A green light shone like a beacon across the dock, casting its will across the ocean. Kanan could feel the butterflies in her stomach doing painful flips. The entire way to the dock, she'd been thinking of what she needed to say. After turning on the light, she'd started to rehearse to herself out loud. It all sounded empty and without conviction. She felt like she wouldn't be able to speak, like her mouth would just be full of cotton.

When she saw Mari appear on her balcony, she figured nails must've been hammered into her feet. She couldn't move her body at all. Only her eyes widening would let anyone know that she hadn't contracted rigor mortis from a sudden case of death. Well, that and her jackrabbit heart. From the balcony, Mari waved down, and Kanan raised her arm stiffly to wave back. Then Mari disappeared, likely to come down and greet her. She wasn't ready for this.

When Mari came down and started walking towards her, a wave of memories rushed at her. It was like she was reliving their entire history in the span of a minute. She wasn't prepared for the tsunami of emotions crashing down upon her. It would be so easy to let her guard down and rush forward to wrap Mari in a hug, to try and pretend the past year hadn't happened.

The past year had happened, though. All the effort and all the tears, just to have Mari standing there like nothing had happened. How could she have thrown away the opportunity she'd been given? Kanan curled her hand into a fist, feeling tinges of anger welling up inside her. She'd need it if she was going to say what she needed to say.

"Kanan! I was gonna find you at school tomorrow!" Mari stepped forward, but stopped when she noticed what Kanan was wearing. "Why are you wearing a wetsuit?"

"I was doing some thinking." She crossed her arms and frowned. "What are you doing here, Mari? You're supposed to be studying abroad."

"Ugh, you sound like Dia!" Mari pouted, stomping her foot petulantly. "You even look like her too." That took Kanan by surprise. She sounded like Dia? That must mean that Dia had stood her ground too. Maybe she had underestimated her.

"Well, then Dia has the right idea. We're doing this for your own good-"

"Oh, stop it!" Mari's sharp tone did shut Kanan up, having not expected such a tone from her. "Neither of you get to decide what's best for me! That's for me to choose!" Her heart was pounding, but she slowed herself down, giving Kanan a sad smile. "And what I want is to be here with you and Dia. That's more important to me than going to some fancy school."

"But..." Was she going about this the wrong way? Her heart ached, begging her to cross the distance and hug Mari. It'd be just like old times, and they could say sorry until there was nothing left to forgive. But... Mari was thinking about others again. She always did that. Every time she got in trouble as a kid, it was because she was doing something with her and Dia, or for her and Dia. That's why she needed her friends to push her on the right path: because she wouldn't do it herself.

Mari held out her arms, as if beckoning Kanan closer with a much-needed hug. "Come on, Kanan. Please?" She smiled, as if she could see the wavering in Kanan's expression. As if she knew that she was close to having things back to the way they were. "Hug?" Kanan's feet seemed to move on their own, walking her towards Mari. There was a completely unreadable expression on her face, and as she got closer, Mari's smile got wider. Then her path changed subtly, and rather than walking into Mari's arms, she was walking past her.

"I'm sorry, Mari, but I know you're not going to help yourself with this. You'll thank me someday..." She choked up at that point, feeling like she'd start crying if she said anything more. It was too much to bear, so she just shut up and kept walking. Mari would understand someday... even if she never forgave her.

"Kanan! Don't walk away from me! I won't forgive you if you do!" She felt several errant tears slide down her cheek, but she only slightly faltered in her step. Even with Mari's words ringing in her ears, she kept walking, hoping that everything really would end up okay.

"I won't... won't forgive you..." Mari fell down to her knees, her words coming out in gasps as she started to cry without restraint. She hadn't cried like that since the first night she spent overseas, when she'd truly realized that she wasn't with her friends anymore. It felt like that now too. She had expected Dia to be like that, but not Kanan. Not her easygoing dolphin. She clutched the fabric of her dress right over her heart, feeling like the heartbreak was tearing her apart.

It felt absolutely hopeless, like there was truly nothing left for her in Uchiura. Without Dia and Kanan, what did she have? The thought of giving up and going back overseas came to mind. She could just disappear back into the night, and nobody would notice or care. Apparently that's what they wanted anyway. Her own friends didn't even want her there. It was 'for her own good'. She bit her thumb at that logic.

She had come all this way, though. She'd promised to not give up. What was the point, though? They were both so resolute, and she doubted that she could take another cold rejection. Slowly she stood up, her body still shaking as sobs continued to wrack her body. She felt absolutely wretched.

