Reconciliation

Inokashira Park

Ann was sitting on the bench still crying with her face in her hands. She would always come here when she needed to be alone and that's what she need more than anything. She couldn't believe that he would actually hide something like that from her. Did he really love Makoto and only loved her because he felt bad for her with Kamoshida? But that line of thinking just made it worst.

"Why did you throw the ring away, Ann dear? I told you what happened to me when I did it...It was the worst mistake that I have ever made and not just because it led to my death; but because it hurt the only man who cared about me more than just my beauty and body. You're doing the exact same thing that I did..."

"I don't care...He loves Makoto. After everything that I did to him, I knew he would. She's always there for him and she never got mad at him. Not only that, she's the reason why I was able to save Akira. If she didn't convince me, he would be dead..." She shakes her head, "All I ever do is hurt him and aggravate him...He would be better off with Makoto..."

Carmen sighs, "You know that's not true dear..."

She scoffs, "Then why did he say that he wanted to kiss her back...?"

"That I don't know...But there may be a reason on why he would do that...?" She honestly didn't know how to respond to something like that because that would piss off any girl/boy if they heard their significant other want to kiss another.

She shakes her head, "He could have at least told me...But no, he just hid it from me..."

"Now that one I can answer! Why do you think he would hide something like from you? All you have done was accuse him of cheating and when he almost does, which wasn't his fault, mind you; he would be scared to tell you because he knows that you would act like this."

That's when Ann sighs because Carmen was right, "I guess you're right...But what was Makoto's excuse for hiding it? And don't give me that she didn't want to hurt me. Yeah; I would have been upset but I would have just talked to her about it..."

"Well now's your chance! Just go back and talk to her!"

She frowns, "No...It's too late for that." Carmen groans, "I already said that we're not friends anymore and I mean it. She broke my trust in her and I really don't want to talk to or see Akira right now either..."

She sighs, "I guess I understand..."

After Carmen says that, there was silence between them but that's when Ann hears footsteps slowly moving closer towards her making her look up towards it and who she sees makes her mood worsen, "You..." "Oh no..."

Emily stops once she sees Ann's glaring daggers at her, "Um...hello, Takamaki..."

Ann scoffs getting up, "I should've known that Akira's mom was going to bring you with. So, didn't bother to draw another black eye to make Akira feel sorry for you?" She knew that and it was rude to say that because of what happened to Shiho but she was too much in a sour mood to care right now.

Emily sighs wanting to come back at her but she was doing this for Akira by making her and Ann get along, "Look, I don't wanna fight with you. I just want you to apologize to him. He obviously loves you and I hate that he does but I don't want him to be hurt anymore..."

She growls, "Oh that is such crap! You're just trying to make him feel sorry for yourself. He's dead to you, remember!? He hated himself and didn't care if he died or not! Because of you!"

"I know that! But I have a reason for it! Something was clouding my mind telling me that Akira was an evil man! What's your excuse!? Because he wanted to kiss another girl!? Maybe if you weren't such a bitch then he wouldn't have any thoughts of kissing another girl!"

*SLAP*

Ann looks at her full of rage, "Don't you dare call me a bitch, you manipulative bitch!"

She reels back not expecting her to slap that hard but she recovers and slaps her as hard as she can, "I'm manipulative!? You treat Akira like crap and he still wants you! You don't care about him! You just want to hurt him!"

She growls at her and once again slaps her, "I want to hurt him!? I was there for him when he was depressed! Why don't you go back to Jiro since you think he's such a great man even though he hit you! Or do you like being hit? Since you're probably a sadist bitch anyways!"

"Enough! Both of you!" The two girls quickly look over hearing Reiko's voice and see her rushing towards them with an angry look on her face which scared both of them. Once she reaches them, she looks at Emily, "Why did you come here by yourself when you knew that it could have led to this!? Which I was right about for what I've seen!"

She looks down, "I know...But I wanted to make it up to Akira by trying to fix things...I didn't want to start a fight but I lost my temper when she told me the truth about me hurting Akira...and I called her a manipulative bitch...causing her to fight me..."

