Previously:

"Deca?" Miwa asked, concerned.

She suddenly began walking again, passing the two with her head down.

"And how would you know that?" She asked and left it at that.

The rest of the walk continued in silence.

Third person

December folded the last of her clothes and neatly tucked them away in her drawer. Closing it firmly, she was finally done unpacking. Looking around her new room, she felt pleased with herself. It wasn't much, one bedroom, one bathroom, a small kitchen and a few other little things, but she was content. After all, it was just her now.

She grabbed her purse and slipped on some shoes, heading towards the door. She locked the outside and proceeded to walk down the hallway towards the elevator. She was on her way to get groceries to fill her empty fridge. As the elevator opened its doors and she stepped in, she recalled the events that led up to where she was now…

Three days ago…

"We're home!" Miwa called out as soon as they stepped through the door. His mother was in the kitchen.

"It's about time!" She called out. She walked out of the kitchen, towards Miwa and swatted him.

"Ouch!"

"You had me worried, you left without even saying a word. Text me or leave a note or something!"

"Okay okay I'm sorry, but is hitting me really necessary?"

They continued to banter, but it was clear that they weren't really mad at each other. Soon the two found themselves laughing. December watched from behind. She was glad that Miwa had a good relationship with his mom, but her heart ached in jealousy, wishing she still had the same thing.

Kai, who was standing beside her, noticed how hurt she looked as she watched Miwa and his mother.

"Well, enough of that, dinner's ready. Kai, are you joining us?"

Before he could object Miwa hooked his arm around his own.

"If he wasn't he wouldn't have followed us home!" He smiled cheekily as Kai let out a sigh.

Soon all four were seated, warm food in front of them.

"Thanks for the food!"

They began eating. Today the meal was omurice. Miwa's mom even went to the trouble of decorating the top with cute faces with ketchup. December dug right in, not realizing how hungry she actually was.

There wasn't much talk at first; everyone was pretty hungry. But after everyone finished, some sweets and coffee were brought out and the conversation began. Kai sat quietly, while the others talked, December adding a few words every now and then.

"So, what exactly were you doing today?" Miwa's mom asked, curious about her son's whereabouts. "And why are your wrists all red? Are those chain markings?"

He looked at his wrists and let out a sheepish laugh.

"Haha, well..."

Luckily, a muffled tune interrupted him. It was December's phone. She took it out of her pocket to see who it was.

Yuki Kamiya

"Excuse me."

She stood up and left the table. She rounded a corner and pressed the green button on her screen.

"Hello, Yuki."

"Hi, Snowflake!"

She sighed. Her aunt gave her that nickname back when she was a baby, and she hadn't stopped calling her that since. She claimed it was because it could mean precious one in Japanese, but December was fully convinced that she was obsessed with winter related things. If her cousin's names were anything to go off of, Kumo and Fuyu, she had a problem.

"What's up?"

"Oh not much, Chicago is as busy as ever, but I wish you were here. Oh, I video called Kumo and Fuyu the other day, they say hi!"

She nodded.

"So how are things at Haruka's?"

"Fine, I guess."

She could hear giggling from the other side of the line. "Well, at least I'm not hearing that you're bored out of your mind, right?"

"Yuki..." December grimaced.

"Okay, I'll stop."

"Good. So, has the project finished yet? When do you think you'll get in?"

There was a pause.

"Yuki?"

"Well...That's just it, I won't be able to get to Japan until next year. At the earliest."

"What?" December whispered harshly.

Her aunt had said she would be there by at least the end of the summer.

She lied.

"Snowflake I'm sorry."

She lowered the phone, trying to process the fact that her aunt would still be in Chicago until next year, possibly even longer. Waiting for her aunt to come was the only thing that was getting her through, but now, she would still be alone...

"Snowflake? Are you still there?"

She slowly raised the phone to her ear.

"The hell kind of project is this?" She whispered angrily, but her voice was shaky.

"Snowflake I'm-"

She hung up. Leaning against the wall, she stayed there for a while. She was angry with her aunt for not keeping her word, but also angry with herself.

I'm so pathetic. I know how important this project is to Yuki, I knew all along that it would probably take longer than she said it would, and yet... I'm being such a big baby about it.

She stood up and walked towards the stairs. She ran towards her room.


Meanwhile, the others were still at the table. They noticed December had been gone a while.

"Did she take the call to her room or something?" Miwa asked.

"I'm not sure... December? Sweetie, are you still there? December?" His mother stood up and started to walk to where she had seen December go.

Suddenly the home phone began ringing.

"I've got it!" Miwa walked over and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Oh hello Taishi, it's nice to hear from you again."

"Yuki Kamiya?"

"It's so nice that you remember me! Can I speak with your mother?"

He looked around just as his mother came back. "Uh, sure." He handed the receiver to her. "It's December's aunt."

She began talking to her in a hushed tone, taking the call away from the table. Meanwhile, Miwa tried to figure out what could have set December off.

What was that phone call about? Could that be why-?

Then he remembered December said something a while back about her aunt being in Chicago.

Oh yeah, she should be coming down soon.

"Yes, I understand. Oh don't worry Yuki, I'll explain everything to her, don't worry about a thing. Okay, bye dear."

She hung up. She held the receiver for a few seconds before softly placing it back down.

"That was Deca's aunt, right? Deca said she would be coming down soon."

Then he noticed his mother's saddened face.

"Actually..."

She explained what Yuki had told her and December.

"I see. That's too bad. So, I guess Deca will be staying with us for a while longer."

"Actually, she said that she could go to the apartment where they were originally going to live. She wanted to tell December that, but she hung up." She looked at the floor. "The poor dear, she must be so upset."

