Pure Essence: BIG thanks to all the readers and reviewers out there who read/reviewed my story!! I'm so happy to be able to reach almost 200 reviews (something I never expected!) I hope all of you enjoyed the fic and hopefully you will enjoy the epilogue too! Once again, thank you all for reading! This chapter closes up the fic. I'm already planning on another fic…so please support me on the new fic I'm writing too.

Anyway, I take it back when I said that it definetly wouldn't be as long as the other chapters in the fic.

Please Read and Review! It would be nice to hear some encouragements!

Disclaimer: I don't own P.O.T sadly...

Epilogue: The Beginning of the End

It has been a year since Sakuno Ryuuzaki and her grandmother left for America.

Nearly everything was back to the way it used to be.

Nearly.

Although Seigaku still stands in top shape, things just weren't the same – at least not for Echizen Ryoma. The 'old' Seigaku Regulars had graduated a little after Sakuno and her grandmother's fateful departure leaving only Momoshiro Takeshi and Echizen Ryoma to rule the boy's tennis team.

Before their ex-captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu's 'retirement' as captain of Seigaku a year ago, he had officially assigned Ryoma Echizen as Seigaku's pillar of support and Ryoma gratefully accepted hoping that he could bring Seigaku to greater heights - and he did. Throughout the year, the Seigaku's Boys tennis team had acquired much fame from winning all the tournaments that they participated in.

As Echizen Ryoma watched his team practice from the side, he couldn't help but notice the tension that hung in the air. The once fun and playful atmosphere that existed when his senpais were still around is now replaced with an atmosphere of seriousness and heavy stress.

Ryoma sighed. How he missed the good old times.

Speaking of old times….there was one thing that he didn't miss – his fan club.

He noticed Sakuno's ex- best friend on the side of the courts along with the other "Ryoma-sama fan club" members (all girls) screaming 'Ryoma-sama' over and over again as many of the tennis club members tried to quiet them down but failed.

'They just don't give up do they?' he thought as he made his way to the crowd causing them to fret even louder.

"Ryoma-sama!!" Tomo- something (he only knows the Tomo part from Sakuno) screamed in such a high pitch voice that he was sure she had the power to shatter glass. Suddenly, the whole crowd of girls reached out their arms trying so desperately to touch him. Ryoma kept a safe distance from them hoping that he would not get dragged in and get molested by these crazy people who all wanted a piece of him.

"Mada Mada Dane" he said his trademark phrase, hoping the girls would know when to stop. As Ryoma expected, they did the opposite. The girls screamed even louder and the pushing and pulling became even more serious as random sentences were spouted but Ryoma only heard bits and pieces of it:

"Ryoma-sama! My name ……… sign is Aries………email is…….."

"Onegai…. Boyfriend…..prettiest gir…."

Suddenly, someone in the crowd screamed, her voice the loudest among the group. "Ryoma-sama! My bust size is the largest out of all of them so pick me!"

Echizen Ryoma coughed. He so did not need to know that.

As the obsessive fan girls raged on with the embarrassing spouts, Ryoma rubbed his eyes tiredly. When will this end?

Dealing with this same situation everyday is aggravating. Perhaps his vice-captain can be of some help…

"Momo- senpai." Ryoma called.

Momoshiro immediately appeared beside his long time friend and partner. Although Ryoma held a higher position than him, the habit of calling him 'Momo-senpai' remained unchanged. "Do you think you can do something about them?" he raised an eyebrow at the crazy crowd.

Momoshiro looked at him incredulously with an expression that read: If you can't handle them, what makes you think I can?

Echizen refused to admit it, but his senpai was right. He needed a plan that can get them off his back for at least a week!

"If …" Ryoma began thoughtfully. "If I allow you girls to ask me 4 questions, will you leave us alone for a week?"

The fan girls nodded enthusiastically and Ryoma smirked. It seems that he has found the quickest way to get rid of them.

"Okay. Then what's question number 1?" he muttered in a bored tone.

One of the girls with long dark black hair asked first.

"Ryoma-sama, can you tell me your cell phone number? Onegai?" She begged.

"No." Ryoma said without even a thought. Why would he give someone as crazy as her his phone number? He considered it a suicidal act.

Another asked the second question.

"Ryoma-sama, when you graduate, can I have your second button?"

Ryoma stared at her with an eyebrow raised. If he was going to give away his second button, hell, it wouldn't be to her! He didn't even know her!

"No." Never.

