Chapter 12 -

"The Ending and the Beginning"

Umiya swiftly unlocked the door. She rushed in and slammed her bedroom door. Her mother, who had just come in from work, saw her and knocked on her door.

"Umiya?" she said as she knocked on her door. "Can I come in?"

No answer. So, she opened the door. There, she saw Umiya, sitting on her bed, crying. Her mother went over, sat next to her, and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Boy troubles?" her mother said, rubbing Umiya's back in comfort.

Umiya sniffled. "H... How... Y-yeah..."

"It's that Igarashi, right?"

Umiya just nodded. Her mother sighed.

"I could tell by just looking at him, he was the 'heart-breaker' type of guy."

Umiya finally looked up at her mother. "T-then... Why didn't stop us?"

She gave a warm smile to Umiya.

"That boy... Igarashi Tora... He was a wild one, I could tell. But... There was something different about him than other boys like that. There was something in his eyes. He had changed from that type."

Umiya looked a little puzzled. "Th... There was something... In his eyes? What... What was it?"

Her mother looked up at the ceiling. "I couldn't quite tell at first. But now, every time I see him, I see it clearly."

"See what clearly? What is it?"

She turned to Umiya and said, "I saw love in his eyes. He was in love, with you, Umiya."

Umiya looked surprised at first, but she just looked down. "He doesn't really love me. I saw him, Mom. He... He betrayed my trust, twice! I don't think I can trust him anymore..."

Her mother sighed once more. "Well, it's not my right to tell you who to be with, but just know this, I can tell, he really does love you."

"Thanks, Mom, but I think I need some time to think about this."

"Okay, just don't worry about this too much! Tomorrow's Christmas! We'll be together tomorrow night to celebrate!"

She looked up. "You have to work tomorrow?"

"Yes, but in the morning. So we can still spend Christmas together!" her mother said, smiling.

Umiya couldn't help but smile back. Her mother stood up and patted her on the head.

"Now, get some rest. You probably need it after a long day like this. I'll see you tomorrow."

She bent down to kiss Umiya's cheek, and she went to the kitchen. Umiya just smiled and laid down to rest.


In the morning...

RING! RING! RING!

Umiya's phone flashed with a message. First, she looked at her clock to check what time it was. '4:00 A.M...,' she thought. 'Who the heck would be texting me at 4 o'clock in the morning?'

She grabbed her phone, flipped it open, and read the message:

'Get ready.
I'm taking you somewhere.
Don't ask, just do it.
I'll be waiting out front.'

-Igarashi Tora

'It's Tora...,' she thought with a groggy head. 'Yeah, right, like I'd ever listen to him again!'

She closed and tried to go back to sleep. But even though she was incredibly tired, she couldn't fall back asleep! She was tossing and turning, but no matter what she did, she couldn't go back to sleep!

She let out a sigh. 'Why can't fall asleep?' she thought, a little irritated. 'And why do I keep thinking of... Tora? Gosh...'

She sat up on her bed and let out another sigh. Then she got up and went to her closet.

'I can't believe I'm doing this...,' she thought to herself as she got dressed.

When she was finished, she went to the living room. She yawned as she sat down on her couch. But then, sleep finally caught up to her.

'Ahh, I feel really sleepy for some reason...,' she thought. 'Maybe... I'll just rest a bit... Before he gets here...'

She laid her head on the couch arm and, after a few minutes, she was asleep.


Tora was waiting in his limo in front of Umiya's building. He was tapping his feet impatiently as he was waiting for her to come out. He glanced at his watch.

'4:45... Where is she?' he thought to himself. 'I hope she's coming, though... I'm not even sure if she'll forgive me yet!'

He shook his head and put on a courageous face. 'You know what?'

"Chauffeur?" he asked.

"Yes, young master?" the chauffeur replied.

"Would wait here for a while? I will be back in a few minutes."

"Why, of course, young sir! Take all the time you need," the chauffeur said with a smile.

"Thank you," Tora said as he climbed out of the car.


DING!

The elevator stopped on the tenth floor. Tora stepped out. He headed for Apartment #1001, but on his way there, he bumped into someone and dropped all of her things!

"Oh!" Tora said as he helped the woman pick up her things. "I'm terribly sorry! Please, let me help you."

"Oh, thank you so much," the woman said.

When they picked up everything, they stood up.

"Again, thank you so mu-... Igarashi Tora?" said the woman.

"Huh?" Tora asked with a puzzled face. But then, he recognized the woman. "Mrs. Hoshiyo? Oh, I'm really sorry!"

