Disclaimer: I do not own Hakuouki or any of its characters.

It's been days since she'd been gone.

The young man sighed as he stared out the window of his room, his blue-green eyes not seeing anything beyond the glass. They had a petty argument that led to a big fight. A fight that drove his best friend away. She disappeared all of a sudden, not telling him where she had run off to. Where she was heading. He sighed. As the ink black blanket of the night began to descend upon the world, he tried to comfort himself with thoughts of her. With thoughts of him with her...

Heisuke buried his head in his arms, arms which lay folded upon his desk. How could he have been so stupid? He scolded himself. Chizuru-chan was his best friend, and so he did not have any right to have done what he had done. Was it all a misunderstanding? Probably...on his part. He had argued with her, scolded her for going out with a certain student from another section. A student who had a bad reputation when it came to females. And he's actually seen proof of that. But instead of just warning Chizuru, he ended up yelling at her. Yelling at her and telling her how stupid she was. Heisuke bit his lips as his hands balled into fists. The moment Chizuru's eyes began to water, the moment he saw the tears falling from her eyes-that's when he realized it was not his best friend who had been stupid.

It was him. It had been him all along.

How could he have been blind? How could he have been so...naive? All those times that they have been together, ever since they were young...

...and all those times that they spent together even while growing up. All those times, he'd felt it. But he just never acknowledged it. How would he? Why would he? He was his best friend. He was her protector. What he felt about her...it was something that he knew he had to keep with him. Something to hide within him, for the sake of their friendship. He was afraid of losing her-if he ever decided to admit that he no longer saw her as a best friend. And now...

Now he probably would never be able to tell her what he felt about her. It has been days, and no word came from her. Not even her parents knew where she was. Not even her closest female friends. He gritted his teeth. It was all his fault, he knew it. If anything bad happened to her-it was all his fault.

He stood up from his seat, his feet moving and taking him out of his room. What would she say at a time like this? To not worry about her? That she would be fine? She had always been a strong girl. To Heisuke's eyes, she was not your typical damsel-in-distress. She had a strong will, and when she set her mind on something, she would see to it that it gets done. She would try and do things on her own, even if the task proved to be difficult. She was that kind of girl and more. But right now...

Right now, he would not heed her words. He would worry about her. Worry about her until she returned to them...

To him.

He got out of his house, his mind alive with a thousand and one thougths and images of her. Would he be able to see her again? Would he be able to see her smile once more? Right now, he'd give anything-anything-to any and all of the deities that lived in the heavens above, just to be able to glimpse her again. It has been so long since he had last laid eyes on her. With each passing day, his heart died. Sooner or later, he would be dead-

From the pain and guilt that tormented his heart.

Heisuke walked, his feet taking him to their favorite haunts. His eyes roamed these places, his heart and mind hoping that she would be there. But who was he kidding? She would not be there. She was missing. Had been for days. Only a miracle would make her return tonight. If Fate wanted her to return. If she even wanted to come back.

He stopped by the playground, the place where he and Chizuru spent most of their childhood days together. As he stood there, his gaze fell on the swing illuminated by a nearby lamp post. His eyes widened in shock. The person sitting there, the person who was also looking back at him...

The young man wasted no time, and ran toward the person. The person-a female-stood up from her seat, her entire body now facing the teen who was dashing toward her. Heisuke saw her face, saw her lips forming what seemed to be an apologetic smile. He ran, removing the distance between them with every step he took.

And then she was in his arms. He held her tight, his lips moving and saying over and over again how sorry he was for having yelled at her, for being mad at her. He apologized profusely, his words tumbling one after the other. He felt her arms wrap around him, felt her tremble in his embrace. And then she apologized to him, for the worry that she might have caused. But he shook his head, and told her it was all his fault. For being so stupid instead of just being honest with her. He told her how much he missed her, how much he regretted pushing her away. How afraid he was when he realized he might not be able to see her again. How afraid he was when he realized he might not be able to tell her how much he loved her.

Chizuru fell silent after hearing Heisuke's indirect confession. The young man moved away from his best friend a little, in order to see her properly. He felt a pang of pain in his heart when he noticed how the female remained silent after hearing him. But it was better this way. At least now she knew how much she was important to him. The look on her face, though, surprised him. She was not upset. In fact, she was smiling.

"Heisuke-kun..." Chizuru started as she continued to smile up at her best friend. Heisuke gulped, his cheeks reddening as he gazed at his best friend. What...what was going on?

"You weren't the only one who has been stupid all this time." She murmured, before standing on tiptoe and kissing the young man on his cheek. Heisuke blinked in surprise. Wait, did—did that mean..?!

"Yes, I love you, too." Chizuru chuckled as she pulled away from the stunned boy. As realization sunk in, a grin began to stretch the young man's lips. He pulled her into her arms once more, his embrace ever tighter than before. And as the inky black blanket of night began to be illuminated by the myriad of stars above, so did two souls finally began to link themselves together into one. For now Heisuke knew...

...that tonight was the beginning of their long-awaited forever.

[A/N] UPDATE: Removed the songlyrics as per compliance with the site's policy.