Reiko sighs and looks at Ann, "And you; honestly, you have no right to go after her about hurting Akira when you are doing the exact same thing. You threw away his promise ring and Akira feels nothing right now. No one can even cheer him up and Makoto hates herself for telling you. Not only that, you did this on his birthday!"

Ann flinches from her anger then looks down, "I know...But I'm just upset that they both hid it from me. After I finally trusted him fully and told Makoto I trusted her completely the day of what apparently happened..."

She sighs again, "Let me ask you this Ann, do you actually love my son or are you just playing with him?"

Her head shoots up when she says that, "Of course I love him! I'm just mad at him!"

"If you were mad at him then you wouldn't have thrown the ring at him! I have talked to your mother and she says that this isn't the first time you done something like this. It just seems like you're trying to find an excuse to end the relationship and blame it on him. Or does it have to do with that gym teacher? Do you not trust men because of him?"

She looks away, "No...I got over what happen with that a while again...I'm no longer scared to give myself to Akira. I was going to do tonight but..."

Reiko nods, "Your mother told me about that and I disagree with it. Anyway, you have no reason to think that he loves Makoto. Yes, he may have said what he said but if he really did love her, he wouldn't be acting like he's dead inside. He loves you and not even Emily can change that; even though she was his first love and kiss. I think the problem is, is that you're too emotional and you doubt yourself too much. Just by how you automatically assumed Akira wanted Makoto when they both made an honest mistake and they both obviously hate themselves for it."

Ann looks down thinking about what she said about her self-doubt. Throughout their adventures; she would second guess everything even when she was right about things. When she went against Mika, she would doubt that she was a good model because Mika said that she only became a model because of her natural look instead of hard work. But Akira would always reassure or help her though it. But now, she is doubting that Akira loves her and wants Makoto because she would always be there for him unlike her who would just doubt if she could even help him. So now who could she turn to if her self-doubt is the person who helped her through it? She then looks back at her, "You're right...All I ever do is doubt myself but Akira was the one who got me through it. But what am I supposed to do now that he's the one I'm having doubts about?" Carmen sighs, "Now that you say that...We both have doubts about ourselves..."

Reiko smiles, "One simple thing, stop overthinking things. When you overthink things, it starts getting to you and then you start to have negative thoughts. Just let things happen and if someone is giving you those thoughts, then prove them wrong. You're a beautiful woman who's a model and wears her heart on her sleeve. Don't let negative thoughts stop you from being that. Not only that, I know my son and if he says that he loves you. Then he means it."

Ann looks at her with a look of shock on her face from what she said, "I can't believe it but you're right, I always brought myself down when I heard what other people thought of me and I guess that made me doubt myself." She looks down, "So much so that it led me to doubt the person I love more than anything." "How was she able to figure me out so quickly...?" "I'm not sure but now I can see where Akira gets his kindness and knowledge from. But she also has an aura around her that makes everything seem like it's going to be okay."

She nods and puts a hand on her shoulder, "Exactly. Now you need to talk to Akira about what we talked about. I am sure my son will understand. If not, I will I'll just have to force him too."

Ann looks back at her with a bigger smile, "Totally!" Seeing that his mother wasn't going to hurt her for hurting Akira, she decided to poke the bear, "So, you're not mad that I hurt Akira?"

Reiko chuckles but Ann could tell that it wasn't from humor, "Oh no, I'm secretly upset that you hurt my son but I may understand why you did it. But..." That's when her smile turns into a menacing look, "If you ever hurt my son and you don't have a good reason for it...I will make you suffer; do you understand? Because Emily here can tell you what happened when she came to me after what she did to Akira to earn my forgiveness..." Emily shivers from remembering her punishment.

Ann gulps, "D-Don't worry, I won't..." "Wow...She could even scare Milady..."

That makes her smile hearing her fear meaning that Ann meant it, "I'm glad to hear that. Now..." She puts her hands on both of the girls' shoulder, "I want you two to get past your hatred for each other and become friends because that's all Akira wants, okay?" Once they both nod, she smiles and tells them that she will give them some room by going back to the car.

When Reiko leaves, the girls both look down in silence for a bit because they didn't know how to start the conversation but that's when Ann looks at her, "I'm sorry for what I said and for slapping you. I was just feeling so much anger that I didn't care what you said even when you were right."

