Tokiya leans against the glassy window behind him, his favorite spot of his apartment where he can see snow falls from the sky above. He really like watching snow drops falling from the sky. He remember when he was a child he used to watch it with his sister alongside him. He lights his cigarette while his eye glancing on a bunch of people passing the street of which side almost full with snow. He opens the window slightly leaving only a tiny hole for the smoke of his cigarette to come out it. Loneliness…. that’s the word that suit him the most. Since the day his sister died 7 years ago he has closed his heart from everyone and never show his emotion. Mostly he spends his time in his apartment. He inhales and keeps it for a while to taste the nicotin then he exhales. He heard a knock on the door. Lazily he walks toward the door and opens it.

“Hi, Michan!” a cute purple haired girl greets him cheerfully.

“What do you want?!” he asked roughly.

“You’re so impolite. At least let me in first then ask me” she scolded him. “Whatever…” he widened the door so that she can come inside.

“Wow!, your room is so tidy, Michan” she jumps on his bed.

“Just don’t leave dirt on my bed sheet”. “Geez, Michan…. the way you speak is really irritating”.

“Whatever… (seems like this word is his favorite word for today), what is the reason that bring you here?” he lights his second cigarette of the day.

“I’d like to borrow your Hemingway novel. I need it for my English class tomorrow since my teacher asked the students to make a summary from it. Hey!, would you stop smoking? I really hate the smoke” she protests.

Ignoring her complaint he took the novel from his drawer then hand it to her, still when cigarette in his mouth. She took away the cigarette from his mouth and threw it outside the opened window. “What the…”.

“You better stop smoking if you don’t wanna have a hard time in providing your own daily needs since you’ve spent pretty much money in buying cigarette” she smirked.

“What do you know about providing daily needs?!. I bet your parents have provided you with 5 stars hotel dinner everyday and also the other snobbish facilities such as a BMW to drop you from your castle looking house to our high school” he taunted her.

She stares at him with anger, “You really are irritating, Mikagami Tokiya but you’re lucky since I’ll help you to become more friendly”.

“Well, I think you don’t have to help me since it’ll be useless”.

She shook her head, “OK, I challenge you in playing Time Crisis 2 and if you lose you must do whatever I want you to do”.

“I don’t have a time for such a thing” he rejects it then turns his back on her walking toward the window.

“Oh really?, what a coward” she teases him.

The words really did a good job on him as he turns his head back to her and stares at her with his spooky eyes. “I’m not a coward!”.

“So then let’s go to the nearest game center” she pulls him arms.
 

The game center is as crowded as always. Most of the visitors are high school and junior high school students and some of them are still wearing their school uniform. Fuko slipped a few coins in the game machine and so was Tokiya. They lift the gun and get ready to act. Some visitors start to gather around them to see their play. Tokiya folded his long sleeves shirt until it reaches his elbow. They start shooting while the “action” word appeared on the screen. 5 minutes passed and they’re still playing. Fuko rubs her hair as she peeked at Tokiya’s status on the screen. Shoot!, he still have 3 more lifes while I only have 2 lifes. She smiles when his character was shot by the boss. It’s just a few minutes after that when the game is over since both of their characters lost their life. Then the score appear on the screen. They look at it with caution and so were the other visitors who have been gathering around them to watch them play.

“Yes!!” Fuko screamed happily when she noticed that her score is higher than Tokiya although the difference is not much.

“Damn it!” he curses after he placed the gun roughly back to it’s proper place.

“Pick me up at my house tomorrow evening. I’ll decide where to go” she smiled while pushing one of his shoulders with a pointing finger.

“Yeah…”.

“But you better clean your dusty motorcycle first before you pick me up, OK?” she said.

“Sure, princess” he teased her.

“OK, first we’ll head to the 4th avenue café then we’ll continue to the karaoke” she gave him an explanation.

“4th avenue café?. Isn’t it a song title of L’arc~en~ciel?” he uttered.

“It’s the newest café in town, Michan. I think you’ve spent too much time studying and listening to… Lerk… what was it?” her face began to frown.

“It’s L’arc~en~ciel, Fuko. They’re a local band. I bet you’ve never listened to their song” he answered.

“I only listen to foreign music group”.

“Yeah… BOYBAND!” he sneered.

“I don’t care about your opinion, let’s get going” she jumps onto his motorcycle.
 

“Michan, do you want to order more drinks and snacks?” she asked while chewing a bunch of fries.

“As long as you pay by yourself I don’t mind” he replied.

“You’re stingy!”.

“If I’m not then I won’t be able to buy any food for this week”.

“OK…OK… I gave up, self motivated student” she smirked.

“At least my marks are better than yours”.

“I don’t care about it, genius boy”.

“Fine!”.

They stare at each other in silence.

“Fuuh… I’m bored” she said as she lay her head on top of her folded arms on the table.

“While I’m broke” he complained.

“Michan, you shouldn’t said such a word when you’re on a date. That’s impolite”.

“Oh!, like I care” he replied.

“Let’s go to the karaoke bar”.

“What?!”.

“This time is my treat” she raises from her seat. Tokiya left some amount of money on the table and then they leave the café together. At the karaoke bar Tokiya drinks his beer and smoking while Fuko chose the song. “Ano ne… Michan”.

“Hmm?”.

“Tell me more about your elder sister”.

