A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the late upload, I have been busy with school these past few days. I got tons of paper works and projects to accomplish.

advance sorry to all the grammatical errors that I might have in this chapter, please point it out right away too if you see one so that I could change it for better reading experience for you guys.

Anyway, :D I hope you guys like this. 3

"No matter what happens, remember it's you who I am in love with."

Makoto whispered softly against her hair, making shivers run down her spine. Kyouko slowly closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him as well, savoring their embrace in silence, letting his warmth ease the feeling of uncertainty and emptiness.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Makoto pulled gently away and smiled softly at her, which she returned meekly.

"Nee, Makoto," She spoke softly as she looked directly into his eyes. "Why… Why do you love me?"

Her question caught him off guard. For a while, he looked at her in silence and for some reason, Kyouko felt anxious as she waited for his reply. It was weird how her heart eagerly wanted to hear his reasons. She could feel it… his love… But she wanted assurance, to pacify the terrible feeling of doubt that's clouding up her mind. She wondered if it was her looks that captivated him; she wondered if he'd still feel the same if she'll show her hands to him. She found herself asking questions after questions, as immense feeling of insecurity began to creep over her.

The soft expression on his face and the warmth of his palm against her cheek broke her trance. Caressing her cheek with the pad of his thumb, he spoke softly, 'I love you because… I just do. As weird that might sound like but that's the truth."

"I once read a book that said, 'One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.' And I guess that's true," He continued. "The moment I saw you, I wanted to know you, I wanted to know what caused the sadness in your eyes. I had this strong feeling of wanting to take all of the things that hurt you away. I wanted nothing but for you to be happy, to see the smile on your face and to let you feel the love that you deserve."

Her eyes were glued on his, searching for his honesty in truth – which she could clearly see in his forest green eyes.

A soft smile lit her face as the words he said last night resonated inside her mind. The words that he had spoken just now contains the same emotion of his words last night.

But…

She wanted to know something… She wanted to know if his love would still stay the same after seeing how 'broken and imperfect' she is.

Without saying a word, she took his hands off her face and slowly removed her gloves. She closed her eyes in shame, not wanting to see his reaction. 'He's probably grossed out right now.' she thought and it scares her.

She feels so raw and vulnerable for the first time in years. The feeling of shame and embarrassment is surging through her as the words, "He's probably looking at you with disgust in his face." keeps on playing inside of her head.

"Kyouko," He spoke softly as his he held her scarred hand and traced his finger across her skin, making her wince in the contact. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Makoto staring at her hands; his jaw clenched, and his eyes reflected something that was very unimaginable to see from him… anger.

"Disgusting, isn't it?"

"Stop calling yourself disgusting!"

Kyouko's eyes widened in shock, he had never seen him so angry like this.

As silence washed over the room, he remembered that her gloved hands was a reminder of a bad decision, and it involved someone who she was once close with before. The thought of that person doing this to her is making his blood run hot inside his body. He had never felt so angry in his entire life. His has mind never been clouded with a bundle of bad thoughts—the desire to kill who ever had hurt her like this.

'Kyouko's suffering for years because of this person's doing.'

"I want to know what happened. I want to know if that person who you're close with once… was the one did this to you." He spoke firmly, his voice was calm but dead serious.

"Makoto…"

She cupped his face gently, caressing it in attempt to calm him down. No one has ever cared for her so much for a long time and seeing him like this made her feel stupid for testing him in the first place. She knew she shouldn't have, even if her mind is plagued with doubts— as deep inside, her heart knows that Makoto Naegi is truly sincere.

"Calm down."

He looked away, his jaws still clenched and hands curled into tight fists.

Now knowing what lies beneath her gloves, he couldn't help but to imagine how painful everything must've been for her. To lose the people you love, to be betrayed by someone you trust most, and to be permanently scarred – both emotionally and physically.

Knowing all of these and remembering the sadness in her eyes when the first time she met her, made him hurt. But at the same time, it made him want to protect her and love her even more.

Makoto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, to alleviate the anger coursing through him. When his nerves were calm enough, he turned to face her and apologized for his behavior.

"There's nothing to apologize about. Actually, I should be the one who's apologizing for questioning what you feel for me, which led to this." Kyouko said regretfully as she pulled her hand away and rested them on her lap.

"When you brought up that you've seen the planner, I knew that I had a lot of things to explain to you, including this," Kyouko stared silently at her hands before bringing her gaze back to his face. "Then after our conversation about Maizono-san… When you told me that you're in love with me… I felt so happy when you said those words, but… along with that; I felt guilt, and insecurity."

Makoto reached for her hand, and lifted them gently to his lips, allowing them to trace her skin. The sudden contact made Kyouko pull back slightly as she winced.

"You have nothing to be insecure of, Kyouko," He whispered softly, his breath caressing her scarred skin. He lifted his gaze and met her eyes as he flash a light smile. "I love you just the way you are. Looks are trivial to me. I fell in love because of who you are. You are unlike any other girl I have met. Kirigiri Kyouko is cool, smart and mysterious. She piqued my attention the first day that I've met her."

He wasn't sure of what he was saying.

However, he's sure that all of the words he's blurting out, are his heart's content.

"I always had this feeling of wanting to know her better, because even if she's trying to hide what she truly feels inside by wearing layers of masks. Her eyes are so true to who you are, they're not deceitful," He continued. "Her eyes reflected sadness, and I wanted to know what caused them. And… Now that I know some of it, I've fallen in love with her all over again."

She looked at him wide-eyed in silence, feeling her cheeks heat up from his words.

"Behind Kyouko Kirigiri's mask, is a strong, gentle and caring person, who thinks of others first before herself," He said quietly as he looked down at her hand played with her fingertips. "And right now, all I want to do is to love her and treat her the way she deserves. Because I want to see her happy."