"Why not?" Another girl asked.

"I'm counting that as the third question." He grinned sneakily. "Because I don't want to" was his reply.

Just one more to go…

"Ryoma-sama." Another girl began on the fourth and last question. "Do you have someone you like?"

For a moment, Ryoma Echizen was rendered speechless. He stood silently in front of the hopeful fan girls that were awaiting his answer.

Momoshiro and Tomoka watched silently as they also awaited his confirmed answer - although they both pretty much had the answer in their minds. Since freshman year, Echizen Ryoma's heart had been stolen by her although he didn't know it back then. But anyone else close to him could see that.

Echizen Ryoma looked pained and nostalgic for a moment.

"Yes." He finally said, causing nearly all the fan girls to groan and cry.

Momoshiro and Tomoka looked at each other knowingly.

"Who is it Ryoma-sama?!" they wailed.

"Mada Mada Dane." Was all they could get out of him. The depressed girls comforted each other as they left the courts.

Heaving out a relieved sigh, he turned around - only to find his whole tennis team staring at him with gaping mouths. After witnessing the whole confrontation, they were utterly shocked at what they just heard. Their overly-naïve-when-it-comes-to-love captain actually LIKES someone? Woah.

Ryoma crossed his arms in a stern fashion. "If all of you don't go back to minding your own business, then all of you will have to run 50 laps!"

The crowd quickly returned to their tennis practice as if nothing had just happened.

Ryoma smirked. God, he loved abusing his power as captain. He could just imagine the feeling of superiority Tezuka felt when he threatened him and his senpais to run laps in the past. Suddenly his smirk turned into a pained frown as nostalgia overwhelmed him. Those were the good times…when everyone was together…

Echizen Ryoma could not resist but begin wondering about the future plans of his senpais.

'Fuji-senpai is probably going to major in photography, Kawamura-senpai will probably take over his father's sushi restaurant, Kikumaru-senpai will probably perform as an acrobat at shows, Oishi-senpai will probably become a good teacher who cares a lot about the kids, and Tezuka-buchou will either continue his education to the highest degree or continue his tennis career, No doubt Inui-senpai will probably continue his research on making the "perfect" and "most delicious" drink ever while being a data man…. As for Kaidoh-senpai he'll probably become a pet caretaker…. and Saku-'

He stopped himself in mid-thought.

It's been a while since he last thought about the braided pig tail girl who clumsily slid into his life and out of it so quickly. His eyebrows pinched together as he frowned at the feeling that always tugged at his heartstrings whenever he thought about her – another reason why he tries not to. There was always this feeling of regret, sadness, yearning, and loneliness that accompanied the bittersweet memories of her.

He wished he had been less naïve back then and actually paid more attention to the signs that she had put out before she left. Apparently, his life revolved around tennis so much that he neglected everything else. And now, he suffered.

If he could go back in time, he wanted to tell her that he would miss her when she had asked him that blasted question on the roof.

"Thinking about Sakuno-chan again?" a voice interrupted. Ryoma looked up to see his vice-captain staring down at him with a sympathetic look.

"Momo-senpai."

"Yo." He greeted. "So, were you thinking about Sakuno-chan again?" he repeated.

"Betsuni" Ryoma replied.

"You were weren't you?" Momoshiro asked although that was just a rhetorical question. "Every time you think about her, your expression softens."

Echizen grimaced. He hated it when people knew what he was thinking.

Momoshiro and Echizen stood side by side silently as they both enjoyed the comforting atmosphere between friends.

"Ne, Echizen." Momoshiro began. "Don't be afraid to make a move."

"Eh?"

'Typical Echizen Ryoma reaction.' Momoshiro thought. Always so clueless…

"What I'm trying to say is that if you want something or someone, you have to work for it. Don't just sit here and think that somehow things will work out – because it won't."

Ryoma looked down. Inside, he knew where this conversation was leading to and he didn't like it one bit especially when it involved a certain braided pig tail girl.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say Momo-senpai." Ryoma feigned nonchalance.

Liar.

"Is that so?" His senpai frowned and shook his head disapprovingly. "Maybe I'm just rambling then."

Ryoma remained silent. He wasn't that dense to know that his senpai wanted him to do something about the still unclear relationship between him and Sakuno. But, they were so far apart right now and he just didn't have the guts to contact her. Not that it was all that scary or anything – just awkward.

