A/N: Okay, this Saturday is something of a double-feature, so I'm setting this chapter at a noon update. I still have something else planned for 6pm! Something much shorter than this. Anyway, this chapter is the last one of or pertaining to the ski resort arc, the final and important one I've been waiting to conquer. I suppose in a way it sets up an arc of its own? Though the path isn't as clear or outlined. So this marks probably the last TPS update for a while. I'll make it count.

Thanks to ZainR for your thorough review! Still amazed that chapter was so relevant to you at the time. Hope things cool down and get better (as we know they must for the Akuma group). Specs and Mitsumura's redhead friend is a bit too harsh to be our sweet Ooyama – but now I want to see an Ooyama/Saki hug desperately! And I'm glad you appreciated the humor sprinkled in – lord knows these poor friends need it rn. Nothing like a Spongebob joke to perk things up!

Hope you enjoy!

[Chapter 49]: Terrible Timing

The rest of January, as far as Januarys go, was fairly bleak.

Ayato's dazed autopilot demeanor upon returning to the house had saved him some wrath from Kimito, at least. His parents had heard mention of the class trip from customers during the week, some of them fellow parents hoping or even suggesting that the kids were having a good time and getting in lots of skiing. He supposed if he had come in glowing and refreshed, Kimito's suspicions would've been highly validated and he might've flown into a rage. Instead, his wary expression had died down to confusion as Ayato passively agreed to get right back to work.

That didn't stop Kimito from keeping him busy for the rest of the day, and into the weekend, snapping at him and ensuring they made up for lost time. The one thing that saved Ayato from Kimito asking too many questions about the trip to the mountains was the man's profound inability to maintain subtle, natural conversation with him. Instead, he relied on grouchy orders and snide, dubious remarks, his obvious favorite being comments about the mountain air affecting his brain.

Though, Ayato did wonder if that theory was true. It had crossed his mind a couple of times back in Shiga Kogen, and more than a few times since returning home. He felt different, changed, since being up in the mountains, like something had shifted inside him. It was a strange thing he couldn't place, couldn't really discern. The only way he could describe it was… it felt like his brain was unbuckled. Like his mind was still high up in the mountains, on a chairlift, but the safety bar was gone.

He could safely argue that the shift was actually external. Especially when returning to school for the week. The changes were outside him, and they were many. Some big, some small.

He saw it on Yuri's face when she met him on Monday to walk to school together, her vivacious spirit dialed down a few degrees though she did try to greet him with a warm smile. He saw it on campus when they arrived at school, Saki and Hisakawa and sometimes Rumi hanging out with the guys under their tree, as they would continue to do almost every morning throughout the week. Saki made herself a regular in the branches with Shiruba and Hirohashi, while Hisakawa could usually be seen below talking to Nezumi, Fujimoto, and Takada. Some days, in mid-conversation, Hisakawa's eyes would catch on Yuri and Ayato as they were forced to pass by in their line of sight, which didn't help lift Yuri's spirits at all. She would edge closer to Ayato, move faster to find sanctuary inside the building.

But mostly he saw it at their table during lunch, where it was now just the five of them. Hejjiguchi and Kurimu sat next to each other now, their relationship known to all at this point, but save for the lack of personal space and the comforting hand touch or arm around the shoulder, their displays of affection weren't too blatant. As if they might be within Ami's sight at any time and didn't want to accidentally rub it in her face. Yuri and Ayato sat across from them, and after a fashion they tried to lead the conversations toward every topic that didn't involve Ami. More often than not, Masuda, sitting on the other side of Ayato (or Yuri, depending on the seating arrangement for the day), would be caught staring mournfully at the empty seat across from him.

For a couple of days on the second week back, Ayato tried sitting next to Kurimu or Hejjiguchi, across from Yuri, so that Masuda would only see friends staring back at him. But Masuda still snuck glances at the empty chair next to him. So Ayato arranged with Yuri that Masuda would be sitting at the edge of the table and Yuri would be sitting on his other side. What that got them was Masuda occasionally scanning the cafeteria, searching for the group's missing piece.