He’s in silence for a while, his eyes gazing at her. “… Mifuyu is just a few years older than me. She looks just like Yanagi so that when I first saw Yanagi for the first time I think I’ll be able to be with her as I was with my sister”.

“So… that means you loved Yanagi, didn’t you?” Fuko put the karaoke VCD inside the player.

“Well… I think it’s not love. It’s just an admiration as I admire my sister”.

“Hmm… I see”.

“See what?!”.

“Nothing, let’s just sing together” she grabs the mike and starts to sing “Season in the sun” by Westlife.

“I regretted that I’ve told you about that story. After all you won’t understand it” he exhales. Smoke fills the air like a thin cloud.

“What?!, I only got 70 points for my hard work?!” Fuko yelled when the score appears on the screen. “Hmm… maybe this little thing has a problem or something” she touches the player gently, afraid of breaking it.

“The problem is your voice, Fuko” Tokiya said.

“What did you just said, Michan?. Well then show me that you’re right!” she challenges him.

Without answering he changes the VCD, chose the song and grabs the mike. Fuko freeze when she saw him singing “4th avenue café” like a professional singer. A score of 98 appears on the screen. “See what I’ve told you before” he places his empty glass on the table.

“You’re cool, Michan!. Give a big applause for the new member of L’arc~en~ciel! Yay!” she claps her hands.

“Cut it out” he tried to ignore her but she can see that he’s blushing because of the praise.

“God, Michan!. Would you stop smoking or should I pull that cigarette off your mouth?” she threats him.

“OK…OK…” he damped his cigarette to the ashtray.

“I’ve never imagined that our school teachers favorite student is a great smoker and drinker” she glances at him with disbelief.

“Sometimes they give me too much pressure”.

“If you can’t stop smoking you should stop drinking, Michan”.

“You’re not my mother”.

“Well at least I care about you!” she yelled.

“I won’t stop drinking neither smoking” he declared.

“You’re so stubborn”.

“Whatever….”.

Tokiya walks across a path that at the edge of it he can see a meadow filled of beautiful flowers and there was his beloved sister standing right in front of him.

“Oneesama!” he called her as he ran toward her.

She turns her look at him and smile, “Tokiya… you should get a new life, with a new friend. Just forget about me, OK?”.

“How can I do that?. After all you’re my only family and we’ve been together since we’re still children”.

Mifuyu smiles once again and then she disappeared as the wind blows.

“Oneesama!!”.

“I’ll pray for your happiness, Tokiya” her voice echoes. “Mikagami san…. Mikagami san….”.

He opens his eyes lazily when his friend who is sitting sit beside him shook his shoulder. “What?…” he asked still when a half closed eye.

“Wake up, the teacher is looking at you”. He raises his head hastily.

“Well, Mikagami please read the poem at page 12” the teacher ordered him.

He rises from his seat and starts reading it with a loud voice. All the students stare at him with astonish look when he finished reading.

“Good Mikagami, you’re excellent” the teacher praised him. Just a few minutes after that the bell ring. “OK, that’s it for today next week we’ll have a small test so please study from chapter 8 to 10” the teacher explained and the students reply with murmur.

Tokiya put all his books inside his bag and walks out the class. He stopped when he saw the snow is falling hardly outside. “Shoot!, I forgot to bring my coat” he murmured. There’s no choice, he has to wait until the snow stopped falling. He has been waiting for almost 15 minutes when he feels someone pounds his back. He turns his head to the person behind him who reply his action with a bright smile.

“What are you doing here, Michan?. I thought you’ve gone home and are busy studying”.

“I guess I’m the one who suppose to ask that question since you’re supposed to be back to your castle by this time?” he asked her.

“Don’t be so sarcastic like that, Michan. I just have to wait a little longer since my driver have to pick up my mom at my grandmother’s house”. He just nods his head as a reply to her then he continue glancing at the snow fall outside the window.

“You know, Michan. I really like to watch snow drops falling from the sky, when I was still a kid my nanny once told me that when snow drops falling from the sky it means an angel is crying above there” she said.

Angel’s cry?… get a life!, he thought.

“I know it maybe sound ridiculous but I did believe it at that time” her eyes is shimmering. Tokiya found tears at the corner of her eyes. “If my parents weren’t divorce I won’t be lonely like this. My mother is very busy with her business as the owner of one of the largest shopping center in Tokyo and she always left me alone in my home” tears slipped from his eyes.

He’s surprised of what she has just said. He has never imagined that the girl who always full of life can turn to a cry babe when talking about family matters.

Man!, what should I do?. I’m not good at dealing with a crying girl, his heart struggles. With a quick reflect he hand her a dark blue handkerchief.

“Thank you. I’ve never thought that you will care about me” she shed her tears with it.

“Don’t be misunderstood. I was just doing what I supposed to do and that doesn’t mean that I care for you that much”.

She looked back at him in anger, “Is this what you gave me in return after what I did to help you?”.

“Well, actually I didn’t ask for your help”.

“I just don’t want you to live behind the dark shadow of your past after all we have been friends since we are members of the Recca’s clan so I think I should help you as a friend” she explained.

“You know what?. I joined his clan to get a revenge for my sister, not because that I wanted you all to help me through my dark past”.

She sighed, “Always full of confident in solving problems alone, doesn’t like working in team. You’ve never changed, Michan”.

“I am just the way I am” he replied. A dark blue colored BMW passed by and parked at the parking yard outside.

“My car has arrived I gotta go now. See ya, Michan” she left him.