Hopeless

by dark-ninja-ayane

She’s another Jyuunishi that everyone’s completely forgotten about. Her animal doesn’t even exist in the zodiac. She acts tough and cool on the outside, but what does she keep locked up inside? What is she hiding? And what is Akito planning to do? kyoxoc

25. Resolutions

dna- the long awaited chapter! it didn't take a year this time lol..well, hope u guys enjoy. its a super long chap. i'll get the next one out asap! thanks to everyone whose been patient enough to stick with it this far! reviews are appreciated! they motivate me :P

Hopeless Chapter 25- Resolutions

Riiiing Riiing Riiing Riiing Riiing Riiing… "You have reached the voicemail of—"

Sawaki switched off the phone and hit the redial button.

"I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. To leave a message, press one. To page this person, press—"

He hit the off switch again and sighed. Slightly frustrated, Sawaki grabbed his backpack off the couch and left for school.

---

Kimi sat on her bed in her school uniform, listening to her cell phone go off for the fourth time. It was Sawaki's ring tone again. Before it got the chance to ring a fifth time, she suddenly grabbed the phone off her desk and turned it off.

"Kimi! Are you done?" her mother yelled from downstairs. "You're going to be late for school."

"One second!" she yelled back, quickly stuffing her school books into her bag before leaving her room.

-----Meanwhile-----

"Really, Honda-san… you shouldn't let Shigure get away with teasing you so much," Yuki sighed as he and Tohru walked to school together.

Tohru smiled sheepishly. "I didn't know he was just joking when he said that."

"Speaking of teasing, I wonder if that editor is going to be okay today…"

"Editor?"

"I remember Shigure saying that his deadline was today, and you know how he is with his editor."

"Oh… in that case, I hope Shigure-san doesn't tease her too much. It would be terrible if she tried to kill herself in front of the house again," Tohru replied.

"I just hope she's gone by the time we get back," Yuki said, worn out merely at the thought of coming home to Mitsuru's obnoxious begging and whining.

"Hey! Honda-chan!" Tohru heard Sawaki call from behind her.

With their encounter from yesterday still fresh in her mind, she turned around and forced herself to stay cheerful so that Yuki wouldn't suspect anything. "Good morning, Mobaro-san!"

Sawaki had what looked like a sympathetic smile on his face. "You seem happy today," he replied, noticing that Yuki was staring at him cautiously.

"Of course!"

"Is Sayora not coming to school today?"

"She went ahead with Kyo-kun."

"Oh… is that so?" he replied. "Well, I'll see you in class then."

"Wait!" Yuki suddenly said, both Sawaki and Tohru turning to look at him. It was then that Yuki noticed that he had used a rather rude and angry tone.

"What is it?" Sawaki asked, looking confused.

"N-nothing…" he stammered, regaining his composure, searching his mind for something to say. "I just wanted to thank you for walking Honda-san back home yesterday."

Sawaki gave a small, almost sad smile in response. "Of course. What kind of guy would I be if I'd just left her by herself that late at night?" With a quick wave to Tohru, he went ahead to find Sayora.

As he entered the school and made his way down the hall, he took out his cell phone and dialed Kimi's number once more.

"I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is currently—"

He ended the call with a sigh.

"Hey," he heard Kakeru call. "Why the long face?"

Sawaki looked up to find both Sayora and Kakeru, surprised when Sayora looked away.

"Have you guys seen Kimi this morning?" he asked, temporarily ignoring her odd behavior.

"Yeah, I saw her five minutes ago," Kakeru answered. "She was—"

"Hey Kakeru, I'm gonna go to class," Sayora suddenly interrupted.

"Oh, sure."

"Hey, hold on a minute!" Sawaki said, taking a step toward Sayora. "I need to talk to you!"

"Maybe later," she swiftly replied, leaving the two boys.

"Hey, you're going the wrong way!" Kakeru informed as he watched her turn the corner and leave his sight. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Something happen?" he asked Sawaki.

"Hell if I know," he replied moodily. "Kimi's ignoring my calls and Sayora's acting all weird on me. I swear… it's like, ever since I got involved with Sayora, I've had nothing but probl—" He stopped himself and sighed again.

"What? Problems?" Kakeru asked, looking at his frustrated friend.

"No… it's nothing." Sawaki was angry with himself for throwing the blame on Sayora. After all, he said it himself. He was the one who decided to throw himself into her problems. It wasn't as if she ever asked him to bother with her.

-----Meanwhile-----

As Sayora turned the second corner, she bumped into the person Sawaki was just looking for.

"Oh, hey Kimi," she greeted.

Kimi smiled and gave a small wave.

"I haven't seen you around lately," Sayora said, trying to start a conversation.

"I've been busy with council work," she replied with a complete lack of her usual cheerfulness.

"Sawaki was looking for you."

"Oh…" was all Kimi said, worrying Sayora.

"What's wrong?" Sayora asked. "You don't want to see him?"

Kimi stared at her silver-haired friend for a while before smiling sadly and looking away, giving a tiny nod.

Ding Dong Ding Dong

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of school.

-----Classroom-----

Mayuko silently took attendance as she glanced at her room for any empty desks. "Has anyone seen Sayora?" she asked.

Yuki and Tohru looked at each other. Sayora had come to school with Kyo. Yuki turned to glance at his orange-haired cousin and saw him just as confused as he was. Sawaki sat and stared at the empty desk, getting irritated with his friend's odd behaviors.

"She didn't come to school with you guys?" Mayuko suddenly asked Kyo and Yuki.

"U-uh…" Kyo stammered, caught off guard.

"She has a doctor's appointment this morning," Yuki quickly replied, covering for his cousin.

"Oh, I see…" their teacher mumbled to herself, marking something on the clipboard in her hand.

-----On the Roof-----

Kimi stood looking down at the school's front yard, enjoying the light, cool breeze that blew by her. She raised her arms up above her head and stretched.

"So… what did you want to talk to me about?" Sayora asked.

Kimi closed her eyes as her arms returned to her side, then pulled them behind her and clasped them as she turned to look at Sayora.

"YonYon… didn't know Sawa-chan when he was in middle school, did you… since YonYon left before Sawa-chan came…" she said quietly, looking down with a small smile.

Sayora didn't reply. She only stared silently, unsure where this whole thing was going.

"Sawa-chan used to be angry all the time…"

-----Three Years Ago-----

Lunch break had just started and Kimi was quickly surrounded by boys flirting and joking around with her.

"Hey, Toudou-chan, check out my new watch!" one of the boys said, showing her the watch wrapped around his wrist. "It's brand new! I just bought it yesterday. Cool, isn't it?"

"You idiot," his friend replied. "Why would she be interested in something like that?"

"Kimi wants the new purse that just came out a few weeks ago," she said as she put a piece of sushi in her mouth, chewing happily.

"Oh! I heard about that. It's really popular right now!"

"So you want it Toudou-san?" one of them asked. "I can get it for you if you want."

"Hey! I was gonna get it for her!"

"Hey! What about me?!"

As the boys argued with each other, one of them accidentally bumped into the desk of one of the students behind them.

"Watch it," a voice snapped at them.

The group turned around to stare at the brown-haired boy who glared back at them arrogantly.

"What the hell's your problem? It was just an acc—"

CRASH!!

The brown-haired boy had gotten up and grabbed the other boy by the collar of his shirt, knocking his chair over in the process.

"What the hell Mobaro?!!" the boy yelled.

"You wanna say that to my face again?!" Sawaki shouted as he punched his classmate to the ground.

"Hiyama!" one of his friends yelled worriedly.

Meanwhile, the other friends surrounded the still confident and arrogant looking Sawaki, angrily glaring at him and wanting payback for their downed friend. Kimi stood behind the group, watching a bit worriedly.

"Hey! What's going on here?!" suddenly came their teacher's voice. It was Kimoto, their homeroom teacher. "What're you boys doing?!" When he made his way to the place of incident and saw one of his students on the ground with a bloody mouth, he became infuriated. "Who did this?!" he demanded.

The group directed their eyes at Sawaki.

"You again?!" the teacher yelled at him.

"Yeah, so what?" he retorted. "What're you gonna do about it?"

"Why you disrespectful little…" Kimoto sighed, tired of having to repeat the same routine over and over again. "Come with me to the faculty room."

"Make me," Sawaki challenged.

Kimoto trembled with anger. "NOW!!" he shouted, slamming the door open and walking on ahead.

"Tch!" Sawaki jabbed his hands in his pockets and began to follow his teacher. Kimi watched him leave, suddenly interested and curious in the boy she never bothered to talk to.

-----In the Faculty Room-----

"What the hell happened back there Mobaro?" the Kimoto asked, looking up at the boy from the chair he was sitting in.

"They pissed me off," he replied flatly, refusing to look at the teacher.

"That's no excuse to knock out Hiyama's teeth and give him a bloody mouth!" he scolded, exaggerating the incident. "How many times do I have to tell you that you can't just hit people for no reason?! Think about the consequences for once!"

Sawaki turned his head away and ignored him, pretending not to listen. Kimoto sighed loudly and tiredly, taking off his glasses and pinching his eyes. "Look… I'm worried about you, do you understand that Mobaro? If there's something wrong and you don't want to tell anyone, then fine. Do whatever you want. But your way of venting your anger and frustration isn't healthy for you… and your classmates," he added as an afterthought, thinking back on all of the victims of Sawaki's venting.

"Are you done yapping now?" Sawaki asked rudely, leaving the room.

"H-hey! I'm not done talking yet! Where do you think you're going?!"

"Home," he replied, shutting the door behind him loudly.

"I don't see why you put up with that boy…" one of his fellow teachers said as he walked by.

"How could you say something like that? Isn't it our job as teachers to look after kids like him?" Kimoto asked. "Besides… it's not like he's a bad kid, just troubled…"

"Still," one of his female colleagues replied, "his behavior is out of control. If it were up to me, I would've kicked him out of school a long time ago."

