Chapter 9

Shattered

A/N: Hello again! Thanks again for the reviews and so sorry for the super late update. I was on vacation for two weeks and couldn't really think of anything to write for this chapter. And . . . I just checked some reviews and one of you asked me to write some H-scenes like they do in the games. To answer your question: no. I'm sorry, but to be honest, I never pay attention to the description nor have the ability to write that kind of stuff. It's also kind of disturbing, so my Sono Hana stories will have no sex scenes in them. Well, except in this chapter, but it's only mentioned, not written. You'll see what I mean once you read it. In the meantime, please continue to enjoy the story! ;)

"You're right. I'm not breaking you guys up.You are."

My eyes widen at what I just heard."Y-you can't be serious . . . right?"

Matsuri frowns. "I am dead serious. If I'm unable to break you two up on my own, then it's time for the last resort: for you to do it yourself."

"B-but, why me? I can't break up with Mai!"

"You were the one who confessed to her in the first place, yes? In front of the entrance at St. Michael's. And then, Mai-sama proposed to you at the exact same spot. So now, you'll need to dump her at the exact same place, which is an easy location, I might say."

I roughly shake my head. "No! You have no right to force me to break up with Mai! I refuse to do what you say! So, screw that!" I turn away as I cross my arms. She can't tell me what to do. I'm an adult, so she's not the boss of me.

"Oh?" She didn't seem surprised at my attitude towards her and again I slightly turn my head towards her. "You refuse, huh? You have quite an attitude. But there's just one problem: if you refuse, I have no choice but to show everyone these." She digs something in her purse and pulls out at least 10 photos.

"W-what are those?" I ask, feeling my body trembling.

"Some pictures I took of you and Mai-sama," she says as she hands them to me. "It was when you two had your little 'love making' session, or should I say, you two having sex!"

My eyes widen as I look at every photo of me and Mai doing lewd stuff to each other, even at the infirmary. Each one of them has Mai doing all the work while I look like I'm in pain, but in a good way, because . . . it was a good feeling.

"Where'd you get these? Who took them?"

"I did. I thought maybe I could take these pictures for a good purpose and then use them at the right moment."

I raise an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"I will consider Mai-sama a pedophile if you refuse to break up with her. That way, everyone will find out about her trying to molest you and then she'll be thrown in jail. What do you say about that?"

I just sit there, photos in hand, while still trembling. I had no idea that she took those pictures without us noticing, mostly because we were too busy doing those stuff. But . . . why would she take them if it was from two years ago? That's not important right now because Mai could be in serious danger if Matsuri told the police about her and showed these photos as evidence.

"I . . . I'll do it," I say, quietly.

"I can't hear you~" Matsuri teases.

"I said I'll do it! There, you happy?"

Matsuri nods as she takes the photos and puts them back in her bag. "I knew you'd see it my way."

"B-but still, it's not right for me to break up with her! I just can't do it!"

Matsuri holds up the photos again with a sly look on her face, as if to say "What did I tell you?"

I clench my fists. "Do I have to?"

"You have to. And you will break up with Mai-sama. Or else these photos go to the police." She waves the photos in the air with glee.

"F-fine," I mutter. "I'll do it, if it's for Mai's sake."

"Excellent. Then it's settled." She stands up and holds out her hand. "Now then, shall we spend the rest of our afternoon together?"

I slowly take her hand while looking away. "I-I guess."


Mai's P.O.V

I pace around the streets, trying to wrap my head around what Matsuri is doing to us. What she's doing is very cruel and we have to somehow find a way to stop her from interfering before she really gets her hands on Reo. Ugh, why does she have to ruin our lives in the first place!? I continue to walk aimlessly down the streets until I catch Yuuna-san standing by a bakery, looking deep in thought. She seems like she's trying to pick out something for someone, probably for Nanami-san or something. I could use someone to talk to, so with that in mind, I approach her with a smile.

"Yuuna-san," I call as I wave to her.

The blonde haired girl looks up and smiles at me. "Oh, hi, Mai-san. What's up?"

"Ah, some things are on my mind right now," I reply, rubbing the back of my head. "What about you?"

"I was just picking out some strawberry cake for Nanami," Yuuna-san replies. "We were sort of craving for desert after dinner tonight, but we didn't have any, so I'm going to buy some now."

"I see." I look down at the ground with a pained look in my eyes. I wish there was some way to make it up to Reo.

When Yuuna-san picks up the cake, she notices my troubled expression. "Is everything alright, Mai-san?"

I shake my head.

"What's wrong? Did Matsuri-san do something to you guys again?"

I nod again and tell her everything that happened as we sit down at a table to discuss it. Yuuna-san listens to every word I said and nods in understanding. Once I'm finished with my story, it was her turn to have a pained expression.

