A loud thunderous roar came from outside the dorm. Water tapped against the glass windows, threatening to wash away anything that stood in its way. It was a typhoon; the weather report had said that the large storm would be coming to the seaside of Japan over the weekend. However, Yukari hadn't been expecting it to be this bad; for one the days leading up to it had been rather full of sunshine and calm winds. Yet for whatever reason, this storm had brewed in shutting her inside her room for the entire weekend.

She was bored with nothing to do or see. Just the same old depressing grey clouds covering up what would normally be a bright blue sky.

Though maybe the idea of being holed up the entire weekend wasn't as dull as it seemed. For one she could spend it close to Makoto; snuggled up in a blanket; feeling his touch like how she had at the festival. Maybe she could have her first kiss- ...Yukari stopped, blushing at the boldness of her imagination. She hadn't even asked to be his girlfriend yet.

"I still have to do that don't I?" she thought to herself, hiding her head between her legs disappointedly. What if he didn't like her back? She would eventually get over it, but that was the problem she didn't want to. Even though he had his stoic and oftentimes aloof attitude, he had been the first to break through to her - to see her for who she truly was.

But how would she even confess? It's not like she could just waltz up to Makoto and tell him, and if Junpei caught her; endless teasing was sure to follow behind. Maybe staying quiet was better (for now) at least...

"But if I stay quiet I'll never know," she whispered, knowing exactly what she had- no, wanted to do. "I guess nothing ventured, nothing gained right?"

Her hands clapped her face, snapping her out of her gloom. She stepped out of her room and peeked into the hallway.

"Empty, coast is clear," she said as she aimed for the stairs, proceeding to the lower floor of the dorm.

By the time she had arrived at his room, she saw his door was slightly open by the gentle crease just barely giving a glimpse into Makoto's room. She gave a gentle knock on the door, waiting to hear back from the teen.

"Makoto? You there?" She called out.

No response came; nothing but the still silence and the raging storm outside made themselves known to her. She tried knocking again, hoping to get an answer and still, nothing.

"Hey, Makoto? Is everything okay?" She said, this time in a more concerned tone. Makoto would often be one to get easily lost in blissful ignorance, but even he would've answered by now. Worried, she took hold of the doorknob and began to slowly push the door open. "I'm coming in okay?"

She looked inside the dim room and found that Makoto was nowhere to be seen. His bed was still made; his curtains were drawn; his school supplies were nowhere to be found.

"He's not here…?" She said to herself in a low voice. She ran down the stairs to the lobby to see if he had been with the others, yet still, there was no sign of Makoto.

"Takeba? What's wrong?" Mitsuru asked, noticing the worried look on Yukari's face.

"Yeah you look like you're about to fall over Yuka-tan, you okay?" Junpei added.

"Where's Makoto? I went to check on him in his room, but he wasn't there," she said.

"I thought he was already here, we all got out at the same time right?" Fuuka said, her voice slowly beginning to show signs of concern for her friend.

Suddenly the door handle at the entrance began to twist and the door swung open as the wind from the outside storm rushed its way in. A familiar blue-haired teen stood at the entrance; his clothes were drenched in water; his hair dripping with small droplets as it covered his face. He looked weak, pale even as if he was about to fall over from sudden weariness. Everyone rushed to him, bringing him inside and closing the door behind him.

"Dude, what the hell happened? I thought you got out at the same time as us…" Junpei looked at him in shock.

"I got held up cleaning the classroom today, it was Mr. Ekoda's doing," he answered in a raspy voice.

"How despicable! He knows better than anyone how dangerous this typhoon could be," Mitsuru responded in anger. "I'll have to report this incident to the faculty office later... Though I suppose what matters now is that you're safe. Takeba, fetch him a towel alright, and make sure he gets to his room."

"Right!" Yukari grabbed him a towel from the nearby cupboard and wrapped him in it. As they walked up the stairs she could feel him shivering intensely. She was furious with how he had been treated, if only she could've- no, should've stayed behind to bring him home...

"Yukari…" Makoto murmured her name.

