Broken Perfection

The First Time I Saw Him

It was only a week and about a half before their wedding, but no one knew about it except for Chii and Naka. Today, three days after her argument with her fiance, Katsumi invited the gang for a nice drink and dinner in a fancy restaurant, wanting to announce the date of the wedding.

"Good to see you guys, here..." Katsumi smiled meekly as Naka enters with Kanji, holding her boyfriend's hand. "Hey, Kat! How are you?" Naka asks, smiling brightly.

"Good... I resolved things from a few days ago, but I kind of have something to say to you guys before everything happens." she smiles, "Just follow Akihiro, he'll lead you to our dining room for the night."

The couple follow the butler as another couple approaches Kat, Chii and Yasuto. Everyone had already arrived, even Homare. It was awkward silence between them, and Katsumi only greeted him before motioning for him to follow some waiters.

"Hey, Kat! I have such great news!" Chii bounds up to her, hugging her friend. "Why don't you save it for the whole gang? They're already here."

"Really?! Let's go!"

~*****~

Kat's usually composed and calm friend has turned into Naka, but she didn't mind it, it seemed really important to her. "So, before I serve up the main meal, Chii said she had some important news for us all." she gestures to her friend, who jumps up, beaming, Yasuto standing beside her with his own wide grin.

"Go ahead, love birds." Katsumi chuckled. "So as you know guys... Me and Yasuto have been together almost 7 years now and just yesterday he proposed to me, and this morning we got some other exciting news as well..."

With her left hand, which was adorned with an engagement ring on her ring finger, she places her hand on her stomach, Yasuto's covering hers right after. "For the past two weeks, I have been pregnant, and today, my doctor told me during my monthly check up."

"AH! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU, CHII!" Naka squeals, and everyone else erupts into cheers, except Homare and Kat, who only smile and watch their friends. 

In time, the food comes in and everyone, jubilant, digs right in hungrily. After their meal, before the deserts came in, Katsumi stood up, gathering the attention of everyone. She grabs her bag and pulls out 7 lavishly decorated envelopes.

"I have another announcement for the night." she smiles slightly. "These things in my hand are invitations. Wedding invitations for my wedding."

She hands them all out, according to the names. "No particular dress code, but at least try to be formal if possible. The reception's going to be at Silver Spire Hotel and the wedding itself will be outdoor, in a special flower park garden nearby, you probably know it, it's exclusive. Windy Meadows."

"Damn, rich people weddings are fancy." Taketo laughs from the side, taking his invitation. "I didn't decide anything. It's just that Keiichi said that place was special to him, so I wanted it to be special to me as well, probably for a different reason." Katsumi chuckles in reply.

"Well, we'll definitely be there for sure!" Naka grins, clutching her invitation. "Great. Now before we get the drinks and desert in, Chii, what drink would you like?"

~*****~

"Hey, Yuriko," Katsumi turns around to find Nagisa smiling softly at her. "What are you doing out here? The party's inside." he said, handing her a glass of sake.

"Just needed some fresh air," she sighs with a grin. "I'm happy they even have this small garden here." The pair stood in the small zen garden behind the restaurant, a waterfall fountain beside the bench they were sitting on.

"Can I ask you something?" Nagisa suddenly asks after a moment of silence. "Your wedding is in about a week. Don't you still love Homare, though?"

For a moment, she was silent, thinking about it seriously before looking down, then back up to Nagisa.

"Yeah, I do." she mumbles, taking another sip of her drink, "But this was my fate from the start, and I owe my brother. I already grew up surrounded by love. By Chii, Naka, my maids and butlers, my brother. But my brother never had love like I did. My brother was always pushed to the limit by my parents, wanting him to be the perfect child. A reason why he never had any friends."

"My brother never had the freedom I did. And I don't want it to stay that way, even with his relationship. I want him to find true love, like I did. But I want his to go further, grow into one of trust and bond, unlike mine and Keiichi's. I owe him this." she whispers quietly, clutching her glass tightly.

"But can't you just marry Homare? He's a doctor, successful, and someone you love."

"I do love him, but I don't think he feels the same. He's never showed it." she shakes her head, getting up. "And besides, I wanted to test how he would react to me not being in his life. And I did when I left for Britain." 

"My brother always told me that if I loved something, I should set it free." she says, "Just like I did with Homare, when we were so close back then. But Katsuki also told me that if it doesn't come back, then maybe it wasn't mine to start with. Just like Homare."

"What do you mean by that?" Nagisa asks, a bit confused. 

"Don't get me wrong, Ichinose," she mumbles, "I love him, and I felt that we were close, but being close to him was so long ago. And once i came back, he was barely happy to see me, as if we were strangers."

"Well, you know he's always been poker faced, Katsumi, we-" "Yeah, but so was I. But at least I showed something, and I was even colder than him."

Her valid point shut up the celeb as she chugged the last of her drink. "Well, good talk. Just, please, I'm already happy with Keiichi, just don't talk about him anymore."

"Why are you lying to yourself, Kat? You never have!" Nagisa calls after her, but what shocked him the most was when she turned around with a sad smile.

"I'm not lying when I say that I've fallen for him. And I'm not lying when I say that he broke my heart as much as Homare did."

"I've loved him yesterday and the day before. Maybe I loved him the first time I saw him."