Reparation through dreams

Sho's eyes opened wearily. Ugh… he had just gone to sleep. Why was he waking up so early? Everything was so dark…

He closed his eyes once more and tried to go to sleep. This proved to be an impossibility as he realized he wasn't sleepy in the slightest. The boy frowned and opened his eyes (not that it made any difference, it was as black in the real world as it was behind his eyelids) and dragged himself to his feet. He walked forwards a few steps, hoping on coming in contact with the wall and finding the light switch from there. There was nothing there.

Sho frowned and took some more steps ahead. Okay, so not only was there a complete absence of light in this place, there was also a complete lack of walls. Come to think of it, had hadn't woken up in his bed either. What on earth was happening? Had he been kidnapped or something? No… no, that was crazy. Not only why would someone kidnap him, but how could they take him here without waking him up? But, then… how did he get here?

Sho's features set into an annoyed frown. Well, he might as well continue walking. Maybe he'd find something…

Slowly the darkness around him began to fade into a very familiar setting.

I'm back at the inn?! What…? Oh. Wait. This has to be a dream. Yeah, that makes sense. I'll just hang out here until I wake up again.

But, it still didn't fit quite right. Sho didn't usually dream, and whenever he did he was never in control of his actions to this extent. And things always seemed somewhat blurred and indistinct, while this place seemed almost painfully realistic.

He continued walking through the familiar halls, pondering his situation, when suddenly something dawned on him.

The perspective seemed… off.

At his current height of 5'10" (almost 5'11"!), things should look different. But he was looking at them from about waist-height, like how he would when he was six or seven! Sho frowned, then ran off to find a mirror. He noticed his strides were a lot shorted than they should have been. A sinking feeling settled over him… but no, he wouldn't believe it until he had proof.

About a minute later, Sho stood in front of a mirror, staring at his reflection in vague horror.

He was seven years old again.

Okay… okay, I can deal with this… remember, it's just a dream… only a dream…

But Sho wasn't so sure it was just a dream anymore. It was so completely different from any dream he had ever had before…

He gulped slightly, then turned away and walked forwards dazedly. Okay, Sho, get a grip! You're better than this! Just… be yourself. Go and find something to pass the time with. He coached himself firmly. With that idea in mind, he turned the corner and stomped into a room… to stop short at what he found there.

He saw a familiar girl with her black hair in two pigtails, sitting on the floor, sobbing her heart out. Sho felt a twinge of pain in his chest.

Kyoko.

He frowned as he walked up to the crying girl and stood in front of her a few feet away.

"I want you to stop crying." The boy demanded harshly. He was sick of always standing around doing nothing while she cried! He didn't know how he could comfort her, but he'd do his best so she wouldn't be so sad.

The weeping girl raised her head slowly, dazed expression on her tear-streaked cheeks. She had stopped blubbering for a second, but more tears were still welling on her eyelids.

"I can't bear it when you cry. So don't cry anymore, okay?" The seven-year-old Sho demanded.

Kyoko sniffled and nodded, pulling herself to her feet slowly.

"O-okay, Sho-chan… I-I'll make sure you don't see me cry anymore…" The dark-haired child whispered, turning away, preparing to leave the room.

Sho started slightly. This… this had happened before… this was when… no! This was when she had started running off to cry, when she met her fairy prince… when he first started to lose her. He remembered this so much in retrospect… back then he had just said "Whatever." and let her go, only happy she wasn't crying for the moment. He couldn't let that happen again. Even if this is simply a dream, he'd change it. He wouldn't let things be the same.

"No."

"H-huh…?" Kyoko asked, confused, turning around slightly to see her crush standing there with shadows covering his eyes.

"I want you to stop crying because I don't want you to be sad, not because I don't want to see you cry. If you have to cry…" Sho gulped, but pressed on, raising his head to see Kyoko's wide-eyed gaze.

"If you have to cry, I don't want you to have to go somewhere. You can cry in front of me if you need to. But I'll make sure nothing makes you want to cry anymore. So stop crying right now, got it?"

Kyoko stared at Sho in amazement. Then, slowly, a smile stretched over her face. She ran forwards, hugging Sho tightly and sobbing into his shirt.

Sho frowned. "I thought I told you to stop crying," he grumbled, but hesitantly hugged her back anyway.

Kyoko looked up at Sho, eyes shining.

"I'm not crying because I'm sad, Sho-chan." She explained simply. "I'm crying because I'm happy. This… this is the nicest you've ever been to me, and I…" Kyoko grinned and hugged Sho back tightly, hiding her face in his shirt.

"S-so… you prefer it when I'm nice to you?"

"Of course I do, Sho-chan."

"Then why haven't you ever told me so?"

"Huh?" Kyoko asked as she looked up at the boy once more, eyes finally dry.

"You've never complained or made any mention of how I treat you. I… I don't want to hurt you. But sometimes you act like you're fine with whatever I do… so let me know, okay? If I ever hurt you, if I do something that you dislike in the slightest, let me know. I'm still learning, you know."

"S-Sho…chan…?" Kyoko whispered hesitantly, eyes widening.

