Izumi

The day had been filled with enough surprises to last her a lifetime…Every bit of her day, from the moment she had seen Takuya with his "daughter" to this moment, right here, in her hotel room which was shrinking every second….

…had in store for her a new twist…

Finding out about Takeru had taken the last bit of energy from her. Izumi, despite her sniffling to suppress her tears, was leaving tearstains on the surface of the room's desk. She was a wreck, she had been all day, she had been for 5 years.

Hikari's mouth was open, the same kind of look a girl would don anytime one of her most intimate secrets was thrown in front of the world for everyone to see. The way the brunette's eyes—those incredibly beautiful cherry orbs—shook as she stared at her once best friend…

"You…you haven't answered my question."

Izumi remained still as Hikari approached her hesitantly.

The look on Hikari's face…oh, she must have thought Izumi was insane. More tears fell from Izumi's eyes. Perhaps the Italian girl had gone way past her emotional limit. The day had been filled with one surprising slap in the face after another.

Izumi hated surprises.

It wouldn't be so bad if Hikari simply admitted it.

The way the girl's eyes glimmered with hope as she talked about Takuya and the way her voice became softer, so much gentler, as she spoke of the man, Izumi knew. It was so obvious, and it was so painful at the same time. Izumi would have that same glimmer in her eyes and she would get that same, gentle voice, but that was an eternity ago. It was when she was seventeen and she hadn't left. It was all before she lost hope.

"I am not in love with him."

Izumi lowered her head. Blonde wisps fell into her face.

"Sure, sure. That doesn't mean that you weren't allowed to love him."

"No-"

"I guess it's expected. Takuya's your husband after all…you raised Little Izumi together. You lived with him for all this time, so how am I to expect that you didn't grow some sort of attachment to him?"

"I've always thought of him as a-a friend. I'm not in love with him."

"It would be better if you just accepted it, because it would make your life so much easier, and an easy life is exactly what I want for you and Takuya."

Hikari's heart stopped.

"Izumi?"

Takuya

…did she even understand what all of this meant? How these five years seemed like a depression, but today, as much as he didn't want to admit, everything bad just washed away when he saw her figure standing in front of her family's old house.

"Father?"

The only reason these past five years hadn't sent him into depression was staring at him, intently. The two of them were sitting on an ornate bench in the hotel lobby. Little Izumi was kicking her legs excitedly as they swung in the air. She had been previously pre-occupied with trying to make the microphone Izumi had given her to turn on. Luckily, she hadn't figured that out, or else Takuya would have had another problem on his hands.

Or would he? To get Little Izumi to obey, it didn't take much. A simple warning in a reassuring voice, and the girl would understand and cease her actions immediately. She knew what the smarter course of action was. She was brilliant, Takuya noted, just like her father.

Little Izumi almost totally resembled Takeru. She had his blonde hair. It fell around her head in wispy layers that rested against her shoulders (and went just a little past into her back). Even her eye color was…when Takuya would look at pictures Hikari had of her first husband, Takeru's cool eyes jumped out at him. Their striking sky blue hue reflected in Little Izumi's eyes, just like his intelligence did through every figment of her body.

Takuya wondered if Takeru would approve of the name he had given the girl… He had never been serious about naming her Izumi.

In fact, every time he called his daughter's name, he was reminded of that day five years ago when a piece of him left to fly off to Italy. Thus, he had never been able to call her just 'Izumi'.

"Are you gonna miss her?"

He put a hand in his daughter's hair and ruffled it.

"Yeah."

"You loved her, right?"

"No."

"But, mother said she was the only girl you ever loved!" Her voice was the indignant kind a child would use when asking why they couldn't open their Christmas presents a night early.

"Mother was wrong." He ruffled the girl's hair again as he sighed.

"So you really didn't love her?" Despite her intelligence, there was only so much a little girl could take before giving in. If her father didn't love Big Izumi, then there was so much she was confused about.

"No."

"Oh." It was as if someone had told her Santa Claus wasn't real. Little Izumi leaned back against the wall and tried to distract herself with the microphone.

"I still do."

Izumi

"It's the least you deserve after what you've been through over the past few years. I want you and Takuya to have an easy life together."

"But don't you want…" Hikari trailed off, staring at Izumi questioningly.

