Sitting down on the bus stop's bench, Makoto sighed as he leaned forward to prop his right elbow to his knee. He has been waiting for almost 10 minutes, and still no signs of Kirigiri.

He was starting to fear that she might've ditched him, or, something might have happened to her on her way to the bus stop, since she wasn't taking his calls nor responding to his texts.

He sat there anxiously, mentally debating whether to look for her or not. He worries that she might just be late and if he leaves, she'd think he never came.

"Agh," He breathed in irritation as he dialed her number again. "Please pick up." He mumbled worriedly to himself as he looked at the screen.

"Naegi-kun."

His eyes shot wide as he lifted his gaze, only to see Kirigiri standing in front of him.

"Kirigiri-san!" He felt a flood of relief wash through him the moment he saw her. Soon enough upon having a good look at her; he felt a blush creeping into his cheeks.

She was wearing a sleeveless white collared blouse; tucked in her pastel blue A-line skirt.

C-Cute.

However, as his eyes caught her hands; his brows furrowed involuntarily as he remembered the conversation he had with Seiko.

"Naegi-kun, do you notice something that Kyouko-chan always wear?"

Makoto closed his eyes and tented his fingers under his chin as he thought of Kirigiri. 'something she always wear…'

He opened his eyes, and cluelessly looked at Seiko. The silver haired girl sighed, and lifted her hand to show Naegi what she meant. Makoto's eyes widened in realization, that Kirigiri's wearing a pair of black gloves as well – almost similar to Seiko's.

"Gloves?"

Seiko nodded. "I wear gloves because I handle chemicals to create different kinds of potions and cures. But Kyouko-chan… she wears them everyday for another reason."

The sadness in the silver-haired girl's voice was evident, as she started telling him everything that she knew.

"Although Kyouko-chan never told me what truly happened, but she told me that she grew attached to someone and made a bad decision. Her gloves are a daily remainder of what happened to her."

…

…

"You came too early," Kirigiri remarked, snapping Makoto back to reality. "The bus to Kamakura often arrives here around 10, and it's still 9:45."

Kirigiri silently sat down next to him, keeping a distance between them.

"A-ano, Kirigiri-san," He started, trying to keep his voice casual and his heartbeat steady. "I've been calling you for almost 15 minutes and you haven't answered any of it."

"Huh?"

Kirigiri pulled her phone out from her purse and saw Makoto's 20 missed calls as soon as she unlocked her screen.

"Why were you ca-"

"I was worried about you." Makoto spoke silently, cutting her off before she could even ask her question.

"Were you? Or were you worried that I might not show up?"

He looked at her with a small smile on his lips as he answered, "Yes, I was worried that you might not show up because of what happened yesterday. But I was also worried that something might've happened to you while you were on your way here."

Kirigiri heaved a sigh. "I'm old enough to take care of myself," Kirigiri turned her face slightly away from Makoto's gaze as she continued, "but thank you for being concerned."

His soft smile widened as he caught a pink tint crept across her cheeks. "Of course, I'm concerned. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you…"

Again.

As the bus arrived, they sat next to each other, with Kirigiri occupying the seat next to the window. On their way to Kamakura, Makoto noticed that Kirigiri was staring silently outside of the window, sadness evident in her eyes as her mind seems to drift in haunting thoughts. Wanting to distract her from it, he pulled his phone out and plugged his earphones in before tapping Kirigiri's shoulder lightly.

As he got her attention, he gave his phone to her and tucked her hair behind her ear before putting one of the earphone to her ear.

"You looked bored so I thought you'd like it if we listen to something. I don't really know what kind of songs you like that's why I want you to be the one who'd choose the song." He smiled warmly at her. The confused look on her face made him nervous as she might turn his offer down, but, to his surprise – she scrolled through the tracks in his phone and played the song, 'One more time, one more chance.' before quietly giving the device back to him.

They both sat there in silence, staring out of the window – at the wonderful views of the small cities they pass by. Soon enough, Makoto noticed Kirigiri's sleepy eyes, threatening to close. After a few minutes, her eyelids finally fell shut. Makoto smiled and cupped her cheek as he lay her head down on his shoulder. He was expecting that she'd protest, but she didn't. Instead, she just let herself lean on his shoulder.

Kirigiri

She woke up as she felt a cold finger poking her cheek. She lifted her head and looked around her, only to see Makoto staring at her with his signature smile.

"We're here, Kirigiri-san." He spoke softly, as he massaged his neck and shoulder.

"Uh… Y-yeah." She responded absentmindedly as she covered her mouth and yawned.

"Do you want to grab some lunch first before we start looking for the ingredients of this doping potion or do you want to look for some of the materials that are quite easy to find before grabbing lunch?" Makoto asked as he lifted a small notebook with the list of the ingredients they need for the doping potion.

"I'd be fine either way." Kirigiri responded, sounding half-asleep.

Makoto let out a soft boyish chuckle. "Well then, let's grab some lunch… my treat."

"Don't be silly, I can pay for my own food and besides, you're working to support your family and your college. I don't want you to spend money on me."

Makoto looked at her, his face shows nothing but surprise – however, soon his lips slowly curved into a soft smile.

"Seiko-senpai's right…" She heard him whisper softly to himself before standing up. He offered his hand to her, but like a stubborn child, she lifted herself off her seat and stepped out of the bus.