Ayato was starting to think this must've been what Hejjiguchi saw when he looked at him back in October. So forlorn, so despondent, so… incomplete. Many of Masuda's warm grins and appreciative laughs had been reserved for the bubbly, colorful behavior that came from Ami, whether it be her sweetness or her sass. With her absence hanging over the table like a raincloud, Masuda teetered on an invisible edge, one that might tilt him back towards the serious and reserved person he was early last year. However, being with Hejjiguchi, Kurimu, Yuri, and Ayato seemed to keep him level and grounded.

And so they stayed together like this, closing January with five of them at that table. Sometimes they'd get a visitor or two, the odd know-the-face asking about Ami, an acquaintance wanting to confirm Kurimu and Hejjiguchi were actually dating. Yuri and Masuda had already gotten the third degree from some people in drama club, especially because Ami wasn't even attending anymore. She went straight home after school – if she even decided to show up. The last weeks of January, for Ami, were freckled with alleged "sick days," where it was not enough for her to simply ignore Hejjiguchi and Kurimu or discard the notes they passed to her during class; some days she didn't want to face them at all.

By February, they all seemed to have resigned themselves to the new normal. Which was why, when Yuri came to lunch looking freshly dismal, their friends descended on her with an avalanche of concern.

"Oh, it's nothing," Yuri said, resting her hand in her chin. "My parents just went on yet another business trip."

"But that's good, right?" Hejjiguchi asked. "I mean, house to yourself? Pizza? Parties? Music as loud as you want?"

"When you're left to man the fort as often as I do, it gets old fast." Yuri cast her eyes down at the table and picked at her food. "And no, no parties. I'm not exactly going to be in a partying mood this month anyway."

"Why's that?" Hejjiguchi asked, through a mouthful of food. When the others looked at him, he swallowed and clarified, "I mean, why this month?"

"Think about it," Ayato said tersely. "February 9th."

Hejjiguchi's featured scrunched in thought. "February 9th? What about it?"

"Isn't that Hisakawa's birthday?" Kurimu said innocently, as if remarking about the weather. Then her eyes opened a bit wider. "Oh…"

"It's the anniversary," Masuda said slowly, realization dawning on him as well.

"That's right, I remember now." Hejjiguchi sobered at once, giving Yuri a look of apology. "That was just a couple of months before I moved here. I can't believe it's been three years already."

"I'm sorry, Yuri," Kurimu said, reaching over the table and touching her hand. "Do you want to hang out with Souma-kun and me while they're gone? I don't want you to be left alone like this, and I'm sure we'd have lots of fun!"

Yuri studied her coffee can thoughtfully, her eyes getting that faraway look again. It hit Ayato that usually it was Ami that Yuri spent time with during after-school hours, while Hejjiguchi and Kurimu went on their little dates. "Thanks, Kurimu," she said softly, "but I wouldn't want to third-wheel you guys."

"You wouldn't be a third wheel!" Kurimu assured her. "Or maybe Naoi can come with. It'd be kind of like a double-date!"

"Yeah," Hejjiguchi said, grinning across the table at Ayato with raised eyebrows. "A double-date..."

Ayato leveled him with a suspicious glare, willing himself not to blush. "But we're not dating," Yuri said, voicing his thoughts. "Besides, he has work."

"We could drop by while he's at work and bug him, then," Hejjiguchi offered. "I'm sure he'd love that."

"But you guys were the ones who tricked his dad into letting him go on the skiing trip, and I got him out of work for my birthday," Yuri pointed out. "If Ayato's dad is there and sees us all together, he'll figure out we're his friends and know we fooled him and our covers will be blown. We don't want him to take it out on Ayato."

Kurimu looked dismayed and concerned at the thought. "No, we don't…" she said softly. Then her expression turned hopeful as she glanced around at all her friends. "Maybe we could come up with another strategy?" she suggested, and Ayato had to bite his lip to keep from smirking, because maybe she'd been spending too much time with Yuri already. "We could find a way to get his father out of the shop for a while! Something harmless but distracting, like he has to go on an errand or a wild goose chase! We could ask Miyake and Hachihama for their help – he wouldn't recognize them! And then we could—"

"Sorry, but…" Ayato grimaced, rubbing at his temples, "…no more schemes, please, Kurimu."