"I'm willing to treat you like an equal, Kyoko, if only you act like we're equals, okay? Don't treat me like I'm so much better then you… because I'm not. And if you keep thinking that I am your superior… I'll grow to think so too. And one day, I might do something that hurts you so much that you'll leave me forever…" And I couldn't bear that… I want you to stay by my side for the rest of my life…

"B-but Sho-chan… you are so much better than me."

"No, Kyoko, I promise you I'm not. Don't look up to me… look at me in the eyes… got it?"

Kyoko's eyes welled up with happy tears again. "Thank you, Sho-chan. But I promise you could never do anything that would make me leave."

"Kyoko, please. Just promise me, if I start not treating you right, you'll tell me so I can know how to make you happy."

"I promise, Sho-chan…"

"Sho-chan! Sho-chan, wake up! You'll be late if you don't hurry!"

"Huh…?" Sho murmured blearily, opening his eyes… to see Kyoko leaning over his bed with a grin. But this… this was how Kyoko looked before she left him…

"Kyoko…"

"Ah, good, you're up! I have some breakfast and a surprise waiting in the other room." Kyoko said cheerfully, giving Sho a shy peck on the cheek.

Sho stared at Kyoko in surprise. She had never kissed him before… who was this Kyoko?

"Um, Kyoko… what day is it?"

Kyoko chuckled. "Well, come into the other room and you'll see." With that, she skipped out the door, floating on a cloud.

Sho blinked, then dragged himself out of bed, slipping on a shirt and some jeans and running a comb through his bed-head hair. He could do more once he figured out what was going on. He stretched slightly, then opened the door and walked into the living room.

Kyoko stood behind the table, bouncing slightly in anticipation. On the table was a plate with some of his favorite breakfast foods, and sitting next to the platter was a huge, home-made heart-shaped dark chocolate. On it in white were the words "Happy Valentines day, Sho-chan!"

So it's Valentine's… but I don't remember a Valentines Day like this at all… wait, it was the night before Valentines when I fell asleep last night… Could it be…?

"Kyoko… we're both 17, right?" Sho asked, staring at the food in confusion.

Kyoko laughed. "Of course we are, silly. Guess you're still kinda sleepy. Well, better eat your food now. Shoko-san will be here to pick you up in less than half-an hour." Kyoko smiled slightly. Sho could be so funny at times…

"Kyoko."

"What is it, Sho-chan?" The girl asked simply, turning to Sho.

"I… didn't get you anything."

"Don't worry, Sho-chan. You don't have to worry about anything until White Day." And hopefully you'll get me something this year…

"No, I should…" Sho glanced around helplessly, wondering what he should do. Yes, now Kyoko's stayed with him, and their relationship was better, but… Kyoko was still denying herself. While she probably had told him when he did something to upset her, she probably never let him know when she wanted something extra, something for herself.

There isn't enough time for me to buy something for her before I leave, so…

"Wait a second." Sho told Kyoko and hurried out of the room. Kyoko waited patiently, although she wondered what Sho was doing. If he wanted to finish his breakfast and get ready in time, he should be eating now, not doing whatever he was doing…

Sho walked back into the room, counting a stack of bills. 17000, 18000, 19000, 20000. That should be enough…

"Kyoko. You'll have some spare time today, right?"

"Yes, Sho-chan, why?"

Sho pushed the money into Kyoko's hands. "I want you to use this to buy yourself something nice. Something that you'd like just for you."

Kyoko's eyes widened. This was 20,000 yen!

"S-Sho-chan, I couldn't…!"

"Yes, you can. We can afford it, and… think of it as recompense for all those years I forgot to get you something for White Day."

Kyoko's eyes widened, then she smiled happily. "T-thank you so much, Sho-chan!"

"You're welcome."

"Now, eat your food! I made it especially for you, and Shoko-san will come over in just over twenty minutes."

"Okay, okay." Sho agreed, waving his hand as he sat down and picked up his chopsticks. Kyoko smiled softly, and turned to prepare for work herself.

"Oh, and Kyoko?" Sho called just as she was about to leave.

"What is it, Sho-chan?"

"Have you ever considered acting? I think you'd be a wonderful actress."

Kyoko grinned before she left. "Maybe I will, then, Sho-chan."

Sho smiled lightly has he picked up some rice and brought it to his lips. Everything was perfect… well, almost perfect. All he needed to do was continue to love Kyoko (quite an easy task, really) and help her to recognize and achieve her own dreams and happiness.

Things just might work out okay after all.

Author's notes: Well, this was fun. In a different style then I'm used to, but hey, it's fun stretching your boundaries~ Anyway, this is my first KyokoXSho fic, but I hope to write a lot more-- KyokoXSho is one of my favorite pairings and has to be one of the cutest ever. Oh yes, sorry if it was a bit confusing, but it was meant to be, it's supposed to be mysterious and you're not sure exactly how it happened.

So, I hope you enjoyed my fic, and please leave a review to say what you think of it! (But no KyokoXSho bashing, if you please.) Oh yes, just to note this (because I can), today is my 17th birthday. ^^