A/N: I did a double update s fair warning to all, before reading this chapter please check out the previous chapter just to be sure you haven't missed out and be totally confused when reading this particular chapter because I really believe you will, because I have mentioned in the previous chapter that I did have to cut my original story of that chapter into two - so this is the second part.

I would like to give hanamina19971 a little shout out because our reviews really lifted my crushed spirit when I was dealing with a lot of negative emotions back then, so knowing that this story was still attracting a lot of readers really filled my heart with so much...rainbows, butterflies and sunshine!

I'd like to thank these people for alerting and/or placing this story on their fav-ed list:
altal23
Krista297
hanamina19971
felon
mariceilo.t

Anyways there you have it! Please enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the POT characters but I do own the OC characters and the plot.

Kirihara POV

"Those were information that only Akaya exclusively knows in our team, only Minase and Renji were the ones that stumbled upon the information. So what does that make us exactly?" Marui-sempai, Jackal-sempai and I couldn't help but stop and turn to the direction where we heard my name being mentioned by someone who sounded like Sanada-fukubuchou. "We didn't stumble upon the information, okay? I left because everything we heard made me feel guilty that I was even listening, because the person she wanted to say it to was Atobe and not me or any of us."

"What the heck is fukubuchou talking about?" I turned to Marui-sempai and Jackal-sempai for answers but they looked equally confused as I did. Marui-sempai motioned for us to approach their group to find out. Sanada-fukubuchou feeling guilty – well, that's a first.

"What are you guys arguing about in public?" Marui-sempai asked when we were near enough to catch their attention.

"And what's this talk about information only I exclusively know?" I glanced from Sanada-fukubuchou to Yukimura-buchou. No one seemed to have any interest in answering mine or Marui-sempai's question. The silence that engulfed them only thickened through time, there isn't anything more Marui-sempai, Jackal-sempai or I could do to lessen the tension.

If I had to take a guess, they must have heard something while Tsubaki and Atobe-san are on a date. Whatever it was they heard it made Sanada-fukubuchou leave and probably that's how an argument erupted. Then what could that information about Tsubaki be?

"Aka-chan…" I heard Masachika-sempai calling me with a hushed voice. I turned to Masachika-sempai's direction; confusion is the only emotion I could comprehend. "Is it true that Tsu-chan's real dad has already passed away?"

I see…so this is the cause for the argument. I glanced at Minase-buchou and Renji-sempai but they both avoided my gaze. Tsubaki never told anyone else about this. I was the only one but that was only because she couldn't handle all the pent up pain she felt over the loss of her father. Minase-buchou found out through mere coincidence while Renji-sempai found out through data gathering, so how come Masachika-sempai knows.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could answer that question but I can't." I frowned as I tried to piece everything together. "If you really want to know the truth behind that then I suggest you ask Tsubaki herself. I have no right to answer that question."

"I see…"

"Is this what you guys are arguing about?" I clarified after Masachika-sempai responded looking dejected. The atmosphere worsens as I asked the question and somehow if that really was the reason for their argument then I wanted it resolved before it reaches Tsubaki.

When the time comes and they find out about this, please explain as much as you can why I haven't told them. I'm not telling you to tell them everything I've told you because I know that's something I need to do myself, but I don't want them feeling like I don't trust them with this information.

I recalled Tsubaki's words and I sighed in resignation. In the end, I really do have a soft spot for her. "Have you all eaten yet? If you haven't then could you buy take outs and we can eat it at a nearby park, I'll explain why Tsubaki never said anything about her circumstance there."

They all nodded their heads while Sanada deepen the frown on his face, he looked like he didn't want to hear anything I had to say probably because of what they heard earlier but he quietly followed anyways. They ordered their lunch and we sat at a nearby park and I allowed them to eat their meals first because I didn't want what I have to say to ruin their already ruined appetite.

Sanada POV

"I wasn't supposed to know about Tsubaki's circumstance to be honest. I just happened to be there at the right time and at the right place." Everyone listened intently to what Akaya had to say, the air surrounding is thick with tension. I was ready to head home after the whole argument but I wanted to hear what this boy had to say. "Back then I was basically the same as everyone, I didn't know how much pain she was carrying or how much she was suffering inside. The smile on her face isn't for show, well at least now it isn't, but back then it was just a mask to hide what she really felt."