Miwa wasn't sure whether she was talking about December or Yuki, but either way, it really didn't matter. Neither of them would be very happy right now/

"Though if December doesn't want to go, she doesn't have to…"

"I'll go."

They turned around to see December. She looked quite worn out.

"Just... give me a day to clear my head…"

Man, today is just not her day. First the fight, and now this. I'd be fed up too if I was her.

"Deca, you don't have to go if you don't want to."

She shook her head. "I need to be able to take care of myself. I can't keep relying on other people."

She paused.

"...Someone isn't always going to be there when I fall."

Kai was surprised to hear his own advice.

"Well, I guess there's no stopping you. Need help getting packed?"

She closed her eyes, her head slightly tilted towards the ground. "I don't need any..."

Miwa began chuckling.

"Don't worry, we'll all lend a hand." He turned to the brunet still sitting at the table. "Right?"

He caught Kai in the middle of eating a macaron. He looked away, pushing the remaining half into his mouth.

"Fine."

December titled her head in awe. The fact that Kai even considered helping her was mind baffling. Maybe he felt somewhat responsible for what happened that afternoon.

Well, he should feel responsible, dragging me and Taishi into such a dangerous situation. I'm glad he feels guilty.

But she didn't fully believe herself.

"Well your things aren't going to put away themselves, let's get started!"

So everyone filed into December room and began putting things away into her suitcases and bags, and pretty soon the room was empty and clean, back to the way it used to be.

"Wow, I forgot what this place looked like without everything in it," Miwa commented. He almost sounded disappointed. He turned to her. "Well Deca, I'm gonna miss you bunking up here."

She was also going to miss him, but she turned away and crossed her arms.

"Don't act like I'm leaving the country, it's just a few blocks away, you can visits whenever you want." A subtle blush formed on her cheeks. Miwa smiled.

"Aww, you want me to visit?" He wrapped his arm around her, causing her to blush more.

"M-Miwa!"

His mom swatted him again.

"Ow!"

"You need to learn the meaning of personal space young man!"

He laughed sheepishly. Kai sighed.

"Are we done?"

"Why, got somewhere to be?" December asked sarcastically.

"Actually, yes."

"It's alright Kai, we've got it from here. You can go now," Miwa's mom said.

He left without another word.

"Jeez, you'd think he'd at least say goodbye," Miwa said.

"Please, he never even gave me a proper greeting. I'm not surprised at this point." December crossed her arms.


Soon after, everyone went to bed. The next day was uneventful, and soon night came again. December couldn't sleep, which wasn't any different from most nights. What was different was the reason she couldn't sleep. She kept replaying the events that happened the day before, everything from the fight to packing up. She looked over at her belongings, placed neatly beside her bed.

Tonight will be my last night here. Starting tomorrow I'll be living by myself

She sighed, rolling onto her other side. She looked through the window, staring at the sky. It was a bit cloudy, bits of the moon peeking through. She sat up, knowing she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon and walked over to the window. She opened it, feeling the cool breeze pass her by. She closed her eyes as she felt her hair being blown back and forth, softly swaying. When it died down, she looked back up at the moon, which could be seen now, as the clouds had parted. Tonight was a full moon, and it glowed brightly against the deep blue sky and the scatter of stars.

Yuki... She'll be looking at this same moon, won't she?

She gripped the edge of the window.

I promise Yuki... I won't disappoint you when you do get here! I'll become a niece you can be proud of!

Suddenly she let out a loud yawn, which was odd. Maybe because of all the things that happened, it was all catching up to her. She closed her window, and for the first time in a long time, she had a good night's sleep.

The next morning, Miwa and his mother escorted her to the apartment building. They said their goodbyes and she met with the landlord, who gave her the key and showed her to her new room. She didn't leave the entire day.

Back to the present...

December had made her way to the grocery store just a few blocks down. She grabbed a basket and began selecting a few items, bread, juice, lettuce, milk, a few treats for later. She also got some shampoo and conditioner, as well as a new toothbrush and some toothpaste. After she paid for everything she went back home. Her mind was in deep thought.

Okay, so I've got enough food for the rest of the week, and I got some detergent so I can wash some clothes. I think Yuki said she'd deal with the payments. And there's that report I have to work on at some point. Jeez, there's a lot more I need to think about.

She got out her key and opened the front door, but once she entered the front hallway she was rammed into. Her bags spilled onto the floor around her. She winced in pain from falling so suddenly.

"Ouch! Hey, watch where you're-" she laid eyes on the boy in front of her and went into shock.

No way.

"Oh, I'm so sorry- December? What are you doing here?"

He reached his left hand out. She grabbed it.

"I uh- I live here now."

He began picking up some of the items that had fallen out of her bag.

"So you're the new tenant! I heard there was someone new in the building, I never imagined it'd be you!"

She gathered up the rest of her things, taking the rest from Daiki.

"You heard already? But I just got here yesterday."

He laughed sheepishly. "Well, I may have asked my mother about it. She's the landlord."

"I see."

"This is going to be so much fun..."

She did a double take. The way he was talking now, it sounded like-

"I can invite you over for tea sometime!" He beamed.

For a second, she swore he was acting like he did back at regionals, but he seemed completely normal. But that was exactly what happened back then as well!

"Um, is something the matter?"

She snapped out of her thoughts. She had been staring at him with a bothered look.

"Uh-sorry. Yeah, that sounds fine."

They parted ways as December stepped into the elevator. The door closed and rode up to her floor. She leaned against the wall, bags in hand, and looked up at the ceiling. Something was up...


(Disclaimer: I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard or its characters. All I own are my OCs. Credit goes to Bushiroad)