, so it's pretty quiet."

"Oh... I'm sorry, I can leave-"

He sat down next to her, under the tree, his cheerful laughter vibrating through the place. "It's alright," he promised. "I often get lonely waiting for Kai to finish whatever he's doing."

"Oh..."

"So," he started. "Did you recently move into this city?"

Aichi was taken aback by the way he openly expressed his thoughts. "U-um, yes. I used to live in the countryside with my family... but I moved here because of some, well, circumstances."

Miwa hummed, raising a finger to his chin, as if in deep thought. His eyes lit up in a mixture of understanding and excitement.

"Ah! You're the new girl who moved into our neighborhood."

"Eh?" She blinked, blue eyes widening. "Miwa-kun, you are my neighbor?"

"Uhh, not exactly," He seemed to have a tendency to drag syllables for emphasis. "A family member of mine lives there and I visit that place often on my way to school too, so I happened to see many boxes and stuff."

"I see..."

Miwa stood up, and Aichi followed his gaze to see another student, light-brown hair and green eyes appearing dark and dangerous under the shade, unlike Miwa. He seemed surprised at seeing Miwa with a person- the new student- and that surprise was only displayed for a matter of seconds before he concealed his expression back into an indifferent one. He was about to walk away, hoping that Miwa would leave him alone and he could maybe get some fresh air at the rooftop-

"Ah, Kai, nice timing!" Kai sighed as Miwa grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him along. Aichi looked up at Kai, meeting his cold, indifferent gaze. They stared at each other, frozen in spot, before Kai averted his gaze to the side and Aichi did the same, cheeks flaring bright red. Miwa's cheerful voice broke through the eerie silence. "Meet Kai Toshiki, the most popular tsundere of this school~"

"Shut up." Kai hissed, turning his glare to his friend.

Aichi sweat-dropped. She was unsure what to think of the odd pair; one a bright beam of sunlight, and the other a dull, large ball of darkness.

She kept her usual smile and greeted," U-um... hello again."

Kai stopped his telepathic argument with Miwa, then acknowledged her response with a simple "Whatever" before looking away.

At Aichi's nervous expression, Miwa laughed and ruffled the girl's hair. "Ahaha~ don't mind him, he's always like that!"

When no one said anything, silence fell upon them once again. The wind blew past them, carrying their thoughts.

This is awkward...

Miwa looked at the two of them exchanging glances when the other was not looking, but he said nothing, pretending to look at his watch instead. He silently snickered.

"Ah, Kai! I was assigned the job of showing Aichi around school, but as unfortunate as it is, I think I need someone to cover up for me while I go to the bathroom." Miwa announced loudly, gaining their attention. Kai's eyes twitched when Miwa's gaze fell on him, but he kept his posture. "Please?"

"No."

"I'll buy you a new shirt."

Kai felt like strangling Miwa right now, and make it look like suicide but it wouldn't work with a witness standing right beside them. "No."

"I'll clean your apartment for two whole weeks?" He pleaded.

There was no response from Kai, and both Aichi and Miwa knew he was reconsidering it.

"Whatever." He finally spoke and Miwa took this as a sign of acceptance.

"Thanks, man! See you at the end of lunch, both of you!" He winked at the girl, and Aichi's eyes widened in confusion.

"E-End of lunch? M-Miwa-kun, wait!"

"You traitor..."

There followed a pregnant pause as both watched Miwa leave, in which both knew what the other was thinking, but neither knew what to say.

Kai shoved his hands in his pockets, turning around to leave. He might as well show the girl around to kill some time. "You."

Aichi flinched under the cold tone he was using. "Y-Yes?"

He answered monotonously with only one word. "Playground."

"Huh?" Aichi blinked in confusion, then followed his gaze. "O-Oh, this is also part of the playground?"

Kai nodded silently. "Are you coming or not?" He asked, shocking the girl to silence.

"Y-Yes!"