"I can't believe Matsuri-san would do that," Yuuna-san says. "For all I know, she could be doing something to Reo-san right now since she made Reo-san kick you out."

I sigh. "Yes. This is very bad and I don't know how to handle something like this."

Yuuna-san puts her finger on her chin as she tries to think of something. "Hmm . . . I think that you should just make up with Reo and forget this ever happened, okay? Thinking about Matsuri-san all the time isn't very healthy for you guys and your relationship. It will only stress you out even more and then you won't be able to spend time together as much. You don't want that, do you?"

"No." Yuuna-san's got a point there. My mind is so full of Matsuri that I didn't think of anything to spend my time with Reo.

"Then, both of you should figure out how to keep your relationship closer without having to think about Matsuri-san at all. Then, maybe your bond will remain close."

I smile at her. "Thanks, Yuuna-san. I can always count on you."

The gentle blonde smiles back. "If you or Reo-san ever need anything, I'm only a call away. Besides, I want you two to have a happy life together and get married, right?"

I nod. "Yes. That's exactly what we want."

"I once again wish you both luck." With that, Yuuna-san waves good-bye to me and leaves the bakery.

I, however, remain sitting at the table, thinking about what to do with Reo for tomorrow. I have to take her someplace that both of us will enjoy and probably have fun eating at a restaurant. Okay, Mai! I know what to do now! I shall take Reo out for a lovely date tomorrow and show that Matsuri witch who's boss!


Reo's P.O.V

For the rest of the afternoon, Matsuri and I spend our fun time together, or at least Matsuri was the one who had fun. We finished going to the movies, and now we are grabbing a smoothie at some small shop. We also did some shopping at the mall, like buying several clothing and looking at cute toys at the toy store for me to buy. All in all, I was miserable. Being with Matsuri is not the same as being with Mai. I really wish she were here instead of Matsuri.

The silver haired girl drinks her strawberry smoothie. "Mmm! That's super sweet and yummy! How's yours, Reo-sama?"

"It's okay," I mutter as I play around with the straw and stir the smoothie around.

"You hardly touched your smoothie. Is something the matter?"

I frown at her. "I still can't believe you would even do this to us. We are meant to be together."

"Well, you and I are supposed to be meant to be," Matsuri counters. "Mai-sama is just a dumb witch who only babies you for simple stuff."

"She's not always like that!" I yell at her, causing some people to stare at us, but I could careless about that. "She and I love each other, no matter how childish and needy I am to her! I'm her girlfriend and soon-to-be wife to her!"

Matsuri just flips her long hair. "Whatever. If you don't do what I ask, I'll show these to the cops and then you'll never see your lover ever again." She holds up the photos again, just to make me feel very guilty.

"Fine," I mutter as I take a small sip of my smoothie.

"Excellent." Matsuri puts the photos back in her pocket and smiles. "And just to go easy on you: before you break up with her, I want you to spend your last day with Mai-sama tomorrow, just because I feel it's necessary to make one last memory before you two are over for good. Then, at exactly sunset, take Mai-sama to the spot where you first confessed to her and break up with her. If you refuse, these photos go to the police."

I bite my lip as I take in everything that's being said. So, I have to make my last day with Mai very meaningful, so that I won't forget it for as long as I live. This might be hard to think about though since there's so many other things that we could have done together as a couple. I slowly nod to Matsuri, saying that I will do as she wishes.

"Wonderful," the silver-haired girl says, smiling. "Well, before we part here today, I would just like to wish you both luck: for the break up tomorrow and our start of our relationship."

"Yes, sure," I mutter again. "Whatever." I don't even want to hear another word from that witch if it's the last thing I do. All I need is for her to get out of our lives and let Mai and I be in peace!

It isn't long before Matsuri finishes her smoothie and I just throw away mine, just because I don't feel like drinking mine. From then on, we walk back towards my apartment, holding hands for the first time. I look up at the silver-haired girl and she smiles at me with glee. I'm guessing that she's very excited that she's finally holding hands with me, only she was the one who insisted on it and I had no choice but to accept her offer. It only takes about 15 minutes to get to my apartment and once we enter my room, I'm about to walk in when Matsuri speaks up.

"Remember, Reo-sama," she says. "Spend your last day with Mai-sama, break up with her and call me when you do. I have other plans in mind."

I just nod, not even wanting to speak with her. With that, I close the door and just slump on my bed. What do I do? Mai is very important to me and if I break up with her, things would not only be depressing, but also trouble. If I refuse Matsuri's demand, she's going to show the photos to the police, accusing Mai of being a pedophile and molesting me for her own desires. I could feel tears trying to force their way out as I think about what to do on my last day with Mai.

