Make or break.

The bitter lesson

He learned

All those years ago

Perhaps he was thankful

It was medicine

For the hallucinations

Of truth and perfection

A blessing

And a curse.

The day he learned

Rejection is acceptance.

The same fears grappled him

But now

If he had taken the antidote

Turning him into a cynic

A queen of fire

Contorted into ice

A terrifying concept.

He took it badly

Yet now he was immunized

To the temptations

The same results

Cannot be expected

On a different subject.

Variables and factors

Produce assorted outcomes

Most of it

Devastating after-effects

He was a testament to it.

He refuses to run.

He who runs from his troubles

Will meet it down the next corner.

Here he was again

In the presence

Of a certain sage

With the same emerald eyes

Of a younger woman

And if he had gotten used to

Icy glares of a certain clan

Those two green orbs

Were a hundred-fold as piercing

As the darkest black ice.

Yet amidst that

This woman

She was not as cold

Nor as intimidating

But certainly

A respectable individual

Subtle hints of a mastermind

Top of the pyramid

The aristocrat

To topple all the other aristocrats.

"A fine evening, isn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose it is."

It was not him

To seek advice

A proud loner must be independent

But in the company

Fellow outcasts

He may find support.

However

The sage and cynic

Are not equals.

One rose up from the dirt

To challenge destiny

But the other

Fell from low

To lower.

Behind the cold stone façade

Just another weak boy

A sharp contrast

Beside him

A true Queen

She who has surpassed all.

"Miyako-sama. Do you regret?"

She rubbed her dark gloves

A faint smile

Evident on her thin lips.

"Regret?"

Both of them quietly viewed

Blue scenery

Illuminated by lamp-posts

Strings of lights

Watching people go by.

"Not anymore. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would not change a thing."

"You would not try to build a closer family?"

"Family is as close as people can get. The concept of loving by blood is perhaps the most conceited of all relationships. Nevertheless, love your family."

"The question is still unanswered."

Dark green met dead black

But there was no friction

Between the two.

"I tried. But we do not always get what we want, do we? It is enough to have the essentials. You can work and suffer for as long, and still not obtain your goals."

"Atleast it gives you consolation for your efforts."

"Indeed. Essential is to see that in the end, it all worked out."

Moment of standstill

Time to let the words sink in

Like a stone to a pond

The mind absorbs wisdom.

"Business or family?"

She lightly shook her head.

"Never mix both."

"I do not understand. Why do you value your works more than family?"

"I never valued anything more than I do with family. Hikigaya-san. If you had suffered blood, sweat and tears to achieve your goals, will you simply forfeit them in exchange for something you already have?"

"Family is worth more than everything."

"It is. That is why you do not mix business with it. That is a lesson I have learned the hard way. That is why I cannot and will not return."

Golden skies

Cool wind

Whistling through

Red coat and black

Two silhouettes

Peculiar.

"What is the right choice?"

"There is no right or wrong, per se. Society molds morality according to it's interests. Pick a choice, do not regret it."

Right or wrong?

Who decided which is which?

Throughout history

Men dictated what is

What is not

Crab mentality

Majority

Override

Rationality

With regards to morality

Even cynicism

Must draw on

Optimism.

"That Saturday night. Why do they know Miura-san?"

Draping a leg over the other

In pensive silence

The sage crossed her arms.

"For a moment, I thought you were Saito-kun. Yes, the Miura family was a rival to the Yukinoshita and Hayama. Was."

Emphasis on the last word

Trace of bitterness

Her jade eyes

Sharp.

"I would expect Saito-san, as your son, to be there."

"Well. My son hates me alright."

If it was laughter

At a grim fact

Or to blunt

Agonizing truth

He could not tell.