We're a bit behind schedule for Sincerely since Miyavilurver went out of town last week, but there will be a new Sincerely chapter next week as usual! There will also be another UNT chapter this week, since this one is short, so look forward to it! ;)

Yukio stared down at the screen of his phone. He'd registered Ren-kun's phone number into it and it was now sitting there innocently on the screen. The paper that Rin had given to him earlier was now crumpled in the trash since he had what he needed.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, placing his phone down on the sheets beside him. This was more stressful than he thought. The day before, after dealing with the disaster in Shiemi's garden, his thoughts had circled around Ren-kun and they had only been magnified by the small outburst during class from his friend… Or was it former friend now? Yukio picked up the phone again and stared at the small "delete" underneath the contact number. Would that be the best choice? Should he give up?

"When you have a fight with your friend, the best thing to do is to talk about it, right? So here! Call him and ask him to hang out or something! Don't keep anymore secrets!"

Right… It seemed like the most logical thing to do. But every time his finger got close to the call button, he remembered the cold and sharp tone that had not only surprised him but also stabbed him. He… wanted to get along with Ren-kun. He wanted to be his friend like before. But, at this point, would Ren-kun want to?

There was only one way to find out…

Yukio swallowed, steeled himself, and pressed the call button.

"Hello?"

When the call connected, Renzou's tone was light and free of the veiled hostility he'd shown earlier today. For a second, the nerves in Yukio's chest loosened. Then, Renzou said, "Who's this?"

Yukio opened his mouth but no voice came out. He cleared his throat. "Ren-kun, it's me, Yukio. I got your number from Nii-san. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"…Yukio." Renzou's voice sounded surprised. The line went quiet for a long moment save for the quiet breath that he took. When the older teen spoke again, his tone remained quiet and became neutral. "Actually, I am a little busy right now. Did ya need somethin'?"

"Oh." Yukio suddenly felt caught off-guard. His feet bounced on his toes nervously as he gripped the fabric of his pants, but he maintained an even tone. "Well then, I'll make this brief. I feel as though we have much to discuss regarding our friendship and these past couple days and I was hoping I could meet with you tomorrow and we can talk and possibly work things out."

"…Work things out?" The silence that followed those words was heavy, broken only by a quiet, humorless snort. Renzou's voice lacked its usual warmth when he spoke next. "What exactly do ya wanna work out between us?" he asked.

Yukio's chest tightened and he was reminded of the cold tone Renzou had had towards him in class. Still, he persevered. "I'm sure you're aware of the difficulties we've been having. So…" He swallowed. "Please, let's talk about this face to face. You're a dear friend to me and we should clear the air."

"I think things are pretty clear between you and me already," Renzou muttered. "There's no point in talkin' anythin' over. And anyway, ya don't have to explain anythin' to me. I get it, okay?"

Get it? Yukio furrowed his brow. Get what? What was he talking about? But there wasn't much time to ponder over it as Renzou continued to speak.

"Look, I gotta go. I'm sorry for makin' things difficult for ya during class today. I won't do it again, so don't worry."

"Wait, Ren-kun." The words came out of his mouth before he really knew what he wanted to say. Yukio sighed, stress running high. He pulled off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Ren-kun," he repeated with a calmer tone. "Please, if you could allow me this courtesy of explaining myself…"

"Ya don't owe me anythin', Yukio. Seriously. It's fine," Renzou repeated. "And I gotta go, so… I guess I'll see ya around."

The line cut and Yukio pulled the phone from his ear in time to see the blurry call end screen. He felt defeat settle deeply in his stomach like a cold metal weight. He gripped the phone and his lips pursed together. Was this how it was going to end?

He thought of his brother, how Nii-san was always hanging off Ryuuji-kun's elbow and smiling with his friends… and Ren-kun as well. He felt a conditioned and heated jealousy rush through his veins. Rin was always better than him at these things. If he was as good as his older brother, he surely wouldn't have lost Ren-kun in the first place.

Was this really how it was going to end?

… Yukio couldn't give up. That's not what Nii-san would do. That's right, Nii-san would push through right up until there was nothing left to push. Yukio put his glasses back on. There was no sense in trying again tonight. He would have to let the tensions die down a bit… Perhaps he'd give it a couple days before he tried again.