A/N: The story starts In Media Res, so it might be slightly confusing at first. Also, as I have said before, I'm writing this story more carefully than the others, so it might take longer to update. (But remember! The more responses I receive on a story, the faster the update!) Thank You for the votes, everyone!

I hope I don't disappoint! bows

Warning: Another AU KonoSetsu. Also contains much angst.

Notes on the story:

I am begging in the middle of the story (as I said, In Media Res), so many events have already occurred (as in, Setsuna has already disappeared), and will be presented in the form of dream sequences or flashbacks. The flashbacks/dream sequences shall be presented in chronological order, until we reach the middle of the story (which is where I began the story). Afterwards, the story will continue normally. Don't worry, I will explain any confusion areas whenever needed, and there will be plenty of non-angst pure fluffy KonoSetsu.

In addition, even though some parts of this story may not match the style of Teach Her How to Cry, (since Teach Her How to Cry is a Oneshot and therefore easier to use that particular point of view…), I'll still be using the "they" point of view in appropriate parts of future chapters. I will also be using different points of view for different parts in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Negima.

Notes: Konoka's thoughts are in /thoughts/

Chapter One: The Damage Has Been Done

It has been said that the true love's kiss is a meeting of the souls. Upon the joining of the lips, the two souls touch, and a part of one soul is forever imprinted onto that of the other. The lovers shall eternally be connected by an invisible bond, by an unconscious memory, etched into their souls and never to be erased. Even when the heart has forgotten, and time had withered away all remembrances, this unconscious recognition would remain…

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Pain. She woke up feeling unexplainable, indescribable pain.

Sorrow. Unexplainable, indescribable sorrow.

She was startled to find tears in her eyes, on her face, dampening her pillow. Tears falling continuously, without control, without reason.

There had been a dream. A dream of something that had once mattered, something that had once been irreplaceable.

Something that had been forgotten.

She struggled to remember what it was she'd been dreaming about, but alas, her heart had become empty. The tears ceased their flow from her eyes; like a dry river, waterless and dead.

She could not remember the dream. Could not remember anything but the pain and sorrow it had brought, and a sense of emptiness that left her barren and at loss.

Empty.

The word echoed in her hollow soul as she stood up and prepared for the day to come.

Empty. Like a guitar without strings. Music without notes. Paint without color.

Or a heart without love. Lips that had lost their warmth.

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/What had I been waiting for?/

She stood in front of the empty room beside her bedroom, waiting.

Waiting for something, someone that she thought would come out.

/I don't remember./

"Ojousama! Breakfast is ready."

The maid's call awoke her from the reverie, and she attempted a smile.

"Arigato. I'll be there in a minute."

Her face became blank once again after the maid had left.

The smile felt odd, as if fake somehow. She remembered having smiled freely once. A smile that had once reached her eyes and warmed her heart. A smile that had purpose, as if directed towards someone.

But who?

She stood pondering for a few minutes, before opening the door to the empty room, and entered.

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The room had never been used before. At least, not to her knowledge.

But it was clean and familiar to her eyes, as if she had spent a lot of time playing in it in the past.

Cautiously, she walked towards the center of the room, when a small black hair band caught her eyes. She bent down to pick it up, holding it in her hands as if it belonged there somehow; as if she had used it as a hair tie many, many times.

But that was odd, because she'd always preferred to leave her hair down, falling upon her shoulders. She must have helped someone else tie their hair.

But who? There was no one she could be close to here in the temple of the Kansai Magic Association.

Was it her mother?

No, something was wrong with the thought. Her mother had died when she was four, and she could not recall having done anything with her mother in that young age.

Besides, father said that mother kept her hair the same way she did, without anything tying it up.

It must have belonged to someone else.

/What was it? What was I trying to find?/

She put the hair band into her pocket, for later thought.

Wandering aimlessly throughout the room, she drifted towards the closet and took a peek inside. The closet was empty, save for a small wooden practice sword and a red rubber ball that lay on the bottom shelf.

Her eyes widened, as she took both objects out and examined them.

She recognized the ball. She had often played with it when she was younger, had often bounced it alone in the courtyard…

She paused.

For a moment, she felt as if she could remember someone, or at least, the shadow of someone, who had once played ball with her.

But the emotion passed as quickly as it had come, and she was left wondering if she'd really felt it at all.

She knelt down by the closet, and set the tiny ball down on the ground. She held only the wooden training sword then, and began to inspect it from end to end.

There was something odd about the sword, something not meant to be. She thought it was too new and unscathed, as if the person who owned it had never cared to use it.

A sword unused was a sword unloved. For what good was a sword, if it was not in the hands of its owner?

She turned the training sword over, half expecting to see a name sketched upon the side of the wood.

Nothing. No mark.

For some reason her eyes became teary at the sight. There was supposed to be a name there. A name of the sword's owner.

The sword should have been used many, many times. Her head swam as she closed her eyes and touched the tip of the sword. There should have been a teeth mark there. A dog should have bitten it, as its owner was holding it…

Holding it…to…

What?

Why should there be a mark? What was its owner using it to do?