Another thought came to mind then. Why did she have to leave? She didn't have to listen to them. If they didn't want to have anything to do with her, that was fine, even if it really wasn't. She was the director of the school now. That was something important, even if Dia didn't believe her. The school needed her, especially with the information that she knew about it. She couldn't abandon Uranohoshi in its time of need. Not like how she'd been abandoned...

Kanan was out of sight at that point. Mari began to wipe her tears away as she walked slowly back to the hotel. Every step felt heavy, like her shoes were filled with lead. All she could think about was what Kanan had said, and each time it stabbed at her heart like a bunch of little daggers. This was a horrible nightmare, but without the backup plan of waking up.

As she approached the hotel, a loud clanging sound shook her. Eyes wide, she tentatively tip-toed towards the sound, moving along to the side of the hotel. Putting her hands on the wall, she leaned over and peered down into the gloom. One of the trash cans that had been placed out for pickup had been knocked over, and something was busying itself with the spilled-over contents.

"A raccoon...?" She'd never seen raccoons get at the hotel's trash before. Any wild animals were usually dealt with by pest control. Well, it must've been hungry, so she didn't feel good about calling someone to deal with it. What harm was it doing anyway? Besides, raccoons were kind of cute. At least, she thought so. She remembered Dia having a very different opinion about them... Ahh, she didn't want to keep thinking about Dia, or Kanan either.

The raccoon moved away from the garbage, but it was stepping gingerly. Mari frowned, noticing how it wasn't putting any weight on its right front paw. It must've gotten hurt somehow. Well now she felt worse. She didn't want to leave the poor animal in pain. Weren't raccoons dangerous, though? What if it was rabid? That wasn't a risk she should take. She should find a veterinarian and call them to come help. What if it got away before then, though? It was pretty late. No vet was likely open- Wait, where'd it go?

She looked up and down the alley, but the raccoon was nowhere to be seen. There was no way it had gotten away that quickly, though. Not on that hurt foot. Frowning, she looked down, only to realize that the raccoon had made its way to her feet. With a surprised shout, she jumped back, but even this exclamation didn't make the creature skitter away. Instead it stayed there curiously, as if it was eyeing Mari. It made her feel weird.

The raccoon stood up on its hind legs and pawed at Mari's shoes with its good paw. At once, Mari felt her heart warmed by this adorable creature. It wasn't acting like a wild, rabid animal. There couldn't be anything dangerous about the cute little guy. She knew that Dia would be scolding her for even thinking of picking it up, but she wasn't listening to Dia anymore. This was what she wanted to do, and nobody else got to choose it for her. Not anymore.

She stuck her hand down, muscles tensing as she prepared to pull it back the moment it looked as if it'd get bit. The raccoon didn't jump for her hand, though. It just stared up curiously, or at least that's how it appeared to her. She didn't profess to being able to read the minds of animals. Her hand moved down inch by inch, waiting for any sudden movements that would make her have to worry. They never came, though. Her hand got all the way down to the raccoon's back, where she was able to stroke its fur without any problems. The way it chittered brought a smile to her face, even though she hadn't thought she'd do anything close to smiling for the rest of the night.

She gently picked the raccoon up, noticing what looked to be purple on its fur under the moon's light. "Aren't you just the shiniest thing? I'm gonna give you a bath, and then I'll take you to the vet tomorrow. You'll be good as new!" The raccoon chittered right back, and Mari smiled brightly. This was her new friend now. A raccoon wouldn't tell her to move away, or anything at all. It was a raccoon, and raccoons couldn't talk.

Feeling an additional pep in her step, Mari cradled the raccoon in her arms and took it up to her room, avoiding the various nighttime hotel workers, who would surely snitch on her to her dad if they saw her trying to smuggle a raccoon up to her room. No one was going to stop her from doing what she wanted anymore. She was a new Mari. The world would be her oyster! Or at least this specific town would be.

Dia was surprised when her phone vibrated with a text from Kanan. It made her think about what Mari had said about them being too busy to text her for all those months. Yeah, busy... Her and Kanan had barely spoken the moment Mari's helicopter had flown out of sight. Neither of them had texted one another longer than either of them had texted Mari. There were still bad feelings between them from that world-shattering moment. She hadn't expected to hear from Kanan again, especially since she wasn't coming back for their third year. Had something happened?