"I'm with you on that," Hejjiguchi said with a weary little chuckle.

Kurimu pouted and fell back in her seat. "But I like schemes…"

Masuda managed a smile for the first time that day. "I'm sure Hachihama would do anything for you, Kurimu—"

"He would?" Hejjiguchi asked, fixing Masuda with a suspicious frown.

"—but I agree with them," Masuda continued, and gestured to Hejjiguchi, Yuri, and Ayato. "No more schemes. No more games. We don't want to get Naoi into any trouble. Our schemes have already caused enough of that without adding Miyake and Hachihama to the mix."

"Oh, they're not that bad, really," Yuri said lightly, turning to Masuda with a hint of a grin.

Masuda scoffed, grinning back at her. "You obviously haven't been around them in a while," he countered. "We'll have to fix that."

Ayato tried to finish his lunch while Masuda and Yuri – and then Hejjiguchi and Kurimu – arranged to meet up and hang out with each other after school throughout the week. The whole thing kept tearing at his thoughts, dragging them this way and that. There'd been a spark between Yuri and Masuda right there that felt like mutual healing, and in that moment Ayato was glad to see Yuri's frozen façade thaw, but something about their shared grin and him inviting her over made Ayato's chest and stomach do a twisty twinge. It loosened when Kurimu suggested they all meet up to hang out at Masuda's place, then twisted again as the thought "double-date" echoed in his head. And then, of course, Kurimu wondered if they could borrow Miyake's and Hachihama's various disguises and costumes to sneak into the pottery shop anyway, and the thought had made Ayato grin briefly.

That had been a two-minute emotional rollercoaster he would still be reflecting on at work later, when six suspicious figures appeared at the front window in mustaches, wigs, and oversized sunglasses. A couple of them had waved to him, and he'd snuck a wave back – before Kimito emerged from the back room, spotted them, and gave them the stink-eye until they skidded and scampered away like the teens in that 80s detention movie Yuri made Ayato watch last summer.

(He wasn't quite sure why Miyake and Hachihama wore costumes too; Kimito had probably never noticed them before.)

Racing thoughts kept him up for a few nights that first week of February. Yuri had been spending time with friends (mainly Ami) after school long before all this, so why should he start feeling weird about it now? It didn't make sense, the way he'd felt when Yuri and Masuda had grinned at each other like that. The pang in his chest when Masuda had invited her over to his place. The insecurity that roiled inside him when he thought about how, thanks to his home life, he couldn't do the same.

But he'd resigned himself to this before, hadn't he? He was used to it by now. Masuda, Kurimu, and Hejjiguchi flocking to her and being there for her when he couldn't – that was a good thing, and he was grateful to them.

(It didn't erase the longing he felt when he could see them in the distance from the shop windows.)

Something happened the night of February 8th. A storm rolled in, first rain in the afternoon, and then as the temperature dropped rapidly in the evening, it turned to freezing rain and then slush and ice and finally snow. Kimito monitored the weather on the shop's television, probably not wanting to get snowed or frozen in here with Ayato any more than he did. They ended up locking up early and trudging home in the thickening flurries, where Ayato's mother had a hot meal and tea ready for them. Kimito sent her out there afterwards to do some shoveling while he and Ayato got to work in the workshop, but after an hour, even Kimito got restless about the thickening blizzard and marched them back inside to watch the weather some more.

It was snowing hard when he went to bed, and it was still snowing when he woke up the next day. By the time he finished his morning chores, it had finally died down to a gentle flurry. It had been off and on overnight, and though they'd gotten quite an accumulation, it was somehow not enough to warrant more than a two-hour school delay. Kimito was more than happy to take advantage of it in the workshop.

Ayato was relieved when he could finally break away and find Yuri in their usual meeting spot. But that relief faded in an instant when he saw what was hidden behind her weak smile and remembered what day it was.

