There was something strangely soothing about watching the world fly by at high speeds. Perhaps it was a latent enjoyment of the act. Whatever the reason, it helped soothed her weary heart.

She was used to failing to defend herself in an argument, at least in regard to her interactions with Mali, however after her latest talk with Jomei, she was absolutely crushed. She considered it a miracle that she decided to come along.

As she pondered the reason, Yuri felt something briefly brush against her left shoulder.

"Natsuki?"

Natsuki's head was bobbing back and forth, and her eyelids were dropping down. As soon as she heard her name however, she immediately snapped to attention.

"What?" she asked, trying her hardest to stifle a yawn.

"Are you okay?" Yuri worriedly asked.

"Yeah… Just fine."

Was she just trying to be tough or was it just embarrassing to admit that she was tired; Yuri couldn't really tell. Maybe there was nothing to really look into there.

Her eyes wandered around the train.

It was hard getting there the second time 'round. I wonder if something will happen this time.

Her eyes continued to wander before suddenly being drawn to Rei. Or rather, what attracted Rei's attention. Sitting in the center of her sleeved covered palm was pin in the shape of a white lily.

"Is there something special about that pin, Rei?" Yuri asked.

Rei looked up and stared at Yuri.

"Sorry, it's just that you seem really… You were just looking at it like it means a lot to you."

Rei looked back down at the pin. There was a slight change in her eyes, but Yuri couldn't figure out if she was mistaken on that.

She was compelled to look out the window again. Closing her eyes, she could faintly hear a question she asked in the past.

"Did you have fun?"

"Hm?"

Shujinkou looked up. He seemed confused, as if he was just broken out of a trance.

"Sorry, did I interrupt your thought process?" Yuri asked.

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. "Not really. What were you asking?"

"I was wondering if you had fun with Rei yesterday."

Just the day before, Shujinkou had skipped their club meeting to spend the evening wandering around with Rei. It wasn't that much of a surprise that his recruiting task turned into that.

What was surprising however was the startled look on his face.

"Oh. Y-Yeah. It was fun. It's just-"

Shujinkou frantically scratched his right cheek as he stunned over his words

"Did something happen?" Yuri calmly asked.

"Um… I can't really say?" Shujinkou said with an awkward shrug.

"I see… Well, is this secret moment positive at least?"

"Um… I guess you could say so. Uh, yeah, I would say it was pretty positive."

"Ah. Well, I'm happy it's not anything bad. I know you aren't really fond of awkwardness."

That was the truth; Yuri was happy about that even if part of her was a bit worried.

"Yeah, well according to Mali, awkwardness kinda just follows me around," Shujinkou said with a sad, quiet chuckle. "Just can't avoid it."

"I'm not entirely sure she's one to talk considering she strung you up from a tree and attempted to frame you as peeping on the girl's locker room."

"Uh… Please don't remind me of that last one… I was this close to getting clobbered and possibly expelled…"

"Sorry, it's just…"

"Just what?"

Yuri played with her hair as she averted her gaze.

"…Never mind. It's nothing."

"You sure?"

Yuri peeked back at him. Shujinkou's were as curious and comforting as always.

"Well… I mean, I guess I was just going to say was that I worry about you," she sheepishly admitted.

"About what?"

"N-Nothing really? I just don't like seeing you hurt, especially for someone else's enjoyment."

The irony behind her words was immediately apparent to Yuri. Saying she didn't like seeing her friend hurt when she was sure she did that recently when the club received their current clubroom.

It was naturally worrying, but the sudden smile on Shujinkou's face washed those worries away.

"Don't worry. Nothing's really hurt me lately," he softly assured her.

"I-I see…"

Happiness filled Yuri with that single declaration.

"Thank you, Shujinkou."

How many times has she said and thought that? It was a question Yuri had encountered often.

The memories are just flooding in… Why am I feeling this way?

Memories of a defiant past kept her company for the rest of the ride.

…

"…We repeat: Those detraining should make their ways to the doors now!"

There was a sea of faces passing them by. It made sense that so many would depart here all things considered.

Yuri's attention was then drawn to Natsuki. Her companion's pink hair tickled her cheeks with each subdued breath she took.

It was a bit surprising to see such a peaceful look on Natsuki's face, even if it was only because she was sleeping.

"Natsuki, we're here," Yuri quietly announced, tapping her shoulder.

Natsuki slowly opened her eyes. She unknowingly lifted her head up from Yuri's shoulder and yawned.

"Are we here…?" she mumbled.

"Yes."

Natsuki stretched her arms. Despite how their initial reunion panned out and their meeting with Jomei, she seemed oddly casual now.

"Rei?"

