A/N: Another update! I felt the previous chapter was lacking, rushed and not as good as it could have been, so here's one I feel is better. This is mostly in Ayane's point of view.

Chapter 16

Ayane had been reluctant to attend the dinner with Pin, Mai and their friends - not because she wasn't happy for the couple, but because she dreaded a gathering of people she didn't know. Over the years, she had learned to sit through meetings with people she hadn't met before, and even if she felt uncomfortable around strangers, she never let it affect her being a professional.

This, however, was a completely different matter. A casual dinner so she could meet some of the key guests (or the ones that would help out) for the wedding in a month's time. She was in the comfort of her very close friends, but had an uneasy feeling the second she stepped foot in the restaurant with Chizu and Ryu. Her gut feeling had been confirmed the second she lay eyes on Kento.

He seemed to be… arguing with Sawako? Ayane discreetly coughed to get Chizu's attention and gestured toward where their pregnant friend was blocking the way of her ex. The way Chizu's eyes narrowed upon seeing their old classmate, Ayane decided it would be better to leave Chizu at the table where Ryu could restrain her.

"That sneaky little- I'm going to kill him!" She hissed under her breath so only Ayane and Ryu could hear her. Ayane locked eyes with Ryu who gave her a small nod and tried to loosen Chizu's grip on the soft material of her dress that she had bunched up angrily.

"No, you're not." Ayane responded calmly. She put a calming hand on Chizu's arm and told her to stay put.

"What? Ayane, you're not going near him!" Her usually cheerful smile was now replaced with a deep frown.

"Chizu, I know you're worried about me, but I'm a grown woman. I can fight my own battles." The brunette tried to reason with her. It warmed her heart that Chizu was so protective of her, but she couldn't rely on her friends forever and she couldn't avoid Kento forever.

Maybe it was the slight buzz from the few glasses of wine she had downed that kept her from feeling anxious, or maybe she really wanted to confront him, get some sort of closure and move on with her life. Either way, she was done with him and she wanted him to know that.

"Ayane-" Chizu started to protest, worry lacing her pretty features. The brunette saw how uneasy Chizu was and felt like nothing more than to reassure her that she would stay away from Kento, just so she wouldn't make that face.

"I need to do this on my own, Chizu." Ayane found herself pleading with her eyes, hoping to convey what she didn't dare to say out loud. Understanding flashed in Chizu's eyes and she looked helplessly over at Ryu, who merely shook his head. Always one for words that one, Ayane thought amusedly.

She was also trying to prevent causing a scene, which would be very hard if Chizu, who wore her heart on her sleeve, was involved. It was bad enough that Sawako had interfered, heaven knows what the hormonal woman could do to Kento. A miniscule part of her actually wanted to see him suffer the wrath of Sawako, but she feared the noirette's temper.

Glancing at the chattering men around the table, Ayane silently thanked the gods for Kento only appearing now that they were having drinks. It would have been incredibly rude to leave during their meal, and although Ayane had thoroughly enjoyed her steak and the various green side dishes, they now made her stomach churn slightly. Catching the attention of Shouta, she mouthed 'Kento' and glanced in his direction. He followed her gaze and looked puzzled, before he froze at the sight a little further away.

Ayane raised a brow and followed his line of sight, inwardly groaning when she noticed Pin making his way towards his two former students. Scrambling out of her seat she sent a stern look Shouta's way, making sure he stayed at the table, when he sighed in defeat and turned back to the conversing lightly, and she started making her way toward her friends and ex-boyfriend. She just managed to catch the last of their conversation, before she reached him.

"-getting married? Congratulations." Her ex smiled, but it looked forced as he quickly glanced at Sawako and opened his mouth to say something.

"Kento?" Ayane asked with a surprising amount of detachment in her voice. She kept her face neutral as Kento visibly stiffened and slowly looked at her.

"Long time no see, Ayane-chan." The brunette hoped Shouta, Chizu and Ryu would stay away and keep the others distracted. She sent a quick glare at Pin who looked obnoxiously happy, and for once in his life was keeping his big mouth shut. Sawako on the other hand, Ayane noticed, had lowered her gaze and was fidgeting slightly.

"Indeed." She regarded him coolly. He looked worse than she had expected he would when they would finally meet each other again. He had dark circles under his eyes, he hadn't shaved for a few days and his hair was a mess. He looked odd in his black blazer and matching pants.

"How have you been?" He trod cautiously. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug her, but the brunette wasn't going to let that happen. She purposely kept a few feet of distance between them.

