Haruka walked down the halls of Saotome Academy in search of the place he asked her to be at. She usually got lost so she had studied the school map recently to avoid any embarrassment.

As she found the place she couldn't help but sit down and lay her back against the blooming cherry tree that was there. 'What a wonderful day' she thought 'I should write to my grandma about how great the weather has been lately here' not that her relative lived that far away but it felt like that to her; like they lived in completely different worlds; two worlds that defined different periods in her life. She felt as if she could just take a nap right there; rest a little after so much hard work but she stopped herself 'he could be here any second' and sure enough she heard some footsteps on the grass.

"Nanami-san, I'm sorry, I kept you waiting" he said apologizing.

She quickly stood up and dusted off her clothes as she said "No, it's okay. I came earlier"

"… But I should've been here earlier too; I'm the one that asked you to…"

"No, really, I just got here. It's fine" she said smiling.

He grimaced slightly for a moment and then looked down. He was really nervous, just the thought of her rejecting him made him tremble.

He was fidgeting with his fingers as he started mumbling umms and ahhs but not actually making a full comprehensible sentence.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He just nodded weakly in response making her push further "Really? Ummm… Why did you ask me here?"

He replied in a low voice "Really…" and after a couple of minutes of silence he got enough courage to say "I need to… confess you something…"

"Confess? What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yes yes, everything is just fine" he replied a little too harshly making her step back. He realized this and quickly said "I'm sorry. I just keep treating you badly, don't I?" She just looked awkwardly to the ground in response and waited for him to talk.

He took a deep breath and started "The thing is… I…" he sounded like he was crying but it was just his voice quivering in fear at what she might answer him. Hearing him made her worry and as a result she paid more attention to his expressions and words. She was about to ask him if he was okay again but he stopped her as he said "I… I'm okay… I just… I… love-" he was cut off by her phone ringing.

She quickly picked it up, it was just a text but it had interrupted him nonetheless "I am SO sorry" she said looking at her friend "I just… I told him to text me and…"

"It's okay, I understand… Maybe this is not the best time?" he asked sadly.

"Oh no, please. I am truly sorry, please go on. I want you to take whatever it is you want to say off your chest" he looked doubtfully at her so she added "Please?"

And with that he finally said "I… I love you"

She looked shocked for a moment but then she smiled and replied "Oh, I love you too, silly" he smiled brightly in response looking hopeful and relieved and then she added "Even though you have your ups and downs I still think you are a great friend"

When he heard that, his smile completely vanished. He couldn't even open his mouth to talk so he decided to stay silent for a moment as he tried to get that horrible knot that he had in his throat disappear.

In the distance a certain boy spotted his friends next to the cherry tree "Why didn't she reply my text?" he said out loud to himself 'I'm talking to myself again, aren't I?' he thought as he face then he had an idea 'I'm going to scare her, that way she won't forget to text me next time!' he thought about it for a moment 'I need to find a way to get there without being noticed…' and with that he ran off towards them through a longer but stealthier path.

Haruka was getting impatient now, she was supposed to finish writing one of her songs and she wanted to practice some piano before her next class (Ringo was surely going to call her again). But she didn't want to act disrespectful towards her friend, so she stayed there and waited.

Just as she was about to give up and tell him she was leaving, he suddenly spoke.

"Nanami-san… I think there's a misunderstanding here"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

He took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eye before saying "I don't think the way I love you is the same way you love me"

Haruka was really confused now "I don't-… I don't understand, what do you mean?"

"What I mean is… I am in love with you" she looked incredibly shocked but she couldn't even make a sound given that a really loud gasp coming from behind them scared the living heck out of them.

From behind the tree Otoya made his presence clear as he came out and said "You… you… you love her?" he said hurt. He couldn't bear to look at Haruka, he already knew what she would answer to his confession. 'I lost her' was the only thing he could think. When Tokiya nodded the redhead slowly started walking backwards as some tears started rolling down his cheeks.