There's a sudden knock on the door.

"Go away!" I yell as I roll over on my belly, burying my face with a pillow.

"Reo," a familiar voice says. "It's me, Mai. May I come in?"

Ah! Mai! She's here! "Y-yes!" She proceeds to open the door and the first thing I do is jump into her arms, burying my face in her chest.

"R-Reo?" Mai says, slightly surprised at this action. "Is there something the matter?"

"I love you, Mai," I whisper while trying not to cry in front of her. "I love you so much."

"I-I love you, too, Reo," Mai says while stroking my hair gently, smiling. "Anyway, I came here to tell you great news. I want to make it up to you by going on a wonderful date tomorrow. You can have anything you want, Reo, even if it's a lot of candy or other junk food, it's all yours. We're gonna have a fun time together tomorrow, Reo. Sound good?"

"Y-yes," I mutter. "Um . . . I want to take you somewhere, too . . . after we do all that."

"Oh? Where to?"

"I-it's a surprise."

Mai raises an eyebrow for a moment before she giggles. "Ah, Reo. Now you're keeping secrets from me. Are you getting even with me for having me keeping playful secrets from you?"

Her teasing doesn't set me off at all, for it's only Matsuri is in my head right now. "Um . . . y-yes. That's for payback. Anyway, let's do it."

"Wait, seriously? You're willing?"

I nod. "Might as well make the best of it." Even for my last day with her.

"Oh, Reo~! Thank you!" She tackles me into a hug, making us tumble to the bed. "I love you!"

I just nod my head. Oh, Mai. I wish you could understand what I'm going through here.


"Over here, Reo!" Mai beckons me to the mall we're going to the next morning.

I slowly drag my feet along to where Mai is and start our final day together. First, we do some clothes shopping. Mai picks out some clothes that I don't even care about any more and she picks out hers that she enjoys. We then enter a candy store where I bough some candy bars, ice cream and even pocky sticks. I only bought a few because I know we're going to be full of stuff once we're done with the place. We then head out to a smoothie store to grab ourselves a smoothie as desert after going to a yummy restaurant for lunch and sit near the fountain in the middle of the mall. Mai happily drinks her smoothie and looks over to me.

"Are you having fun, Reo?" she asks, happily.

"Yes, I sure am," I reply, trying to smile at her. Only for my last day with you, I think.

"Oh, good! Because next, we're going to the park together and have fun! And then after that, we'll finish our day by watching the sunset."

"Um . . . Mai . . . "

"Oh, yeah. You said that you were going to take me somewhere, too. I'm sorry. We'll just finish it off by doing that instead."

I nod my head as tears sting my eyes. I'm not very happy about our finishing day at all. Once I do it, it will be all over.

After we finish our smoothie, both of us finish exploring the mall and chat about random stuff. I, however, just rarely spoke since I know that the hour I'm about to break up with the one I love is getting closer and closer. And it's right at the spot where I confessed to her, which is 10 times worse! Each time Mai would ask me if something is wrong, I just play it cool and say everything is alright and I'm having a great time, even thought I'm actually not.

We finally arrive at the park, where it's mostly crowded with people around here. There were children playing on the playground with the adults supervising them, other adults talking and the elderly feeding the birds.

"Come on, Reo!" Mai encourages. "Over here!" She happily runs over to a huge tree while I slowly follow.

"What are we doing now?" I ask.

"Why, we're having fun! I mean, it is still summer, right?"

"I-I guess." I dont care anymore. You have no idea what you're gonna get once we finish off this "date".

Mai smirks at me and lightly taps me on the shoulder. "Tag, you're it!"

I just look up and stare at her for a bit.

"What's the matter, Reo?" She teases as she stops to turn around. "Are you too slow and small to even chase me?"

My eyes twitch at her words. That's the one and only thing that sets me off whenever someone makes fun of my height. I clench my fists in anger as my lover continues laughing.

"Oh, Reo!" Mai says, waving her hand at me. "Come on, little kid! Is it that hard to chase down a big girl like me?"

Finally, my inner volcano erupts. "GRRRAAAAAAHHHHH! I'M NOT SOME LITTLE KID!"

Mai just laughs as I finally take off after her, first around the tree, the play ground and pretty much near the bench. While I stop to catch my breath, Mai is still running and not even tired yet! Curse her and her athletic abilities!

"Give up?" Mai teases. "Little kid?"

I growl at her. "You're just lucky I got tired easily or else I would've tRon you to pieces with my bare hands!"

"Yes, yes," Mai says, waving her hand disissively. She walks over to the bench. "Here, why don't the both of us sit and rest for a bit?"

