Chapter 29: All Good Things Come To An End

13wolfsbane: I'm sorry that this is out really, really, really late, but in all honesty, I was trying to avoid finishing it. It hit just a little too close to home in a way. Well, please enjoy, and if it doesn't make sense, I apologize.

~x~

I was always so sure that I was going to be alone for the rest of my life. That no one would understand how I felt, or would they even try. Then one day I met Yin, and through our dads we became close friends, best friends. It's funny, I've never expected things to turn out the way it did for us, and before I knew it I was starting to like her... a lot. We have been inseparable since that day in the park.

~x~

Koji had waited up near the front of the building, watching parents come and go with their children. The self-defense class was partially empty, only a few remaining number of students still waiting for their ride or simply just hanging out for a while. The clock near the entrance had read three-forty.

He had been waiting for Yuki and Yin to come. His father had to work late today and wouldn't be home until around eight probably. Usually when this happened his step-mother, Satomi, would be the one to pick him up. Sadly (and thankfully at the same time) Satomi had a few errands she needed to get done so he was left without a ride home. This has occurred only a few times when one wasn't available. Well, no big. It's not like he wasn't used to it.

"Koji!"

The raven haired boy jumped barely an inch when he heard her call out his name. Koji turns around, seeing a mixture of blurs in front of his eyes, and there was what felt like a pair of small arms snaking around him. His face began to heat up to a light shade of pink with hers so close to his. A little too close, He thought nervously. And you'd think he be used to those sneak attack hugs of hers by now.

"Yin," the boy started with the girls' name. "Um... d-do you mind?"

She blinked twice and smiled shyly at him before breaking away, the warmth she left already dissipated to the cool air in the room. She giggled such a sweet and innocent laugh, her little hands straightening her yellow sunflower dress before connecting them behind her back. "Heh, sorry."

Koji tried to look irritated, but failed to do so, smiling back at her. It seems that ever since these two become friends four months ago, Koji hasn't been as irritated and angry as he was once before. Maybe there was something about this new-found (and first) friendship with this girl? Or maybe it was an effect Yin had? Either way, it was changing him. A change that he didn't mind, for once.

He lets his free hand on top of her head, allowing it to make her hair into such a mess. Yin made a face at him. She said to him once that she hated it when people did that. Her father did it all the time, so it shouldn't be any different when he does it. Apparently Yuki is the only one to get away with it. Still, Koji found it cute when she's like this. Koji stifled a laugh from creeping out of his mouth when she tried fixing her hair back.

"It's not funny," she said, puffing air into her cheek, causing the sides of her face to swell up like balloons. Koji explodes into laughter, he couldn't help it. It was hard for even him to keep a straight face if she was going to blow air in her cheeks like that.

He knew he shouldn't laugh, but what else could he do? Ow! His stomach was aching now. Koji hadn't laughed this hard since... well, ever! He rarely ever laughed so much as he has right now. Ow. Not again.

"Meanie!" The girl began to pout.

The historicalness began to die down finally. "Sorry, Yinni."

"Don't call me that." Yin really hated it when he called her by that nickname. Koji never knew why, but she just did. At least it was a lot better than the other one he gave her.

"Okay then, princess." He shrugs with a tired grin.

"Not that one either."

See? A lot better than that one.

Koji glanced around right and left of the girl, looking for someone who was missing from this small little pair hanging around the front. "Where's your dad?"

"Papa had to make a call to mama," she went down to a wall with pairs of different shoe sizes fit into small cubby holes. She grabbed hers out of the cubby, an identical pair of soft sun yellow and tiny ribbons attached to the sides. "He's taking us to the park again before going to my house."

The park. The same one their dads took them to? Could be, he only knew of one park near this street alone, and he doubt Yin knew any other than that one.

Thinking of that park reminded him of when they made that pinky promise on that one bench. He smiled. He considered it to be one of the actual best days he's had.

"I really want us to be friends for a long time, and I don't want anything to ever come between us."

Didn't want anything to come between us, huh? That would be nice, wouldn't it?

"Earth to Koji! You in there?"

Koji finally took notice to Yin waving her hand back and forth in front of his face, staring at him curiously.

This call was going to take a while, wasn't it?

~x~

Basically I spent the entire day with Yin and her dad at the park. It was fun, I actually had a good time with them, and so I had no complaints.

