When Nagisa stepped inside through the back door of his house, he saw that the living room was empty. He sighed in temporary relief.

"They're not here…" Maybe, he thought hopefully, his family hadn't noticed that he was even gone—it was possible, if they hadn't stopped at his bedroom to check in on him.

"Yup. I told Mom you went out for a bit with your friends that came over," a voice lightly said behind him.

"Oh, you did? Thanks—" Nagisa blinked. Then, his eyes flew wide open and he jumped in surprise, wheeling around.

"Nao-nee!" His mouth dropped open, seeing his second eldest sister standing next to the stairwell behind him. Naomi flashed a deceptively cheerful grin at her brother, while her eyes glinted with a look that said she was about this close to killing him.

"It's a good thing your three other friends from school dropped by to see you, brat—otherwise Mom would've gone into your room some time later, and she'd have found that you were gone instead—and by then, you might've had more than those scrawny scratches and bruises on you." Naomi's smile widened. "And then, if you'd made it out alive, and when she found out where the hell you've been, she'd have proceeded to murder you for doing something so you, so unbelievably stupid." She cracked her knuckles casually as she spoke with a soft but deadly voice.

"You're lucky I was the one who found out from your friends where you were—otherwise, who would've gone to the shed at my old high school and beat the shit out of those leftover dregs of society for you?" Naomi smiled dangerously as she approached Nagisa and casually slung an arm around her brother's shoulders. Nagisa knew better than trying to wiggle out from under it because he knew—she would be able to keep him there anyways. "It's a good thing that your friends were there, really—otherwise who'd have held the video camera while I took care of things?" She chuckled softly, sending genuine shivers of fear down Nagisa's spine.

"Boy, was it a field day when I called the police on them. Good thing Nadeko left her video cam behind when she went to college—your friend, Hanamura-chan, was it? She recorded some high-definition proof with it for the cops to see. Including the part where you almost got your face carved by that rat with the piercings." Naomi's smile quickly dropped, and now she had Nagisa's head in a headlock, with her grip growing steadily stronger. "And as much as I would like to hear the beautiful tale of why the hell you ran off to a place with pocket knives and cigarettes being thrown around—" At this point, she sighed, her sigh having a tired edge to it. "I suppose that you should be fixing yourself up first. So you can sound at least a little convincing when you make some excuse to Mom about how you fought a stray cat during your little excursion or something shady like that."

"…I'm…cough…fine…!" Nagisa gasped from Naomi's headlock. "Rei-chan…treated me…already…" He squirmed in his sister's arm. "Just…lemme go! Can't…cough…breathe...!" Hearing this, Naomi's grip just tightened even more, before she released her brother a few seconds later.

"You're lucky I didn't choose to strangle you, brat. 'Cause I was seriously considering it." She sighed once more, rubbing the temple of her forehead with her thumb and index finger. "Out of all the stupid shit you've done, this definitely goes in the top three. I must've been out of my mind, thinking you might develop something like a brain in high school." She narrowed her eyes at Nagisa, who looked down at the floor guiltily while playing with the hem of his shirt.

"…Sorry, Nao-nee," he said quietly, not even making a retort to her insult. "I—I was in a hurry, so…I didn't mean to run off like that. I'm sorry for doing something reckless." The hold on his shirt tightened as he spoke. "Thanks…for not telling Mom. After what happened in middle school—I didn't want to do something like that again. But I…" Thinking of Rei, his hand tightened into a fist. Looking down at her unusually quiet brother, Naomi let out another sigh.

"Whatever, brat. Wouldn't've been my problem if you hadn't made it out alive." She gingerly lifted her hand and ruffled her brother's hair with a touch of affection. "I did some pretty stupid shit myself at your age, so I suppose I should give you some leeway." She had used to be something of a delinquent during those years—that was where her prowess at fighting had come from, and even before, she had always been athletic, Nagisa knew. Now he understood why Kanemiya and the rest hadn't chased after him and Rei when they were running away. He knew that if it was Naomi, she would have taken them down easily—but he still felt bad for making her have to do it.

"They…they didn't get any hits on you, did they?" he asked in a small voice. At this question, Naomi released a bark of amused laughter.

