Well, this is it guys. The final chapter of Journey of a Thousand Meters. I cannot believe this. I think I started this fic about a year ago thinking 'Man no one's gonna read a Suzuka fic". But lo and behold not only did it beat out a fic that I was writing around the same time in reviews but this has become one of my favorite fics and my most author alerted. So as I said before, none of this would be possible without you guys, the readers. So all the recognition for the story goes to you. So instead of getting all mushy I'm going to start the last chapter and give you guys what you've all been waiting for. So here it is the tenth and final chapter. And one more thing. Concerning the point of view, I'm gonna switch from Suzuka to Yamato. So Suzuka's gonna have her last little bit and then Yamato's gonna finish it out.
Hours passed since we talked and I guess it goes without saying that I couldn't sleep. I just sat in the corner of my room, curled up in a ball against my bed like a child with the picture of Yamato and me on that roller coaster in Fantasy Land. Well I suppose it's appropriate since that's exactly how I've been acting; like a stubborn little kid. If only I could have just told him how I felt we wouldn't be in this mess and there's no one to blame but myself. I stared at the picture in my hand and I couldn't help but wonder if we could ever be that happy again. I make myself so difficult to love that I'm not even sure anymore. I hugged my legs tighter and stared at my wall. Everything was silent. I didn't even hear Yamato moving around in his room like I usually do but soon I did hear raindrops that quickly escalated to heavy rainfall followed by soft rumbles of thunder. The only thing that crossed my mind was that night a few months back when the lights went out. I sighed mentally at how heavily Yamato was on my mind and then once again because I don't think I could run back to him if the power went back out again. At least not now. Even still, I felt compelled to go outside and watch it and before I knew it, I was at my door. I shrugged off my absentmindedness and pushed it open.
I felt a soft yet somewhat forceful breeze hit my face as a bolt of lightning danced across the dark night sky. I closed my door behind me and stood against it. I was still a bit scared of thunderstorms and the fact that I'm out here during one is amazing in and of itself. I watched and listened as the rain beat against the roof tile and fell to the ground. Then the lightning flash and the thunder rumble. It's still somewhat frightening but at the same time beautiful. I felt goose bumps popping up everywhere. Chills ran up and down my body. Then a bright and sudden flash of lightning filled the sky followed by an explosion of thunder. I jumped back and held my hands up to my chest defensively and I believe I was shaking a bit. I knew that I couldn't have needed Yamato any more than I did at that moment. Then I realized I had no idea of what it felt like to be in his arms. I can't believe I never at least hugged him. My arms dropped from their defensive position and crossed over my chest. I can't believe that I've never even been in his arms before. I absently looked back into the sky.
"I don't even know if this is fixable." I thought aloud. "I've been so distant that I'm not even sure that he'd want to start over."
"She's so selfish sometimes," I scrubbed angrily. "All she cares about is herself. It's all about what she wants and how she feels. She doesn't even care about me. I'm the arm trophy! How in the hell could she be so self-absorbed?" I paced around the bathhouse floors. I couldn't get her off my mind. It was so infuriating how she could do something like that. 'I don't wanna break up because I like being angry. I don't really care about if you don't like that I'm angry. I'm happy being angry.' I mocked mentally. She doesn't even care about how I feel. She just wasted a year of my life. How could I try so hard to impress a girl like that? I can't believe how much I've done for her for her to something to me like that! I turned to do the last part of the floor when I heard thunder rumbling. I snickered to myself a bit. "I wonder how she's doing now? She's terrified of thunderstorms. And she doesn't have her arm trophy to hold her hand this time." I kept the smirk on my face until I was about halfway done with this last bit. Then a loud rumble of thunder rolled through the complex making the wall vibrate a bit. I felt a bit of unease and kinda guilty at what I just said. "I can't be mad at her." I sighed. I finished the floors and put the broom away. "I hope she's okay…"
I left and locked up the bathhouse and watched the rain cascade onto the ground. I rushed to the stairs for some cover and slowly trudged up the stairs. When I got to the top, I froze when I saw Asahina leaning against the railing watching the storm. I guess I didn't have anything to worry about. I approached my door and turned the knob.
