Chapter 1

Miku hummed lightly under her breath as she walked along the empty main road of the university campus. She was snuggled in a scarf and a fluffy parka as she marched on against the biting cold of the late December winds. Her fancy earphones enveloped her in her own world, although as of the moment, that world was not all too joyful. She had been sent out against her will into the freezing cold for one reason and one reason only: to find that idiot brother of hers. Christmas holidays had already begun for the local high school and the one for the university will too in a few days. The problem was that Mikuo was apparently refusing to spend the holiday at home for some bizarre reason. This caused her parents no end of stress. After all he was only a freshman. "He's always loved Christmas!" "What if he got into drugs?" "Doesn't he like being home anymore?" -to quote a few of their mutterings at the dinner table.

Miku hated how paranoid her parents were being. Her brother would only be able to stay for a week at most so let the guy do as he pleases. Why bother? Granted, she had personal reasons too. The past few months had been so nice without Mikuo's constant teasing, eating of her snacks (and sometimes school projects) and personal space in general. But of course, as loathsome as it was, Miku had to be the unlucky one, stuck with the job of convincing her immature older sibling and bringing him home. Forced out of the comfort of her home, Miku couldn't stop her angry thoughts. Why were her parents even worried about Mikuo? Her brother was a stubborn kid and they know it. He only applied to this university, not even an hour's walk away from home, just so he could make surprise visits and raid the family's fridge (which he did…quite often at that). If he didn't want any part in the family celebration then he was welcome to stay away from the Christmas dinner and Miku would gladly polish off his portion…However, as furious as Miku was about her mission, she couldn't help but feel a little curious as well. If there was anything her lackadaisical brother would truly fight for, it was their mother's home-baked Christmas cakes and sweets. They were the love(s) of his life! What could have been more alluring than that? Miku gave a mental shrug and continued singing to the sweet melody that blasted her eardrums. She would know soon enough when she confronted that bastard…if she ever figured out the layout of this campus that is.

By now, the sixteen-year old had realized that she was hopelessly lost. Maybe listening to her favourite songs on full volume wasn't such a great idea. Doing that tended to inhibit her ability to pay attention to the helpful arrow signs that directed the university's visitors. The abandoned scenery around her was beginning to feel creepy. She had somehow wandered into an obscure part of the campus where windows were dark and doors were locked. Miku angrily stuffed her hands further into her pockets. She'd run into someone eventually right? Just swallow some pride and ask for directions, not that she had much left after agreeing to even come here. Miku kept walking forward. Her eyes fixated on the ground, she quickened her footsteps. It was a little late in the afternoon and the sun set so much earlier in winter. Miku would not fancy being lost and stuck outside at night in sub-zero temperatures like this. In fact, cold was already beginning to seep into her toes despite the thick fur lining her boots. Miku just wanted to reach a shelter first, anywhere for her to warm up a little and maybe ask for help. An arrow sign thankfully showed up and Miku hurried towards the nearest building that was open to the public. Soon she could see some sort of old structure at the end of the path. Her eyes staring straight ahead as she half ran, Miku didn't notice the patch of ice that had frozen over at the top of a small flight of stairs the night before. One moment she was getting closer to warmth and comfort and the next she was airborne, the world turned upside down around her. She fell hard, arms flailing and mouth open in a soundless scream. A strange crunching was heard when she landed on her right arm and sharp pain shot up through her body before the world faded to black…Or at least that's what would've happened if a certain student hadn't been passing under the same stairs in a stroke of luck, Miku's first and only today, really.

Books went flying in the air as wildly waving arms were tangled in long pink tresses and everything lost balance. Miku landed with a small 'oof' as the impact knocked the breath out of her. Having closed her eyes the instant she began to fall, Miku wondered why she hadn't broken something and fainted. Or maybe it was one of those situations where the impact was so severe that she didn't even have time to feel pain? Was she in a coma already? But she was so comfortable right now…whatever she was on felt so nice and soft…wait, felt? She wasn't dead or comatose? Miku slowly opened her eyes. She found herself staring into watery gems the colour of sparkling waves that always accompanied smooth white sand dunes. She took a moment and stared deeply into the beauty of those iridescent blue orbs. They had a mesmerizing liquid-like quality from tears brimming just short of escaping and as perfect as they looked, Miku wanted to dry those tears. "Oww…" A soft voice from under her startled Miku and the world suddenly came back into focus. She practically jumped off from her cushion and savior, the girl with sakura-coloured hair lying sprawled at the foot of the stairs.

Textbooks and papers were strewn all around them, having flown out of the girl's arms when a twin-tailed misfortune had befallen her. Miku watched the girl struggle to get up. She must be a student here, judging from how young she looked, maybe Mikuo's age? Having been saved from the worst of the impact, Miku felt completely fine save for the buzz of adrenalin still ringing in her ears and her unnaturally fast heartbeats. The same could not be said for the other girl. Barely contained tears of pain were indeed threatening to spill from her soft blue eyes as she picked herself up off the ground. Flustered with embarrassment, Miku scrambled to collect the papers and books around them. It was the least she could do after assaulting some poor passerby like that. With everything gathered messily in her arms, Miku suddenly found herself unable to look at the stranger. What's the big deal? Just apologize! Despite her indignant thoughts, Miku shivered and it wasn't completely from the cold. Although she was unhurt, the fall seemed to have shaken her quite a bit. "Umm…did you want to give those to me?" A cool, low voice drifted down from in front of her. Miku nodded and held out the bundle of items, her eyes trained on her feet throughout the whole exchange.