"Are you kidding me? Those little green saps? They couldn't even get a finger on me!" she said confidently. "I used to fight thugs twice their bulk in high school—as if they'd even have a chance!" She grinned slyly at her little brother. "Or what? Are you actually worrying about your dear, kind, beautiful sister? Someone up there must be in the mood for miracles today." Hearing the teasing leer in her voice, Nagisa wrinkled his brow as if the idea disgusted him.

"As if—I'm more worried for them, actually. Did they even make it alive to the police station?" He also returned his sister the sly grin. "And did you just say 'beautiful'? Is that what they call 'violent and crazy' nowadays?" Hearing that last bit, Naomi's smile deepened dangerously.

"You're lucky Mom's still in the house—that's the only thing that's keeping you alive right now." Her eyes traveled to the injuries on her brother's limbs and face, and she saw the ointment and antiseptic glinting on them. "So that 'Rei-chan' kid did that for you? I thought male apes your age only knew how to get injuries, not treat them." Nagisa frowned slightly.

"Don't call him 'Rei-chan'," he grumbled. "You're not even that close with him. And he's not an ape, either!" Naomi blinked, as if in surprise. Then, a wide smirk flew onto her face and she snorted with laughter.

"Well, well—isn't someone being a jealous little bastard?" she teased. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna touch your precious 'Rei-chan'—I don't date little kids!" At her accusation, Nagisa's mouth dropped open slightly in indignation, his cheeks coloring.

"I am not being jealous!" he protested. "And Rei-chan's not some little kid—he's good looking and he's got a great body and he's mature, too, so much more than somebody who's a whole decade older than him!" The second sentence just slipped out of his mouth before he even realized what he was saying. Seeing her brother looking so flustered and indignant, Naomi debated between teasing him a bit more about his obvious crush on the boy next door (she wondered if her brother was trying to hide it, albeit without much success, or really was blind—she got the vibe that it was the latter, but at this rate she predicted he'd catch onto it soon) or slug him for calling her older than what she was (she was six years older than Nagisa and still fresh out of college, for Pete's sake). When a yawn attempted to escape her lips, she decided to save both for the next day, when she wasn't so tired. Cracking a half-closed eye back open towards her little brother, she studied him carefully one last time.

"You're sure that guy was worth the trouble?" she asked. She had never met Rei in person—although she had overheard bits and pieces of their conversations across their windows—so she didn't personally know what the boy was like. She wanted to make sure, if her little brother was crawling into fights he couldn't win for this guy, that the brunette wasn't just some stuck-up nerdy kid who was too scared to fight his own battles, or worse, one of those kids who went around asking for way too many battles. In response, Nagisa didn't hesitate at all before he firmly nodded.

"Every bit of it," he said seriously. "If Rei-chan wasn't Rei-chan, I never would've gone there." Seeing this firm reaction, Naomi simply nodded and waved her brother towards the stairs.

"Go hit the sack, kid. And remember to thank your friends later—they even tagged along to the police station to testify." Letting out another yawn, she stretched her arms out. "Better get some beauty sleep myself. It's been a long night. Oh, and tell Mom you're back, too," she added. "She's in her room watching TV now." Nagisa nodded.

"…Thanks, Nao-nee." After saying so, he quickly turned and scampered up the stairs, feeling a little embarrassed. Seeing this made Naomi chuckle softly as she went to the kitchen for a glass of water before heading for her own room on the second floor. She turned over what her brother had told her in her head while walking to the door.

'Rei-chan', huh… She glanced outside her bedroom window at the lavender house that had always been next door to their yellow one. Wonder if that glasses kid's getting lectured now, too. Letting that thought fade, she went into her room and closed the door for the night.

…

When Rei rang the doorbell, Ryouji answered the front door. He gave him one look before he punched his brother in the gut. Rei felt the breath being knocked out of him as he nearly fell over the porch stairs. Rolling his eyes, Ryouji turned to go back inside, leaving the door open.

"Teenagers," Rei thought he heard him mutter, before the sound of his footsteps echoed up the stairs. "Mom! The brat's back home!" In response, there was the sound of someone shifting on the couch in the living room. Soon, Mrs. Ryuugazaki came out into the front hall.

