XXXVII. Sacrifices

'I want to see him. I can't wait to see him.'

That's the only thought that kept repeating in her mind as she breathlessly ran the remaining distance that separated her from his hospital room. The take-out meal that she was carrying in her right hand precariously swung left and right, next to her fast-moving legs.

She brought yakiniku with her—Kirihara's favorite.

Actually, Ryoma had ended up paying for the take-out meal since she didn't have any money with her. The prince didn't complain but he didn't seem too happy with the idea either. It's not that he was stingy with money. She suspected that it had to do with something else that he didn't want to mention to her.

'Just one more corridor!'

She turned the corner of a hallway and was greeted by the sight of Sanada and a nurse at its far end. They were standing in front of Akaya's room and appeared to be talking about something serious. Sakuno paused when she was about two feet away from them. Only then did she begin to hear the loud bangs and muffled shouts that were coming from inside the room.

The Rikkai fukubuchou glanced up at Sakuno. He said a word to the nurse and then dismissed her. With a polite bow, the nurse walked away to give the two some privacy.

"Ano…is everything okay?" was Sakuno's unsure question to Sanada as she sent a worried glance at the closed door that was barring her from the junior ace. She heard more curious noises coming from inside the room.

Sanada didn't get a chance to answer the brunette's question right away because at that moment, Ryoma also appeared from the same corner Sakuno just came from. Unlike the brunette, however, he didn't seem to be out of breath and actually took the leisure to walk the remaining steps towards Sakuno and Sanada. The fukubuchou acknowledged Ryoma's presence with a single nod before he turned to answer the brunette's question.

"Akaya's being his stubborn self again. He keeps demanding to be released when his current, weak condition requires him to stay in bed for a few more days of recovery. He's currently throwing a fuss over the fact that we won't let him go and see you."

Sakuno heard the fukubuchou let out a tired sigh before he continued.

"The nurses could've tranquilized him, but seeing as he just miraculously woke up from what they thought would be a lifetime coma, they didn't want to risk the chance of putting him back to a state of extended sleep. It was difficult since he won't listen to anything we say. We finally decided that, perhaps, you're the person who might be able to calm him down and talk some sense into him."

Sanada looked away from the girl and also sent a glance at Kirihara's closed door. "I have to return to Atobe's mansion now since we have other urgent businesses to attend to. Renji is inside the room if you need any help. But otherwise, I'll leave the rest to you."

It was amazing how Sanada was easily able to entrust his kouhai's well-being to this fragile-looking girl in front of him. He was surprised with that fact himself. But, of course, after all the sacrifices she made on that night she saved Akaya, he didn't need any further proof.

With this girl, his kouhai is definitely in good hands.

The fukubuchou cleared his throat before he suddenly turned his attention to Ryoma. "By the way, Fuji wanted you to call him as soon as you have free time. He wanted to discuss the progress of your investigation."

Ryoma stared back at him with his apathetic eyes before he sent Sanada a nod.

Satisfied with the simple reply, the fukubuchou looked back at Sakuno in order to bid her goodbye. He found that the girl was somewhat fidgeting in impatience. She must really want to see Kirihara too.

"Ano…" she started timidly. "May I see Akaya-kun now?"

Sanada's face remained stoic, though he had to fight the urge to smirk in amusement. Luckily, he had a lot of self-control.

"Please do," the fukubuchou finally said as he watched the girl hurriedly open the door to the junior ace's room.

"Damn it!"

Clink. Clink.

"Damn it…!"

Clink. Clink. Clink.

"I'll break everything in this room if you don't release me, Yanagi-senpai!" Akaya shouted as he forcefully tried to escape from a handcuff that linked his right arm to the bed rail. As he had absolutely refused to continue wearing the ridiculous patient gown that the hospital mandated, he now wore a simple white shirt and grey pajamas in its place instead. Bandages still adorned his forehead and his arms—evidences of the hellish experience the boy had just gone through. On his lower left cheek was also a square-like bandage. He looked like he had relived his injuries back in the Nationals tournament three years earlier.