She laughed and smiled. "Oh, it's alright. And thank you for picking up my things for me. Anyway, what are you doing here early in the morning?"

Tora looked down. "Well, I was waiting for Umiya to come down... But then..."

She gave a thoughtful face. "Ahh... I see..."

Tora's head snapped up. "You do?"

"Of course I do!" she laughed. "You know what? Go ahead, go get her. Just make sure you don't break her heart again!"

His eyes widened just a bit. "Y... You know?"

"How could I not? She came home crying over you. I can tell, she really loves you. And I'm guessing that you do, too."

She walked over to the elevator and pressed the button for the 1st floor. "Now, Prince Charming, go get your princess!"

And with that, the doors closed and the elevator moved down. Tora was surprised at what her mother had said. But he just headed toward the apartment, with newly found confidence.


'Wh... Where... Am I?' Umiya thought. 'This doesn't feel like my couch... And why do I feel like I'm... Not on the ground?'

She opened her eyes to see Tora, looking forward. Then, Tora saw her open her eyes and looked down at her.

"Oh! Are you finally awake, my princess?" he asked her, giving her a heart-breaking smile.

"...Where... Am I...?" she asked, still a little tired.

"You're safely in my arms, my princess," he said as he held her closer.

Umiya was confused, until she realized that Tora was holding (or cradling her, for that matter)! She instantly jumped out of his arms, but then she lost her balance! So she fell, bottom-first!

"...Ha ha ha!" Tora laughed. Then he extended his hand to her. "Need some help, my princess?"

"No, thank you! I can get up by myself!" she said as she swatted his hand away. She got up and dusted the dirt off of herself. "And who are you calling YOUR princess?" she yelled angrily.

"You, of course," Tora said. "Who else could it be?"

Umiya sighed. "Never mind that. Where are we? How did I get here?"

"Well, we're on top of one my towers. And I carried you here," he said calmly.

"Wait. You carried me here?" she yelled.

"Yes, why?"

"Who said that you could carry me?" she said, angry.

"Why, your mother said. I bumped into her on my way to get you," he said with a sly smile.

"What?" she said, exasperated that her mother would do. Oh, wait, she would do something like that.

She walked over to the exit and looked down the seemingly endless staircase. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"You carried me up all of these stairs?" she asked, astonished.

"Yeah, why?" he said, totally calm.

"B-But... It's so far!" she said.

"So? I would do anything for my princess."

He bent down to kiss her hand, but she swiftly took back her hand. She walked over to the railing to look at the view from the tower. Tora fixed his composure (he was nervous) and walked over to do the same.

"Why did you bring me here?" Umiya asked in a soft voice, almost sad.

"I wanted to apologize," he said, in a tone just as sad.

"What for?"

"What do you mean what do you 'what for'?" he asked, a little irritated. "You got hurt by someone you love! It's only natural that-"

"Someone I love?" she asked, indifferent. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't love you." She turned to face him with a stern expression. "I hate you."

She started to walk toward the staircase, but Tora's hand caught her. She wouldn't turn around, though.

"Wait," he said.

She ripped her arm from his grip. "What do you want? I have no time to waste with someone like you."

"Umiya, please. Let me explain. It wasn't like what you saw!" he said, trying to convince her.

She turned around, angry. "Oh, so you didn't kiss Hazumi?" she yelled.

"No! It's not like that!"

"Oh, so I'm a liar now?" she said, offended.

"No! I-"

Tora was interrupted by his phone ringing. Umiya just turned around, crossed her arms, and huffed. Tora quickly flipped open his phone.

"What is it?" he yelled angrily.

"Hello, Tora," said a voice from the other line.

"Hazumi?" he said, puzzled. "What do you want?"

Just the mention of her name made Umiya irritated. She huffed again and headed down the stairs.

"Let me speak to Umiya," Hazumi said, unexpectedly.

"You want to speak to Umiya? Why?"

This made her stop in her tracks. She turned around, still irritated, but also a bit mystified.

"Just give the phone to her!" Hazumi said.

Tora held out the phone to her. "It's... It's for you."

Umiya hesitated, but then she reluctantly took the phone.

"H... Hello?" Umiya said.

"Umiya?" Hazumi asked. "Is that you?"

"Y... Yeah, it is. What do you need?"

"I wanted to talk to you about yesterday."

Umiya's expression changed to an angry one. "What about it?"

"First, I wanted to apologize. What Tora has probably been telling you is true. I forced him to kiss me. I'm really sorry."

Surprised flashed across her face. "H... He was... Telling the truth...?"

In the background, Tora let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes, and second, I just wanted to reassure you," Hazumi said.

