"Y-Youko?!" Sachiko choked out before she started shaking her head unconsciously. The girl could not believe that she was standing before the only person who had once had so much power over her. She thought she was hallucinating. This could not be true! At least that was what her mind was screaming at her as the rational part of her brain tried to process the chances of Youko's actually coming back and having the courage to speak to Sachiko in person. After a few seconds common sense kicked in and screamed at her to run away. It yelled at Sachiko's heart for being so stupid as to wish to embrace the woman. It urged the girl to run away, but her feet were glued to the ground.

Her eyes were wide. Her lips were trembling. Her fingers were shaking with fear. Her blue crystals suddenly became smudged with fresh tears as she choked. A lone tear made its way down her face as she opened her mouth and closed it. After that she covered it with her hand as she shook her head once more.

"This cannot be true." She whispered between her fingers as more tears escaped the tight hold of her eyelashes and moistened the strangely dry skin on her face.

Youko smiled sadly at Sachiko as tears appeared in her eyes and reached out a hand to touch the one that was currently shielding the girl's mouth. At first it was a simple touch of the fingers, but then it turned into a tight grasp that promised more than just a simple encounter. It promised that it was hear physically and emotionally and that it was not going to leave again.

"It is, Sachiko." Youko whispered afraid that if she spoke too loudly she might scare the poor girl so much that she would run away before even having the chance to talk to Sachiko. After that Youko made a few steps forward and tentatively embraced Sachiko. She sighed in relief when the girl reciprocated it. They stayed like that for a while before Youko was certain that Sachiko had calmed down. That was the reason why she slightly withdrew and looked at Sachiko with a warm smile gracing her features. The expression was mirrored by Sachiko.

"I still can't believe you're back." Sachiko whispered.

Youko reached up with a hand and brushed a few bangs out of Sachiko's eyes as she replied:

"To be honest, neither am I."

Sachiko chuckled at that. Youko smiled as she watched the girl who had recently started crying smile that rare radiant smile that made it seem as though the room had been touched by spring sun rays. Youko's smile grew as she noticed that a small rosy colour adorned Sachiko's cheeks. It was very subtle but still it was present and even though it may sound selfish, Youko was glad that she still had such an effect on the girl in her arms.

Suddenly Youko's phone rang and she mentally groaned at whoever had had the stupidity to call her now at all times of the day. Quite reluctantly she withdrew completely from Sachiko and fished out her phone. She scanned the caller's ID with calculating eyes before she sighed and said:

"I'm sorry Sachiko, but I really need to take this call."

Sachiko nodded after which Youko asked:

"I'll call you later. Is your number still the same?"

Sachiko repeated the previous action with her head automatically as though she were not listening to the person who was speaking to her anymore and maybe she was not. Soon after Youko walked away to talk to whomever had phoned her and Sachiko was free to go back to rehearsing, but she knew that after what had happened, she would not be able to concentrate. After trying and failing to do so for the next thirty minutes the girl gave up on rehearsing for the time being and decided to go for a walk to clear her head.

The wind blew through long raven locks carelessly as it caressed them with a gentle hand. The winter rays were almost unnoticeable but still they managed to reach out a hand and take part of the girl's skin and succeed in warming it up. The sky was clear and did not make the weight on the poor soul's mind heavier. The trees were greener than they usually were for such a season. They watched silently as the girl walked, stopped, furrowed her eyebrows, turned around, then sighed, turned in the opposite way and continued walking. The series of actions were repeated several times, but still every small gesture, every change in expression was witnessed by no one aside from the trees surrounding her, the rocks that accompanied her every step, the wind that continued to stroke her hair and the sun that went on touching her skin, trying to calm her down.

Sachiko did not feel any of that. She had not even noticed that she was soon going to reach the library. She did no acknowledge the few students she had crossed paths with or those that had greeted her. Her mind was focused entirely on the things that had occurred prior to her coming here. She sighed as she put a hand on her forehead and brushed a few bangs out of her eyes. She closed her eyes as her hand remained there as though that stance was going to keep her from falling deeper into the abyss she had managed to escape from.

"Is there really no hope?" She whispered as she opened her eyes and smiled sadly when her eyes met the shining ball of energy that greeted her from far away.

I thought she was not coming back. We… we even agreed on not keeping in touch simply because it would be pointless and it would only lead to more suffering for the both of us so then why… why Youko…? Why did you come back?

Suddenly Sachiko's body collided with that of someone else's. She staggered backwards and was about to fall to the ground when a hand grabbed her own and managed to drag her back up only for the girl to lean forward. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable collision with the earth but the impact did not come. Instead her face met that of elastic fabric and soft chest. A gasp and then a soft moan escaped the lips of the person who had saved her. Sachiko immediately opened her eyes and jolted back. Her eyes widened when she met those of Rei. The latter seemed to be finding it difficult not to moan once more. Sachiko's eyes widened even more as she gasped and asked:

"Oh my God, Rei, did I hurt you?"

Rei soon stopped clutching her eyes shut. She sighed before opening them and chuckling. She then waved Sachiko's worried hands off and said:

"I'm fine. No need to worry."

Sachiko looked skeptically at her friend, but soon decided to let it go. She sighed as her mind went back to what happened today. Her fears intensified tenfold when Rei spoke once more.

"The question should be whether you are alright."

Sachiko's eyes widened as she questioned not bothering to hide her concern and astonishment:

"W-what do you mean? Do rumours really travel that fast around here?!"

Rei chuckled at the girl's uncharacteristically fidgety and open about her inner turmoil behaviour. Normally Sachiko would not stutter, she would either not answer or avoid answering Rei's unvoiced questions altogether. With a deep sigh Rei answered:

"No, Youko was actually quite subtle about everything. If I hadn't seen her while she exited the main rehearsal hall and had confronted her, I would probably not be this informed."

Sachiko listened carefully during Rei's explanation. After her tired mind had digested every last bit of information a sigh of relief escaped the girl's lips. She then closed her eyes and did not bother suppressing the groan that soon came. A weary sigh then came out as she slid to the ground and allowed the tears to fall freely.

Rei's eyes widened. She immediately knelt down and embraced Sachiko. She allowed the girl to cry on her shoulder. Sobs wracked the tired body as it shuddered. Her heart started beating uncontrollably as wounds that had been stitched long ago were cut open with a knife that was still tainted with blood. The red liquid came pouring down along with salty trails of lava that burned the skin that was once flawless. Scars were torn open and turned into fresh wounds. Cuts marred the whiteness and purity. The innocence was stolen. The dead memories were resurrected. The pain was rekindled. The fire was lit up once more. The happiness was destroyed again. The small ounce of control that Sachiko possessed was shattered with the return of the person she had allowed to break her heart.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Sorry for any mistakes I've made. Thank you for reviewing and for guessing. Hah, I bet few of you expected that. A small cliffhanger is always a nice touch, don't you think?

Again thank you for following, favouriting and reading.