A/N : From here and on I will refer Otosaka as Yuu, Tomori as Nao and Takajo as Jojiro.
The ride to the mountains filled with silence and awkwardness as Nao wanted to be closer with Yuu but felt uneasy when she remembered that against her character. Yuu noticed this along the way. Not because he could read her mind but because Nao has been acting weird since they got into the car. Not wanting to make the awkwardness stay any longer, Yuu decided to break the silence.
"Nao…" Yuu said her name to get Nao's attention.
"What?" Nao simply replied and didn't dare to face Yuu.
"Is there something wrong? Did you forget something?" Yuu asked her.
"I'm okay, Yuu-kun. Just…" She could not finish her sentence.
"What is it? You're feeling cold?" Yuu asked again.
"No. It's…" Before Nao could finish her sentence she was pulled closer to Yuu and he placed his arm around Nao.
Nao was a bit dumbstruck at this. She never expected that Yuu would take a step on his own without her guidance like usual. She smiled at herself and leaned on him closer.
"Thank you." She mumbled.
"Is this enough?" Yuu asked.
"More than enough." She said while giving him a sweet smile.
"I'm glad that you like it." Yuu said.
For a few minutes there was a new silence. A comfortable one. Nao decided to close her eyes while hearing the sound of Yuu's heartbeat. Thump… Thump… Thump… His heartbeat leaded her to an inner peace and his warmth brought her into a deep slumber.
Yuu could see that Nao started to fall asleep in his arms. He could saw her shoulder rising and falling as she breathed steadily in her sleep. He picked up his bag and searched for something from his bag. He found a white blind fold and kept it in his pocket. He enjoyed the moment for an hour until he realized that they nearly reached the destination. He started to wake Nao up.
"Nao… Wake up… We will arrive in a few minutes." Yuu said to Nao.
She slowly opened her eyes and rubbed them. When she opened her eyes, she could see the sky has turned into dark as the night was trying to take over the day. Nao suddenly realized how far Yuu has taken her. From the time when the sun was still dominating until the moon has taken over the sun dominance for the sake of the night.
"Because this place is a surprise for you, I want you to wear this." He showed her the blind fold.
"Huft… Why should I wear this?" Nao mumbled as she showed a disagree emotion to Yuu.
"Well, I don't want to ruin the surprise. So, please just wear this." He replied.
"Uuh… Okay, fine. Only for this time." Nao surrendered.
Yuu started to blindfold Nao. He carefully bound the fold but still tried to avoid any leakage on the fold.
"Okay, is it too tight?" Yuu asked.
"Hmph… I think, it's fine." Nao answered.
In less than five minutes, the car stopped at the destination. Yuu helped the blindfolded Nao get off from the car and took their belongings with him. He started to guide Nao through a small path between the trees.
"Where will you taking me?" Nao asked.
"We will see soon. Hold yourself there." Yuu said to her.
They arrived at the cliff where Nao told about her favorite band ZHIEND and her dream. When they arrived the sky was very dark and revealed the beautiful stars with full moonlight lit proudly between those stars.
"Okay, we are here. You can unbind your blindfold." Yuu said to Nao.
Nao started to unbind her blindfold by herself. She was shocked to see where Yuu has taken her. She looked at the stars in awe.
"How do you…" Nao wanted to finish her question but she couldn't.
She left speechless at the sight in front of her.
"Well, two years ago was the exact day when I met you for the first time. I was just a cheating fiend back then. And I was lucky you were found me." Yuu said to Nao.
"I brought you back to the place where you gave me that MP3 player and told me about your dreams." Yuu continued.
Nao looked into Yuu's eyes. She gave him the best smile she ever had since years of painful struggle of saving ability wielders for the sake of her brother. Yuu smiled back at her.
"Now, let's set out a camp."
Ushio dragged Jojiro strolling down the streets while holding his hand. She walked cheerfully and smiled along the way.
"Come on, Jiro-kun! Don't fall behind." Ushio said to Jojiro.
"Be careful, Ushio. Wait for me!" Jojiro said to her.
Jojiro didn't know where Ushio was going to take him. He just let her lead the way. Ushio skipped step along her way and hummed her favorite song all the time. The song that her parents used to sing to her all night when she could not sleep or even when she came back home crying after someone ended her pitching spree. Dango Daikazoku. For Jojiro who never heard that song wondered what song she hummed.
"Ushio, you were humming something. Is that a song?" Jojiro asked.
"Uhm! Dango Daikazoku! You should sing it with me." Ushio said.
"But I don't know the song." He said.
"Then I will teach you. Hear me than repeat okay! Dango… Dango… Dango.. Dango… Dango Daikazoku…" She taught him about the song.
He started to repeat after her. Lines per lines he learned the song that made her calm and happy every time she was feeling down.
"Is this song special for you?" He asked.