Even when she felt the weight of the papers lift from her fingers, Miku didn't dare look up. Not even she herself could understand just what she feared. Was it the other girl's anger? Her hate? Her-a tinkling laugh interrupted Miku's wildly racing thoughts.

"You don't have to look like you murdered someone (well it did hurt about as much), but hey, I don't bite!" The twin-tailed girl finally found the courage to lift her head to see the other smiling down at her gently. She felt confused and a little irritated for some reason.

"Y-you're not angry? Or seriously injured for that matter? C-cause I don't have any money if you want me to pay your medical fees." Miku stuttered nervously as she felt her cheeks turn a rather undesirable shade of red. She didn't know why but standing in front of this stranger made her mind all muddy. She couldn't think straight. The pink haired girl only laughed and rubbed Miku's cheeks affectionately.

"You're a cute one. Call me Luka." At this, Miku turned her face away indignantly, and mumbled something along the lines of 'I'm not cute' and attempted to march off angrily except, "That's the wrong way genius," an amused voice said from behind her.

They walked side-by-side down the worn path (in the right direction this time). Miku had learned that she was actually wandering around an old part of the campus that was completely evacuated a while ago for reconstruction. If Luka hadn't been taking a short-cut through the area, Miku may well have been lost long into the night. Being the kind person that she was, Luka offered to help Miku find her way to her brother. Well, more like dragged Miku off in the right direction than offered. They've only known each other for all of thirty minutes and Miku already discovered that the older girl was a big tease. The tealette no longer worried about being cold as she was constantly blushing (against her will mind you), raising her body temperature quite efficiently. But despite her playful words, Luka was a good listener. She let Miku unload all the woes and angst of a sixteen-year-old girl upon her, only laughing that same soft giggle sometimes at Miku's vividly exaggerated retelling of her certain misfortunes. It was only when Luka stopped them and led Miku over to a bench to sit did Miku realize that she'd been ranting the whole way. Suddenly feeling very self-conscious (that blush wasn't going away any time soon), Miku shut up immediately and they sat in an awkward silence.

Waiting was all they had to do for now. Luka had said that this was the road that most students would take when walking back to their dorms. Miku hoped that she was right and that Mikuo would pass by soon because sitting here alone with the pink-haired girl was making her extremely uncomfortable. It was like she wanted to shrink into herself and burst open at the same time. Her eyes drifted around aimlessly until they settled upon Luka once again. Miku gave up trying to force herself to stop staring as it seemed to happen all the time for no reason at all. Instead she inspected the girl sitting serenely beside her to her heart's content. A closer look made Miku realize just how pretty the other girl was. No, she wasn't just pretty, she was beautiful. The soft colours of her hair coupled with the cool blue of her eyes made for a striking duo. Full lips and a delicate nose and that rosy blush on her cheeks from the cold winds around them…those perfect features made Miku's heart ache with something that wasn't completely jealousy. Of course, there were her other…endowments as well. Although hidden by the thick winter jacket, it was still quite obvious that the other girl was much better developed than Miku. The heat from her cheeks burned up to her ears as she realized where she was staring but she couldn't tear her eyes away. Where was that damned bastard Mikuo…? She couldn't take this for much longer.

"M-miku…" A voice broke through her swirling thoughts. The twin-tailed girl hadn't noticed how intense her gaze had been while she was lost in her own musings. Now that the spell was broken, Miku wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Surely, Luka thinks she's a pervert now. The other girl looked flustered as well and was blushing profusely under Miku's stare. It was the first time since they met that the pinkette seemed uncomfortable.

"U-um…" Miku racked her mental dictionary for ways to explain herself but found none that would make the situation any less awkward. Instead, she buried her head into her arms and made a muffled squeaking noise that slightly resembled an 'I'm sorry.' She didn't know how to handle this situation at all. She wasn't one to embarrass herself constantly in front of people she'd just met. Heck she didn't even usually talk to strangers if she could help it! Suddenly, she was starting to feel the cold seep in from the metal bench beneath her. She started shaking from mortification and the dropping temperature. It was all quiet, and for a moment Miku thought maybe the pink-haired girl had left her after being completely unnerved by her unabashed scrutinization. She didn't have time to entertain what her own feelings were about the fact because as soon as the thought entered her mind, she felt arms wrap around her in a tender embrace. Warmth flooded into her heart although she physically felt no different. "E-eh?" She let out a small gasp. Luka was pressed up against her side and she could feel the other girl's warm breath on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry…but I just can't help myself. You're way too cute," were the words half-sighed, half-whispered into her ear. They stayed like this for what seemed like an eternity. Nothing was said yet Miku felt herself relaxing into Luka's arms. The cold from just a little while ago was all but forgotten. She was enveloped in soft and peaceful warmth. Miku had trouble keeping her eyes open, having stayed up late to do schoolwork last night. She vaguely remembered that she was here for something and reminded her clouded consciousness that she had to do what she came here for. But what was it? Right now, she wanted nothing more than to sleep in the arms of this angel holding her. She felt a slight movement beside her and something else was wrapped around her. It was the last thing she remembered before drifting off into blissful oblivion.