"Rei." Her voice was quiet but firm. Rei gulped—he had rarely heard that tone from his mother during the past few years.

"M-Mother—" he choked out nervously. "I—I'm sorry—I, I realize how foolish and inconsiderate I've been—I, I didn't even realize that I didn't take my cell phone with me—and when you went to the trouble of buying it for me—I'm truly, truly sorr—" Before he could continue, he felt arms slipping around his back and heard a gentle voice speaking.

"I'm so glad you came back safe." There was a small quiver in Mrs. Ryuugazaki's voice. "Please, don't ever do this kind of thing again…!" At these words, Rei felt the guilt in him double and the tears of guilt starting to prick his eyes.

"I—I'm sorry—I'll never do it agai—oof!" Rei was forced to stop in midsentence when he felt a second punch in his gut. Pulling away from him, his mother grinned with a touch of mischief and sheepishness as she victoriously pulled away a fist from her son's stomach.

"There—I'm satisfied now. You can stop apologizing, dear." At that moment, Rei thought that his mother bore an uncanny resemblance to Ryouji—he blinked as he realized that it was the other way around. And all this time, he had thought that his older brother took after his father more—but he now guessed that there was a little of both his parents in Ryouji. Laughing slightly at Rei's absolutely startled face, Ryuugazaki Reina smiled softly before taking her son by the hand.

"Let's go and sit down on the couch. There's something that I want to talk to you about." Surprised, Rei nodded before following her down the hall. Once they were back under the light, Reina's face took on a look of horror when she saw the injuries on Rei's body.

"Oh, dear—what happened to you, Rei?" Her eyes widened with concern. "I should go get the first-aid kit—"

"Actually, Mother, it's fine. Nagisa-kun—he treated them for me," Rei admitted, his cheeks flushing slightly. Reina blinked at this unexpected news.

"You were out with Nagisa-kun, dear?" Remembering that his mother didn't even know why he had gone outside yet, Rei realized that he should explain. But when he remembered that Kanemiya would be involved in the explanation, he faltered slightly. His eyes traveled to his mother's arms, which were covered by her usual long sleeves. Just looking at them made the old, familiar twinge of guilt well back up inside him. But then, he remembered what Nagisa had told him earlier in the park. He imagined what Nagisa would tell him if he knew what Rei was thinking—'It's not your fault, it's something that Kanemiya did!' Gaining courage, he looked his mother in the eye and opened his mouth hesitantly.

"Mother—you remember Kanemiya Shizuo, right?" Upon hearing the name, something seemed to spark in his mother's eyes. Taking that as a 'yes', Rei took a deep breath and continued.

"He—he was the one who…who threw that rock when you were in the kitchen…six years ago." His fists clenched tightly at his sides. "I…I used to get bullied by him when I was younger, in my first and second grades." He saw his mother's eyes widen and her lips pursing—realizing just how much he had kept from his mother all these years, Rei felt the guilt renew itself in him once again. "I'm sorry I never told you about—about any of that happening. I—I just didn't want to worry you, or Father—after all, you were both busy with work—" He saw his mother's face and added quickly, "But don't worry, Mother! I learned self-defense from aniki, so I've been able to defend myself since second grade. I was never attacked any more after that, so please don't make that face." He paused for a while to get himself back on track.

"Anyhow, Mother—you do remember when…when Saionji-kun fell from the school building in fourth grade?" His mother's eyes widened—no doubt in surprise that her son was suddenly talking about something he had been so sensitive about for the past six years. "When—when that happened, Kanemiya—he was there, in the same classroom, with a group of other kids his size—and I think…I think he was afraid that I would blame him, lie about him making Saionji-kun take the fall—he used to bully Saionji-kun a lot as well. It wouldn't exactly have been hard to convince some teachers who knew about the situation at school…so that was why he…why he threw the rock at our window. He wanted to threaten me—because he was scared that I would tell someone that. And because—because I used self-defense on him in the past and he was frustrated that he couldn't bully me like he used to before. I—" His shoulders shook.

