The sidewalks that led from the busy main street to the more calm upper class city residence didn't seem so congested for such a beautiful autumn afternoon. The sun cooperated with the civilians shining just bright enough to embrace the city in a calm warmth, but not overbearing enough to make the cool breeze a necessity. Amongst the crowd of expensive bags, young trendy cliques, and the occasional low key power couple, she walked with the elegance and grace to fool anyone into thinking she belonged in the crowd. No one needed to know that the leather purse was a cheap knock off, or that the dress she wore was made by her own hands using a picture of the more expensive designer one. If she had any say in it, 46,568 yen weren't going to make Oscar De La Renta any richer.

Turning a corner, perfectly manicured hands reached to grab the edge of a jagged stone for support as her heels once more caught themselves in an 'invisible' crack that had been plaguing her ever since she started walking with those worthless, over priced shoes that were a size too small and a pain to walk in. They were fabulous though, had gotten her plenty of compliment in a mere 2 hours. She winced at the rough contact with the stone wall as well as the funny way her heel buckled from the stumble.

“Breathe Seiki,” her words left in a harsh whisper, as it was the 7th time this had happened in the 15 minute walk, and she was very much contemplating throwing her shoes at the next poor soul who looked at her in a not so pleasant way.

Thin form straightened, ink black locks fell into place, the young woman took a hold of another handful of dignity and grace to continue on her march.

Maybe it had been warned. Looking at it now, she should have taken as a good sign that this would be a lousy day when she woke up and bumped her pinky toe against the night table in an attempt to hurry because her alarmed had 'failed' to wake her up on time. Rushing through a cold shower because for some unknown and dammed reason there was no hot water she found that there was no bread for toast and it was too late to get started on coffee, resulting in forced starvation until mid afternoon.

With a sigh of exhaustion the petite florist found a seat at the entrance of a park and slumped. As happy as she should have been feeling to be so dolled up and just an hour away from the perfect date, the world was doing everything in its power to turn her from glowing princess to wicked, resentful and impatient.

The breeze had blown the red cape that fit so perfectly with her satin black dress, right of her slender shoulders to make it land in a puddle, and now it found itself in a garbage can a few blocks back. It had devastated her to have spent so much time sewing it up to now think it would probably be used as a dinner napkin by some hobo. Every sidewalk her small feet stepped on seemed to have had been designed for her to stumble, and with each step she took the sun beat down on her back making beads of perspiration settle there, attracting her hair like a magnet. Moving her hair over her shoulder every once in a while kept it from sticking and making a mess, but she could already feel the frizz and silently prayed that it would stay nice and straight until after the date.

Stupid stupid Seiki. If she would have listened to her inner voice and stayed home for just another hour, none of this would have happened.

Another sigh passed her powder pink lips, this one from resignation. Her hands reached down and plucked the shoe from each foot, relieved to have blood circulating her feet again. Quickly she slipped into some less exuberant but more comfortable flats, and dumped the old ones in her bag. When her feet stopped tingling and she could feel them attached to her legs, the brunette decided to take a more relaxing walk. Through the lush trees in the road where the pedestrians usually walked or exercised, her feet guided her to a side with less activity.

It was a beautiful day really. Her short legs strode a slow pace enjoying the breeze and the warm embrace of the sun that no longer formed liquid at the back of her neck. The sound of the trees and various activities of the park , as well as the feeling of the cool metal ring that she bounced from one delicate hand to the other, kept her mind at ease.

Looking at the small (in)significant object, her heart leaped with each bounce she gave it. Amazing how such a simple object could put her in such a daze, to the point of relaxation. Through her mind the thought that the item might have been bewitched always ran its course. But instead of smiling at the idea as she usually did, her thin lips turned to a frown as the object slipped from her grasp. Two seconds later her mind registered that she had been shoved.

[01]

The walls of the cramped bedroom were clean and tidy, freshly painted with a midnight blue that made the space a perfect shade of black when the sun set and he needed rest. Everything was in orderly place from the context of his dresser, to the aroma of cinnamon and detergent that clung to his sheets. With an utterly frustrated sigh the guitarist moved the elongated bangs out of his eye and shifted to find comfort in the (un)familiar bed.