With tears welling up in her eyes, she smiled and cupped his face. "Are you for real, Makoto Naegi?"

"I am," He responded and closed his eyes upon feeling Kyouko's warm lips on his forehead.

"Thank you, for being honest and loving me."

"Thank you for letting me."

As Kyouko pulled away, they looked at each other briefly and chuckled.

"You're just so good with words, aren't you Makoto?"

"I just say what I feel. Sometimes, I don't even know if my words make sense." He replied, scratching the back of his neck with a blush on his cheeks.

The two smiled softly at each other before resting their back against the sofa and leaning their head back against the top.

They stared at the ceiling in unison, allowing themselves to savor the comfortable silence.

Until Kyouko reached for his hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Makoto, about the planner—"

"If you're not comfortable to talk about it, it's fine. We can talk about it when you're ready." He said, cutting her off.

She tightened her hold on his hand and shook her head. "It's okay. I want to talk about it as well… You're the only person who I trust, the only person who I can talk to about this."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I am."

"Then I'll listen."

Kyouko took a deep breath, preparing herself mentally so that she could handle her emotions. She's afraid of seeing the images inside her head again. As she could clearly remember everything as if everything had just happened yesterday.

She started the story with her mom, telling him how close they were than her dad. A smile of reminisce crept across her face as she told Makoto the qualities that she admired in her mother. She told her that she's the one who's always there for her whenever her dad and grandfather's busy with work.

"But that changed, when she died," The sadness in her face was evident, and all that Makoto could do was to entwine his fingers through hers—to squeeze her scarred hand lightly to give her comfort. "Things weren't as vibrant as they were before. I felt as though that a part of me has died as well, when my mom died. It was hard to fake a smile, to talk about the things that I am interested of that I used to talk a lot with her, to do the things that I normally do because it reminds me of her. It was hard. It was so hard to cope up with grief and loss. Especially if that person's so dear to you."

Voice slightly quivering, Kyouko continued.

"My father became busier with work after my mother's passing; he immersed himself in paper works to drown the pain he's feeling. But, even when he's tired from work he always made time for me. That's why… slowly… we became close, but even so, the aching void that my mother left here," Kyouko clutched her chest by the heart with her freehand. "Always remained."

"Kyouko…" was the only word that passed through his lips, as he looked at her solemnly, picking up the sadness and the gravity of the situation that Kyouko had experienced.

"But then, on a cold December day. I met someone who filled the emptiness that my mother has left… I met someone who acted as my sister, my mother and my bestfriend," The soft smile of reminisce soon changed into a pained one as she whispered her name, "Yui… Things changed when I met Yui Samidare."

Kyouko winced, as memories started flashing through her mind again.

Everything's clearer than before—

The day Yui and her met, the days they spent together at the park, the days she tags along with her whenever she goes to her part time job as a delivery girl, the day she met her father, the day she promised that she will take care of her as her little sister and of course, that dreadful night…

The dreadful night where her father died and the person she once trusted most betrayed her.

"Are you okay?" Makoto asked concernedly.

Kyouko nodded silently.

"Yui…" She started, her voice weak and her chest contracting in the mention of her name. "Yui Samidare… She's the first person who understood what I felt because she has lost a loved one too. Over the years, our friendship grew. She became a sister to me, and my dad treated her as his own daughter that's why—it hurts so much that she has betrayed us."

Kyouko grimaced as tears started to stream down her face. The agony of remembering everything in exact details is tearing her apart again.

"Kyouko, if you're not ready to talk about it yet, I'll understand," Makoto spoke softly as he cupped her face and wiped her tears with the pad of his thumb. "We can talk about it some other time, once you're already comfortable to talk about it."

But as Kyouko lifted her head up and looked into his eyes, she spoke.

"They kidnapped me to lure my dad, and Yui pretended to rescue me when the small shack where they locked me in caught on fire," She remembered being the first one to step out of the shack, and the fiery debris blocked the entrance as soon as she got out, trapping the girl inside. "The debris fell and blocked the entrance as soon as I got out, and I wanted to help her… that's why… I…"

Her tear filled eyes looked at her hands.

"I—I didn't want to lose someone again. That's why… I wanted to go back in and save her," Kyouko's voice was shaking as tears streamed rapidly down her face, and even if Makoto was telling her to stop forcing herself to tell her story, she continued. "I could only remember that my hands hurt because of removing the debris blocking the entrance, but as I was about to go in, a man stopped me and saved me."

"It started to rain harshly when he was leading me out of the forest; I remembered how my hands hurt so much, while we were running away from… someone…" Kyouko clenched her fists tightly. "Then… we ran into my dad and… at first he was relieved to see me, but as soon as he saw my hands and the man, anger took over him."

Her chest tightened, the memory was clear to her as for years, this memory haunted her dreams.

"They fought, my dad didn't want to listen to him and I just stood there, wanting to do something to stop them but was paralyzed in fear. I was shaken by everything that has happened. I wanted to go back to the shack. But my legs started to feel weak with the thought of another loved one dying before my eyes."

Makoto's heart stung. The story was too heavy and he doesn't know what to say to her after all of this. He wanted to comfort her, but he doesn't know the right words to say to ease her pain. Why her? Was the only question in his mind. Why does she have to go through so much?

"But then, she showed up. I remembered… wanting to rush towards her as she walked towards us unharmed. But as I called her name, she didn't looked at me and just went straight to my dad and the man. My dad even asked for her help to stop the man, when… she pushed them into the river."

Makoto's eyes widened upon hearing those words. It was horrible. What she had been through is horrible beyond words.

"And I just stood there pathetically, unable to do anything, paralyzed of fear and pain."

A/N: I hope you guys liked this! please tell me what you think! anyway! love ya guys! :D