After visiting everyone he could find on March 19th, Ren left for the train station the morning of March 20. He said his final goodbye to Sojiro, both bitterly and sarcastically saying he was free from his attic prison.

His bitterness stemmed from the fact that he couldn't see Sumire on the 19th. He knew she must have been very busy at her training camp that day, but there were no texts, no calls. Nothing. This saddened him, but he knew this was a possibility. In any case, today was the day. He was heading home.

As Ren continued his walk through Shibuya, Ryuji waved him down from across the street. He leaned against the door of a blue van with a grin. Ann and Makoto sat in the front, while Yusuke and Haru sat in the back, with Futaba in the middle.

"After we said we'd disband…" Yusuke commented, glancing out of the van window.

"We are all on break, after all," Haru giggled.

"No more entrance exams. I can drive you to the station," Makoto adjusted her seatbelt.

"You really, really gotta go?" Futaba looked at him with a concerned but playful face.

Ann adjusted the front-view mirror of the van, eyeing a black car that had followed them.

"Shit!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"They've even followed us here?" Yusuke glanced out of the back window.

"What should we do?" Makoto asked.

As they planned their next move, a cab parked next to their van. The driver rolled down the window.

"Need a hand?"

Ren turned around and saw Takuto Maruki looking at him with a slight smile.

"Dr. MarukI!?" Ryuji yelled in a confused manner.

Maruki opened the cab door.

"You're suggesting we split up?" Makoto questioned him. Maruki nodded.

"Should we?" Futaba asked.

Ryuji pondered for a moment before giving Ren and Maruki a thumbs up.

"Here we go!" Makoto floored it and drove off, with the government goons following closely behind.

"Shall we, then?" Maruki looked at Ren.

"Thanks." Ren stepped into the cab.

Maruki drove Ren to a train station, parking outside.

"There's no charge." Maruki looked at Ren for a moment and turned his head back. "If you find yourself struggling in life… You can start over, like me… Remember that."

He turned back to Ren. "So yeah, if that ends up saving you… then we're square." He put up his fist. Ren fist-bumped him.

"I'm glad to hear that, Dr. Maruki."

Maruki tilted his head.

"I'm a cab driver now, and there's no need for formalities."

Ren laughed. "Force of habit."

After a few seconds, Ren decided to ask Maruki one more question.

"Maruki… do you think you'll… try and start over with Rumi? I doubt that it's my place to ask but… Sumire and I have been able to build up a very strong relationship, supporting each other, and I want to think you can too."

Maruki exhaled a deep sigh, looking Ren in the eye.

"I… I want to. I just… need some time. Considering the effects of my actualization no longer exist… for anyone… She is probably back in a hospital bed. She… probably remembers everything." He bit his lip and tensed his face as he finished his sentence.

Ren clenched his fist.

"Maruki. Go and be there for her. You know that's what you want to do. I know it's hard. But if you spend more time with her, she might slowly recover. Eventually, she might blush again. If you keep trying, one day she'll smile again, or even laugh at one of your dumb jokes. I know you can do this."

Maruki turned his head back, looking out of the window. Ren saw a tear streak down from his left eye.

"You're a more qualified therapist than I ever was, you know that, Amamiya-san?"

Ren opened his cab door.

"I'll see you around, Maruki. I know you can do this."

Maruki saw the blue van swerving in the distance, and looked at Ren again.

"Thank you. Good luck."

He slowly drove off. A few seconds later, Makoto swerves the van and parks a few feet from Ren. Ryuji slid open the side door.

"Damn, man… Those dudes just wouldn't give up!"

"Wish if went smoother, but… I guess this is it!" Futaba waved at Ren, ducking beneath Ryuji.

"Be sure to eat well." Yusuke flaunted his hand in an exaggerated motion.

"We'll see you. Soon, right?" Haru leaned forward next to Yusuke.

"If you don't come back, we'll find you there." Ann stated with a smile.

"All right… it's time... " Makoto looked forward.

"Aw… we gotta go already?" Ryuji whimpered.

"We don't make the train schedules!" Ann retorted.

"See you later my duuuuuuuuuude!" Ryuji waved from the open door. Futaba poked her head out of the top of the van. "I'll text you, okaaaaay?" She waved her arms.

"Come on, sit down!" Makoto banged a fist against the door. Ren smirked, watching the blackc ar continue to chase his friends.