"I'm with you there," one of the teachers replied. "What're his parents teaching him? He has no discipline."

"He has no parents, remember?" someone answered. "He kicked himself out."

"Oh yeah… that's right," another teacher remembered. "I heard that someone died and his parents got angry because it distracted him from his studies."

"Really?" another asked.

"His dad's supposedly some company CEO. They expect him to inherit the company so they push him to study. Some plan that turned out to be. Mobaro doesn't even seem to give a damn."

"I bet his parents were relieved when he left!" one of the teachers said with a small laugh. "If I had disobedient kids like him, I would've disowned him the moment he was born! They're more trouble than they're worth!"

"And it's because of people like you that kids like him grow up hating the world!" Kimoto suddenly snapped. "They grow up rejecting everyone because they think no one can be trusted! Is that really the kind of message you ought to be passing on to those you're teaching?! What kind of teacher are you?! You're supposed to have faith in them! If I grew up having teachers like you, I would've slit my throat and died!!" He moodily got up and abruptly left the room, leaving the other teachers stunned silent by his sudden harsh remarks.

-----Kimi-----

Kimi twisted the cap on her bottle of water but was unable to budge it. She put on a pouty face and held out the bottle. "Kimi is so thirsty! Someone open it for her!" she pretended to whine.

One of the boys took the bottle and opened it with ease, handing it back to Kimi with a proud smile.

"Wow, amazing!" she praised as she took the water and drank it.

"I know," the boy replied with a smile. "I used my big muscles to open it," he boasted, flexing his so-called muscles.

Kimi stood up after she finished her drink and gave the empty bottle to one of the boys to throw away.

"Toudou-chan? Where're you going?"

"Kimi is going to see some friends," she replied, opening the door and walking right into someone. She looked up to see who it was. "Ah, it's Sawa-chan!"

'Sawa-chan'?!! the other boys thought, jealous at the fact that his name left Kimi's mouth.

Sawaki looked down at her, ignoring what she had just called him by. "Move, you're in my way," he finally said, moving her to the side and walking into the classroom.

"Eh? Did Sawa-chan forget something?" she asked with a smile on her face, following him inside.

Sawaki didn't react to her question at all. He grabbed his backpack off his chair and walked back toward the door with Kimi following him.

"Is Sawa-chan leaving?" she asked curiously.

Without any kind of response, he left the room and made his way out of school.

-----Two Days Later-----

"Today, we are going to start our volleyball unit," the gym teacher announced. "We went over the rules last week so everyone should know them by now. Once you pair up, come see me so I can write the groups down. Then you can get on the court and start playing."

Before Kimi could even start looking, four boys surrounded her.

"Hey Toudou-san, want to pair up with me?" one of the boys asked.

"What? No fair! You paired up with her last time!" another argued.

"She said she would pair up with me next time!" the third one exclaimed.

"No, she said that to me!" the last one said.

"Kimi doesn't want to pair up with any of you," she replied.

"What?!!" they all exclaimed in dismay.

"Kimi wants to pair up with Sawa-chan!" she said as she walked up next to Sawaki who was clueless.

"WHAT?!!" the other boys nearly screamed in disbelief.

"You wanna pair up with him?!" one of them asked.

"Mmhm," she nodded with a smile as she turned to Sawaki. "Let's go tell the teacher." Kimi grabbed him by his wrist and pulled him along.

"Wha? Wait!" he objected in surprise.

"Sensei! Kimi and Sawa-chan are partners!" she yelled loudly to him.

"Okay… Toudou and Mobaro… part—… what?!" he asked, suddenly realizing what he was writing down. He looked up and stared in shock. Sawaki would never partner up with someone like Kimi.

The same group of boys from before stood near Sawaki and Kimi, casting hateful glances at Sawaki.

"Who would imagine that Toudou-san would want to pair up with someone like that?" they said, loud enough for both Kimi and Sawaki to hear.

"Why is she even bothering with him? Did she hit her head on something?"

"Maybe he tricked her into hanging around him…"

"Yeah, I wouldn't put it past him… after all, he is sly…"

"That damn Mobaro… no wonder even his own parents didn't want him."

"Who would? He's a disaster."

Kimi glanced back at the group of boys with a small frown. She then looked at Sawaki and saw his hand twitch and decided to take immediate action.

"Ow! Kimi hurt her ankle!" she suddenly cried, collapsing on Sawaki.

"Huh?" he instinctively caught her in his arms and helped hold her up. "Hey! Are you alright?"

"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" she whined while clinging onto him.

Sawaki stared at her, unsure of what to do.

"Hey, Toudou! Are you okay?!" the teacher asked worriedly as he rushed over. He turned to one of the boys. "Hey you, take her to see the nurse!"

"No!" Kimi yelled in objection before the boy could reply. "Kimi wants Sawa-chan to take her!"

"Eh? But…" The teacher looked at the boy she was practically stuck to. He sweat dropped slightly at the troubled and bewildered expression Sawaki had on his face. "She wants you to take her…" he told him with an awkward, nervous smile.

-----Couple Minutes Later-----

Sawaki made his way down to the nurse's office with Kimi on his back. She had pestered him mercilessly for him to carry her because it was "excruciatingly painful" to walk with her "injured foot". They reached the office only to find that it was empty.

"Great…" Sawaki muttered. "Now what?"

"Now Sawa-chan should leave Kimi on the bed and find tape to wrap her ankle up with," she told him cheerfully.

"You can't be serious…" he said to himself as he carefully let her down on the bed and rummaged through the drawers.

Kimi cocked her head to the side slightly. "What's Sawa-chan doing?" she asked curiously.

"Looking for the stupid tape," he replied without looking at her.

"Oh…" There were a few seconds of silence. "Why?"

Sawaki stopped and looked at her with a completely puzzled look on his face. "Whadda ya mean 'why'?" he asked. "To wrap up your foot with!"

"Oh, that? Kimi wasn't serious about that."

"Huh?"

"She was kidding. Kimi faked that," she told him with her usual smile.

"What?!" Sawaki asked in disbelief.

"Hmm… but since Kimi told everyone that, it would probably be better for Sawa-chan to wrap up Kimi's foot anyway," she said to herself.

"Listen you! What the hell do I look like to you?!"

"A rabid dog!" she replied enthusiastically.

"A rabid dog?" he repeated with a vein popping out of his head.

Kimi nodded. "Mmhmm, a rabid dog! Because Sawa-chan is always aggressive and attacking people!"

Sawaki flinched at her comment and didn't reply. For a moment, time seemed to have stopped. Kimi continued to smile at him as if no words had been exchanged between the two. Feeling awkwardly uncomfortable with Kimi all of a sudden, Sawaki slowly went back to rummaging through the drawers again.

"Is Sawa-chan angry?" she asked innocently.

"No," he answered in an irritated sounding voice.

"Really? But Sawa-chan sounds angry right now," she said out loud to herself. "Or maybe Kimi just thinks so because Sawa-chan is always angry…"

Aggravated by Kimi's statements, he sloppily pushed things around, grateful to finally find what he was looking for after a few seconds. With the tape in his hand, he pulled a chair over next to Kimi and dropped himself on it. Kimi stuck out her left foot just slightly. Sawaki took the hint and leaned down in his chair and started to wrap her ankle.

"Heehh, Sawa-chan has gentle hands for such a violent person," she commented.

Sawaki didn't reply, feeling more agitated with each thing Kimi said. He finished wrapping her foot as quickly as he could and got up to put the tape away. "Alright, we're done. Let's go."

"Ehh?" she asked.

"Back to the gym," he clarified irritatedly.

"But Kimi told everyone she hurt her foot. She can't go back to the gym," she replied.

"Fine, then stay here. I'm leaving."

"But…" she trailed off quietly, stopping Sawaki's hand from turning the door knob.

He let out an annoyed sigh. He hated that quiet, pleading tone. It was his weakness. "What?" he asked, turning to look at her, trying not to seem so irritated.

"Kimi thought that Sawa-chan hated them," she said, referring to the boys who always hung around her. "If Sawa-chan goes back, they'll just make Sawa-chan get into trouble again…"

It was then that Sawaki finally realized that Kimi had faked her injury for his sake, to get him out of the gym and allow him to escape the remarks of those boys. If she hadn't pretended to hurt her leg, there would've been, without a doubt, another fight… and who knew how many more times he could've gotten away with beating up his classmates. He had only escaped suspension for so long because Kimoto was always defending him.

Sawaki's hand moved away from the door knob and dropped back to his side. Feeling sympathetic for what Kimi had done for him, he walked back to the chair and sat down next to her…

-----Few Moments Later-----

It was only fourth period, but Kimi had talked Sawaki into leaving school with her.

"Sawa-chan is going to walk Kimi home, right?" Kimi asked for the third time as she stood waiting for Sawaki.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm walking you home! Stop asking already!" he replied as he slipped into his normal shoes and put his school shoes in his shoe locker.

They both left the school with Kimi leading the way.

"Hey, where do you live anyway?" Sawaki asked.

Kimi let out a horrified gasp. "Sawa-chan isn't the stalker type, is he?"

A vein popped out of his head. "How can you call me a stalker when you're the one who told me to walk you home?! Go by yourself then!"

"Eh? Home? Sawa-chan isn't walking Kimi home," she said, giving him a clueless look.

A larger vein grew on Sawaki's head. He was quickly growing frustrated with her games.

"Sawa-chan is taking Kimi to the ice cream store!"

"Why should I?!" he asked.

"Why not?" she replied with a question, heading off again, leaving Sawaki to wonder what was going through her mind. He sighed in defeat and followed her to the ice cream shop.

-----Few Minutes Later-----

Kimi happily ate the parfait sitting before her while Sawaki watched. "Does Sawa-chan want some?"

