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If my MC acts like a Mary Sue in any way or if there are any mistakes (grammar, story plot holes, etc.), TELL ME IMMEDIATELY! Thank you!

"" - speech

italics - memory

[ ] - thoughts

Disclaimer: I do not own Diamond no Ace.

Memory and Dream (4)

Twenty two years old - that was their age when they sat in the cafe in dead silence.

"It seems like we can't take naps together like we used to when we were eleven." Nami joked in hopes of breaking the tension.

"We stopped doing that since the end of middle school." He ended it short.

"True." She smiled wistfully.

[When did it become this awkward between us...]

[Was it after my uncle's recent death...?]

[That has to be it... After all, our relations weren't this strained before.]

When she finally locked eyes with him, she shivered inwardly. His gaze was as intense as it was since their early college days. She found herself unable to move.

"Is there a reason for calling me out at a cafe?"

His question was simple and logical. After all, she never called him out to a place like this in the past. Guilt soon ate at her.

[If only I did...]

"I have something important to tell you..." Her voice quivered.

He noted with displeasure that she sounded like she was in absolute despair and pain. It subtly reminded him of when she cried after she saw his injuries when they were young. Something was obviously wrong - very wrong. "What happened..."

"I..." She really did not want to tell him. She wished it was not real.

[If only it was one big nightmare.]

"I'm getting married to the second son of the Hinata Household." Just the thought and the words she spouted out made her nauseous.

He stiffened before straining his voice. "Why."

She flinched when she heard the obvious hoarseness in his voice. "To protect you and your father."

His fists tightened. "What do you mean protect me and my father?" His eyes smoldered with fury and he slowly muttered in a low voice. "I don't need you to protect us."

Her grip on her clothes tightened. "Well I don't want to see you die! I have enough death in my life already! My parents... My uncle...! How can you expect me to let the people I love and care about die in front of me again?!" Frustrated tears unwillingly trickled down her cheeks. "Kazuya, do you truly believe that I want to marry that bastard?!" She breathed hard. "Just thinking about it makes me want to puke... I can't even sleep properly because of this."

[I never wanted this, but what can I do? I'd rather go to hell than see you die before me.]

"I'm scared, Kazuya. I'm scared of losing you to death. I'm scared of-" He walked over and pulled her into a tight embrace. Thankfully, they were in the isolated corner of the cafe, so their words and actions garnered very little attention.

"We can work something out. You don't need to get married to that guy." Kazuya told her resolutely.

She shook her head. "And have you give up baseball? Have your father lose his business?" Nami tightened her grasp on the back of his shirt. "I've already tried to search for a way out, but there's none." Her tears stained his clothing when she leaned against him for support. "I don't want you to lose your passion and dream because of me. I would never forgive myself."

"Then what about you? You're giving up your dreams and your life because of me!" He whispered furiously to her.

Nami closed her eyes in sorrowful acceptance. "...But at least, you'll still be alive."

[It's not fair.]

She then caressed his cheek gently. The affection and pain in her eyes were obvious.

[Why couldn't I touch him like this before? Why does it have to be now? I'm such a coward and now I can't tell him anything - not even my feelings.]

She broke away from his embrace. "I have to go now."

He stiffened. "You're really going to marry that-"

"Yes."

"Then do what you want." Kazuya turned away. His fists tightened once more. "It no longer concerns me."

[It's better for him to hate me. It might hurt, but at least, he'll live. That's all I need.]

He continued in a soft voice. "I guess we have no need to see each other ever again then."

"..." She could not answer him.

"Leave." His voice hardened.

"..." Nami numbed the depths of her emotions, locking away her feelings of longing and affection for the male before her. "Goodbye, Kazuya." Her eyes gradually emptied like the time she lost her parents.

[Farewell...]

She then walked out of the cafe to meet her fiancé with great reluctance.

Unfortunately for both of them, this meeting truly became the final goodbye to Kazuya because she died in a car crash soon after.

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