Why was she so upset that there was no name etched on the side of the sword, and that the sword was unused?

Why was the sight unnatural?

Sitting on the ground, she leaned her head on the wall behind her, eyes still closed.

Something…something was missing.

Something valuable. Something that had been more important than the world.

There was something that she had cherished.

The words etched on the sword. The hand that threw the ball to her. The hair that should have been tied with the hair band…tied…tied on one side of the head.

That was the 'something' that had once filled her heart. The something that brought meaning to the word breakfast. The something that brought reason to the smile on her face, and the light in her eyes.

She slid towards the ground, holding the tiny sword to her chest as she lay on her side.

A few drops of tears fell onto the ground beside her head, rain that should have never existed in her perfectly sunny world.

/Not here….not here anywhere…never existed…never happened…/

She curled herself into a fetal position, suddenly feeling very cold.

That 'something' had a name, once. A name that should have been etched onto the wooden sword, and in her heart as well.

What was that name?

A name that should have flowed most easily from her mouth…a name that meant protection, love, and everything in the world.

What was that name?

/Se…Secchan/

With the word as the last thought in her mind, she drifted off into another fitful sleep.

------------------------Dream Sequence One: Loneliness-----------------------------

/It was a tug, deep in my heart. An emotion that was undefined, unrecognized…I did not know that I would feel it with such magnitude…did not know what it was until I met you. Until you came to my life…I had not known what it meant to have loneliness…I had not known what it meant to not have loneliness…/

She stood alone in the courtyard, a red ball in her tiny hands.

Carefully, she dropped the ball to the ground, and began to bounce it.

The rhythm mesmerized her, and the ball began to spin as it bounced.

A perfect rhythm. A perfect turn. A perfect world.

The ball would return to her no matter how many times she threw it. No matter how many times it separated from her hand.

/I remember wishing for someone who would always be with me. Someone who would always return to me, no matter how far the world has thrown us apart…I remember wishing…/

"-Ojousama! Konoka- Ojousama!"

The little girl caught the ball and looked up, with round, curious eyes.

A few adults from the shinmeiryuu were talking to her father. Nothing surprising, at the least. She had seen him talk to strangers on many occasions. But what caught the young girl's attention was a small shadow behind what seemed like the leader of the Shinmeiryuu.

She titled her head to the side, the ball forgotten in her hands.

/I remember wishing…hoping…/

Slowly, two timid eyes peeked from behind the leader's garment.

Then a petite blushing face.

/…and then I met you./

Konoka smiled.

A little girl, about her age, was standing behind the Shinmeiryuu leader, clutching tightly to the leader's hakama. The little girl blushed a darker shade of red, and bowed when she saw Konoka smile.

The two stood, looking at each other curiously for a few minutes before the Shinmei leader noticed their awkwardness. Bending down, with her hands behind the blushing girl's shoulders, the leader gently pushed her towards Konoka.

"Konoka- Ojousama. This is Sakurazaki Setsuna. She'll be staying with you for a while."

The adults soon parted, leaving the two children standing alone in the courtyard. A sudden wind blew forward, and the forgotten rubber ball rolled from Konoka's hands.

"Ah!"

Konoka reached after the ball, attempting to catch it, but to no avail.

Suddenly, a small pair of hands caught the ball. Konoka blinked, as the little girl in front of her extended both hands, holding the ball to her.

/Someone…someone who would return to me…that little rubber ball…/

The little girl managed a shy, weak smile.

Konoka giggled as she took the ball.

"Se-Setsu-... Se-Secchan! My name is Konoka."

The other girl looked at her thoughtfully.

"Ko…Kono…chan."

They froze for a second, their gazes curious against each other. Then a small smile appeared, which quickly grew until they were laughing uncontrollably.

Together.

The newfound friends laughed together.

/It was…you./

----------------------End Dream Sequence One----------

"-sama? Ojousama?"

She sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

/Another…dream? Why? Why am I in here? Who's room was this?/

"Ojousama!"

"Hai. Gomen. I'll go to breakfast right away!"

She stood up, then hurried outside the room, the dream and everything else forgotten from her mind.

She closed the door, and the room became dark once more. Alone in the corner of the room by the closet, the wooden sword and rubber ball lay forgotten on the cold floor.

A shadowed figure appeared by the small sword, which had suddenly become old and worn.

The shadow picked up the sword, fingers tracing the marks whittled on the side.

"I'm sorry, Kono-chan. It was all I can do to ensure your happiness. After what happened….Please. Forget me."

A few drops of tears fell onto the name carved on the sword, highlighting it as it began to disappear once more.

As the shadow began to dissipate, so did the markings.

Markings that had once read, "Setsuna."

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End.

A/N: bows Again, I hope I didn't disappoint. Please tell me what you think of it. Comments always help me keep track of the strengths and weaknesses in a writing, so that I can improve on it.

Next Chapter-
Chapter Two: And so the Wheels Turn Protection. It was with you that I had felt such protection. They didn't understand, and sent you away. They didn't know how much I needed you. But we'll meet again, wouldn't we?

Happy (early) New Year!