Sanada and Yanagi resorted to handcuffing him to the bed because the junior ace had tried to escape his room every chance he got. Once, he even tried to jump down his window.

"I'm a patient, not a prisoner!"

Yanagi calmly sipped his tea. He sat on a chair in the corner of the room. On his lap was a notebook, in which he was writing data from recent events. The rattle of metal hitting metal continued to fill the room as Kirihara desperately tried to pry the handcuff off of him. The data man sent a glance at the struggling boy.

"We talked about this 27 times, Akaya. You didn't listen to a single word we said in those 27 conversations."

Kirihara growled and sent his senpai a glare. "And how many times do I have to tell you guys that I'm perfectly fine? I just need to go and see Sa-chan, damn it! Can't you understand that?" He struggled again, starting to bruise his skin from the metal cuffs. When he had no luck, he resorted to punching the wall in frustration.

"Damn it…Damn it…Damn it!"

"Stop that, Akaya."

Kirihara didn't listen and continued his assault. The loud bangs of his fist hitting the wall sent a sickening feeling to Yanagi's stomach.

"Akaya."

Little dents and cracks started appearing on the wall as Kirihara mercilessly attacked it.

"Akaya!"

"Then let me see Sa-chan!" the junior ace roared back.

Yanagi didn't reply.

"I frigging want to see-"

The sudden sound of a door opening interrupted Kirihara. It seemed as if time froze inside the room as he slowly glanced towards the door.

Furious emerald eyes met anxious brown ones.

And almost instantly, his eyes softened at the sight of the girl.

"Sa- Sa-chan…"

The sound of his voice triggered a tightening inside Sakuno's chest that she couldn't really explain. Her body responded to the clench by instinctively rushing towards the boy, opening her arms in the process, in order to envelop him in a warm hug. Her arms landed around his waist with her face pressed against his chest. She clung to him as if her life depended on it.

"You woke up…" Sakuno softly mumbled to his chest. She tightened her hug on him, afraid that he would suddenly disappear if she released him. "…Thank God, you woke up."

Up until then… up until then, the brunette hasn't realized how much she had missed the junior ace. His goofy smiles, his comforting laughs, his silly stories, his warm personality…she had missed everything about him.

She tried so hard not to let her thoughts wander over to his condition since she had been frightened out of her wits that he wouldn't wake up from his comatose state. She had been frightened by the thought of losing him forever.

Kirihara stood stupefied and simply allowed the girl to hug him. It was as if the boy couldn't believe that Sakuno was actually in front of him and hugging him with such intensity. She had never showered her affections on him like that. Sure, she had always showed him kindness, but not like she was showing him right now. She was holding onto him as if he was the most important person in the world to her.

Against his own will, hope suddenly soared within his chest.

Is it possible that she also…? It couldn't be, right? There's no way.

His eyes fluttered close as his body relaxed against her warm hug. Using his other hand that wasn't bound to the bed rail, he began to return her embrace in a gentle one-armed hug. He pulled her closer to him.

'Screw it,' he finally thought as he allowed himself to enjoy the warmth of her body pressed against his.

'Screw everything.'

Yes, forget everything. Because right now…

Right now, the thing he wanted the most…

"Ne, Sa-chan…" he randomly blurted out, earning a muffled "hmmm?" from the brunette.

A few seconds passed before he continued. Sakuno waited patiently. Though nothing in their current situation could've prepared her for what he was about to say next.

"…"

"…"

"Did you lose weight?"

Kirihara heard a stifled sound from his chest, which sounded like a muffled laugh, and he knew that he got what he wanted.

When the girl in his arms pulled her head back and finally gave him the honor to see her face, a grateful teary smile greeted his emerald eyes.

Yes, the thing that he wanted the most was to see her smile.

