I told Eric to drop me off in a nearby forest, so I could go think.

He and Paris were concerned about what happened between me and the guys earlier, but I brushed it off and told them not to worry.

As I went to go for a little exploring in the familiar forest, the two guarded the area.

'I will admit, I was not using them. I was dependent on them without even noticing because I wanted to do everything for them, support them, care for them..love them.'

I leaned against a tree, "Who am I to deny that fact? I was clueless."

'The reason why I didn't choose...was because I didn't want to break their hearts...especially the ones who were in love with me, but it seems...by not choosing, they were unhappy. Well, sucks for them because it's my choice, not theirs!'

Frowning and quietly venting, I slid down the oak tree and stared at the place of where the accident happened fifteen years ago to Sora Miyamoto.

Around the stone he supposedly died on was sky blue manjusaka or spider lilies...They reminded me of when I went to Hokkaido...

"...Sosuke..I wonder what you're doing and where you are right now...If it's not swimming, I..."

The exhaustion from today began to kick in as my vision became blurry. I burried my head in my lap, hugged my thighs by locking my hands together.

'I...I hope it's..something..successful,' was my last thought before drifting to sleep...

Where those beautiful nightmares lay in my slumber.

~Time Skip to the Next Day~

I stirred in my sleep after having a..an nice dream. I wasn't expecting that. My dream was about..um, meeting the Asahina brothers from Brothers Conflict...

And I was in complete bliss.

It's much better than being in a dream full of sadists--if you get my reference.

Softly groaning, I looked up to see a figure, but it was too dark for me to see its face, so I became suspicious.

Noticing I was awake, it smiled down at me and rubbed its..left hand through my hair.

Relaxing in the strong arms, I no longer sensed danger coming off this person. I felt...protected, so I drifted off to sleep.

~Tiny Time Skip~

Waking up again, I heard two people talking as I slowly adjusted my eyes to the sudden sunlight.

Sitting up, I looked towards where the talking was, but stopped as soon as I had sat up.

Groaning as I combed my right hand's fingers through my hair, I opened my eyes and saw two familiar pink haired males...

But the youngest was older.

"Mornin', sleepyhead. How'd you sleep?" asked the male, who was as sly as a fox.

My eyes widened once I realized who the two were, "...Shigino-senpai? Hayato-kun?"

"After all these years, you still call me that, Miyuki?" the older pink haired male questioned with a smile.

I looked away, "..Sorry, Kisumi. I..I have to go," I said, pulling a cover I was wrapped in off me before standing up.

"Hey, wait. Aren't you going to stay for a while or visit the others?" he asked with concern in his tone.

"No," I said, still advancing towards the door.

"Miss Miyu, please, stay," pleaded Hayato with worry laced in his tone.

I stopped, 'Should I or shouldn't I? Not to be cruel, but I don't want to stay too long, though...if Hayato's pleading me, I can't really decline.'

"..Alright, I'll stay for a while," I responded before turning around with a small smile, "Why don't we catch up? After all, it's been five years..."

~1HR Time Skip~

After discussing the events over breakfast and the past five years, we sat in silence for a couple minutes.

'Huh, it feels like I just healed a broken bond. What a nice feeling...despite not remembering some things. If I were to--no...it wouldn't happen. They don't like me, much less, love me anymore..'

"Um, Miss Miyu?"

I perked up and looked to Hayato, "What is it?"

"Now that I'm thirteen..and I'll be fourteen in a couple days...Will you date me?"

*Silence*

A giggle escaped my lips as a chuckle did with Kisumi's lips. Honestly, even if he was fourteen in the eighth grade, it was cute.

(Japanese schools -- Elementary: K-6, Junior high: 7-9, High school: 10-12.)

"Hayato-kun..I can't do that. First, we're too far apart in age. Second, that's considered lechery. And third, I'm not ready for a relationship."

"Hold up...So, you're saying, you still don't have a boyfriend?" asked Kisumi with a concerned expression.

