Part Seven: Void
Time passes.
Seasons change.
Kubinashi is never the same. His loyalty to Rikuo and Wakana is the only thing that keeps him going, the only thing that keeps him fighting; he can't leave them like this, not after he'd promised the Second Heir that he'd always stand by them.
He withdraws.
He and Ryota Neko make up, eventually. Their decades old falling out is forgotten, in light of Kubinashi's crumbling sense of self, and for once the blond isn't embarrassed to forsake his pride. As much as he hates to admit it, he needs Ryota Neko.
He spends a lot more time on the roof these days, sometimes with company, sometimes without. When with, he prefers to be around Kappa, or sometimes Itaku if the Tono have come to visit; Kappa because he respects the need for silence sometimes, and Itaku because he isn't afraid to pick a fight, and sometimes Kubinashi really needs an outlet for the sheer anger that he feels at the world sometimes.
But, the world keeps turning.
Time passes.
(It never feels the same again, not really)