"Forget about me. I'll be gone before you know it. Be healthy, be happy, et cetera, et cetera," Izumi explained, forcing a smile.

"But you love him!"

Izumi shrugged stiffly.

Hikari was torn. How to get Izumi to stay—satisfying what she knew was Takuya's wish—while keeping her own happiness in mind. These thoughts made Hikari feel selfish…but what else was she supposed to do?

Their life, though very unorthodox, had been steady over the past few years. In a good financial situation, good house, amazing husband, genius daughter…It was all so perfect.

But when she came back…The moment Hikari had found out she had returned…

Hikari knew that this wasn't going to be an easy day.

And she knew Izumi was right. It wasn't exactly a secret to Hikari, but it felt weird when someone else told her that they saw it, too. She couldn't admit it, though…it would just crush Izumi's spirits even more. She didn't know if she could do that.

"I-"

She was cut off. Both girls turned to the room's door, where a knock had interrupted Hikari.

Izumi walked over to the door and looked through the hole. After noting who it was, she unlocked the door and let them in.

Little Izumi ran to her mother's leg while Takuya stood in the doorway nervously..

"Yes, Takuya?" Hikari asked. Izumi thought again about just leaving. Once again, she was the piece that didn't belong.

"I need to talk to Izumi."

Hikari mulled it over. Out of all the people Izumi probably wanted to see when she returned to Japan, Takuya was the most important.

But the thought of Takuya and Izumi alone together made Hikari's heart squeeze in an uncomfortable way.

Hikari's smile was too wide for it to be real, but no one felt the need to point out her obvious saddened disposition. "Alright, Takuya. Come on, Little Izumi."

With that said, the woman walked with all the dignity she could muster to the door and through it with Little Izumi happily following in her footsteps with a slight skip in her step. Izumi closed the door with a little frustration.

"Hey, Izu-chan."

"Kanbara," she said.

"Did Hikari tell you about TK and the Takaishi's?"

What she was just told about Takeru almost made Izumi cry again. "Yes."

Takuya fidgeted. Perhaps coming to talk to Izumi wasn't such a good idea. Little Izumi had thought it was, though. This is the last time I'll take advice from a three-year-old.

"You did a good thing for Hikari. You gave her everything when she needed it the most," Izumi said sincerely. "Thank you for that. For helping her. It was very selfless. I couldn't expect any less from you."

Takuya was flattered, yet confused. A minute ago, she seemed furious that he wanted to talk to her. Now, she was complimenting him?

"Well, thank you. It was nothing. I know you would've found a way to help her if you were there."

"I was far away, and it was my choice to leave, which brings me to what's happened in the past few years… you've built a perfect life for yourself. Don't throw away what you have had with Hikari for the past three years because you've seen me for a day."

"I don't love her. At least, not the way a husband should love his wife," he said. It was as if he was ashamed of himself.

"Then try, Takuya, please just try."

"I love you. I loved you a week ago, a year ago, five years ago…And it was my fault that I didn't understand what you meant when you told me those very same words."

Izumi looked down. She remained quiet and unnaturally still.

"And I still love you," he said.

"I love you too," she said slowly.

As Takuya came closer to her, Izumi stepped backwards.

"What are you doing?"

He came closer, she stepped away.

"Takuya, I can't ever let us grow any closer than we are now."

Hikari

Hikari pressed her back against the hallway wall and felt like crying. She squeezed her eyes together to stop the tears.

What could two people who loved each other be doing in a hotel room, anyway?

This thought made Hikari want to knock on the door and pull her husband out. Yes. Her husband. What right did Izumi have to him?

And would he really be willing to give up their life together for the sake of Izumi?

"Mother, you should really stop crying."

"Not now, sweetie," Hikari replied. She pressed her back even harder against the door and let herself slide down. She fell on the floor with a thud and let her head fall onto her knees.

"Big Izumi told me it was good to let out your feelings and that I shouldn't keep them inside, but mother, I don't like seeing you cry. There, there, mother. It will be alright. Father and Big Izumi are going to get married!"

Hikari looked up. "We don't know that they're going to get married."

"But they're in love. That means they have to get married, right mother?"

Hikari looked away from her daughter. She wanted to say not necessarily. She wanted to tell her daughter that Takuya couldn't just leave them. It wasn't fair.

But she didn't say anything. She put her head down on her knees once again and shrugged.