"I'm sorry…that you had to get hurt because of me that day, Mother. If only I knew that he'd see me outside—I never would have gone out to check the mail." Tears started to well up in his eyes. "I'm really, truly sorr—" Before he could say more, his mother stopped him, putting a hand over her son's mouth.

"It's all right, Rei," she said, and her gentle voice meant it. "I…actually, I wanted to talk about that for a while. And some other things. But first…since you said you will tell me what happened, I will listen to you." Her eyes shone kindly as she looked at her son. "Please continue—I want to hear everything you're willing to tell me." Hearing this, Rei suddenly felt touched, and he gulped back his tears before he smiled back and continued.

"Anyhow…that same Kanemiya…he was the reason why I went outside today." He could see the worried frown form on his mother's face already. "And there's no need to frown like that, Mother—I, I admit that he and his friends are the reason for my injuries—but at the very least, I am not ashamed of them. I…I heard from one of Nagisa-kun's friends that Nagisa-kun was in danger. He found out that Kanemiya…that he was looking around town for me recently, that he wanted to find me and…and attack me…so as soon as he did, he went and…and tried to stop Kanemiya before he could get to me." At this news, Rei saw his mother's eyes widen with shock and concern. The blonde had had no reason to worry about her hating him—that, Rei was sure of now. "And I found out from his classmate that he went alone—and I couldn't just let him face them himself, Mother. Not when I was the one Kanemiya was looking for…so I reacted before I could think carefully. I went after him—and thankfully, I got there before they found him and seriously harmed him." The thought, no matter how hypothetical, made the brunette shudder.

"We both got some scrapes and bruises—but all in all, we were able to make it out okay. We did take some time to treat ourselves before we returned—that was why we were late. I hope you understand." His mother nodded quietly, her eyes regretful. "I—I know I should have at least said something before I rushed outside. And there were probably safer, more rational ways of handling the situation—so I'm sorry I acted so recklessly." He bowed his head down towards his mother in apology, waiting for a response. After a moment of silence, Reina opened her mouth.

"You certainly did act recklessly," she agreed, her voice a little angry. But when she said the next words, its tone softened. "But—I understand that you did it because you were worried about Nagisa-kun. And even if you were a bit rash—I'm proud of you for putting Nagisa-kun before…everything else." She smiled gently at Rei. "The bad feelings you must have had about that Kanemiya child—and even the complicated feelings that you have about Saionji-kun—I'm proud that you were able to put those feelings aside to go out and help your friend."

"Mother…" Rei's violet eyes started to water.

"I…I don't think that I was a son…that you could have been proud of me these past years." His breath shook as he spoke slowly. "Ever since…ever since Saionji-kun fell out the window that day…I've refused to go back to school—I refused to go anywhere unless I absolutely needed to, like when I had hospital checkups or something…you even quit your job as a teacher to educate me at home…" His brow knit with regret. "Even though you always loved working as a biology teacher—even though I was certain that I was interfering with that, I still didn't say that I would return to school. And all those times, you never even told me that I had to return—even though I never told you any details about…about what happened with Saionji-kun—even though you must have agreed with Father, that you wanted me to experience society—even though you could go back to teaching just like you used to do—" The tears started rolling down Rei's cheeks as he choked out his words. "Every time that I thought those things—I felt so unbearably guilty—but still, I couldn't bring myself to—" His hands trembled at his sides. "It must have been frustrating for you to see me like that, all this time, and yet—" Through his tears, he could see his mother's violet eyes also tear up as she gently took his cheek in her hand.

"I have always been proud of you, Rei," she said, her own voice full of genuine emotion. "Nothing can change that fact. You are the sweetest, kindest, most gentle son that I could have ever wished for—whether you choose to go to high school or not, it won't change any of that, I'm sure. I was never proud of you because you went to school obediently and got good grades in your classes. I was proud because you always worked hard at everything you did, and you never took anything that you achieved for granted, nor were you ever haughty about the things you did best." Tears started to flow down her eyes as well.