"Reassure me? About what?"

"I asked my father to call off the marriage arrangment. He talked to Tora's father and said that we no longer had to get married. So Tora's all yours," she said. You could hear her smile.

"W-Why... Did you do that? I thought...," Umiya asked, totally confused.

"I do like him, but you love him, don't you?" Hazumi asked. "He's all yours, then. You see, I love romance stories! So when the maids and butlers told me about you guys, I felt different! I couldn't possibly interfere with true love!"

"Uhmm... Th-thank you...?" Umiya said.

"No problem!" Hazumi said, oddly cheerful. "Well, hope to see you around!"

"Wait, you're leaving?"

"Yup! I'm going back to America! No need for me to stay here! I'm gonna go husband hunting! Now, go get your prince, you lucky princess!"

And with that, Hazumi hung up. Umiya was astonished at what she did, but she held her composure in front of Tora. She handed the phone back to him.

"Well?" he asked. "What did she talk to you about?"

"She... She told me... That she called off the marriage arrangement..."

"She called it off?" Tora said, completely surprised.

"And that she's going back to America..."

"She is? Why?"

"She... She said that she didn't want to interfere in true love. Crazy, right?" Umiya said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Not... Really...," he said, looking down.

"Wh... What do you mean...?" she asked him, anticipating what he would say.

Now, Tora wouldn't look at her as they looked down the tower and held onto the railing. He tried to hide his face, but if you looked closely, you could see that he was blushing red. He was also gripping the railing as tight as he could.

"Haven't I told you before, Umiya? I love you! I always have, always will. I really, truely love you. Please believe me," he said with a pleading voice.

"...I... I'm don't think I can anymore, Igarashi...," she said in a sad voice.

"Why not?" he asked, sad as well. "Hazumi told you what happened, didn't she? It was the truth!"

Umiya sighed. "I... I know that. It's just... I don't know! I just...can't trust you again. You hurt me twice, even if the second was not your fault. Your father interfered, so what if he does again?And I get hurt in the process again?" she yelled, on the edge of tears. "I... I just can't take it anymore..."

Now she was crying, gripping the railing tightly. Tora was hurt, too, but probably not as much as she had been. He was on the edge of tears, too. He couldn't think of what to do, so he quickly pulled Umiya in for a tight hug. Umiya's eyes widened in surprise.

"Umiya... Don't think of anything else. My father, what others think about us, nothing. Nothing else matters but our feelings for each other. If we only think about that, there's no hiding the truth. We love each other. Let's just think about that, nothing else."

He wrapped his arms around her neck and waist and, just like she was doing, he started to cry, too. Umiya was shocked and speechless. It was like all the emotions that she had kept bottled up inside herself burst in this one moment. Soon, she started to sob, not loudly, but overwhelmingly. She tightly wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Tora was surprised at this, but he just held her tighter.

For a few moments, the two held each other, not letting go. Then, they started to loosen their grip.

"So...," Tora said. "Does this mean that you forgive me?"

Umiya just chuckled. "Maybe yes, maybe no."

Tora sighed in exasperation. Umiya just giggled and turned toward the railing once more. He followed. The wind was blowing a gentle breeze, and the sun had just started to rise. Soft, colorful rays of sunlight covered the town as it slowly rose. Snow lightly fell from the sky, covering everything in a thin white blanket of snow.

Tora and Umiya sighed. "It's... So beautiful...," Umiya said.

"Yeah, it's my favorite- No, scratch that. One of my favorite places in the world," he said.

She scoffed. "Well, I wouldn't expect someone with the luxuries that you get to have only one favorite place."

"True, but you know, just recently, I've realized that I actually have a favorite place."

"Oh?" she said, raising her eyebrow in interest. "Where?"

Tora turned to Umiya and took her chin. He faces her face to his and goes closer to her. Then he quietly whispers to her.

"Anywhere you are."

Then, he leans in, and...kisses her! Umiya starts to blush a deep red. She had never thought that he would do this, but eventually, she gave in and returned the favor. After a moment, they break apart and Tora, still holding Umiya's chin, leans down to her ear.

"I love you, Umiya."

Umiya blushes extremely, but then, she smiles. She went to his ear and whispered something as well.

"I love you, too, Tora."

His eyes widened in surprised. The two looked at each other and smiled warm smiles. Then, they leaned in for another kiss in the snow.


Well, this is the end! I'd like to thank everyone who read and/or reviewed this story! (Listen to me, it's like I'm saying a speech or something. XD) Anyway, as the title says, this is the ending of the story, but the beginning for Umiya and Tora! So goodbye, and thank you!