"I think I'd like to sing at their wedding. That sounds like fun. Mother, maybe you can dance at the wedding?! You like to dance right? It'll be fun, mother. I can imagine it now…"

Izumi

"Izumi, don't be stubborn," Takuya scoffed. "You're not going to ruin anything."

Izumi walked around to the far edge of her bed and sat down.

"He says I'm not going to ruin anything… hah! That's what you think. Have you asked your wife?"

"About what?"

"What do you think? She's not just going to let you walk out of this family that you have made with her… And I really don't think you should, either. It's not right."

"I don't love her. And she'll get all the money we have after the divorce. It's not like I'll be leaving her with nothing," he said indignantly.

"She doesn't want the money, though."

"No, I guess not. She's not a materialistic person."

"So… so…"

"So…?"

"So do you know what she wants? Do you know why she wouldn't want you to leave her?"

Takuya crossed his arms

"No idea. I don't owe her anything."

He looked at her.

"Do you know?"

Izumi turned and looked at the window. She tried to hear if the thunderstorm had ceased. It sounded like there was no rain.

…but…

"She loves you. Hikari's in love with you."

…just as she said that…

A big bolt of lightning illuminated the room.

For a millisecond, Izumi's eyes were lime as the lightning filled the entire room with a burst of light.

Caramel stared at lime. They widened in understanding and shock.

"Hikari," Takuya said her name as if it were some sort of foreign word. He never got the vibe that she was in love with him. Then again, he reminded himself, even when a girl told him she loved him he didn't get the romantic undertone. How could I be so stupid?

"I was considering staying before I realized how much she cared for you. Then I decided that I couldn't break a happy home. I don't want that on my shoulders."

"So you're leaving?"

"Yes. By this time tomorrow, I'll be in Rome. I'm going on the first flight out."

"You barely got a chance to catch up with everyone!"

"Takuya… just leave."

'We need to talk about so much… I can't just leave you now." The boy grabbed her shoulder and looked straight into her eyes. Izumi, however, immediately shook him off and stalked over to the door.

"Leave."

"Izumi, don't be ridiculous. There's so much to say."

"Not really. Leave or I'll call security!"

Hikari

Hikari nearly got a whiplash from turning her head so quickly. She had not been expecting the door to open.

She heard Takuya's voice. He was clearly trying to plead something to Izumi. However, within a few seconds, Takuya walked out of the door, and as soon as he was out of the room, the door slammed quickly behind him.

"Father!" Little Izumi exclaimed. She yawned.

"Let's go home, father."

She was looking at him expectantly, unsure if the news was good or bad. She was biting her lip, and he could make out tear stains on her heart-shaped face.

Hikari was asking him what happened without speaking. Takuya looked down.

"It'll be alright, Takuya," she said to the man she loved so very dearly. It was evident in her voice, and Takuya picked up on it. She didn't seem glad that Izumi was leaving, but her voice wasn't exactly depressed either. Takuya didn't blame her. Hikari was entitled feelings and she was entitled happiness.

However, Takuya thought, he was entitled his happiness, too.

Izumi

The wait in the airport terminal was brutal. She'd do anything to just board the plane and go, without the agony of extra time. With extra time just came extra, unwanted thoughts.

That's why she was glad she had a book. Though, the book didn't distract her enough. Of all the stupid choices she had ever made, choosing a romance book to read during this wait had to be one of her worst. Every time she had to read about the stupid heroine who was in love with the stupid boy and how the stupid boy loved her but they couldn't get together for some stupid reason…love stories were so stupid.

She closed the book and stuffed it into her bag. She pulled out her cell phone and checked the time.

5:47

They were supposed to board the flight 32 minutes ago.

"Now boarding for Flight 563 to Rome. Now boarding for Flight 563 to Rome. All passengers, please report to Gate 17. All passengers, please report to Gate 17."

Izumi eagerly put her phone back into her bag and stood up. She pulled the bag over her shoulder and walked—with a slight limp due to the weight of the bag—to Gate 17. She got a feeling of satisfaction. It wasn't necessarily a good feeling, but if felt as though she had finally finished something. Like she had gotten some sort of closure. It wasn't a good feeling, but she lived with a lot of bad feelings. And she had turned out fine.

Fine.

Any feeling of satisfaction was completely washed away when she saw who was standing before the gate, waiting for her in a semicircle of doom.

