Good evening! Happy Thanksgiving! Well, if you're an American. Otherwise, happy Thursday to you!

No anonymous reviews today, so onward!

"In the end, I couldn't find her…I wonder how she's doing…" Ryoutaro thought sadly, walking through the front gate a few days later. Suddenly he saw a flash of red hair. "There she is!"

"Hino!" he called as he ran up to her.

At the sound of his voice, she stopped and turned, waiting for him to catch up.

"Are you doing alright?" he asked in concern. He kept his voice low.

She smiled sadly. "Hello, Tsuchiura-kun. I'm managing, I guess. I'm just trying to take things a day at a time…" She fell into a heavy silence.

It hurt him to see her this way. He placed a hand on her shoulder and held her eyes when she lifted up her head to look at him. "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to rely on me. I'm here for you."

She looked away and blinked away tears. "Thank you, Tsuchiura-kun."

He sighed. "I'll walk you to class."

- (-_-) -

*SIGH* "I managed to get a list of all the different places Kaho-chan's violin could have gone, but so far I haven't had any luck finding it. Every single place I've called hasn't turned up any new leads…" Kazuki heaved another heavy sigh, leaning against the park bench. "I know it isn't the best solution, but maybe I should get her a new violin…If I take money out of my savings, I should be able to scrape up enough to replace it…Although…if I were in the same situation…would I want a new trumpet?"

Before he could ponder the thought much longer, it was dismissed from his head by a loud cracking sound from behind him. Kazuki leapt from the bench to face the intruder.

"K-Kaho-chan?!"

Amber eyes met gold and she slowly and hesitantly bowed in greeting.

"A-Actually, I-I'm really glad you're here, Kaho-chan. I…uh…I-I've been meaning to talk to you about your violin…"

A pained look crossed her face.

Kazuki winced at the look. He felt like a slug. How could he have been so careless? It was his fault she was in so much pain. How had things gone so wrong?

She abruptly turned to leave, muttering, "Excuse me, Hihara-senpai, I need to go."

"W-Wait…!" he called out in desperation. He had to make things right between them; he just had to.

She stopped with her back facing him.

He licked his lips nervously. "Here goes nothing."

He called out, "Would…Would you allow me to replace your violin with a new one?" Hastily he added, "I mean…at least you'd be able to play again…" He couldn't stand to see her in pain, and the fact that he was the source of this pain made it all the more excruciating. He would do anything, absolutely anything to take away her pain and make her smile again.

Unfortunately, that was not it.

"A new violin? How could I get a new violin?! How can he move on so quickly?! That violin was precious to me! There's not another like it in the world! It holds all the feelings I have for music and countless memories! It can't be replaced so easily! Lili gave me that violin! It opened up my horizons so much and made my world infinitely brighter." She felt herself shake in anger and pain as hot tears fell from her eyes. "That violin was my partner. There's no way it could ever be replaced!"

She whirled around, tears glistening in the late afternoon sun. "That violin…can never be replaced. You don't understand anything, Hihara-senpai!" She turned and ran with all her might away from him, half-blinded by her tears. Eventually she tripped and stumbled by a tree. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she succumbed to her sorrow and anguish.

"'That violin…can never be replaced. You don't understand anything, Hihara-senpai!'" The voice echoed over and over again in his head as his eyes watched her run away from him. The scorn and pain in her voice rooting him to his spot. He sank to the ground, tears welling up in his eyes. "What have I done…?" In despair, he began to cry.

A thousand leaves seemed to fall all around him, as if the trees were weeping with him. But even a thousand tears would not be enough to wash away his regret.

He cried until he was spent. He lay on the ground, gasping for breath. Miserably, he sat up and looked at the leaves around him. "I need to fix this…" He pulled out his cell phone and began dialing. As he listened to the other phone ring, he knew that he would call until he found her violin.

It was the only way to make her smile again.

Oh dear…things got a whole lot worse for Kazuki in this chapter. I suppose Kahoko might be kind of overdramatic, but she's speaking in the heat of the moment.

I don't think I really had any sort of inspiration for this chapter. I just wanted them to be on worse terms, I suppose. (-_-; ) Wow…I feel like a mean person now…

What will happen to Kazuki next?

Please review! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!