Ryoma sighed deeply and slid a hand through his dark hair. Ever since he gave Sakuno his hat, he never bothered to get another one simply because it just wasn't the same.

"Look Echizen." His senpai's voice snapped him out of his reverie. "What I'm trying to ask you is this: If one day, an opportunity presents itself to you. Would you take it?"

Would he? Echizen Ryoma considered his senpai's words carefully. If it meant seeing Sakuno again, he probably would. But of course, he wouldn't tell his senpai that. He was starting to feel that his senpai was getting a little too involved in his business.

"Momo-senpai" Echizen began.

Momoshiro looked at his captain hoping for a truthful answer.

"Please go run 15 laps."

Momoshiro was stunned. Did his captain/friend just punish him or was he just hearing things?

"N-Nani?!"

Ryoma raised an eyebrow patiently. "15 laps I said."

"Why you little ungrat—"

"20 laps."

Momoshiro immediately closed his argument knowing that his laps would only increase if he said anything more. 'I'll remember this brat.' His senpai thought angrily.

As his senpai went off to run his laps, Ryoma leaned his back against the fence to relax. Suddenly, his sensitive ears caught someone calling him from a distance. He turned around and surely, someone was running toward him. When the person got closer, Ryoma recognized him to be a freshman from his club.

"Echizen-buchou" the young freshman huffed. "Here. The principal told me to give this to you as soon as possible."

"Hnn." Ryoma looked at the letter in his hands curiously before opening it. Once he opened the letter, his eyes went wide.

'What is the meaning of this?'

-------------------------------------------------

Echizen Ryoma grasped the envelope with the letter from the principal in his hands tightly as he made his way to the Principal's office. Pushing the door open in a rush, the door banged the wall next to him and startled the secretary.

The secretary immediately stood up and stopped him from charging into the principal's office. "Excuse me, Echizen- san. What business do you have here?"

"I need to speak with the principal" he stated obviously.

"Sorry but the principal is currently busy. How about you come back later?"

"No." he replied a matter-of-factly.

"No?" the secretary stared at the rude teen. "Well then, there's nothing you can do ab—"

"It's okay" a voice interrupted. "Let him in."

The secretary and Ryoma looked up to see Seigaku's principal smiling down at them. Well, more like smiling down at Ryoma as if he had been expecting him to show up.

The secretary looked unsure for a moment before allowing him to enter the larger office. She closed the door to the room after Echizen entered – leaving only him and the principal in the room.

"So, Echizen Ryoma." The principal said slowly. "What brings you here today?"

Ryoma didn't bother replying. He just took the letter and threw it on the principal's desk.

"This" he pointed to the letter. "What is this about?"

"Ah… I see you've received the plane ticket to America." The principal said happily, unaffected by Ryoma's foul mood.

'No really' Ryoma thought impatiently.

"Well you see, there is an international tournament being held in America where talented tennis players from different continents will come together and play in tennis matches. I figured you'd be interested. When I asked your father for his permission to let you go, he agreed immediately."

"Well, I didn't agree yet." Ryoma demanded. The happy principal raised a surprised eyebrow.

"Are you telling me that you would reject this once in a lifetime opportunity?"

"What I'm trying to ask you is this: If one day, an opportunity presents itself to you. Would you take it?"

D—n it. Why is everyone talking to him about opportunities? It's annoying him to no end!

"You know, it was actually Ryuuzaki-sensei that called me and notified me about this tournament. She urged me to let you attend because someone from her school will also be attending the same tournament and she would like to see you there."

Echizen Ryoma froze. If Ryuuzaki-sensei is attending the tournament… perhaps Sakuno will be there too….He was ready for the tournament no doubt. But, was he ready to see Sakuno again after a year of separation? He was nervous but still, he was anxious to see her again. It had been absolutely lonely and boring without her around everyday and he admits to that. Ryoma contemplated the situation for a little longer.

"Fine." He muttered. "I accept."

I will take this opportunity…and let fate determine the rest.

The jolly principal beamed up at him in approval. "Well, here's your ticket. Please report to the airport on time the day after tomorrow. Good luck on your game and may you come back a champion."

"Mada Mada Dane." Ryoma smirked as he made his way out of the office. 'I will definitely come back as a champion.'

-------------------------------------

The day after tomorrow: At the Airport

-------------------------------------

Momoshiro Takeshi stood by his captain's side in the airport as they waited for his flight to arrive.

"Seems like your opportunity presented itself eh?" Momoshiro teased.

