Hey, guys, first off, Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful for my family, friends, and all you wonderful readers who had stick with me for so long! (espeically since I stink at updating regularly... Again sorry for that!)

Speaking of which, I once again apologized for the late update... I was having a terrible writer's block for this chapter... But I decided to push it.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Prince of Tennis.

Daiki's Household

"Anata, we're home," Chiharu announced when she opened the door with her two daughters closely followed behind her.

"Oh, good, you guys are home. So how was your shopping trip?" Daiki asked as he greeted the rest of his family.

"It was okay," Chiharu casually shrugged her shoulders as she placed some bags on the floor before removing her shoes.

"Daddy, look what I brought today!" Kaede excitedly proclaimed as she pulled out a pink shirt with yellow pattern flowers. "Isn't it pretty? And it was on sale! So I got it for a steal!"

"It looks very beautiful, Kaede," Daiki smiled as he brushed against the clothes to feel its soft material. "What about you, Kotone? Did you get anything good?"

Instead of replying, Kotone simply tightened her face in annoyance. In her mind, the event at the hospital was still playing through her head over and over again. When her brain finally registered that her father just spoke to her, she faked a smile as she randomly pulled out a shirt, tossed toward her father, and stated, "Yeah, it was fine."

"Are you alright, Kotone?" Daiki asked in concern after he placed the shirt down on the floor. Although it is true, that Kotone was generally a quiet girl. However, this time she had the glare that could kill anyone just by looking at them.

"Yes, of course, I am," Kotone answered coldly.

"She's just all grumpy because that Miyuki person got all sassy on her," Kaede carelessly said before she felt a sharp pain at her side. "Ow, what? Kotone-nee-san?"

The only respond she received from her sister was a deadly glare.

"Oh, right," Kaede quickly realized her mistake and covered her mouth to stop her from adding anymore unnecessary details.

"You what?" Daiki asked in disbelief. "You went to see Miyuki? Why? I thought I told you to leave this alone!" Daiki shouted as he looked at Chiharu, expecting some sort of explanation from her.

"Why?" Chiharu asked in shock, as if that question is even needed an answer. "I'm not going to just sit around and watch my family get destroy! I'm the mother of this house! I'll do whatever it takes to protect it!"

"You…" Daiki simply waved his hands in frustration. He then grabbed his shoes from the cabinet and started to put them on.

"Anata, where are you going?" Chiharu asked, seeing him running away from the current situation.

"The hospital," he answered. "I'm going to set this right." He then grabbed the door handle and left the house.

"Daddy…"

Hospital

"Alright, Hayashi-san, everything looks great. You're improving greatly, just remember to do all those exercises that the doctor told you, alright?" The nurse said after reexamining her profile.

"Yes, of course," Miyuki nodded lightly.

"Just be glad that fall you took earlier didn't affect your legs too much," the nurse said in a relief tone. "Just gave you some new bruises."

"Yes, and I'm sorry about that," Miyuki lowered her head in shame. "I promise to be more careful in the future."

"Good," the nurse paused before continuing. "I bet you're excited to leave this afternoon, huh?" the nurse giggled, after reminiscing all the mornings she had spent with the injured girl.

"Yep," Miyuki grinned.

"Although, that does not mean you are able to skip your morning and night medicines," the nurse quickly added.

"Oh… okay…" Miyuki pouted, hoping the nurse had actually forgotten about her prescription drug. She was hoping to use that excuse, so her aunt would not make her take those daily medicines.

"You'll have to take it if you don't want to feel those pains," the nurse reminded the reason why one would even consider taking those medicine. "Besides, you won't even be able to taste it, Hayashi-san," the nurse smiled, reassuring the blonde girl.

"I know, but it's… it's just the swallowing part," Miyuki sighed, ashamed of her inability to accept anything related to the medical world.

"Everyone has to take medicine pills sometime in their lives," the nurse smiled. "Just be glad you don't have to get a shot or anything like that."

"Please don't," Miyuki hastily shook her head with a horrified look appearing on her face. "Don't even joke about that." The thought of a needle slowly dug into the said girl's skin, in a sharp, painful sting, was even to send shivers down her spines.