"Tell me again why I paid for something you wanted to eat?"

"Eh? But don't guys always pay for Kimi?" she asked innocently, causing Sawaki to sweat drop.

What a spoiled girl, he thought.

"Hey, so Kimi was thinking," Kimi said, putting another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and gulping it down, "maybe we should skip school tomorrow go out together!"

"What?" Sawaki asked, not sure he heard her correctly.

"Sawa-chan doesn't want to?" He didn't reply. "Ah! Could it be…" He remained silent to hear what she had to say. "Could it be that Sawa-chan is afraid of getting into trouble?" she asked, causing him to nearly fall over. "Don't worry! Because Kimi has special influences over the teachers!"

"Do I look like someone who would be afraid of skipping?!" he asked, wanting to smack her on the head. "And don't say something like that!" he yelled, referring to her last statement.

"Hmm? Is Sawa-chan jealous?"

Sawaki smacked his hand on his forehead, mentally exhausted from having whatever he said twisted around into something completely different from what he meant.

"Does this mean Sawa-chan will go with Kimi tomorrow?" she asked.

Sawaki looked at Kimi and stared her straight in the eye. She didn't attempt to look away and simply stared back at him, unfazed when most people would've been intimidated by his sharp gaze. He just couldn't figure her out. Finally, he broke the connection between them with a blink and sat back in the booth.

"Why do you wanna hang out with me all of a sudden?" he asked. "You probably didn't even know I existed before what happened back in the classroom the other day. Aren't you afraid of what people are gonna say if they keep seeing you hanging around me? Incase you haven't noticed, I don't exactly give people a good impression."

"Really?" she replied, scooping another spoonful of ice cream onto her spoon. "Because Sawa-chan left a really good impression on Kimi." She happily put the spoonful of ice cream in her mouth and swallowed, enjoying the sweet, cold vanilla taste as it slid down her throat. She was too busy eating her parfait to notice that Sawaki had been stunned by what she said.

"… I…" Sawaki trailed off, getting her attention.

"Hm?" Kimi asked. She saw the muscles on his face twitching to slowly form a furious face. The spoonful of ice cream in front of her mouth slowly lowered until it was almost resting on the side of her cup. "… Sawa-chan…?"

"I hate people like you…" he said, shocking Kimi. "…always saying things without thinking… thinking you have people figured out when you don't know the first thing about them…" Sawaki could feel the fire building inside of him. "Girls like you are the worst. All you do is flirt around and make guys think you're interested in them so that you can take advantage of them when they let their guard down."

"If Sawa-chan was afraid of trusting Kimi, he could've just said so," she said as she watched the melted ice cream drip into her cup.

"What, you think you know me now?!" he shouted as he got up and slammed his hand on the table in anger. "I hate people like you the most!! Happy-go-lucky, no-brain dumbasses like you should just stick to flirting and flashing your skirts around 'cause that's the only thing you're good at!!" He snagged his bag and threw it on his shoulder, leaving the restaurant shocked and silent at the incident that had just occurred.

Kimi sat dumbfounded, wondering what she had said to suddenly make Sawaki so angry. Finally, she grabbed her bag and left the store, running to catch up with him. "Sawa-chan!" she called. "Sawa-chan, wait!"

Hearing her call him made him tremble with anger. He abruptly stopped and turned around, almost making Kimi crash into him. "'Sawa-chan, Sawa-chan'! Stop calling me that!!" he shouted in her face. Just as sudden as he had stopped earlier, he turned and left without another word, once again leaving Kimi shocked.

-----Next Day—Study Hall-----

Kimi watched Sawaki stare out the window from his desk in the back of the room. Still a bit frightened by what had happened the day before, she cautiously approached him and drew in a slow, deep breath. "Hi, Sawa-chan!" she greeted with a cheerful smile.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that," was his emotionless reply. He didn't even turn away from the window to look at her.

"Don't forget, Sawa-chan has to go out with Kimi after school today!" she reminded, brushing off his cold attitude.

"You can go by yourself," he said, his eyes still glued to the scenery outside.

Kimi's smile began to shrink as she felt her heart slowly sinking in disappointment. She wanted to push him into spending time with her, even if he was reluctant, but the incident yesterday kept her from doing so.

"Look… Toudou-san's hanging out with that Mobaro again," Kimi heard one of the boys say in a hushed voice.

"This is pissing me off! Who the hell does Mobaro think he is?!" another asked angrily.

"Yeah, I'm pissed too!" someone agreed. "We should teach him a lesson! He can't just take her away from us!"

"Let's get him after school!"

"Yeah! That'll teach him a thing or two!"

Kimi frowned at what she was hearing and turned to look at them, catching their attention. "You can't do that to Kimi's boyfriend!" she said, silencing the class. The boys seemed to be frozen in utter disbelief. Sawaki, who was paying no attention to what was going on, cluelessly looked at the usually cheerful girl standing next to him, wondering what had just happened.

"…w… what…?" one of the boys managed to ask.

"Sawa-chan is Kimi's boyfriend! If you do anything to him, Kimi won't forgive you!" she told them with a frown.

Sawaki was so stunned by the sudden declaration that his mind went blank. He couldn't even voice his objection.

One of the boys finally managed to activate his voice box again. "T-Toudou-chan, you can't be serious…!"

-----After School-----

"Hey, you! Wait!" Sawaki yelled, walking after Kimi. "Hey!!"

"Eh? Is Sawa-chan stalking Kimi?" she asked, not stopping.

"This isn't the time for joking!" he replied aggravatedly. "Would you stop for a minute?! We need to talk!!" When she continued to walk with no signs of stopping, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her around to face him. "I'm not playing, Kimi! What you just told everyone about us going out, you'd better find a way to untell it! You can't just say whatever you want like that! What if they think it's true?!"

"It's fine, isn't it?" she asked with a smile.

"No, it's not!"

"Why is Sawa-chan so angry? He's already calling Kimi by her first name," she pointed out. "That means that we're pretty much already a couple!"

"Arghh!" he growled in frustration. "Why're you so simple-minded?! Whatever you want to accomplish by spreading this ridiculous rumor, you can't have it, okay?! I know you're used to it but you can't always get what you want!!"

"But Kimi doesn't always get what she wants… because she doesn't have Sawa-chan…" she said unexpectedly, looking him in the eye, causing Sawaki to flinch. He hated the way she always looked him in the eye. It made her hard to read. "If Sawa-chan hates Kimi so much, then Kimi won't talk to him anymore."

Sawaki only stared at her in silence.

"If Sawa-chan is happy without Kimi, then Kimi will leave him alone."

-----Three Days Later-----

Sawaki sat staring out the window beside him as always when he heard the classroom door open.

"Alright everyone, in your seats!" Kimoto ordered. Once everyone took their seats, he noticed an empty seat in the third row. "Toudou's still out?" he mumbled quietly to himself. "Does anyone know what happened to Toudou?" he asked the class.

Sawaki stared at the empty seat a row and three desks away from him. Kimi hadn't been to school since the day he yelled at her for calling him her boyfriend. He hated to admit it, but he actually missed her pestering and nosy questions. Not to mention, he felt oddly bothered by the fact that she had told him she would leave him alone.

"Kimi's in the hospital," one of her best friends answered, pulling Sawaki out of his thoughts. "She was hit by a car three days ago."

The class started a commotion over the news of their classmate. Sawaki's eyes widened in shock. He could feel his heart racing in anxiety as he thought back on the argument he had with her before. It's… it's my fault… he thought, feeling panicked. Suddenly, an image of Asaru's dead body in his arms flashed across his mind, frightening him, causing him to abruptly stand up.

"Mobaro?" the teacher asked in concern.

Kimi… she's gonna die! he thought, trembling at the possibility. Without warning, he dashed out of the classroom.

"Hey! Mobaro!" Kimoto shouted after him down the hall. "Where're you going?!"

Sawaki didn't know where he was going, and it took him a good five minutes of running down random streets before he realized that he had no idea which hospital Kimi was admitted to. "Dammit!" he cursed, catching his breath while trying to figure out what to do.

-----Meanwhile—At the Hospital-----

"Well, it looks like you're almost good to go, Toudou-san," the doctor said, scribbling down some things on his clipboard. "You should be able to go home tomorrow. Isn't that great news?"

"Ehh? One more day?" Kimi asked. "But Kimi wants to leave today!"

The doctor let out a laugh. "Well, we can't always get what we want now, can we?" he asked, reminding Kimi of Sawaki who had said nearly the exact same thing. "Anyway, get plenty of rest today, okay?" the doctor instructed, leaving the room.

"Ah, wait! Sensei!" Kimi suddenly called, stopping him.

"Yes?"

"If… if we can't always get what we want, then what should we do?" she asked.

"Huh?" The doctor was a bit surprised by the unexpected question. "Well, I'm only a doctor… asking me such things, I wouldn't be able to give you much of an answer but—"

"You wait," someone said from the door of the room. The doctor turned around and moved aside to reveal a tired Sawaki catching his breath. "You wait to see if the things you want come to you."

"Sawa-chan?" Kimi asked, obviously surprised.

The doctor smiled and quietly left the room as Sawaki stepped in.

"Eh? But how did Sawa-chan find Kimi?"

"I went to every single hospital in the area, that's how."

"But why?"

Sawaki walked up to her bed and stared her straight in the eye as he always did. "Kimi… this past week has been the most irritating and annoying week of my entire life. Ever since you started talking to me, I've felt aggravated and just… angry! It's never felt so infuriating to be near someone before! But…" he paused. "For the past three days, I haven't been able to get you out of my mind… and when I heard that you were in an accident, I couldn't help but feel as if I was about to lose someone incredibly important… and… and…" Sawaki didn't know what else to say. He grabbed Kimi's hand and held it tightly. "That has to mean something… right?"