Rei was already standing past in front of them, supply bag in hand, waiting for them to follow her off the train. It wasn't often they saw Rei take the lead, the only moment that came to mind was her participation in the Royal Rumble.

As they stepped off the train, Yuri and Natsuki noticed Rei looking at her pin once again.

"Ah."

Yuri once again noticed a slight change in Rei's expression. For a moment, she truly believed she saw a kindred emotion.

Whether it was real or some kind of projection, it didn't change the fact that acknowledging it caused her to feel a sharp pain.

"You okay?"

Natsuki was looking at her with worried eyes.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Because you're holding your stomach as tight as possible," Natsuki pointed out.

It was a shock to discover that she was indeed clutching the place she was stabbed once again.

"Ah…"

"Hey… Is it any be-?"

Before Natsuki could finish that question, Yuri quickly brought her hands towards her chest and shook her head.

"We shouldn't really be veering off track here. We must focus our efforts in finding Rei a new Zinnia," Yuri insisted.

"…Fine," Natsuki shrugged. "But let's hurry. I can't spend too much time here even if it's to make up for something I did."

"Is there something else that needs your attention?"

"I mean… It's a school night, you know? Really, none of us have long considering we have to go to school tomorrow."

"Ah… That is true."

School seemed like a distant priority, even if Yuri was considering it the only one she had now.

"Rei… Will you lead to that garden again?" Yuri requested.

Rei slowly nodded her head, turned and began walking towards the direction they needed to go.

"What was that about?" Natsuki queried.

"I'm not so sure myself. I guess… Maybe I was thinking that our preconceived notions about Rei are… outdated? I guess a part of me still considered her someone who wouldn't do anything without being told to.

But thinking about it now, she's actually more active than we know and just never realized that just because she doesn't speak."

"…Where did that come from?"

"I don't know… Maybe from admiration and envy."

"Envy?"

"…Never mind. Let's go."

Not another word was spoken as they journeyed out of the city and towards the field where they sent their lanterns aloft. Not too long from now, they will be able to accomplish their objective.

…

"That's right! There's only Night Lotuses here!"

A dumbfounded look fell on Natsuki's face. It was as if she was mentally kicking herself for forgetting that very important fact.

Rei, however, didn't even bother to look at the flowers she came for last time. Instead, she kept walking forward.

Curiosity flowed through both of her chaperones as they continued to follow her. In a few minutes time, the three soon were soon standing in front of a cave.

"Anyone else getting an ominous vibe from this place…?" Natsuki mumbled under her breath.

Not batting an eye, Rei walked into the cave.

Despite their hesitation, Yuri and Natsuki followed after her and were stunned by what they found further inside.

There was a variety of flora sitting beneath a stream of sunlight spilling in from a hole above them.

"It's beautiful," Yuri marveled.

"Yeah, but can a cave really have carnations and chrysanthemums?" Natsuki wondered aloud.

"There is soil and…" Yuri brushed her foot across the ground. It was slightly damp. "Certainly enough water. My guess is that someone must have cultivated this garden."

"Wait, does that mean we're stealing someone else's hard work?" fretted Natsuki.

"I don't think so… I think… Perhaps someone led Rei here or gave her directions."

"'Someone', huh?" Natsuki simply crossed her arms and snickered. "I wonder who."

The two watched Rei explore the garden. She soon dropped to her knees and pulled a small shovel out of her supply bag.

"Guess she found it," Natsuki said aloud.

"Mm-hmm…"

It was almost surreal how easy they've achieved their objective. Thinking back to what she said earlier, it was clear to Yuri that their presence wasn't necessary at all.

That wasn't all, however. Seeing the object of being their search with her own eyes really was the catalyst of what she considered a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"Thoughts of the lost…"

"Huh?" Natsuki shot Yuri a confused look.

"That's what Zinnias symbolize. They represent thoughts of lost friends and lasting affection," Yuri explained.

"Huh. So, she really did come all this way for Shujinkou," Natsuki briefly checked on Rei then shrugged. "Makes sense; I know he would do the same if their positions were reversed and thought of the idea."

That was never in doubt, but watching Rei do so even if it seemed simple in hindsight-

"…Sometimes, it isn't what is said that defines any kind of bond, but what is done," Yuri thought aloud. "And the stronger the bond, the more it hurts to have something interfere with it, especially if you're the one doing it."

"W-What's that supposed to mean?" Natsuki fretted.

Yuri swallowed hard. "I… I didn't really want to come along on this trip in the first place, especially with you coming along."

"Okay…? What's wrong with me being here?"