As their boots crunched through the snow on the forest trail, he tried to distract her with conversation. Idle chatter about the two-hour delay, the chores he'd done while Kamisama Suzuko and Case Closed waited invitingly on his desk in his bedroom, the fact that the school should have just closed for the day… But then again, he didn't really want that, because he might not have been able to see her today.

(He left that last part out.)

Despite his attempts, Yuri kept looking doubtfully around at everything, her frown increasing as they emerged from the woods and saw all the piles of snow and slush in or on the side of the streets. There were still plenty of slick spots and black ice as they went along, and Yuri didn't like it one bit.

"Are you okay?" he asked finally, as they approached a street they had to cross.

"Fine, why wouldn't I be?" Yuri asked without missing a beat, staring down at the patch of ice at the edge of the sidewalk.

Ayato, who had already descended safely, looked up at her skeptically as he held out his hand to her. She conceded with a nod, as if to say "that's fair," before accepting his hand and letting him help her down.

"It's a shorter day, and that helps," she admitted, stepping carefully around another icy patch to come up alongside him. "I just… don't want to talk about it, okay? I don't want any reminders."

"Yeah. I understand."

They were halfway across the street before he noticed their hands were still intwined – but it looked like there was one more icy obstacle, so he decided to wait to let go until they made it to the other side. When they made it a few steps down the other sidewalk, Yuri's hand fell from his as she glanced around at the trees that surrounded them. Once bare, they were now encased in glittering coats of ice and snow.

"I used to think the world was so beautiful," she said quietly, "when it looked like this."

He waited patiently, watching her as she took in a slow, frosty breath and let it go. When she looked over and caught him staring, she gave him another weak smile.

"Come on," said Ayato, with an incline of his head. "Let's get to school."

They made their way through town, passing slow-moving cars and bundled up pedestrians and students who stopped here and there to pelt one another with snowballs. Ayato continued his attempts to keep her mind off the history of this day, jumping from topic to topic, even asking about her time with their friends. But as they were getting closer to school, Yuri slowed down one more time at the sight of a neighborhood entrance across the street.

Ayato was dismayed when he realized what she was looking at. As his memory served, that was one of the entrances to Ami's neighborhood. Of all the possible things to distract Yuri from today…

He knew what she was wondering. Had Ami already left for school? Would she even be there today? Or was all this wintry weather a perfect excuse to hide in her house, away from the friends who had betrayed her?

"Yuri," he prodded, trying to be gentle about it. There was a traffic light just ahead and their crosswalk sign was counting down the seconds. They'd need to make it across soon if they didn't want to wait through a whole other light change.

She snapped her eyes over to him. "Yeah. I'm coming," she said, moving to close the distance between them.

But as she came up alongside him and they started walking again, there came an awful screeching tire squeal from behind – one that sent a horrific chill up and down his spine, much icier and more overpowering than any winter breeze. He jerked his head around to look and saw a dark grey car sliding out of control as it barreled down the street toward the changing light.

"Look out!" Ayato shouted, grabbing Yuri by the arms and yanking her away from the edge of the sidewalk.

Horns blared from three different directions as the car clipped the sidewalk where Yuri had been, hit the car next to it when it overcorrected, fishtailed, and crashed into crashed head-on into another car on the other side of the light. The sound of splintering glass and the shriek of metal instantly pierced the air, cutting off the honking like a swift, sharp blade.

Yuri let out a tremulous breath, covering her mouth with a purple gloved hand. Ayato could only stare in shock, stepping up beside her as he took in the horrible accident. He didn't know what to do, he felt frozen on the spot, wondering if they should run across the street to help – or was it too dangerous? The ice was just as slippery for pedestrians, the oncoming cars and more clueless drivers still a lingering danger.

Across the road, near the stopped and mangled vehicles, other people got out of their cars to survey the situation.

"Is everyone okay?"

"What a nightmare…"

"Jun, you check on the driver! I'll call for help!"