Kimi stared at him in silence, shocked at his sudden confession to her. "That Sawa-chan hates Kimi?"

Sawaki nearly fell over in disbelief. "No! That's not it!"

"Kimi will forgive Sawa-chan on one condition!"

"W-what?" he asked, recovering from his earlier shock.

"Sawa-chan has to be Kimi's boyfriend!" she said with a smile. "And Sawa-chan can't be angry anymore!"

Isn't that two conditions? Sawaki thought to himself with a sweat drop. "Fine," he replied. "But I also have a condition. I want you to be my girlfriend, not anyone else's. That means no more flirting around and asking other guys for things you want. If you want to flirt around, you come flirt to me. If you want something, you ask me to get it. You're my girlfriend."

Kimi smiled and happily nodded in agreement…

"Since that day, Sawa-chan has always been cheerful, and Kimi's never seen him get mad at anything…"

"Why're you telling me this?" Sayora asked.

"Because… ever since Sawa-chan's talked to YonYon, it feels like he's slipping away," Kimi answered bluntly. "The other day, he even got angry! And Sawa-chan doesn't tell Kimi anything anymore! He's always keeping secrets now!" She turned to face Sayora. "What did Sawa-chan talk to YonYon about that day in the nurse's office?"

"Huh? What did he…" Sayora trailed off uncomfortably. She couldn't just bring up Asaru. It wasn't her place to.

"YonYon knows what's wrong with Sawa-chan right?" Kimi asked. "Whenever Kimi asks, Sawa-chan changes the subject or avoids the question with a distant look in his eyes. YonYon would tell Kimi, right? If there was something wrong with Sawa-chan?"

"I…" she stammered. Kimi waited patiently. "I really don't know anything," she lied with a sympathetic smile. "That day at the nurse's office… nothing happened. He told me not to worry and that… nothing happened…" Sayora repeated, not knowing what else to say.

-----Meanwhile, During Class-----

"Alright, pop quiz!" Mayuko announced, eliciting a groan from the class. "Stop whining and take out a sheet of paper and pencil!"

Kyo reached into his backpack to grab a sheet of paper only to realize that he didn't have one. "Hey Tohru, give me some paper," he said.

"Oh, s-sure!" Tohru replied distractedly. As she handed him the piece of paper, their hands brushed against each other's and she let go, causing the paper to drift to the floor. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I'll get it!"

"No, it's fine," Kyo assured as he reached over and picked it up. "Are you okay today?"

"Hm?" she asked.

"Nothing…" he replied. "You just seem kinda jumpy today."

"I-is that so?"

"You sure you're okay?" Kyo asked worriedly. "Are you feeling sick or something?"

"N-no… I'm feeling great!" she replied with a poor attempt to sound normal.

Yuki's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Kyo and Tohru. He then glanced back at Sawaki out of the corner of his eye, wondering what Sawaki had said to Tohru to make her so worried.

Mayuko finished writing the last question to her pop quiz on the board and turned to the class. "Copy down the question and write answers below," she instructed. "You guys have twenty minutes!"

The minute she finished giving instructions, Sayora walked into the classroom. She earned confused eyes from Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo.

"S-Sayora!" Sawaki said standing up, sounding surprised.

"Quiet Mobaro! And sit down or else you're getting a zero!" Mayuko scolded, then turned to Sayora. "Perfect timing! We're having a pop quiz! You can get started!"

Sayora sweat dropped. "Yes ma'am…" she replied.

-----After the Quiz-----

"Psst! Sayora!" Sawaki called in a hushed voice to Sayora who sat two seats in front of him. She didn't respond. "Sayora!" Sawaki mentally cursed how she was ignoring him so he took out a sheet of paper and ripped off a small corner. After crumpling it into a tiny ball, he tossed it at Sayora, hitting her near her shoulder. Sayora didn't turn around. Sawaki ripped another corner and tossed it at her, hitting her near her neck this time. He was once again ignored. A vein popped out of his head as he crumpled the rest of the paper and threw it at her head. Sayora twitched as a vein popped out of her head. Frustrated at being ignored, Sawaki took his mechanical pencil and chucked it at Sayora, the tip colliding into her head as she cried out in pain.

"Ow!! That hurt you jackass!! What'd you do that for?!!" Sayora shouted, out of her seat and glaring at a startled Sawaki.

"It's your fault for ignoring me!" Sawaki replied, out of his seat as well.

"HEY!! I'm trying to teach a class here!!" Mayuko yelled. "Both of you, go stand in the hall!!"

"Yes ma'am…" they both replied with a sweat drop.

The two of them stood against the wall on opposite sides of the closed door of the classroom.

"You just had to overreact, didn't you?" Sawaki asked moodily.

"You threw a pencil at my head! What kind of response were you expecting?!" Sayora retorted.

"Well it wouldn't have happened if you'd just answered me from the start!" he argued. "Honestly, what the hell is wrong with you?! You just start ignoring me all of a sudden! Did I do something to piss you off or something?!"

"Yeah! Your desperate and jealous girlfriend thinks you're hiding things from her—which you are—!"

"Wait!" Sawaki interrupted. "What do you mean 'desperate' and 'jealous'? Of what?!"

"She thinks there's something going on between us behind her back! And as far as I'm concerned, she's right!" she replied. "She's your damn girlfriend and you're hiding all these things from her!"

"So what're you saying?! I should just tell her about Asaru?!"

"I'm saying that you should tell her something!"

"It's not as easy as you think!"

"I didn't say it would be!"

"Look! You don't have a solution to everything, okay?!" he yelled angrily. "You always think you have the answer to everything but you don't!"

"Fine then! Do whatever you want!"

"I will!"

"And while you're at it, whatever you said to Tohru, you'd better find a way to unsay it!"

"What now?!"

"That's what I should be asking you! She was avoiding Kyo the whole night! And I had to take Kyo to school with me this morning because she was so anxious! What the hell did you say to her anyway?!" Sayora demanded.

After hearing what Sayora had told him, it suddenly made sense why Tohru was so uncomfortable with Kyo during the quiz.

"Hey, I asked you a question!"

"Mind your own business!"

The door to the classroom slid open. Sayora and Sawaki both looked beside them to find Mayuko with her hands on her hips, trembling in anger.

"I'm trying to teach a class!" she shouted. "Take your conversation elsewhere!!"

The two of them winced as she slammed the door shut. For the next five minutes, the two of them stood quietly, calming themselves down.

Sawaki sighed and glanced at Sayora from the corner of his eye. "So… you still haven't answered my question," he said. "Why're you ignoring me all of a sudden? I know you saw me outside your house last night."

"You have no right to worry about me when you're screwing things up so badly," she answered without looking at him.

Sawaki once again sighed and leaned his head back against the wall.

-----Study Hall-----

Sawaki sat by himself at his desk and watched Kyo, Tohru, Yuki, Sayora, Uo, and Hana hanging out together. He couldn't help but feel guilty at seeing Tohru avoid Kyo. She looked like a complete mess whenever Kyo looked at her or tried to talk to her.

"Checkin' someone out, Mobaro?" a friend jokingly asked as he sat on the desk beside him. Sawaki clenched his fist and got up. "Eh? Mobaro?"

Sawaki ignored his friend and made his way over to Tohru. "Honda-chan, can I talk to you?"

"Eh?" The look on Sawaki's face made it impossible for her to refuse. "Yes… of course," she replied, wondering what was going on.

Tohru got up and followed Sawaki out of the classroom. Yuki stared at Sawaki suspiciously. He wanted to get up and stop them but didn't, only because of the fact that Sayora had ignored the entire situation completely.

Both Tohru and Sawaki stepped out of the classroom and closed the door behind them. For a moment, the two of them stood in silence as Tohru fidgeted nervously.

"I'm sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?" Sawaki asked sympathetically.

"N-no! Not at all!" she replied.

"I wanted to apologize again for what I said yesterday. It seems I've made things awkward for you and Kyo."

"Ah—"

"Please listen to what I have to say…" he said, not letting her interrupt. "For a long time now, I've been irritated with you because I thought you were in the way."

In… the way? Tohru thought to herself, wondering what he meant.

"In my mind, I'd made up this image of you as a selfish person who put on an innocent act just to get attention from the people around you. I thought that under that perfect image you'd created was a sly and deceitful girl who acted sweet just to get what she wanted… but I was wrong. You and I… we're alike…"

Tohru looked into Sawaki's unwavering eyes as he spoke.

"We've both worked hard to build up a strong image of ourselves for others to see… yet, at the same time, we've locked ourselves in with the past. We are both… being held back… you with your mother, and I with…" he trailed off.

"Mobaro-san…"

"What I'm trying to say is…" Sawaki paused to get his thoughts together. "What I'm trying to say is that your mother is dead, and it's about time that I've accepted the death of my friend as well. It's time to stop living in the past."

Tohru could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "Are you saying… are you saying that I should forget about…?"

"You have a big heart, Honda-chan…" he said with a small, encouraging smile. "It's too big for your mother alone."

Tohru closed her eyes and felt the tears slide down her face. "But… but my mother… I can't…"

"As long as you keep living, you'll continue to meet people important to you. It's okay to love them and care about them. They also… deserve a place in that big heart of yours," he told her gently. "Don't leave your mother all alone in there…"

Tohru cried into her hands. He's right… Mom, what have I done?

"I will also… stop being selfish…" Sawaki said, as if speaking to himself. "I will also stop leaving my heart filled with memories of the dead…"

-----Lunch-----

Sawaki immediately got up to chase after Sayora who left the room.

"Oi, Sayora!" he yelled after her. ­­­­­­­­"Wait a minute!"

"What now?" she asked tiredly as she turned to face him.

"I talked to her… to Honda-chan…" Sawaki stood and waited for a reply.

"Yeah, I know. So what?"

"So then… why do you still look angry with me?"