I looked down at my lap, "I wouldn't say tha-"

A sudden buzzing sounded in my left pocket, so I took out my phone to see a text from Sora.

Sora: Where are you?

I texted back quickly, Me: Don't worry. I'm in Japan right now. I'll try to be in Arizona by tomorrow.

I stood up, "I'm very sorry, but I have to go," I said and quickly left before they could oblige.

Running down the sidewalk, I checked my call history and texts, which all came from Eric and Paris.

I smiled softly, 'I see. They were worried about me. Well, they shouldn't be. The new Miyuki Miyamoto can handle herself now.'

Before I could text back on the three people group chat, I ran into someone's back and stumbled back, catching my balance.

The person I ran into, turned, obviously angry.

"Hey, watch where you're-...Miyuki?" the female with medium short maroon hair questioned

My eyes widened again, "...Kou?"

She beamed at me, "Miyuki, it is you!" she shouted and hugged me tight before letting go, "Where have you been?! I missed you all these years! You could've called, text, emailed or something! Don't leave me hanging like that!" she gave me a lecture.

I looked away, "I'm sorry, Kou. Really, I am, but I needed to get away and walk my own path without help. Anyway, I have to-"

"Gō, we're finished here. We're goi-...Hey, I remember you," said a unfamiliar, yet familiar voice.

I looked behind Kou to see a tall man with fiery orange hair and goldish orange eyes. With him, stood the other maroon haired twin.

I shuddered when we made eye contact and slowly stepped back, not taking my eyes off him until Kou spoke up.

"Oh, yeah. You two met twice before. If you don't remember, this is Seijuro Mikoshiba, former captain of the Samezuka swim team and my boyfriend. Oh! Look who's here~," she explained, then mused, gesturing to the maroon haired man.

It was obvious he didn't tell her about me and the guys' run-in. I looked away from him, but his eyes stayed on me.

"Miyuki."

My fists tightened, "I told you not to call me that."

"...Miya-chan-"

"Don't call me that either! I'm not that person anymore! She's gone! Goody-goody Miyuki Miyamoto is gone! I refuse to go back to her!"

"Um..Miyuki? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Gō questioned, attempting to hug me, but I stepped back.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled at her.

"Hold the hell up! Calm yourself before you catch these hands! I don't know why you're mad, but you're NOT going to take it out on me, you hear!" she yelled, too.

"You...you wouldn't understand," I said, then turned and ran away.

~Tiny Time Skip~

Bending over and inhaling air after running for about twenty minutes, I gained my composure back and slid down a cement wall.

'Why...why are you being cruel to me, fate? Why are you trying to make me sow what I reaped long ago?! I don't need them anymore! They're footprints of the past! I can do everything by myself!'

Feeling a wet substance in my hands that cupped my face, I quickly wiped away the tears. There was no reason to cry.

'I absolutely refuse to cry over something as petty as this. That's it. No more of this. I'm getting out of Iwatobi today.'

Looking down at my phone in my left hand, I unlocked it and went to the phone app, deciding to call Eric and tell him the street I'm on.

'Come on. Pick up, Eric. Pick up, please,' I thought, holding my cellphone tightly in both hands.

["I'm sorry. You have reached the voi-"]

I ended the call, cursing under my breath before deciding to call Paris, who is more likely to answer my call.

"...Miyuki?"

["I'm sorry. You have reached the-"]

I ended the call and hesitantly turned to the left. My disheveled bangs blocked my eyesight a little, but I didn't mistake that appearance nor that voice.

My goldish hazel eyes stared into cerulean oceanic blue ones.

"...Haru..ka?" I questioned

Before I knew it, everything around me became blurry and swirled around as I felt myself made contact with the side walk...as if I had fallen.

The ravenette's voice slowly faded while unconsciousness slowly started to kick in.

(Wow, I'm impressed with myself. I didn't think this chapter would be that long, but it's long enough. Next chapter will be a HaruMiyu chapter--most of it. So, pleasure it, reader-chans/kuns~.)