-Chapter Four-

Boundaries

Back at school, Haru had cornered Kirihara and Sanada, and become his less-seen, serious self. Yes, he was a very protective person. He wasn't mad at Kirihara. It was Sanada who got the full blow of it. But out of the remaining respect he had for his sempai, Haru talked to him after tennis practice. There was no need to embarrass him or anything else of the sort.

"I can't believe you would do that to her!"

"Look, I'm sorry, alright? I don't know what made me do it!"

"If you really cared about her, you wouldn't have done something so sudden like that, damn it!" At this point, Haru had had enough of Sanada's arguments. He brought his hand up, and struck his sempai straight across the face.

There was a long moment of suspenseful silence, even with Haru's hurried, frustrated breathing. Finally, the third-year spoke up. "You're right. And I really am sorry."

Haru sighed, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "It's alright, and I'm sorry for hitting you, but go apologize directly to Hibari." He ordered. Sanada looked defeated, but obeyed and began to walk away. "Oh and Sanada, if you do apologize, it might not be too late," Haru called out with a smirk, reverting back to his humorous yet truthful self.

*****

Hibari was looking forward to, once again, walking home alone. Haru said that he had some things to do and errands to run for their classroom. Though she wasn't really sure how that worked, Hibari didn't mind too much. After all, freedom was sweet.

She had helped Haru make sure the tennis court was in order, and all the racquets and tennis balls had been put away. She even took the liberty of sweeping the court. It didn't take too long.

Finally, the door from the tennis room closed behind her, but the one waiting for her on the other side surprised her. "Ah, Sanada-san," she began nervously. "How… how are you?" The nervous side of her was beginning to surface once more. This was somewhat disappointing though; Hibari always thought she was able to perfectly control her emotions with ease.

"Look, Kyori-san, I'm sorry about yesterday."

The second-year girl blinked. Sanada was… apologizing? Inside, Hibari mentally slapped herself. Of course he has emotions, you idiot. He just acts serious all the time. Serious with a scowl glued on to his face all the time… She soon shook the thought away. However, a sudden feeling had enveloped her. Something she had felt… the moment before all the confusion occurred. When Sanada had kissed her before. In that single blind moment, Hibari had felt, possibly, in love?

Before she knew it, her body moved on its own once again. She took his hand, which had been hanging at his side, into her own, and then kissed his cheek gently. "I accept your apology. Now, would you like to walk me home, Sanada-kun?" Hibari said with a smile.

*****

The two walked down the sidewalk while holding hands; a bold gesture to many passerby. Most knew Kyori Hibari as the rich girl who lived in the beautiful house down the street. Not many expected a stone-faced man to be walking her home. But actually, Sanada didn't look that serious at all. He was smiling for one thing.

The walk home soon turned into nice conversation. What were their favorite foods? Kinds of music? Hobbies (other than tennis)? The more she spoke with him, the more comfortable Hibari felt around the third-year. Honestly, when she had met him at the beginning of the year, Sanada Genchirou had seemed intimidating and didn't strike her as one she would make friends with. Yet now, what did the situation look like? A complete opposite of what she would have thought a couple of months ago.

With all this happening so suddenly, Hibari had a lot to think about. Things were confusing, but not so confusing to the point that it felt agonizing. Before, there had been Kirihara; that complexity that he brought. Now, she only had to sort out her thoughts. One thing was clear: She liked Sanada, and he liked her. Or at least, he liked her enough to smile. And, as she would soon find out, he loved her enough that he would do anything for her.

While she was lost in deep though, Hibari wasn't paying much attention to the book bag in her hand, and the loose grip she held on it as they neared the corner of the sidewalk. Her house was just around that corner. However, the bag suddenly dropped to the floor and its contents spilled onto the pavement. "Ah, damn it," she cursed under her breath as she knelt down to retrieve her things.