"Even though your father and I were always busy with work—even though we were always late coming home, couldn't give you the attention that you fully deserved when you were a child—you never complained about it. And it nearly broke my heart, how you were always sitting quietly with a book in your hand that you never asked me to read to you after I came home from work, how you always told me that things were fine at school and you never told us about the bad things that happened there—even the time that you learned to cook without ever telling me when you were seven, and you fell asleep on the table waiting, with the dinner that you cooked for us laid out—you were always, always the sweet, quiet, understanding son." She dabbed at her eyes as she cried. "You were never needy with us—and I should have been able to see why. I should have known that you didn't want to trouble or worry us—that you were so incredibly kind in that way, so much that I felt I was too terrible of a parent to deserve a son like you—" Rei's eyes widened as he heard these feelings of his mother for the first time in his life.

"Seeing you so broken after what happened to Saionji-kun—that was what finally opened my eyes. When I saw you really suffering in front of us for the first time—I knew that it was time for me to really be there for you, like the mother that I always dreamed of being. I always felt guilty that…that it took something so terrible for me to realize that you needed me, that you needed me all this time and I was never there. That's why—none of it was ever your fault, Rei. The fact that I quit my job, the fact that I started staying at home to teach you—it was all out of my own will. After I realized that I couldn't do anything to make you feel better—anything to help my own son when he needed help the most—I even thought that it might all be just for the sake of my own self-satisfaction." Her face twisted in pain as she said this.

"I just told myself to wait until you were ready to talk—but maybe—maybe the problem was that I wasn't a parent you could truly talk to. And sometimes—I was even afraid to approach you about it—because I felt that I wouldn't be able to comfort you, to do anything to make you feel better—" She wiped her tears with the palm of her hand, but they were quickly replaced over and over. "I felt so useless, not knowing what to do. I thought that maybe, if I had taken the time to be closer to you before—that I would have known what to do for you when you were hurting."

"…That's not true…" Rei's voice quivered. "It was my fault—I should have told you first. How could you have ever known any of my feelings if I never took the step of confiding in you? I—I always knew that you were waiting for me—because you never, ever push me during times like this, Mother. You were always like that—even though I was always reading inside at home and never went out to play with the other kids, you never discouraged me from doing what I loved. On the days that you were late coming home from work, you even brought home a new picture book to make up for it. You always asked—" he said, repeating Nagisa's words, "—whether I was doing all right, and you were always ready for an honest answer. I just never gave it to you—and that's my fault, Mother. It's the same for what happened with Saionij-kun—I knew you were always waiting for me to come to you first—that you were waiting for me to be ready—it was just that I never tried to be ready." He looked earnestly at his mother through teary eyes, gripping her hands in his tightly.

"That's why there's no need to blame yourself at all, Mother—you can't blame yourself for what I didn't do. I shut myself away from facing the painful things together with you—and I—" He choked a bit on his next words. "I couldn't even apologize properly—when Kanemiya hurt you six years ago—I couldn't even look you in the eye and say that it was all because of me—" The tears started to flow down his cheeks once more. "I couldn't stand it—you continuing to be so gentle, so kind, so caring, even after what happened—even though you never would've been hurt if it hadn't been for me being there—"

"Rei!" The sudden loudness of his mother's usually moderate voice startled Rei from continuing his sentence. Ryuugazaki Reina's eyes glowed with a firm light as she grabbed the sides of her son's face with her hands and stared straight into his eyes. "You know that's not true! I never thought it was your fault in the least—even after what you've told me today, I still don't think that. It was that child called Kanemiya who threw that stone, not you, Rei. You can't blame yourself for what you didn't do," she said, quoting Rei's words back at him. "He could still have found our house easily, even if he never saw you go outside for the mail. And yes, it hurt when he did it, but I don't regret having been hit by that stone or by the glass at all. I was only glad that it wasn't Ryouji, or your father, or you, Rei. After all, what are a few stones, what are a few scars?' Her eyes took on a fierce glow. "I always felt sorry for that Kanemiya boy—but I was never scared of him. And you don't need to be either, Rei." She looked down at the long sleeves on her arms.