As he made his way up the platform, he pulls out his tickets and looks at them. Morgana scampered around in the bag. While distracted by them, someone bumps shoulders with him.

As Ren looked up, he saw Sumire standing next to him, wearing her casual gym clothes and her new glasses. Her hair was loose against his back, the ribbon neatly tied into a bow at the bottom. She looked at him with a smirk.

"You taught me to keep my head up, didn't you?"

"Sumire…" Ren muttered, shocked, but extremely happy to see her. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye to you before. Coach Hiraguchi has really been drilling me. I've been so busy I haven't been able to charge my phone. But…" she pulled out a familiar-looking charm from her pocket, "We both knew we'd run into each other. You're being watched, right?"

Ren gritted his teeth, but smiled. "Don't worry about that. I…" His smile dropped, "I'm sad that this is going to be how we see each other for the last time."

Sumire frowned, and leaned forward. "Who said it had to be the last time? You're coming back in the summer, right? We'll spend as much time together as we can, and I'll guarantee it. I can work around my practice schedule."

Ren's cool, casual demeanor completely dropped as Sumire fully leaned into him, hugging him. As she saw him break down, she did too.

"I really will miss you. Texting you won't be the same. I want to feel your warmth. I want to practice with you, sweat with you, grow with you. Jeez… I'm tearing up. Classic Sumire…"

Ren puts one hand on her head as she buried it in her chest, and the other around her waist. "Don't cry. I will too."

Sumire looked up at him. "Kiss me." She looked up and pushed herself up, and the two shared a deep embrace and a warm kiss.

Ren fully wrapped his arms around her, tightly hugging her, burying his face in her hair. "I don't want to go, Sumire. Tears freely streamed down his cheeks.

"What's the point of a new beginning if it isn't with you?"

Sumire placed her fingers over the frames of his glasses and took them off.

"You showed me how to be strong in the face of adversity, Ren-senpai. I know you can get through this. Be strong, for me, okay?" She held her fingers under his eye and wiped away a tear. "Believe in me, like I believe in you."

Ren sniffled and began to laugh, still holding Sumire tightly.

"I will. Of course I will. I won't stop thinking about you, not even for a second."

Sumire brushed her hand through his hair. "You're cuter when you smile and look like you're about to face the world head-on. I like when you're like that."

Ren wiped his face with his arm. "Yeah. Same to you. I don't want the fire in your eyes to go out. Never again." He slowly released his grip.

Sumire smiled, taking his hand and opening it. She lightly placed the charm in his hand. A gust of wind blew past them, sending a series of small, pink cherry blossoms around and past them.

"The weak, insecure Sumire is gone. The only Sumire left is the one you see in front of you. Your Sumire. We'll be together again in no time. Count on it."

Sumire slowly took a step back, and then quickly went in for one last kiss.

"I love you, Ren-senpai, now go."

Before Ren could react she was making her way across the platform.

He turned in her direction. "I love you Sumire!" She continued to make her way down the platform, slowly disappearing from view.

Morgana popped out of Ren's bag. "Told you I was comin with! I'll take care of you, so she doesn't have to worry."

Ren couldn't help but giggle, and scratched Morgana's chin.

"Thanks. But I have to take care of myself, for her."

Ren stood still on the platform. She took his glasses. He closed his eyes, feeling a small spring breeze wipe the last of his tears away. He took one last deep breath and looked at the charm he held in his hand. A sense of resolve and determination tingled throughout his body, and he turned to get on his last train home.

As he rode on the train, he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out and saw a text from Sumire. She had sent a selfie. In the photo she had put Ren's glasses on above her own, wearing a smile on her face.

The message read: I'll definitely be able to see you soon with these!

Ren broke out in laughter. As he looked up from his phone, a blur of a man in a light-brown jacket caught his eye as the train sped past a platform. He disregarded his curiosity and pulled Morgana out of his bag.

"Hold this charm in your mouth."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

Ren lifted Morgana up and placed him on his head. Ren took a selfie of this while Morgana held the charm in his mouth.

And I'll be safe with my guardian angel!

Sumire giggled as she looked at her phone. She looked out of the train window and saw her own reflection. In her reflection, she had brown hair and a beauty mark on her left cheek. The reflection smiled at her. Sumire blinked and she only saw herself. She smiled and untied her ribbon, grasping it in her hand, ready to take on the world.