Echizen merely shrugged and took a sip from his grape ponta. His senpai frowned at his lack of response.

"Well, good luck Echizen. Hopefully, this time you'll come back with two trophies." Momoshiro patted Ryoma's back with two forceful pats. "Ah…. So young, so young."

Ryoma glared at his senpai. What was all that 'so young so young' talk about. He never understood just what it meant.

"Of course" Ryoma replied casually and his senpai sighed. 'He doesn't get it does he?' his senpai thought. Clueless once again…

"Ah!" Momoshiro suddenly delved his hand into his pocket. "Here take this Echizen. I think you'll need it when you get to America." Momoshiro handed him a list of addresses and numbers. "I've done a little research on hotels and restaurants as to where you can relax before your match. The areas on the list are pretty close to the tournament's stadium so it might come in useful. I've also inputted Ryuuzaki-sensei's number on there. So you can contact her if you want to say anything."

"Hnn…" Ryoma stared at the sheet for a while as if in deep thought. "Arigato Momo-senpai" he finally said. Tucking the paper away into one of his pockets, he picked up his small luggage.

"Well, this is it Momo-senpai. Please take care of the team while I'm away." The loudspeaker interrupted him for a moment signaling that his flight was ready. Ryoma Echizen turned to his senpai and flashed a winning smirk.

"Ja ne." Ryoma turned and started walking for the gate. Momoshiro watched his younger captain disappear into the gate and sighed. 'Why does this scene seem so familiar?'

Hopefully, the younger boy will finish the unfinished business a year ago because fate had just dropped a huge opportunity for him and he'd better take advantage of it.

Even fate is on their side…

Momoshiro grinned. He had a feeling things will be alright when his captain and friend returns. Perhaps he might even come back with a surprise. 'Who knows?' he thought. 'That kid is always full of surprises.'

-------------------------------------

In America...

-------------------------------------

Echizen Ryoma stepped out of the airport in a daze. Sitting in the plane's uncomfortable chair for twenty and more hours was tiring and his body ached from head to toe. However, when he saw the familiar landscape that presented itself to him, his fatigue melted away. It has been a while since he came back and boy, wasn't he glad he did. He had missed his homeland – the place where he was born and brought up in. Admiring the busy view for a moment more, he waved to a taxi.

The taxi stopped in front of him. Ryoma slipped into the back seat and slammed the door shut. "To N.I.C Hotel please." He said in fluent English. The taxi driver nodded and the car started moving. Now, all that's left to do is to get some rest and prepare for tomorrow's tournament.

He couldn't wait. His anxiousness was starting to get the better of him. However, it was not the tournament that was worrying him. Sure, the tournament was exciting. But he didn't come here just for the tournament. He wanted to see her again and he hoped silently that his wish will be granted. He didn't want this opportunity to go to waste and surely, he didn't want to return to Japan with even more regrets than he already had.

'Tomorrow will be a good day.' he thought randomly as he looked up at the clear blue sky….

When they arrived at the hotel, Ryoma checked into a small one person room. It was cozy and he liked it. Dropping his luggage on the floor, he dug out a few clean clothing from his bag and stepped into a bathroom for a shower. Within 45 minutes later, he emerged in fresh clothing and damp hair. He dried his messy wet hair with a dry towel and sighed in pleasure.

Now this was what he called comfortable.

He paused for a moment before he pulled out the sheet of paper Momoshiro had given him and stared at Ryuuzaki-sensei's number. Should he call? He wanted to but he didn't know exactly what to say and if Sakuno happened to be the one who answered the phone, he was sure he would lose his voice – which was so unlike him.

'Tomorrow.' He thought. 'I'm bound to play Ryuuzaki-sensei's team anyway.'

He shrugged off his urge to call and replaced the paper back into his pocket. Then, he glanced at the time. 6:37 p.m. It wasn't that late but he was awfully tired. If he was going to win the tournament tomorrow, he would definetly need to get rid of his aching muscles from the tiring plane ride. He crawled into bed and sighed sleepily. Before long, he drifted into a dreamless sleep.

--------------------------------------

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE –

The hotel's alarm clock rang as Echizen Ryoma shifted to the side and turned off the alarm. He groaned lazily and opened his sleepy eyes. The room was bright with sunshine that came in from the windows and he sat up slowly. He glanced at the digital clock which read 8:30 a.m and remembered that he had to be at the stadium by 9:30 a.m.

