A Toast to the End

It's been a while, hasn't it? XD This fic is very different from my usual HiME fare, but I do not aim to disappoint.

Prompt: Beginnings
Characters: Tate, Mai, Takeda, Takumi, Akira
Rating: T
Notes: My goal with this fic is to give some depth to two characters who unfortunately get the short end of the stick in the HiME fandom. I am very interested in exploring the relationship between Tate and Takeda, whether as friends or otherwise.
Disclaimer: Don't own Mai-HiME.

This fic is my submission to the Mai Universe community's fanfiction project. This community welcomes all members of the Mai fandom, regardless of shipping preferences. I've found many good friends here, and it's a wonderful, supportive place for writers and artists to showcase their work. I encourage all members of the Mai fandom to join if possible. http :/ maiuniverse. yuku. com

A Toast to the End

One week prior to Takumi Tokiha's graduation from Fuuka Academy, Yuichi Tate had finally mustered up the courage and the money to make the most important decision in his young life. He had purchased the fanciest ring he could on his meager student budget and planned on proposing to his girlfriend of five years, Mai Tokiha, after the ceremony. In his suit, he had sweated and sat through the outdoor procession without paying attention to any of it, repeating his script over and over again inside his mind. However, before he could so much as get down on one knee, Mai pulled him to the side, smiling despite the tears glistening in the corners of her eyes, and informed him bluntly that things simply could not and would not work out between them.

"I feel like our relationship has gone nowhere over these past five years. I want to move forward, but I think you're holding me back. I'm too comfortable around you. Also, I want to move to America, Yuichi. I've been talking to Mikoto about this for ages, and she agrees that I should go pursue a degree in culinary arts. I can't stay here forever, y'know. ..and I love you, I really do, but-" She paused to let her words sink in.

Yuichi could only stare at her, opening and closing his mouth like a dying fish, unable to form words. Why hadn't she told him about her plans to move? They spent every bit of time together, talking about everything from the weather to the events of the HiME carnival. She had always smiled brightly when he surprised her with flowers at work, laughed at his corny jokes, and gasped his name when they made love. Their conversations had dwindled recently, but he was always content to spend time in her presence even when no words were exchanged between them. Had she really been hiding all of this from him?

He fumbled with the small velvet box in his pocket. A faint breeze blew, sending a handful of cherry petals fluttering over the scene, but doing nothing to cool the unusually hot spring day. Around them, recent graduates bustled through rows of chairs, searching for friends and family. Tate's eyes were fixed on the redheaded girl in front of him, staring at her without actually seeing her at all.

"You understand, right?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Y-yeah. Of course I do," he said, forcing a smile to match hers. The initial numbness he had felt at her words was beginning to diminish, and pain and anger began to bubble inside him. He didn't want to lose his cool here, but dammit, he had just spent nearly all of his money on the perfect ring for the girl he thought would make the perfect wife, and here she was throwing their entire relationship away on a day that was supposed to be a celebration. Had she no respect for his feelings? He was happy with the relationship, so why wasn't she? What had he done? He curled his hand into a fist around the little box, but kept his mouth shut.

"Really?" Mai raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"If you want to say something, say it. I know better than anyone that you're hiding something."

"Just forget it." Yuichi said with more bite than he had intended. "It's your life, and I can't stop you when you get all stubborn like this. Go to America. I don't care."

Mai flared, and for a second Yuichi expected to see a wall of flames erupt behind her. "This isn't easy for me, you know! At least I know how I feel and have the guts to tell you, unlike you, who have absolutely no idea what you're going to do with your life! I wanted to be with you, I really did, but it just got so boring and tedious that I just couldn't stand it! I want something to HAPPEN!"

"What am I supposed to do, Mai? Beg you to change your mind? I can't do that, and you know it."

"A sincere 'I love you' would be nice."

"I tell you that all the time, Mai. I love you, you know I do."

"You say it too much, and it's lost its meaning. The spark has died between us, Yuichi. Admit it."

"No, I won't. I thought things were fine between us. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Mai. I thought you would want that too!"

