It's Not My Fault We're Together!

Chapter 7: We Must Move Forward (But Not Apart)

"Heheheheh..." Kuroki giggled awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her head. A sheepish grin formed on her face as she said, "S-sorry for causing everyone so much trouble..."

Yuri nodded quietly, offering a rare, small smile before stepping aside to allow others to welcome her back. Her heart tightened just a bit as Hina stepped forward to offer her greetings, and Yuri couldn't help but let out a sigh as she acknowledged that there likely wouldn't be a chance to say sorry to the girl today. She would be forced to spend the next several days in a writhing, uncertain limbo from which there was but small chance of returning, forced to remember and re-remember the mistakes which had led her to this point, incapable of changing them regardless of how she-

"Let's stop somewhere on the way back!"

Glancing up, Yuri realized that the group had begun to migrate away while she was lost in thought. Hina, smiling brightly as usual, appeared to have made the suggestion, and Kuroki nodded in reply, offering a small "Uh, sure."

Yuri perked up, realizing that this turn of events might offer her a chance to apologize to Hina. All she had to do was find a quiet moment, pull the girl to the side, and offer her apology. Now she just had to figure out what to say, where to pull her aside, how to-

Yuri's thoughts ground to a halt as she noticed Mako waiting expectantly next to her, a bright smile on the kind girl's face. Her words to the introvert about caring for herself floated to the surface of Yuri's mind and she paused for a deep breath. Mako was right; Yuri needed to take care of herself and enjoy what was happening rather than get hung up on how to force the situation to her advantage. Realizing that she had been alternating between sighing her lungs out and holding her breath for long moments, Yuri let out a small "Phew". Glancing to the others and noticing that they had paused to speak with Uchi and play with a small dog, the introvert followed the group as they wandered off to wherever it was they were all going.

...

Yuri walked behind Hina and Kuroki, reflecting on what had happened over the last few days as the two discussed the suspension.

When Kuroki had first been suspended, Yuri was understandably concerned; after all, in spite of (or perhaps due to) the girl's awkwardness, Kuroki was the keystone to the delicate balance of relationships and communication between everyone. Simply by being there, she had drawn together the popular kids, the loners, and even-she cast a glance at Yoshida and the two girls that had come to meet her-even the delinquents. Without her, no one would ever have become friends.

But...

Wait...

That wasn't right.

Yes, Kuroki had been the link, the opportunity to meet, but she wasn't the reason. No one had become friends because of Kuroki; they had become friends because they wanted to. Glancing at Mako, Yuri reminded herself that she and the kind girl were friends because they liked one another and-to a lesser extent-understood each other. Shifting her gaze to Hina, the introvert realized the same was true between them.

Yuri jolted at this realization. It was true, wasn't it...? She and Hina were friends because they took an interest in one another. They started to develop an understanding and an affection for one another because they liked one another, not because Kuroki wanted them to. They became friends when Kuroki was gone.

When Kuroki wasn't there... Hina was.

Yuri realized that Hina was there to help her smile, that while Kuroki was gone, Hina kept her from feeling too alone. Mako was there, yes, but Hina was with her as well. And in those few days they truly spoke, Yuri had started to develop a... feeling, perhaps? A sense of longing? A desire to stay with Hina for as long as the energetic girl would allow her to remain.

But Yuri had messed that up, all with one stupid mistake. It wasn't even a big one... but it still hurt Hina. Yuri still needed her, but the pink-haired girl had left because Yuri had done something so small. By now, Hina probably thought of her as more than 'just an acquaintance', so of course it had to hurt; seeing Hina ignore her all day was proof enough of that. Yuri wanted to move forward with Hina, but she wanted to move forward together, not apart.

The introvert paused to study the people that constituted their oddball band. Was it the same for everyone else? Everyone wasn't here because of Kuroki; they were here for Kuroki. It was a choice they had made, one they could have turned down. Glancing at Uchi, Yuri considered that the girl was here because she wanted to be here for Kuroki. The nondescript girl had come to see Kuroki, because-though Yuri didn't understand why-Uchi seemed to legitimately care for the girl. She was under no compulsion to appear, yet she did.

Akane was here because Hina wanted to be here. She was a friend of Hina's not because of Kuroki's intervention but instead because Akane had always liked Hina. They were friends because both wanted to be. Asuka seemed to be getting along with Hina as well, and that wasn't because of Kuroki; that was because both seemed to like each other, not because Kuroki had ordained it. Yoshida was here with her friends, and they were together long before now-really, Yuri reflected, she was in a situation where she could become friends with Yoshida partially because of Kuroki, but when they were in that position, Yuri and Yoshida themselves had made the choice to be interested in one another. No one had forced them, and no one could.

All of them, everyone, were friends because they had chosen to be friends. They, themselves, had made that choice. They, themselves, could make that choice.

Yuri almost chuckled to herself; that was the first time in days she had been able to truly follow her long, meandering train of thought to the end of its line around everyone without being interrupted.

***Chapter 7: Good End***