Review replies to chapter 12:

Celestial Writer: Lmfao, that bitch slap thing made me laugh. Poor Michiko. She's too cute. And Keiko and Tamotsu finally banged (or is it bung? xD)! Yay! Thank you for the review, and I hope you like this chapter! :D

GirlsLikeeBoys: I don't like it when we fight, either.

Caliboy: Poor Takky. D: I'm excited for this arc too. I actually liked this chapter a lot, so I'm hoping you do too. Thank you very much for the review, and I hope you like this chapter! :D

Jennison Silverye: WOW, LONG REVIEW! I promise I'll do my best to incorporate the other characters more. Kouichi and Kouji are going to be the main guys in the next chapter. :D Aya's so rude. I'm glad my sister-in-law/step mom/whatever you want to call her isn't like that. Thanks so much for the review, and I hope you like this chapter! :D

Empyrea: Junpei wasn't in it just because I couldn't get him in. D: Yeah, Aya's REALLY rude. Not cool! Thank you for the review, and I hope you like this chapter! :D

ThankfulMemories: I'd have to agree with you on that one. Thanks for the review, and enjoy this chapter! :D

Sekangel88: Hooray, a new reviewer! :D Wow, it made you cry! That's an amazing compliment! :D I totally get what you mean, but Kouji's character is the suppressing type. Soon enough he'll blow. D: Thank you for the review, and I hope you like this chapter!

Sooo, this is unbetaed. Just warning ya. xD

This chapter is dedicated to Morgan. Because even though we can both be complete bitches to each other, we still love each other.

"Are you gonna get married when you get older?"

Keiko looked to her sister, blinking. "When I'm all grown up?"

"When you're all grown up."

Keiko nodded. "I think I am. And I'm gonna have a little baby girl and boy and I'm gonna name them Hiro and Shino."

Ayame giggled, grinning. "I'm gonna get married to the handsomest man on the planet. He's gonna look like daddy, except younger."

"My husband's gonna look like Tamotsu. He's gonna be taller than me, and he's going to drive the car."

"When I get married, I'm gonna drive."

"Why? The boy has to drive, I thought."

"Nope, I've been in the car with mommy and daddy before, and she was driving. So when I get married, I'm gonna be the driver."

"You think I'll be able to drive sometimes, too?"

Ayame nodded. "Any time you want."

"Come on, Keiko. Wake up. Class is over."

Keiko slowly opened an eyelid, finding Kouji standing there, shaking her arm lightly. "You fell asleep during class. Maybe you should go home."

"I don't want to," Keiko said, standing up and thanking Kouji when he handed over her bag. "The day's almost over. Just lunch and gym class."

"You look like shit."

"It's fine. Two more classes. I'll be okay."

"Whatever."

The two walked down the hall together, Keiko looking awkwardly at the walls. He was in a bad mood. And when Kouji was in a bad mood, it was like the planets were all out of whack.

"So, how's lacrosse camp?"

"Fine."

"Just fine? You don't have anything else to say?"

"Nope."

"What's with you today?" They stopped at the raven's locker, and he grabbed his and Keiko's bento boxes. They'd made a deal that they should just put them in together, rather than stopping at two different lockers. "You're acting more broody than usual."

Kouji rolled his eyes, shutting his locker and handing the girl her lunch. "I'm tired, okay?"

"From lacrosse?" They headed to the cafeteria.

"Hn. Yeah, I guess. Other stuff too."

"Hey, is there something you're not telling me, Kouji? Something wrong?"

The raven took a deep breath and stopped, leaning against a wall. "Remember how you got taken by LadyDevimon a couple weeks ago? And… remember how I was the one who found you?"

Keiko nodded slowly. "Yeah, I remember."

"I… was hearing a voice that was telling me where to go. It was Takuya."

The brunette face visibly brightened. "Really? So he's still alive?"

Kouji sighed. "No. He told me that he wanted to say goodbye. He's… not coming back."

Keiko's eyes softened and she lowered her eyes. "Oh."

"Yeah. He said he loved me."

Keiko smiled. "He still does."

Kouji nodded slowly. "Yeah. I know."

"Hey, I'm starving," Keiko said, breaking the silence. She rubbed her stomach. "You wanna go to lunch? I'm really about to keel over right about now."