Ayato watched the group of people gather around the cars, a couple of them getting out their phones and contacting emergency services within seconds. He exhaled a slow curse under his breath, stunned but hopeful as the Jun person seemed to be holding a conversation with a driver in one of the mashed-up vehicles. Still, his heart was beating fast, and he couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed.

Then he heard another sharp intake of breath, and a sickening feeling of unease seeped through his chest as he turned to look at Yuri.

Her face was deathly pale, eyes wide and glazed and brimming with tears. She was gasping now, trembling and breathing way too fast, too shallow. Clutching at her head, she turned away from the accident and began to break down.

"No, no…" she whispered, as if she barely had the air to speak, before choking on a sob. "No no no NO NO!"

Without hesitation, Ayato took her into his arms and held her tight. "Yuri!" he said desperately, doing his best to keep her standing. "Yuri, it's okay! You're okay!"

She was struggling and shaking, pressed against his chest, her legs wobbling beneath her like a newborn fawn's. "No! No! N—" Her voice cracked and she started bawling, falling slack against him like the strength had been drained from her body.

Ayato felt helpless as he wrapped his arms more securely around her. He didn't have that much experience with this – he'd only seen her cry openly just that once at the school festival, but this wasn't anything like that. This was trauma – this was panic. Hyperventilating and full-blown sobs, racking her body so hard he was fighting a losing battle with balance. He held her more tightly, falling with her on their knees in the displaced slush and snow but not letting go of her, only stroking her hair.

Clinging to his uniform, Yuri gasped for breath as she cried into his chest. His knees felt damp with snow, his chest damp with her tears.

"It's okay, I'm here," Ayato murmured, still not knowing what to say. Crying Yuri tended to send him into his own panic mode. He stroked her hair, down to her back, and clutched her closer as he slowed his breathing for her. "Just hold onto me."

When they finally arrived at school, Yuri was still pretty shaken (to say the least), so Ayato had offered to walk her to the infirmary to see a nurse or something. Yuri just told him that she could pull through the day, and it had taken a lot of coaxing on her end, but he eventually let her go and went to his homeroom.

Still, he worried through all of his classes. He couldn't retain anything the teachers said to him; the only thing his mind could focus on was Yuri. He didn't even notice Ami wasn't here today for almost two hours. The only reason he realized was because Kurimu asked him after one of their classes what was bothering him so much (when he turned around, he saw the empty desk next to her). In response, he let her and Hejjiguchi know what happened this morning. The two were appropriately distressed, having heard about the accident but not realizing their own friends had been witnesses. They asked as many questions as they could before the teacher shushed them to begin the next class.

Lunch came at last, and Ayato was anxious to get to the cafeteria to see if Yuri had survived the day alright. Bumping into Masuda, he and Kurimu were ready to fill him in on the way, but it was Masuda who had news for them.

"Hirohashi already texted me about it," Masuda said. "Yuri had a panic attack in class, so he walked her down to the infirmary. They sent her home for the day about an hour ago."

"I just got the same text from Nezumi," said Hejjiguchi, coming up behind them.

Ayato's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. "Another one?" he said, feeling horrible that he hadn't been there to help her through it.

Masuda looked concerned. "What do you mean, 'another one'?"

Kurimu and Hejjiguchi told him while Ayato sat on the edge of a desk, piping in here and there but mostly staring out the classroom doorway at the students passing by. He could hear someone in the hallway talking about the accident like it was something that had happened on tv, which made him want to jump out the window and walk home. How did they all go about their day like it was normal? Nothing about today felt normal to him.

Knowing Yuri wouldn't be waiting for him in the cafeteria, part of Ayato wanted to just go back to his own seat and eat lunch in the classroom, and not be budged until the end of the school day. Despite this, he found himself following the trio to their usual table and sitting down at the end, with Masuda taking a seat next to him.

Kurimu, Hejjiguchi, and Masuda continued to talk about what happened to Yuri, but their voices faded into the background along with the rest of the cafeteria's white noise as Ayato became immersed in his thoughts. She'd had another panic attack in class. What had brought it on? Was it bad? Had anyone helped her before Hirohashi brought her to the infirmary? Hundreds of questions demanded his attention all at once, and they threatened the onset of a killer headache…

"Naoi?" Kurimu asked. "Are you alright?"

