Chapter 15

Letting Go

I sit on the couch, flustered about what just happened. Matsuri is in love with Akiho, yet she's trying to steal Reo just for that reason? Just because she looked like her? Now, this is something I'm very confused about. Why would Matsuri do those types of stuff? This is just . . . horrible and surprising at the same time. If Matsuri is doing all this stuff, then she must be considered a very dangerous person . . . right? I mean, she was overly obsessed with Reo and everything and wanted me out of the way. So that could clearly mean something to all of this.

"Mai-chan?" Mom says. "Are you alright?"

I turn to her with a serious look on my face. "Mom, what would you do if a person tries to steal with the one you love and is overly obsessed with her? What are they considered?"

Mom sits next to me and thinks about it for a minute. "Well, it all depends how a person is acting. Who is this person you're talking about?"

"Matsuri Tojo. She's the one who's been trying to steal Reo away from me for the past month and I don't know how to stop her. And then I found out that she was in love with her best friend, Akiho Kotosaki, who looks exactly like Reo, but didn't realize that she came back for her. Matsuri's heart was broken a long time ago when she couldn't have Akiho and decided to steal Reo just for that reason. It probably became a very dangerous obsession and Matsuri wouldn't let Reo go, just because she wanted someone to love. So . . . what is she, Mom?"

Mom's expression turns serious this time. "From the way she's acting, she's a very dangerous person. A person who is very dangerously obsessed with a person who can't let go of their pain from their past is considered mental and needs major help. You are the only one who can convince her to do that since you are her main target, perhaps. She can't be like this forever, so it's up to you to stop her."

"I understand, Mom," I say. Ah, so that's what's going on with Matsuri. "I'll try my best."

Mom smiles as she stands up. "I hope everything will go well between you and Matsuri-chan. I don't want anyone to be hurt."

"Me neither. Thanks for hearing me out." I stand up to leave the house. "I'm going out now."

"Okay," Mom says. "Be careful."

"I will, Mom. Don't worry." With that, I wink at her as I leave the house. It's time to confront Matsuri and end this once and for all!

Reo's P.O.V

I slowly open my eyes to find myself still in the living room, lying on the ground. How long was I paralyzed? Ah, no matter! I have to stop Matsuri before she kills Mai! She's gone way too far and if I don't do something, Mai is gonna die! So will everyone else who will stand in her way, if she wants to. Gathering up my strength, I reach for the front door, which is already opened. I figured that Matsuri had left while I was unconscious and is probably trying to go after Mai right now. I rush out of the apartment and into Mai's home, ringing the doorbell a bunch of times in a panic. When the door opens, Mai's Mom only appears at the door.

"Oh, Reo-chan?" she says. "Are you looking for Mai-chan?"

I quickly nod. "Do you know where she is?"

"I'm afraid she already left, dear," Mai's Mom says. "I don't know where she's going, but she told me that she's going to find Matsuri-chan."

I gasp at this. Mai probably won't stand a chance against Matsuri if she's already armed! "Thanks! I got to go!" I rush out of the house without giving Mai's Mom a chance to respond.

Though I hate running, I'm determined to get to the one I love! My heart is still set on Mai's and nothing else will stop me from loving anyone else! Not even Matsuri! So, with a burst of speed, I sprint all the way to town to look for Mai. Since this place is huge, it will be impossible to find her this way, but there's no giving up now! If Matsuri is coming here, then Mai must be around somewhere as well. I sprint about 5 blocks until I get to the middle of the mall where Mai and I usually go when we were at St. Michael's. I look up at the sky and notice that there are dark gray clouds, meaning that it might start to rain soon. None of that matters now. I have to find Mai. I swiftly look around for her and walk around until I arrive at a huge fountain. Lightning strikes as I look around some more, feeling slightly scared of the storm.

"Mai!?" I call out. "Mai, where are you!?"

No answer. I can't give up now! Mai's life is at stake and if I don't find her, Matsuri will! Thunder clashes again as I walk around and look for her some more.

"Reo?"

I swiftly turn around to notice Mai standing on the other side of the fountain while lightning strikes again. "M-Mai?" Am I dreaming? Is that really the one I love?