"And the rest of my life would be boring. I thought I loved you too back when you confessed, but we were young and stupid, Yuichi! And the first few years were amazing, but then I don't know, it just started to become a routine. I just want some time to myself now, y'know? I'm really sorry, Yuichi, but this the only way. I know I'm being selfish." She loosely wrapped her arms around Tate's middle, hugging him like a friend rather than a lover.

Yuichi sighed and slid one arm around her, emotions bouncing around inside him like pinballs as he struggled to contain them. She pulled away from the embrace rather quickly, and his hands instinctively slipped right back into his pockets. He grasped the ring again in frustration, and didn't know if he would rather get down and one knee and propose to her in desperation or just chuck the box at her pretty little head and leave.

He swore under his breath. The one time he wanted to act decisively, his pure intentions would come around and bit him in the ass. He was, and would always be, nothing more than a loser to her, a waste of five years of her precious youth. And during those years, she had grown up while he had stayed exactly the same. The boy she had fallen in love with five years ago wasn't enough to satisfy the woman she had become.

Waiting for somebody to do something and break the awkward silence between them, Yuichi stared at the ground, and then realized that if he looked at something for too long, tears would begin to well up. Not wanting to show that weakness, he shifted his gaze to the crowd surrounding them. Instead of running around like they had been, people were starting to gather into small groups as they found their respective loved ones. Everyone else was focused on either celebrating the end of their years at Fuuka, or reminiscing with their friends over fond memories and dreading the future. Nobody seemed to care about the lovers' spat that had just occurred, except for one figure in the crowd who rushed towards the couple, his blue eyes wide with panic.

"Onee-chan, are you okay? You look upset!"

Mai jumped as her brother threw his arms around her neck and nearly smacked her in the face with his diploma in the process. With a laugh or a gasp (Yuichi couldn't tell), she said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just broke up with Yuichi, but I'm alright."

Takumi frowned, but nodded as if he understood. "I had a feeling it was going to happen."

Yuichi twitched. "Wait, was I the only one who didn't see this coming?"

The two siblings caught each other's eyes, and then nodded simultaneously.

Mai folded her arms and looked away. "Clueless as always," she said under her breath.

"Am not!" Yuichi snapped.

Takumi's lips twitched upwards slightly, but he quickly concealed his amusement. "Are you alright, Tate-san? You seem a bit off as well. I apologize if this snuck up on you."

"I'm fine and it's cool. Not your fault." Yuichi said with a shrug, although his response was hesitant. "More importantly, congrats on graduating, welcome to the real world and all that."

"Thanks," Takumi said with a polite smile. He then threw an arm around his senior's shoulder, pulling him into an awkward man-hug.

"Oi-" Yuichi started, realizing for the first time that the younger boy was as tall as he was. Even though they had spent a sizable chunk of time together, had always seemed like a scrawny little kid until then. His musings about the passage of time were cut short, however, by the words that were muttered into his ear.

"Listen, I can tell you're upset. If you ever need to talk, man to man, you can give me a call. You're still family, even if Onee-chan refuses to admit that now. This is what she wants, but she does feel bad about having to end it, and she doesn't want to hurt you."

"Uh, thanks," Yuichi said, unsure of how he felt about the younger boy's offer. He appreciated the pipsqueak's intentions, but he knew he wouldn't feel right talking to him. He just wanted to get the hell away from Fuuka Academy, out of the sun, and into shorts and a t-shirt.

Takumi pulled away, clapped a hand on his senior's shoulder, and returned to his sister's side.

Mai took his diploma and began to read it, deliberately avoiding conversation with either male. Silence reigned for an agonizingly long minute while Yuichi shifted uncomfortably in his suit.

"Ah, there she is!" Takumi suddenly exclaimed, bowing his head slightly at his company before running off into the dwindling crowd. Seconds later, he returned with an annoyed green-haired girl in tow.

"Oi, can we just skip the socializing and just go back and change? I want to get out of these clothes already. It's too damn hot today, and everyone else is gone already," Akira complained.

"I just wanted to find you, Akira. Don't you want to say hi to Onee-chan and Tate-san before we leave?"

