Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! It's so validating whenever I see you all mention specific parts you liked in the chapters—it makes me very satisfied. I love knowing that my writing and my ideas have made you feel good. It's the greatest gift a writer can receive.

I originally meant for this fic to be a short one around five chapters, yet here I am writing chapter number six. My simple story outline ended up getting more and more detailed, and now there isn't even a confession in the first five chapters lol.

As for the longer wait for this update… deadlines are kicking my butt, but I'm doing my best.

I hope that you like this chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Promise me

Izumi remembers the hot coffees before class, late night study sessions, and sweet words of affection. His eyes once lit up whenever he saw her, even if it was only in passing and they didn't have time to meet up. When the sun would peak through her window blinds on lazy weekend mornings, she would burrow deeper into her blankets, and he would tenderly wrap an arm around her with a sigh. He'd give her slow, gentle kisses, ones that were so different from hers. All would be well.

And then they would argue, and she would say things she shouldn't have said. He would grow quiet and then take her hand in apology with an expression that tugged at her heart. That was what always happened, except not. He had lifted his gaze and burned her with it, and all it took was that simple accusation—

"…Ishikawa-san?"

Izumi jumps so hard she swears her heart is about to burst out of her chest. She turns to Sawada and manages a small smile.

"Sorry, what did you say?" She says sheepishly. "I wasn't paying attention."

He gives her a look but doesn't press further. "I asked where we were going, Ishikawa-san."

"Oh, I was following you."

They stare at each other for a moment, but then he lets out a snort and then the both of them are laughing. It's not even that funny, but she feels her shoulders shake as she laughs helplessly. She's here with Sawada now, not in her dorm room from back then.

Sawada's hand is not soft. It's covered in calluses and rough to the touch, but it's warm and gentle. It's comforting, and she feels herself coming back to the present. She squeezes his hand and smiles at him.

"If you don't mind going for a walk, I have a place in mind."

She leads him to Namimori Park, conveniently located a fifteen-minute walk away. Winter has taken away the vibrant green hues of the trees, but a quiet tranquility takes its place. The park is naturally the busiest during the warmer seasons, but there are always visitors milling about. They walk, hand in hand, chatting about trivial matters as they enjoy the beautiful view around them.

"Thanks again, by the way," he suddenly says. "For earlier. I really appreciate it."

"Of course. No one deserves to have their past dragged up like that."

"So you believe it?"

Izumi pauses, pulling him to a stop. She turns to him, but there's no judgment in his eyes, only curiosity. How strange. Most people would be embarrassed to have their middle school days brought back, even if they weren't considered pathetic by others.

"I don't even know their names. Why would I trust them?"

He laughs. Why?

"…That's a first," he finally says, a smile tugging at his lips. "I've never had someone say that before."

"Is it true?"

"Yes."

Her surprise must show on her face because he laughs again, and she finds herself at a loss of what to say. Congratulations on improving yourself?

"I was pretty useless back then," he continues with a wistful expression. "but then I met my friends and my tutor, and I improved a bit."

"I doubt that you were useless, Sawada-san."

"Those are the words of someone who had academic or extracurricular achievements."

She opens her mouth to refute him but then frowns. He's not wrong—she was an academically gifted student. She never experienced that sort of labeling at school. However…

"There's no one in this world who's useless," she repeats firmly. "You became friends with Takeshi-san and Gokudera-san back then, right? Then you were someone they needed."

Sawada stares at her in surprise, and then he smiles brightly, and she's struck with how it makes him glow.

"No one's ever said that about me before," he says, squeezing her hand lightly. "Thank you, Ishikawa-san. I would've loved being your friend back then."

Oh, now that's not fair. He can't do that.

"…You're welcome," she replies, her cheeks warming.

Izumi pulls him forward, determinedly not looking at Sawada as he grins. He falls in step with her for a few seconds before speaking again.

"By the way, it looks like we're matching today."

She stops as she looks down at herself and then at Sawada. Orange top, light outerwear, dark bottoms. She stares at him flatly.

"I never saw you as the copying sort, Sawada-san."

"Hey!"

She snickers as he becomes mock offended, indignantly stating that those are his colors and that if anyone is the copycat then it's her. She smiles and continues walking. If there's anything that she's learned since meeting Sawada, it's that he's more perceptive than he seems. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him smile as he lets her pull him forward.

"Is there anywhere you'd like to go, Sawada-san?"

She asks him after they've settled on a park bench for a rest from walking. He thinks for a moment but then shakes his head.

"I'll go where ever you want to go."

"Then how about—"

A tennis ball rolls to Izumi's feet, which is followed by a large dog bounding up to them. She yelps in surprise as it goes around her to retrieve the ball. Now that the dog isn't running, she sees that it's an Akita dog that's excitedly walking around her.

"Oh, just a dog."