"Mou, Akaya-kun," she muttered, trying hard to sound frustrated but failing horribly at it.

Kirihara hasn't changed a bit. Not at all. But she didn't want him any other way. The brunette bit her lower lip before she rested her face on his chest, hugging him once again.

"I missed you."

Her words sounded so genuine—so sincere that Kirihara instantly knew that she truly meant them. For the first time since he woke up in that darn hospital, a real smile graced his lips.

Enjoying the feeling of the girl in his arms, he momentarily forgot about everything around him. Indeed, he had forgotten the outside world that he wasn't prepared for what he saw when he looked over the girl's shoulder and his eyes focused on the door.

Emerald eyes immediately clashed against smoldering, dark yellow ones.

The junior ace didn't know how long Ryoma had been standing there and observing them, but based on the prince's semi-hostile glare, Kirihara knew that he had seen enough. The look Ryoma sent him made the junior ace suddenly feel like he had been caught trespassing on some sort of private property.

And he didn't like that, he didn't like that one bit.

Whoever said she was his to begin with? He had so many chances with her, and he blew it every single time. If it was him, he would never hurt Sa-chan like that, he would never make her cry like that…

Then as if to challenge the silent threat that the prince sent him, Kirihara uttered his next words slowly and loud enough for Ryoma to hear.

"I missed you too, Sa-chan."

The junior ace felt satisfied when he saw an almost invisible shift in Ryoma's eyes. He didn't fight the urge to smirk, which infuriated the prince even more.

Yanagi, who had noticed the charged atmosphere between the two, decided to break it off before they actually start to literally pummel each other. He loudly cleared his throat, the sound effectively distracting the two from their staring competition.

The data man stood up from his seat and paused. He realized that his next words might come off as a bit unfair to one of the boys. But what the heck? It's only natural for him to be biased. After all, Kirihara is his kouhai.

"Perhaps, it'll be wise to give you two a moment of privacy," Yanagi proclaimed, sending a meaningful look at Ryoma. He was silently asking the prince to leave the room with him so Kirihara and Sakuno can have some time alone.

For a second, Ryoma looked like he was about to protest. But when he remembered how Sakuno had rushed into Kirihara's arms just moments ago, when he remembered how she had easily smiled and laughed for him…he couldn't find it in himself to say anything.

The prince then left the room.

Yanagi followed him immediately.

A seemingly innocent bomb sat in the middle of the table as the regulars crowded around it and looked at it like it was some sort of a laboratory specimen. It had been an hour since Niou's group had called the others to inform them that they had found what the riddle was referring to. They had brought back the bomb with them, along with the second riddle.

"He's playing us. He's clearly playing us like some sort of fools," Shishido exclaimed bitterly, not taking his eyes off the bomb.

When no one replied to his comment, he glanced around at the other players incredulously. "What? Don't tell me we're going to continue playing riddles with him! That's stupid!"

"Then what do you propose we do about the hostages he's blackmailing us with?" was the calm challenge that came from Oshitari.

"How do you even know solving these riddles can help us save them?" Shishido's voice thundered. He was obviously losing his patience again.

"We don't," Atobe answered in his authoritative voice. "But it's the only lead we have."

Shishido wasn't able to say anything that can refute that. None of them was able to.

"Be it as it may," Oishi spoke moments later, "What are we going to do if the bomb turns out to be activated next time? It's too dangerous." He sent a concerned glance around the room. The grim expressions on the others' faces told him that they had already considered that. They had all realized the gravity of the situation a long time ago.

"Sometimes, sacrifices are necessary to gain an advantage," Yukimura wisely uttered in his soft voice. His eyes held a grim resolution, as if he was prepared to face whatever lies ahead. As noble as his words sounded, they still produced an uncomfortable effect on the regulars' stomachs.

Sacrifices…

They didn't like the sound of that word.