Aichi followed quickly after. She was surprised that Kai was actually doing the job of showing her around. Indeed, he was asked to do this, but he could have just left her alone. She smiled, realising that Kai might not be as bad as she thought.

Just like him...

She immediately regretted her thoughts when Kai Toshiki was nowhere to be seen around the place. He had continued walking ahead of her, not bothering to reduce his pace so she would be able to catch up to him.

"W-wait! Kai Toshiki-san!" She called after him, sighing in relief when he stopped.

"Kai," he corrected when Aichi caught up to him, bending over to catch her breath. Aichi paused to look at him with a confused expression.

"A-Are you being nice?" She blushed and looked down when he sent her a glare.

"I dislike formalities, that's all." He answered coldly, looking ahead and that was when she realised that they were already inside the school building.

"...Gym."

"Staff room."

"Arts section."

"Playground."

"Science section."

"Drama center-"

"Please slow down, Kai-kun!"

"Library," he turned to her so suddenly, making Aichi bump into him. She rubbed her nose with teary eyes, but Kai paid her no mind. "That's all."

The bell had rung for the second time, indicating the end of the lunch break. Students had invaded the buildings from all directions, hurrying to their next class. After five minutes, the corridor had calmed down significantly, and although Aichi felt the relief now that she wouldn't get squashed and pushed around through the crowd of roaming high school students, she had another thing to worry about: the corridor was empty, almost too empty, and the only students remaining were unfriendly-looking delinquents who probably hung out in corridors to avoid class. Aichi was too afraid to ask them for help.

"Um... where did Kai-kun say the science classes were...?" She spoke to herself, nervously scanning each classroom door for the correct label. Not paying attention to her surroundings, she collided against a person, but before she could hit the floor, a firm hand caught her wrist, steadying her.

"Are you okay?" A soft voice inquired, and Aichi looked up to meet a pair of deep blue eyes. It was a tall girl with porcelain skin and lavender hair that stopped to her shoulder in a graceful way. Aichi thought she had never met a person more beautiful than the one before her.

"Y-Yes, I'm sorry for bumping into you!" She sincerely apologised, flustered.

The girl nodded to show that she was forgiven, "You seem to be troubled... are you looking for something?"

"Actually, I am looking for my science class..."

"Let me see that." She nodded towards the paper that showed Aichi's timetable which she held tightly in her hands. Obeying, Aichi held it out for the girl to take it. She fell silent as the other girl read over it, then raised her head and pointed in a direction. "You walk down that corridor, then turn left. You should see many classroom doors; take the first one on the right." With that confidence, she seemed to have memorized all classrooms in the buildings. Aichi wondered if she hid a map of the school in her pockets.

"Y-yes, I understand," Aichi nervously stuttered and smiled gratefully. "Thank you very much!"

The girl offered her a soft, almost invisible smile, yet her tone was monotonous. "It's alright. Then, excuse me." Aichi watched her leave in the opposite direction, where she paused momentarily to glare at the male students hovering around in the corridors.

Her tone changed, and her blue eyes darkened and narrowed dangerously. "You people! Get going to class this instant!"

They caught her glare, and shivered. "Y-Yes ma'am!"

Aichi watched as the teenage boys she thought looked scary scurried back to their classrooms, reminding her of small rabbits.

She sweat-dropped. "Wow..."

For the rest of the day, lessons went smoothly. The teachers introduced themselves at the start of each new subject, and Aichi politely did the same.

She sighed as she poked her pencil absent-mindedly, losing concentration. If she remembered correctly, Miwa had earlier mentioned that he and Kai were in the same classes as her, yet whenever she glanced to her left, both seats were empty as always. Aichi tried to focus on the lecture instead, but her eyes kept scanning her surroundings. She felt restless in one room with so many people. Back in the countryside, there were a few schools and none of them had over fifteen students or so in a class. Feeling nervous, she caught herself glancing at the time every five seconds.