Sayora looked up to answer him but stopped when she saw who was standing behind him.

"Sayora?" he asked.

She looked away.

"Sawa-chan…" Kimi called quietly.

"Ah…" Sawaki looked back to see the girl he had been looking for the entire morning.

"Well if it isn't Mobaro!" one of his friends said as he and two others walked by. "Such a player!"

"Sayora's gonna get jealous if you keep flirting with all these other girls!" another joked.

"Why's the atmosphere so heavy?" the third asked with a playful smile. "It feels like a love triangle! Haha!"

"Oh, shut up already! It's not like that!" Sawaki replied with a laugh as his friends continued on their way.

Sayora frowned at him in disbelief. "I can't believe how inconsiderate you can be."

"Huh?" Sawaki watched as Sayora turned to leave. "Hey! What the hell? What're you always so pissed off about?!" When Sayora left without a word to him, he frowned and turned to Kimi. "Honestly, what the hell is wrong with her?! It's like she's never happy! No matter what I do, she's always angry with me! What the—" Sawaki stopped himself when he saw the pained look on his girlfriend's face. "Kimi-chan?" She didn't reply. "Kimi, what's wrong?"

"Why is Sawa-chan always talking about YonYon and worrying about her?" she asked. "Why does Sawa-chan always ignore Kimi now?"

"Eh? Sayora's an old friend. Is it wrong to worry about her?"

"Then why doesn't Sawa-chan deny it when everyone calls YonYon your girlfriend?"

Sawaki thought it was a joke. "Hey, c'mon. You're not actually jealous now, are you?" he asked with a laugh. But he grew silent when the serious expression on Kimi's face didn't change. "Kimi…"

She turned and faced the window, resting her hands on the window sill. "When Sawa-chan said that he needed to resolve something with YonYon, Kimi thought that Sawa-chan would come back."

"Wh… what're you saying?"

Kikmi clenched her fists and turned to face Sawaki with a frown. "Sawa-chan's changed too much. Even if it's Kimi, she also has her limits."

The two stared at each other in silence. After a few seconds, Sawaki looked away uncomfortably. "You're being ridiculous," he said quietly. "I'm your boyfriend. Can't you trust me?"

"Kimi has always trusted Sawa-chan with everything, but all this time Sawa-chan's been the one keeping secrets from Kimi." Sawaki flinched, knowing she was right. "Sawa-chan doesn't even look Kimi in the eye like he used to anymore."

He didn't reply.

"As for being Kimi's boyfriend…" she continued. "Kimi doesn't know whose boyfriend Sawa-chan is anymore… because from an outsider's point of view, Sawa-chan looks a lot more like YonYon's boyfriend."

"Wha—?!" Sawaki looked up to object only to find Kimi walking away. "Hey!" he shouted after her. "Kimi!" He followed her down the hall, grabbing her hand right before she turned the corner. "I've told you before that the things you really want will always come to you! And I'm here now, aren't I?" Sawaki asked.

"Sometimes, the things you want changes by the time it gets to you…" she replied, surprising Sawaki. "The old Sawa-chan would never make Kimi feel so unimportant."

"Chasing skirts again Mobaro?" one of Sawaki's friends joked as and another happened to walk by.

"You cheating on your girlfriend again?" another asked while laughing. "Sayora's gonna cry if she finds out!"

Sawaki looked at an aggravated Kimi and trembled in anger and frustration. "Sayora's not my goddamn girlfriend!!" he shouted, startling everyone in the hall silent. "I love Kimi, and only her! So everyone else just shut the hell up about me and Sayora already!!"

Kimi stared at the boy standing before her, shocked at his declaration. "… Sawa-chan…"

-----Sayora-----

Sayora had planned to join Tohru and the others for lunch but found her legs leading her to Haru's classroom instead. However, before she made it all the way, she ran into Momiji.

"Hey, Sayo!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Well look who it is," Sayora replied. "Still cross-dressing I see."

"But it still looks good on me, right?" he asked with a smile, referring to his girl's uniform. "So, where were you going?"

"I was on my way to see Haru," she answered. Momiji's cheerful attitude dissipated at the mention of his cousin's name. "Wanna come with me?"

"Hey Sayo… I think… it might be better if you don't see him right now…" Momiji spoke hesitantly.

"Eh? Why…?" Sayora asked, growing worried about the blonde boy's behavior. "Is something wrong?"

"Haru is… in a bad mood right now… so…" he said, choosing his words carefully.

"Is he in Black Mode?!" she replied with concern.

"No, no!" Momiji quickly replied. "He's just—" He stopped himself when he felt someone standing behind him.

"Haru!" Sayora exclaimed, walking up to him.

"Ah! Sayo—"

"Are you okay?" Sayora asked Haru worriedly, drowning out Momiji's concern. All she got in response was a silent, angry glare from her cousin. Momiji looked at Haru nervously. "Are you… still mad about yesterday?" Sayora asked. "Look, I didn't mean what I said yesterday, okay? Besides, you know how I am when I get upset. I blurt things out without thinking."

"Why're you apologizing?" he asked, earning a confused look.

"Because! You're still mad at me! And I feel bad about shouting at you like that!" she replied as if it should've been obvious.

"Drop the act!" he retorted, surprising Sayora and worrying Momiji. "Like you give a shit how you make a stupid 'pet' like me feel!"

"Haru!" Momiji said, trying to calm him down.

"Wha… 'pet'?" Sayora's mouth dropped in disbelief. "What're you talking about?!"

"Don't play dumb!!" Haru shouted furiously. "All you do is use me, and the moment I become inconvenient for you, you toss me aside!!"

"Haru! Stop!" Momiji pleaded.

"You think I don't know what you're doing?!" Haru continued to shout at Sayora.

"What?! That's not true!"

"Then tell me… why did you stop calling me your brother?!" Haru yelled. "What's the real reason you stopped calling me your brother?!!"

"Because!" Sayora shouted back. "I didn't think you needed me to call you 'Haru-nii' or 'Onii-chan' to let you know that you'll always be a brother to me!"

What felt like an eternity of silence passed by in a mere few seconds in reality.

"Don't just say things like that when it's convenient for you," he replied harshly, walking away.

"Ah! Haru!" Momiji called after him, shocked at what came out of his mouth.

Sayora latched onto his arm with both of hers, hugging it tightly against her as if her life depended on it. "I'm sorry Haru! If I made you feel that way, then I'm sorry! It's my fault for not letting you know how important you are to me!" He didn't respond. "You can't abandon me… you can't! If you do, then who else can I turn to…?" she pleaded desperately.

Haru roughly pulled his arm away from Sayora. "Don't touch me." He continued down the hall without looking back at either of his cousins.

For a moment, Momiji was frozen with shock. "W-wait! Haru!" he shouted. He glanced back at Sayora before chasing after Haru. "Hey! Haru!" Momiji yelled as he caught up to him. "I know you're in a bad mood, but wasn't that a bit too harsh?!" he asked worriedly.

"I'm sick of being taken advantage of! She thinks I'm just some stupid animal that can be led by the nose!"

Momiji looked at Haru sympathetically. "You are… usually a very understanding person," he said quietly, trailing off. "Did you have a talk with Akito…?"

-----Meanwhile—Tohru and the Others-----

Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, Uo, and Hana were all gathered on the roof, unpacking their lunches.

"Has anyone seen Sayora?" Yuki asked, looking around.

"Ah, I think she went somewhere with Mobaro-san," Tohru replied.

"Again?" Uo asked. "Hey, Kyon! Go find her!"

"What? Why me?!" he argued.

"Because I said so!" she said.

"What the hell kinda reason is that?!" Kyo shouted.

"Well what reason do you have to not get her?!" she asked.

"Who cares if she wants to eat lunch with someone else! You act like it's the end of the world if we don't have lunch with her!"

"Now, now… let's not argue," Tohru said, trying to quell the arising argument.

Hana glanced at Kyo. She knew that he didn't want Sayora here with them.

Kyo grabbed his chopsticks and began eating the bento Tohru had made for him. I still can't help but avoid her… he thought helplessly. What's wrong with me…? Even after all this time… even after everything I've told myself… why do I find myself still unable to accept her…?

"You cannot fear losing what you have not yet obtained," Hana suddenly said.

"Huh?" Everyone looked up at her, wondering what she was talking about.

Kyo stared at the girl who continued with her lunch as if nothing had happened, wondering if the statement earlier was intended for him.

"What the hell was that?" Uo asked.

-----Sayora-----

Feeling frustrated and in no mood for school, Sayora decided to skip the rest of the day and wander around town aimlessly. Every attempt to clear her mind failed miserably and brought her back to the argument she had with Haru. What did I do…? she wondered helplessly. What should I do? Haru's always been there for me… what in the world did I do to make him this mad at me? Even if I go back and apologize again, he's not gonna listen to me… Sayora sighed heavily. What should I do…? she asked herself again.

"Ow!" someone cried out, followed by a small thud.

Sayora looked down to see that she had knocked over a little girl. "Oh, sorry," she apologized, holding her hand out for the girl sitting on the floor with a surprised expression. "Are you okay?"

The little girl looked up at her with a confused look. However, it was soon replaced with a trembling mouth and teary eyes. "Waahhhhh!!" she suddenly cried, startling Sayora.

"H-hey!" she replied as she looked around, embarrassed that people were staring at them.

-----School-----

The bell rang, signaling the last period of the day.

"I wonder if Sayora-san went home early today…" Tohru wondered worriedly.

"She's probably just skipping or something," Kyo replied, sitting at his desk.

"But… Sayora-san doesn't normally skip class…" Tohru pointed out.

"Don't worry, Honda-san," Yuki assured. "Kyo's right. She's probably already at home with Shigure."

-----Sayora-----

The little girl sat on the bench, happily slurping the ice cream Sayora had bought for her. Did I just get scammed by a little kid? Sayora wondered, glancing at the girl from the corner of her eye.