He really hated when his mother came to clean his house while he was away. Left him with nothing to do when he returned, except lay in bed contemplating how much his ceiling looked like cake frosting and whether the small marks that interrupted the pattern could be seen as candle holder marks or small finger imprints from naughty children who couldn't wait for their treats to be served.

Another sigh.

This was becoming pathetic. To be so consumed in such painful boredom that he was reduced to examining his ceiling alone in bed. No, this was nottheKaoru Niikura. Well not on a daily basis anyways.

Something about leaving the wild, erratic and time consuming road always depressed him. He had no schedule at home, no practice and really not much to look forward to. On the weekends and holidays he could go out with his friends, but that left 5 days of freedom that frankly were too much for him. And so in a fit of boredom, and after deciding that the indentations in his ceiling looked more like kid fingers than candle holders, he jumped from his bed, grabbed some sweat pants, a pair of sneakers and left.

Someone who's name he couldn't recall at the moment, told him to go jogging to distract himself and think better. Maybe it had been Amy- chan or Kei- san. Whomever it was, he would have to thank them later. For 3 days he had been following their advice and went running when his boredom reached an overbearing peak.

It was on the 3rd day that his limit had been reached 2 hours too early. The park didn't seem as populous as it normally was on Friday afternoons, when business people walked from the main street down to the park area to have lunch or do a small jog around the park to relieve some stress. Going down the same path his eyes were so accustomed to seeing, his brown eyes could now focus on the vast amount of lush trees that served to provide shadows for those who chose to rest under them. The ice cream carts, class of young children on a trip, the way a couple d each other on a bench, making said class trip blush, giggle and point.

A smile crept on his now relaxed features, that lasted but a faint second as his shoulder made an abrupt contact with something and that brief smile quickly faded. His eyes darted downward to the body that found itself on all fours, her knees and palm bearing the biggest impact. Adrenaline ran through her body and she quickly found herself after the object that had escaped her grasp.

Kaoru's body had barely registered the fact that he had caused the accident when he found himself after the victim, creating his apology while he could. It was just a distraction, and people shouldn't just simply be walking on an exercise road, and maybe the sun was in his eyes a little and even the little bell the ice cream cart was carrying took his mind off of the world.

The girl finally stopped in a patch of grass and Kaoru soon followed. “I'm so sorry,” he breathed. “Are you ok, did you get hurt?”

She wasn't paying attention. Her gaze darted back and forth, from side to side, her posture showing urgency. “Miss,” he tried again this time tapping her shoulder.

Brown orbs finally met his gaze, as confused as her own body language. “I'm sorry,” he apologized quickly as if afraid to lose her focus once more. “Did you lose something, would you like me to help you find it?”

He could see her body relax a bit, but the urgency wasn't lost from her eyes. “I'm fine,” her voice was disorientated. “It was nothing, I lost my ring but it was before the fall.”

“I'll help you find it.” She saw him smile but her mind was too busy processing some new information. Swarthy eyes locked on to her male companion and for some incomprehensible reason, her dusty pink lips molded into a sad smile.

“No need,” she assured. “It was nothing.”

A torturous and quiet few seconds ruled between them. Once more her eye found themselves on the patch of grass but her body seemed unwilling to move. Kaoru bit his bottom lip unsure of what to do next. Apologize? Offer a replacement? Assure her that he really would help her find it?

In a faint whisper that didn't reach his ears, the young girl excused herself and returned to the road she had ran down from. But he was late on noticing for those eyes bore familiar make up and the shape of her lips might not have been the shade of red they usually were, but they still held a familiar fullness. She exuded rich fragrance of chamomile and vanilla that distinguished her in his memories and even though he was sure he had seen her but a handful of times, that aroma could not be mistaken.

“Seiki- san,” he called out her name just as her form was making its way up the slope they had both descended from.

Slowly her body turned, head slightly cocked to the side, the disorientation in her eyes now replaced with curiosity. “Yes?”

Bingo