Forgetting You

T- Rated

Ayano decided to give up on Kazuma. So she went out with other guys. But does Kazuma like this? And is he too late to get her back?

I do not own Kaze No Stigma

Ayano POV

It hurt. Every single time I saw Kazuma walking around with some random girl, my heart broke all over again. By now I thought I'd be used to it, but really I still can't get over him. At first I thought that we could've been together. We used to flirt all the time. But what happened? I myself don't even know when we drifted apart. But now… Now I don't even know what we are to each other. We still go on missions, and he's still my bodyguard. The only difference is we don't talk. Literally.

I couldn't help but think, why did he suddenly stop talking to me? Did he find some other girl to tease? Did he treat her the same way he treated me back then? Those thoughts made my heart ache, thinking about some other girl being treated the same as I was made my blood boil. My heart would shatter seeing it; it was like looking into the past, and then realising how different things are now. That was one thing I couldn't face; the sudden change in our relationship.

Kazuma POV

I know what I'm doing is hurting Ayano. But I can't think of anything else. She'll get over me, since I was just a small crush she had. But will I ever get over her? I know I can't get over her; she's dearer to me than anything else in the world. After having Tsui Ling taken away, could my heart even bear losing one more person? I didn't want to think that far. Looking over at Ayano, I can also see she's in deep thought. I wonder if she's thinking about me. Hah. She probably was thinking about me, just not in the way I wish she would.

I wished that I could just hold her to me, and kiss her until she was breathless. I'd have my way with her. The dirty things running through my mind every time I saw her; if only I could make them reality. But someone as innocent as her, I couldn't taint her. It's not like she would let me in the first place, after what I made her fragile heart go through. So I would just keep these feelings locked away. Locked away at the very very bottom of my heart. I'd discard them. Because these feelings were useless,

I decided we had been standing here for long enough so I just walked towards the exit, not once glancing at Ayano. Of course she picked up my signal and started towards the exit as well. Walking awkwardly in silence, I walked slightly behind her, watching her from the back. She looked tired. I wanted so badly just to hug her, to reassure her of all her problems and to kiss all of her problems away. But I knew I couldn't do that, because I was her problem.

Ayano POV

We just passed the restaurant which Kazuma took me to. That is, when we still talked. My heart aches when I remember the small dates we had together, the little gestures that had made me giddy for a whole day. Now thinking about them I just wish I could forget about them and move on. I looked back and saw Kazuma just walking normally, without any worries in the world.

Then I thought, does Kazuma even realise that he's hurting me? If he really doesn't know, then does he think nothing of me? If that's the case, then aren't these feelings I have for him, just useless? I looked over at him. He didn't look the slightest bit awkward, nor did he look like there was a war inside of his heart.

Then and there I decided, I would move on and forget about Kazuma. I would fall in love with someone else, show that idiot that I don't need him and his love. I would forget him and start over. Turning around to look Kazuma in the eyes I said, "I'm going to Yukari's house so you can leave now. Bye." I took off towards Yukari's house before Kazuma could protest, not like he would, he probably was happy I got off his back this soon.

Kazuma POV

I don't know what made Ayano take off so soon, but I wasn't too sure whether it was a good reason or not. Deciding to forget about that occurrence, I continued walking towards my previous destination, the arcade. I could let off some steam in there.

Ayano POV

When I got to Yukari's house, I knocked on the door and was immediately escorted to her room. Inside Yukari was just sitting on her bed giving herself a pedicure, like she would normally be doing in her spare time. Not. She looked up expectantly at me, with a knowing look in her eyes. She calmly told me to sit down and from there we started discussing my plan to forget about Kazuma. We called Nanase over and she helped formulate my plan. The plan would come into action tomorrow at school.

The next day at school, I was to choose one of the boys who confessed to me. I knew someone would confess today, because there are at least 5 boys who confess each day. I was certain that there'd be some decent guy. Reassuring myself that I could get over Kazuma, I drifted off into the most peaceful sleep I'd had for a long time.

Waking up the next morning, I put a little more effort into my appearance. I had to look my best, because it was the day I would finally get a boyfriend. My heart ached when I pictured a relationship without Kazuma, but I knew it wasn't meant to be. Setting off for school, I had a different outlook to the day than I normally would.

When I got to school, me, Yukari and Nanase all met up and discussed the plan. We checked my locker, and sure enough there were 5 love letter or notes, asking me to meet the guy somewhere. Normally I'd just throw them away, but today I needed to go meet the guys. This wasn't the part I was really looking forward to, but I had to go through with it.

So at lunch, I went to meet one of the guys. His name was Hamasaki Akira. He was pretty cute I thought, and he had nice blue eyes, kind of like Kazuma. But I didn't let my mind become occupied with Kazuma, so I looked Akira straight in the eyes and said that I would like to try going out with him. When I said that, his eyes lit up and he suddenly got all happier. I smiled at him and asked him if we could meet up after school.

Kazuma POV

I was just flying around looking for some youma to vaporise, when my eyes came across a familiar red head. Of course it was Ayano, but what was she doing with that… guy? I didn't recognise the guy, but Ayano looked really spirited and happy talking to him. That must mean a lot, because she hadn't looked like that ever since… ever since I stopped talking to her. Just thinking about that made me feel guilty. I didn't normally feel guilt. Inspecting that guy again, I set off to find some youma. I'd need a pretty damn strong youma to keep my mind preoccupied and off of that guy and Ayano.

Ayano POV

I said goodbye to Akira and I went back to Nanase and Yukari. I told them about Akira and we all planned the next part. After we went home together, I'd go to the new cake shop that had opened with him, and we'd get more comfortable with each other. I was hoping that things would go well between the two of us, because I found Akira much more agreeable than Kazuma, and he wasn't that bad looking. I was glad that for once, I was one step closer to forgetting him.

Meeting Akira at the front gate, we both walked towards the cake store, chatting lightly to each other. When we got there, Akira offered to pay for everything. Thinking about how I would have to force Kazuma to pay, my heart ached at the comparison. Pushing that thought to the side, I smiled sweetly at Akira and told him that I'd really appreciate it.

Going into the store, ready to look around at all the various cakes and other items they sold, my eyes met with a familiar brown blob of messy hair. Scrutinising it more carefully, I gasped and realised that it was Kazuma. Trying not to make too much of a scene, I attempted to casually walked past him, but of course he had to notice. Looking up, our eyes met. His eyes widened, showing his shock. All he could whisper was my name. Uh oh.