"I'm sorry," the nurse quickly apologized when she saw how deeply stressed Miyuki seemed.

"It's fine," Miyuki gave her a meek smile, still recovering from that horrible thought.

"Miyuki, you ready to go?" an energetic voice echoed through the room as the owner of the voice walked into the room.

"Marui-sempai," Miyuki greeted the newcomer.

"I'm sorry, but Hayashi-san was scheduled to leave this afternoon," the nurse revealed.

"What? I thought it's at two," Marui responded in a surprise tone. He didn't even return to the hotel, because he thought it would have been pointless to do so if he was to come back at two o'clock. Instead, Marui simply walked around the hospital, looking into the door windows whenever he heard some unusual sounds. Although by doing so, he often received some annoyed, dirty looks from the doctors and nurse who were busy tending their patience.

"No, she's scheduled for four o'clock," the nurse said as she walked over to the clipboard at the edge of the bed to double-check. "Although…" the nurse said, as her voice starting to trail off with her trying to think of her very next words. "I'm sure releasing her two hours early wouldn't kill anyone. I'll ask," and with that, the nurse left the room.

"Um… Thank you," Marui raised his voice, hoping the nurse could still hear him even though she was already gone.

"That nurse is pretty straight-minded," Miyuki explained.

"I can see that," Marui laughed. "So how are you feeling?"

"Good," Miyuki let out a sigh. "My legs still kind of hurt from the fall, but the fall only left me with some bruises, so in a way, I'm blessed since I can still leave on schedule."

"That's not exactly what I meant," Marui said without his usual carefree face. "I meant how are you dealing with the situation about your dad?"

"Oh, that," Miyuki paused. "After you left, I started to think. I do want to honor my mom's dying wish, but at the same time, seeing his new family and how much dedication and love he put into that family, burns a whole in my heart. I would say let time decides, but who knows when I'll ever see him again."

"So you are going to forgive him," Marui said in amazement at the girl's strength to forgive her father's sin.

"That's not exactly it either," Miyuki slowly shook her head. "I realized it's easy to just say 'I forgive him' when the person is not even here. I thought I could forgive him, but when I saw him, the only thought that came into my mind was 'You were the reason why mom is dead. It's all because you left us.' So I can't guarantee I will be able to forgive him. Guess we'll know if I see him again. Until then, I'm not going to focus on that. I mean the only thing I could do is maybe think of some good qualities of him."

"Like what?"

"I have no idea," Miyuki laughed. "I mean I thought he was dead for almost ten years, and when I did find out that he's alive; I learned he cheated on my mom. So, so far, I got nothing."

"Great start," Marui joked.

"Thanks, I know."

"Great news, Hayashi-san," the nurse claimed as she opened the door. "I asked your doctor and he said it's perfectly fine for you to be released now. He already did all the check-ups on you, so you're free as a bird!"

"That's fantastic!" Miyuki clapped her hands together.

"That's great for you, Miyuki," Marui congratulated.

"Yeah."

First Floor – Hospital

After learning about her early release, Marui helped Miyuki take anything that is hers, such as the plant Yukimura brought her and the deck of cards she received from Zaizen. After placing these items on the back of her wheelchairs, Marui push Miyuki to the first floor to get her check-out.

"Miyuki," a husky voice called after them, causing Marui stopped and turned the wheelchair in a 180 degree spin.

"Dad…" Miyuki slowly responded, along with a deep sigh. As if by natural instinct, Marui immediately stepped in between Miyuki and her father to protect the girl from any possible further harm the man could do to her.

"Anata, wait!" Chiharu cried as she hastily chased down her husband. The whole room was filled with the sound of her heels hitting against the hard, cold cement floor. When she finally had reached him, Chiharu breathed heavily, trying to regain her breathes.

"Great, she's here as well," Miyuki quietly stated, as those words were only meant for her to hear. "Where're the rest of them…?"

"Hey! Watch it!" Chiharu warned, either she heard Miyuki's words or just by simply glancing at Miyuki's disgusted face.