"That was actually one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about, dear. The reason I kept wearing long sleeves—it wasn't because I myself didn't want to see those scars." Her eyes turned gentle as she stared at Rei. "It was because I thought they would bring back what must have been a bad memory for you. Seeing me in the kitchen with those injuries, then having to treat them all by yourself—that was the first time I ever got hurt in front of you, and so badly at that. Things already happened to you—I didn't want you to be bothered by the memory of these scars, too." Her tone grew soft. "But I realized that maybe what I did gave you the wrong idea. Am I right…?"

"I…" Rei faltered. "I did…think it was because…you didn't want to see your own arms like that." At his quiet admittance, Reina's eyes softened.

"Quite frankly—I don't give a darn." Rei blinked—this was the closest his mother had ever come to swearing. His sweet mother, who had always used proper language in front of him. He was certainly beginning to discover some new sides of her tonight. "They don't bother me, and I don't care if anyone stares at my arms or thinks whatever they would like to think about me." A warm smile formed on her face. "As long as you and your brother and father still love me, I could dance around outside with my arms bare, and nothing in the world could bother me." Her eyes twinkled. "What do you think about that, Rei?"

"I—I never knew you were into dancing around outside," Rei said, bewildered. "But if they don't bother you…" He smiled affectionately at his mother. "They won't bother me. And even if they do—I will always think you're the most beautiful mother in the world. So will Ryou-nii. And Father, too." When he said this, his mother beamed, and she threw his arms around Rei, hugging him tightly.

"I'm so lucky to have a son like you," she said, her words heartfelt. "Just make sure you don't change your mind when you get a wife!" At this teasing comment, Rei blushed, shifting his glasses up his nose.

"I won't," he replied. "I might tell her otherwise, but you'll always know how I feel." He didn't say anything about Nagisa, although his mind did think…he needed to stop thinking, it was making him blush harder. At this response, his mother laughed.

"I hope so." She smiled and patted the couch. "Let's sit down, shall we?" Rei nodded and sat down with her. They talked into the night about everything that Rei had wanted to tell his mother, everything that he had not said to her in the last few years.

When Ryouji came downstairs to get a drink at two in the morning, he found both his mother and his brother dozed off on the couch. Rolling his eyes a bit, he went upstairs and came back with a blanket. Draping it over them, he retrieved the glass of water and went upstairs to his room.

…

When Rei woke up the next morning, he was lying in the bed in his own room. Rubbing his eyes, he reached for the glasses on his bed and put them on. Next to them, he found his purple cell phone, its screen signaling that he had a new message. When he flipped the phone open and checked the message, he saw that it was from Nagisa.

[Good luck, Rei-chan!] It was short and simple, yet it warmed Rei's heart. With his fingers, he typed back a message.

[Thank you, Nagisa.] Only after he had sent it did he realize that he hadn't added -kun behind the blonde's name. Giving a start from the realization, he blushed to the tips of his ears as he buried his face in his pillow. He hoped that Nagisa wouldn't notice it too much.
…

He saw that text from Rei first thing in the morning when he woke up. For a while, he stared at it in bed. He stared at it while he was eating breakfast. He stared at it while he rode on the train to Iwatobi High. He stared at it during breaks in between classes. And still, every time he stared at it, Nagisa would get a slight flutter in his heart, and a warm flush in his cheeks.

Unlike what Rei had hoped, he hadn't missed the lack of suffix at all. Maybe, since Rei almost always said his name with that suffix—he was a big believer of using polite speech on everyone, after all—it was noticeable, especially when he sent it in a text like that instead of letting it slip from his mouth in the middle of a long string of words. Since it was Rei, he probably hadn't done it on purpose—he had to have a lot on his mind, after all, or maybe he just wasn't used to his phone enough yet and had made a mistake in his message, accidentally deleting a character or two before sending. But there was the period, black and round and sitting right next to the kanji for his name—and Nagisa couldn't help but hope. Although he had no idea why he was hoping or what he was hoping for, exactly.

