Disclaimer: I do not own HYD or any of its characters, but I wish I did. Well, at least I sorta own the very hot reformed bad boy Haru.

Chapter 26: Ever After Doesn't Last Forever

Two roads diverged in a wood

And I took the one less traveled by

And that has made the difference.

-Robert Frost

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I briskly walked through the streets taken stolen glances form behind me wondering if anyone had been following me. Finally stopping in front of a small quaint house on a street lined wit similar houses I stared down at the piece of paper making sure I was in the right place. I pushed the buzzer and soon the large gates opened. The front door slowly opened and Etosan greeted me.

"Nice to see you again Tsukushi," the kind older gentleman greeted me. "We've been expecting you."

From behind him Haru appeared.

"Haru!"

He glanced out the door after he pulled me inside. "Come inside," he said in a solemn tone.

I followed him through the cozy little home into the living room. It was pretty barren inside with only a few small pieces of furniture carelessly strewn around the room. I sat down on the couch across from him with a determined look on his face.

"Why did you come to me now? We're leaving tomorrow."

"I know. That's why I need your help."

Haru's face darkened at the sound of those words. "If you're coming to me it must be important. What do you need?"

"I need to get out of here."

"I can't do that."

"Kazuya."

"What about him?"

"He's dead."

The hardened expression on Haru's face softened for a moment, but he quickly masked his dismay. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, but I don't need your pity. I need to leave here." I was on the verge of tears at this point. Slowly, I recounted the details to Haru about what had happened. When I finished I found the courage t tell him my plans.

"You know I can't take you with me. I won't put you in any more danger."

"There's no other way. I need to get out of here. If I leave everything can be resolved."

"How? He won't ever let go of you. Look! He took four fucking bullets in the back for you! It's insane what you are planning. It'll never work out."

"It will. Everything will be better once I'm gone. Once she knows that I'm out of Doumyouji's life she'll forget all about destroying the rest of F4. Rui will marry Shizuka, the woman he deserves. Everything will be for the better. Besides, there's nothing left for me here now. Yuki and Kazuya are gone. The longer I stay near them the farther she will go. Sooner or later she'll figure out you had something to do with this. You might be next. I want to go alone."

That struck a chord in him, Haru stood up from his seat not wanting to hear anymore. "I have an idea. I need to discuss this with Fujio, though. We'll have to pull a few strings. First, I need to show you something first." He sauntered out of the room letting me follow behind He dug his hands in his pockets and walked down the hall towards a closed door. He stopped in front of it and placed his hand on the doorknob.

Slowly he opened the door revealing a bedroom. Fujio sat in a chair next to the bed happily chatting with someone. I felt my knees go weak. My jaw dropped open. "Hana?"

The girl stopped talking to her companion and turned in my direction. "Ge ge, you didn't tell me that we had a visitor? Hi, my name is Hana. And you are?"

Haru pushed me into the room. He forced a smile onto his face. "Sorry, but I forgot my friend was going to come over today. Hana. Meet Tsukushi."

"Nice to meet you Tsukushi."

My mind froze and ceased working for a moment. I struggled to comprehend what was going on. How could this be? I just couldn't process what was going on. Finally finding my words I managed to utter, "Hello."

Fujio stood up and gave me a small embrace. "Just play along," he whispered into my ear.

"How do you know my brother?"

"She's a classmate of ours, Hana," Fujio responded covering up for me.

Haru walked over to Hana's side and she began to happily chat with him. The conversed it that normal brother sister way teasing one another. The entire time Haru just smiled as Hana laughed at him while taking a few quick glances at me. My eyes remained fixed on those two.

"I don't understand," I whispered back to Fujio who stood beside me. "How could she survive? He shot her in the heart. How is this possible?"

"Jin."

"Jin?"

"When Haru shot Hana he missed her heat, but it was close enough to graze one of the ventricles. She was close to bleeding to death and her heart was struggling. Jin was far gone by the time we reached here."

"So how did Jin make this possible?"

A voice from behind me answered my question. "She needed a new heart. Jin's was a perfect match."

I spun around. "Etosan?"

He pushed past me and walked over to Hana. "How is my patient doing?" He pushed her shirt down a little revealing a large bandaged scar over her chest.

"Much better today!" she cheerily replied.