"'I want to be left alone'; that's how I've felt since that night. I left everyone behind and didn't look back. Everything from the start of the year until now… I've decided to forever leave all of that behind do I could move on."

"Seriously? I thought you just needed some time to recover from everything that happened. I didn't know that you suddenly hated everyone."

"Ah…"

"You didn't have to say it. It was in your voice," Natsuki pointed out.

"Yes. That's what I've been trying to get across…" Yuri solemnly admitted. "And yet, I'm suddenly wondering if it's okay to be alone."

Up to this point, Natsuki seemed to be trying her hardest not to seem annoyed. Now, she appeared as upset as she used to be.

"…You can't have it both ways, so why don't you just admit what's going on with you already?" she advised with stern eyes.

"Huh?"

"This is exactly one of the things that bugged me about you when we first met: always dancing around the point. I know sometimes you need time to find the words, but you're seriously making things annoying at this point when you clearly already know what you want to say."

"…It's truly a flaw of mine, isn't it?" Yuri accepted with a sorrowful smile. "I've always had trouble finding the right words and that's fine, but I've always struggled more to say them. The only times I've never struggled to say it were with the words that hurt. And the words that could help, that could save, I've never said.

I've… I've always wanted to apologize to you when we first met. I looked down on you and said things I shouldn't have. No, I shouldn't have felt that way at all. But despite that, it took someone else's kindness to give me the strength to do that one simple thing because… Besides being stubborn, those feelings have always been hard to express."

Yuri gently placed her hand on top of her stomach.

"I've hurt people before with my words and choices and it seemed that I would do the same again this year. But despite a bad first impression, I've found friends that could at least tolerate me and forgive me. Friends who could forgive and understand some of my choices and helped me understand things from their point of view.

I've tried to be better, but in the end, my own past mistakes came back to haunt me.

When I heard that you and Sayori had gone missing, in the back of my mind, I feel like I already knew what could have been the cause. And then Shujinkou was desperate to find answers and he did, but he couldn't find it in him to tell me right away. He knew how I would feel.

And then I was forced to watch as he was nearly killed as he begged and pleaded for our lives. And then in my despair, I did nothing as Monika volunteered to risk her life to get help and then I could only watch helplessly as my friends were at Akui's and Akuma's mercy while one had to lose himself to protect us. And now he's in a coma, a state that's certainly saddened others.

My words and actions have hurt others and now they've almost had my precious friends killed for no real reason…! I-!"

"Stop!" Natsuki interrupted, her rage filled voice echoing throughout the cave. "Are you kidding me? That's why you've been avoiding everyone? Ugh… This is the other thing that bugged me about you since we first met: Your self-centered thinking."

"Self-centere-?"

Natsuki shook her head in disbelief.

"You seriously believe that everything happened that night was your fault? You think just because Akuma just so happened to be related to someone who's related to someone related to Shujinkou is your fault. You think Mali finding a couple of weird magical documents is your fault? You seriously believe that Shujinkou somehow getting the strength to take down everyone at that warehouse complex and play human paddleball with Akui's your fault?!"

"But… If I had done something different…"

"I don't even want to hear it!" Natsuki raged. "I've heard it enough in the past and if you think I'm going to hear it again after everything that's happened this year then you're crazy. I mean, how much do you think of yourself to actually believe that any of this is your fault? I mean, one of the prime victims think she can take credit for all the bad things the bad guys have done. It's almost narcissistic."

"I'm not trying to take credit-"

"Aren't you though? That's pretty much what you're saying. You're saying that, 'Since I was the victim of something creepy and actually did something about it some time later when it got creepier, everything they've done really is my fault'. Does that not sound like what you're saying?"

"I…"

At this point, Yuri wasn't sure if there was anything she could say that could placate her companion's rage.

"Look, I think it's pretty obvious that none of what happened that night was your fault," Natsuki affirmed. "You weren't the one who kidnapped us, you weren't the one who assaulted us and you're certainly not the one who almost killed us.

That was a group of messed up people led by a pair of brothers with the pettiest of reasons to do any of what happened that night. I really don't see where you fall into that when it comes to blame."

"But…"

"Ugh…"

Natsuki shook her head once more and sighed.

"Do you blame Shujinkou?" she asked.

"Eh?"

"Do you blame Shujinkou for anything that happened that night?"

"No…" Yuri answered, shaking her head. "Why would I?"

"Because by your logic, we should hate Shujinkou for being related to the guy that pissed Akui off," Natsuki argued. "According to your logic, that simple fact means we should hate Shujinkou just for having some tangible relation to all of this."

"That's-"

"Do you blame me?"

"Why wo-?"