"Fine, and yourself?" Another part of Ayane took pride in how she was completely level-headed, but then again, she had always had to be the bigger person for the duration of their relationship.

"Oh, you know. I've had my ups and downs." He smiled bitterly, looking even more worn out. She couldn't believe that she once thought this man in front of her was the love of her life. She didn't regret their time spent together, and somewhere she was thankful they broke up so she could move on, but at that very moment, she felt next to nothing for him.

"Are you here celebrating Pin-sensei's wedding? I just heard about it." Kento had a weird expression on his face, and Ayane put two and two together when he glanced between herself and Pin. To her utter disgust, he thought she was marrying Pin.

"Yes, Mai, Pin's fiancée, insisted we come." She informed him, clearing away any assumptions he had made. She recalled that he had once asked her if there had been anything between her and the baseball obsessed lunatic they called a teacher. Her answer back then had been the same as she had given Sawako.

"Ayane-chan…" Sawako finally spoke up. She looked over at her with the same worried expression Chizu had worn earlier and shifted from one foot to another. Ayane hated being the cause of these worried looks from her friends and smiled softly at the noirette, who had started chewing on her bottom lip.

"It's alright, Sawa. I want to hear what he has to say." She nodded in Kento's direction, waiting for Sawako to reply. She could see the conflict in her eyes.

Sawako didn't want to leave them alone, but at the same time she wanted to respect Ayane's wish. She took a deep breath and nodded once. She whispered something to Pin and he obediently followed her back to their table, but not before casting a perplexed look at the two adults.

"Sawako-chan didn't want me to speak to you." Kento admitted sheepishly, a hint of sorrow in his voice. Ayane raised a brow at this, finding his confession almost comical.

"Does it surprise you? None of them want you to." Ayane mused, referring to her core group of friends. She noticed how his shoulders sagged even further and that some of the bitterness returned to his smile.

"But you do?" He asked and searched her eyes for something. What he hoped to find, she didn't know.

"I want to hear what you have to say." She firmly repeated her words from earlier. Truth be told, she knew he would apologize, she could feel it in her bones, but in her heart, she wasn't ready to forgive him. Not yet, anyway.

"Well, I hadn't planned on seeing you tonight, so I don't have any well written apology, but I do want to say that I've thought long and hard about everything, and I've realized what an asshole I was. I don't dare hope for your forgiveness, but I want to say that from the bottom of my heart, I'm so very sorry for how things ended." He completed his impromptu tirade and in that moment, Ayane could truly see how much the demise of their relationship had haunted him.

"So you've realized how unfairly you treated me? How you pushed me away when I needed you most? How you let some stupid girl come between us? How you broke my trust?" Her questions made him flinch involuntarily. She hadn't intended to sound so harsh, but he had brought up a lot of unpleasant memories and she wanted him to feel just a little bit of what she had felt for months.

"You apologizing and realizing your mistake is great, but it doesn't fix anything. It doesn't make me stop looking over my shoulder when I'm alone, it doesn't restore my trust in you and it doesn't magically erase what I went through." Her voice started shaking a little and she was glad she - coincidentally - had soothed her nerves with wine; otherwise she would be in tears now.

Memories flashed through her mind and she saw the faces of her friends who had picked up her broken pieces and put them back together. She saw Chizu's and Sawako's faces, worried, sad, happy. She saw Shouta and the anger he had felt when he found out about the breakup.

She saw Chizu take deep breaths with her to calm her down from the panic attacks she had suffered following her assault. At the time, Chizu hadn't known the cause of the attacks, she had just held her and whispered soothing words, stroking her hair and promising it would be all right, and it made her love Chizu even more.

She saw Sawako's tear stained face as she hugged Ayane tightly, apologizing over and over again for not having been there, for not supporting her. Sawako had been hurt too, while Ayane was hurting, and it wasn't Sawako's fault at all and it made Ayane angry that she wasn't stronger, that she couldn't handle it on her own and had to burden her friends.

But now? She was standing her ground, and she wouldn't cave in and forgive Kento even if he was desperate for forgiveness. She couldn't. She owed that to herself and to her friends. He had hurt her friends too along with her, and that Ayane couldn't overlook. She only felt anger toward her former boyfriend and even if it meant she was over him, she still wasn't ready to forgive him.

"I know, and I'm sor-" Kento exclaimed, but was interrupted by Ayane holding up a hand.

"Stop. I don't want to hear it. You hurt me, Kento. You hurt me so much and I can't forgive that. Maybe one day I will, but right now, I need to move on and I would suggest you do the same." Her voice sounded hollow in her own ears. She was fighting the tears again.