"Well you should still get your rest. You're not fully healed yet, he laughed patting her on the head.

"I'm too excited to rest! We're leaving tomorrow! Ge ge promised to take me to the beach."

"That's all and well, but you need to rest," he softly scolded. "Everyone should get out. Hana needs to rest because tomorrow is going to be a busy day." His face turned cold for a moment, but quickly he recovered. "Everybody out!"

Everyone filed out leaving me last to close the door. Before stepped out the door a voice called out after me.

"Tsukushi!"

I spun around wondering what she could have to say to me.

"It was nice to meet you. I hope we meet again one day. I can tell my brother likes you. Can we be friends?"

It was like déjà vu. Was it all some sick trick of hers? It was the same question she had asked of me so long ago, but this time when she asked there was a sense of pleading in them.

"Sure." I weakly let out a smile.

"Great! I hope you visit us again when we return."

I slammed the door closed behind me. I looked up at Fujio and Haru who leaned against the walls with their hand across their chest.

Fujio broke the silence. "He loved and her more than any man could love a woman. His heart perfectly matched hers. The irony of it all is she doesn't even remember who he is."

Haru nodded his head. "Don't worry Tsukushi. I already know what you are thinking. After she woke up, she was completely disoriented. She's forgotten everything. I mean EVERYTHING. She didn't even know who she was a few days ago. I decided it be better she never remember. I've only told her a few minor truths about our past."

"He's right. After suffering through such a trauma it seems her mind has shut out any unpleasant memories. We've tested her knowledge and she can't remember a thing. Her training. Yakuza. Her father. Her mother. Jin. It's all gone. We've been trying to recreate a past for her."

"Why did you show me this?!" I demanded. My mind was swirling with a million questions.

"Even if she doesn't remember a thing she's still a murderer. She killed Kazuya. I won't let them find her. I normally wouldn't use my underground resources, but it looks like it'll be necessary."

"Tsukushi, Haru filled me in on what you want. We can help you, but it's not safe for you to go through it alone."

"She won't," a voice said from a distance.

"Susumu?!"

"I knew you would do this. You always try to do these things alone, but I won't let you. Two is always better than one. I'm going with you."

"How did you get in here, Susumu?" Haru asked in bewilderment.

"I got a call from Mama and Papa and I went to find oneesan in her room, but she was gone. I managed to catch up to her and I followed her here. I overheard you and Fujio talking about the plan. I'm in."

"What do you mean you're in?!" I screamed. "I'm not letting you come. I'm doing this alone."

"Mama and Papa are in trouble."

"What?"

"Apparently they've run up quite a few debts. They were laid off from the fishing boat. Then it hit. The entire village was bought out for development. It was the Doumyouji Corporation. We can't afford to pay off the debts with no source of income. They're behind in rent and since the Doumyouji Corporation now owns the land and the buildings one of which our parents live in they've been evicted. They have the legal right collect on the debts, they can take away everything and then some. This is serious. It could lead to jail time."

"Can we do two more?" Fujio asked turning to Haru.

"It'll take me some more time. We'll need to get him here. I'll make the calls. You know what to do with them."

Fujio solemnly nodded his head. "I'll get the equipment."

"Susumu, you come with me. I need you to get in contact with your parents. I'll fill you in on what I can do for them, but it's up to you to persuade them to go along with it."

"No problem." Susumu followed Haru down the hall and they disappeared into one of the rooms.

"Thank you," I mumbled to Haru as he walked away.

He shrugged his shoulders and threw me a lopsided smile, which broke me out of my somber mood. "I would do anything for the women I love"

Now Fujio and I were left alone. He put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. Everything will be ok. Are you willing to do anything?"

I nodded my head and took in a deep breath. "Yes."

"Fine, because I'm going to make you one of us."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I gritted my teeth feeling the needle pricks pierce through my skin. Clothes were strewn all over the floor in a tangled mess. Soaked towels lined the floor beneath me. Fujio placed his instrument on the ground and picked up a towel to pat away the blood. I laid back against the cold tiles of the bathroom floor blinking back the tears.

"Is it almost finished."

Fujio wrapped threw the remainder of his tools into his bag. He stood up from the floor to admire his work. "Looks good."

I glanced down at his artwork. "Perfect. You might reconsider your career options. You have a real talent for this."