"Does Onee-chan want some ice cream?" the little girl asked when she noticed she was being stared at, handing her half-eaten ice cream cone to Sayora.

"No… no thanks…" she declined with a sweat drop.

The girl shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention back to her melting ice cream.

"So, what's your name?" Sayora asked.

"Naori," she answered as she finished her food.

"Well, Naori-chan," she said as she got up, "I have to go now. Be careful on your way home, okay?"

"Ah! Onee-chan! Wait!" Naori shouted as she ran to Sayora and grabbed onto her leg. "Don't leave me!"

"Eh? What's wrong?" Sayora asked.

"I don't know how to get home!"

"Wha…?"

"I was supposed to meet Onii-chan by the bookstore but I got lost," Naori explained. "I don't know how to get home from here."

-----Tohru and the Others-----

"We're home!" Tohru announced cheerfully as she entered the house with Yuki and Kyo and headed to the living room where they were greeted by Shigure.

"Welcome home," he replied, setting aside his newspaper. "Hm?" Shigure looked at the three of them. "Where's Sayora-chan?"

"Eh…?" Tohru had a confused look on her face.

"You mean… she isn't home?" Yuki asked.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Shigure replied. "Of course she isn't."

Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru all exchanged a puzzled and concerned glance to each other.

"Sayora left school early," Yuki explained. "We thought she came back home."

"W-what should we do?" Tohru asked, becoming scared.

"Maybe she's out with that friend of hers," Shigure suggested. "Sawaki-kun, was it?"

Kyo's hand unconsciously twitched at the mention of them being together.

"You could be right…" Yuki agreed, turning to Tohru. "Let's not panic yet, Honda-san," he said with an assuring smile. "Sayora will probably come back later."

Tohru nodded, still worried about her silver-haired friend.

-----Sayora and Naori-----

"So, which bookstore are you supposed to meet your brother at?" Sayora asked.

"Hmmmmm…" Naori replied, deep in thought. "I don't know. It's the one by my school."

Sayora mentally sighed. She was going to be stuck with the little girl for a while. "Which school do you go to?"

"Sakahashi Elementary School," Naori answered.

Sayora stopped walking. "Sakahashi?" she asked.

"Mm-hm," the little girl nodded. "What's wrong?"

"I used to go there for a bit," she replied nostalgically.

A smile lit up on Naori's face. "Then you know how to get there from here!"

Sayora shook her head. "I don't remember. I was still a little kid when I went there."

"A little kid?" Naori repeated. "How old were you?"

"Around five or six I think…" she replied, unsure herself.

"How old are you now?" the little girl asked curiously.

"Seventeen," Sayora answered.

"Waahh! Onee-chan is so old!" Naori exclaimed in shock. "Maybe I should call you Obaa-chan instead."

"C'mon, I'm not that old!" Sayora replied with a sweat drop, making Naori laugh. "So, how old are you?"

"Seven!" she answered proudly.

"Seven and you don't know how to get home from school?" she asked, deliberately teasing her.

"But how would I know if Onee-chan is seventeen and can't find her way around?" the girl asked innocently.

Sayora sweat dropped. I just got told off by a first grader… she thought, feeling as if Naori was the mirror image of Hiro with her remarks. "How about this?" she asked, pulling out her cell phone. "I'll call my friend and ask if they know how to get to Naori-chan's school." Sayora flipped open her phone only to find that her phone was dead and mentally cursed. She looked up to find a phone booth across the street and made her way over to it. She picked up the phone and began to dial Sawaki's number, suddenly stopping halfway.

Naori looked up at Sayora curiously. "What's wrong, Onee-chan?" she asked.

I can't call Sawaki after yelling at him for ignoring Kimi and paying too much attention to me… Sayora thought. And I sure as hell don't wanna call Haru right now…

"All you do is use me, and the moment I become inconvenient for you, you toss me aside!!"

"I didn't think you needed me to call you 'Haru-nii' or 'Onii-chan' to let you know that you'll always be a brother to me!"

"Don't just say things like that when it's convenient for you."

Haru's harsh remarks lingered in Sayora's mind, making her become depressed. What kind of person must I be to make him feel that way…? she questioned herself.

"Don't touch me!"

Sayora could feel her heart beating faster with anxiety at the mere memory of what Haru had said. All of a sudden, the one person who's always been there for me is gone… She could feel a lump in her throat and her eyes becoming moist.

"Hey! Onee-chan!" Naori shouted.

"Huh?" Sayora looked down at the girl.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"O-oh… nothing…" she replied, dialing Kakeru's number instead.

"Hello?" came Kakeru's voice as he picked up his phone.

"Hey, it's me," Sayora answered. "Do you know how to get to Sakahashi Elementary?"

-----Shigure's House-----

"Sayora-san isn't picking up her cell phone!" Tohru said worriedly.

"I told you, don't worry," Kyo said.

"But…"

"Didn't Shigure already say she might be with her friends?"

"But she might not be, right?" she pointed out.

"Don't worry, Tohru-kun," Shigure assured. "Sayora-chan is quite capable of taking care of herself."

"B-but…" she trailed off weakly.

"Now, how about some dinner?" Shigure asked. "We're all very hungry."

"Oh, yes, of course!" Tohru replied, quickly leaving to the kitchen.

Kyo let out a moody sigh after Tohru had left.

"What're you so angry about?" Yuki asked. "It's not going to rain today, is it?"

"It won't be raining for the next four days," Shigure answered. "Kyo-kun's probably just having jealousy issues."

"Huh?" Yuki asked.

"What?!" Kyo shouted at the same time.

"You're so shallow Kyo-kun," Shigure said, teasing him. "I saw the look on your face when I suggested Sayora-chan was out with Sawaki-kun."

"What look?!" he demanded to know, frowning at Shigure.

"That look," Shigure replied.

"Arghh! Forget this! I'm going upstairs!!" he yelled, stomping up to the second floor.

"I was just kidding Kyo-kun!" Shigure yelled after him, holding back a laugh. "It wasn't the look on your face! It was your reaction just now!"

"Go to hell, you damn dog!!" he shouted from upstairs.

"What was that?" Yuki asked.

Shigure snickered. "Like I said. So shallow."

"Aren't you worried?"

"Hm?" Shigure looked at his cousin. "About Sayora-chan?"

"It's already past six."

Shigure laughed. "Don't be so old-fashioned! Six is still early for teenagers like you!"

-----Sayora and Naori-----

After an hour of getting lost, the two girls stood in front of Sakahashi Elementary.

"Onee-chan… you aren't very good with directions, are you?" Naori asked.

Sayora sweat dropped. "It's not my fault! My stupid friend gave me directions that went through the other side of town!"

Naori laughed. "You're so funny, Onee-chan!"

"Well I'm not amused! We wasted an hour getting here!" Sayora replied. "You know how to get to that bookstore from here, right?"

"Mm-hm," she answered. "C'mon Onee-chan!"

The little girl once again grabbed Sayora's hand as she led the way. It took them less than five minutes to arrive at the bookstore.

"Is this the one?" Sayora asked.

Naori looked up at Sayora with a worried expression on her face. "T-there's no one here… there's no one here Onee-chan!" Naori began to panic, tears rushing to her eyes.

"Hey, hey, don't cry!" Sayora said, kneeling next to the girl. "Of course no one's here. It's been five hours since you were supposed to meet your brother."

"Wahhhh!!" Naori stood crying. "Onii-chan! Onii-chan left me!!"

"Don't be stupid! He didn't leave you!" Sayora replied, trying to calm the young girl down. "He's probably looking for you right now!"

Naori sobbed, looking at Sayora through her tear-filled eyes. "Really…?"

Sayora nodded with a comforting smile. "And I bet he's really worried about you, too."

"What should we do?" Naori asked. "Will Onii-chan come back if we wait?"

"Your brother could be anywhere right now…" Sayora stood there, thinking of what she should do. There was no guarantee that Naori's brother would be back anytime soon. "Maybe I should just take you home… where do you li—" She looked at the empty space where Naori had stood seconds before. She was gone… "Naori?!" Sayora called. "Naori!"

-----Hatsuharu-----

Haru made his way down the all too familiar hall that led to Akito's room. He had been summoned yet again by the head of the family. As soon as he arrived at the door of Akito's room, he was ordered to enter.

"Well, if it isn't the stupid cow," Akito said, staring out the window of his dark room.

"What do you want this time?" Haru asked bitterly.

"What do I want?" he asked, letting out a sardonic laugh. "That's the thanks I get for opening your eyes to that wolf's trick?"

"Trick?" Haru repeated, becoming angry. "The one who was tricking me was you!"

"Don't tell me you're still stupid enough to believe everything she tells you." Haru didn't reply. "Ha! You don't know the true nature of that wolf! She's deceitful! A master manipulator! You actually thought a dumb cow like you was needed?! Dream on!"

BAM!!

Haru slammed his fist against the wall behind him. Akito glared silently at the aggravated Haru. "Stop it."

"What?" Akito asked.

"Stop trying to pit people against her! It's because of you that she's been suffering all these years!" Haru shouted. "Wasn't it enough that you locked her up and kept her isolated her whole life?! Why can't you just leave her alone and stop trying to make her miserable?!"

"Leave her alone?! You did enough of that, didn't you?!" Akito shouted back, angry at being talked back to. "The one who made that wolf suffer was you! Because you 'left her alone'!! That was the real reason she quit calling you her brother!! Because you abandoned her for that whore!!"

Haru became infuriated, and in an instant, the collar of Akito's yukata was in Haru's clenched fist. "Rin is not a whore!" he said in a low, dangerous voice.

Akito smirked. "And there you go abandoning her again."

Haru's grasp loosened and his hand fell back to his side, realizing that Akito was right. He had consciously made the choice to abandon Sayora to be with Rin, the woman that he loved.