"Ano, gomen if I wasn't here when you woke up. I really wanted to be, Akaya-kun, but…some things came up that kept me away for a while," Sakuno explained with regret in her voice. She was setting up the take-out meal on top of the table beside Kirihara's bed while the junior ace sat on the bed watching her. The poor yakiniku meal had been sloshed around and had messily mixed with the rice from all the movement it was put through when she was running towards the hospital.

She didn't hear a reply from the junior ace right away. As that was uncharacteristic of the usually talkative boy, she immediately turned to check on Kirihara, and noticed that he was staring at her clothes with suspicion in his eyes.

Realizing that he might ask about her outfit, Sakuno suddenly felt panicked. She didn't really feel like telling him the whole story at the moment since that would bring up a lot of awkward conversations. The brunette let out an inaudible sigh of relief when he snapped out of his dazed state and mentioned something else.

"You've really lost a lot of weight," he muttered again. Sakuno didn't know whether he recognized that she's wearing Ryoma's clothes or not. But even if Kirihara did, he chose not to bring it up.

"Is he feeding you?" the junior ace asked, looking away from her. A look of annoyance was suddenly on his face.

So perhaps he did recognize Ryoma's clothes. How could she even think that he wouldn't? She was wearing Ryoma's trademark hat, for pete's sake.

"Mou," she mumbled, choosing not to directly answer his question. "Do I look that terrible to you?" Sakuno frowned and the expression on her face made her look like a lost puppy.

Her tone alone already made Kirihara feel like he had just lashed out at that innocent puppy.

"Sa-chan, you know that it's not that! It's just…" His emerald eyes shook, showing her a mixture of intense emotions. The junior ace was never scared to express his emotions to her and Sakuno found that she liked that. Ryoma would never allow her to read him easily like Kirihara's allowing her to do at that moment.

"I wish I can take care of you too."

His words shook the girl a bit.

She stared at him, feeling the warmth of his words slowly spread in her chest.

"But as you can see," Kirihara continued as he tried to tug his right arm away from his handcuff. The metal links only tugged his hand right back towards the bed railing with a clunk. "I'm useless again."

"That's not true!" Sakuno frowned and approached him, stopping when she was directly in front of him on the bed. "Akaya-kun, you've always helped me. You've always been there for me when I needed help and I don't think you realize just how thankful I am to you for that. It's because of you that I-"

"You're leaving soon."

It was a statement, not a question. Her sudden silence and guilty expression answered his question for him.

"With that Echizen Ryoma?"

There was bitterness in his tone.

"We have to go to Kyoto to investigate more. Because right now, Kunimitsu-nii is…and I…everything's just really messy. So I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," she whispered to him.

Kirihara saw her angelic face crumple in agony and mentally cursed himself for even bringing up the topic. Though he doesn't remember most of the details about his captivity and what happened after that, his Sanada-fukubuchou and Yanagi-senpai had filled him in on what has happened. That was why he had wanted to desperately see her. He had wanted to see for himself that she was okay.

And now, he was screwing everything because of his selfishness.

"It's not your fault," the junior ace quickly amended. "Look, Sa-chan. I didn't mean anything. I was being a jerk." He looked into her anxious brown eyes, his own emerald ones softening in guilt. "I'm sorry, okay? I'll do anything to make you feel better. Heck, I'll even eat this slushie yakiniku meal you brought me to make it up to you!"

Sakuno blinked at his last words. "Slushie?"

Kirihara's boyish face broke into a grin. "It sure looks that way right now. Did you blend this before you came here?" he asked as he used his free hand to grab the chopsticks on the table and poke the contents of the take-out meal.

"Gomen, it spilled all over since I was in a hurry," Sakuno admitted in embarrassment.

"Nah, it's okay." Kirihara set down the chopsticks and focused his attention on her. "If it's from Sa-chan, then I'll gladly eat it." He smiled at her.