"Whatever," Akira muttered, but she put on a smile and politely greeted Mai and Yuichi.

"Hi Akira-chan! Congratulations," Mai exclaimed. She appeared to welcome the distraction.

Yuichi reluctantly contorted his lips into a smile and nodded in the younger girl's direction, but said nothing. His eyes fell on the small diamond glinting on her left hand, and a lump of lead materialized in his stomach. He shoved his hands into his pockets again, digging his nails into the velvet box as if it were a small animal he wanted to kill. He couldn't bring himself to hate the pipsqueak, as pleasant as he was, but there was no way in hell he wanted to share his troubles with him at this point, not when the lucky bastard was happily engaged to his girlfriend of five years.

"Well, I'm gone," Yuichi said before he would be forced to communicate with Mai and the lovebirds any longer.

The redhead looked up at him for the first time since they had ended their argument. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped.

Yuichi spoke for her, the words spewing out of his mouth before he could reign them in. "I'm sorry I failed so hard, okay? Good luck with everything in America and whatever." There was no concealing the bitterness in his voice at the last statement, but he didn't care. Everything that had led up until then was a stupid, childish dream, and in Mai's mind, it might as well have never happened. And now it was over, Yuichi was next to broke, alone, and clueless as to what the hell he was going to do from then on. He turned and left without another word.

"I am going to miss you, okay? This isn't easy for me either!"

Yuichi glanced over his shoulder and saw Mai glaring at him, tears streaming down her face. Another breeze sent a few cherry petals fluttering between them. He was tempted to go over there and comfort her, but he noticed that Takumi and Akira were already doing that. So, he kept moving, accidentally bumping into a small child whose mother scolded him for not looking where he was going.

As he walked, he pulled the ring from the box in his pocket and began to twirl it aimlessly in his fingers. It would be stupid to throw it away, but the urge to chuck it into the ocean was quite strong. The ring wasn't even that pretty, now that he thought about it. The diamond was cut awkwardly and looked dull compared to the brilliant stone on Akira's finger. He held it up to the sunlight.

"Hey, nice rock you got there!"

Yuichi nearly dropped the ring in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The former kendo captain waved lazily and strode over to where the younger man stood. "Some of my old students graduated this year. They failed their exams on purpose so they could stay in the club. Is that dedication or what?"

"Mmm," Yuichi muttered. He quickly pocketed the ring. "It's still weird seeing you here after so long. I thought you had disappeared."

"I'm living in Kyoto now, actually. I own my own dojo and everything. It's pretty sweet."

"Nice," Yuichi said bleakly. His eyes scanned his senior's familiar scarred and tanned face. He looked the same as he did back when they parted, only older. "Glad one of us is doing well at least."

"What's up?"

"Mai," Yuichi said simply.

"Oh…" Takeda's warm smile faded. "Yeah, I was, uh, wondering where she was actually. She was hot."

Yuichi grunted. "Don't remind me."

"I'm sorry, man. Girls are more trouble than they're worth."

Yuichi grunted again, and then looked up when he felt his senior's hand on his shoulder.

"Tell you what. Since I'm in town, why don't I treat you to a beer or seven? You look like you need a chance to cleanse yourself of worries. It won't cure you permanently, but for quick fixes, I've learned that alcohol works much better than meditation."

In spite of himself, Yuichi felt his lips twitch into an honest smile. "It's the middle of the day!"

Takeda folded his arms. "This is an order from your captain, Tate-kun. I won't take no for an answer! You don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to. At least, not while you're sober."

Yuichi's smile morphed into an all-out grin. "At least let me change clothes first."

"Sure thing," Takeda said, throwing an arm around his senior's neck. "It's great to see you again."

The two young men left together, a warm spring breeze gently pushing them forward through the campus gates. Takeda was right—Time of day be damned, Yuichi relished the chance to just let go, and he would never admit to anyone the rush of gratitude he felt towards his old friend at that moment. Takeda's timing could not have been better, and maybe, just maybe this day from hell could turn out alright, even if only for a few drunken hours.