"Like I said, you're just a stupid cow," Akito said, still smirking sadistically. "Do you know what she said to me that night you came and met her in this very room to tell her you stopped giving a shit about her?"

Haru stared at Akito silently.

"'I want to disappear'!!" he shouted as Haru clenched his fists, angry at himself.

-----Few Moments Later-----

Haru solemnly made his way back to his house, his mind filled with the things he had done to push Sayora away, including the incident earlier at school. How could I be angry at her? Haru asked himself. How could I expect her to call me a brother when I haven't been there for her all these years…? He looked up at the quarter moon sitting in the sky. Since when did I become the kind of person who was blinded by rage and anger to the point that I would hurt the people around me? Haru stopped in front of his house and smiled sadly. It was… since the beginning… wasn't it, Sayora…?

"Haru?"

Startled, he turned around to find Momiji. The worried look on the usually cheerful and happy boy made Haru uneasy.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Sayora…"

Haru's eyes widened as he became alarmed. "What happened?!" he demanded to know.

"Shi-chan called to ask if she was with you," Momiji replied quietly. "No one's seen her after she left school around twelve…"

"Twelve? But that's when…" Haru thought back to his argument with Sayora.

"You can't abandon me!"

"Don't touch me!"

"We have to look for her!!" Haru said, panicked.

"Ah! Haru!" Momiji yelled, running after Haru who took off. "Wait!"

"Hurry!!" he shouted back to the blonde boy. "She'll disappear!!"

"What?!" But Haru was already gone. Not knowing what to do, Momiji took off to Shigure's house.

-----Shigure's House-----

"Sayora-san still isn't back…" Tohru said quietly.

"It's almost eleven," Yuki said to no one in particular.

"Hm… it is getting rather late," Shigure agreed.

Kyo glanced at each person as they talked. There's no way she's still with that guy… he thought, referring to Sawaki.

"Has anyone tried calling Sayora-chan's cell phone?" Shigure asked.

"It went straight to voice mail," Yuki replied.

"I'm worried about her. What if Sayora-san collapsed? Or if she got kidnapped? Or maybe she's lost somewhere!" Tohru began to panic. "What if she got tricked by an evil man and is helpless right now?!"

Shigure sweat dropped. "I doubt that…" he said. She's not you, Tohru-kun…

Suddenly, Kyo got up and headed toward the door.

"Where're you going?" Yuki asked.

"None of your business," he retorted.

Before an argument could erupt between Yuki and Kyo, frantic knocks could be heard from the front door.

"Coming!" Tohru yelled as she got up and rushed to the door. "Oh, Momiji-kun…" She looked at the anxious boy who was catching his breath. "What's wrong?"

"Kyo and Yuki!" Momiji said, still catching his breath. "Where's Kyo and Yuki?!" He moved Tohru aside and rushed into the house.

"Ah! Momiji-kun!" Tohru followed him into the living room worriedly. Momiji's unusual attitude was scaring her.

Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure all looked up when their cousin entered the room disoriented.

"Well, if it isn't Momiji-kun," Shigure said, wondering what was wrong.

"We have to find Sayora!" Momiji told them, sounding panicked. "We have to hurry and find her!"

Both Yuki and Kyo became alarmed.

"What happened?" Yuki asked.

"I-I don't know! I went to Haru to ask if he knew where Sayora was and he said we needed to find her and took off!!" the young boy explained frantically. "He… he…!!" Momiji had never felt so shaken up before.

"Momiji, calm down!" Yuki told him. "He what?"

"He said something really weird!" he replied. "He said Sayora was going to disappear!"

Kyo flinched and his eyes widened in fear. No way… there's no way she would…!! All of a sudden, he dashed out of the house.

"K-Kyo-kun?" Tohru called as he ran by her on his way out.

"Yuki! We have to look for her too!!" Momiji said, sounding desperate.

Yuki looked at Shigure who nodded at him. "We'll be back later then," he said, turning to Momiji. "C'mon, let's go!" The two also rushed out of the house, leaving Tohru and Shigure.

Tohru came and joined Shigure in the living room once again. "Shigure-san, wh… what's going on?" she asked worriedly, frightened by the whole situation. "Did something… happen to Sayora-san…?"

"Who knows?" he replied. "Poor Momiji-kun… Haa-kun must've scared him so much."

"But why is everyone so…" Tohru trailed off, looking as if she was about to cry. She thought about what Momiji had said about Sayora disappearing and it made her heart thump with dread. "Is Sayora-san going away?" she managed to ask with a sob, unable to hold back her tears.

Shigure looked at Tohru and sighed, giving her a small, sympathetic smile as he got up and put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "Tohru-kun… Sayora-chan might not be coming back to us…"

-----Naori-----

"Hey, Oji-chan," Naori said to the man in his fifties who was leading her somewhere. "Do you really know where Onii-chan is waiting?"

"Yes, he's right up ahead," the man told her with a friendly smile. "He sent me to come get you after all."

Naori returned the smile. "I'm so glad I'll get to see Onii-chan again soon! He must be really worried about me!"

"Yes, he is," the old man replied. And he has good reason to be! he thought as an evil smile replaced the friendly one he wore before.

It was then that Sayora happened to run into Naori after searching for her for nearly half an hour.

"Ah! It's Onee-chan!" Naori said, waving to Sayora.

"What?!" The man flinched as he turned to see a silver-haired girl running toward them.

"Hey!! What the hell're you doing?!" Sayora shouted.

Shit! the man thought.

Sayora saw the man reach back and grab what looked like a pocketknife. Immediately, she pulled out her dead cell phone and started yelling into the receiver. "There's some guy with brown hair and a green shirt trying to kidnap a little girl!! Hurry and send someone right now!!"

Tch! The man, thinking Sayora had contacted the police, quickly turned around and ran away.

"Eh?" Naori turned back to look at the man who had fled. "Wait! Oji-chan! You said you were going to take me to see Onii-chan!"

"You idiot!!" Sayora nearly screamed when she reached the little girl. "Are you stupid?! You were almost kidnapped by that guy!!"

"But he said Onii-chan sent him to come get me!"

"He would've taken you to his house and locked you in his basement!!" she continued to scold Naori. "You're lucky he thought I called the police!!"

Startled and frightened by Sayora's anger, Naori's mouth began to tremble and tears began to gather in her eyes. Realizing that she had scared the little girl, Sayora calmed herself down and let out a small sigh of relief, thankful that Naori was safe.

"I'm sorry," Sayora said gently, crouching down so she could look her in the eye. "I didn't mean to shout at you. I was just worried." She patted Naori on the head as the girl nodded and wiped away her tears. "Eh?" It was then that Sayora noticed the girl's name was written on the small backpack she was carrying. "Don't tell me…" She couldn't believe the coincidence. "You're a Souma?"

"Mm-hm," Naori replied, nodding. "Souma Naori."

Why couldn't she have just told me her full name about eleven hours sooner? Sayora thought, thinking about all the time she could've saved. "Alright, let's get you back home now, shall we?" she asked tiredly, reaching her hand down to Naori.

"Onee-chan knows where I live?" Naori asked curiously, grabbing Sayora's hand to hold.

"It's the place surrounded by huge walls that go on forever, right?"

"Wow! Onee-chan's so smart! How did you know?"

"It's a secret."

-----Sawaki and Kimi-----

Sawaki had gone to Kimi's house and called her out for a walk with him despite minor objections from her mother. For the past ten minutes, they had walked in absolute silence, both unsure of what they should say to the other.

Suddenly, the two see Kyo running toward them with an anxious look on his face. He stopped in front of them, completely out of breath. "Do you… do you know where she is?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.

Must be talking about… "Sayora?" Sawaki asked.

"Yeah," he replied tiredly. "She was with you, wasn't she? No one's seen her since she left school around twelve."

Kimi watched Sawaki worriedly, wondering what he was going to decide to do. They had, in fact, seen Sayora just moments before with a little girl.

"I…" Sawaki paused. He, too, was wondering what he was going to do. "I'm sorry, but Sayora's not my problem anymore," he decided to say. "I wasn't with Sayora, and I don't know where she is. I can't help you."

They both stared at Kyo who remained standing where he was.

"Sayora's not my problem anymore."

Kyo couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Yeah…" He looked up at Sawaki with a small, understanding smile. "Yeah… I got it…" Without another word, Kyo continued his search for Sayora. I have to hurry and find her! he thought. If I don't, it might be too late and she might be… The mere thought of Sayora being gone caused his heart to throb. Where the hell could she be?! Kyo began to panic once again.

"Sawa-chan isn't going to take him to YonYon?" Kimi asked.

"I have no reason to," Sawaki replied. "Besides… I want to be with you right now… Kimi… I'll make you see that you're the only girl I care about."

She laughed. "Kimi doesn't need to be the only girl Sawa-chan cares about," she said. "Kimi just wants to be the one that Sawa-chan cares for the most."

The two stopped walking and looked deeply into each other's eyes. Sawaki leaned his face in, brushing his nose against Kimi's. He then gently placed his lips on Kimi's and kissed her. "I love you, Kimi…" he whispered into her ear. In their own blissful world for the moment, the two kissed each other once more…

-----Sayora and Naori-----

"Well, here we are," Sayora said, she and Naori standing in front of the gate of the Main House. "You know how to get home from here, right?"

"Of course I do!" Naori replied.

"You should hurry then. Your family must be worried sick right now."

"Eh? Onee-chan isn't coming too?"

"Sorry Naori-chan, not this time," Sayora replied as she turned to leave. "I have to go home."

"Ah! But!" Naori said, stopping Sayora. "Will I see Onee-chan again?!"

"Don't worry," she assured. "We'll definitely meet again."

Naori smiled. "Okay!" she replied, opening the gate. "Next time, Onee-chan has to come meet Onii-chan, okay?"

