"How did I let her talk me into this…"

Gripping at her arms, Kanan stared at the reflection of her naked upper body in the mirror.

"After all this time… how could I just come back and expect everything to still be the same?" Kanan asked to nobody in particular. She moved her hands to her flushed cheeks with a sigh.

"Stupid Chika," she cursed inwardly.

She placed all the blame for her anxieties onto her second year friend Chika who was the one who coerced her into going back to school. Kanan conveniently used the excuse that her father broke his ankle so it was only right of her to stay home and help out with work. That was six months ago; her father had been back on his feet two months ago. She couldn't lie to herself even if she wanted to; in all honestly she just wanted to get away and working at the dive shop seemed like a good enough distraction.

Dia knew this as well; nothing ever got passed the student council president. Maybe she just knew Kanan too well.

She wondered how long she was going to stand in that small bathroom, staring at her reflection.

Catching up on homework assignments, standardized testing, and getting reacquainted with her old classmates was the furthest thing from her mind. If Kanan were to return to school, she would be face to face with biggest mistake. It pained Kanan to even mention her name.

"How could you leave," Kanan asked to the air like she would receive an answer.

She spoke as if she wasn't the one who adamantly asked her to leave in the first place. She remembered, her words were yelling at her to go, but deep down Kanan hoped that she would have put up more of a fight. But she left.

Even when she was a 15 year old girl, Kanan knew that she loved her. That's why she hated seeing someone like her passing up all of the opportunities that were thrown her way. Opportunities that Kanan wouldn't ever dream of having. Morally, she could not sit by while the object of her affection wastes her life away on Kanan's behalf. So she made what she believed to be the worst decision of her life and force her away. Kanan came to the conclusion that if she ended her friendship, and also Dia's friendship, with her, she would have no choice but to leave. Kanan hated being right.

She recalled about one month before she left when Kanan asked her a simple question. "What's so great about Uchiura?"

With a giggle, she cheerfully replied, "Well, it has you in it."

Kanan didn't understand what she meant by that at the time; now she wishes she did.

Now she was back and Kanan hated her for it. She almost couldn't believe her ears when she first heard the news. How could she come back after all this time, and expect things to still be the same?

Kanan paused for a moment, lowering her arms to her sides. "Maybe Mari and I aren't that different after all," Kanan stated matter-of-factly.

Finally, Kanan had just enough motivation to put on her school shirt and bow, and tie her cobalt blue hair in her signature ponytail. She tried to feign a look of confidence in the mirror; chest out, shoulders back, and eyes determined. Kanan saw right through her own facade though and instantly deflated.

Even when Mari wasn't around, she had complete control over Kanan's emotions. "She's just a girl… why do I have to be so nervous?"

Kanan already knew the answer to that question. Mari Ohara was never 'just a girl'.

She briefly considered putting today off and staying to help at the dock one more time but Kanan knew for a fact that if she didn't come back today, she wouldn't have the courage to come back at all.

With a huge huff of air, holding her breath, Kanan emerged from the safety that was her bathroom. She leaped into her dress shoes and threw her satchel over her shoulder. She still wasn't sure if she was ready to face the day, but regardless, she forced herself out of the house and into the unknown.