She didn't know what to do, but she decided to lean forward towards Otoya with a calming gesture "Ittoki-kun, wait-" He thought she was going to tell him right then and there how much she loved Tokiya and how he should be happy for them. And he actually wanted to but his heart was broken and he couldn't think straight. All his tears were clouding his vision but he decided to run away anyways 'I can't take it anymore'

"Wait! Ittoki-kun!" Haruka yelled. He didn't turn around, he just kept running faster. That made her chest hurt 'why?' just the thought of him hurting made her want to cry. So without giving it a second thought she decided to go after him. But before she could go too far she felt a strong hand holding her from behind, stopping her from leaving. She tried to shake it off; she needed to go with him. But the hand wouldn't give up so she turned around angrily just to be greeted by a worried Tokiya. She realized he might still be waiting for an answer. Unlike Cecil and Natsuki, this time the confession felt a lot more private and heartfelt even; he didn't automatically change subjects after saying it and neither did he made it off to be no big deal. No, he wanted to hear her answer. And she just wanted to run. That was just so confusing to her. Usually she would have blushed and tripped or something over him but today she couldn't think about him. She wasn't thinking about how much she loved his voice or the way he had saved her from falling into nothingness not only as Hayato but as himself. She wasn't thinking about how he was the reason she decided to become a composer in the first place or the reason why she didn't give up. She was thinking about Otoya. She was thinking about how she wanted to wipe those tears away from his face, how she wanted to make him smile as much as he made her, how safe she felt when she was around him, how warm his hand felt in hers; and more importantly: how confident he made her feel, how he was her equal. All this thoughts ran quickly through her mind as she felt Tokiya's hand in hers. There was no comparison between the two, she loved them both, but it was different.

She couldn't think straight, she just wanted to run, run before it was too late but he wouldn't let her, he just wanted to hear some sort of reply, even an "I'll tell you later" would've been fine for him, but she didn't know that.

She looked pleadingly into his eyes and said "Please Ichinose-san, I need to go after him. Please, let me go" as she finished a single tear rolled down her face.

Haruka didn't realize the impact, the meaning behind what she just said. But Tokiya did. He felt his heart break, but he couldn't be selfish then. He couldn't stand the sight of her crying so through all his sorrow he said "… I'm sorry… Is that your answer then?" she looked doubtfully at him but he knew he was right. He thought she might actually have feelings for him but it turned out that someone else had gotten his way to her heart while he bickered around her. Maybe he could've been with her if he tried harder before: she loved Hayato, right? With just a little more effort he could've made her love him, but he lost. It was too late now.

"I-Ichinose-san… I don't know… I don't know how I feel… I just know I need to go after him" and as another tear rolled down her face he decided to take the opportunity to kiss it away. She froze the moment his lips touched her. As he pulled away he noticed she was blushing a notoriously bright shade of red.

He had thought that all hope was lost, but seeing her that way made him wonder 'Maybe I still have a chance' Still, he let go of her thinking 'Maybe someone else has her heart now, but I won't give up. I won't fight over her with my friends: they are too precious to me too, but I will continue to cherish every smile, to try to make her happy, to love her as long as I have even the slightest chance to have my feelings reciprocated'

She quickly ran off leaving a calm and determined Tokiya behind. She ran as fast as her legs could but they clearly couldn't help her much. She tripped and fell multiple times. Her uniform looked horrible by then and she should've been worrying about her appearance but the only thing she could think was how the weather seemed to be reflecting her mood: the lovely sunny skies from earlier looked cloudy and threatening now.

She didn't know where he could be, she just followed the general direction in which she saw him running to. As she fell once again she decided it was as good as any time to stop and decide where she should go to next. She slowly got up and as she was about to start running again, she heard a voice. Someone was singing. But it was not just someone, it was Otoya, and he was singing one of her songs.

She could almost listen to his voice when he told her that he used to sing to cheer himself up. She dusted herself off and started running again.

He had run off to the Academy's roundabout. The same place he had talked to Haruka in when she was being bullied for her lack of knowledge in music sheet reading.

He remembered how happy she looked when he told her he didn't knew anything about writing lyrics either and he couldn't help but smile. He wanted to be happy for her and Tokiya; he really did, but the thought of her… He couldn't even think about it. He wanted to cry again 'What would my mom do if she saw me crying like this?' he usually asked himself that when he felt bad. It didn't matter that he knew the answer was always the same; he needed to feel like she was still watching over him, worrying. So he did the only thing he remembered her telling him 'Sing' it didn't really matter what the lyrics said; the melody just made him feel loved. After all: 'Haruka wrote the song for me' but then he had another thought 'She writes songs for all of us, what makes me any different?' He decided to take of his mind those sad thoughts by singing loudly. He didn't care if his voice was shaking; he didn't care if anyone of listening, he just needed to sing.

Of course, he didn't notice when a certain girl approached him from behind. He was too focused on the song so when he heard "Ittoki-kun" coming from behind him he stopped altogether and turned around.

"Nanami"

"… You ran really fast… I thought I wouldn't be able to find you"

He looked embarrassed at his feet and replied "… I'm sorry" And just then as he looked at his shoes he noticed hers. They were really muddy and so were her socks so he continued to look up until his eyes settled on her face "What happened to you?" he asked worried now.

