A/N: This is almost done. Thank you to those who have read it.


A delight comes sudden upon my heart

-S.T. Coleridge


Kaoru

"Tears are a sign of weakness; you'll do well to remember that. Never let anyone see you cry."

I'll never let them see me cry, I won't give them that satisfaction of seeing them break me. Kaoru sunk into the dock, as if wanting it to absorb her tears. All she could hear was the lapping sound of the lake upon the shores. It never ceased to amaze her that the water kept its cycle regardless of whatever had happened. The thought of the perpetual movement of the tide and the gentle lapping of the water calmed her somewhat.

The steps had almost completely disappeared save for the last two. The girl quietly lay on the dock and turned over to face the sky. She had seemingly forgotten the other three girls who shared the dock with her. The grey mass loomed above her and the wind skipped past her once more, two leaves danced above her to her left and she followed their movement that lead them closer and closer to the lake's surface until it consumed them whole. Much like the lake, the girl swallowed all her emotions and, like the fallen leaves, never surfaced.

"Why did you think you had to change?" Misao suddenly asked Kaoru, catching her off guard as she walked past her in the library.

"I… I thought that if I became more like them, they would accept me," Kaoru mumbled. Her eyes fixed upon her fingers tugging at her skirt. She struggled to find the words; no one had asked her 'why?' before.

"I used to think that; to become more like them, they would like me… But then, it wouldn't really be me, would it?" said Misao, throwing the last bit over her shoulder.

Kaoru crossed her legs as she sat up on the dock and frowned. Misao had walked away from her leaving Kaoru to stand in silence and fiddle with the cuffs of her shirt. She looked up at the darkening sky, the dull grey was gaining darker hues as the sun set somewhere to the east of herl. She watched the lake heave and sigh with the tide. Mountains that had formed on the other side of the lake were watching her in silence.

Kaoru looked around at the people who occupied the dock, each lost in their own thoughts. She studied them unnoticed. Meguimi was absent-mindedly playing with her hair, a habit she had developed over the years. Her appearance was something that she could control, the playful girl she once knew hidden by a carefully constructed mask. Tomoe was scowling at the world, her distaste evident as she drummed her fingers on the dock. Misao was staring at her hands but with a small movement Kaoru saw a glitter and her brow creased as she wondered what Misao could be thinking about to cause her sorrow. To say that she hated them would be to make a judgment. However she knew that there would never be a resolution, so a judgment wasn't necessary

Kaoru turned her head away and exhaled slowly. Each of her friends had changed by the influence of life had impacted upon them. It was the choices that had defined who they were.

The lake didn't change to suit the mountains, just as the mountains didn't change to suit the lake. They only bowed down to nature and its forces.

She remembered the day by the lake when Meguimi had said "friends forever." Nothing could ever stay the same.

It wasn't just about her anymore. The very aspect of life was to change and move forward, evident in the way that the tide moved. It wasn't about conformity or acceptance and it wasn't about hate or pain. It was about the decisions they made for themselves and to recognise the fact that everything has consequences. The ignorant never forgot or forgave, the naïve forgave and forgot, but the wise forgave and remembered.


A/N:I apologise for the time inbetween updates. It won't be much longer until this is all finished. One more chapter to go and then it will be all finished! Thank you to all who have reviewed and read my fanfic!

Please feel free to review!