"In the past, Tsubaki used to disappear every now and then, that was because she couldn't contain all the negative thoughts and emotions in her that she just had to hide and let it all out." He continued pausing every now and then to gather his thoughts, probably deciding what can and cannot be said. "I didn't know how frequently she did this, she stopped isolating herself after I found her and she was able to release all of her pent up emotions and what not. She didn't open up immediately, it was a process and wherein I found out about everything one after the other, piecing every information I heard together, after that I slowly started to understand how Tsubaki thinks and what her actions meant."

"The more Tsubaki smiles the more she's trying to mask the hurt and pain she's feeling." Akaya paused and looked straight at me before looking away, while no one was looking. Was that directed only to me? "This only applies to the female sempais but you guys remembered the first time Tsubaki stopped eating her used to be regular portions right?" They all nodded in response. "I only heard this from Tsubaki's mom but she said that along with the portion decrease, Tsubaki no longer eats breakfast and it's not really attributed to depression, it's more of a: state of mind."

"W-what?" Amane looked like she couldn't believe what she was hearing, actually neither could I. I've been living with that girl and although I admit I haven't seen her eat breakfast except this morning, it never once crossed my mind that she was skipping meals.

"I honestly wish I could elaborate more so that everyone can get a clearer idea but I really can't. I'm really sorry." Akaya bowed his head deeply that I clicked my tongue in annoyance. "Raise your head boy, you don't have anything to apologize about, you explained what you can and no one is in the position to say otherwise."

"But…"

"Besides, unlike us who didn't respect her and listened to a conversation she only meant for Atobe to hear, you are actually trying your hardest to not disclose sensitive matters." I knew the bitterness that I felt wasn't masked well and I'm not sure why I didn't try hard enough to hide it either. Is it the guilt? It's far too late for me to feel such an emotion and yet why can't I shrug it off.

"But Tsubaki doesn't want everyone to misunderstand!" The boy exclaimed as he furrowed his brows, there seemed to be a hint of desperation on his voice. "She wants to tell everyone but she doesn't know how or when, and she's scared."

"Scared?" Yagyuu spoke in disbelief.

"That's right. She scared that the way you treat or see her will be different." Akaya explained as he clenched his fists. "She's able to be the way she is now because she knows that the sempais know nothing about her past, she enjoys every moment that the sempais are interacting with her earnestly and not because you are sympathetic of her circumstance."

Silence that is what surrounded us after Akaya spoke. No one said a word and no one looked at each other after hearing what he had to say, I sighed catching all their attention. "This is why I asked if any of you can seriously look her in the eyes and pretend you didn't hear any of that? If you can really hide the pity, sympathy and whatever emotion you have when you talk to her?"

My words felt like they weighed a ton and still no one responded. I cynically chuckled. "Why don't I answer my own question then, since it seems like for once all of you seem like you have nothing to say or contribute in this particular discussion." I paused as I raised my head to look them in the eyes. "The truth is that none of you can." I locked my gaze to Masachika and she immediately looked away in guilt. "Some of you will attempt to hide it but in the end we all know that girl isn't stupid, so one way of the other she'll know because her specialty happens to be observing other people, right?" My words were laced with sarcasm as I looked at Niou to Amane to Minase to Renji then Tokura.

My words were meant to make them uncomfortable and it was meant to make them guilty, they could point that out and I wouldn't care, I wouldn't bat an eye if they did. Minase was about to speak in retaliation but I didn't let her. "No, wait up. I know what you have to say, so before you do let me clarify this first. I'm not making you all feel bad because I don't and I'm not making you feel guilty because I can't." I paused as I stared straight into Yukimura's eyes. "It's exactly because I do feel bad and because I do feel guilty that's why I'm doing this."