Izumi jumps when Sawada exhales beside her, leaning on the edge of the bench. When did he get so close?

She leans down to scratch the Akita behind the ears and is rewarded with powerful tail wags that thump against her calves. She lavishes attention onto the beautiful creature until she feels Sawada shift next to her. She sends off the dog with a fond smile before looking back at him.

He sits straight, staring off into the distance. He no longer smiles, instead frowning as he catches sight of something. She follows his line of sight to a pair of people with the Akita she's just met. One of them is dressed casually, chatting excitedly with the other. The other wears a dark suit, nodding politely as they listen. She's in the midst of wondering whether Sawada knows them when the suited person looks over to her. Sawada stands abruptly, blocking her view.

"Sawada-san?"

"Could you give me a moment, Ishikawa-san? I need to talk to someone."

Sawada leaves before she can reply. He heads straight for the suited person, and they exchange brief words before heading out of sight to talk.

What the hell?

How many mysteries does this man have? She wants to scream, no, she wants to scream at Sawada. This has to be related to his work—it has to. Her hands ball into fists in her lap as she tries her best to burn a hole into the ground, since a certain someone isn't around to take it instead.

One minute, he's the most understanding and thoughtful person she's ever known. The next, he's a complete stranger and closed off to her. He refuses to tell her anything about his job, which has to be big (those suits don't pay for themselves), but then he says that he appreciates her friendship.

Then, he comes out with her and holds her hand gently and tells her that she's a good person. She lets out a frustrated sigh. What is he doing to me?

Sawada comes back a few minutes later with a solemn face, but he puts on a smile when he reaches her.

"I'm sorry for leaving you like that," he says sheepishly.

"Are you?"

Her response comes out sharper than she means to, but it's too late. She bites back the other words that simmer on her tongue. He is taken aback, eyes widening in surprise, but then smiles apologetically.

"I'm truly sorry, Ishikawa-san," he says, gazing earnestly into her eyes. Damn him. "I wish I could tell you what's going on, but my work is confidential."

She doesn't respond, so he sits down next to her and faces her fully. She turns, giving him an expression that says that "this better be good."

"Things are sensitive at work right now, and the project I'm working on has to remain secret. Otherwise, I'll be breaking the law if I tell anyone outside the business."

"Is that the truth?"

He looks alarmed at the bitterness in her tone, and he nods frantically.

"Yes! I really do want to tell you what's going on, but I'll get the both of us in a lot of trouble if I do."

He squirms under her gaze as she purses her lips in displeasure.

"Please know that I would never intentionally hurt you, Ishikawa-san. You're an important friend of mine."

She sighs.

"Fine."

He visibly brightens at her response, which almost makes her smile. He exhales in relief.

"Thank you. I promise that I'll be more honest with you from now on."

"You promise?"

"As honest as I can be."

This is probably the best Izumi can ask for in this situation, but it's still not enough. Yet, Sawada's sincerity is not a lie. She pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs again.

"I forgive you this time," she says. "But I get to pick where we go for lunch."

"Deal."

Sawada offers his hand again when they stand, and she takes it after a moment's hesitation. She doesn't miss the bitterness that flashes across his face when she does so. They head to her favorite bookstore downtown, where she picks up something for herself and for Mina. Sawada actually ends up buying a whole stack of books because Gokudera is a huge reader and because he thought some titles would be interesting to his other friends. She's pretty sure that she spied a baseball statistics book and a care guide for small animals among the stack.

Lunch is a peaceful affair, though this is only accomplished by the fact that Izumi refrains from asking about Sawada's work life. All is well. At least, all is well until he asks her something that nearly has her choking on her drink.

"Are you seeing anyone right now?"

Izumi freezes for a second before willing herself to swallow her water. He looks at her with a curious expression, not the hopeful one that Yuuto has once given her.

"No, I'm not."

"Oh, good," he says, sighing in relief. "I was worried that I might have been taking you away from your partner on the weekends."

He's being considerate, as always. She laughs at his reaction, which makes him redden slightly.

"If I did, I'd let you know if I couldn't make time on weekends, you know," she says, pointing her chopsticks at him for emphasis.

"I guess you're right," he replies sheepishly.

"Of course I am," she agrees. "Academic achievements, remember?"

He gapes at her for a second before grinning, which she returns. The rest of the meal passes cheerfully, and, before she knows it, their time together has come to an end. Sawada insists on walking her back to her house, and they end up in front of her house sooner than she'd like.

"Thank you for walking me back," she says, letting go of his hand. "Please let me know when you get home as well."

"Ah, yeah, I will."

Sawada hesitates, shifting his weight from side to side as he thinks. Izumi raises an eyebrow at him but waits for him to continue. To her surprise, he reaches down for both of her hands and holds them gently.

"Thank you for still being my friend, Ishikawa-san," he says sincerely. "It means a lot to me."