"Hn. Let's go."

"This is the dumbest game ever," Izumi grumbled. "You're like a couple of idiots."

"Hey, Kouji vs. Tamotsu week is back on," the latter said, grinning.

"Last I checked, it was only a day," Keiko muttered.

"Yeah, well rules change."

"Shut up Johnny Yong Bosch."

The blonde's face twisted. "What?"

"It's who you sound like," Junpei commented. "Keiko's doing that thing again. Where she calls us voice actor's names. Or their characters."

"Oh." Tamotsu blinked and looked at his girlfriend. "Then in that case, I should call you-"

"Hey, are we doing this or not?" Kouji demanded, tapping his piece of notebook paper, which was face down. "Come on."

"Oh, right." Tamotsu cleared his throat and flipped his paper over. "Bra sizes. Izumi: 34D. Michiko: 36B. Keiko: 34B. Atsuko: 32C."

Kouji flipped his paper over as well. "Izumi: 36D. Michiko: 34B. Keiko: 30AAA-"

"Hey!"

"Just kidding. 38A."

Keiko harrumphed.

"And Atsuko: 34C."

"Kouji got mine right," Izumi said.

"He got mine too," Michiko said, smiling lightly.

"And Tamotsu got mine," Atsuko said.

"Same." Keiko blinked.

"So… it's a tie," Kouichi said. "Just like the hug competition."

"I still don't believe that you got 93 hugs, Kouji," Tamotsu said. "The same number as me. You must've counted wrong."

"Or maybe you're the one who counted wrong," Kouji countered, raising an eyebrow. "Because I'm fucking prime."

"I'm definitely hotter than you, man," the blonde said. "My voice is, too."

"Yeah, he's Johnny Yong Bosch, after all," Izumi said, smiling.

"But Kouji's Steve Staley," Keiko said.

"Shut up." Kouji glared at the girl.

"Yeah, babe. Who's side are you on?" Tamotsu looked like a kicked puppy.

"Steve Staley's Neji and Kadaj," Keiko said. "Hard act to follow."

"Yeah, well Johnny Yong Bosch is fucking Lelouch and Ichigo. That's pretty kick ass."

Junpei nodded. "Yeah, you really can't beat that."

"See?" Tamotsu grinned. "What's the next competition?"

"Next competition. The kissing competition. Uh, you two need to kiss each other. And see who comes out as the seme," Junpei said.

"Who made that one up?" Atsuko asked.

Izumi raised her hand, grinning brightly. "Me!"

"We are not kissing," Tamotsu said bluntly.

"What, you're afraid of converting?" Michiko grinned.

"And last I checked, Kouji, aren't you bisexual?" Izumi asked.

He glared. "I like girls a lot better. And I prefer the term 'flexible'."

"You're bisexual?" Atsuko asked, her eyes wide. "God, what else are you people hiding?"

"Webbed feet."

"I lay eggs."

"I'm not a guy."

Laughter erupted from the table.

"Hey, isn't that-"

"Yeah, it is."

Katsuharu sighed and looked over at Tomoki, who was fiddling idly with his drink. "Maybe we should leave. If they're going to be here."

Chiaki nodded, blowing a loose piece of brown hair out of her eye. "It's only going to do you worse, seeing them together like that, you know."

"Well, I need to get over it eventually," Tomoki muttered.

"Not like this," Chiaki said gently, putting a hand on top of Tomoki's. Katsuharu glared. "Not by forcing yourself to see them together. That's causing you more pain."

Teppei nodded in agreement. "Hey, I just say we get out of here. We can head to my place, and-"

"If Tomoki says he wants to stay, we'll stay," Katsuharu snapped. "Quit bugging him."

Chiaki took her hand off of Tomoki's, lowering her eyes. "Sorry."

"Happy birthday, Asashi," Tamotsu said softly, dropping a single flower onto his best friend's grave. "You're sixteen now, huh? Time flies."

He sighed and sat down in the snow, leaning against the gravestone. "When we were little, we always used to tell each other that we'd be the coolest kids in school, and the best lacrosse players to ever walk through the doors of Shibuya High."