Kouichi, Shinya, Tomoki, Ken, Daisuke, Miyako, JP, and Kouji, with Hikari, Takuya and Little Izumi in the center.

Shit.

Izumi gripped the strap around her shoulder. She glanced at all of them, slightly angered that they had the nerve to come and try and stop her.

Without another word and a very deep breath, she stepped forward again, pushing between Takuya and Hikari as she moved.

She could see the woman at the gate entrance, collecting tickets. She was so close. She could feel herself sitting on the veranda of her Italian house, sipping an iced tea as she typed up another article, enjoying the gentle breeze of the Mediterranean sunset. It was to be hers in a matter of hours.

"If you love father, then why are you leaving?"

"Little Izumi, even you wouldn't understand."

"You were the princess! Father was the prince! You were supposed to have a fairytale wedding and I was supposed to sing at it! Big Izumi, I think I understand this perfectly!"

Izumi turned around completely. Little Izumi had broken away from the rest of the group and was standing a couple of feet in front of her.

Big Izumi leaned down. She gestured with her finger for Little Izumi to come closer.

"Come here."

Little Izumi obeyed. When she was close enough, Big Izumi hugged the child. At that moment, everyone noticed how similar the girls looked. Little Izumi's hair had a more golden glow compared to Big Izumi's platinum shine, but to passerby a distance away, they looked like mother and daughter.

The two Izumis stayed in this embrace for a few seconds. Big Izumi seemed to be crying, but her face was buried in the little girl's hair. Big Izumi pulled away after a moment. As she wiped a tear from her eyes, she continued to stare at the little girl.

"The grown-ups haven't gotten together like this with everyone in one place since mother and father's anniversary party. Mother and father said they really weren't as close since you left before. But they came for you. Everyone did, you see. And that means you're special!"

Izumi looked down. She didn't enjoy being the cause of a little girl's pain.

"You can't leave if you're that special," whispered Little Izumi.

"Remember what I told you about always keeping your feelings open, okay? The princess doesn't always end up with the prince."

"I'll still miss you," the little girl said. She never had to say goodbye to anyone before. It hurt to think that she would never see this green-eyed princess anymore.

"Thank you. I'll miss you too."

Big Izumi stood up. "Hikari, good luck with your family and whatever else you choose to do. And, please call her Izumi from now on. She doesn't need to be reminded of 'Big' Izumi."

"Thank you."

Izumi bowed to Kouichi.

"Kouichi, you made my day so much better yesterday. Thank you."

"Izumi, you don't have to leave," Kouichi said softly.

Ignore him, Izumi told herself. She turned to JP.

"JP, I'll always keep a special place for you in my heart. Thank you for listening to me all those years ago. I'll never forget you."

JP looked away as he mumbled, "You're welcome, Izumi."

Izumi then glanced at the rest of the adults. Kouji and Miyako and Tomoki and Shinya and Daisuke and Ken. She tried to etch the memory of them standing there forever into the confines of her mind.

For a moment, just watching all of them gave her a strong urge to rip up her boarding pass.

"Last call for Flight 563 to Rome. Last call for Flight 563 to Rome."

"Five years ago, I did a selfish thing by leaving. Now, the selfish thing would be for me to stay."

"Thank you, all of you, for reminding me of what selflessness could be"

Izumi bowed. She stayed that way for a good minute, letting gravity pull all her tears away from her face. "Takuya, Takuya Kanbara," she sobbed, "I'm so sorry…! Please… learn to love her… She's one of the best. Love her and try to give Little Izumi a normal family. Please!"

When she resurfaced, everyone seemed to be crying, or at least had tears in their eyes. Takuya and Izumi made eye contact.

"Stay with me."

She turned swiftly and walked toward the gate. There, she reached into her bag and gave her boarding pass to the woman at the podium. As she was cleared to board, she nearly ran into the entrance of the plane.

Without once looking back, she boarded the plane.

Takuya

"She's doing what she thinks is best for you, Takuya. This is what she thinks is right," Kouji said consolingly.

"I tried so hard to convince her that she didn't need to leave. I want to marry her," Takuya explained as his face fell into his hands. Kouji leaned back into his seat. It felt like déjà vu. He was the one who tried to calm Takuya down a few days after Izumi left five years ago.

