Disclaimer: I announce to the whole world that I, sadly, do not own the anime series St. Tail. But I could pretend I do. Italicized words (not all, but you know which) are from the anime's ending song "Junshin" by Mori Yukinojou and TAKUYA, but I still refuse to call this a songfic.

Summary: She couldn't, for the life of her, understand why he was acting this way. He couldn't possibly be in love with her right? He loves St. Tail, not her. Not Meimi. (AsukaMeimi) A rewrite of one of the first fanfictions that I have ever submitted. It was once a one-shot that goes by the same title, so the chapters would probably end up a little bit shorter than usual. Cookies to those who remember ;)

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Am I beautiful to you?

Chapter 04: Confrontation
By makka na yuki

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Ah, hey, if I was far away from you

If you really loved me…

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It was all over the news, and no matter how much she tried to avoid it, many things come up again and again just to remind her of her failure the night before. Meimi tried not to slam the door as she left for school. She was getting frustrated by the minute, and the pain from her shoulder was not helping.

From the morning news, to the newspaper headlines at her doorstep and to the neighborhood chatter… it's almost as if it's never-ending. Granted, this wasn't the first time that she failed to steal anything, but why do they have to make such a big deal about it?

The long-haired girl stepped into her homeroom classroom, happy to note that she was the first one there. It would do no good if anyone noticed how she cradled her left shoulder. By anyone, she means a certain young detective. She could not even wear a sling without arousing suspicion. Even for Asuke Jr, it would seem too much of a coincidence that someone would go to school with an injured shoulder – the same place St. Tail was shot the night before. Meimi feared that she would be too weak if the police went after her now in her state. For now, she had to bear with the pain. She hoped nothing too stressing would bother her today.

Meimi sat down on her desk and opened up her workbook. She didn't get anything done the night before. Bandaging the wound surprisingly took a long time, and she fell exhausted on her bed after cleaning up. She had to get ready for class – or at least, pretend to try to get ready, just enough to convince Seira that she did want to finish the assignment but was too tired to do so. Meimi smiled at the thought of her friend – she wouldn't have survived school if the Seira wasn't there to guide her.

The minutes passed by, and students started filling out the class. The young nun-in-training walked pass her desk to discreetly inquire about the night before. Meimi looked at Asuka Jr, noticing the dark circles on his eyes. She looked back at Seira and whispered a promise that she would tell her when school ends. Seira nodded in reply.

The teacher walked inside the classroom, and tapped her stick onto the table. All chatter ceased immediately, with some students carrying confused looks on their faces. They were sure the bell hadn't rung yet. Meimi looked up from her work, interested.

"Good morning, students," the teacher began, "we'll be having a guest today in our school. He's a rich bachelor that is planning to donate a large sum to our humble institution. I hope you all would be in best behavior when he arrives."

Questions immediately erupted form the students.

"Who is he?"

"Are we planning to build another basketball court? That would be cool!"

"Ooohh, a rich single person, I wonder if he's handsome?"

"Maybe he graduated from here too? Do we know him, teacher?"

"Now, now students," the teacher laughed, amused by the enthusiasm of the children "you're questions will all be answered in the afternoon. Our guest will be joining us for lunch in the cafeteria."

The first morning bell finally rung, and everyone got back to their seats as class began. Meimi looked out the window while trying her best not to fall asleep – her mind already forgetting the excitement a few minutes before.

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She shouldn't have been surprised at all. How many rich bachelors actually live in this town, and had the ulterior motive to even request for her to tour him around the school at the exact day after she met the biggest mistake of her life?

Only one, Meimi growled in her head, as she found herself staring at the gorgeous eyes of the man she only wish she could forget. She tried not to act too hostile, especially with her teacher in front of them introducing him to her. Tonizuka Kazuma's speech a few minutes before in front of the whole cafeteria made her even more suspicious.

His parents have been bringing both him and his younger brother to pray at the school's small chapel years before they passed away. The peaceful surroundings calm's his heart, he says. He wants to give back to the school, so as to let other people find peace as he did.

Meimi tried not to snort in response. The good-guy act was just too fake. They were now in the middle of eating lunch and she could not refuse to sit in the same table beside him, not when he pulled her – her left hand even, that bastard! She coughed to mask her groan of pain, and reluctantly followed, knowing full well he'll pull another stunt like that if she tried to run away. Meimi ignored the glares of the other girls who were envious that she had taken their place beside him.

The meal went along surprisingly fine, with the students and teachers happily chattering along with Kazuma.

If they only knew, Meimi sighed, trying to think of ways she could escape from him. What was he planning? It was already obvious that he knew who she was. Would he try to reveal her other identity to the whole school?

Her thoughts were suddenly disturbed when cold water drenched her uniform.

"Wha-?"

"I'm terribly sorry," Kazuma immediately stood up and tugged at her left arm, "I'll go help the young miss dry up"

The other occupants of the table made a move to stand up as well, but Meimi stopped them, "No no, you guys don't need to worry. I'm fine. Tonizuka-san, I can take care of this myself."

"Oh but I insist," he replied, pulling her out of the cafeteria.

If she could only make a scene and punch the living daylights out of him, she would. Meimi sighed as she was forced again to follow.

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When she was sure they were out of hearing range, Meimi quickly pulled away.

"God's servant? A helper of mankind? You think everyone will believe your so called perfection?"

Tonizuka Kazume grinned in response, "Oh I'm not perfect. See how I spilled that glass of water during lunchtime?"

"Spilled it on me," Meimi hissed.

"Well, it was amusing to see your reaction. I never would have guessed you had it in you to quell your anger for such a long time."

"What do you want?"

Kazuma took a step closer, "You know what I want"

Join me.

Meimi quickly shook her head, trying to forget what happened last night, "And you had to come all the way here to my school just to ask me again, is that it?"

He shrugged, "Well, I figured if I approached you in a public place, you wouldn't be able to just disappear using your magic."

It was true, and they both knew it. Meimi growled, "Even so, pulling my arm was definitely uncalled for."

His eyes darkened as he moved another step to touch her shoulder. She flinched back unconsciously, making his hand stop, "Does it hurt, this wound that I gave you?"

Meimi takes another step back. She refuses to look weak in front of him. "No, not really. The bullet just grazed me"

His eyes stared right back at her and she found that she couldn't pull away. What was the emotion swirling beneath those depths? It almost seems as though he's… worried. That's not right.

Meimi dispelled the disturbing thoughts away from her head. He's an evil man, and he definitely wouldn't know how to feel concerned about anything, "What makes you think I would just agree even if you came to my school? Are you going to tell everyone who I am?"

Kazuma immediately answered, "Well, no, not really."

"Then I have nothing to lose."

He grinned, as if expecting her answer, "I know all about you. Not just your school, but your friends, your family as well. Everything that you hold dear to your life."

Her eyes grew wide in surprise and fear. Why hadn't she thought of that?

"Will you refuse me now?"

How else could she answer to that?

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And I fell in love with someone else

Jealousy would stir up

Somewhere inside you.

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Author's notes: I have to thank all you guys for the reviews, and apologize as well for taking almost forever to update, lolz. But, same with my other stories, I plan to finish this until the very end – one short chapter at a time. I'll try to make it worth the wait (well, I hope it would be, hahahaha).

Next chapter: A confrontation between Meimi and Asuka Jr.!