Warning: Mentions themes of suicide.

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Andromeda Takanashi, 16, Aristocrat's Daughter and martial artist.

"Andromeda, be a dear and give the young Prince his gift." Asked Andromeda's father, Frank. Andromeda nodded. "Yes, Father," she replied, gloomily. She walked over, examining her gift for the Prince. It was a silver ring, as they found out that rings were his favourite form of jewellery. it broke off into two dull prongs that extended towards himself, while there was a sharpish point on the ether end. It reminded her of a triangle, the symbol of process, and repetition. 'Sounds like my life,' She thought to herself.

She saw the Prince with his Mother, greeting other people. She sighed, shaking her head. "So boring. Why do I have to endure this?" She asked herself under her breath. She looked up towards the sky. 'It's about to rain, from the looks of it,' she thought to herself. Not a moment later, people started to run inside the Palace as it was raining cats and dogs. She didn't move. She looked around and didn't see anyone around. She looked at herself through a puddle.

"Interesting. I look so beautiful, and yet, inside, I am hollow. Looks like you lied, Father." She tried on the ring, and held her hand into the sky as thunder bellowed like an angry animal. It didn't strike her. She sighed. "No luck." She said, making her way to a bridge she saw earlier. She stood on the rail of the wooden bridge, looking down unto the deep waters below. She inched her feet closer and closer to the edge, until they were perfectly balanced, and if she moved any closer she would fall. Her heart pounded. She hasn't felt like this since her Mother passed. Her breaths quickened, feeling the rush, the euphoria, the pure, concentrated amount of adrenaline flow through her body. She nearly fell when she heard a voice.

"Hello! Stay.....still. Don't move."

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Sirius Kuragari, 16, Prince and Theoretical Magician.

He greeted people left and right, accepting their gifts, and then handing them to the caretakers to place in the building. It was a boring process, but he didn't have anything to do today. He saw someone approach, but turn away. 'Strange,' He thought, doing his routine with the gifts. Hee looked at the sky. 'It's going to rain, from the looks of it,' He thought to himself, and not a moment later, people started rushing inside, as it was raining cats and dogs.

He stayed behind, until everyone was in, and was about to go in himself, when he saw someone out of the corner of his eye. It was the girl from earlier. She was going around the bend, to where that bridge was. "You go in, Father, There's someone out there, I'll get them in," His Father nodded, closing the door behind him, and led the guests further in the Palace. Sirius ran followed the girl, though she was far ahead of him, and she was a fast walker. She raised her hand to the sky, as if waiting for something. She seemed disappointed, and said something, though he couldn't hear it. She kept walking towards the bridge. She stood on it and kept inching towards the edge, then, she suddenly stopped.

He slowly walked towards her as to not scare her off, and took a deep breath. "Hello! Stay.....still. Don't move." She slowly turned around, until she was facing him. "Hello, Prince Kuragari." She said, trying to speak over the rain. "What's your name? Your that Low Duke's daughter, right? Was it Areda?" She shakes her head. "Andromeda. Andromeda Takanashi. What are you doing out here? You should be inside with the other Royals." She stated, glancing behind her. "I could say the same for you. If you jump off of the bridge, that's your choice. I won't interfere. But only if you answer two questions truthfully, alright?" She nodded, waiting for the questions.

"Firstly, why do you want to do this?" He asked tentatively. She nodded. "Easy. I'm stuck in this grey world, this monochromatic prison, and I want to leave it, and break the cycle. Once and for all."

She said grimly. He nodded.

"Second question. Andromeda Takanashi, are you about to die with any regrets?" She thought about it for a moment. "No." She said. She smiled and closed her eyes. "Bye, world. Bye, Monochrome."

And before he could react, she leaned back, falling into the cold and deep waters below. He quickly ran to the ledge, and jumped after her, knowing he could die for someone he knew only for a minute.

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Andromeda Takanashi

She felt the icy water's touch everywhere. It was calming, knowing she was about to die. She took a deep breath, followed by three. As she started sinking, she saw life for what it was: A moment. And hers was ending. She closed her eyes, ready to embrace death, sinking, down below.