Emily shakes her head, "I'm not right, you aren't manipulative. I secretly hated that you get to be with Akira and I having to accept that I will never have him..." She starts tearing up, "And the worst part is...it's all my fault..."

Ann quickly gasps from hearing her start to cry,"Hey! Don't cry! It wasn't your fault! I believe you when you said that there was someone talking in your head." "That's right...She might have had a psychotic breakdown!"

She wipes her eyes, "R-Really?"

"Yeah! Didn't you hear about the subway accident?"

She nods, "Yeah...They said that the dude didn't remembered what happened and he suffered some sort of breakdown? Are you trying to say that the same thing happened to me? But I remembered everything."

"Well...How did you break out of your anger?"

She holds her chin, "I just started remembering my love for Akira and how much he made me happy. Though convincing my parents that Akira wasn't a bad person and it took forevs to do it..."

Ann smiles hearing that, "I know this will sound weird but Akira suffered the same thing and how I got him out of it was..." She sighs because she felt bad saying this, "Reminding him about our love and then kissing him."

Emily sighs hearing the last part but then in confusion, "Why was Akira suffering from what I suffered?"

"Because he found the man who falsely accused him, Shido Masayoshi. Something made him so angry that it made him want to kill him. Instead of just bringing him down. It just sucks that we don't know what it is; but I hope that I stopped it."

She nods, "I'm sure that you did."

Ann smiles, "Thanks." She looks at the car seeing Reiko look at her phone, "Actually, speaking of stopping the man responsible, did Akira's father or that asshole Jiro see the news about Shido confessing? That should've changed their minds, right?"

"I'm not sure...I haven't talked to Jiro since what he did but I asked Akira's mother but she wouldn't say anything but there was something wrong..." She looks down, "I think she was crying before she picked me up..."

That makes Ann worried, "What makes you say that?"

"Well her eyes were a little bit puffy and she's wearing a scarf...I'm sure that I haven't seen her wear one ever..."

Ann gasps because it was the same thing Shiho did, trying to hide her bruises with the leg wrap, "We have to get her to say what happened..." "You can't possibly say that Akira's father would..."

Nodding, Emily gets up, "Yeah!" She then looks at the groud shyly, "But um first...would you like to be friends? I understand if you don't..."

Ann gets up smiling, "Totally! I know that I've been a complete bitch to you. But you really are a nice person and I let my love for Akira judge you for what you did to him instead of listening to your reason."

She smiles and hugs her, "Yay! I'm so glad to hear that and don't worry, I understand!"

Ann was shocked because she was not expecting a hug from her, "Thanks!" She was not expecting today to go like this but she was glad it did. Well except for hurting Akira again but her talk with Reiko made her realize what her problem was and like with Makoto; she judged Emily instead of just seeing her reason. So, all in all, she was being what she hated, a selfish and heartless person.

Emily pulls away, "Now let's go back so you can show Akira that you do love him!"

After Ann nods, they both walk to Reiko's car and knock on her window letting her know that it was them. Once she sees them, she rolls down the window, "I'm glad that you two have gotten along and before you ask, I was watching; just in case you started fighting."

"Hey!" Ann says in disbelief, "I'm taking what you said to heart! I have no reason to be mad at Emily anymore."

Emily nods, "That's right! We are so over that! We're friends now."

Reiko laughs seeing how defensive they were being, "Relax, you two. No need to defend your new friendship. I'm just happy that Akira will see you two getting along. Now let's get back to the party." The girls nod and get inside then head off back.

"Ann dear, weren't you and Emily going to try and get Reiko to explain the scarf?" Carmen says getting tired of waiting for Ann to start the converstation "Yeah...I guess I should just be direct" "Hey, Ms. Kurusu...I know you're hiding something under your scarf. Because my friend did the same thing with the gym teacher..."

Ann was worried that she stepped too far because she didn't respond and Emily was trying not to stare at Reiko. But that's when they both hear her sigh, "I suggest you drop it...It's none of your concern..."

"But...

