xi

There was a long, slightly uncomfortable silence among the group when Amu ended her story. Amu's old friends just sat there, as if they could not believe what they just heard, while Rima and Tadase stayed beside Amu, showing their support in whatever way they could. Yaya looked like she was about to cry, Kairi looked indifferent as usual but Amu could see a glint of concern in his eye and Nadeshiko was just silently taking everything in. Amu waited anxiously for someone to say something.

The scars on her legs were almost invisible since they were old and usually recovered without much further examination. Still, it was astonishing that no one noticed them. Not to mention, Tadase had also been injured but no one, not even Kairi, seemed too concerned. Maybe Kairi noticed the cut on Tadase's leg but decided not to talk about it. Alternatively, Tadase could have explained it to him while they were getting ready.

Amu silently fiddled with her cover-up, her anxiety increasing. Sensing Amu's discomfort, Tadase cleared his throat, hoping it would be enough to get someone to talk. They were silent for a few seconds longer before Amu started to chew her lip in anticipation of hearing something from her friends. Anything at all. Finally, Nadeshiko reached over and took Amu's hand comfortingly, caressing it gently. Amu managed to relax a bit at the action and Nadeshiko was the first to break the silence.

"You poor thing…" she said sincerely, squeezing Amu's hand comfortingly. "You should have told us sooner…"

"I-I know…" Amu looked down shamefully, kicking her legs slightly, absentmindedly. "I was just…scared. It was bad enough that my new friends had to get involved… I-I didn't want her to somehow find out about you guys and go after you, too."

Nadeshiko let Amu's hand go and moved to rub her back comfortingly instead. "I understand, you were just concerned for your friends. It's just who you are. We just want to know these things, as your friend." she paused for a second, peering once more at Amu's injured shoulder. "Now…how about that bandage on your back? You said she was dealt with a few months ago but the bandage…looks like it's covering a fresh wound."

Amu sighed, fiddling with her fingers. "That's...a bit harder for me to explain... Tadase-kun knows what happened better than I do. I was in and out of consciousness because of it…"

Her friends gasped upon hearing that Amu was not entirely aware when she was injured, and she shifted slightly, glancing at Tadase expectantly. Tadase nodded and took over for Amu. Thankfully, his explanation directed everyone's attention towards him, making it easier for Amu to take the cover-up off again without being watched too closely. It made Amu even more nervous knowing she'd have to remove the bandage as well.

As she helped Amu take off the bandage, Rima grimaced at the sight of it. However, she remained silent. Tadase finished his story about Amu's injury — which he had slightly tweaked to give the impression that he wasn't completely alone with her at the time — and looked over at Amu. As he looked at the injury, he couldn't help but wince, as if he had been the one hurt. He gave Amu a reassuring smile to let her know that she could proceed.

"W-well…" Amu stammered nervously, twisting her body slightly so the others could see the ugly, stitched-up wound. "I-I guess this is…what happened because of it."

Everyone looked toward Amu and an audible gasp came from all of them. Yaya looked like she was either going to cry, throw up, or possibly both. Kairi pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as if to make sure he was seeing things right. He didn't seem too surprised though, somehow. Once again, though, Amu couldn't tell, since he almost always held the same Pokerface, except on rare occasions.

"I see…" he mumbled knowingly, barely loud enough for Amu or anyone else to hear.

Amu rubbed her arm nervously and attempted to put the bandage back on. "So…that's why I was hesitant to go to the pool... At the same time, though, I also didn't want to ruin your guys' fun…" she glanced down, once again fiddling with her hands. "If you guys want to swim, you can. I'll just sit at the edge or on a lounge chair with Rima."

Yaya pouted. "That's not fairr~ Yaya wants to play in the water with Amu-chi…"

"Chlorine in a wound could irritate it or cause it to get infected, Yaya-san," Kairi said seriously. "Amu-san likely has to be cautious when she goes out and does stuff. It's a fresh wound so she probably has to be especially careful."

Yaya looked like she wanted to say something but reluctantly nodded, her pout deepening. After a long pause, where everyone was seemingly deciding what to do next, Yaya was the only one who ended up jumping in the pool. Naturally, Tadase stuck with Amu for a second to check on her, and Rima was all but glued to Amu's side at that point. Nadeshiko was also talking and comforting Amu. Surprisingly, Kairi also seemed to have something to say to Amu. He approached her with an expression that looked as if he had just remembered something important. He looked at Tadase, who just nodded knowingly by Amu's side.