Mai starts to run towards me as I do the same. Within seconds, both of us quickly embrace each other as lightning strikes again. At last, I found my true love.

"Mai!" I sob as tears start to fall freely. "I missed you so much!"

"Me, too," Mai whispers. "I missed you as well." She quickly lets go as her expression turns serious. "Come on. Let's find Matsuri. I'm planning on taking her to the police station."

"What!?" I gasp. "She's gonna kill you!"

"Reo . . ."

"No! I won't allow that!" I plunge into her chest while sobbing again. "After all we've been through, you're gonna talk to her!? I mean, look what she's done to us for the past month! Do you think she's worth talking to when she's like this!?"

"Reo, you have to understand," Mai says, remaining calm. She wipes some tears off my cheek. "Matsuri's not really like this from the start."

"Then, why does she do those things?"

"Because she has a problem. And we might be able to help her with it if we go to the police."

Just then, we hear a familiar voice coming from behind us. "You're not going anywhere, Mai-sama."

Mai and I turn to notice Maturi standing there with evil eyes while lightning strikes, making her even more scary. Rain starts to pour as she begins to walk toward us.

"I don't know who you think you are," she says. "But I'm good and tired of you interfering with me and Reo-sama."

"Matsuri, I feel that you're taking things too far. Stealing Reo isn't right."

"What I do with me and Reo-sama is my business. You understand?" She grits her teeth while clenching her fists.

"But can't you see that your behavior has gone overboard?" Mai gently pushes me away with her hand. "You need help. Let me help you."

"By taking me to the police?"

"Matsuri I-" Before Mai could say anything else, Matsuri shoves her to the hard ground.

"Matsuri, leave her alone!" I cry as I try to tackle her. "Leave her alone!"

"Get out of here, Reo-sama!" She grabs my shoulders and tosses me far away and into the hard pavement as well.

"Reo, run!" Mai cries as Matsuri quickly tries to take a punch at her. She blocks it with her right arm, but Matsuri punches her hard in the guts with her other hand.

As the two stubble, I quickly stand up and witness this horrible scene. No, this can't be happening! Not like this! The rain pours harder as lightning keeps on striking over and over while Mai and Matsuri keep on fighting each other. Mai blocks Matsuir's punch again, only to be hit in the guts from Matsuri's other hand. The silver haired girl then grabs her and knees her in the guts again, only harder, knocking the air out of Mai. Matsuri then kicks Mai to the ground and keeps on kicking her while Mai helplessly curls up, still unable to breathe.

"Stop it!" I cry as tears fall from my eyes. "Please, both of you stop!"

But Matsuri wouldn't listen. As Mai tries to get up, Matsuri kicks her down again and hops on top of her. She then grabs Mai's throat, choking her in the process.

"You're gonna die, Mai-sama!" Matsuri growls. "DIE!"

"M-Matsuri . . . s-st-stop . . ." Mai chokes out while still struggling.

"STOP IT, PLEASE!" I cry out. "PLEASE, MATSURI! YOU'RE GONNA KILL HER!"

"Which is exactly what I want," Matsuri says, squeezing Mai's neck tighter. "If that isn't enough, I'll just have to draw some blood on her." She takes out a knife from her pocket. "Any last words before I slash you out of existence?"

Mai remains on the ground, breathing heavily from the intense choking. Matsuri raises the knife and is about to stab her when Mai suddenly grabs her arm.

"You can't do this!" Mai says, trying to push the knife away. "There's something in your heart what won't let go. That's why I'm trying to help you."

"Help me!?" Matsuri shouts. "As if!" She punches Mai in the face hard. "I don't need your freaking help!" She punches her again. "Never!"

"You wanted to love someone, right?" Mai continues, having a sad look on her face.. "You wanted to have a girlfriend of your own, yet you were rejected. So, you couldn't let go of the pain that had made you suffer for a long time. And then . . . you found Reo."

"Sh-shut up!" Matsuri punches Mai again.

"Reo resembled your best friend, right?" Mai continues, not even bothering to think about being beaten. "So, you decided to have her for yourself just to solve your own problems, yet it became a dangerous obsession, leading to bad results."