There was something about his gaze at that moment that made her suddenly nervous and she quickly averted her face somewhere else.

"But, there's a condition," Kirihara added.

She looked back just in time to see the mischievous grin get plastered on his face as his green eyes sparkled.

"Sa-chan will have to feed me."

"As expected from you, Echizen. You really have sharp eyes," Fuji complimented over the phone.

Ryoma was standing alone at the corridor right outside of Kirihara's room. Yanagi had muttered some excuse to go to the cafeteria some time ago, so he was able to find the perfect time to call the tensai and report their most recent discoveries. The prince found it comforting that his Fuji-senpai had agreed with him that it was worthwhile to check out the ancestral home of the Tezukas in Kyoto. However, the prince felt that it was pretty much useless. They already have Tezuka's motive for committing the murders.

"What good would it do though? We might just find more evidence of Tezuka-buchou's closeness to Kenji Yamamoto. And we've seen enough of that."

The prince leaned against the wall, trying his best not to think about what's going on inside the room where Sakuno and Kirihara were at—alone. It was becoming difficult for him to concentrate on his conversation with Fuji.

"Tell me, Echizen. Don't you find something odd?" Fuji prompted, his tone wondering.

"Odd about what?"

"Not a single one among the Seigaku regulars had been hurt or attacked so far."

That thought made Ryoma stiffen in alert. It was true. At least one player from the other teams had been assaulted by the murderer, yet not a single one among them had been attacked.

"Ryuzaki-chan was attacked because it was necessary. But what I find really interesting is that no matter how involved you got into her affairs, he hasn't made a move to attack you. Surely, he would've considered the possibility that whatever it was Ryuzaki-chan knows might also be common knowledge to you."

But doesn't that make it more believable that it was indeed Tezuka who had been committing the murders? After all, he is attached to his own team and that would explain his reluctance to attack any of them.

Before Ryoma could reply, Fuji continued, "If the ultimate motive behind all the killings is really revenge for what happened to Kenji Yamamoto fourteen years earlier, why is he taking out his frustration on our teams? The attacks on our generation seem too personal to be considered as general hatred for the tennis community."

Ryoma's eyes unconsciously narrowed at that logic. He understood what his senpai was getting at.

"There is another side to this story that we haven't discovered yet. And that is what I want you to try to find," Fuji finalized.

Silence temporarily stretched between the two as Ryoma allowed the tensai's words to sink in.

"We'll go to Kyoto then," Ryoma proclaimed after a while.

"That's more like you, Echizen," Fuji commented, obviously pleased with the prince's decision.

"However, be very careful. Even though it appears that he would be reluctant to attack you, he wouldn't hesitate a second to attack someone who is close to you. And based on his past actions, he's really good in zeroing in on the person who is most important to you. You can't afford to be distracted—not even for a second."

Ryoma felt himself stiffen again, his thoughts automatically going to a certain braided girl. Almost simultaneously, he felt a sharp pang in his chest as he tried not to think of what can happen.

"In fact, Yuuta was taken right after I visited Tezuka's house to investigate."

Fuji ended his warning at that.

"Y'know, while we're at it, you should eat with me too."

Kirihara suggested as he scooted over to give Sakuno some space to sit right next to him on the bed.

Of course, Sakuno was putty in his hands when he had complained about not having the ability to eat properly at the moment since his dominant hand was handcuffed to the bed railing. She had immediately agreed to feed him just so he can eat the meal she brought for him.

It had been a lie though. A crafty lie.

Kirihara was perfectly able to eat using his left hand. He just wanted Sakuno to feed him. He thought it would be cute.

Sakuno obeyed his request and sat right next to him. She was about to grab the meal and the chopsticks in order to start her task when she remembered something.

Ryoma hasn't eaten a single thing since that morning too!

Intending to leave the room and ask Ryoma to join them, she stood so quickly that she didn't pay attention to her footing. She was surprised when she suddenly felt a sense of falling as her foot had accidentally stepped on the bed linen that was lying on the floor, and she had slipped.