"S-sure." With that in mind, I drag myself to the bench and sit next to my lover. All that running is making me very tired and sleepy. So I rest my head on Mai's shoulder.

"Your hair is tickling my face," she giggles.

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No. Just that I like it when you do this. This is a great feeling." She closes her eyes while continuing to smile. "Ah, I can still remember the first time when we first met: how small and cute you were, how warm your fluffy hair is and that cute voice of yours. Man, that was really something when I mistook you for a first year back in St. Michael's. But nevertheless, after we became a couple, I didn't care how small you were. As long as I still love you, that's all that counts."

I suddenly look up at her. "Y-you mean that?"

Mai nods. "Yes. I love you, Reo. And I'm glad that we're finally getting married."

Tears sting my eyes as she said this. Mai, I wish I could say the same thing, but . . . I don't think we're gonna do this as promised soon, just for your protection, I think to myself.

My head remains on her shoulder as I feel sleep taking over and then, I can only see darkness around me, something I might never come out of.


"Reo . . . Reo," Mai says as she gently shakes me awake. "It's already 5:00 in the afternoon. Are you planning on sleeping the whole time?"

I slowly sit up as I realize that our time has nearly come. I turn to her with a pained look in my eyes, which confuses her.

"Reo? What's the matter?"

"Follow me, Mai. I promised I'd take you somewhere to finish off our date, so now's the time."

"Oh . . . okay." She just shrugs, as if she has no idea what's going on, but decides to go with it for now.

She follows me to the path where St. Michael's is. My eyes get more and more watery by the minute as I take in my final minutes with her in my memory the best I could. I look back to notice her looking around, probably not having the slightest idea where we are.

"Um . . . just exactly where are we going?" She asks.

"Just keep following me," I simply say.

Mai slowly nods and does what I ask. We keep walking along the path until I see the school building, with a row of trees standing along side it. Mai stops and notices the school building as well.

"Reo," she says. "This is the spot where you first confessed to me and then I proposed to you soon after. But . . . why are we here again? Why did you take me to this place?"

I slowly turn around, not wanting to look her in the eye as I can feel tears staring to force their way out. Mai gives me a stern look as she puts her hands on her hips.

"Reo, I don't understand. Why bring me to such a place to finish off our date?"

Oh, Mai. I wish I could tell you everything. I swallow hard and look up at her. "Mai . . . there's something I have to tell you."

She raises an eyebrow. "Okay . . ."

"I know we had a lot of fun, doing our date and all . . . but, now I think we should . . . I mean . . . I think this is for the best."

"What?" Mai looks at me in confusion and worry.

"I don't want to see you anymore . . ." I swallow hard again to keep myself from sobbing in front of her.

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know." Small tears are starting to drop down my face. "You've been . . . babying my for the past couple years, you were never there for me when I needed you that one time on our last final days of school . . ." I wipe one of the tears away. "I can't do this . . . We're breaking up!" It took all of my strength just to say it.

Mai's eyes widen as i said it. "W-what did you say?"

"Didn't you hear me? Mai, it's over. We're breaking up!"

It is Mai's turn to start crying. "Oh, Reo, please! Please don't say that! I know I've been taking care of you more than I intend to, but look at you! You're learning to walking on your own, right!?"

I just turn away, not wanting to take much more of this. I'm so sorry, Mai. But . . . it's just to protect you.

She wipes some of the tears that were coming out and quickly takes my hands in her own. "We love each other, Reo! I love you! I'm your girlfriend! Why would you do this to me!?"

I say nothing as I keep on not looking at her in the eye. It's only because I want to protect you. Mai then lifts up my hand to her level, showing me the ring she had put on me.

"You see this Reo? I was the one who gave you this, as a symbol for us getting married soon! So, why, Reo!? Why!?" She is on the verge of crying since a bunch of tears are already spilling out.

All I could do is gently pull away. "Mai . . . I'm sorry. But . . . it's time for us to move on. We . . . aren't meant to be after all."

My lover gasps as she takes notice of me taking off my engagement ring and gently take her hand. "Thank you for being my girlfriend and I'm sure our memories will remain in our hearts."

"Reo, don't . . ."

I just gently place the ring on her hand, turn and run off with tears finally falling.

"REO!"

I don't even bother looking back nor hear her as leave the one I love behind me.


A/N: Well, here's another super long chapter for you guys. Yes, the break up was sort of taken from Spider-Man 3, but I decided to change things around for a bit.

Again, I'm so sorry for the late update. I was on summer vacation for two weeks and then I had to help out my family. But don't worry! I finally posted this chapter just for you guys! I know you were expecting an update, so I finally did it. Oh, and many of you are wondering what Matsuri would do now that Mai and Reo broke up. Stay tuned next chapter to find out!

Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review! ;)