"It's a promise."

With a final wave from Naori, she went inside the gate and closed it behind her.

-----Meanwhile-----

From a distance, Kyo could see Sayora standing in front of the Main House. I… I found her… he thought as he felt a wave of relief wash over him. Huh? Kyo watched as Sayora turned away and begin to leave. What is she…? Is she leaving? "Hey!! Hold it!!" he shouted as he ran to her as fast as he could.

Sayora didn't even have the chance to turn around when she was grabbed by the arm and pulled back to face Kyo. "Ow!" she cried in pain. "What're you—"

"Just where the hell do you think you're going?!" Kyo asked. "Do you know how worried everyone is?! Were you just going to leave without saying anything to anyone?!"

W-what the hell is he talking about?! Sayora thought.

"Did you think I was just gonna let you leave like that?!" he continued to shout. "You can't just disappear and throw away the people that care about you dammit!! If there's something wrong, you don't have to run away! At least stay and try to work it out first!!"

He's out of breath and covered in sweat… she observed. That couldn't be because he was… searching for me, could it?

"Don't be so stupid…" Kyo said, giving Sayora a pleading look. "If you leave, what am I supposed to do? If you go away… where's that supposed to leave me…?"

Sayora's eyes widened at his unexpected words.

"I know that it's all my fault," Kyo said. "That you want to leave and disappear, I know that it's because I kept ignoring you, but—"

"Kyo," Sayora interrupted, trying to explain, "you've got it all wro—"

"Just listen!" Kyo said, cutting her off. "I want you to hear what I've gotta say!" He grabbed Sayora by her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "I didn't know if your feelings were real… I was afraid of being rejected again, so I pushed you away to protect myself… but that doesn't matter anymore. I can't keep running away from something just because I'm unsure. I don't want to keep pushing you away… Sayora… I need you here with me…"

Sayora could feel her heart skipping beats; her cheeks felt hot from blushing. She had waited virtually her whole life to hear those last six words from Kyo, and just when she thought there was no chance of it happening, it suddenly did. Her heart was literally aching with happiness.

"Kyo…"

He pulled her into a tight, protective embrace. "Don't leave me…"

Sayora began to cry. "I wasn't going to, Kyo!" she replied, holding him tightly. "I was never planning on leaving from the start!"

The two stood there, embracing each other as if they were inseparable…

-----Momiji, Haru, and Yuki-----

Haru had run into Yuki and Momiji during his search for Sayora, and the three decided to join up and search the neighborhood one more time.

"Ah! Look!" Momiji cried. "There she is!"

"Where?!" Haru asked as he and Yuki looked where Momiji was pointing. Sayora! Haru was about take off, but stopped when he noticed someone standing by her.

"Is that…" Yuki squinted his eyes to see who it was. "Kyo?"

"Ah…" Momiji looked back at Haru. "What're you going to do?"

Haru closed his eyes and smiled. "Let's leave them," he decided.

"Eh?! But weren't you worried about her?" Yuki asked.

"It doesn't matter," he replied, staring at Sayora and Kyo. She's waited long enough for this moment… "The mood looks just about right… if we go to them now, we're just going to ruin their moment."

Yuki and Momiji silently agreed with Haru.

"The only thing that matters is that she's here…" Haru said, almost as if to himself.

"So, what're you going to do?" Yuki asked. "Are you coming back to Shigure's house?"

He shook his head. "Momiji and I will sneak in through the side door."

"I'll call Shi-chan when I get home to tell him everything's okay," Momiji said, back to his usual, cheerful self.

"Ah, that's right. Honda-san must be worried sick by now," Yuki replied. He let out a tired yawn. "Well, I guess I should get going then."

Haru and Momiji nodded as they quietly entered the Main House through the side door and made their way home.

"Say Haru, what will you do about Sayo?" Momiji asked.

"Hm?"

"About that huge fight you two had earlier…" he clarified. "Are you going to apologize?"

Haru shook his head.

"You aren't?" Momiji asked, puzzled by his answer.

"There's no need for an apology," Haru replied. "Everything will be fine the next time we meet." Just as she doesn't need to call me 'Haru-nii' or 'Onii-chan' to let me know that I'm a brother to her, I don't need to apologize to let her know that I'm sorry… because the two of us have a mutual understanding…

The two parted when they reached Haru's hosue and Momiji continued home on his own. He was nearly there when he bumped into a little girl.

"Ow!" she cried, stumbling backward.

"Ah, Naori!" Momiji greeted with a huge, cheerful smile, picking her up.

"It's Momiji nii-chan!" Naori replied happily.

"What're you doing out here so late?" he asked. "Your brother is going to get mad if you don't hurry home."

"I got lost home from school!" she explained.

"From school?" he repeated as he quickly texted Naori's brother and put his phone away. "C'mon, Momiji nii-chan will take you to your brother."

Momiji took her hand and led her to a nearby park in the Souma estate.

"Naori!" she heard her brother call, running toward them.

"Ah! Onii-chan!" she exclaimed.

"Where were you?! Everyone was so worried!" he scolded lightly as Naori hugged him. He looked up at Momiji. "Thanks for bringing her here."

"No problem!" he replied as the two headed back home. "Oh yeah, Kan!" Momiji called, Naori's brother turning around. "Tell your mom thanks for the cake she made the other day!"

"Yeah," he replied, watching Momiji run off.

-----Shigure's House-----

Tohru paced back and forth in the living room, her hands fidgeting nervously, waiting for Sayora and Kyo to return.

"Tohru-kun… you're going to pace a whole in the floor," Shigure said with a sweat drop. "Why don't you sit down instead?"

"But I'm worried about Sayora-san and Kyo-kun!" she replied.

"There's no need to worry, Honda-san," Yuki assured for the fifth time. "They should be here any second now."

As soon as those words left Yuki's mouth, everyone could hear the front door opening. Tohru immediately ran out of the living room with Yuki following behind her. When Tohru saw Sayora, she practically lunged herself at the startled wolf, crying out her concern.

Shigure watched with a smile as they all entered the living. All of their tension, their troubles and disputes, their insecurities and concerns… they were all gone. It was as if someone had hit the reset button and allowed them a fresh start, a second chance to make up with each other and return to the way they were before…

-----Few Moments Later-----

Kyo made his way up the ladder to the roof, finding that Sayora was already there when he reached the top.

"Kyo…" Sayora said as she watched him take his seat beside her. "What're you doing up here?"

"Looking for you," he replied.

"Afraid I'll run off again?" she asked jokingly.

Kyo looked away stubbornly. "That's not funny," he mumbled.

"Hm?" Sayora sat up and looked at Kyo worriedly. "Kyo… what's wrong? Are you angry? I was just kidding…"

"Wha?! Of course I'm angry!" he shouted as he turned back to yell in her face. "Do you know how worried I was?! You just suddenly disappeared without a word to anyone!! If I hadn't found you then, who knows where you'd be by now!!"

"Well if you'd listen to what I was trying to tell you earlier…" Sayora replied as she trailed off, waiting for Kyo to calm down. "I ran into a little girl who got lost on her way home from school, and I was just trying to help her find her brother."

"For half a day?" Kyo retorted, not believing her.

"Yes, for half a day," Sayora replied.

Kyo stared at Sayora. "You're serious," he observed.

"Did you think I was lying?" she asked with a small vein popping out of her head.

"Wait… then…" Kyo suddenly blushed with embarrassment.

"If you go away… where's that supposed to leave me…?"

"I need you here with me…"

"I said all that for nothing!"

"Is that what you think?" Sayora asked, staring up at the sky. "I was really glad for the misunderstanding."

"Huh?" Kyo didn't understand what she meant.

"Did you know…?" Sayora turned to look at Kyo with a smile. "In the thirteen years we've known each other, today was the first time you've ever called me by my name…"

Kyo's eyes widened in realization.

"That's why, even though it was just because of a misunderstanding… I'm really happy…"

Suddenly, Sayora felt Kyo grasp her hand.

"Kyo?"

When she turned to face him, their eyes locked and time seemed to stop. A gentle breeze blew past the two of them. The mood was perfect… perfect for their first kiss. Kyo leaned in slightly, and Sayora did the same. However, when their lips were mere centimeters apart, Sayora paused. The curse of the zodiac ran through her mind.

This… isn't right… she thought as she closed her eyes and smiled regrettably, pulling away from Kyo who was puzzled by her actions. He wanted to ask her 'why,' but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. Instead, he also pulled away and returned to his original position, Sayora's hand still in his grasp.

Sayora glanced down at her hand which was held by Kyo and blushed slightly. It's our hands that are touching but… it's my heart that feels the warmth of his hands… I wonder if we'll be okay like this…

-----Naori and Kan-----

"While we were lost, that onee-chan bought me food and stayed with me the whole time!" Naori said to her brother who was tucking her into bed.

"You haven't stopped talking about her since you got back," Kan replied.

"She was really nice!"

"I'll have to thank this 'onee-chan' someday for bringing you all the way back home and everything," he said, handing Naori her stuffed bear.

"I wanted Onee-chan to stay and meet Onii-chan, but she said she had to leave," she explained.

"Of course she had to. What time did you think it was? You were lucky she didn't just give up and leave you."

"But she was a bit weird…"

"Weird?" Kan repeated. "How?"

"She was really pretty but she had silver hair," Naori replied.

Kan flinched as his eyes widened in shock.

"Onii-chan?" Naori asked, looking at her brother.

"S-silver hair…?" It… it can't be… Sayora?!

-----Next Chapter's Preview-----

Hopeless Chapter 26- The Chaotic Beach Trip

The eleventh grade class is finally on their long awaited trip to Okinawa. All goes well until everyone decides to sneak out at night to investigate a haunted house in the middle of the woods… and during the investigation, an accident occurs that will reveal the Souma's secret to Sawaki!