Fortunately, the junior ace's reflex instantly kicked into action and he was able to wrap his free arm around the brunette's waist in an attempt to catch her. He also ended up pulling her towards him, however, in his effort to prevent her from falling on the floor.

As an end result, she ended up on his lap, with both hands resting on his chest, and her face merely a few inches away from his own. She was able to feel his cool breath fanning her cheeks as he worriedly stared down at her.

Her brown eyes soon locked with his, and Sakuno felt an unexplainable electric shock course through her body. She found herself unable to move for a while.

Before she had the chance to think over what just happened, the door in the room suddenly opened and both heads immediately turned to see who had come in.

Sakuno instantly felt her heart drop.

Because right there, standing on the doorway, was Ryoma.

His face remained blank, devoid of all emotions, as he stood there and took in their current positions. Then his eyes—ever so slowly—shifted over to Sakuno.

The moment their eyes met, Sakuno wanted to cry.

Not because he stared at her with anger. No. He didn't even look at her with any hint of pain in his eyes unlike the previous times he had witnessed her involved with the junior ace.

He just stared at her coldly—such a blank, cold look that he made her feel like she was a complete stranger to him.

And before she got the chance to say anything that could clear up the situation, Ryoma had turned away and exited the room.

"Ryoma-kun! Please wait-"

Sakuno quickly disentangled herself from Kirihara and rushed across the room to go after the prince. The junior ace couldn't do anything but stare at the door as it loudly shut close after the brunette.

He had wanted to stop her, but couldn't.

Actually, even if he had, there was a slim chance that she would've complied with his request anyway. She would've still ran after the prince.

Now alone, he couldn't stop the painful clenching feeling in his chest. He tried his best to ignore it as he cheerlessly glanced at the forgotten and cold yakiniku meal on top of his bedside table.

She would always choose him.

His left fist suddenly clenched, grasping the bed sheet so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

Honestly, he thought he would've gotten used to the pain by now.

Because, really…

Who was he kidding?

No matter what he does.

No matter how hard he tries.

No matter how much he cares.

Nothing's going to change.

She had always been and forever will be…his.

"Ryoma-kun!" she yelled, desperately running after him. He was far ahead in an abandoned corridor somewhere on the second floor. Actually, she was lucky she even spotted him. The prince had moved so quickly that she was surprised to see him just calmly walking ahead of her.

She thought he had sprinted away from Kirihara's room since he had gotten so far.

"Ryoma-kun, please wait!"

Her dainty hand reached for his arm when she finally caught up with him.

Ryoma halted in his steps, but he didn't turn his head to look at her.

"Ryoma-kun, it's not like what you think! I just fell and-"

"I don't care."

His words effectively stopped more words from coming out of her mouth. She stood paralyzed beside him, helpless when he shrugged his arm away from her touch.

Silence threatened to envelop them and Sakuno knew she had to do something—anything to make things right between them.

"Is- Is Ryoma-kun mad?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

There was a pause then a cold "no."

"Then please look at me," Sakuno pleaded.

He didn't reply nor did he grant her request.

"Ryoma-kun, please-"

"I don't have time for this," he uttered in a hard tone.

Sakuno tried to take his words in, trying not to be hurt too much by them. It was useless though.

She had always worn her heart on her sleeves, unable to conceal her emotions.

So when tears threatened to fall from her eyes, she immediately tried to wipe them away.

It was fair enough. Ryoma has a point. They don't have time to talk about their relationship when there are much more important things to deal with.

"Then please let me just say goodbye to Akaya-kun, so we can go-"

The mere mention of the junior ace's name made his blood boil and he almost lost control when he uttered his next words.

"You'll stay."

He heard her almost inaudible gasp and he felt her stare at him, trying to read his emotions. But it was futile.

He had always been good at concealing and controlling his emotions.