Fujio looked down at his bandaged hand. "I might consider it. My work is still pretty damn good even with one hand."

"Will you be able to use it again?"

He held his hand to his face. "Yeah. There was no real severe nerve damage. I've already started to regain some sensation in my fingers. In a few months it'll be like nothing happened. I realized that I really do want to be a doctor. Now that this is all over I have better motivation to heal people. For once, someone in my family will be able to help others who deserve the help. I was lucky that I still have use of my hand. Maybe god intended me o have this gift. Why else would I be spared?"

My thoughts lingered to Rui. Fate had not chosen to be as kid with him. His gift had been so violently taken away without any warning. He must miss his violin. I snapped out of my thoughts about Rui. I didn't deserve to think about him. I focused myself on the task at hand. Fujio pulled me up off the ground. "Is this all?"

He looked me up and down with a finger on his lip. "It's just not quite right yet. What's missing?"

I looked at myself in the mirror. "You're right. It still needs a little something. What else have you got in that bag?"

"Take a look for yourself."

I spilled the contents of the bag onto the floor until something caught my eye. "This is it! Can you help me with this."

Fujio curiously eyed me, before breaking out into a grin. "Sure. Care to do the honors?"

"Yeup." I picked up the scissors in my hand and grabbed a fistful of hair. Closing my eyes, I squeezed the two handles of the scissors together. I watched through squinted eyes as my long locks fell into the bathroom sink.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you two done in there yet?" Haru yelled from outside the door.

Fujio stepped out first. "Art takes time, my dear friend," he laughed.

"So how do I look?" I stepped out from behind him.

Haru who was busy in front of the computer with Susumu peering over his shoulder turned around. His mouth dropped to the floor. "What did you do?!"

"Well Fujio said I needed a drastic change, so I went along with it. I suggested the new haircut." I spun around in a circle and walked over to a mirror to admire myself. I gasped a little seeing my new self for the first time. My hair now dyed jet black with streaks of pink running throughout was cropped into a short bob. I still wasn't sure about the clothes Fujio picked out. He had to take some clothes out f Hana's closet and I wasn't exactly used to this type of clothing. After sorting through all the outfits I finally agreed on a short black low rise leather mini skirt, black knee high stiletto boots, and a hot pink midriff halter top.

"WHOA!" Susumu gawked at me.

"Susumu?! You're the one to talk. I almost didn't recognize you."

He put his hand on the back of his head laughing. "Well I didn't mean for this to happen, but I had an accident with the bottle of bleach."

"It looks good, though. You like much nicer as a blonde." I stared at Susumu's messily styled hair that was a new bleach blonde color. With the remnants of his tan from the summer in the fishing village he could have passed for a surfer boy. He slumped over a little wearing a black dress shirt sloppily left unbuttoned on the top with a pair of black slacks. He did look quite mature for his age.

I tugged down the side of my skirt displaying my newly etched eternity tattoo Fujio created on my hip. "I never thought in a million years I would have a tattoo."

The smile on Haru's face quickly disappeared. "Where did you get that?!" he coldly demanded pulling me closer to inspect it.

Fujio pulled me of Haru's grip. "They have no chance unless one of them has the mark. They'll need proof along the trip. It'll ensure they get where they'll get the help along the way."

"Don't be mad at him. I pushed him to do it. Fujio wasn't even sure if it was a good idea, but I after hearing your plan I thought this might come in handy."

Sulkily Haru sat back down in front of his computer. "Fine. What's done is done. I've already gotten everyone else's papers done. Ready for your closeup, Tsukushi?"

"Yep." Haru directed me to stand in front of a plain white backdrop he set up in the bedroom. A digital camera was placed on a tripod in front of me.

"Ready! One. Two. Three. Smile."

FLASH.

I blinked my eyes trying to get rid of that pesky blur that appeared after the flash. "How does it look?"

"Good. Now all I have to do is fill in the information"

He pulled out a suitcase from under the desk and opened it up. In neatly sealed bags there were hundreds of blank passports from different countries. Haru pulled out a book and placed it in the printer before beginning to furiously typing information in.

"What's all this?"

"Haru's making new documents for us. He's been busy making passports, birth certificates, school records, and every other paper we would need to start over. He's even booked our plane tickets." Susumu pulled opened a file on the table. "We have to memorize a whole new life."