"Because by your logic, I should be hated for being kidnapped and used to bait and mentally torture you guys. Do you blame Sayori and Monika too? Because by your logic, then they should be hated for caring enough to be involve themselves in the whole mess.

You see a problem with your logic yet?"

It was then when Yuri realized what Natsuki was doing.

"I…"

She wanted to bring up a counterpoint, any counterpoint, but couldn't think of any. Or rather, part of her couldn't bear to try.

The annoyance that was radiated from Natsuki faded as her expression softened.

"…I know what it's like to struggle to be honest with your own feelings. It's confusing enough to figure them out or why you feel them, not to mention the constant worry of how others might feel if you ever reveal it to them. You might be belittled; you might be taunted and it will hurt. Being hurt… Stuff like that makes it hard to be honest with yourself or to even give those feelings a second thought.

Even now, I still struggle with that because a part of me will always be afraid of getting hurt or hurting others."

"So, it's true isn't it?" Yuri's body trembled with tears streaming down her face. "I really am someone who will abandon someone just to make things easier on me. I don't have any regards to their feelings."

"Ugh… You're missing the point again!" Natsuki scolded. "Seriously, you really are as stubborn as you used to be, even if it's all the way on the other extreme."

"What else could I be missing!? You and Sayori both said the same thing!"

"The fact that you feel guilty in the first place!"

Taken aback, Yuri could do nothing to stop Natsuki from continuing.

"You said you felt like everything was your fault; you feel guilty over everything, so how can you say isolating yourself because your worried about us is easy?

But at same time, what makes you think that punishing is going to accomplish anything? As far I can see, it's a lose-lose situation for everyone. I mean didn't you learn anything from Sayori and Shujinkou?"

Yuri was suddenly reminded of what Shujinkou had said to her before all the madness started: "I always blamed myself for those things happening and tried to live in my head to escape from the pain but, and I honestly don't even know how, but I realized that I couldn't keep living in the past like that.

It's hard not to but… I know that all I can do is focus on the here and now and not what we could have done or what could have happened."

I'm not saying you shouldn't be scared or uncomfortable, that's perfectly understandable. I guess what I'm trying to say is… If you feel like you made a mistake in the past then it's okay to apologize and it's okay to want to try and fix things. But don't waste your life letting it haunt you."

Yuri somberly nodded her head. "I was told something similar before any of this started, but… I don't think I fully understood what doing the opposite meant.

It hurts to lose something, but it hurts even more to do what I'm trying to do now."

"…Finally got it, huh?" Natsuki approached her friend and wiped the tears away from her eyes. For the first time in a while, Yuri saw a genuine smile on Natsuki's face. "Good, now Shujinkou can go back to being the only real dummy I know."

Suddenly, a green rose floated in front of Yuri's face. Even without her saying a word, Yuri could tell Rei was urging her to accept it.

"Ah…"

Yuri brought the rose closer. Holding a symbol of growth and the rejuvenation of spirit and energy was more than she could bear.

"Natsuki, Rei… Thank you."

"What else are friends for?" Natsuki shrugged. "Besides it's not like I can ignore you moping right in front of me."

Rei nodded her head.

"Ah… Rei, what about your-."

Rei silently interjected by raising a soiled pot holding her desired flower.

"I see… I guess that means we're done here then," Yuri acknowledged.

"Seems like it. Now let's go home before another out of nowhere thing happens again," Natsuki proposed with a tired sigh. "I'm feeling drained…"

There were no objections to that proposal.

It was strange, when Yuri first departed from home this morning, she feared that something would happen to make her feel even worse than she already did, something that did in fact happen.

But now, she felt a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders.

However, there was still something that occupied her mind. Despite her passionate argument earlier, Natsuki was still oddly quiet on the way home.

Though, she couldn't really ask why since she spent most of it asleep again.

Once back home, Natsuki almost seemed disappointed.

"So, what are you guys going to do now?" she queried.

Rei raised her potted Zinnia for all to see.

"I think that I'll join Rei on delivering her Zinnia," Yuri answered.

"Right…" Natsuki was silent once again. "Well, I'll let you guys go and… you know."

"Would you like to come with us?" Yuri offered.

"I… I can't. I told you that I couldn't be out long."

"Oh…"

"But… Even if he isn't up yet, give him my best regards, okay?" Natsuki requested.

A smile crossed Yuri's face and she nodded.

Smiling back in response, Natsuki gave her a demure, yet grateful, "Thank you."

That was the last thing she said before leaving. Now alone, Yuri turned to Rei and asked, "Shall we?"

Rei slowly nodded her head and led the way to Shujinkou's home. Following a little distance behind, Yuri gently caressed her stomach and let out a relieved sigh.

The phantom pain was gone.