That was until she came into the equation. And suddenly, he felt himself loosening up little by little. He didn't even realize it.

It had to stop.

"But you said Fuji-senpai adviced you to-"

"I lied."

Yes, he can be such a good liar if he wanted to be. Like right at this moment.

"Ryoma-kun, I want to help-"

"You'll only get in the way."

Her breath hitched in her throat at that last one. If he turned to look at her now, he can see how much he was hurting her—how much pain he's causing her right at that moment.

"T-then please allow someone else to accompany you. You can't go there alone, it's too dangerous."

"I will." Another lie.

Then a brief pause.

"You said you trusted me." Her words were so soft by then, almost like a whisper.

Trust, huh?

How dare she talks about trust when just a while ago…

His yellow eyes hardened against his will and he spoke his next words unfeelingly.

"I lied."

Again.

"It was necessary because you had important evidence. I had to make you trust me." He swallowed and allowed his next words to come out of his mouth easily. "You're useless to me now."

Ryoma heard the rustle of fabric and knew that she was desperately wiping her tears now—trying hard to silence her sobs so he wouldn't hear them. But he did.

She frowned through her tears, and then looked up at him. Honestly, she didn't have a clue as to why he's acting like that all of a sudden. But she knew it had to do with what he saw earlier. So she tried to appeal again.

"Ryoma-kun, you should know by now how I feel."

The prince remained silent this time. He still didn't turn to look at her, however.

"I love you more than anything-"

"Really?" he cut her off. He had to. He didn't want to hear it.

"Is it me you like or my ability to play tennis?" he suddenly asked, turning to look at her with impassive eyes. "Because frankly, it seems like as long as it's a tennis player, you don't care who you-"

A loud hitting smack interrupted his sentence and for a split second, a shocked look crossed his face.

She had slapped him.

"I-I can't believe you can say something like that," she whispered, feeling her heart shatter along with her words. Tears freely cascaded down her face. She didn't make an attempt to wipe them anymore.

After everything, after everything she's done to prove how much she cares about him—how much she loves him, he can still stand there and ridicule her feelings.

There was another silence.

The only sounds interrupting were her quiet sobs.

Ryoma stood in front of her, numbly staring at the ground, and feeling like a complete idiot. He wanted to take back his words. He didn't mean any of them. But of course, he didn't do or say anything to correct the situation.

He also knew that if he stayed any longer, they would only hurt each other even more.

So he chose to go.

It's better that way.

He took a few steps forward but paused before he completely passed her. They were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, facing opposite directions.

He didn't look at her.

She didn't look at him.

Before he left, he whispered something to her—words that hurt them both in different ways.

"It seems like the only thing I ever do is make you cry."

And then she felt his presence start to disappear as he walked away—walked away from her life.

She got rejected again.

One would think that she would've learned her lesson by now.

But no...she loved him way too much to let go.

Slowly, she slumped to the floor, helplessly crying her eyes out in a vain attempt to ease the unbelievable pain she was feeling at the moment.

She has to learn to let him go.

Author's Notes:

And I thought this was going to be a happy chapter. But I was so wrong. Lol.

Well, the theme song of this chapter would be Ai Otsuka's "Planetarium," if you will. I had to have those three confront all of their unsorted feelings before the story ends. So I'm sorry for the lack of the mystery development in this chapter.

Yukimura foreshadowed a bit of what was going to happen in the near future though. So that was some sort of accomplishment, right? Okay, maybe not xD

Ryoma's feelings are so complicated that I found his side the hardest to write.

But I'm a bit curious and want to ask you guys. Who are you rooting for at this point in the story? Ryoma or Akaya?

Thank you so much to those people who are always kind enough to leave me reviews. I swear, I wouldn't have been able to get this far in the story if not for your encouragements. I really appreciate them. So thank you so much!

Japanese Vocab:

Gomen – I'm sorry; I apologize