'Great.' He thought and quickly went to the bathroom to clean up his disoriented appearance. When he was done, he grabbed his tennis bag and headed for the stadium where the tournament took place.

By the time Ryoma arrived, many of the players were already prepared and were waiting on standby. 'Oh well.' Ryoma shrugged casually. It didn't matter if he came in late. As long as he's the one who wins at the end. Ryoma turned to read the game chart. He counted the amount of opponents he might have to beat. He felt sorry for them because he will take them down one by one without any mercy.

"Mada Mada Dane."

Ryoma went up to one of the assistants in the area and asked, "Excuse me, where do I sign in?"

The American looked at him and handed him a clip board. "Please sign next to your name." Ryoma signed his name and returned the clipboard.

"Now, please stand over there while we pair you up with your opponent when the tournament starts shortly." He motioned to the crowded corner full of tall and fit tennis players.

"Hnn…" Ryoma looked curiously at them. They had the height advantage alright. But, Ryoma was sure he would win. It wasn't the first time he played someone much taller than him. 'This is going to be so easy.' He thought and went to line up with the rest of the players.

"Kya!" a clumsy braided pig tail girl cried as she stumbled for the third time that day.

"Sakuno." Former Seigaku tennis coach, Sumire Ryuuzaki looked at her granddaughter disapprovingly. "Please be more careful."

"Hai, Obaa-chan…" she muttered and mentally scolded her coordination. She had tried to become less clumsy over the past year but she hasn't had much improvement.

"Mou…" she huffed and tugged on the white hat that sat on the top of her head. Yes. That was the hat Ryoma Echizen had given her before she left for America last year. She kept it in perfect condition and tried her best to keep it as clean as possible. On important occasions such as this, she would whip out his hat and wear it as if it was her good luck charm. It was one of her most treasured possessions and she was still waiting for the day when she and "Ryoma-kun" would meet again….

"Sakuno." Her grandmother called, distracting her from her thoughts. "The tournaments already began. Let's go watch some of the matches before our school's match begins."

"Hai!" she replied enthusiastically. Over the past year, her passion for tennis never faded but only grew stronger despite the fact that her tennis skills still sucked.

As she and her grandmother approached the tournament courts, a loud scream from girl spectators sounded from the left court. Sakuno turned to stare at the crowded court filled with people. It was hard to even see through those bodies blocking her view of the players on the court.

"Ne Obaa-chan," Sakuno turned to her grandmother. "Should we go see what's going on in that court? There's a lot of people there."

Sumire Ryuuzaki nodded and they both made their way to the court while pushing their way to the front to get a better view.

"Sorry!" she apologized quietly in English as she pushed her way through. When she finally got to the front, she froze.

Sakuno stood stiffly and rubbed her eyes to make sure she was not dreaming. In front of her was a boy that looked so much like her Ryoma-kun. 'I must be mistakened.' She thought.

"Ah, so he did show up. Echizen Ryoma." Her grandmother suddenly said beside her and Sakuno's head quickly snapped up to look at her grandmother questioningly.

"O-Obaa-chan!" Sakuno gasped. "T-That's Ryoma-kun?!"

Her grandmother frowned at her granddaughter's behavior. "Sakuno. Have you forgotten Ryoma Echizen already?" Sakuno blushed. Of course not! She just thought she was hallucinating!

This was too good to be true…

"I-Iie, I was just surprised to see him here…"

Sumire Ryuuzaki raised an inquiring eyebrow. "It's an international tournament Sakuno. What's so surprising about him being here? I recommended him to come anyway."

Sakuno mentally scolded herself. Of course Ryoma had every right to participate. How could she forget that this was an international tournament? Baka!

Sakuno lifted her head just in time to see Ryoma perform his twist serve scaring his opponent to the point that he was scrambling to dodge the ball aimed at his face.

"That's the Twist Serve!" she shouted enthusiastically as she remembered the move Ryoma used to perform so frequently. How she missed it!

"3 games to 0" the referee announced. "Change court!"

Ryoma Echizen was leading - as expected.

Sakuno watched her prince's face change into a cocky smirk and she felt her legs turn to jelly.

"Ryoma-kun!" she yelled hoping to catch his attention above the roaring crowd. When he didn't turn to look at her, her heart sank.

"Three Games to Zero" the referee announced. "Change court!"

Ryoma smirked. All the opponents he has played so far were no where near his level. He beat them easily despite the fact that he was much younger and much shorter than they were. No doubt about it, he was going to bring that trophy home.