Ayato sighed. His untouched food clearly said otherwise, and right now, he didn't have it in him to lie or ward off her concerns. "I'm just worried about her," he admitted. "What did Hirohashi mean when he said they sent her home for the day? Did anyone drive her home, or did she walk home by herself? I mean, the streets are still icy! And her parents still aren't back so obviously they didn't pick her up, and they aren't there for her, today of all days. It's just her! Home alone, surrounded by memories of her siblings. Who's going to help her if she has another panic attack?"

Masuda and Kurimu nodded knowingly, the two of them and Hejjiguchi listening and watching him almost in fascination. He didn't know what to make of that, but also he couldn't stop talking either.

"She saw it. It happened right in front of her this time, she didn't just hear about it from a phone call," Ayato said, resting his chin in his hand. "And I don't know how to protect her from that. I don't… she almost got hit herself. It was the worst thing that could've happened to her today. And I left her, I let her go to class like she hadn't just been completely traumatized. Nobody died at the scene, but seeing that, hearing that, it was too much for her. I should've known better. I should've walked her back home myself. And now I have to sit here not knowing if she's okay. I just want to—" He stopped himself from slamming his hands down on the table too hard, and breathed out a harsh sigh. "I just want to make sure she's alright."

"Yeah, buddy, I know," Hejjiguchi said, looking at him like he meant something else.

Ayato frowned unsurely, but then Kurimu spoke up. "Maybe we could text someone who's home and could check on her?" she asked helpfully, making Masuda perk up with mild intrigue at the idea. "I could try my mother. Maybe she can drop in if the bakery isn't too busy. Masuda, maybe you could try Miyake!"

"Maybe," Masuda said slowly, pulling out his phone and looking at it contemplatively.

They continued to play with this idea, talking amongst themselves and sending messages. Kurimu heard back from her mother quickly enough, who was unfortunately having a hectic day in the bakery and probably wouldn't be able to go over there for another hour or two but would let her know if that changed. While that went on, Ayato again let his thoughts consume him.

Truthfully, what he had been about to say wasn't I just want to make sure she's alright. That was part of it, yes, but not the full extent of it. What he wanted was to get up from this table, walk out of the school, and go straight to Yuri's house to be with her. But he knew he couldn't, because then Kimito would find out about him skipping school, and that was only okay if Ayato was making him money while he was doing it. Thus, he was stuck here at school, worrying about Yuri, missing her face…

Getting out his wallet, Ayato opened it and discreetly unearthed a couple of pictures. They were the ones taken of him and Yuri back in Shiga Kogen. Yuri had given him a copy of some of the photo booth pictures, and Saki had given the two of them copies of hers a week ago. There they were, still looking photogenic as ever together. Him in his white-and-blue jacket and black turtleneck and prized ski goggles, and Yuri in her sleek black-and-purple coat that luckily didn't cover up her instinctive smile. He couldn't help smiling too when he looked at the photo booth one with the Pokémon plush toy. Maybe at least Cyndaquil was there to comfort her right now.

His gaze lingered over their contented grins, the warmth and happiness preserved in Yuri's vivid green eyes that he hadn't seen to their full effect since that day. He could only remember them as he saw them today, panicked and spilling over with tears, and he wanted so very badly to do anything that would bring back their sparkle. But instead, he had to stay here at school, and likely go straight home afterwards, or else risk facing his father's wrath.

Stupid school. Stupid Kimito, he fumed silently as he started putting the photos back in place. Keeping me apart from the woman I love—

The wallet almost plummeted from his grip.

Did he just…?

Yes, he realized,his eyes widening as he looked from the photos in his wallet to his unsuspecting friends sitting around him, suddenly nervous that they had heard his thoughts. Then, almost daringly, he let himself think it again. Yes, the woman I love.

He loved Yuri. He was in love with her. How could he not have known it until now?