At some point on, Yin asked me about something I can't remember very well, something about a favorite story or something...? Anyways, somehow that subject led us to make another promise to each other (and don't ask how it was led to this, because even I don't know how.) I said that I wouldn't leave her side, that no matter what happened I would always be there for her. I guess I was promising to be her knight if you put it in other terms. ('The heck did I just say?)

Dad always said to me that I had a crush on Yin, and I would always deny it. Sure she was a girl, but she was also my first best friend. I didn't want to think about having any kind of feelings for her. Looking back at it now, I guess I did have crush on Yin, and I didn't even realize it then. We were so close and always together almost all the time. That feeling must have grown since that time in my life.

Months went by, seasons changing in its regular slow pace from the warmth of Summer to the freezing air of Winter; the once green leaves that had been filled with life began to change to shades of orange, yellow, and brown and whither to the snowy-white cold ground. The month of December has finally come, and on the seventeenth this month is when everything took their toll on everyone.

December 17... When all the good things came to an end.

~x~

It had already begun to snow down town that day. It was just about everywhere; on top of buildings, sidewalks, plants, trees, just about everywhere Koji could see. He and his parents had just finished shopping for today, making a little side trip on the way back home. The three had come to a halt at a crossroad, remaining still as long as the glare from the red light was shown.

Yin's birthday was just a day away, and Koji had already gotten her present hidden in his coat pocket; a necklace consisting with two layers of black strings and a clear crystal hanging at the bottom of the lower string. He saved up enough of his allowance to buy it; it was good timing that his parents need to buy some supplies for the surprise party tomorrow.

Koji could see it; the look on Yin's face when she and her mother enter their house covered in decorations, Koji, his parents and Yuki coming out of their hiding places yelling "Surprise," and then the cake and presents. The grown-ups planned the party out, while Koji had his own little plan on how to give the necklace he held to her. Probably when both of their parents are busy conversing with each other, he would give her her present neatly wrapped in a small baby blue box tied with a satin white ribbon along with an iris flower attached to it. Hopefully, it'll go well, Koji tried to reassure himself.

"Excited about tomorrow, Koji?" His father question him, bringing him out of his own world and back to the reality he lived in. Koji nodded and smiled, giving his father his silent answer. Kousei smiled in return, "I'll take it as a 'yes' then."

"I bet when Yin sees what you got her, she'll be thrilled to receive it," Satomi spoke to the young boy.

Yeah... Yeah, she probably will be thrilled. And he would be really happy to see her wear it.

A chilly wind breezed by them, causing Koji's body to shiver. It was cold today, a lot colder than what he'd expected it to be. The sky carried not a single ray of sunshine, blocked by the many clouds of tinted gray. Looked like a storm was brewing overhead. Hopefully the weather won't get too bad tomorrow.

"Koji, look over there." Satomi's hand landed on the left shoulder of the small boy, while her other gestured across from them. Koji glances over at the direction his step-mother pointed to in such a gleeful way, his countenance brightened from his usual solemn expressions. Yin and her mother, Mia, were just on the other side of the road, waiting for the lights to change to green as they were. What a coincidence that they would meet here. Or maybe their parents planned their meeting for the special occasion tomorrow?

Well coincidence or not, he was still glad to see her.

Yin and her mother hadn't noticed them yet, both conversing with each other to let time pass. Just mother and daughter together.

Hang on. Where's Yuki? He wasn't with the two females across from him. Maybe he had to work today, but he was given two days off to prepare for Yin's birthday, so he couldn't be. Maybe he was called in or something, he didn't know. It was just a little... weird to see the Ikumis without the father with them.

The sound of the younger Ikumi girl's voice brought him out of thought, Koji taking notice that she was looking towards his direction, smiling so brightly as she's always have. But she hadn't seen him; she wasn't smiling at him, waving her frail hand in the air. "Papa!"

Yuki? Here? But where was he? Koji didn't see the older man anywhere from the side opposing him, so maybe... As Koji looked around his side, he spot a man with black hair and eyes of dark shades of blue, with a smile as gentle as the wind and clear sky itself. Koji hadn't realized how close her father was near him until now. He wanted to speak up, to say hello- a word to him at least, but he didn't. Something prevented him from speaking; no words formed at the tip of his tongue, silence filled the cold air when he opened his mouth. Koji stood still staring at him, watching him as he was the only to move forward from the frozen crowd.

A noise, there was a booming noise loud as thunder, getting louder and closer by the second. The people surrounding him became frantic as shrieks went on. Koji didn't know what was going on, switching glances from right to left and lead back to the only man walking across the gray shaded road. I don't understand, what the heck is going on?