"What about Mama and Papa?"

"It took them a little convincing, but you know how Mama is. Haru was the one who actually got her to go along with this. He knew how to talk to her."

I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What did you tell my mother?"

Haru glanced over at me for a second before redirecting his attention in the computer screen. "I told her as your boyfriend I would pay off your debts. Plus I said I thought it would be improper for the parents of my future wife to live in such squalor, so I said I would send them to Hong Kong to start up a new business venture my family was planning. I explained to them that since the Doumyouji's hated your family so much it would be prudent to change their names and identities. At the mention of the 500 million yen I was offering then to do this your mother completely agreed to it. I explained that you and Susumu would be going away to Australia for awhile to study with me."

"What?! She believed that?!"

"Actually I brought up the 50 million yen first and after that she didn't seem to care what I was proposing."

"We can't accept 500 million yen! Where can you get that money from? You yourself said you hated using your family's money. It's tainted by illegal activity." At this point was finding myself hyperventilating at the thought of Haru giving my parents so much many. My mother was really insane. At any mention of money she would do anything for it.

"Actually, it's my money and not my father's. Part of okaasan's will left trust funds to Hana and I. My mother wanted to make sure her children would always be taken care of. She wasn't a stupid woman. She took all her own money and invested it into US bonds and stock to build up our trust funds. This year I turned old enough to access my account. No one could touch it except me, not even my father. The money is completely legal. Today I'm worth about 100 million US dollars. Hana's worth about 80 million, but she never knew about the money. No one else knew about it except for me and the person who helped my mother make all the transactions. When I turned 16 I was told about my trust fund. It's more than any one person will ever need in a lifetime. I just accessed my account today and sold some of the stock."

"He agreed to help us I see," Fujio interjected.

"Of course I would," a voice answered from the doorway.

A tall older looking man entered the room. He appeared to be around the same age as Etosan. However there was something oddly familiar about him. He had a certain tone in his voice and the way he walked with a domineering confidence reminded me of someone. There was a certain carefree youthfulness about him. He wasn't like Fujio's father who always seemed calm and composed. He walked over to me and smiled. I knew that smile. I stared at the outstretched hand with the eternity tattoo on the backside of his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Makinosan. My name is Lau Junhai."

My hand trembled in his. "Nice to meet you."

"It deeply saddens me to see you all in this predicament. I've expended all my limited resources to help you out. I've been busy trying to calm the rest of the yakuza about our future. Seeing you all here only makes me feel more guilty that we encouraged our children to go into this. I know my son played a large part in this mess, I only hope I can try to help make things right again." He walked over to Haru and handed him a folder. "I've transferred all the money into these bank accounts. I've called a few of my contacts in Hong Kong and Australia. There will be no problems getting through immigration. I called the headmaster in Australia and they will be expecting them to start in two weeks. Housing has been taken care of, too."

"Thank you." Haru looked at the older man with a gratefulness in his eyes. "What will you do after this?"

He slumped his shoulders and released a heavy sigh. "Bury my son." He sauntered to the open doorway. "Seeing you do this Haru makes me proud. Yuri always said you would change the yakuza for the better. You will be the one to finally destroy it. You were all like my own children. You can always contact me if you need help." With those few parting bitter words he left.

"That was Jin's father?" I incredulously asked.

Haru placed the folder onto the desk. "Yes."

"It's strange how different father and son can be. Jin's father was never all too thrilled to be in the yakuza. Like my father they were both waning on the idea of staying in after working for Haru's father for so long. Jin's father was actually idealistic like Haru's mother. He secretly hoped someone would destroy the empire they helped create. He helped Haru's mother set up the trust funds." Fujio took off his glasses and absentmindedly cleaned them with the handkerchief he pulled out from his pocket. "I think he feels like he failed Jin."

The room fell silent for a few moments. From then on it was only the slight tapping the keyboard that echoed through the room. Haru was observed by the words racing across the screen.

"Done. There's just one last detail I need to fill in, Tuskushi. You need to pick a name."

"A new name?" I had been known as Tsukushi the weed for so long I couldn't imagine being called anything else. I drew a complete blank. I searched for choices in my head rejecting one after another. Then it came to me. "I got it."