Suddenly he froze.

For a moment, he thought he heard someone calling him. He scanned the crowd quickly but dismissed it when he only caught glimpses of screaming girls. Perhaps he was only hallucinating. He shrugged it off and attempted to move to change courts.

He made his way toward the direction of the bench where he wanted to get a drink of water before resuming the match. The American girls screamed as he got closer and he only sighed in annoyance.

Ryoma unscrewed his water bottle and was about to take a sip when he paused. Behind him, he thought he heard someone call him "Ryoma-kun" very softly over the screaming noise. In all his years, only one person would call him Ryoma-kun. He dropped the bottle on the bench and turned around swiftly and anxiously. He hoped to Kami that he wasn't just imagining it.

When he turned around, the first person that greeted his eyes was her. He stood rooted on the spot while their eyes met for the first time in a long time. Their gaze was broken however, when Sumire Ryuuzaki interrupted.

"I see you've gotten better, Echizen."

Ryoma turned to his ex-coach and greeted her although his eyes mainly focused on the blushing pig tailed girl next to her. It was then, when he realized she was wearing his hat and he felt heat creeping up to his cheeks. It was the first time a girl has worn anything of his and it seemed like she was tempting him although he was sure she did it unintentionally. She looked absolutely adorable though.

The referee whistled signaling the match will resume shortly. He watched as Sakuno's eyes flickered with disappointment that he had to return to his match shortly after they just reunited. The referee whistled to him again, this time impatiently and Ryoma scowled. "I'll talk after I win this match."

Sumire Ryuuzaki nodded and Ryoma turned to leave however, Sakuno's voice stopped him.

"Ryoma-kun!" she called as he was about to walk away back onto the courts. He turned around to look at her and she broke away from his gaze. She reached up and took off "her" hat and handed it to him.

"H-Here Ryoma-kun!" She pushed the hat into his hands. "Over the past year, your hat has given me lots of good luck. So I think it's time I return it to you." She raised her head to look at him. "Hopefully, it'll give you the same good luck it gave me."

Ryoma inspected the hat in his hands thoughtfully. Finally, he gave her one of his famous smirks. "Thank You." He whispered quietly and Sakuno flushed scarlet.

"I-Iie" she stuttered.

"I'll talk to you later." He said and put on his hat. Then he returned to the courts.

He stood in front of his opponent on opposite courts. Then, he raised his tennis racket arrogantly and pointed it at his opponent.

"You still have lots more to work on!" Ryoma said in English and the whole court roared.

Echizen Ryoma smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time. He missed playing matches with Sakuno by his side cheering him on silently in the sidelines. Now, he finally had that chance to go back to the past when she was there always watching him from afar and supporting him. He was going to do his best and make the best of it.

"Mada Mada Dane" he said this time in Japanese as his opponent served a weak ball to his court. He returned it easily with another one of his special moves.

Ryoma glanced at his losing opponent's sweaty appearance and then shifted his gaze to Sakuno who had her hands clasped tightly with a hopeful look on her face.

He was going to win this game and every other game in the tournament like he always do. Except this time, he's going to win this tournament with someone very special by his side and that made the biggest difference.

He smirked cockily.

'The game had just begun.'

(A/N: So did his love life. Wink Wink.)

FIN. Thank you for reading!
Pure Essence: This fic is officially complete! YAY!! Now I can think about my next fic which will also be another Ryo x Saku. Please support me on my new fic when it comes out too! I hope you liked this last and final chapter. It was very hard to start the chapter because I have the plot down basically but not the details. Hopefully, it didn't come out that bad. Please excuse my grammar mistakes… I'm sure there are loads of them everywhere… My Microsoft Word isn't doing a very good job finding mistakes. So once again, sorry if there are many mistakes with the tenses and such.

Just for your information:

1. In Japan, the second button on a guy's school uniform is usually reserved for the girl he likes.

2. Throughout this chapter, I tried to be broad like saying "America" instead of naming a specific city because I just couldn't think this through. Especially when it's 4:00 A.M. right now, and I just finished this fic.

3. Er…. N.I.C hotel is something I made up out of nowhere so don't ask me how I got it…

4. The Epilogue came out to be 14 pages long! Surprised me too. I had planned to make this short and simple...Somehow, I made it more complicated.

Anyway, I hoped you enjoy this story and I'm glad I was able to complete this. Please Read and Review! Hoping to hear your comments soon!!