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" BAM! BAM! BAM! "JUST SHUT UP, YOU WITCH!" BAM! Lightning strikes again as more rain keeps on pouring, leaving all of us drenched to the bone.

"MATSURI!" I sob while sinking to my knees. "PLEASE LISTEN TO WHAT MAI HAS TO SAY! YOU'RE JUST HURTING HER!"

"I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU FREAKS!" Matsuri shouts and turns to Mai. "As for you . . ." She throws the knife away and grabs Mai's neck. "BEGONE!"

"AHHHHH!" I scream. "NOOO! PLEASE, STOP IT! NO!"

It is then that Mai lets out a small cough with her arms lowering to the ground and not moving again. Wh-what? Is she really dead? Matsuri stands up and smirks at the lifeless body.

"Heh," Matsuri says. "Stupid witch."

I, however, run over to my lover's side and pick her up. "MAI! MAI! OH, NO! SPEAK TO ME! PLEASE SPEAK TO ME!"

Mai's eyes remain closed and not moving. More tears fall from my eyes as I grip my lover. "Mai . . . no . . ." Don't tell me she's dead. No, she can't be dead! After reuniting with my true love, it can't end like this!

I look up and glare at her. "YOU WITCH! MAI DIDN'T DESERVE THIS! SHE WAS TRYING TO FREAKING TELL YOU SOMETHING AND YOU GO AND KILL HER ANYWAYS! WHAT THE HECK!?"

Matsuri just smirks, not saying a word.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ARE EVEN BEHAVING THIS WAY! DO YOU REALLY THINK YOUR BEST FRIEND IS GONNA ACCEPT YOU IF YOU KEEP ACTING LIKE THIS!?"

"She's not here," Matsuri says. "And she'll never come back. Since she already has someone else, I have no other choice." She walks over and picks up the knife she had thrown and comes over to me. "Now, let me finish off Mai-sama and let us be together forever."

"Never," I growl as I squeeze Mai closer to me.

"Then, I'll have to kill you both if you won't listen to me." She starts to raise the knife and is about to stab Mai when a voice cries out.

"MATSURI-CHAN, NO!" A girl rushes in and grabs her arm, stopping Matsuri in the process.

The silver haired girl slowly turns and her eyes widen. "Aki-chan?"

There, I look up to notice the girl who resembles me, only with brown hair and blue eyes, nodding.

"Long time no see, Matsuri-chan," the girl says, softly.

"B-but how?" Matsuri says. "I thought you were with-"

"I know." The brown haired girl says, looking down at the ground. "But moved here to take care of my grandparents. Then, I had thought about you and wondering how you were doing." The girl frowns. "And it looks like there's a major problem."

"Who are you?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl says, laughing nervously. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Akiho Kotosaki, Matsuri-chan's best friend."

I gasp when I hear this. "So you're the person Matsuri was talking about!"

"That's right," Akiho-san says as she turns to the silver haired girl. "And I came back only to find this. What happened?"

I take a few deep breaths and tell Akiho-san everything. How Matsuri fell in love with me because of Akiho's resemblance, how she is trying to keep me all to herself and get Mai out of the way and if that wasn't enough, she was planning on killing Mai just to solve things for herself. I also told her how she had used me this whole time just to replace her since she couldn't have the one she wanted. Akiho-san listens to the whole thing as she shakes her head and looks over at Matsuri. The silver haired girl has nothing to say as she drops the knife and sinks to her knees.

"Matsuri-chan," Akiho-san says. "How could you do those things to these two poor girls? I can't believe you had behaved this way."

"I couldn't help it!" Matsuri shouts as tears start to fall from her eyes. "Because you . . . you were . . . with Rio-kun, right?"

"I'm not his girlfriend anymore," Akiho-san says, softly.

Matsuri gasps. "What?"

"He had cheated on me when we were at a party. This blonde girl had fallen in love with him, as well as he did with her. He didn't want me anymore, which left me totally heartbroken. Then, I had thought about you when I was packing my stuff to move. I was always wondering what you've been doing for the past few years and then, I started to develop feelings for you. But . . . since I found out your behavior towards those poor girls, I don't know if I should be with someone who has a mental problem."