"Amu-san, could you come with me for a second?" he asked, adjusting his glasses once more. "I just remembered something that might be of use to you."

Amu tilted her head curiously, blinking at Kairi's sudden request. She looked at Tadase who gave her a look that said 'go on' and nodded, allowing Kairi to lead her to what appeared to be a storage room in the corner of the pool. Amu had never even noticed, let alone been in this storage closet and expected it to be locked. Surprisingly, Kairi opened it up with no issue. Amu peered inside, confirming that it was indeed a storage closet.

"I believe I saw some pool floats in here…" Kairi mumbled, mainly to himself. He turned to Amu. "I sometimes volunteer to help out here and the caretaker would ask me to put stuff in storage if needed." he walked inside, beckoning Amu in as well. As he looked and dug around the closet, he continued speaking. "By the way, if you need to replace the bandage or are feeling pain at any point, I have ibuprofen, gauze, bandages, hydrogen peroxide, and anything else you may need at my house. It's not a far walk from here to my apartment."

Amu gave Kairi a grateful smile. "Thank you, Kairi. You're a lifesaver!"

"You're welcome, Amu-san," Kairi responded shortly, quickly turning his head as if he were hiding something.

Amu could have sworn she saw the faintest glow of pink on Kairi's cheeks as he turned away. But why what would he be blushing about? She shook the thought away and just shrugged. The lighting in the room was pretty bad, so it could have just been a trick of the light or something.

Looking around, the storage room had things Amu didn't even realize existed or could be used. There was a long net for water volleyball, beach balls, pool toys, etc., a net for cleaning the pool, and pool cleaning items. Along the back wall, there were several pool floats, already inflated. After walking up to them and surveying her choices, she opted for a simple white translucent float.

"Thanks a bunch, Iinchou!" Amu exclaimed with a bright grin. Part of her wanted to hug him but she worried it would make him uncomfortable. She hoped her smile showed just how grateful she was. "I owe you one."

Kairi nodded, a small smile on his lips as he helped Amu take the pool float down from the wall. "Of course, Amu-san. Anything for a friend."

Amu took the pool float but struggled to move out of the room with it because of its size compared to hers. Kairi stopped her and took the opposite end of the pool float so they could carry it out together. Amu gave Kairi another grateful smile and they made their way out of the storage closet and back toward the pool. They dropped the pool float on the ground next to the pool and Amu ran up to Tadase with a wide grin.

"Look! Kairi found a pool float for me!" Amu said, flailing her arms enthusiastically. "Now I can go in the water, too!"

Tadase smiled at Amu before looking at Kairi and smiling at him as well. "I appreciate it, Sanjou-kun. You've been a great help."

Kairi bowed his head slightly. "I only did what I could to help a friend out."

As well as showing gratitude for the pool float, Tadase was also expressing his appreciation regarding the plan they had devised at Kairi's apartment. While they were at Kairi's place, Kairi had explained to him that he needed Amu's phone in order to find out who maliciously texted her. With her phone, he could check out the messages and try to get the IP address from it. The method by which Kairi was supposed to figure out the IP address from the texts was unclear, but Tadase trusted Kairi. Because of Kairi's distraction, Tadase was able to stealthily take Amu's phone and hide it in his hoodie to give to Kairi at an opportune moment.

An excited exclamation from Yaya shook everyone from their thoughts and conversations. She was waving her arms in the pool, a wide grin on her face as she waded closer to the edge. "Is that pool float for Amu-chii!?"

Tadase couldn't help but chuckle at Yaya and Kairi nodded affirmatively as he said, "I remembered seeing some the last time I volunteered here. I never expected they'd come in handy so soon."

Yaya cheered once more. "Woohoo! Come on, Amu-chi! Put it in the water and join me~ You guys too!" she pointed at everyone who wasn't in the pool, which was basically everyone but her.

Kairi and Tadase helped move the pool float to the water, Tadase using the time to slip Kairi Amu's phone. While Tadase helped Amu to get onto the pool float without it falling over, Kairi spent time in the bathroom transferring texts from Amu's phone onto his own phone, telling everyone that he was going to put his contact lenses in. He returned and placed Amu's phone where he thought he last saw her leave it, surprised no one had even questioned him. Perhaps it was because everyone else was in the pool by the time he returned. Or, almost everyone else.