"But-"

"Please, Kento. Don't make this any harder than it already is. I'm not ready to forgive you. I can't." Ayane whispered, trying hard to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. She refused to cry in front of him again. He didn't deserve her tears.

"…I understand. I hope you will, one day." And with a weak smile at Ayane, he turned around and left the restaurant, leaving the brunette standing. She looked at his retreating back and could have sworn she saw his shoulders shaking, but turned around and headed for the bathroom.

Once Ayane closed the door behind her she headed for the mirror and looked herself over once. Her eyes were dry now and she was actually proud of herself. She had told him what she wanted, and even if it was harsh, she was feeling much lighter now. The relief was apparent on her reflection and her brown eyes peered back at her curiously. She took another minute to replay the conversation in her head, before she headed back to her friends, who were waiting anxiously for her.

"Are you alright?" Sawako and Chizu asked simultaneously. Shouta looked worried out of his skin, and even Ryu looked like he wanted to ask if she was okay. The other guests hadn't noticed she was gone and were busy chatting with Pin and Mai and Ayane breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Everything's fine. We can talk about it later." Ayane nodded and smiled a little. Her friends were still worried about her, and although she was grateful they cared so deeply, she just wanted to enjoy the rest of the night.

"I'm sorry for not stopping him." Sawako's eyes were cast down again as she apologized. Ayane glanced over at Pin when she felt his eyes on her. He raised a brow at her, to which she shook her head, and a silent understanding passed between them. He wouldn't ask.

"It's fine. I was going to talk to him sooner or later." The brunette explained and gently put a hand on Sawako's arm. She wanted Sawako to stop beating herself up over him. She didn't want her friend to feel guilty. Glancing at her other friend, Ayane noticed that Chizu was awfully quiet.

"Hey," she started and caught the blonde's attention, "he wanted to apologize." Chizu nodded her head slowly. Shouta heard this too and looked over at her.

"Did he?" The Kazehaya asked and looked at how his wife was fidgeting in her seat. Ayane locked eyes with him for second, and when she saw no trace of anger, only compassion and worry, she nodded. Ryu cleared his throat from beside Shouta.

"Maybe this can wait?" He glanced in the direction of Mai's colleagues, and the one with glasses was discreetly throwing them glances every few seconds. Sawako swooped in and casually changed the topic to the wedding.

"I really can't wait to see the decorations." She sighed dreamily. If the Mai's colleagues had listened in on the conversation, they wouldn't have caught what Ryu said, only what she did. She knew Ayane wouldn't want to draw attention to herself at that moment and tried to strike up another conversation with Ibusaki-san about the ceremonies.

Mai and Pin had settled for a simple, but western style wedding that would be held in wedding chapel at a local hotel. The reception afterwards would be held in the same hotel later the same day. Mai-chan had been ecstatic when she told her girlfriends this. She had always dreamed of wearing a long white dress and she would be damned if she didn't go for it. Sawako and Shouta too had opted for a western wedding a few years ago.

As Sawako immersed herself in occupying Ibusaki-san and Saburo-san, Mai and one of her female friends joined as well. Another one of her friends sat in front of Sawako and listened intently as she spoke, hanging off her every word. He was rather quiet, but his eyes didn't leave Sawako for very long at a time.

Ayane seemed to be the only one who noticed that. Chizu, to her right was speaking quietly with Ryu, and Shouta was too far on the right to notice anything. Ayane waited for an opening before she leaned closer to Ibusaki-san in front of her.

"Ibusaki-san, I didn't quite catch the name of the person to Saburo-san's right." She smiled pleasantly, completely masking the unease she felt. The man with the glasses nodded and leaned closer as well.

"He used to be our mentor with Mai-senpai. His name is Hiroyuki Takeshi." He answered her question with a smile. He had taken a liking to the brunette and found her easy to talk to.

"I see." Her gaze returned to the man observing her best friend.

"Yano-san, you seem troubled. Does it have anything to do with the man you spoke to earlier?" Ibusaki's question surprised her. He was more observant than she had thought and for a second she felt panic rising, but she suppressed it.

"Not at all, I think I just had too much wine. He was just an old classmate that wanted to say hello and congratulate Pin." The brunette covered up smoothly. She knew the bespectacled meant well, but he didn't know her well enough to ask such questions, she felt.

"I understand." The calculating look in his eyes told her that he wasn't convinced.

There you have it, the confrontation between Kento and Ayane. What do you think? (=w=)/