"Huh? Oh, what is it?" she asked in a surprised tone.

"Thanks. I could've gotten to my room myself, but it doesn't hurt having you along."

"I-I, I'm just being nice!" she blushed. "Besides I wanted to see you."

"Oh? What about?"

"Let's get you to your room first, I'll tell you then."

He nodded, shuffling his way to his room. Yukari helped him inside and sat him on his bed. She removed his towel and began unbuttoning his shirt, revealing his toned chest. Surprisingly It was the first time she had seen him shirtless (alone); the way the lines traced all-round his body stunned her. He wasn't cut by any stretch of the imagination, but even so, she couldn't help but continue to stare.

"What?" Makoto asked.

"What?" She asked back.

"You were staring for a while I thought you got lost in thought or something."

"Wha- I-I wasn't staring!" She shook her head, denying that she had been caught.

She turned around swiftly, trying to hide the blush that threatened to stay onto her face. She couldn't believe it; she was the one staring; the embarrassment was too much for her to handle. She tried thinking up a million excuses to tell, each one sounding more ridiculous than the last.

"Yukari…"

"Wha- What?! I wasn't looking okay?!"

"I-I was just gonna ask if you could pass me my sweatshirt over there. It's getting cold…"

"O-oh! Right!" She quickly reached for the sweatshirt and handed it to the teen. A few seconds later and finally he was covered up again, allowing Yukari to finally take a deep breath. Though, that didn't stop her from turning around one more time as Makoto moved to undo his belt buckle to switch out from the drenched pants. Once he gave her the okay, she finally turned around to see the teen wrapped under the sheets of his bed.

She, in turn, grabbed the chair at his desk and moved it closer to sit beside him. She could tell that he wasn't going to be awake much longer; he looked too tired for that. But still, she did want to ask him once and for all; the question that had been plaguing her mind since the festival; did he like her back… It's all she had been able to think about as of late. No matter the answer, at least now she could finally make peace with herself.

"H-hey Makoto?"

"Yeah?"

"I, I, I want to know how you feel… about…"

"About what?" He asked in a calm voice.

"About how-" her phone suddenly went off, interrupting her as she almost asked her burning question. She gave an annoyed look at the device, but as soon as she noticed the name on the call display her stomach sunk deep within her. It was her mother - the very person she wanted nothing to do with anymore.

She gripped the small device tightly, wanting to throw it across the room. Makoto noticed her shaking and rose up to comfort her, pulling her into a small embrace.

"It's your mom isn't it?" He spoke so matter of fact.

"H-how did you-" she went wide-eyed, it didn't matter how much she would try to deny it. Makoto knew her well, especially after the summer festival and incident with the little boy.

"Yukari, you never get this upset at someone calling you, and there's only one person that I know that can make you shake like this."

"Sorry, it's just that I haven't talked to her since all those years ago, and if I answer right now I-I might yell at her…" she began sobbing into Makoto's shoulder.

All Makoto could do was hold her as each sob caused her to tremble. He knew what he wanted to tell Yukari; he wanted to tell her how she should keep an open-mind; how she should try her best to not yell at her mother because he knew just how painful it was to be alone. Though whether it was his place to tell her he didn't know.

It was quite ironic actually, he was the one needing help, but now somehow he was the one helping out. Makoto didn't mind it personally, helping Yukari smile was his favorite thing to do. He had ended up falling for her after all; he too wanted to tell her, but he also knew that right now wasn't the time. It would have to wait for now, much to his disappointment.

Yukari's sobbing slowly turned into stifled muffling as she wiped away the last of the tears.

"Tell me… What should I do?" She asked.

"Y-you should talk to her. Even if it isn't easy, she's the only family you have left…" he hesitated to continue. "It's not easy I know, but I wouldn't be saying it if I didn't think it could work out."

"You mean that don't you?"

"Of course I do, I want to see you smile. It's all I really look forward to when I'm with you."