"Yuki," Kousei's voice began to boom with incredible fear trailing in it. "Watch out! Move!"

The noises began to blend in with each other, mixing words and shouts as loud screeching drew closer and closer and closer. "Koji," cried his father just before bent down to the young boy's level, blocking his view from the streets and his arms intertwined around him. Dad? What are you- What's the matter? What's going on? What about Yuki? What's happening? Questions filled the boys' mind at a rapid pace, trying his hardest to free himself from his father's grasps-

Then silence came, the screaming ceased to exist the moment Kousei dropped down to his son. Everything but his fathers' and his own heart beat became inaudible, their surroundings still as time itself had become. Koji didn't like this; something was wrong, very wrong. Why didn't his father move? What happened to Yuki? What was-

"PAPAAAAA!"

~x~

I was never able to give Yin that necklace. With everything that happened that day, I doubt that she would want it.

There were times that I went over to her house to comfort her, to make sure to give her what she needed in that time of mourning. She would be crawled up in a ball on her bed, a blank stare on her face as she looked at nothing; she saw nothing and responded to nothing. When I called her by her name or the nicknames I gave her, she did nothing. There wasn't anything I could do for her. She wasn't anything more than an empty shell of what was once herself.

It was about almost a week since Yuki died; my dad announced we were going to move again on the day of the funeral. Of course, I became mad at my father and refused to go anywhere away from Yin.

I refused and refused, making such a big fuss out of things until my dad change his mind. I even went to Satomi for back-up.

But whatever I did was in vain; dad needed to work to support us, and once a decision was chosen, there was no way in changing in his mind. It was selfish of me, I know that now, but I became attached to the home I lived in, created so many memories in it. I became attached to the life I had with the Ikumis, I had not one single intention of leaving all of this behind.

And the promise Yin and I made to each other.

It was the day of the funeral, the day that my family and I would leave our home for another and the people we knew. It was snowing that day as well.

Yin had gone missing after the burial, so I went looking for her. She was nowhere to be found with her mother or any of the grown-ups in the area. I found her crying into a tree little ways away from the funeral home, out of sight so not a single living soul would find her. It was the first time I had ever seen her cry.

~x~

The boy stood in his place watching over the weeping girl before him. Her wet face buried into her hands, a few hics muffled in her sad sobbing. He disliked seeing this, never had he seen Yin cry, and it was enough to wring his heart out.

"Why," she managed to utter out of her throat. "Why papa...? Why did it have to be...?" It was this reason that he didn't want to leave, at a time like this, seeing her in this form that wasn't really her, this was the reason he didn't want to leave. Leaving her alone was not what he promised.

Yin kept repeating why's over and over again followed by sad sobs. "Yin..." She twitched at her name, slowly turning towards his direction, tears streaming down blue orbs that watched him freeze. Sad, negative emotions played out, destroying any trace of positive emotions. The girl before him was different- no that wasn't it. Part of her was no longer there.

"Koji," The girl called his name timidly, as if it were the first time that the two of them had ever met before. "Koji… Papa is… Papa is…" More tears roll down her cheeks the more she spoke, raising her hands to her dampen face to wipe them off. A failed attempt, the tears wouldn't stop coming.

How was he supposed to tell her in the state she was in? How was he going to say that he was moving away from her, and probably won't be able to see each other again? How was he supposed to tell her something like that after the promise they made? At a time like this?

He was going to hate himself for doing this, but time was running out and he had to leave after the funeral service was done. "Yin, I can't keep my promise anymore." He felt like something had just grabbed his insides and twisted them all around when he spoke.

Confused at first, expressions changing as she questions the boy. "What do you mean by that? Koji, what are you talking about?"

"My dad…" How should he say it, without hurting Yin anymore she's already been through? "I'm moving away, Yin, to another house."

"You're leaving…?"

"Yeah." Koji hesitated on his answers; afraid of what will happen afterwards.

"But we'll still see and visit each other, right? Right Koji?"

The boy remained quiet, biting down on his lower lip from saying any more than he would have wanted to say.

"Why aren't you answering me? We will still-"

"We can't."

"But why…?"

"I'm moving away," Koji repeated, "somewhere far away. So far away that we can't see each other again."

"We… but…"

"I'm sorry, Yin, but its part of my dad's job and-"

"But you promised."