"Yes, Mama and Papa always sing it for me since I was born. It calms me down and makes me happy." She said.
Suddenly he wondered about her life story. She lived in a very happy family who supports her every time. He wondered how her parents could make her life so happy and cheerful.
"Papa said to me once, there was a time he experienced something terrible. He never told me to anyone but me. Even Mama didn't know about this." Ushio said to him.
She turned herself to face Jojiro. She took a deep breath and let it go.
"I was born in a cold raging blizzard in my old apartment. Mama struggled badly since she was having a fever and contractions in the same time. Papa said he once experienced them all, Mama's death when giving birth of me." She stopped walking and looked to the ground.
"He fell into stress for years and years. He felt that he should not have met Mama so Mama didn't have to die. After five years, he had a trip just with me. Papa said I was the one who made him realize that he didn't lose everything. He still had me as the one he could protect. But he said something bad happened and I died in his arms. Again, he felt that he should not have met Mama again so I didn't have to die. But he realized that he could not stop himself from not meeting Mama. Then something happened." She looked into Jojiro. Her tears were everywhere.
"Papa said, he came back to the time when I was born. Mama survived from giving birth of me. After that, Papa swore to himself to protect me and Mama. Jiro-kun…" She continued as her tears streamed down her face.
Jojiro came closer and wiped those tears from her face.
"Don't cry, okay?" He said to her.
"I'm sorry but when I remember that story I always cry. I don't know why." She said and gave him a sweet smile.
They walked down the streets until they were arrived at the park. The park was rather empty as it was night and dark. The lighting around the park was not too bright and left the Moon with a task to illuminate the rest of it. Ushio let Jojiro go and spun around the park. She let her long hair swept by the wind. Her face lit under the moonlight and made Jojiro stood there in awe. Then she suddenly stopped spinning around. She took a deep breath and started to talk.
"Would you like me to take you?" She said.
"To a place in this city, where wishes come true?" She continued.
Jojiro looked at Ushio and saw a new side of her there. There was a hope and dreams inside her eye. Ushio closed her eyes and smiled to herself. She opened her eyes again to see Jojiro stared into her eyes.
"Jiro-kun, don't you remember?" She started.
"There was a time I was lost. I was crying out loud." She said to him.
"This boy found me. Here in this very place. Don't you remember?" She asked him again.
"Are you okay?" That boy asked Ushio.
His smile warmed Ushio's lost heart. She stopped crying and shook her head a few times.
"Come on! Come with me!" He grabbed Ushio's hand and dragged her…
"He asked me to come with him. He dragged me along even I didn't answer anything to him." She continued.
"He treated me in his favorite place and kept bragging how it was the best." She said.
"This place is the best! Isn't it?"…
"He helped me found Mama and Papa. Jiro-kun, don't you remember?" She said.
"When I found out who was that boy, I was glad that… That he was able to find me once more. Thank you, Jiro-kun to keep finding me." She gave him a sweet smile as the wind blows and blew her hair revealing her glistening eyes under the moonlight.
After they finished put up a camp, they sat together closely while gazing at the beautiful stars. Nao started to listen to his heartbeat closely and smiled.
"Yuu-kun…" She called him to get his attention.
"Yeah?" He answered.
"When you were gone, I was feeling empty inside my heart. I listened to this MP3 player to feel connected with you and my brother every time I felt lonely." She took a deep breath.
"Day by day, I felt more and more connected as the song made me remember something from other time. You were there. Crushed but then came back and saved my brother from his pain. After recovered that strange memory, I came to visit my brother a day before ZHIEND's gig. Surprisingly I found the vocalist of ZHIEND stood there and asked me about my brother and you." She leaned closer to him.
"You know, Nao. I'm grateful that you met with me. Even I remember our first meeting didn't feel any good. I remember how you made me humiliated by uncovering the truth of my cheating habit." He said.
"And don't try to hide your jealousy Nao. I know that you hate my ex-girlfriend. You tricked her so she could not meet me recent after I got back here. Kurobane told me." He continued.
"Hmph… I just don't know why you did like that girl. I know she wanted you back because dating a different school student was a trend. And you are a perfect target. She would brag to anyone that she had a boyfriend from another school that travelling around the world for a year if she dated you." Nao gave a stern look.
"It's because I was just fiend who likes to cheat back then and my only goal was living a perfect high school life with the school madonna. Don't you remember?" Yuu said.
"Then, you like her more than me, right?! Hmph! What a jerk!" Nao said in jealousy.
"No, it's not like that. But I think you didn't have to trick her like that." Yuu said.
"Why is that?" Nao asked.
"It's because that time you have known that I love you." Yuu said.
"Ah, is it a joke or what? Because I didn't feel like to laugh." Nao said sarcastically.
"It's not a joke! It's real!" Yuu said.