The ticking of the clock did not stop. The teacher's voice dissolved with the flow of time, getting more distant. Thirty more minutes until the next lesson. She wished she could fast-forward the time to a period where she would be able to go home, where her cat was waiting. As odd as it sounded, Aichi's best friend was the white cat living with her.

Akuma-chan was a stray cat abandoned by his owner. I found him once before the stairs of the apartment I currently live in, wet and soaking due to a downpour. At first, we didn't get along well. Akuma-chan had a problem with trusting strangers. In a way, he reminded me of myself.

Smiling at the bittersweet memories, Aichi spared one more glance at the clock, sighing as the minute hand remained stuck in position. She covered her mouth as a sudden nausea washed over her. She stood up and trying to attract as little attention as possible, she excused herself to the bathroom.

As she wandered in the now more familiar corridors, she realised that she had no idea where the bathroom was.

Aichi spotted a door, and she carefully walked over to it, hand hovering around her mouth as the sick feeling worsened. Her stomach churned; she really needed a place to rest.

When she pushed the metal door open, a strong wave of wind blew past her.

I was always like this... whenever there were too many people in a room, I felt like I would suffocate. At times like these, the wind always calmed me down.

She ascended the stairs with care, making sure her blurred vision would not cause her to lose balance.

Aichi pushed open a similar door as she climbed the last step. Her eyes widened when she was welcomed by another strong wave of wind.

"This is... the rooftop?" She thought aloud, raising a hand to her head.

As she approached the railing, a person's figure came into view.

"Kai-kun...?" She called out softly, in a daze, as the emerald eyes turned to her.

Kai seemed equally surprised when he turned around at his name being called. He narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"I feel sick..." Her voice was muffled by the wind, yet Kai seemed to hear her, for he grabbed her wrist and made her sit down on the floor.

"What kind of sick person comes to the rooftop? It's dangerous." He murmured and glanced at Aichi, who cast him a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. I just... like the feeling of the wind."

"Wind?" He repeated, his eyes shifting to the railway, and beyond it. The rooftop gave a view of not only the school grounds, but nearly half of the city, as well as the park, decorated with late blooming cherry blossom trees.

Aichi sat silently, taking deep breaths to calm down, but the fact that no other than Kai Toshiki stood there next to her made her feel worse. Even his name was unnerving.

She watched as his eyes focused on the sky, outstretched above them like a bird spreading its wings. He looked the same as always, but there was a different glint in his eyes, reminiscent of sadness. Seeing him look like this reminded her of the Kai of back then.

"Kai-kun?" Aichi called out softly, and he looked at her, deep green eyes focusing on her. She gulped at the frightening intensity his eyes carried- now, he looked like a completely different person from the one a few seconds earlier, but she continued nonetheless. "You're Kai-kun, right?"

He paused, a look of surprise washing over his face, but he concealed it with a darker expression. "No, I'm not the same person you knew," his hands clenched the metal railing, the coldness of it transferring to his hands. His face darkened and he spoke again, eyes colder than before, in a low, warning tone,

"You better stay away from me."

Aichi carefully stood up to her feet, eyes wide. For some reason, her surroundings still seemed to be moving and blurred, like the tilting deck of a ship. She could see him clearly though; the way his teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed. He looked hurt. Despite that, she felt the need to ask, to confirm if the person she had always wanted to see again was the same person who was standing before her. The way his face gave off strong expressions, though rarely, was exactly the same as she remembered Kai-kun to be, the only difference being the way he tried to hide them. It gave her more confidence.

"Why? You're him, right?"

Kai kept silent, his expression hid by his light brown bangs. Aichi approached him slowly, nostalgia tugging at her heart. She looked up at him, blue eyes hopeful. "Is it really you, Kai-kun? I -"

"You've got the wrong person," he interrupted, voice cold and emotionless, sending shivers down her spine. "I don't know who you are."

"I am Sendou Aichi! You must remember me."

His teeth clenched, and his hands held the railing tighter until they shook in a form of anger.

"I... I've always wanted to thank you!"