"So what's it going to be?"

"I've always been called a weed all my life. It's time I find something a little bit more elegant. Lily."

A small smile crept up on Haru's face knowing why I had chosen it. "It really does fit you." He typed in my new name and pushed print. In a few seconds the printer spit out my new life. Haru neatly arranged all my papers into a folder and handed it to me. He then proceeded to pick up another folder and grabbed his jacket o the back of the chair. "We've got to go now if we want to make it in time, Susumu."

Susumu nodded his head and headed out the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

Haru stopped halfway to the door. "We have to drive out to the fishing village to give this to your parents. I've already booked them a 6 AM flight out of Japan to Hong Kong."

"Be safe."

Susumu and Haru nodded their head in agreement before dashing out the door in a hurry.

Fujio placed a hand on my shoulder. "You should get some rest. It's been a crazy day. Study the information in your folder. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new life." He walked out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him.

Not being able to sleep I sat down at the desk and opened up my folder. "Goodbye Makino Tsukushi," I whispered to myself.

~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Wake up oneesan."

"Susumu?" I opened my eyes to find Susumu hovering over me.

"It's already noon."

I groggily rolled out of bed and trudged towards the bathroom.

Susumu saw the open opportunity to crawl into the warm bed I had left. He pulled the warm covers over his head. "I'm exhausted. I just got back from dropping Mama and Papa off at the airport. You should have seen her fawning over Haru. She kept saying over and over again how lucky it was you snagged another rich boy. I couldn't help, but laugh thinking about the look on her face if she found out he was yakuza. She thought he was just another rich kid. Well, Haru assured me they'll have no trouble settling in Hong Kong since he'll be flying out there later to meet up with them. Wake me up when it's time to leave."

I flicked on the light switch of the bathroom. I jumped back not recognizing the face I the mirror, but soon realized it was me. After washing up I opened the door to find a snoring Susumu. Not really knowing what to do I sat on the couch. The sound of my stomach rumbling gave me an idea. Thankfully, someone had left me breakfast on the table. I sat down and devoured everything only feeling guilty afterwards wondering if I should have saved some for Susumu. However, the sound of his snoring indicated that food was the last thing on his mind.

I slipped out of the room trying not to disturb Susumu's slumber. As I crept silently I noticed a door left open. I peeked in to find Haru leaning back in a chair with his eyes closed.

"You can come in if you want?" he said keeping his eyes closed.

Sheepishly I walked in and sat down on the bed. "Susumu said everything went off well."

"As well as can be expected. I'll contact them as soon as I land. I've already found them jobs running a little Japanese restaurant in the Tsim Sha Tsui district."

"Are you going back to Hong Kong permanently?"

Haru stood up and sat down on the bed beside me causing the mattress to sink down lower under his weight. He fell backwards and stared up at the ceiling. "Just as a stop over. Hana wants to go to the beach, so I think I'll take her to the Caribbean. After that I guess well just be going here and there just until things settle down."

I laid down next to him to stare at the same cracks he had become engrossed in. "When you were little did you ever think your life would end up like this? Was this what you wanted for your life?"

Haru chuckled to himself. "Hell no, but what's done is done. You can't change the past. When I was little and had no clue about the yakuza. I said I wanted to grow up to be a cat, so I could sleep all day. It's funny how when you're little you believe you can be and do anything. In retrospect, I think everything has to happen for a reason. Now all I want to do is just rest. Fujio has his future set as a doctor. Me, I'm still looking for what I am supposed to be. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What do you want?"

It wasn't a strange question, but the words sounded so foreign to me. I let out a bitter laugh. "Do you know that is the first time someone has ever asked me that? All my life I've been told what I should want and what I should do. I used to think my dream was to study hard so I could find a good job and help support my family. Now I don't know what it is that I want. I think that makes me more scared than anything else." I wrinkled my forehead trying to think about what kind of future I wanted now. Until now F4, Yuki, and Kazuya always had some part in it, but now that was impossible.

"Anything is possible now. You have a chance to start fresh. Be someone else. Do what you want. Your life is just beginning." He sat straight up and leaned his chin on one hand. "Enough serious talk. Today is your last day in Japan. Why don't we leave with some good memories?"

