At long last, the end of term arrived. Since Shiro and Konata were chatting with a tiny first year Ravenclaw that had taken quite a liking to the male prefect and wanted to meet his girlfriend, Blaze took the opportunity to properly say good-bye to Satoshi. She found him having an animated discussion with his friends, though he silenced himself midsentence at the sight of her. He put one finger up, said what looked like "One sec," and trotted toward his girlfriend.

Beaming, Blaze stood on her toes to give Satoshi a kiss; however, he took a half-step backwards. This one little action immediately sent up alarms and red flags: Satoshi NEVER refused kisses. "Blaze… We gotta talk." Those are never good words, Blaze thought, her heart giving an icy shudder inside her chest. Throat feeling abruptly tight, she just waited for Satoshi to continue. He sighed. "Look… I've been contemplating that talk about the future I had with my dad. I… I want to get a career in the Quidditch league, and focus on that. Even if that's too much to ask for, I don't want my main focus in my graduated life to be a romance, and with you still being at school for two more years… It's true that you're the first person I knew I was in love with, so don't think you're not special to me, but the first person I thought I loved… That was Catherin Lumbach. And in all honesty, whenever I picture my wedding… The blonde under the veil is her." To Blaze's disgust, he blushed at these words.

"So, you're breaking up with me… Because of her?" Blaze didn't mean for this bitterly spoken comment to leave her mouth, but her mind didn't seem to wish for it to stay inaudible.

"No! I-I just… Were you and me good together? Oh hell yeah. Were we meant for each other? …Absolutely not." Satoshi stared at the ground, then suddenly shot his gaze up to face her. "But if it's alright with you, I'd still want to stay friendly."

"Yeah…" Blaze gave a small nod. "Yeah, of course."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Satoshi's face. "Then I guess I'll see you later… Buddy."

"Uh huh…" Blaze responded softly. Satoshi leaned in to give her a farewell kiss, but quickly thought against it and instead opened his arms for a hug. Even that, though, he deemed wrong, so in the end the now ex-couple shared a rather awkward handshake.

"And Blaze… Ask Shiro if you can talk to my old man sometimes. It'll do you good," Satoshi instructed suddenly. Before Blaze could react, he sprinted off to rejoin Lee Jordan and Jeffrey. With a shaky sigh, Blaze retreated to the train in a daze. So this is what it feels like to be heartbroken, she thought miserably. However, she halted as she sluggishly slid open the door to an empty compartment: Why, then, am I feeling so little pain? She asked herself silently.

"What! Blimey, Blaze, that's awful!" Konata gasped. The girls were now back at Konata's home and scanning over the Daily Prophet as Blaze told Konata about her breakup. It was funny, really, how the same story could be recited so differently: on the Muggle news, mysterious hurricanes and a collapsing bridge were discussed. In the Daily Prophet, the same event was described as Death Eater attacks.

"No, it's not that bad. I knew we wouldn't last… I should be grateful we lasted as long as we did. And he did let me off pretty easy." Biting her lip lightly, she closed her paper. Now would be the perfect moment… "Konata… I gotta tell you something."

Konata sat up a little straighter, averting her full attention to her blonde companion. "Tell away, I'm all ears."

With a small gulp, Blaze said in a leisurely voice: "I don't think I was ever… TRULY in love with Satoshi. I did have a crush on him, yes, but I'm not positive it was… completely legitimate. You see…" She shifted uncomfortably, lowering her voice a level. "I knew Shiro was off limits, so I guess my conscience told me that, I'd be better off, with… his brother."

It was terribly silent for a few moments as Konata stared at her blankly. "So you're saying… You've been in love with, Shiro this whole time? Oh Merlin, Blaze, I-I don't know what to say… How long…?"

Blaze gave a half-hearted dismissive gesture with her hand. "Don't worry about it… I think it started way back in year one, before I even THOUGHT about crushes. The more I acknowledged my affection for him, the more I suppose I shot it down… I mean, you and Shiro were made for each other. I wouldn't be surprised, nor would I be disappointed, if you two end up married."

A light blush swept across Konata's cheeks. "Y-you mean that? Because, if you do still like him, I'll end us on the spot… I'd hate for you to suffer…"

Blaze shook her head, offering a half smile. "No, Konata, I mean it. The only thing I'd want to change between the love you guys share would be that you snog less in public."

Konata gave a feeble chuckle. "Yeah, we need to work on that… And, if you want, I'll keep this a secret from Shiro."

"Yeah, that'd be appreciated…. In fact, let's never speak of this again. I just… felt like I needed to get it off of my chest, you know?" After Konata nodded, Blaze stood up with a stretch. "I'm going to go send a letter," she indicated, and she headed off to her room.

Little did Konata know that said letter would be heading to Malfoy Manor, or that the correspondence would continue until the start of the next term. She was also unaware that every time Blaze said she'd be "going out" over the course of the remainder of the summer, she was meeting up with the recipient of the letters. In case it wasn't clear enough… Blaze was having ongoing association with none other than Draco Malfoy: the likely reason breaking up with Satoshi and admitting her previous forbidden feelings for Shiro were basically painless.