Kai stiffened, his head raising slightly, allowing the surprised look show clearly on his face. "I am not the same person from the past." He repeated slowly, carefully, as if doubting his own words.

Aichi shook her head and smiled softly. She placed a hand over his own shaking hand. Despite the chilly wind, his hand was warm.

"You are still warm, Kai-kun. Like back then." She said. "I... I'll try my best to repay you, Kai-kun!"

Kai released his grip on the railing, and his features softened as he let go of his anger. He turned to Aichi, who was facing him directly, determined.

"And how do you intend to do that?" He challenged, expressionlessly but slightly caught off guard when he felt the grip on his hand tighten.

"I don't know yet... but I'll try my best!"

"Nonsense," he closed his eyes. "Do what you like."

Aichi nodded, smiling brightly, eyes glinting under the faint sun.

Kai shifted, placing his free arm up on the railing to lazily rest his head on it. Silence passed as both watched the sky, neither of them willing to take their eyes off the beautiful shades of blue. When Kai turned to glance at her, probably to tell her to go back to class, he misjudged the distance between them and their faces were suddenly too close; only a few inches apart. His eyes widened, and he could see that those deep blue orbs that turned to him widened as well, surprised by their sudden closeness.

The wind blew past them, howling. Her dark hair tickled his face, yet neither were able to move, frozen within time.

The school bell rang:

First beat, second beat, third beat, then stopped.

Like the beating of their hearts.

Kai and Aichi both blinked and looked away from each other. Aichi breathed, trying to calm her heart down. For some reason, it wouldn't stop beating this fast. Kai raised a hand to his face, as if hiding his expression, though when he spoke, his voice was steady and calm. "You should return to class. If that idiot saw us like this..."

The door flung open, startling Aichi but not Kai, who did not move a muscle, expecting the addressed person to show up as if he heard his name being mentioned. Miwa blinked, hands settling on the door of the roof, not expecting to see Aichi there, then he grinned mischievously, casually waving as he walked up to them.

"Yo lovebirds! Doing well?"

Aichi heard Kai darkly mutter something along the lines of, "I knew it..."

Aichi blushed, and retired her hand from Kai's quickly. "M-Miwa-kun!"

"Miwa."

Miwa flung an arm around Kai's shoulder, expression faking hurt. "Kai, I'm really sad. How could you ditch your best friend to go out with your girlfriend?"

Kai glared at him. "You were the one who betrayed me, idiot."

Miwa chuckled. "Wow, you miss me already?"

"Shut up."

Aichi followed their conversation, her heart throbbing in her chest as she watched them talk and argue soundlessly.

What is wrong with me?

Tears formed at the corner of her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away.

I missed him, so much.

She grasped the edge of Kai's sleeve, though Kai did either not pull away or he did not notice at all.

Kai and Miwa's argument was interrupted when Miwa was suddenly dragged back from a hand grabbing his ear, effectively wiping the teasing smirk off his face. "How many times did I tell you not to skip class?"

At the harsh tone, Aichi instinctively hid behind Kai, slowly peering from behind his back to catch a glimpse of the source of the voice. A female student stood there, blue eyes focusing on the blond, her shoulder-length lavender hair floating in the air as the wind blew strongly.

"O-ow, I'm sorry, Misa-chan! I won't do that again!" When the girl was satisfied with his answer, she let go.

"It's Misaki," She sighed as she looked down at Miwa sitting on the floor, rubbing his right ear to ease the pain.

"Devil in disguise..." He muttered darkly, flinching when Misaki cast him a glare.

"Did you say something?"

He raised his hands in front of him defensively, surrendering."N-NO! NOTHING!"

Misaki sighed, giving Miwa a hopeless look, before turning to the impassive Kai and greeted him. He returned the greeting by simply nodding once.

Misaki noticed Aichi behind Kai and cocked her head slightly to the side, blue eyes curious. Aichi blushed and looked down, nervous about suddenly being the center of the girl's attention.

"Who's that, Kai?"