Putting away the wallet so as not to draw any attention, he looked up sharply at his friends like a deer who'd heard a cocked gun. But Kurimu and Hejjiguchi were too busy discussing the zaniness of the people in the latter's neighborhood, while Masuda was texting someone in serious-face mode. None of them had noticed Ayato's revelation. It got lost in the chaos of the cafeteria, which seemed louder than usual, like his epiphany had cranked the volume but blurred and muffled all the conversations nearby.

It was as if he had been suddenly encased in the demon fog from his dream, a thick, raging darkness that swirled around him, blocking off the outside, keeping him from Yuri—

"Hey," a feminine voice cut in, casting a shadow over their table. "Looks like you're missing another member of your group today."

Ayato snapped his head toward the source. Hisakawa stood in her usual visiting spot, hovering and looking extremely unimpressed, lifting her eyebrows speculatively. With a light shrug, she motioned down the table at the empty seats.

"Was Yuri seriously petty enough to skip school today?" she asked, a scoff embedded in her words. "I mean, really? Just to get out of seeing me."

Her lighthearted tone rubbed Ayato exactly the wrong way. He glared at Hisakawa, ready to give her another piece of his mind, until someone else spoke up instead. "She had a panic attack, Hisakawa," Hejjiguchi said evenly, his voice surprisingly stern. "She went home early today."

Ayato made a face. Though he appreciated Hejjiguchi coming to Yuri's defense, his mouthy lack of discretion annoyed him. Yuri could keep his secrets, but he couldn't keep hers?

"I'm surprised you haven't heard about it," Masuda said, frowning at Hisakawa.

She tensed, visibly losing her nerve. "What? What happened?"

"There was a car accident in town this morning," Kurimu told her, speaking more gently than the others. "Some people got hurt."

"Well, I heard about that, but—"

"Yuri saw it," Ayato interrupted, turning in his seat to face her. "She was right there. Today of all days."

Hisakawa stared at him, faltering some more. The look in his eyes was apparently enough to disarm her, as she cut her eyes to the side and shifted uncomfortably. "I… uh… sorry," she managed awkwardly, before pivoting and walking down the aisle to her group of gymnast friends.

It wasn't enough. Not for Ayato. Still reeling from his realization high, he smacked the table and stood up, storming after Hisakawa. He caught up to her just before she reached her table and grabbed her shoulder, not too aggressively but enough to make her spin back around.

"You just don't get it, do you?" he said.

"Huh?" Her face showed only confusion, still trying to register the fact that he'd followed her.

"How much it hurts to miss someone," Ayato hissed, his adrenaline still thrumming, his breath short. "Someone so dear to your heart, even the smallest measurement of time away from them is painful." Hisakawa made a face, but he didn't linger long enough to decide what it meant. "Wanting every day to have them in your life again, to be with them, to know that they're not hurting. When not a day goes by that you're not reminded of them. You just don't think about these things, do you?"

Hisakawa scowled, her wide blue eyes flashing with hurt before cooling rapidly. "I know what it's like—"

"Then act like it!" he snapped. "You know what today is for her. Don't you care? Don't you think about these things before you act?"

Pulling him aside, a few steps away from her friends, Hisakawa hissed, "You think I like knowing what it means to her now? Knowing my best friend's family died on my birthday? I loved Shion and Ajisai—"

"It's not about you," Ayato shot back. "They're gone, and like it or not, that's going to hurt her for a long time."

Hisakawa shook her head firmly. "She can't keep drowning herself like this. She has to get herself out—"

"She will get out," he insisted. "I know her. I'll help her – I'll make sure of it. It's just going to take a while." He looked her straight in the eye, shoulders squared. "And if you can't bring yourself to understand that, then for God's sake, leave her alone. You're no help to her at all."

He must have struck a nerve because Hisakawa went silent after that, looking distant but affected in a confused sort of way. Something warred behind her eyes, like a remorse she couldn't even make sense of. Her brows knitted together and her lip trembled, as if words were there but she couldn't make them fall out of her mouth. She just stood there, having the nerve to look terribly upset and like she was having a hard time digging up a memory, perhaps of what she'd done wrong.