"Chiharu, stop," Daiki calmly said as he took Chiharu's hand and squeezed it lightly as to tell her, 'It's okay.'

"Alright, fine," Chiharu took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Just make this quick, being here disgusts me."

"Miyuki, we need to talk," Daiki finally stated.

"Why?" Miyuki questioned. "We already said all that we wanted last time." Soon after she said that, Miyuki guilty stared down against the floor, wishing she had the courage to face her own father.

"I thought we did…" Daiki sighed, knowing her current emotion all too well. "Until now…" He said while glaring at Chiharu for causing this consequence.

"I told you; I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect my family," Chiharu defended her reason.

"And I praise you for your effort," Miyuki sated. "But I already told you I don't need him back in my life. He never wants to stay with me to begin with, so why does it matter if you take that extra step?"

"Miyuki, that's not true!" Daiki quickly defended himself. "I didn't leave because of you! I left for…"

"Mom," Miyuki finished his sentence. "I know."

"Miyuki, I'm sorry for ever hurting you. If I could go back in time and change that one fact, I would," Daiki pleaded as he reached for his daughter's hand, but she quickly pulled herself away.

Before Miyuki made her decision of how to answer this, she gave a quickly glance at Chiharu to find her reaction toward his words. If glares could kill someone, Chiharu would now be considered a murderer for killing Daiki. "Don't make this worse than it already is. You don't have to say anything to pity me. I'm glad you didn't take me with you. Being with mom for those four short years was better than spending a lifetime with you."

"Miyuki…"

"Either way, I don't' need you in my life. Not now, not ever, but…" Miyuki continued after taking a long deep breathe. "Mom… Her wish… In her letter, she only wants me to have the heart and strength to forgive you. It is true that I am not involved in this. You say it; even mom wrote that in her letter. But you know what, that doesn't mean I have the heart to forgive you. And I'm okay with that. Why bother forcing myself into doing something I'm currently not capable of? Yes, it's truth; I don't need you in my life. But that doesn't mean I won't ever forgive you. So be happy with that new family of yours, I've accepted that fact now."

"Miyuki…" Daiki was left speechless by his daughter's conclusion toward the current position.

"That's great to know," Chiharu sarcastically said. "Let's go now, anata. You heard the girl; she doesn't want to see us anymore."

"Be happy with them," Miyuki reminded her father. "That's what mom wants and… me. In return, you don't have to worry about me anymore. Just believe in your mind that I have forgiven you, because one day I definitely will. Goodbye." She then started to roll the wheelchair toward the automatic door, before Marui got her cue and helped her push her wheelchair.

"Marui-sempai," Miyuki suddenly stated after they gained quite a distance from the hospital.

"What is it?"

"Do you know why I forgave you for what you did at the carnival?"

"Um, no," Marui slowly replied, feeling as if he was stepping on fragile glass once again. He was hoping this issue would never resurfaced, but if there was some way this guilty feeling could be lifted from him, he would be happy to try it.

"It's because you're a dear friend," Miyuki revealed. "There's no such a thing as a perfect friend. Everyone makes mistake, but what makes a true friend is to forgive that mistake and help them through it. So, thank you, Marui-sempai."

"Wait, for what?" Marui asked in surprise in how this suddenly turned into her gratitude toward him.

"For giving me the strength to face this situation and helping me dealing with this," Miyuki smiled. "I'm really glad to have met you."

"Um… me too…"

Miyuki then slowly raised her head to stare at the clear blue sky. "Yeah, I'll be okay."

As you guys can see, this is the last chapter for the story! Thank you guys so much for sticking with the story for so long! And please, please, don't think I am abandoning this story, I just don't know how/what to continue this story with. But I do have in mind a spin-off for the story, so when it is released (soon, I hope, since I got so excited I wrote the first chapter already, haha *guilty laugh*), please check it out! Also the new story will be set in Osaka, so Miyuki's answer to Komatsu is, "Yes."

For everyone who's going to the Black Friday sale, please be safe! And I hope you'll all get what you want and get GREAT steal!