He was still staring at the text at lunch—when, thankfully, he went to join his beloved Haru-chan and Mako-chan on the rooftop, as he had done before he had felt down for the past few days. And it wasn't that Makoto wasn't glad to see him—he was just startled that his friend seemed to have cheered up remarkably fast. And had bruises and cuts all over his arms—he even had a band-aid on his face, one that Naomi had quickly slapped on him before their mother had come downstairs for breakfast. Actually, he seemed even happier than he had been when he was at his normal, and the way his face lit up so bright when he flipped open his phone and stared at something on the screen made the tall brunette curious. Whatever it was, he could tell that was the cause of it—and by 'it', he meant the way that Nagisa's cheeks were tinged with a soft pink glow, which hadn't been there before, and the way that the blonde's eyes were lidded slightly as he stared down at—well, whatever he was staring at. Could it be…? It was Haru who commented on it first, blunt as usual with his words.

"Did he propose to you or something?" At his question, Nagisa jumped slightly in surprise, nearly dropping his phone. Catching it in midair, he wheeled around to stare wide-eyed at Haru, who was calmly eating his mackerel bento next to a slightly blushing Makoto. "Is that how you two made up so fast?"

"Pro-pro—!" Nagisa's face turned a beet red. "Wh-what are you talking about, Haru-chan?! A-are we thinking about the same person here?!" He waved his arms wildly as if to diffuse whatever thought Haru was having. "I-if you must know, I was saving Rei-chan from a bunch of thugs the other day!" He puffed his chest out proudly. "He even said he was super glad he had met me!" His smile looked so blissful that at this point, even Makoto had stopped paling and released a pft of good-natured laughter. He had always noticed these things, whenever Nagisa talked about Rei during their lunch period—but now he thought it was cute how obvious yet oblivious the blonde was being about his feelings. Catching the sound with his ear, Nagisa frowned and looked down at Makoto reproachfully.

"Eh~~? Mako-chan, why are you laughing?" he protested. "You don't believe that I did it? I did—look at all these injuries! And I have this, too!" He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out the Iwatobi penguin charm he had clipped onto his shorts last night for good luck. "See? It got a little chipped here—that's from the fight that I was part of the other night!" Seeing the chip in the wood, Haru frowned.

"Isn't that the one that I made the other day?" In reality, the Iwatobi charm looked exactly the same as the other hundred and thirteen bird figures that Haru had taken to carving sometimes during lunch. But that was Haru—he had always been able to tell things like that.

"Gah—!" Nagisa quickly put his two hands together in apology. "It's a war injury, Haru-chan! A noble one!" Haru still frowned as he held out his hand.

"Give it. I'm smoothing that part out." Nagisa's eyes flew wide open in surprise and indignation as he quickly clutched the charm to his chest.

"No! This is part of the memory I share with Rei-chan! Like I'm gonna let you smooth it out, even if it's you, Haru-chan!" At this, Haru snorted.

"I guess he doesn't even need to propose," he remarked to himself, as Nagisa danced around the rooftop with the Iwatobi charm and his cell phone in his hands. "Someone's already wrapped himself around the guy's finger, all right."

"Now, now, don't be like that, Haru," Makoto said, a placating smile on his face. "It's nothing to scoff at—I think it's pretty sweet, actually." He smiled as he watched Nagisa skip around the roof. "He just needs time to realize it on his own, that's all."

"Hm." Haru didn't respond to that, but took another bite out of his mackerel. Above them, the blue summer sky seemed to stretch endlessly as a rare summer breeze blew through the air.

…

Nagisa didn't have the phone open anymore, but it was still on top of his desk, and he was still staring at it out of the corner of his eye as the final chime rang for today. He was about to get up and leave when he saw someone waiting behind his desk.

"Hana-chan!" His eyes regained focus—he suddenly realized that he hadn't greeted her all day, nor had he approached Komura and Yamazaki. He didn't know that they had been observing him all day to check on his condition after yesterday—he had been so preoccupied with the thoughts of a certain blue-haired boy that he hadn't remembered what his classmates had done for him yesterday. "That's right—my sis told me to thank you for yester—" He was stopped in mid-sentence when a note was practically thrust into his face.

"I won't bother telling you how stupid you were being yesterday," he heard Hana-chan sigh as she rolled her eyes. "Listen—it's up to you whether you go or not. I just thought—maybe it might help if you knew." She dropped the piece of paper and started heading towards the door. Nagisa looked at the words scrawled down it and his eyes widened. Immediately, he ran over to the doorway and called down the hall.