The blonde took a deep breath, staring into the whiteness of the snow. "But I guess that can't happen now, can it?" He smiled. "Sorry that I haven't come to visit your grave until now. It hurt too much I guess. Hell… it hurts too much to even see your picture. I'm sorry."

Tamotsu ran a gloved hand through his hair. "It's weird. Texting your best friend one minute, and the next thing you know, your dad's at the side of your bed, telling you that said best friend's gone. I… I don't cry very much. But when dad told me that…" He looked up to the sky. "All I wanted to do was cry. And I did. I felt like such a baby, dad sitting there holding me while I tried to breathe. But more than anything, I felt helpless. There was nothing I could do. You were already gone. I couldn't stop anything from happening."

"Tamotsu, wake up."

The blonde groaned softly and turned over, ready to grumble something at his dad, but at the look on his face, he froze completely. "Dad…?"

"There's been an accident. Asashi was hit by a car."

"Oh God." He sat up straight, his eyes wide. "Is he okay?"

His father shook his head. "No. He's dead, Tamotsu."

It had to be a joke. A cruel, sick, twisted fucking joke. Asashi couldn't be dead. He'd just been texting him a few hours ago…

"What?"

"He's dead. I'm sorry, Tamotsu."

And the floodgates broke. The blonde threw himself at his father, sobbing into his shirt and wrapping shaking arms around him. His father just held onto him, stroking his hair, whispering into his ear.

He kept shaking his head, wishing everything were untrue, but it was the past, and the past was the past and this was the present. Nothing that happens in the present can change the past.

And there was nothing he could do.

So he stopped crying.

He sniffled. "And something that tears me up even now, is the way I felt at the funeral and at school after everything was through… It was pretty common knowledge that you and Izumi were together when you died… Everybody flocked around her when you died. Not me. Her. Her and Michiko. I was mad because… everybody was pitying her for her loss. She knew you for a year or two… I knew you for twelve. I don't know why I let myself get like that. I really don't."

Tamotsu was back in school as quickly as he could manage. He tried to ignore all the looks he'd get from teachers and students, and all the whispers he's hear behind his back. He just kept going through the day. He just wanted everything to be normal again.

It'd pissed him off for some reason that was absolutely selfish in his mind when Izumi had come back to school, and everybody had crowded around her, showing sympathy and giving her cards.

Wasn't he the one who'd just lost his best friend?

The only person that had seemed to understand him besides Michiko was Kouji, who was honestly the last person he'd expected would get him. He knew Kouji loved Izumi. Hell, he probably knew that before Kouji even knew it.

The raven hadn't tiptoed around anything with him. He'd given him a hug and quietly gave the blonde his condolences. Which was the most he'd received out of anybody, really.

And it meant so much.

It almost made him cry. But he didn't want to cry anymore. He wanted to move on.

"Even now, I still have trouble believing it all happened." Tamotsu sighed softly. "I thought we were gonna go to college together and party and get drunk and… Fuck." Tamotsu took a deep breath. "Why the fuck did you have to go? Why'd you have to leave me like that? I wouldn't have done that to you. I would've fucking held on for you, Asashi. Why'd you have to leave me?"

And for the first time since the funeral, tears dripped down his cheeks. "You were going to be the best lacrosse player in Tokyo. You were going to be a fucking acrobat." He scrubbed at his cheeks. "You were going to be my best man at my wedding. You were going to have my fucking back." He leaned forward, tears falling into the snow. "We were gonna grow old together, and we were gonna live."

And he cried.

He didn't stop until the sun was beginning to go down and the snow was steadily falling.

He wasn't sure how long he was there, but he forced himself to stop. Crying wasn't going to help anything. So he stood up, staring at the gravestone, rubbing his eyes. "You're probably laughing at me, wherever you are. Maybe you're living another life already. I don't know." He sniffled. "But… in the last year that you've been gone, I promised myself something." Another sniffle.

"I'm going to be the best lacrosse player Shibuya High's ever seen. For you. Since we can't do it together anymore, I figured that maybe you'll be able to see it happen, if you can, that is." He swallowed. "I'm… sorry I broke down like that. It's just overwhelming, you know?" He blinked and stared at the rose, which was buried under a layer of frost. "Didn't mean to do that."

