Prologue

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"Look! There she is!"

Seta's van came to a dramatic, screeching stop in front of the Okinawa Air terminal. Sure enough, Shinobu was there, trying to load an enormous suitcase onto a tiny cart. She seemed very small at that moment, struggling with her luggage all by herself.

Keitaro remembered this scene from a long time ago. He saw the little girl who went up the steps to the Hinata Inn with that exact same suitcase. And now as a young woman, she was leaving with it. He wanted very much to just leap out of the car and help her. But that would've meant her being gone for good. Keitaro didn't want that.

He reached for the knob to roll down the window, but hesitated. What if this wasn't the right thing to do? Shinobu may have been shy and soft-spoken while at the Hinata Inn, but when it came down to it, she made her own decisions. She had already made her choice, and to try and stop her now would just make the parting more painful for all of them.

And who was he to try and stop this? He had promised a girl almost two decades ago that he would find her, and that they would be happy together at Tokyo U. Was he willing to just abandon that memory, forsake that old, sacred promise? And for what? He asked himself. Shinobu was very young, and her feelings were bound to change in the space of a heartbeat… What if they already had, and Keitaro was just blind?

Shinobu stumbled, dropping the suitcase. Keitaro rolled down the window without another thought. He cupped his hands to his face, calling out, "Shinobu-chan!"

She jumped in surprise, and guiltily turned around to face the source of that voice. "Urashima-sempai…?"

"Shinobu-chan…" Keitaro found himself with nothing to say, all the good speeches he had planned in his head withering away in the heat of the moment. So he just said what came to him. "You can't go!"

Was that regret in her eyes? Keitaro wondered. He could barely hear her response.

"I'm sorry, sempai… but I have to. I can't stay at the Hinata Inn any more. Tell Naru-sempai that I'm sorry for causing her so much pain. And…" She wiped her eyes, trying to kill the lump that was quickly growing in her throat. "I wish you both the best of luck. Goodbye, Urashima-sempai." She turned to leave, picking up her suitcase and hurrying to the automatic doors.

"But Shinobu…" Keitaro tightly closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. This was it. This was his future. "Shinobu! Please… I don't want you to leave!"

Shinobu turned around again, her face wreathed in sorrow. "Sempai, just let me go. Please."

"But that's just it, I *can't* let you go!" She looked away, and Keitaro got out of his car, coming up to Shinobu and holding her by the shoulders. "Shinobu-chan, don't turn away. Don't you understand that we need you?"

A bittersweet smile formed on Shinobu's lips. "I'm sure… that you could cook and clean without me, Urashima-sempai. Everything will be okay. You'll see."

Keitaro winced. "That isn't what I meant." He shook her shoulders lightly. "Look at me, Shinobu! I'm telling you that we— that I need you! I want you to be here!"

"But why?"

It was a simple question, but Keitaro could suddenly feel the weight of the world, of fate, resting on his shoulders. Shinobu continued, her voice slowly filling with a sadness that broke Keitaro's heart. "For the longest time, it's been Narusegawa-sempai, or Otohime-san. They're both very pretty girls, sempai. Pretty, and smart, and grown-up... You should look for them, they might be waiting for—"

He took her face into his hands. She looked up in surprise, and she found a tense, nervous, but determined face looking back at her.

"You're right, Shinobu-chan. Those two are very pretty, and smart, and grown-up… But the truth is… I mean…" He stopped, took a breath, and tried again. "That is, I'm trying to say that…" He tried to stop again, perhaps to try and catch his thoughts before they poured out. But he was past the point of no return now. "The truth is, I just don't love them like I love you!"

"… What?"

He was about to ask himself the same thing.

What the hell was he doing? But once he began, Keitaro couldn't stop himself. "Do you understand now? I need you because I love you, Shinobu! So please… don't leave. Stay here, with me, at the Hinata Inn. We can be happy together, make memories together! Just you and me. I promise." He took a deep breath, silently praying that the silence that followed wasn't a bad sign.

Tears began flowing before she even realized she was crying. Shinobu wondered if this was real. She prayed that this wasn't just a cruel joke or a dream, one that she would awaken from any minute now. She touched her mouth with her hand, just to make sure.

"You… love me…?"

Keitaro nodded solemnly, with an uncertain but loving smile on his face. He couldn't believe he said it himself, but there it was. He loved Shinobu, and nothing was going to keep them apart any more.

He heard the car coming before he saw it. Acting completely on instinct, Keitaro shoved Shinobu away, sending her sprawling through the automatic doors.

When the car impacted, sending it and Keitaro colliding into a bus, Shinobu was too shocked to do anything. Five minutes later, when people started getting out of their vehicles and inspecting the damage, she still didn't move. Ten minutes later, when somebody ran off to call the paramedics, and the police arrived, Shinobu still sat on the ground, frozen in place, her eyes wide in disbelief.

She knew that Keitaro was going to be okay. She knew it. He'd faced Naru's vicious blows, several times survived a fall from a rooftop, and been in more life-threatening situations than Shinobu could count. There was absolutely no way a simple car accident could kill him. There was no way something like that could take away her dear, sweet Keitaro, not when he had just confessed his love for her.

There was no way.

It was impossible.

Couldn't ever happen.

Never.

… But then why did she feel so numb?

It was twenty-three minutes later, once the paramedics pulled Keitaro's bloodied, broken body out of the wreckage, when Shinobu finally screamed.

*******

"This afternoon, at the Tokyo Airport, a severely impaired driver drove over the curb at 100 kilometers per hour, striking a college student before colliding head-on into a filled bus. There have been several serious injuries, all of which have been admitted to the ICU at Tokyo Hospital. We will keep you informed as more information arrives."

*******

"You're Urashima Haruka? You may want to sit down for this… Your nephew, Keitaro… He didn't make it. We did everything we could, but he just lost too much blood. I'm sorry, Urashima-san."

*******

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…"

*******

"It's all my fault..."

"Don't ever say that, Shinobu-chan! It was an accident. Nobody blames you."

"But if I never decided to leave the Hinata Inn, Keitaro-sempai would still be alive…"

"Shh, don't cry…"

"I can't help it! Why sempai? It's not fair! Without him, I… I can't…"

"Don't worry Shinobu-chan. Shh, just lay your head down… It's going to be okay."