"I said drop it!" Both of the girls jump when she screams and after that, the rest of the ride was done in complete silence up until they make it back. But once she parks then turns off the car; she sighs, "I'm sorry for screaming, but you are right Ann. I didn't want to tell anyone this but I guess you both would know about bruises..." She looks down, "When the man who framed Akira admitted that he indeed framed Akira. I was happy that he would be free...But his father was still acting like the same jackass that he's been acting by saying that Akira probably bribed the phantom thieves to force the man to lie. That's when I just lost it from how he's been acting this whole year and now when the man confesses on what really happened. He makes an excuse to make Akira look more like I criminal. That's when we started getting into a shouting match and all the stress mixed in with the frustration of dealing with his crap for almost a year, I let it slip that I went to go see Akira and that's when..." She starts lightly crying, "He roughly grabbed me by the throat and threw me against the wall then he pinned my wrists and started screaming how I betrayed him and I deserved punishment for lying to him...But I managed to escape and I've been staying at a hotel since then. I waited till he left for work to go grab some clothes and then brought a scarf because I knew that a bruise was going to form..."

Ann and Emily had the look of extreme shock on their faces, "I can't believe that bastard would actually go that far!" "B-But would he come after you!?"

She shakes her head, "No...I already messaged him that if he ever comes near me, I will call the police and since he loves his respect more than his family. He wouldn't dare take that risk."

Ann sighs, "That's good at least..." "I can't believe it...I didn't think it would go that far..."

Emily nods as well, "But shouldn't you tell Akira? He should hear about this!"

"Why would I want to make his birthday any worst? He doesn't need to know what is going on and I want to keep it that way."

Ann shakes her head, "You need to tell him and if you're worried about his birthday being worst. Then just tell him after the party and I'll be there for him even if he gets angry."

Reiko sighs, "Alright...I'll tell him but I still think this will end badly." She hugs her, "But I trust you to be there for him this time."

She smiles and hugs her back, "Yeah I will be. I'm not going to doubt myself anymore." "Aw! This is so sweet!"

Emily smiles seeing them hugging, "This is so cute!"

Reiko lets go off her, "Now wait out here and we'll go get Akira. I know that you would want to talk to him privately." Once they see Ann nod, they go back into the hotel.

But once they leave, Ann stands next to the door, "I need to make it up to Akira for ruining his birthday..."

"Well there has to be some way to make him feel like it's really special for him."

That's when Ann smiles big, "I got an idea! If they go along with it! I call it 'One night in Heaven with three naughty angels!'"

"Oooooo! That would definitely be a great birthday present but I am surprised that you're sharing him."

She scoffs, "Who said anything about sharing him? I'm just giving them a sample, that's all."

After a bit of waiting, she hears the door open and sees Akira but it made her heart hurt when she saw that he looked completely dead instead, just like Reiko said "Akira..." "Hey...Arsene..."

Akira looks at her and sighs, "What do you want...? I thought we were over...So why do you want to talk to me? I only came here because mother forced me down here..." "You didn't do anything wrong Carmen so you don't have to be worried."

She looks down, "I know that I said it was over but I did it because I've always had doubts about everything and I always go to you when I have them." She looks back up to him, "But ever since the time that you tried to kill yourself and Makoto told me off...I started doubting if I really was good enough for you and if she would be better for you. She was always there for you and I would just doubt myself thinking that I couldn't do anything to help you. She would always push me to be there for you and the reason why I was able to save you that night. Also, your mother made me realize that all I ever do is overthink about things and that overthinking made me have doubts about you. So that's the reason why I overreacted when Makoto said that she kissed you especially when she said that you wanted to kiss her back...and I guess that's why I accuse you of cheating all the time." "I know but I still feel bad not trying harder..."

After she finishes her reasoning, he lets out a sigh but not out of annoyance but from her understanding why she acted the way she did, "I wish you would have just told me this instead of hiding it. But now I understand why you would." He looks down, "I shouldn't have hidden it from you and being scared of you getting mad isn't an excuse either. But the reason why I had the feeling of kissing Makoto back was because of Satanael loving Anat." He shakes his head, "No...I shouldn't blame that either. The truth is, is that I do like Makoto a lot but like I told her, I love you more than anything and it's always going to be that and even if it gets annoying, I will do anything to prove that." "You're doubting yourself, Carme."