"You seriously don't mean what I think you mean." I raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Come on." He jerked the window open. "Ladies first."

"What about Fujio and the others?"

"We'll be back before they know we're gone."

I hesitated for a moment, but the idea of being cooped up in the house all day wasn't a winning argument to get me stay inside. "Fine." As we crawled through the bushed barely escaping I mumbled to myself, "Why do I always attract the weirdos?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hours later we emerged into the street from the darkened arcade. Haru pulled out a wad of papers form his pocket and tossed them into the garbage.

I held my hand over my mouth giggling. "It really must do a lot for your ego to have a crowd of 13 year old girls surround you chanting your name. Maybe you shouldn't' throw those phone numbers away. You never know, one of them could be Ms. Right."

"Very funny," he smirked. "You're just jealous that I kicked your ass in DDR. Now that we've done what I wanted to do where would you like to go?"

I looked up at the clock hanging in front of the bank. "Well, there is one place I would like to go, but I don't think there's much time left to go there. Isn't our flight at 7?"

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Haru put his hand up for a minute. "Shit! It's Fujio. He musta figured out that we snuck out. Give me a minute to talk to him." Haru walked a little further down and held the phone away from his ear afraid he would go deaf from Fujio's screaming. After a few moments, he hung up and came back to me.

"We have to get back, right?"

"Naw. I told him we would just meet them at the airport. He'll get over it. Let's go before it gets too late." He grabbed my hand and began running dragging me behind.

"Wait! I didn't tell you where I wanted to go."

He glanced back at me and grinned. "It's obvious."

*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*

I jumped onto the railing and looked out at Eitoku for the last time. It was refreshing to feel the chilly late afternoon breeze hit my face. I looked down to see Haru meandering around the grounds giving me some quite peaceful time alone in my favorite place in Japan. It funny how I found myself misty eyed about leaving this hell of a school. It wasn't really the school I would miss the most, but more the memories I had created here, in this stairwell. I tossed off the confining baseball cap and tousled my cropped hair. I tugged on my tight black leather mini skirt trying to cover my bottom, which was shivering against the cold concrete. The clothes I had worn that afternoon were sloppily discarded in the bag on the ground. I didn't need them now since I had changed into my prepared outfit from yesterday. I took one last deep breath and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. There was just one last thing I needed to do. I dialed the numbers creating a three way call.

"Tsukushi?" two hurried voices asked at the same time.

"Where are you, you stupid woman? I've left about a hundred messages for you!" Doumyouji screamed into my ear.

"You had us worried," Rui calmly stated in his usual monotone voice, but with a hint of worry.

I cleared my throat and began to speak. "I wanted to talk to you both at the same time since you both wanted an answer of who I would choose. I have your answer now. You've both showed me two different kind of loves. Doumyouji you showed me the world, but Rui you gave me comfort when I needed it the most. I thank both of you for that, but somewhere in the middle of all this things just got really screwed up. Who was I, but some nobody girl that burst into your lives disturbing the natural order of things. Our worlds were never meant to collide. Sometimes I would think that I was a modern day Cinderella, but my fairytale ending is nothing like the others. I was lucky to have had two princes who would risk everything for me the woman they loved vying for my love. Usually this would lead to the proverbial happily ever after in her choosing one. We all believed we could find our happily ever after together. I've come to realize something, though. Ever after doesn't last forever."

"TSUKUSHI!" Rui and Doumyouji both screamed at once.

I bit back the tears, but soon they spilled out falling onto the phone clutched in my trembling hand. "Goodbye." I jumped off the ledge ignoring the protests of Rui and Doumyouji still on the other line. Gently I placed the phone on the ground and raised my boot in the air. "I'm doing this for all of us," I whispered to myself. My foot dropped like a hammer smashing the last tie to my old life in pieces.

"We've got to go," Haru said as he walked up the stair looking down at the shards of plastic and metal on the ground.

I wiped away the stray tear falling down my cheek. "Let's go."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Susumu wrapped an arm around my shoulder as we strode through the terminal towards our boarding gate. He gave me a little reassuring squeeze nudging me to keep up. It was just Haru now with us to say his goodbyes and give final instructions. Fujio, his father, and Hana had already gone through the gate to their flight to Hong Kong.

"Have a safe trip, Susumu." He extended his hand to Susumu.