"Thanks, Hana-chan!" he shouted. Hana-chan didn't turn around, but she did put up a hand in a wave before she ran to catch up with her friends.

"What's that she gave you, Hazuki?" Yamazaki suddenly appeared behind Nagisa, trying to get a glimpse of the note. Before he could, Komura shoved him gently towards the doorway.

"It's too complicated for you to understand, Yamazaki," he said with a straight smile. "Now let's go home~!" His hazel eyes swiveled over to Nagisa. "Are you coming with us, Hazuki?" Nagisa looked down at the note in his hand, then back at Komura.

"—Sorry. I've got somewhere else to go." His voice had a bit of a nervous edge to it. "You guys go ahead!" Before Komura and Yamazaki could exit, he called after them.

"Komura, Yamazaki—thanks to you guys too! I'll treat you both to burgers sometime!" The two boys turned around, both grinning.

"We'll hold you to that, Hazuki!" "See you tomorrow, Hazuki!" With that, they were out the door. Nagisa smiled for a while, then remembered the note in his hands. His eyes traveling back down to the paper, a slight frown started to form in his brow.

The handwriting on the paper spelled out the address of a hospital. Written under it was a room number. 301.

Pocketing the paper, the blonde headed for his desk to collect his things and leave as well.

…

His hands shook, clenched around the straps of his backpack, as he stood in front of the hospital room. The plaque next to the door had the number 301 on it, as well as a very familiar name in kanji.

During the whole train ride and five-minute walk to the hospital, he had hesitated so many times. He wondered if it wasn't betraying Rei, doing this without the blue-haired boy knowing—just because he was curious. Even Rei hadn't seen the person lying in this hospital room, not for six long years—maybe he shouldn't even be standing here, Nagisa thought. At least, not before Rei did…but it was too late. Before he knew it, he was here. Curiosity killed the cat, and it might kill him too someday, the blonde thought, but now that he was here, he couldn't bring himself to walk away, either.

So, for the moment, he settled for something that he hoped was in the middle. The hospital door had a small window in it—and he walked closer to the door, peering in through the glass—

What he saw made him freeze to the ground. Before he knew it, he was sliding the door open so quickly with so much force that it hit the side of the doorway with a loud BANG!

It startled the solitary occupant of the hospital room, who gave a start on his bed as he stared with wide eyes at the blonde intruder. Nagisa's burgundy eyes were wide open and his mouth agape as he took in the pale, thin, small boy with light-brown hair under his bandages and startled grey eyes, dressed in a white hospital uniform, sitting propped up on pillows, looking very surprised and very much conscious.

This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening, with Rei not knowing about it. He considered the possibility that it had happened that very same day—but the person occupying the bed looked too clear-eyed, too in-touch with the world, for this to seem true. Voice shaking, the blonde finally spoke, voicing a question that might have sounded rude to anyone who didn't know the situation.

"Why…" There was a tremor in his voice. "Why the hell…are you awake…?"

In his bed, fifteen-year-old Saionji Yuuto stared at Nagisa with a very puzzled look on his face.

"I'm sorry…" he said hesitantly—his own voice a little unstable, as if he hadn't made use of it in a long time. "I didn't think I had memory loss from the fall, too…" The mention of the second to last word made Nagisa's blood run cold. "But who are you…?"

Nagisa had no idea what to answer to that question. In one of the rarer moments of his life, he was struck completely silent, his mouth gaping like a fish out of water.

...

End Notes:

The story is now slowly (slowly) approaching its end. And surprise! Yuuto is awake :3 It may have been sooner than some of you expected, and hopefully, things get interesting for you from here on. I hope you guys look forward to the next chapter! :))

And I may sound repetitive, but as always, thank you for the reviews! I really look forward to seeing them every day x3 It's been a really rewarding experience, writing and uploading this fic! I also want to mention that although I can't respond to them, I also appreciated all the guest reviews that were left on this story! And of course, for those of you who regularly leave reviews, you guys always have my thanks! *^v^*

PS: I drew a sketch of Hana-chan, Komura, and Yamazaki. It's kind of messy but I hope you still like it! The link is on my profile for those of you who are interested :)