Finally, he turned to leave, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hisakawa return to her friends. "A simple 'happy birthday' would've sufficed," she said under her breath.

A peal of laughter rose up from the table, loud and nervous. He snuck a scowl over his shoulder as Hisakawa sat down with the girls. Saki was the only one not laughing, just staring back at him with her large, round eyes. She fiddled anxiously with her yellow curls.

He marched back to the table, though everything inside him made him want to turn around and go the other way, right out the door. He'd even throw a chair through a window if he had to, but he couldn't even imagine how much trouble that would get him in with the school and Kimito combined. Instead, he took his seat across from Kurimu and Hejjiguchi, next to Masuda. All three were looking at him; even Masuda had put down his phone.

"You alright there, champ?" Hejjiguchi asked.

Ayato aggressively dug into his food, finding that his surge of emotions had left him famished. "Her timing was not the best," he answered, and took a bite.

They continued to watch him as he ate, exchanging glances among the three of them. He refused to hold their gazes for too long, lest they see right through them. As if they didn't already know. As if it hadn't been obvious to everyone except him.

What he wouldn't do for another one of their ridiculous schemes right now…

Was it true, after all, that love made people do stupid things?

Ayato was a little concerned at how close he had come to accepting one particular offer his friends had come up with. Masuda's roommate Hachihama would've been more than willing to sneak into an upperclassman classroom and cover for him while he snuck out of school. And with his dark hair, light eyes, and close to matching height, he might've gotten away with it if he mussed his hair just right and didn't draw too much attention to himself.

But as Masuda argued, that there would've been the problem. Daydreamed hypotheticals showed Hachihama playing his desk like a drum too loud or sending notes or paper airplanes or spitballs flying into Masuda's hair. They ended up sending a glum Hachihama back to his own classroom.

At the end of the day, though, Ayato didn't go back to his own house. He went left at the fork in the road near the forest path and kicked through the snow toward Yuri's neighborhood. He would've run down the sidewalks as fast as he could go, but he'd learned his lesson very quickly about the remaining slick spots and had skinned elbows and hands, and throbbing – well, everything – to show for it. Ignoring the pain as best he could, he hastened and hopped around snow and ice until he reached the Nakamuras' house. It didn't matter what he would come home to later. Nothing made sense except being with Yuri right now.

Making his way carefully up the walkway, he hesitated at the door and stopped himself from pounding his fist against it frantically. Wouldn't that stress her out even more? He rang the doorbell and gave a restrained but decisive knock.

"Yuri?" he called out. "Yuri, it's me!"

There was a quiet pause, and he wondered if she was asleep. He considered trying the door, before remembering that she always locked it thanks to creepy home invasion dreams. Now he was starting to doubt himself. What if she couldn't handle visitors right now? Was he being selfish by wanting to see her?

It was possible he himself was in no state for it, still in the throes of a heart-pounding epiphany. The emotions he was feeling might be too overwhelming for her; they were certainly overwhelming enough for him. And it wasn't like he could just take her into his arms again and—

Suddenly the front door swung open, and he barely got more than a glimpse of the sparkling green eyes staring out at him before he lunged forward and swept the girl up in a hug.

"Yuri, are you okay? I was so—"

Ayato paused. The body pressed against him felt different from the one he had held just this morning. Maybe it was the lack of winter coat, but… no. Her frame didn't feel as lithe, or as perfectly fit in his arms. It was a cozy enough hug, but something wasn't quite right. And not just because her body had initially tensed against him in surprise, or her arms had only gradually come up around him with a startled pat.

Opening his eyes, he looked over her shoulder and saw Yuri standing farther back in the foyer, wrapped in a fuzzy multicolored blanket, looking just as bewildered as he felt. With a startled cry, he released the girl he was holding and staggered back.

"You…?" he choked out.

"Wow, Naoi," Ami said, going swiftly from flustered to beaming. "I had no idea you'd missed me so much."

A/N: Sorry to leave on a mini cliffhanger, but HC awaits! Goodbye, ski resort arc, it's been fun (even though it took years lmao).

Preview:

TBA.

[Chapter 50]: TBA.