Rima was still by the lounge chairs, watching the others. Amu noticed this and frowned as she recalled what Rima had mumbled earlier in Nadeshiko's house. It didn't seem fair that Rima was sitting out just because she couldn't swim. She maneuvered her floatie so she was facing Tadase, splashing him slightly to get his attention.

"Tadase-kun, could you grab another pool float for Rima?" she asked with a smile. "Rima told me she can't swim…but I still don't want her to feel left out."

Tadase tilted his head at Amu before glancing over at Rima, who was watching Amu and him with an almost longing expression. For Tadase, that was news, since he had never heard of Rima's inability to swim. Tadase got out of the pool and double-checked that the building in the corner was the right place before jogging off to get another pool float for Rima.

"How is the pool float working out for you, Amu-san?" Kairi's voice came from behind Amu. He was just lowering himself into the pool.

She struggled to paddle herself so she was facing the younger male. Amu forgot how different Kairi looked without his glasses. "It works great! Thanks again, Kairi." she paused, leaning forward slightly to examine Kairi. "Say, I've always been meaning to ask you this… Why don't you wear contacts more often? You're quite the looker without your glasses. I bet if you wore them more, you'd be one of the most popular kids in school."

Kairi looked down, rubbing his nape. Now Amu was sure he was blushing. "I-I'm not very good with attention. I prefer being unseen in the background."

"Well, you are pretty quiet." Amu nodded in understanding. "You're like a ninja sometimes. Just now, I didn't even hear you coming."

Kairi chuckled softly at Amu's last comment before looking around. "Where did Hotori-kun go?" Kairi had wanted to let Tadase know that everything was going according to plan but he didn't see him.

"I told him to get another pool float for Rima," Amu said, adjusting herself on the pool float slightly. "She can't swim, so I figured that would be a good way to get her involved as well."

As if on cue, Tadase returned with the pool float, placing it on the water at the edge of the pool. Amu waved and called out to Rima to join them, pointing to the watermelon-shaped float Tadase had just set down. Rima seemed to smile as she stood up and approached the pool. With a bit of help from Amu and Tadase keeping the float steady, Rima quickly joined them in the pool. Now, everyone was in the pool ready to have fun.

After floating around freely for a bit, Rima paddled herself back over to Amu and splashed her with water, causing the pink-haired teen to squeal slightly. Initially aiming toward Rima, Amu kicked the water with her foot but instead ended up hitting Tadase when Rima flung herself away. This caused an all-out water war and soon, everyone was splashing at each other.

Amu was pleased to see everyone getting along well with each other. It was a welcome change and assurance for Amu from the chaotic paranoia she felt around Koken High and the nearby area. She could play without having to worry about being followed or attacked.

With the water fight drawing to a close, Amu was able to paddle herself back to the edge and pulled herself up to sit with her legs dangling in the water. She watched as Yaya daring Kairi to stay underwater longer for longer than she could, which quickly turned into everyone making bets as to who could hold their breath the longest. Rima spotted Amu and immediately joined her since she could not participate in the contest. After joining in the contest and immediately losing, Tadase ended up joining the two girls as well.

"Are you having fun?" Tadase asked Amu, with a smile. "Did you just want a break for a bit?"

Playfully, Amu kicked more water at Tadase and Rima instead of responding to them. He laughed softly and hopped out of the pool as well, sitting next to Amu as he waited for her to respond. Rima watched the two carefully, almost as if she was a guard or security to make sure they didn't get too close.

"I'm just watching them." Amu eventually responded with a smile. "It's really nice seeing you guys get along. Are you and Kairi getting along well? He's the only guy friend I had, I hope that's alright."

Tadase nodded. "He's very…formal. It kind of reminds me of myself once upon a time. He's also very…interesting. Yuiki-san is also quite the character."

Amu's eyes stayed focused on her old friends as Tadase spoke. She had missed seeing them fool around together. She missed Yaya's clinginess and whining, she missed Kairi's seriousness and wisdom, she especially missed Nadeshiko's warmth. Amu had not looked this happy in a while. She had been through a lot, and she deserved to take a break. Tadase couldn't stop watching her, smiling endearingly.

"I don't think I mentioned this…" Tadase said, leaning in slightly, his voice nearing a whisper. "But you look really great."

Amu blushed, noticing Rima nodding along with Tadase's compliment and smiled shyly. "T-thanks…You look good too. I chose a one-piece because I don't have nearly as much confidence as Rima." she joked, earning a playful glare and splash of water from Rima. "It's a bit awkward showing this much skin though…"

"Especially with the scars, right?" Tadase asked rhetorically. He leaned back slightly to check out the wound on Amu's shoulder. "How's your shoulder doing? Did any of the splashing get under the bandage?"