"…You're welcome. Thank you for being mine."

Sawada squeezes her hands one final time before letting go, and her last image of him before she enters her house is of him smiling brightly. She pushes the lock into place before turning around and leaning against the door. She stays there for a moment before sinking to the floor.

"Welcome back, Nee-san. How was your—whoa!"

Mina rushes to her side when she sees Izumi on the floor. She bends down in front of her in concern.

"Are you okay? Do you feel sick? Oh my God, your face is so red!"

"I'm fine," Izumi says, shaking her head. "I just got a little warm near the end of the day."

"Hurry up and take off those clothes then, geez!" Mina scolds, undoing Izumi's scarf. "You're supposed to be the responsible one around here, not me."

"Thanks," Izumi smiles. "You really are a good sister."

"You're seriously worrying me now."

Izumi smiles as Mina fusses over her, almost bodily pushing her toward her bedroom. It's totally Sawada that's making her feel so much appreciation for the people around her right now, but that's fine. She's not saying anything that isn't true.

Seriously, what the hell is Sawada doing to her?

The next day, Izumi finds herself in front of the bakery she used to frequent a while back. She stares at the storefront for a moment as she fidgets with her phone in her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she grasps the door handle and steps inside the warmly lit store.

"Izumi, over here!"

She searches the tables until she finds Yuuto, who has two plates of cake in front of him. She smiles at that. All this time, and he still shows up before her with her favorite dish. She makes her way over to him and slides into the seat across the table.

"Thank you for meeting with me today, Yuuto-kun."

He smiles at her but adjusts his glasses. He's nervous. As is she, to be honest, but she knows that they need to do this.

"I want to apologize for what I did to you during that summer before our second year," she says, bowing low to him. "It was unfair of me, but I did it anyway because I thought it would help me."

"Please don't bow. I said awful things to you too."

She straightens, looking Yuuto in the eye as she does. There isn't any bitterness there, and it hurts her. She doesn't deserve that look when she hasn't earned it.

"Please let me properly apologize to you. You deserve that much."

Yuuto goes quiet for a moment but nods. "Okay."

"I should've told you what happened to me and how I was feeling back then," she says. "I didn't stop to think about your feelings. I only cared about myself."

"You figured it out in the end anyway, but it wasn't fair to you that it wasn't because I told you," she continues, feeling her throat go dry. "I hurt you, and I'm sorry. I should've never been your girlfriend."

"Please don't say that."

She looks at him in confusion. "But I was—"

"I know." He cuts her off with a resigned smile. "Even though you didn't feel the same way, I still value the time we had together."

"I really did love you, you know."

Izumi's heart clenches, but she doesn't dare look away, not when the man she wronged so honestly pours his heart out to her.

"I knew that you didn't love me, but I loved you so much that I wanted to make it work. I thought, maybe she'll come to feel the same way," he continues with a fond expression. "I was wrong, but the good times we had were still good."

"I won't make the same mistakes again—I've learned from that. So, thank you."

"I… I had fun with you too," Izumi says quietly. "I'm sorry that I couldn't give you the love you deserved. I regret what I did to you, and I hope that you find someone who deserves you."

"I forgive you, Izumi."

Tears form at the corners of her eyes, but she blinks them back and smiles at him gratefully.

"Thank you, Yuuto-kun. I'll do my best to make sure that I deserve your forgiveness."

Izumi returns to the park once she parts with Yuuto. Her heart feels like it's gone through the wringer, so the fresh air is much appreciated to rejuvenate herself. Forgiveness is not what she expected to receive from him. She's not sure what she expected, actually. How do you react when someone apologizes for not reciprocating your love?

According to Yuuto, with forgiveness. She wonders if she could have done the same if the tables were turned. She's not sure. She sighs and takes a seat on the nearest bench, leaning back to watch the clouds float by.

Before yesterday, the last time she had seen Yuuto was the summer three years ago, when they had broken up. She had lost hope of ever reconciling with him, forget forgiveness. And yet, now she has taken accountability for her actions, and they've gained closure between them. This only happened because of Sawada.

Speaking of Sawada, she feels her frustration well again, but this time with confusion. A lot more confusion. Before, he was just mysterious, but now he's mysterious and confusing. He's sincere in everything he says, and he has never lied to her. He just hasn't told her the truth. She sighs. How wonderful. Fantastic.

"Are you Ishikawa Izumi-san?"

Izumi straightens at the sudden voice, and a man in jogging attire stands before her. He wears a light tracksuit with a sleek wristwatch. She composes herself and nods.

"Oh, good. I was worried I had the wrong person," he says, exhaling in relief. "Your sister sent me from the tutoring center to ask you to bring her phone from home."

Seriously? Again? Izumi sighs and pinches her nose.

"All right, thank you for letting me know," she replies. "It might take a while since I'm all the way out here, but I'll get it to her."