"Sometimes I don't' know whether I should thank you or punch you in the face for all of this." He let out a heavy sigh and shrugged his shoulders. Susumu hesitated, but took his hand and shook it. "Thanks.for everything." He picked up his bag and walked over to the counter handing the woman his ticket and passport flashing her one of his killer smiles. She glanced at them and handed them back to him without a second thought absorbed by his flirty ways.

I turned to Haru not knowing quite what I should say.

"It's almost time for your flight to take off." He dug his hands in his pockets. "Oh I almost forgot this. I felt kind of bad I didn't get you anything for Christmas."

"You don't need to give me anything. You've done more than enough." I picked up my bag and began to back away.

"No. I want you to have this." He pulled the chain from around his neck off and clasped it around mine.

I touched the jade pendant. "But your mother gave this to you?" I stuttered.

He just warmly smiled at me. "You might need the extra protection, since I can't be with you." He grabbed me into his warm embrace. "I want it back one day," he whispered into my ear. He released me from his grip. "Goodbye Makino Tuskushi."

I took one last look at Haru and took a deep breath. I handed my ticket and passport to the woman behind the counter who just took a quick look and handed it back to me. As I walked through the gate Susumu sidled up beside me and held my hand. I looked for the fourth counter in the immigration check remembering the instructions that Fujio had given me. I walked up to the stern looking older man and handed him our passports. He suspiciously eyes them scrutinizing every detail. It wasn't until I tugged down on my skirt a little exposing my tattoo that his eyes widened and he quickly stamped our books. His demeanor changed quickly and he politely invited us through.

Sitting in the airplane waiting for take off I watched Susumu squirming in his seat as it was his first time in a plane. He ripped off his jacket and something fell to the floor, He picked it off the ground and opened it suddenly becoming engrossed with it. "Oh my god!"

I leaned over to his side and looked down at what he held in his hands. My eyes widened.

"Haru opened a bank account with both our names on it. This says we have 500 million yen in the bank." He smacked himself in the forehead and leaned back in his chair laughing to himself.

I put on my headphones ignoring his rants about what we could do with all this money. I glanced out the window watching the sky painted in rich hues of orange, red and yellow. The sun was slowly setting in the horizon. I leaned back and watched Japan fade farther and farther away into the distance.

*~~*~*~*Back to the present*~*~*~*~*

I made a mistake when I introduced myself earlier. My name was Makino Tsukushi. It's been years since someone has called me by that name. I now go by the name Lily Akihara as all my friends in Australia and around the world know me as now. It is the first time I've been back to Japan in six years and today is my 22nd birthday.

I glanced down at my now cold tea realizing how much time had passed lost in my own thoughts. I pushed the cup away form me and leaned back in my chair looking out the window once again. The end of winter was approaching and it was fighting like hell to make itself known before Spring would come in one flail swoop beating the season into submission. It was quite funny how the changing of seasons affected me. It was days like this in the chilly days and freezing nights of winter I was most reminded of Rui, my winter. On the outside he could be so cold and bitter, but inside the quiet peacefulness he gave off was more comforting than anything like the stillness of the frozen wonderland. Haru was of course my spring giving me new life and newfound joy. All those years on spring days, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of the new bloom of the flowers. Finally Doumyouji was my summer. Fiery and hot tempered beating down on you with the rising temperatures, but still wrapping you in the warmth of the sun's rays. The many summer days I spent at the beach I thought of Doumyouji. Autumn was always a time for me to reflect on all the other seasons and just enjoy my own life without thoughts of them.

From the distance I heard the faint tinkle of the bell hanging over the door. I ignored it and stayed lost in my own musings not wanting to be disturbed. However, I was startled at the sound of someone taking the seat opposite of me. I looked up in shock seeing an all too familiar face. How did he find me? He had grown up so much the last few years, but I could still see the boy I had left behind so long ago. It was truly a birthday surprise.

He looked straight at me and smiled. "I knew you would come back."

~FIN

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A/N: Based on comments on the other site where I have posted this fic people seem to like my open ending. After reading it over I kinda like it myself. Initially when I started this I had a more definitive ending, but as time went on I found myself it took on a life of its own. I thank everyone who took the time to read my very first fanfic and left encouraging comments. I luv a good comment.