Amu shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks. You know, it feels weird…I haven't gotten to relax for a while. I guess the short period where Saaya was gone...like gone, gone...was probably the last time. And even then I still had nightmares."

Tadase nodded his head slowly. He frowned slightly as he had a thought that made him a little sad. "Do you think…you would want to move back here?"

Amu looked over at Tadase and shook her head sincerely. "God, I love it here. But…I already have too many connections at Koken. If I just up and leave, it would seem like I'd be running away. I can't just skip town because I don't like one person."

"But that one person is threatening your life." Tadase pointed out. "If you left, you would never have to deal with her again."

"What if she just tracks me down anyway?" Amu retorted. "If she's that desperate, she might very well track me down even after. I'm not afraid of her. In fact, I pity her. I'm more afraid of the weapons and the people who she might have hired than I am of Saaya herself."

"How are you so brave?" Tadase asked in awe. "I don't think I've ever met someone as brave as you."

Amu shrugged to hide her embarrassment at his comment. "I'm not brave, I'm just standing up for what I think is right... No one deserves to be bullied and I'm just doing what most people wouldn't. I would rather Saaya stop after realizing her attacks don't hurt me than let her win and have me...gone."

Tadase put his hand on Amu's, knowing what Amu meant by her last sentence. If Saaya had it her way, she wouldn't want Amu to just break up with him; she'd want her completely gone. Be it by her own hands or something…much worse. He was immediately nudged by Rima, who cleared her throat loudly. Tadase looked to where Amu's old friends were. Rather than playing around, now, they were looking at him and Amu. Yaya was trying to make bets on whether they'd kiss. Rima retaliated that comment by splashing Yaya with water.

What the group failed to notice that Amu had gotten overwhelmed with her emotions. When Tadase heard a sniffle, he immediately turned back to Amu to make sure she was okay. The others, minus Yaya, who had yet to notice the shift in the mood because she was still too busy talking about how cute Amu and Tadase would be as a couple, also swam closer upon noticing Amu's change in expression and disposition.

"Amu-chan? Are you okay?" Tadase asked gently, instinctively rubbing Amu's back gently. Rima touched Amu's arm with a genuinely concerned expression.

Amu managed to nod, rubbing her eyes quickly. "I-I'm fine. I'm just over-thinking..."

Tadase sighed softly, his eyebrows furrowed. "Hey now, don't worry. We're all here for you. I—er, we will make sure nothing bad happens to you no matter what."

Amu nodded again, sniffling again. "I-I know. I just…couldn't help but think about what would happen if…I did give up. On everything. I don't want to end it that way. I-I love my life. I love my friends…" she looked at her old friends, as well as at Rima and Tadase. "I love all of you so much…"

Yaya seemed to belatedly sense the change in tone as she swam closer to Amu. For a second, her expression was unreadable. Then, she sniffled and all but torpedoed herself at Amu, almost knocking Rima off her pool float and Amu into the water.

"Amu-chiii!" She sobbed, hugging Amu tightly. "I love you toooo! Don't leave us ever, okay? Not that way or any way! You're not allowed, Yaya won't let you!"

"I hope you won't keep anything else from us now," Nadeshiko said, swimming close enough to Amu so she could take her hand. "We're your friends and we care about you."

Amu rubbed her nape, feeling immediate guilt after hearing that. She rubbed her eyes once more. "W-well… Now that you say that…There is one other thing I've been keeping from you…"

All eyes were on Amu as she felt compelled to tell everyone that, yes, she did, in fact, have a boyfriend, who in fact was Tadase. No one really seemed surprised, however, and Yaya even yelled out 'I told you so!'. Honestly, despite their attempts at subtlety, Amu was surprised no one questioned it or agreed with Yaya sooner. Perhaps Rima was the one who was convincing them otherwise behind the scenes. Still, now that the news was out, Yaya was immediately living vicariously through Amu, as she asked about every little thing about their relationship. She silently sighed, mentally reminding herself to never hide a relationship from her friends ever again. Especially not to Yaya.

A/N: I don't believe I need to put a trigger warning to this chapter? The next two chapters are a whole other story though. Anyway, the next chapter is the last bit of this 'wholesome' stuff. We go downhill from here. I'm honestly questioning if this needs to be upgraded to M but I'm also trash at writing angst so it'll probably be vague anyway.