"Makoto…" her heart fluttered as she heard him say those words. Maybe she was overthinking things, but if anything that had sounded like a confession of sorts. She quickly shook her head, it didn't matter if it was or not; she would be selfish to ignore him in not reaching to her mother. "Y-you're right I'll call her back now. I'll try to be more open about it, but I don't know if I can do it for long…"

"You've got this, I believe in you."

"Thanks," she smiled "I'm gonna step out for a bit, I'll be back in a sec."

He simply nodded at her; she wasn't sure how she was going to handle this, but at least now she had a reason to try. Makoto believed in her and that's all she needed right now. She stepped outside his room, closing the door behind as she flipped open her small device. She found her log and dialed the first number that came up, waiting patiently as the phone rang.

A small click later, and her mother finally answered. Yukari froze momentarily, unable to speak or even greet the woman. It had been ten years, ten long years in which she had done everything possible to avoid contact with her. She desperately tried to force a reply, but before she could; she had already heard quiet sobs escape her mother's mouth across the line.

"Yukari… I'm so sorry…" her voice became muffled. "Honey, please answer me, I want to apologize! For everything… please just answer me…"

"H-hey mom," Yukari finally spoke, stifling whatever sobs threatened to build-up in her throat. "Y-you called me earlier, r-right?"

"Oh, Yukari! I meant what I said just now, I want to apologize for everything, I want to make up for that time I missed out on with you. I know I haven't been the best mother, but please, I just want a second chance!"

"Mom… you can't just-" Yukari wanted to yell at the woman for how unfair she was to her. The bitter memories of spending her nights alone cuddled up next to plush; begging for her father to come back. Part of her wanted to hang up, but she couldn't help but hope that her mother's words were sincere. "I-I don't know what to say, mom… I don't even know if I should trust you entirely…"

"Yukari… I'm not asking you to believe in me, I know that is something I lost a long time ago, but I want to start over," her mother spoke softly this time. "You don't need to forgive me right now or ever for that matter, but I want to at least start from zero and try to rebuild that trust…"

Yukari thought over for a bit, choosing to stay quiet for the remainder of the call. She knew better than anyone that the first step to rebuilding trust was to begin all over again. Makoto taught her that back on the beach in Yakushima, and while she and Mitsuru were still distant at times, it had helped out with her relationship. So maybe the same applied here, at least she hoped it did. She let out a winded sigh and spoke back into the phone.

"Fine. But promise me, mom, that you will start taking care of yourself and stop seeing random men!" She demanded.

"I promise, my little girl, I promise…"

"Good. I'll call you back later okay? I have something to attend to."

"Yes that's fine, thank you Yukari, I promise to be a better mother from here on out."

"Yeah," Yukari hung up feeling drained from the conversation. A part of her worried that nothing would change, but another told her that she had done the right thing. Regardless, she had done it, and she knew that Makoto would be happy for her.

She had re-entered to let him know of the news, but to her disappointment, the blue-haired teen had dozed off into a quiet slumber. Though she wasn't surprised if she was honest with herself, after all, he had been through an entire typhoon less than an hour ago. Regardless, that did not stop her from wanting to care for him, so she sat near him, taking her place in the chair next to his bed.

She watched him snooze away quietly as each puff made his chest rise and fall. He looked so calm and at peace she thought, his hair was damp, yet still it gave off that bright blue shine she had come to love so much. She had to resist wanting to run her fingers through it, considering it was already weird enough that she stayed in his room. Even so, her thoughts began to run wild as she continued to think of that question. She wanted nothing more than to tell him, and if he felt the same; she wanted to hear him say it. The three words any girl would want to hear from a significant other - "I love you."

"I don't know how or why I fell for you, but I did and I know there's no turning back for me. If only I could actually tell you this when you were awake, but it can wait for another time. All I know is that I want to protect you and be there for you until the very end…" she whispered, hoping that even his dreams her words reached him somehow. It didn't matter how long it would take for her to finally confess to him because she at least had him close right now.

She felt her eyelids become heavy and soon she too drifted off, laying her head next to him. She was crazy for thinking she could do this, but she couldn't help it. After all, someone had to look out for him while he was "sick," right?