She didn't let him- no, she didn't allow him to finish his sentence. This tone, so suddenly changed from anguish to something he didn't recognize. What was it? And why was it coming from her?

Her hands formed a tight round shape, one he right away knew as a fist, trembling as it clenched tighter together until the knuckles turned white. "You promised you wouldn't leave my side, that you would never leave me alone or make me sad or cry. You promised that no matter what happens you'd never leave me alone."

Koji tried to get a good look at the girl's face before him, but her bangs shield any view, exposing only her quivering mouth. "Yin, you don't understa-"

"Shut up!" That was the first he'd heard her shout. Her bangs moved out of her eyes finally, which now flared at him in a familiar sight of what his used to look like.

Anger.

"You lied to me!"

This wasn't her.

"You promised and yet you lied to me!"

This wasn't the Yin he knew for the past few months.

"You lied about never leaving me!"

It couldn't be.

"Yin I didn't lie about anything, I would never lie or hurt you. I promised, didn't I?"

There was no way this was her.

"Liar! Liar! Stop lying! Just stop!"

She wasn't going to listen to him; she made it pretty clear as she shouts at him. She's wasn't going to give him a chance to explain himself properly, nor did he think he'll ever be able to now. His time was running really short. If she would just listen to him...

"I'm not lying!"

"Yes you are!"

It hurt. It really hurt. Her words were like carving knives being repeated stabbed into his heart. He was already feeling guilty doing this to her, but this just more weight to it. Koji didn't want to hurt her, but apparently he had already done it without him knowing.

Yin stop shouting, trying to wipe away the rest of salty tears that still streamed down her cheeks.

Koji began to move towards her, reluctantly stopping himself in his own tracks. He heard his father calling from afar. No not yet, he thought desperately, please not yet! "Yin-"

"Just go away."

"Yin-"

"Leave me alone," she cried out in tears this time. "I hate you Koji Minamoto! I hate you!"

She didn't mean it. Please, please tell me she didn't mean it, please! As much as I didn't like it, she probably did. He couldn't blame her. He hated himself for even doing this.

Koji's father called out once more, alerting the boy it was time to leave. Sadly, Koji turned his back to her and walked slowly away from her, holding back any possible tears that dared to sting and blur his vision. He wasn't going to look back; it would just make this situation worse than it was already.

"I'm sorry, Yin..."

~x~

That was the last thing I said to her before we left. I never got to say a proper goodbye to the remaining two Ikumis, nor did I give Yin her birthday present.

My family moved, our environments changing from one to another again. We went back to our regular cycle.

Within the week after the move I found that I was returning to my old angry self again, to someone who no one ever really understood. I wasn't able to make any more friends after that incident with Yin accusing me of lying to her, saying things that really hurt me if truth be told.

The next three years went by, and a couple of more moves from house to house, school to school, and... So on. As each day passed by, the times I have spent with Yin and her family started to fade away. One day I could hardly remember a certain day, and then I would remember nothing about it. This was probably because my family had no contact with the Ikumis within the years that I forgot all together. Heck, if you asked me where I have Yin's present, I wouldn't try to guess where it got lost in boxes.

...I guess this would also explain why when I saw Yin at the train station in Shinjuku I remembered nothing. Only until now in the Digital World at least.

But Yin still remembered everything in the past, even though she might have forgotten at some point as well.

"Earth to Koji. You in there?"

I must have been lost in my thoughts pretty deep, because I hadn't even notice Yin by my side. I take a glance at the others; they were still in that dream discussion Takuya brought up. Honestly, I was surprised; I must have been "gone" for about a good few minutes.

"Hey, you okay pretty boy?" Yin asked me with this worried expression masking her countenance. "You were out of it for a while."

My chest tightened with her familiar blue orbs watching me. Lately she's had that kind of effect on me. "Yeah, it's nothing."

It seemed like she was going to continue to pester on about it (if it's called pestering for this girl), but surprisingly stopped herself from doing so. With a sigh, she said "Well, if you say so, I guess."

Yin walked a little ahead of me to rejoin the group, leaving me to my thoughts once again. To think that the little girl I knew turned out to be the one helping us save this world. It was unbelievable.

Then again, this world is full of surprises, isn't it?

After all the things that have happened in this world (the good, bad, and ones that I don't even want to mention,) I've realized one thing. And to go back to being a total jackass for a moment, you'll have to find out in the future chapters, 'cause I'm not saying anything.