"A student."

"Thank you for the straight-forward answer." She said expressionlessly, causing Miwa to laugh at Kai's glare. Her own blue eyes carried amusement as she continued, "Very helpful."

She paused and her eyes seemed to widen as she realised, "You are... "

"His new girlfriend-" Miwa continued, earning a kick from Kai which effectively shut him up. Misaki ignored both of them, and continued her sentence,

"...that student from earlier."

Misaki realised that the petite girl wasn't paying attention to her, and was looking at the other pair in worry, panicking that Miwa was badly hurt as he lay on the ground motionlessly, clutching his stomach. Kai opened one eye to peer through his brown bangs, curious at his loud friend suddenly turning mute. When there was no response from the blond, Kai frowned; he was not worried, not really, but he knew the idiot was up to something. When he approached him, he felt a hand grab his leg, trying to trip him, though Kai quickly regained his balance, glaring sharply at the owner of the hand.

Miwa doubled over with laughter at Kai's sudden show of surprise (It was hilarious, according to him), and Kai made an annoyed face- Was that really necessary?- and nudged him with his foot- That's what we did when we were kids. Not anymore.

Misaki sighed, which gained Aichi's attention. "A new student, huh? I apologise for their behaviour. I am Toukra Misaki, nice to meet you." Her beautiful blue eyes softened as she spoke.

"I-I'm Sendou Aichi, nice to meet you too, Toukra-san!"

"Misaki is fine."

Aichi smiled shyly, "Then, M-Misaki-san..."

I realised something... this rooftop is where they always gather. When they are together... they seem to change somehow.

Miwa-kun laughs more, Kai-kun looks less lonely and Misaki-san smiles more gently.

"Okay, listen up, class!" Their form teacher slammed the pile of papers on his desk to silence the students.

"I have some good news," he hurried on to explain before the class would burst into chatter. "I know this is sudden, but tomorrow we will be going on a two-day camping trip in the forest in order to improve our awareness of the environment around us. Please sign your permission slips and return them tomorrow morning. You are dismissed." He turned to the chalkboard as the students stood up, excited chattering filling the classroom.

"Are you coming?" Misaki asked from beside her. Aichi shifted nervously in her seat.

"W-What about you, Misaki-san?"

Misaki shrugged as she packed her books. "I usually just skip activities like these, but if those two are going, I think I'll go too."

Aichi followed her gaze to see the two friends, one talking animatedly and the other giving a nod or two, but was mostly ignoring him. "Misaki-san, you all seem really good friends..."

"We met during the last year of middle-school, but these two had been friends ever since..." She stopped, losing track. She smiled fondly as she continued, "A long time ago."

"I see..."

Their conversation was interrupted by a familiar cheerful voice.

"Sounds fun!" The blond poked at his annoyed friend's shoulder repeatedly. "Hey, Kai, let's do the two-day camping thing!"

Kai swatted his hand away, scowling. "Don't get over excited, idiot."

"I'll take that as a yes!"

"Who said-"

"Everyone! Kai said that he will be coming to the trip tomorrow!" He stood up from his seat and announced loudly, earning odd looks from students. Others simply sighed, familiar with the blond's weird behaviour. Their homeroom teacher walked over to them, looking pleased with the blond's announcement.

"That's great news, Toshiki-san! Your attitude to learning has been improving lately! I'll make sure to report this to the headmaster, I'm sure he would be pleased." He handed Kai a letter and one to Miwa, who snickered when Kai replied with a confused, "Yeah..."

As soon as the teacher was out of sight, Kai sent his back a glare, then turned to look at his laughing friend with dangerous eyes. "Damn you, Miwa."

I'll make you pay.

Misaki shook her head in amusement and smiled at Aichi. "You heard them, right? Are you coming?"

Aichi looked down at the letter in her hand, and faced Misaki with a smile of her own. "Y-Yes."

After that, we walked back home together. The four of us. It was the first time I had this much fun.

Is it okay if things keep going like this?