"Y-you're wrong," a raspy voice says. I look down to notice Mai's head lifting up and eyes open.

"Mai!" I say happily, feeling very relieved that she's still alive.

"It's true that Matsuri was doing those types of stuff just for her own sake," Mai continues. "But you know, Matsuri can go back to the caring person she is if you do one simple thing: take her to a mental institution."

"A what?" Akiho-san says.

"She needs help very badly and the only way to do that is to take her to that place," Mai explains. "There, the people can watch over her and help her not repeat the same mistake that she did today."

"B-but . . . what if they can't help her?" Akiho-san asks, feeling slightly scared.

"They will," Mai assures her. "And pretty soon, maybe after about 6 weeks, maybe more, Matsuri will be back to normal. I can promise you that."

Akiho-san stares at Mai as she looks over to Matsuri. "Matsuri-chan . . ."

It is then that the silver haired girl chokes a sob as more tears start falling freely. "I . . . I don't believe it. Wh-what have I done? I didn't even realize what I was doing until now. And I almost killed someone as well . . ."

"Matsuri . . ." I'm starting to feel bad for her, too.

"Aki-chan . . . I-I . . ." Matsuri couldn't hold it in anymore and lets out her sobs into Akiho-san's chest. "I'm so sorry! I sorry I'm such a bad girl! Please forgive me!"

Akiho-san gently wraps her arms around Matsuri. "Matsuri-chan, I promise I'll get help. And I hope that the mental institution can really help you get back to normal. I can come by and visit you any time to see how you are doing."

"Okay," Matsuri sniffles as she hugs Akiho-san back. "I'm so glad you're here, Aki-chan."

"Same here, Matsuri-chan," Akiho-san says. She then turns to the both of us. "Thank you so much, you two. If it weren't for you, Matsuri and I wouldn't have found each other. So, thank you."

"No problem," Mai says.

"Anytime," I add.

Both Akiho-san and Matsuri stand up and gaze at each other for a bit. The rain stops as the clouds start to split, leaving some sunlight shining from the gaps.

"Are you ready, Matsuri-chan?" Akiho-san says. "Starting today, I'm taking you to that institution."

"I'm ready," Matsuri says.

"Great," Akiho-san says. She turns to us. "Good-bye, my friends. We hope to see you again someday."

"Same here!" I say, waving.

When both Akiho-san and Matsuri walk away, I turn to Mai.

"Reo," she whispers. "I'm so glad we're together again."

I blush and turn away to hide it. "O-of course, we're together, idiot. I-it's not like we're gonna be separated forever, right?"

She grabs hold of my cheek, leans in and touches her lips against mine. My eyes widen from the sudden action, but I return the kiss shortly after. It's been so long since we've done this. After about a few seconds, we pull away as we gaze at each other.

"I love you, Reo," Mai says.

"I love you, too, Mai." I reply, feeling myself blush.

"Say, now that we're together again, do you still want to marry me?"

"Of course I will. After all, we are engaged, right?"

"Absolutely."

With that, we kiss again and didn't want to stop. Finally, this nightmare has ended and I'm together with Mai once again.

A/N: Well, then! The next chapter is the moment you've all been waiting for . . . the wedding! (applause) Hehe! Believe me, I've been waiting for this moment, myself and I'm super excited to write the next chapter! Ohhhh, this is gonna be great! (squeals in excitement)

Anyway, to make it even more fun, how about a little prediction time, everyone? :D Where do you think the wedding should be held? Stay tuned to find out! For right now, post your predictions onto your reviews if you'd like.

And oh my gosh! Over 56 reviews so far! That's very impressive indeed! Keep up the reviews and for those who are following my stories. Thank you very much for the support!

Oh! And one last thing: I owe this all to Templar of Shurouga for giving me all this information on Matsuri's actions throughout the story. ;) I didn't even realize it myself until she told me recently. So, thank you Templar for giving me this opportunity to write this chapter.

Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review! ;)