Aoi lowered his eyes, walking down the street with his hands in his pocket and his hair in his face. He didn't care that it was pouring rain. He didn't care that even now, the backstreets of Tokyo were near deserted at 2 in the morning. He just...didn't care.

He had stopped caring...long ago...

Three years, five months, and two days to be exact. She had died at seven thirty two. Was it sad that every anniversary of the day she died, that he wept for hours, and it always got worse around seven thirty...Yes, that was sad. He knew it. But he didn't care. He couldn't care...not anymore.

"Oi! Aoi!"

He recognized that voice. He turned to see Reita, running down the street with his cousin at his side. He didn't bother wiping away his tears, because they weren't even visible in the rain.

"Hey." Reita patted Aoi on the shoulder. "We missed you at practice, buddy."

"Yeah, where'd ya go?" Koishii asked a bright smile on her face, as usual.

Aoi had to look away, feeling guilty at the sudden urge to reach out and hug her.

"Here." He muttered.

"Aoi, what's wrong?" Reita asked, adjusting his noseband as his hair got soaked and was sticking to his face.

"Nothing." Aoi answered simply. "I have to get home. I'm tired."

"Come crash at my place." Koishii offered. "It's right around the corner. In fact, me and Rei-chan were just going there now."

"No, thank you." Aoi crossed his arms, still staring at the ground.

"Come on, man." Reita rolled his eyes. "Koi-san doesn't bite. I promise. You treat her like a snake-"

"Reita!" Koishii smacked his arm. "Don't listen to him, Aoi. You treat me just fine."

"No, he doesn't." Reita objected. "You treat her like a disease! And I'm about tired of it!"

"Reita! Stop!" Koishii pushed his shoulder. "He's despressed and you aren't making it any better!"

"Good bye." Aoi turned on his heel and began walking away.

"Ugh." Koishii cast her eyes to the Heavens. "Good job, Rei-chan. I'll make sure he gets home. Go tell Ruki he's still alive."

"Whatever." Reita sighed.

She turned and ran after Aoi, catching up with him at his side.

"Aoi!" She smiled at him. "Just forget about what Reita said-"

"Why are you following me?" Aoi interupted.

She was silent for a second, taking her eyes off his cold expression as they continued to walk.

"I just wanted to make sure you got home-"

"You don't need to." He snapped. "Honestly, I'm a grown man, I can get myself home."

"But you just seem so sad..." She said, her own eyes getting a little glassy at her rejected friend request, yet again. "I was just going to make sure you were okay."

"I'm okay!" Aoi cried, bringing his hands to his hair and haulting his steps. "Just...Just leave me alone, Koishii. I don't need you, or anyone else."

"Well, I know you don't need me." She scratched the back of her head. "But...I'm not going to leave you alone. If there's one thing I never do, is not give up. And I will find some way to make you happy again, Aoi."

"No." He shook his head slowly, tears falling again. "No."

"What's wrong?" She reached for him, but he jerked away.

"Don't touch me, for God's sake..." He muttered.

"Aoi, what's the matter?" She asked.

"Nothing..." He shook his head, before turning to walk away.

She stood her ground, blocking his way.

"Aoi..." She said softly. "Is this about Yume?"

"Don't say her name." He growled.

"Aoi..." She shook her head. "Two years. I've waited two years. She said to give it to you when you were ready...but I honestly don't think you'll ever be. So..."

She reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out an old sealed envelope.

"I've kept it with me at all times." She shrugged. "Just in case you randomly came to your senses. It's from her. She wrote it before she died. I haven't read it...I hope it helps."

She held out the envelope to him, and when he just stared at it with wide eyes, she stuffed it into his pocket before walking towards her appartment.

Aoi stared after her for a moment, reaching in his pocket to touch it. He swallowed hard before rushing through the rain towards his own place.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

He opened it once he had gotten inside, changed, and was steadily sitting on the couch. He held it, staring at the white cloak for his beloveds' letter. He swallowed hard, before slowly ripping it open.

He closed his eyes tight before balancing his breathing.

"Hey Rockstar,

You know I'm not so good at these things. I hate saying goodbye...But then again (I know it's cheesy) but this isn't goodbye is it? I'm not saying we'll always be together, because that's just cliche. I'm saying that I'll always be in your heart...hopefully. I know, I've been horrible, with all my getting sick. But I hope you can forgive me. Please forgive me.

Now, I know it's been a while since I left. Because I told Koishii to give this to you when the time was right, but deep down inside I know that nothing will be right until you read this. But, it's all I can do to hope.

Speaking of Koishii, you've been treating her horribly since I've gotten sick. I meant to speak with you about it, but I never really got the chance. So I'll say it now.

I know she reminds you of me. Too bad. Aoi, honestly, that girl has nothing but love for you and you need to start seeing you. At the very least, she wants to be friends. Please, at least give her that. She loves you, and she loves me. She loves everybody. And she's not exactly bad looking either.

And the last part, I know you should already know this, but I'm going to tell you anyways.

Move on. If you haven't noticed, I'm gone. I hate to be so blunt. But I don't want you to be the kind of man that can never find it in himself to love someone else after his first love has gone away. I want you to have an open heart. I want you to be that fun-loving, amazing, smiling guitar enthusiast that I fell in love with. And I want someone else to fall in love with you, and for you to fall for them, too. Don't lock your heart, Aoi, because I know you care about everybody, which is why you haven't quit the band, am I right? You couldn't hurt the guys like that, or your fans.