He cleared his throat. "But I wanted to let you know about that… My promise. And I needed to tell you a few things on top of that. Sorry I talked your ear off." The wind blew through his hair, and he couldn't help but be reminded of those times when Asashi ruffle his hair, like he was a little kid.

"I… I want to be the proof that you were here. I won't let anyone forget. But most of all, I won't forget." He nodded slowly. "I promise."

The wind picked up again, and it made his heart warm, even though the cold was wrapping around his body. "Thank you, Asashi. For everything."

"Are you nervous, Izumi?" Keiko asked, smiling at the blonde as she sat in the waiting room chair.

"No, not really. I'll just be sore for a few days."

"Too bad your parents couldn't come, huh?" Keiko gestured to Keiji. "Sorry about him, he's not really a morning person."

"Shut. Up," Keiji snapped from his chair.

"I just feel guilty for dragging you guys out here for this and having to stay with you guys for a whole week. My parents didn't realize that they were both going to be out during my surgery."

"That's okay. I'm happy I can be here for you." Keiko looked around. "God, I think I'm more nervous than you are."

"Because you're afraid of the dentist," Keiji muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"No I'm not." Keiko glared at her brother. "Yeah, you're the one who wouldn't get out of the car when you had to get a filling."

"I don't like laughing gas." The man crossed his arms over his chest, frowning. "Sue me."

Izumi giggled. "You guys are too much."

A nurse came out from behind a door, smiling lightly. "Orimoto Izumi?"

The blonde stood up, smiling at the two brunettes. "Well, wish me luck. See you in a little bit."

"Good luck," Keiko said, smiling.

Once the two left, Keiji turned and looked at his sister, who was texting somebody on her cell phone. "Hey, Keiko?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't you think it's weird that Izumi's parents aren't here today?"

Keiko shrugged. "Not really. They just had some scheduling conflicts. They're busy people."

"I get that," he said, turning to face her. "But have you ever even met her parents more than once? They weren't even at Asashi's funeral, you said."

Keiko blinked. "I never really thought of that. They travel a lot for their work. Izumi usually has the house to herself."

"Odd." Keiji turned and took a magazine off the little table in front of them, flipping it open. "Have you ever talked to her about it?"

"I guess I haven't put much thought into it. We don't really talk about her parents, or mine for that matter."

"Or Ayame."

Keiko nodded slowly. "Or Ayame."

"When do you plan on telling people about that? You can't hide it forever, you know."

"I know." Keiko sighed. "Kouichi found out."

Keiji raised an eyebrow. "Really."

She nodded. "We were supposed to talk about it, but some stuff came up."

"Hiding shit about your life isn't helping anybody. Not even yourself."

"I know… I think I should tell him soon."

"Set a date. Make it so you have to."

"Right. Next Friday?"

Keiji nodded. "Sounds fair."

"Is it alright if he comes over that night?"

"You know you don't have to ask. I'm not a crazy psycho bitch, remember?" He smirked. "And my girlfriend isn't either."

Ayaka sneezed elsewhere.

Keiko's lip twitched. She'd never heard Keiji refer to Naoki as a bitch before. It was… different. "Nice."

"When Izumi starts feeling better, let's all go out to dinner," he said randomly. "I want to spend some fucking money on amazing food."

"You're so weird." Keiko glanced at her phone. "Tamotsu says hi."

"Tell him to suck my cock."

"I'll let him know you say hi back."

"Great."

"I can't wait until the spring," Michiko said, taking another sip of her hot chocolate.

"I don't know. I kind of like the cold." Junpei shifted behind her, pulling the blanket tighter around them. She was seated between his legs, up against his chest. Body heat was the best way to get warmed up, after all.

"Why's that?" Michiko asked, puzzled.

"I don't know what it is. It's comforting for me, I guess." He shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Not sure why."

Michiko smiled back and laid her head against his chest, taking a deep breath and deciding that she needed to tell him.

"I talked to Tomoki the other day."

Junpei was silent for several seconds, obviously surprised. "…What?"

"I… felt like I should call him. I kind of ruined your guys' friendship."

"You didn't ruin anything, Michiko," he said, narrowing his eyes. "He was the one who stopped speaking to me after we got together."

The auburn haired girl stared at her boyfriend. "Didn't… you try to talk to him at all after?"

"No, I didn't."

Michiko looked confused. "I… but I thought you did."