As they got off the bus, they stopped by a small sushi shop to eat lunch. It was weird how Makoto seemed to have known the shop owner for a long time as soon as they started having a small chat after saying their orders. Makoto was friendly, too friendly and warm to be exact. Unlike her, it was easy for him to get along people. She wondered what made him like her. She was the exact opposite of him. She was cold towards others, and unlike him, she wasn't an open book – as she tends to hide her feelings under the perfect mask of stoic calmness.

"This is so delicious!" Makoto remarked happily after chowing down a plateful of sushi. Kirigiri felt the secondhand embarrassment creeping into her skin. He was too loud! Although the owner was happy because of his compliments, she couldn't help but to be concerned with the other costumers who's looking at them.

"You're too loud," She spoke in a dangerously dark reprimanding yet calm voice.

He looked at her and chuckled, "Sorry, I haven't eat something as delicious as this for quite a long time. Ojii-san's sushi's by far the best sushi that I've ever had."

The shop owner was pleased and delighted with Makoto's compliments, which made them converse even more. It was embarrassing, she thought, especially when she overheard that the shop owner thought Makoto was her boyfriend – that they were a couple. Makoto bashfully denied it, she saw his flustered face in the corner of her eye which made the shop owner laugh at him.

"I really thought that you guys are a couple, you two look perfect together."

Upon hearing those words, she choked on her meal.

Makoto immediately handed her a glass of water and gently pat her back.

She sipped the water slowly and thanked him. She was surprised however, when he pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the side of her mouth.

What the hell?

"What was that for?" She spoke darkly, in a dangerously low voice, her eyes throwing daggers at him.

"S-sorry. It's just that… uhh..."Makoto struggled to come up with a word to justify the action that he had just done. Is he really like this? What the hell's wrong with him? Acting as if we are that close?

If it were another boy who'd do that to her, she knew she'd be crept out. However, it was Makoto. Sure, she was surprise, hence the reaction that she gave him… As it just felt uncomfortably wrong, but right at the same time.

Soon enough, Makoto looked at her with an awkward smile as he finally came up with an alibi. "It's just that I'm used of wiping Komaru's face whenever something like that happens." His alibi was stupid, but nonetheless, she heard him out and accepted his apology.

"It should be somewhere here." Makoto said as he stopped dead in his track as soon as they arrived at the park's garden near the Zeniarai Benzaiten Shrine. She slowly tootled towards him and stood some few distance away from him, staring at him. He looked serious as he was staring at his small notebook and cellphone back and forth.

"Can I take a look?" Kirigiri asked politely.

Makoto nodded and handed her his notebook and gadget. While reading, she noticed that Makoto was staring at her – eyes focused on her hands.

"What is it?" She asked, as she lifted her gaze from the notebook to look at him.

He shook his head slightly. "It's nothing…"

She suspiciously lifted a brow at him as she gave her a cold stare, which startled him.

"A-ano, actually… I…"

He gulped and laughed nervously, and soon, sighed in defeat when he noticed she hasn't lift her cold gaze from him yet.

"I… I just noticed that you've always been wearing gloves. I just wonder… why?"

Sighing, she walked passed by him and padded to the shrubs. "You're one curious open book, aren't you, Naegi-kun?"

"Open book?" She heard him spoke beside her as they started looking for the herbs that the doping potion needs.

"You're easy to read. It was obvious that you were staring at my hands for a reason, yet you said, it's nothing. When I asked you, what is it…"

She heard him sigh and chuckle. "I guess I am."

Silence began to reign as they both focused on finding the ingredients they need. The only sound that can be heard were the hushed rustling of leaves as they searched further into the garden.

"Kirigiri-san," Makoto's soft voice cut through the silence, the way he just said her last name sent shiver down her spine. It wasn't the normal Kirigiri-san she'd always hear from him. There was seriousness in his voice, and it was tangled with a certain emotion she couldn't depict. "You haven't answered my question yet."

She sighed. "I wear these gloves as a reminder of a bad decision that I've made before. That's it to it."

"… that bad decision, did that involve someone? Someone who you're close with or perhaps, used to be close with?"

She stopped and bit her lip, her chest tightened as flashbacks clouded her mind.

"I… I… trusted you."

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I had to."

The thunder roared loudly as the rain began to fall intensely.

'this isn't happening, this isn't happening.'

Right before her eyes, she couldn't believe that the person she looked up to and risked her life for before had betrayed her.

"All this time?"

The girl looked at her, her eyes were cold, void of emotion. They were not the eyes she knew. Standing before her was a different person, a monster.

"All this time."

As the lightning flashed, a man walked up behind her friend and tapped her shoulder.

"You've done well." He spoke, with a sarcastic devilish smile on his face. "Let's go home."

The girl silently nodded and turned her back to Kirigiri as she followed the man, he was familiar, she had seen him somewhere, but she couldn't remember where.

Kirigiri watched them walked away, heart clenching – body feeling paralyzed as her knees gave up on her, which made her fall flop on the ground.

…

…

"Kirigiri-san? Kirigiri-san?" Makoto worriedly called out as he shook her shoulder, snapping her back to reality. She could see panic in the boy's face as he kept on asking, "are you okay?" continuously. She nodded weakly but soon, she winced, as her head started spinning. His face started to become blurred.

She heard him called her name, but he sounded so far.

She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't.

The bad memories were devouring her, haunting her as they keep on playing on loop inside of her head.

Naegi-kun… save me.