He strangely caught her by surprise as she said "Oh… you say because of this?" she said pointing to her clothes, when he nodded, she continued "Oh… I just fell a couple of times, it's no big deal" as much as he worried about her he couldn't help but smile at her clumsiness, and upon further inspection he just started laughing hysterically. She didn't even know what he was laughing about but his laugh was so contagious she couldn't help but join in.

When they couldn't breathe anymore and Otoya had totally forgotten what he was laughing about in the first place, they stopped. Thankfully the air was much lighter now (metaphorically speaking since in a literal sense it seemed it was about to rain) so Haruka decided to take the chance to talk "Ittoki-kun… I don't know what to say… I don't really know how I feel" he looked confused at her as she continued "But I do know that I don't want you to be sad because of me, I want you to be as happy as possible"

He took a step closer to her and said "But Tokiya… Do you love him?"

She looked up at him and replied "I do love him, yes" all the hope he had gathered vanished at that statement but then she continued "But I love you too" he looked at her completely lost now.

"What do you mean you love me too? You are in love with both of us?"

She grimaced and replied "No, I don't know if I'm in love with any of you. But I do know that I love both of you, every single member of Starish. Heck, I love every single person that has helped me in any way ever since I entered this Academy"

He looked sadly at the ground in response and thought 'As selfish as this is, I may not have another chance like this' so he quickly said "I'minlovewithyou" he said it so fast it became a jumble of words put together.

She didn't quite understand what he said so she asked "I'm sorry, I didn't understand. Could you repeat that?"

He was blushing intensely now but he still made the effort. He lifted his head to look her straight in the eye (making her blush slightly in the process) and said "I am in love with you" And with that she was once again lost. She didn't know how to react but thankfully her body seemed to have a mind of its own. She smiled so brightly she giggled in delight as a single tear fell from her face. As she realized this, a lot of questions came to mind. And this time, she actually had an answer. But still: the fact that she was crying made Otoya worry 'I hurt her' He quickly cut the space between them as he held her face between his hands trying to make her stop.

"I'm so sorry Nanami; I didn't mean to hurt you"

She suddenly opened her eyes into his and mouthed "Don't"

He didn't know how to respond to that so he just let go of her face without even for a second turning his gaze away from hers.

Once again she smiled and said "I love you too"

He was confused now "… I know… as a friend… I get it… It's okay" So feeling like she had the upper hand this time she decided to be brave as she closed the space between them and pulling him towards her, crushing her lips against his.

If she had to describe the feeling in one word she would say "Fireworks" But when he kissed her back pulling her even closer to his body every comprehensive thought she had was completely lost. She didn't even know how bad she wanted this but now that she had it she couldn't help but feel complete, happy. So when he broke apart from her she just wanted to lean in for more.

He had gathered every little piece of will he had left to not kiss her again instantly 'a kiss is still not an answer' "… So… That means you are in love with me?" he said smiling mischievously and a little breathless. She leaned in and gave him a sweet peck on the lips before replying in a low voice (almost seductively) "Yes" And with that he lifted her up and kissed her deeply before quickly pulling away and yelling "I AM IN LOVE WITH NANAMI HARUKA!" she tried to hush him but he was so happy she didn't have the heart to take it away from him and giving that she felt like doing something reckless at least once in her life she said "Oh, well… Who gives a damn about the rules anyways" before yelling "I AM IN LOVE WITH ITTOKI OTOYA!" The second she finished saying that, a loud thunder blocked every possible other noise from being heard by anyone that might be close to them. Shortly after that, it started raining very harshly; and following 'Carpe Diem' (aka 'Sieze the day') they just decided to go with it and ran together in the rain splashing each other as they made their way back to the main building.

After they dried themselves and changed their clothes (each in their own room), they met in a neutral place: the roof. They stayed on the part that had a ceiling as they watched the rain fall; even though it had been raining for a while the air was still warm so it was pretty calming to be there. Haruka leaned her head in his shoulder as she watched the rain. The only thing she could think was how she hadn't felt that happy in a while and at the same time it seemed as if nothing had changed. He was still one of her best friends, the only thing different was that he was now a friend she could make out with but in every other aspect, their relationship remained the same.

Otoya moved a little making her move her head from his shoulder to look at him and said "I'm really happy I met you" to which she replied "Me too" as they both leaned in and kissed again. And as fate would have it, the moment their lips touched, rain stopped and a beautiful rainbow graced the sky. They pulled apart for a moment hearing the storm stop and when they looked up at the sight in the sky they smiled and kissed once again embracing each other lovingly.