"For what it's worth, no one understands how bad I feel for treating her the way I do and neither one of you can understand how much guilt I feel." I stood up from where I sat, promptly facing my back towards them in the attempt to calm down my nerves. "After hearing all of that, I immediately began questioning the way I had and have always treated her. I would admit I haven't treated her as dearly as any of you have." I glanced over my shoulder to look at Renji in the eyes. "But I do acknowledge that while I kept Minase and her team, away from me as much as I can, and I will admit I haven't noticed that I did not do the same for that girl. However, I will not deny that I did not mind if that girl was around not because she kept Akaya in check, but because she knew when to listen and when to speak and maybe it was exactly for the reason Izuki said – because she tried to lessen the burden I was carrying – at the very least, it made it seem like someone understood that even if it's me…I was also having hardships of my own, that I actually just needed someone there to understand and help in their own way."

Kirihara P.O.V

Everyone was silent as they watched Sanada-fukubuchou walked away. He sounded somewhat sad at the end. I peeled my gaze away from his figure and concentrated it to the crimson sky. It's getting late. I wonder if Tsubaki is home yet, hopefully that diva drove her home although the thought of Tsubaki in his care pisses me off but that would assure her safety.

Why didn't he sound mad at the end? Was it really just because of what they heard earlier and what I've just said? It makes no sense…

No one said a word since Sanada-fukubuchou left. If I had to guess, they were probably finding their own answers to the question fukubuchou said. To be honest, after hearing Tsubaki's story it was really hard finding a way to treat her like how I normally did before. Everything I said to Tsubaki before were concentrated to the mentality of – will what I say not offend her? – or – maybe it would be best if I hadn't said it at all.

"Some of you will attempt to hide it but in the end we all know that girl isn't stupid, so one way of the other she'll know…" At least fukubuchou got that one right. In fact even if they did not mean to hide their pity towards her, Tsubaki will eventually find out because she really is watching over us. I didn't even know that I treated her as such before had she not mentioned it to me.

"I'm going to look for Sanada-fukubuchou." I declared as I stood up and walked to the direction fukubuchou went. There's something I want to know and I can only know the answer if I ask.

I didn't really have to walk that far because it seemed like fukubuchou only walked away to cool off his head, he stared off at a distance completely absorbed with his thoughts that he didn't even notice me when I walked pass him to the vending machine that was in front of him. He just sat there, I couldn't even tell what was it the occupied him.

I bought us some sports' drinks because had I chosen anything else, like for example soda, I wouldn't hear the end of it. "Here, my treat." I handed him the sports' drink and that snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked taken aback to see me but briefly said his thanks, and after one sip he opted to set the drink aside as if it didn't interest him.

"Why are you here?" He asked turning his gaze at me.

I shrugged. "There's something I wanted to know about you, but I figured the only way I'll know is if I ask."

"And that is?"

"I'll get straight to the point fukubuchou. What do you feel about Tsubaki?" He didn't respond immediately, he just stared right at me and I did the same. I'm certain he is trying to figure out the sincerity behind my question, he is gauging whether my question was something I chose to say or was it something someone told me to tell him.

He sighed when he looked away, seemingly realizing no one was controlling me and I earnestly wanted to know the answer to my question. "I think she's a good girl…" He paused as he stared at something from a distance.

That's it!? I resisted the urge to roll my eyes but I'm certain my face gave it away, not that I cared. I honestly wanted a more substantive answer. "I also think that you two look good together, your peers' are not wrong when they chose to pair the two of you-"

"That's not what I asked." This isn't what I want to hear especially from someone like you! I furrowed my brows in irritation. "I'm not asking you what you think about her, I'm asking you – what are your feelings towards her."

"I understood your question and I'm telling you, that what I think and feel about that girl are the same."

"They aren't and you know it." I challenged and he simply raised an eyebrow in response. "Let me tell you what I think fukubuchou, I think the reason why you can't give me a straight answer isn't because you don't understand my question, it's because you yourself are confused and hence you hide in the mentality that what you think and feel are the same."

"Well, let me point it out to you that they aren't the same." I tried my best to keep my composure but I knew I was failing. "The reason you can't answer my question is because you don't know the answer to my question…maybe had I asked you this question earlier you would have responded with I dislike her because that was the truth before but because you know about the things you now know, you don't know what you feel about Tsubaki. The truth is you keep trying to tell yourself that you dislike her and that her feelings for you are a nuisance, you want to believe that by doing this you'll somehow come to believe that this is true…but the more you know about her the more you start questioning yourself and the more it makes you confused as to what she really is to you. I'm not going to selfishly declare that you like Tsubaki either because we both know that isn't it, right?"