"Neither of us made the effort. It wasn't just you."

~The whole time, it wasn't even…~

"Why did you even try, though? How could you just throw away your friendship?"

Junpei sighed. "I don't want to talk about it right now, Michiko."

"Stop trying to evade everything." Michiko moved away, going back to sit on her haunches. "Talk to me. I just want to know. Why didn't you say anything to him?"

"Because you made it pretty clear that you didn't want anything to do with him. What was I supposed to do? It wasn't my job to wipe his tears up."

The girl blinked. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Junpei moved forward, resting a hand on her shoulder. "How long's this been bothering you?"

She shrugged. "A while, I guess."

"God, baby, talk to me when you're feeling hurt, okay?" He kissed her on the forehead.

She smiled and buried her face into his neck. "Okay."

"I don't even feel anything," Izumi slurred, her face pressed against the window, drool coming out of the side of her mouth. "They said I did so good. Did I do good?"

"You did really well Izumi," Keiko said, smiling at her friend.

"You feeling okay?"

"I feel great. I feel so good."

"Good."

"I wanna sleep in Keiji's bed."

The brunette driving furrowed his eyebrows. "The fuck?"

Keiko blinked. "Izumi, you're going to stay in the guest room, remember?"

"No. I want to be in Keiji's bed. Just me and Ayaka and Pacino."

"Pacino can sleep in the guest room with you, how's that?" Keiko asked, smiling weakly.

"Okay."

Keiji pulled into the driveway, sighing as he turned the car off. "I'll get Izumi. You wanna get her bags?"

"Yeah, I got 'em." Keiko popped the trunk open and pulled out Izumi's suitcase and purse. "You have her?"

"Yep." Keiji got the blonde to clamber onto his back. "If she fucking drools on me…"

"I don't drool," Izumi snapped.

Saburo and Akira were eating breakfast in the kitchen when the trio came walking in. "How'd it go Izumi?" Akira asked. "You feel okay?"

"I didn't even feel it. You guys should try it."

"Already got mine out last year," Saburo said, smiling. "No thanks."

"Aww."

"Oh, Ayaka called, Keiji," the brunette said, ignoring Izumi. "She said she'll be in this afternoon."

"Cool." Keiji walked through the kitchen. "I'll call her in a minute."

"I don't really care."

"Shut up," Keiji grumbled as he clambered up the stairs.

Keiko had already put Izumi's bags in the closet by the time Keiji got her into the bed.

The blonde immediately buried her face into the clean sheets and burrowed under the comforter.

"Kouji and Kouichi were gonna come visit her, but I'm pretty sure she'll sleep through the whole day," Keiko said, coming up next to her brother.

"Dude, why are Kouji and Kouichi always around each other? It's so weird. They look alike, too."

"Are you serious?" Keiko stared at him. "They're brothers. Twins."

"No they're not," Keiji said incredulously. "Seriously?"

"I can't believe you didn't know that." Keiko laughed. "You're so stupid."

"Keiko, can you close the curtains?" Izumi asked softly. "The sun's hurting my eyes."

The brunette nodded and did as she was asked. "I hope you feel better, Izumi. If you need anything, just ask."

"I'll bring some ice up for you later," Keiji added. "We'll see if you can eat later."

"Thank you both," Izumi called as the siblings walked out turned off the lights, shutting the door behind them.

"You got your wisdom teeth out, right?" Keiko asked.

"Yeah." Keiji nodded. "You probably have to get yours out pretty soon. I'll make you an appointment for the dentist to see what he says."

Keiko whimpered. "Keiji…"

"Would you rather have them mess up your teeth and get braces?"

"No…"

"We'll wait until the summer, how's that sound?"

Keiko smiled. "Thank you, Keiji."

"Yeah, I'm a saint."

And after all he'd done for her in the last few years, she really believed he was.

So, the whole wisdom teeth thing is in this because I just got mine out about a week ago. No, I wasn't loopy like THAT. Actually, I didn't even want to talk, because I didn't want to say something that my dad would make fun of me for later. LOL.

And again, I'm updating at five in the morning. Joy.

OH, AND I PROMISE MY BABY DOLL KOUICHI WILL BE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER FINALLY! SORRY!

Thank you all for reading. :D