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Sirius Kuragari

Sirius felt the cold water, and nearly inhaled it, barely catching himself. He looked under the water and saw something move, and moved towards it. as he got deeper, he felt the need for air, and fought as hard as he could against it. He could see it was Andromeda now. He grabbed her, and as fast as he could, swam up towards the surface, and towards the shore.

"Come on, wake up! Wake up, dammit!" He said, giving her CPR. if he used Elemental magic, it could kill her. But he had no other choice. He slowly drew it out, careful not to accidentally solidify the water. Finally, he got it all out. He pushed air into her mouth, and drew it out again, to imitate breathing. When that didn't work, he resorted to mouth to mouth. Then, she was alive.

"Whew. I thought I lost you there." He said, relieved. She seemed aggravated. "That was the point! Why'd you help me! You said you wouldn't interfere! she yelled. "You didn't answer me truthfully. You have regrets. I could feel it.

"But come on, you are staying in the palace for... I don't exactly know how long, but am going to help you through this, however, I can. But only if you promise me one thing." She nodded. "And what might that be, Sir?" He laughed. "First of all, it's Sirius. But you must promise me to be my loyal friend until I die. Do you think you can do that, Andromeda?" He asked kindly. She smiled.

"Yes. I can do it...Sirius." She said, playing with the word in her head. It seemed silly, calling royalty by their name. Sirius looked at her. "You wouldn't happen to have a wand on you, would you? I should cast a soul light, but I haven't gotten my wand yet." He explained. She pulled out the emergency Channeler Rod her Father made for her. Sirius lifted it to the sky. "Tamaraito,' Sirius said, with as much emotion as he could muster, and a bright beacon of light filled the sky, and Andromeda saw the light burning a bit of cloud, exposing only a tiny piece of the sky. They could both hear the cracking of the Channeler as it tried to channel his power, but soon, it broke, and Sirius looked pale, as if he was dizzy. "I don't feel too good," He said, before collapsing.

Andromeda watched over him, and shortly, the King, and his guards arrived, looking over the ledge. It wasn't long before they were taken to the castle, and the Prince's birthday plans were ruined. A few days later, after extensive care from his Mother and Andromeda, he woke up.

"What happened? Is everything alright?" He asked, still a bit dazed. Sirius' Mother rushed into the room, upon the sound of his voice.

"Are you alright, Sirius? That was an impressive feat, you could give me a run for my money when it comes to making a soul light. It was a bit too much for you, though. Passed right out. But you saved this lovely young girl, Andromeda. I'll leave you two alone so you can talk." She said, with a spring in her step as she left.

"I could've done that, ya' know. With the Soul Light and all." He shrugged, and smiled a bit. "Well, I didn't know if you would be able to make a strong enough soul light to save us." He said, almost as if he was remembering the moment. She felt slightly betrayed. "Is that because I'm a girl, because I didn't save a Prince just to be treated with such disres-" Sirius interrupted her, raising his hand. His grey eyes became void-like.

"You forget the little incident with the bridge. I didn't know if your emotions would've gotten the job done. But I apologize, I can see how it could've been interpreted that way." He admitted. She nodded. "Sorry for making assumptions. His eyes went back to normal, but serious. "Did you tell them about the whole bridge thing?" He asked. She shook her head. "No, I said to wait for you to wake up to tell them. But... I don't want them to know the truth about what happened. Could you say I slipped or something? I would appreciate it." She said, her head hanging. He nodded, smiling.

"Sure. We're friends now, remember? I don't mind. So, we'll say you dropped a letter, and when you tried to reach for it, you slipped. How about that?" He asked. She nodded. "And, I'll pay for a new Channeler. Friend." He said. Andromeda smiled. "That sounds good. Siku." He was puzzled. "What?" She laughed. "It's a combination of the first syllable of your first and last name. Si-Ku, get it? You could do it with last names, so for you, that would be... Kuus." She said playfully. He laughed. "So that you'd make you Anta, right? Maybe Shida sounds better. It's the last two syllables of your first and last name. Together we'd be Kushida."

He laughed, and extended his hand. "Kushida. Together forever. What do you say?" He offered. She grabbed his hand, and they shook hands. Then, they hugged. As they hugged, Andromeda found herself, and she knew that no matter what, he would be there for her. And she had a feeling he felt the same. After all, isn't that what friends do?

Finis