So...Aoi. Nevermind about the first part. I guess this is goodbye. I'll see you on the other side, eh? Remember me. But please don't linger on me. Know that I love you, always, but also know that you can always love someone else just as much as you loved me. Please, Aoi, for me, don't be cold. I love you.

Eternity is yours,

Your Yume

PS: Tell Shorty, Shorts and Smiley I said hi, okay? And go get Koishii. I bet she's crying right now."

Aoi swallowed hard as he brought his eyes from the page. He felt the warm tears on his cheeks, he felt his heart acheing.

But he felt a switch of gears inside him.

And he automatically knew what to do.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Koishii wiped her cheeks as she made tea on the stove. She felt terrible. She'd just ruined Aoi's day.

Again.

She seemed to do that a lot without thinking. Yume would be ashamed.

Ruki walked into the kitchen and threw a peice of popcorn at her.

"Hey!" He smiled at her before he saw her tears. "What's wrong?"

She tried to smile, too, not succeeding. "Nothing, silly."

She went over to the counter and began cutting vegetables for dinner.

Ruki grimaced. "Kai! Your assistance is needed!"

"I thought you said you would do dinner on your own..." Kai laughed as he walked into the kitchen before stopping at the doorway and sighing at Koishii's state. "Koishii-san. What seems to be the problem?"

"Problem?" She forced herself to stop crying as she continued to cut tomatoes. "No problem."

"Uh-huh." Kai walked up and made funny faces, making her giggled. "Smile, Koishii. It looks a lot better on you than that depressed demeanor. That's more Aoi's department."

She frowned again at the mention of his name.
"So it is him." Ruki walked up, still munching on popcorn. "What'd he do this time?"

"Nothing." She shrugged.

"Come on, Koishii." Ruki rolled his eyes. "The guys been treating you like shit for damn near three years. It's gotta get under your skin sometime."

"I don't mind." She kept her eyes on the carrot she was now cutting.

"God, where do women like you come from?" Ruki snickered. "I want one!'

She grimaced. "Uh, no."

"Eh, you're not my type anyways." Ruki smirked, kissing her cheek and then walking out of the kitchen.

Kai still lingered, frowning at her.

"So, if Aoi didn't do anything," Kai began. "What do you supposedly think you did to him?"

"Always seeing right through me, Kai." She sighed as she gathered the veggies and dumped them in the pot of water.

"Come on." Kai smiled. "I'm good with therapy. They don't call me Mother Goose for nothing."

"Mother Goose?" Koishii giggled. "That's a new one."

"It's a demotion from Smiley." Kai watched as she put the pot on the stove and began boiling them just as the tea whistled. "Do tell me, Koishii, exactly how long have you been in love with Aoi, now?"

She grimaced. "Took you five years to figure that one out, though."

"Well, in some departments, I am slow." Kai smirked.

"Slow, indeed." She rolled her eyes. "Please take care of the tea."

"Sure thing, sweet thing." Kai chuckled as she walked out of the kitchen to see Reita and Uruha still playing Metal of Honor 4 in her living room.

"Don't you guys ever get tired of that game?" She laughed.

"No!" Uruha leaned to the side as if that would help him shoot down...somebody.

"Men." She rolled her eyes.

She laughed as the two of them went into little fits when the game supposedly got close. When there was a knock on the door, it barely crossed her mind who it might be as she opened the door. She stopped breathing when she caught Aoi, soaking wet from the rain and shivering.

He looked at her through his wet hair, a new light of hope in his eyes. She smiled, sort of, as he stared at her.

"Aoi, hey." She smiled. "What are you doing he-"

She was stopped when he swept her off her feet, and into the sweetest kiss.

She gasped as his lips caught his, but her hands suddenly went lax on his shoulders and tangled in his wet hair. She tilted her head as his tongue slipped past her lips. His hands grasped her hips, keeping her hovering above the ground as his lips melted with hers.

"Reita!" Ruki snickered. "Aoi's making out with your cousin!"

"Finally." He mumbled as he continued to play the game.

Hearing Ruki from the kitchen, Kai ran out and smiled when he saw Koishii and Aoi wrapped in each other.

Ruki cat-called before the two of them broke apart.

Koishii breathed heavily against Aoi's perfect lips. She looked up at him, smiling with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." He whispered quietly as he kissed her lips one more time. "I've been cruel. But it's only because I didn't want to get close to you, because I felt guilty. But I don't now. And I'm sorry I waited so long...I'm sorry I took so long..."

"It's okay." She murmered, touching his face. "It's okay..."

He smiled, still shivering slightly.

"Aoi, you should change." She finally took in his wet appearance. "You'll get a cold."

"I don't have anything to wear." He frowned.

"Dude, I've got some cloths in the guest room if you want to borrow them!" Uruha called back.

"Yeah, he crashes here when he's too drunk to make it back home!" Ruki snickered.

Aoi rolled his eyes.

"Come on." Koishii said as she grabbed his hand and lead him towards the guest room.

She searched through the drawers, finally finding a pair of dark jeans and Uruha's "Gaze Rock Is Not Dead" t-shirt. She handed them back to Aoi and turned to walk out of the room, but he stopped her.

"Koishii." He swallowed hard. "I'm a little rusty. At this...kind of stuff. It's been a while."

"I'll take it easy on you." She sighed with a smile before he let her go.

She walked through the door before poking her head back in.

"Dinner's in thirty minutes!" She said brightly before disappearing through the door.

God, he loved her.

Sad that it took him so long to realize it.

But then again, a lot of stuff about him was sad lately.

He also had a feeling that was about to change.