"Yamato," she said. "Can we talk?" I turned to look at her and she was still watching the storm.
"Is there anything more to talk about?" I asked somewhat coldly.
"…Actually, there's a lot more to talk about." She sighed. "I just hope you're willing to listen."
There she goes, showing off that maturity again. She definitely knows how to play her cards. "Go ahead."
"Well… you see, I know I've haven't been fair to you," she started. "And I know that this hasn't been an easy year for us." Her voice blended with the rain so beautifully and what I could see of her eyes light up so brilliantly in the lightning. Even though she had my full attention, she was my biggest distraction. She paused after her first statement I could tell that whatever she had to say she had been holding it in for some time. She finally sighed and turned around. She looked me dead in the eyes and I could swear I saw her eyes beginning to well with tears.
"I owe you an apology." She said firmly. "I've been treating you rudely and you never deserved it. I've been selfish and childish and you don't deserve that either." I returned her gaze with a serious one of my own.
"Well I accept your apology. I know that sometimes I can be an idiot. And sometimes I say awkward and blunt things and sometimes you just react and I take it the wrong way," I replied with a hand on the back of my neck. "So I apologize too." Then she looked down at her feet and kicked at a pebble on the ground.
"I accept your apology, too." She said, her voice was losing its firmness. "But I've still got more to say."
Whatever she had to tell me most be important. Not much makes her this uneasy. "Okay." I said, leaning against my door with folded arms.
"Well… I guess I should start from the beginning." She grabbed her upper arm. "In junior high Tsuda and I were far from close at the start. We constantly argued because I wanted things to be more serious, he wanted things to be more fun. So we constantly clashed."
"Just like we do." I interrupted.
"Yeah…," she nodded. "On his last year he qualified for nationals. The day before the race, he confessed to me and he told me not to give him an answer then but to wait until after nationals." I could tell it was hard for her to talk about by how her voice started to trail.
"…Just like I did." I said softly.
"…Yeah." She nodded again. "So I never got to tell him how I felt." Her voice was a bit shaky. "So to avoid being hurt like that again I didn't want to be in another relationship again. Then you came along. And we became friends."
"And then I confessed." I said slowly. I could understand a bit as to why she kept rejecting me and was so distant after I confessed.
She nodded. "It really shook me up for you to do that. So I had to try to avoid you but you wouldn't go away. I tried to haze you but you wouldn't flinch. I even told you I hated you. But you wouldn't give up. And as much as I didn't want to I started to like you." My heart jumped in my chest. She's liked me for some time now and I never knew. I was amazed that she did actually like me and covered it so well.
"So the more I started to like you, the farther I tried to push you away. Even then, you wouldn't quit. So eventually I did give in but I'm still afraid." She said as tears started to fall from her eyes. Lightning flashed behind her and thunder rumbled. "I'm afraid to open up to you because I'm afraid I might lose you. So I kept my feelings bottled in trying to protect myself from being hurt again when all it was doing was hurting both of us. So I'm sorry that I hurt you and I'm sorry that I was only worried about how I felt. I completely understand why you would want to break up. But I just want you to know that I love you Yamato and I want to be with you." My heart jumped into my throat. I couldn't believe this was how she really felt. But then I never really took the time to ask. I wish I had known. I pushed myself from the wall and towards Asahina. I wrapped my arms around her tightly as she cried on my shoulder.
"I understand why you're afraid Asahina." I said softly. "And I know I can't promise that nothing will happen to me but you should know I won't let just anything get in the way to get to you. I killed myself in track and field just to be close to you and now I'm the number two sprinter in Japan." She looked up at me with those beautiful eyes of hers.
"But Yamato, I –" she started but I quickly hushed her with a soft kiss. I could feel her hands flattening on my chest and smiled to myself. I broke the kiss and looked her in the eyes.
"All you have to do is trust me Suzuka." I smiled. "I promise you that I'll do my best to be everything you need me to be, all you have to do is trust me."
She smiled back. "And I promise to do my best to trust you and to be more open and patient." She held up an outstretched pinky. I met hers with one of my own as I used my other hand to wipe the stray tears from her eyes.
"Hey!" I said. "So back in Hiroshima at the bridge…?"
"I meant every word."