"But you said that you wanted to have a perfect high school life with the school madonna, which I'm not!" Nao talked him back.
"Uuuurghhh!" They growled at each other like cats that were going to fight with each other.
After they growled at each other, they laughed together. To be honest, they loved every single time they argue. They felt more and more connected by arguing with each other. It has become a habit that could not go away for years even they have been dating with each other for months.
"I don't know why but I feel happy when I'm arguing with you. It reminds me with you being close to me. You left me for one year, remember?" Nao said to Yuu.
"Yeah, and you waited me for one year, too." Yuu said.
"Nao…"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for waiting me. I can't imagine what would I become if you didn't wait for me. Two years ago, we met with each other. Today, I want you to remember something else." Yuu said.
"What is it?"
With no more wasting time he closed his distance with her and gave her a very first kiss of hers. It was sweet and memorable for Nao.
"Yuu-kun, thank you for everything you have done." Nao said to him while holding him closer to her.
Jojiro stood there speechless. The girl he found back then was really Ushio. He once thought to himself that he had seen her somewhere before and related it to the lost girl he invited to Ueno's okonomiyaki place. He was afraid that he was wrong so he kept silence. To be honest, Jojiro really wanted to meet this girl again and never imagined that she was this close for months. And he never imagined that the very girl he fell in love right now was the girl he found back when he was a little.
Yes, he fell in love with Ushio. Even after years working together with his idol, Yusarin, he never had a single thought to love Yusarin in a romantic way. Instead, he met Ushio in his senior year and fell in love with her. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to make sure she's alright. He wanted to be her place to lean on when she needed it. And he did promise to her father, Tomoya, to protect her and promise to Ushio herself to be her place to lean on. She gave him the warmth of a family. She gave him a place to talk. And the very last, she gave him his first kiss even he knew that she was under her bloodlust control.
Ushio gave Jojiro a smile that lit under the moonlight.
"You really are the same with Papa." She said while grinning towards him.
"Don't you want to say something, Jiro-kun?" She asked him.
Jojiro fixed his glasses position even when he knew that his glasses didn't need any repositioning. His glasses reflected the moonlight. He walked closer to Ushio step by step and slowly. He reached for Ushio's face and touched them gently. His other hand reached for Ushio's hand and held them tightly. Suddenly Ushio stole Jojiro's glasses away and saw his eyes without his glasses for the first time. She gave him a wide grin.
"Hee… You look cute without your glasses." She said between her grin.
"I bet you cannot see anything." She said again.
"No, I can see everything." He replied.
"Huh, what do you mean?" She asked.
"I can see everything of you." He said to her.
Ushio flattered with that word. She started to blush and made her cheeks red. She looked down to avoid Jojiro's eyes and hide her blush. She started to give Jojiro small fists to his chest with her free hand.
"Are you trying to flatter me?" She asked.
"I don't think…"
"If you are trying to flatter me, you are success." She cut him before he could finish what he wanted to say.
They stood there close while holding their hands together and stared at each other for a few minutes. Feeling the warmth of each other in close. Ushio gave Jojiro another grin which replied by his own.
"Ushio…" He called her.
"Hmm?"
"I just want to say that I…" Before he could finish his sentence he was cut by soft warm lips owned by Ushio herself that suddenly attacked him.
Jojiro stood there in shock but then he pulled her closer and deepened their kiss. For a few minutes they shared a long sweet and passionate kiss. They broke out from the kiss to take a breath.
"I know Jiro-kun, and I love you, too." She said and gave him another peck in his lips before let go of him and made him follows her.
"Hey, Ushio wait for me!" Jojiro yelled.
From a distance not too far away, three people were looking at them and smiled.
"How did you know that will work?" Akio asked.
"Hmph… She just had waited for too long and I said to her, just do it!" Maki said.
"And how did you get this kid's help?" Akio referred to Tomoya.
"I told Okazaki-san the situation of Ushio-chan and Takajo-senpai. He easily wanted to help me." Maki said.
"Yeah, I gave Takajo a little push earlier." Tomoya said.
"And made me and Ushio-chan apologizing twice. TWICE." She pointed out.
"Gee, that boy is just like you." Akio said to Tomoya.
"Is there any problem with that? Don't you remember what Sanae-san said about you and me?" Tomoya asked him back.
"Nah, I actually like that. You did tell me about his promise to protect her. Hmph… I remembered the time before Ushio was born. You stubbornly said that you will protect Nagisa-chan again and again." Akio replied.
"More than that we should make sure that Takajo-senpai didn't do anything farther than that." Maki said.
"Yeah, let's do that. Come on." Tomoya said and made them follow Ushio and Jojiro.
Don't want babies running around the house before its time, right?
ARC 2 : LONG SATURDAY – FINISH. ONE LAST ARC BEFORE THE EPILOGUE! REVIEW, FAVORITE, AND FOLLOW!
