N/A: The next chapter is the last one of brace yourselves. Again forgive for the extremely late update. Since the next chapter's the heartfelt conclusion I'll try to post it as soon as possible.

Chapter 6

Shigure felt his heart stop. Memories of music, motion, and feelings returned to him. He remembered his beautiful childhood friend, Tsuki. All the feelings of dizziness and love that he thought were lost somehow found a way back to the surface of his consciousness. But could it her? Could it be by some twist of fate that here he was standing in front of girl that use to make his heart beat faster? But as he remembered it his family erased her memory when she found out about his secret. Why did she remember him? Shigure searched deep into the woman's grey eyes and searched for answers.

"Well I don't know if you remember me or not but we use to know each other when we were kids. I think it would be better if we talked inside." The woman kindly led Shigure into her little house.

A whirlpool of emotions and thoughts filled the confused dog. Shigure opened his mouth to speak but in the end decided against it for the fear of pouring his heart out. In the end all he could do was nod solemnly and follow her.

During the whole event Tohru was watching with gripping anticipation and Midori appeared a bit confused at what was happening but she remained silent.

"Midori get inside, we're going to have tea with Tohru and her friend." The woman exclaimed gently as she escorted Shigure into the front door. Midori and Tohru obediently entered the house and they made their way to the living room.

"Well, I think I'll make some tea." The woman left the three and hastily made her way to the kitchen.

Tension and silence filled the atmosphere as they sat there. Shigure was in a state of shock and he couldn't bring himself to speak. Tohru felt like she was going to die any moment because of the suspense. Midori was vaguely bewildered but she too opted to stay quiet.

As they sat there in uncomfortable silence Shigure happened to glance at Midori. His stare didn't leave the little girl. She looked like her. She looked so much like her. She looked like Tsuki. Could it be possible? Could she be Tsuki's daughter? But he shouldn't be surprised. People grow up, move on. So it shouldn't be suprising that Tsuki got married and had a child. It didn't matter. He never expected that he would meet Tsuki again and start a relationship. All he wanted was to see her again, talk to her. Maybe even dance with her one last time.

After what seemed like forever the short black haired woman came back with a tray of tea. She politely poured a cup green tea and offered it to Shigure. He just held out a hand and shook his head. He still seemed a little bit preoccupied as he watched the woman from the corner of his eye. She offered some to Tohru and Midori but they also didn't seem in the mood for tea.

Shigure couldn't take it any longer he felt like his heart was going to burst. Shigure looked at the short-haired woman besides him and whispered a single word. "Tsuki…"

The woman next to him responded strangely to the mention of the name. She smiled at Shigure, but it wasn't a happy smile it was a sympathetic one. She looked down at her cup of tea as she spoke. " I'm not Tsuki. Don't you remember? My sister, you and I use to play together? Don't you remember me…"

Memories of childhood filled the mind of the enlightened dog. He remembered Tsuki. He remembered the dancing. He remembered there was someone who always watched them. He remembered a girl named Natsu. She was only a year older than her sister Tsuki, the same age as Shigure. But he also remembered something else…

(Flashback)

A beautiful summer day. A boy standing alone in a forest. The background illuminates the boy and makes him appeared like a ghost under the shine of the sun.

"Shigure! Shigure! Shigure!" A girl with short black hair wearing a white sundress runs toward the messy haired boy.

The boy turns around and smiles as the girl approaches him. His bright smile is returned with a blush and a shy smile. She stops in front of him. Her hands are hidden behind her back, as she timidly stands there.

"What is it, Natsu?" The boy asks the shy girl.

This causes the girl to grow even more bashful but she awkwardly takes her hands out from behind her back. In it is a flower. A white daffodil sits in her dainty hands.

The boy's eyes widen slightly at the gift but then he smiles again at the girl. He reaches out to take the flower when. He hears someone call.

"Shigure! Shigure! Shigure!" Another girl comes running towards him. She looks a lot like the first girl expect she wears a cute pink dress and has long black hair. When the boy turns to the new girl a blush invades his cheeks. He forgets all about the flower turns his attention to the long haired girl.

"Shigure! I want to teach you this new dance!" The girl in the pink dress announces. She quickly grabs his hand and leads him off.

The short black haired girl looks down as she stands alone. Alone except for the daffodil.

(End Flashback)

"Natsu?" Shigure managed to croak out. He wasn't with the girl that he had fallen in love with, he was with the girl that had fallen in love with him. He looked at Natsu's sad but beautiful face. He blinked as all his hazy memories returned. Natsu remembered him because she had never found out about his secret. Her memories of him had never been erased into oblivion. She lived with his memory.

"You do remember me…" She smiled to herself, she seemed pleased that he least remembered her.

Shigure's was overwhelmed with a feeling a remorse, but couldn't take it anymore he had to find out what happened to her. "Natsu, what happened to Tsuki?" He asked quietly.

Natsu looked away at mention of the name. "My sister was a wonderful caring person and I loved her very much but she also wild one. She never wanted to live by the rules and she always braced freedom."

Shigure hung on every word that Natsu spoke, he even seemed to forget that Tohru and Midori were there. Tohru sat gripping the bottom of her chair until her knuckles turned white. Midori on the other hand sat with her head down.

"Her disregard led her down a bumpy road. At 18 she got pregnant and the father didn't even have the heart to marry her. So at 19 she had a little girl but she had no money. She did the only thing she could do. She got a job as a waitress in a coffee shop." Natsu painfully continued the story.

"And?" Shigure whispered. He had a bad feeling about at all but he had waited for 18 years to see Tsuki one more time. Even if she a child and she was a poor waitress, he yearned to her see again. Jut seeing her again would be enough for him.

Natsu continued her story with great difficulty. "One night she was coming home from work. She was waiting at the dark bus stop that she had always waited at. But there was a drunk driver and he drove off of the road. She never got home."

At that moment all Shigure's secret dreams of Tsuki melted. Tsuki, his childhood friend and first love, had died without ever knowing how much she meant to him. It also broke his heart to think that he would never be able to see her ever again. He would never feel her hands in his or her graceful body leading him awkwardly. He would never feel that dizzy feeling he always got around him. He would never be able to dance with Tsuki. He would never have one last dance.

Tohru sat frozen in shock. She had worked so hard. So hard to make sure that Shigure saw Tsuki once again but everything she had done was in worthless. Tohru hung her head in embarrassment and in guilt. How could she be so stupid? Instead of making things better she had made an even bigger mess.

Midori next to her still sat with her head down. Her voice escaped from her lips in a painful whisper. "She never got home and she left me. My Dad left me when I was born. Then my mom left me. Now I only have Aunt Natsu." Tears started to well up in her pretty grey eyes and slid down her ivory cheeks.

Natsu gracefully stood up and went Midori's side to comfort her. Then she looked up at Shigure and Tohru. "I'm very sorry but I think it's best if you left. If you like we can have tea another time." Natsu explained in a low voice as she patted Midori's back lightly.

"Yes, I think I'd be best if Tohru and I went on our way." Shigure announced in a calm voice. There just was so much to absorb. So many events had taken place in a single afternoon. The secret dreams that he had kept had kept in his heart for so long had slowly faded in a matter of minutes. Shigure guessed that his dreams would only be that dreams.

Silently Tohru and Shigure were escorted out by Natsu. They all bowed and exchanged goodbyes before Tohru and Shigure were off. They silently walked home together. Each lost in their own thoughts.

To be continued…