"Manto!" Kariya wants to grab her wrist but she turns away from him before he even gets the chance to do so. "Do not touch me!" She shrieks.
Kariya stares at her, speechless and confused. "What is wrong with you?"
"What is wrong with me? Well aren't you oblivious! Did it ever come up in that stupid mind of yours that maybe I don't want you do touch me?"
He should have expected this, this is what she always does and yet, he still has feelings for her.
"We've been together for a while now and suddenly you say that I can't touch you? What is this even about?"
"It is over Kariya! I don't want to see you again!" She clenches her fists as she speaks.
Kariya's heart breaks, he should have seen this coming, eventually she would break his heart. In the end, no one can be trusted, just like his parents, everyone is the same.
"Well that is kind of difficult since you are living here, Manto!" He yells back, fighting against the upcoming tears.
"Fine, then I'll leave." Manto turns and rushes to her room.
Kariya waits, the minutes seem to last long, longer than usual, or is it just an illusion that they seem to remain so long? She already should had been here, cursing and blaming him that he doesn't care about her, clutching the only stuff that she owns in her hands. And then he would hold her in his arms and tell her it will be alright.
But this time it will be different, this time he'll let her go, if this is her choice, he won't stop her.
He leans against the wall. The walls of the orphanage are bare in this section, it seems a common corridor with doors. Behind every door another orphan, each with its own story.
Twenty minutes have passed since she left to her room, Kariya lets out a deep sigh and decides to follow her. She'll be waiting for him there. He smiles briefly, she is so predictable, but it also reminds him why he fell in love with her.
He knocks twice on the door. "Manto?"
When he gets no response, he decides to just go inside, what's the worst thing she could do now his heart is already broken.
But when he enters her room he sees something quite different than he expected to see. The room is frightening empty, Manto is sitting on the bed. She's hiding her face in her hands, softly crying, almost inaudibly. To see her like this hurts him even more than when she yells at him.
He slowly walks into her room and crouches in front of her.
"Manto.." he says softly. "I am not mad at you."
Manto doesn't look up. "Sweetie, it was never my intention to make you cry, I care about you more than anything, you know that. There is no need to fight, right?"
Manto slowly removes her hands from her face. "Leave me alone, Kariya." she sobs. "This is too painful."
Kariya knows that, nine of the ten times when she says something, she actually means the opposite.
He takes her hands, squeezing in them gently. "Could you tell me what is going on?"
She shakes her head. "I just don't want to hurt you."
"Manto, seeing you cry is what hurts me the most."
Manto looks up at him, her hair is covering most her face but he can see that her eyes are red.
He reaches his hand out and brushes some hair behind her ear. "There, now I can see your pretty face, but I also want to see your beautiful smile, could you smile for me, Manto?" He says, trying to cheer her up a bit.
"Don't do this, Kariya." she says, making her hands free from his grip and gets up from the bed, she tries hard to avoid his eyes and walks towards the window. Kariya also stands up straight again, facing her back.
"I don't understand it, I thought that now, now that we saved soccer, no time traveling, no forced matches, that we could be together."
"And that is exactly the point!" it is a sudden scream full of emotion, pain and desperation. Kariya, a bit shocked from her reaction, backs off a little while she turns on her heels to look at him. "We succeeded, cleared our mission, defeated El Dorado, so that means our lives will be normal again"
"Yes, and why are you making such a drama about it, shouldn't you be happy, shouldn't we be happy?"
"You really don't understand, do you?" She looks at him with a reproachful look in her eyes.
"Then tell me! Tell me what is going on!" Desperately, he gets hold of both of her shoulders.
"I have to leave Kariya! We are going back to our own time, I don't even have that much time left! I thought that if I would break up with you it would be easier for you to forget me! I don't want you to be sad about me! I-I..." Manto is out of words now, she lets herself fall against his chest and cries. Kariya quickly wraps his arms around her body and holds her tight. "I don't want to leave you, Kariya." She murmurs.
"Isn't there a way to stop this? Ask Fey to keep you here, we could—" "No," she interrupts him. "There is nothing that we can do."
"But there should be something! Manto..!" He notices that his voice trembles.
Manto looks up at gives him a weak smile, although her eyes are not smiling with her. "T-thank you for caring so much about me, I will really miss you." She tiptoes a little to place a soft, tender kiss on Kariya's lips. Kariya holds her even tighter while he kisses her back.
The kiss, full of passion and love, lasts until they have to break away for air.
Tears stream down over both of their faces. With his thumb he brushes over her skin, trying to dry her tears.
Manto frees herself from the tight embrace and takes a little step back. "Don't cry, Kariya, you're strong."
She reaches out for his hand. "I hope you'll never forget me, but please, don't forget to move on, eventually. Don't get trapped in lost memories, how beautiful they might be. I am sure that there will be someone right here, who will make you happier than I could ever do."
Kariya swallows and tries to smile. "How much I would love to believe your words, I don't think someone will ever do."
But when Kariya finishes his sentence something terrible happens. Manto slowly starts to vanish. "I love you Kariya."
"Manto, no!" Kariya pulls her closer to him and kisses her again, his hands hold her body tight but it is just a matter of time before the only thing he is holding, is the left over empty air.
Manto, his girlfriend, is gone.