'Thank you.' Huh? Thank you for what? Dia wasn't sure what Kanan was talking about. She had to check to make sure there wasn't some line of conversation that she'd missed. Nope. Not even from ten months ago did 'thank you' fit anywhere. What was going on, then? Lying back in her bed, she texted back the obvious question: thank you for what? 'For trying to set Mari straight.' Oh.

Dia felt that familiar knot start forming in her stomach. So Mari had gone to Kanan and mentioned what happened. She held a morbid curiosity about what had happened afterwards. What had Kanan said to her? Had they made up, or had Kanan stood her ground?

'You saw her? What happened?' She had to know. The answer was important to her, even if it filled her with oncoming dread. She kept her phone open and in her hands, staring at it as if it would make Kanan text faster. Her willpower had been weak the entire rest of the day, and she was glad that Mari had come to see her when she did. Otherwise there may have been a different outcome.

'I told her what she needed to hear. Things will be fine now.' So it was something serious, then. Dia sighed, unsure of how to respond. Mari surely got the message now. Was that for the best, though? She felt less sure about it every hour since she'd left Mari in her office. It wasn't a new sensation, though. She'd been regretting what they'd done since the moment they'd done it.

She had to push those thoughts out of her mind, though. They were selfish. Those thoughts were about what she wanted, not about Mari. Well, it was about Mari, in a roundabout way. It was always about Mari. Since the blonde had come into her life, she'd done numerous things all in what were likely vain attempts to impress her. Kanan was right, though: that wasn't what she needed. Mari was rich, beautiful, and ever-surprisingly talented. She needed more than a crush from a socially awkward girl in a small, quiet town.

These were the times when she got mad at Kanan. Without really realizing it, she had taken the only person who truly spoke to certain parts of Dia's heart away from her. For all of her pomp and circumstance, she had often been run over by Kanan when it came to important decision making. It was never anything trivial, since Dia and Mari had always argued amongst each other about who would get their way. When it was something potentially life-altering, though, Kanan got her way. She hadn't even truly realized it until now.

Her phone had gone so long without being interacted with, it went black in her hands. She sat up and let it fall from her hands and into her lap. This had all been a horrible mistake. Why was thinking for herself being selfish? She had never been allowed to make any truly important decisions for herself. Everything about her life had already been planned for her. For all the strength she thought she had, when it really counted, she allowed herself to be pushed around.

"Mari..." She had pushed away Mari despite everything that her heart had told her. Maybe there was still a chance to fix it. She had to try, at least. Resolute, she stood up and rushed out of her room, leaving her phone behind. It wasn't important, and it wouldn't do to call anyway. This was something she needed to say face to face, and there was only one way she knew how to accomplish that: the dock.

She ran as much as she could the entire way there. Though her body quickly became exhausted, and her hammering heart begged her to stop, she refused to pause for a break. It was getting way too late. She was already pushing it to a point that would be past when she needed to sleep. This wasn't a good example for Ruby, but hopefully she wouldn't learn of her dalliance.

When she got to the dock, she took a moment to breathe, bending over and placing her hands on her knees. She couldn't take too long, though. Her heavy legs pulled her to the green light, which she turned on and watched as it bathed the area in its glow. Then she glanced up at the familiar balcony, praying that Mari would appear on it, summoned by the light as she always was.

Her praying was for naught. Nobody came to the balcony. She waited for what felt like half an hour, though without her phone she didn't know the true passage of time. Whatever the true amount of time was, it was wasted. Mari never showed up.

"Mari..." Dia didn't want to admit to herself that she was crying, even if she could feel the wetness on her cheeks. She was too late. Her's and Kanan's words were too harsh, and Mari had decided to forsake them. Just like they had wanted... No, just like Kanan wanted. Still, was it all truly Kanan's fault? She could've said no. She could've grown a spine and fought back against something she wanted no part in. But no, she'd done nothing of the sort. She'd not only let it happen, but she'd been complicit in it. All to be selfless... Well, she felt selflessly stupid now.

Hanging her head, she went back to the light and turned it off, then walked back home. Until the balcony was no longer in sight, she kept looking back in the hopes that Mari would appear. It never happened, though. Maybe that's what she deserved though. After all, she had played her part in chasing Mari away. Now that she was back, she would rightfully want nothing to do with Dia, especially after what she had said. Her heart felt heavy, yet strangely empty. Maybe this was the penance she had to pay.

All the while, a silent feline padded unseen behind her, always keeping its startling blue eyes on her.