"I can drive you there. I came in my car," the man offers.

"Oh no, I can't impose on you like that. She'll be fine without her phone for a bit," she says, waving her hand in refusal.

"No, no, I insist. I'll feel bad if you have to take away so much time from your day."

Izumi internally sighs at his persistence, but she just wants to get it over with, as well as give Mina a piece of her mind for sending this poor man so far just to get her phone.

"All right, thank you."

"Of course!" the man exclaims, smiling widely. "My car is parked down the street, so we'll have to walk a bit, is that okay?"

"That's fine."

She follows him out of the park and into the emptier residential area nearby. They approach a common, silver sedan against the curb. The man pulls open the door to the passenger seat and gestures for her to go in.

"Oh, do you mind if I take a photo of your license plate?" She asks. "Just for safety reasons, I hope you don't mind."

The man's expression seems to tighten for a split second, but it's gone as fast as it came. He fidgets with his watch before smiling.

"Of course! I understand completely."

Izumi takes out her phone to open the camera app, but for some reason her phone keeps exiting the app. She frowns as she taps her screen to no avail.

"I'm sorry, my phone is having some problems right now. I need a minute to fix this."

The man smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry, but your sister wanted her phone as soon as possible. Is it all right if we leave now?"

"Just a minute, I'm going to see if I can make this work."

The man doesn't say anything as she restarts her phone, but her phone doesn't even turn on this time. She frowns harder. She could have sworn that it had been working a few minutes ago.

"Why don't we just go now? Don't want to keep your sister waiting," the man suggests.

Izumi sighs. Mina is just going to have to wait.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I don't feel comfortable getting into a car with someone I don't know if I can't ensure my safety."

The man goes quiet, and he sighs heavily. He reaches into his pocket, and Izumi feels the hair on the back of her neck stand.

Before she can do anything, a blur of black appears and slams the man into the pavement. A sickening crunch and low moan of pain brings Izumi back to her senses, and she prepares to run.

"For attempted kidnapping, I'll bite you to death."

She runs as fast as she can back to the park, the sounds of violence following her with every step. Sweat pours down her face as she runs, and she's breathing quicker than she should be. It isn't until her lungs are screaming for air and her knees are about to give out that she stops.

She stops by running right into Namimori's most terrifying disciplinary head, Hibari Kyoya.

He's much sturdier than she'd expected, and she actually feels dizzy when she falls back after colliding with him. Strong arms wrap around her to stop her fall, and she has to close her eyes to get the world to stop spinning before she can finally look at something without wanting to throw up.

Hibari stares down at her with cool gray eyes, wordlessly steadying her on her feet. Revulsion and fear come back up as she realizes what nearly happened to her, and the world sways around her.

Her mind screeches to a halt when she suddenly becomes weightless, and she realizes that Hibari Kyoya is holding her in his arms.

"Please… Please put me down," she protests. "I can—"

She is met with a steely glare that silences her, and she swallows the rest of her words.

He carries her past the park, moving toward an unknown destination. Izumi is too shocked by everything to even be embarrassed by this because oh my God did she almost just get kidnapped?

Wait. They knew about Mina. She looks up at Hibari, who stares straight ahead with his typical emotionless gaze.

"…What."

He phrases it like a statement, but she knows it is a question. Her mouth has gone dry, so she has to lick her lips before responding.

"My sister. He knew about my sister."

"She will be fine, herbivore."

"Can you promise me that?"

He looks down at her then, with a hint of interest. She meets his gaze and does not shrink under its intensity.

"No harm will come to a Namimori citizen."

She immediately wants to tell him that it's impossible for the disciplinary committee to protect everyone in the city, but the conviction in his words make it difficult to oppose him. She swallows but does not break her gaze.

"I'm holding you to that."

She sees what may be the hint of a smile, but, with Hibari's limited facial expressions, it's hard to tell. He finally puts her down when reach their destination, and her brow knits in confusion.

Hibari starts ascending the stairs without her, so she quickly jogs to catch up. Of all places, he's brought her here, to the Namimori Shrine. He stops when he reaches the small shrine, and she goes to join him.

"Come."

Hibari takes a few steps forward and then disappears into the shrine. Izumi stares wide-eyed at the spot where the fearsome man once stood. What on earth?

She starts when he suddenly reappears, glaring at her with an annoyed expression.

"I will not say it twice."

Just like that, he disappears again, and Izumi is left scrambling to make sense of what she's just seen.

She sighs. Her life is getting to be too much. The excitement may kill her. She thinks back to the kidnapper and shudders. It may literally kill her. She peers at the spot Hibari vanished from and tentatively sticks her hand forward. Her hand disappears into thin air, but she can still feel it. Okay, great.

Izumi takes a deep breath to steel herself and vanishes from plain sight.