"You aren't making any sense-"

"I am making sense. If you just learn to listen and actually learn to reciprocate what other people are telling you!" I exclaimed as I gritted my teeth. "What I'm trying to tell you is that you're confused towards your own feeling for Tsubaki. You don't even notice it yourself, do you? Your confusion shows in your reaction, with your expression and even your interaction with Tsubaki."

"I don't get it…why did it have to be you? Of all people why did it have to be someone like you?" I dropped my head to hide how defeated I looked. "You don't really understand how lucky you are. You don't have to put in the effort to make her look at you while there are people like me who has to go the extra mile just to get her to notice me, and yet all you do is run away, all you do is push it aside as if it didn't interest you one bit. I always wished that I could somehow be the one that caught her heart but…what's there to catch when it's already been caught?"

I knew at the back of my head that talking to fukubuchou would be pointless, but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, that he wasn't as cruel as I thought he would be. I released a lingering sigh to release the tension I was feeling. "That was all I wanted to say. Thank you for answering my question, I'll be heading back now and I think you should too."

The walk going back to where the others were felt long and the tension between fukubuchou and I haven't mellowed down. He hasn't said a single word to explain himself and I had reached the point that I didn't really care whether he did or did not.

The sincerity I showed to him was probably not enough to sway him, nothing ever was…

"What is that girl to you?" I stopped at my tracks and glanced at fukubuchou over my shoulder, he continued to walk past me, almost as if he hadn't said anything.

"She's someone really important to me and someone who I know will never look at me the same way I look at her." I answered honestly, ignoring the painful feeling I felt.

"You say she's important, so why aren't you fighting for her?"

"I am fighting for her." My answer must have caught Sanada-fukubuchou off guard because he openly stared at me with disbelief. "I always have fought for Tsubaki's happiness." I continued as I walked past him this time.

"Tsubaki's happiness does not intertwine with my own, so I had to let go of one…and I chose to let go of my own happiness." I explained. "Tsubaki's happiness lies with you noticing her and probably sharing the same feelings for her, while mine is for her to share the same feelings I have for her. I can't achieve both but there is one factor I can change and that is my own."

"So I chose to give up and set my feelings aside…I would listen to her talk about you and her feelings for you, all while I try to smile and ignore the envy and hate I have towards you…all the while, as I try to hide how painful it all felt." I continued to explain as we walked to where the rest were. "There were times where I would just open an imaginary box and fill it with all the negative things I felt or thought about during those times. Things like: Don't care, or you'll most probably fail, or why can't it be me?"

"Why subject yourself with this much pain?" I stopped at my tracks as we neared where the rest were.

"Because I know something you don't." I turned to face fukubuchou as I flashed him a cheeky smile, and that is - Tsubaki is at her happiest with you and that her smiles are the brightest when it's meant for you. "Also, this is the type of fight wherein winning the girl isn't everything. Accepting that she isn't for me doesn't mean I'm weak, personally I think it makes me stronger because I manage to accept the fact that I'm not the one."

A/N: What did you think about the little talk Sanada and Kirihara had? I wanted them to talk but not in a confrontation kind of way, more like having one testing the waters and seeing if it's okay or not. I don't know if you guys have noticed or not, but I have been trying to find new ways in improving my writing style so that you guys can understand how much a certain character is feeling. I do realize that by writing this story in this kind of POV, I am restricted to only revealing how that particular character is feeling.

Also, I have changed the hurt and comfort genre into the friendship genre instead, for one reason only, and that is because most of you guys and my friends, have told me that this story is leaning more to angst or friendship...mostly angst. Truthfully, I have no experience in writing angsty stories so...skill unlocked? But personally, I kinda dislike angsty stories, so if there is any fault in the genre classification of the story, I would correct it but I opted to choose friendship rather than angst just because I know this isn't an angst story and because the friendship is also being highlighted.

Please look forward to the next chapter and I would really love to know what you think about this chapter!