Takuya glanced up. Across from him, Hikari was sitting in another row of seats, looking depressed.

"Hey, Hikari. I don't blame you for anything."

Hikari looked up, looking rather startled. Her bright cherry eyes still shook with tears.

"Oh… thank you," she replied, feeling a little relieved.

"Guys, look! The plane," JP said as he watched a massive plane start moving down the runway.

Takuya, Kouji, and Hikari stood up immediately as they joined the others by the window.

JP trembled. That plane was taking Izumi away to the other side of the world. Izumi may have never returned his feelings, but she was still his first and only love. JP turned away from the window, unable to watch.

"Do you think she'll be happy?" Hikari asked Miyako as they all watched the plane lift off.

Miyako said nothing.

"No. Big Izumi won't be happy."

"Why do you say that, Li—Izumi? She can start a new life there."

"Yeah, maybe, mother, but her family is here."

"Her family?" Takuya asked as he glanced at the little girl.

"Chuujitsu, Father. Chuujitsu. It was very obvious that she loved all her friends very much, so much that to her, her friends are also family. Why else would she be crying like that when she was leaving? Chuujitsu. You're loyal to your family, right? And you're supposed to love your family, right? Everyone she cared for is here, I think. So until she makes more friends, her family will remain here…"

The little girl kept her eyes on the sky as all the adults around felt a little more reassured that Izumi would be happy, ultimately.

Both of them.

Izumi

It was apparently foggy wherever they were flying over. All she could see outside her window was a gray mist. It was a little depressing, but Izumi promised that she wouldn't let herself get too sad anymore.

She had enough tears yesterday to last her for a lifetime.

She hated tears.

Izumi pulled down the shade for her window.

So, she decided to pull out her iPod. Perhaps a little classical music would make her feel better. Whenever her father played it, her spirits seemed to relax a little.

Any hopes of relaxing, though, were wiped away when she put her headphones in. As she turned her iPod on, a ringing started running through her ears.

Izumi pressed a button and moved onto the next song.

Again, a buzzing started to fill her ears.

She went to the next song.

It was the same thing.

The song after that, the same thing.

Izumi pulled out the headphones. Maybe they had gone faulty or something. However, even with the headphones in her hands, the strange noise continued in her ears.

She felt a little indignant. What was with first class these days? The round-trip tickets to Japan and back were certainly not cheap, and with the investment she made in said tickets, she expected a decent, noiseless ride. And what was worse, the noise seemed to be getting louder.

Izumi looked down the aisle to see if any of the other passengers noticed the sounds. Strangely, though, they were all conversing or watching the on-flight movie or doing something that told Izumi they weren't affected by the noise.

Slowly, their voices were being drowned out by the noise. She tried moving her head to every direction, but nevertheless, her ears continuously rang as if she were standing beside a bee hive.

She heard tinnitus was caused by stress. Perhaps she would see if the airline carried any medicine for this malady, even though she remembered that there really was no treatment for this disorder.

Izumi stood up quickly. She practically tripped into the aisle, getting frantic as the noise got louder.

A hassled-looking flight attendant approached her.

"Miss, we do have a button you can press if you need assistance."

Izumi practically had to strain to hear her above the noise. "My ears!" she cried.

The woman grabbed Izumi's hand and dragged her over to her little row. "Perhaps you're tired, Miss? I'll be happy to bring you a pillow, but first you must return to your seat."

"No, you don't understand! There's something wrong!" Izumi didn't care that that was one of the worst things one could say on a plane. And with her voice being a little loud, the nearby passengers became more than a little jittery.

The flight attendant realized the damage control she needed to do.

"Please, Miss, I'll bring you some sleeping pills. Hmmm? How's that sound? In the meantime, you can look at the pretty sky outside." she lifted the shade. "It's a little cloudy outside today. But it's a nice and brisk way to start your morning."

Izumi pulled away from the woman. Perhaps it was the ringing in her ears, but the attendant's voice sounded like it was being done on a Mr. Microphone…

As the attendant continued to pester Izumi to look out the window, Izumi noticed more and more that the woman's voice was becoming less audible. They started to sound like a buzzing. Izumi stared at the attendant incredulously.

A second later, everything around her turned black and all she could hear was the buzz…

Buzz

Buzz

Buzz

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The seventeen-year-old Izumi awoke with a jolt.

i suggest you read the epilogue now.