She smiles then walks up to him and caresses his cheek, "Now, more than anything, I can't believe I got a guy like you. Most guys would probably just get rid of me by now. Yet, you still deal with my crap even after I threw your ring away." She kisses him, "And I know I said this before but this time I'm totally serious this time. I have no doubts anymore that you will leave me or cheat on me. Just tell you love me every day and I will show you how much I love you." She sighs, "I'm not doubting myself! I just think I could have tried harder."

He chuckles and hugs her back, "Well then don't be so loveable then and you wouldn't be hard to get rid of. And don't worry, I know that you're serious this time because we finally got to the heart of the problem. We all have doubts in our lives but that's why we need someone to go through those doubts. Everyone in our group have dealt with them by being there for each-other. That's why I want you to tell me everything that is wrong because it doesn't make you weak, it makes getting through those doubts easier and you can become stronger from it."

She hugs him closer, "Thank you...I know I can always count on you to be there for me no matter what." After a bit, she pulls away, "Do you still have the ring?" He nods and brings it out. She then grabs it and puts it back on her finger, "Now I feel whole again!"

He chuckles again, "I think this is the best news I've heard today. Well next to seeing my mother again." He smiles at her, "So are you ready to go back in? Everyone is probably worried about what's going on."

She smiles and hugs him again, "Not yet, let's just enjoy this moment of makeup hugs!" In all honestly, she really did want this moment but she was also trying to lessen the blow of his mother's news by giving him love. "You're stalling dear..." She whispers. "Shhh...I'm too busy enjoying warmth from a hot body to listen to you..."

"Um Ann...People are staring at us." "I think you're going to have to carry her."

Ann smiles big, "You heard him! If you want to go back! You need to carry me! Show them that we're in love!" She giggles enjoying this. "Oh! Oh! Carry her like a bride!" She starts humming the wedding theme

He rolls his eyes and does carry her, "There are you happy?" "Calm down Carmen, that's going to be awhile."

She leans her head against his chest, "Oh yeah I am. Now we can go...before I fall asleep from being so comfy." "Doesn't mean that I can't think about it!"

[End Notes: Well good thing Ann secretly invited Reiko and she happened to bring Emily along so unknowingly, she just helped herself out. Oh and if you're wondering, Ann's parents are going to be showing up in the next chapter. If that didn't happen, then things would have been worst and Akira and Ann probably would have spilt up. So, with Ann, she accused Akira of cheating all the time and she overreacted with Makoto was because she has self-doubt and it's how she is in the game. Throughout it, she's always doubting if they're really doing the right thing and even with Mika she would doubt herself and yes, she will no longer think Akira is cheating or doubts if he loves her and I mean it. Also, there's a reason why Reiko knows about overthinking and selfdoubt and it will be explained in the next chapter. But yeah, Akira is not going to be happy in the next chapter when he hears the news about his father and it is going to lead to the changing of the heart of his father and Jiro which he talked about earlier. Lastly, I know you guys want that love scene with Akira and Ann but it's going to happen on Valentine's day and yes, she's still going to wear the christmas outfit and it's going to be a whole chapter.]

Reviews:

Novice4129: Well Emily certianly helped lead Reiko to stop the ex count from going higher than 1. About Futaba and Mishima, I think they work together from the same interests.

PRemington900: Well I guess you can say that Reiko was the miracle to save the relationship but yeah, Emily wanted to do anything to help Akira to make up for what she did. Even if that means helping the girl that took Akira from her.

Emoprotagnist: Yeah I'm doing a part about Morgana's birthday because it will be funny what Ann has for him. Well at least you got what you wanted with Reiko saving it but Emily was the reason why she did it. But yeah, what Makoto said was accidently a typo.

Kombatant88: Well their relationship is going to be alright.

Yesir: I'm going to keep making these but three chapters is a little bit much, I'll try but I got other stories as well. Sorry about that.

Guest: You wish is my command haha

Guest I guess: Well Anat already has Satanael and from the poll, it's going to happen in the sequel.