Just then, there was an unexpected screech of tires, and for a split second Hibari stared into bright headlights. She felt herself being pushed roughly to side and landed on the pavement. A searing pain in her head brought her back to her senses, and she could make out the horrible scene. A certain someone had pushed her out of harm's way… but in turn…

"SANADA-KUN!"

*****

Kyori Haru burst through the doors to the hospital with a look of total seriousness and urgency on his face, followed by the other regulars. In the corner of the emergency waiting room sat his sister. Aside from the bandages on her head, a few scrapes on her legs, and the tears in her eyes, she looked perfectly fine. "Adeline!" Haru called, too worried to remember to address his sister by her Japanese name. He rushed to his sister and pulled her into his arms. "Are you alright?"

After the accident happened, Hibari had first used her cell phone to call an ambulance. During the time she waited for the medics to come, she had called her brother, informing him on everything that had happened. The two of them, Hibari and Sanada, had been rushed to the hospital. Hibari's injuries were minor… but Sanada was in really bad shape.

The girl began crying again into her brother's shoulders. (It was yet another one of her nervous breakdowns. She seemed to be having a lot of those recently.) "Haru… it's my fault that Sanada-kun is…"

Her twin brother did his best to calm her down as he had before, and the other regulars also tried to help… and after quite a while they were able to console her. Even after the doctor came out into the room to tell them Sanada had quite a few broken bones and major injuries, but he would make a full recovery over time.

"He will be alright, though, ne, Haru?"

Haru was startled by her sudden words, and looked at her face to see bright eyes identical to his, but much tainted with a kind of sad innocence. It reminded him of when they were both eight years old, and Hibari hadn't… closed her heart yet. Their father wasn't home then and their mother had passed away some time ago, so it was just the two twins in their… mansion. The look on Hibari's face at the moment seemed just like the one then. Afraid.

"He'll be fine, don't worry," he managed to say with a small smile. "Trust me Hibari… love has no boundaries. And, believe it or not, reality doesn't either."

You have changed… so much.

*****

It had already been just under a month since the accident. Of course, school still went on normally, as did tennis practice, but it didn't feel the same without Sanada. He had been in the hospital since then, recovering.

After tennis practice, Haru and Hibari decided just to hang out around the tennis courts. There wasn't much to be done at home, and it would be nice just to slow down for a while. Besides, the sakura trees were in full bloom, and the sight was quite breathtaking.

Hibari sat down under one of the trees with her brother. They were silent for a while, each unsure of what to say. Even after all that time passed, it was hard to forget. But there was something Haru had to say. Their father had consulted him, but they had not yet told Hibari.

"Hey, Hibari-chan, I have something to tell you," he began quietly. The girl sitting next to him suddenly looked up.

"Nani?"

Her brother didn't say anything for a moment. With a sigh, he said, "Our family is moving back to England."

Everything seemed to freeze. "What? How could we be going back?" She had come to love life in Kanagawa. She had come to love a certain person that lived in Kanagawa. There was no way she could go back to England after all that had happened. "Haru, we can't go back!"

"I'm sorry… but Father's company has bought one other back in England and he's needed there."

Neither of them spoke again. Seeing his sister so upset was distressing. Japan seemed to have changed her. Where there was once a calm, quiet girl with a closed heart to all but him, there was now a girl who could freely express emotion and was, indeed, happy. All thanks to Japan. No, not Japan. Thanks to Sanada.

"Well, if you're leaving we might as well enjoy the time you're still here."

The twins looked over, startled, to the source of the voice. Under a different sakura tree stood Sanada Genchirou with a calm smile on his face. He had only just left the hospital and came to Rikkai Dai to find her. He had heard the whole of their conversation.

Hibari's heart skipped a beat as she began running over to him. She realized the sudden truth in his words. There was no point in being miserable during her last few weeks in Kanagawa. It was as her brother had said. Love has no boundaries.

And with that thought in mind, she threw her arms around Sanada's neck and kissed him with a newfound passion, as it very well could have been the last time she had the chance.

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