Chapter 3

Yurika took out two strawberry milk boxes. "Here." she said as she handed one to Ryuu. "Now you know why Yurika talks like this. All Yurika wants is to finally be forgiven by Hiro-kun. But since he's gone, Yurika will never know how Hiro-kun's doing." She stopped to take a sip of the slightly chilled milk. "But you were good friends, right?" Ryuu asked. "Yes. Why does Miyazaki-kun ask that when Yurika just told the story to him?" Yurika asked in reply. "It's just that, friends forgive friends." Ryuu said. "If he truly was your friend, he'd forgive you. Besides, trying to get your bracelet back was probably a sign of how strong of a bond you two had."

"You know, Yurika never thought of it that way." she said. "But Hiro-kun didn't have to do that. Yurika can never forgive herself for letting Hiro-kun leave that way." Tears were flowing from Yurika's face. "It was all Yurika's fault!" she said in-between sobs. Ryuu stood up and started to pat her back. "Hoshino-chan, it's okay." Ryuu said soothingly. Yurika just shook her head and said, "No it's not! It's all Yurika's fault! Hiro-kun didn't have to die like that!" Now, Yurika lost complete control. "Yurika will never forgive herself! Even if it means for Yurika to meet her end, then she won't hesitate!" Yurika then grabbed a nearby knife and held it to her wrist.

SLAP!

The knife fell to the ground. Yurika's face was red from Ryuu's slap. "Don't even think about throwing your life away!" Ryuu said with a harsh tone in his voice. "I might not know it yet, but there are people who care about you. When I saw the look on Momosé-chan's face when she saw you, I noticed she was happy. Your friend Hiro wouldn't want you to throw away your life because you can't forgive yourself!"

Yurika stared at him and said quietly, "Miyazaki-kun is right. Yurika is sorry for worrying him." Ryuu told her gently, "Just don't do anything drastic, okay? I just really met you, but I care about you." Yurika wiped her tears away. "Thank you Miyazaki-kun. Yurika will try her best not to do anything bad to herself. She'll also do her best to smile more often."

Ryuu took his milk and started to walk away from the stand. "I need to go for now, but I'll be back, okay?" he said. "Okay. Bye Miyazaki-kun! See you later!" Yurika waved as Ryuu walked back to Momosé's house. Ryuu was already a block away from Momosé's house when he heard, "Get out of the way!" Ryuu turned around and CRASH!

"I told you to move! Why didn't you listen?"

Ryuu stood up. "Sorry. But you kinda gave me a late warning." He looked to see the person who hit him with his bike. It was a girl with short auburn hair and light hazel eyes. "Did I hurt you really bad?" she asked. Ryuu shook his head. "I think I'll survive." he said. "Oh no!" The girl said. "I'm late for my delivery!" She picked up her bike and started to ride it up the hill. "I'll pay you back if I ever see you again!" she shouted as she rode away. "Isn't she going towards Momosé's house?" Ryuu asked himself. "Only one way to find out."

When Ryuu made it to the house, he saw that same bike parked outside. He went inside and took off his shoes. "Kuya-san! Sorry I'm late! I bumped into some-wha?" Ryuu was right. There she was. "Did you follow me here?" she asked. Ryuu shook his head. "No. In fact, I live here." he said. The girl cleared her throat. "My name is Kairi Tsukikaze. And you are?"

"Oh! My name is Ryuu Miyazaki. I started to live here yesterday."

"So that explains it." Then Kairi took out a piece of paper. "Then this note must be for you." Kairi gave Ryuu the note and he read it out loud,

"Hey Miyazaki-kun.

I wanted to let you know that Momosé is getting

out of school at noon today. Just don't forget. I'll be

home about an hour later.

From, Kuya."

"So…" Kairi said. "So what?" Ryuu asked. "How do you want me to pay you back? You know, from earlier." she said. Ryuu shook his head. "You don't have to pay me back." Kairi looked at her watch. "Oh crap! I'm late!" She got her shoes from the front and said, "I'll make it up to you sometime! See you later Miyazaki-kun!" The door closed behind her and Ryuu thought, 'What a strange girl.'

About three hours later…

Ryuu stepped outside the house. "I guess it's time to pick up Momosé-chan." he said to himself. As he walked towards the school, he saw some students on the way back home. Ryuu waved to Yurika as he walked by her snack stand. 'Why does everything seem familiar about this town?' Ryuu thought. 'Everyone seems so kind. Is it possible that SHE lives here at all?' Just as Ryuu approached the 'meeting spot,' a black crow stumbled towards him. Just as Ryuu was about to say something, he heard a girl scream, "NO!"

In shock, Ryuu follows the echo from the scream. 'There's no way that it's…'

Ryuu stopped running and what he saw made him feel like someone had just punched him in the stomach. Momosé had tears streaming down her face and was pinned to the wall with Satoshi's hands all over her. "C'mon," he said, "if you won't be my wife in the future, then I want to at least see what it's like to-"

"Hey Shirokawa! Get the hell away from her!" Ryuu ran over there and threw the first punch. Ryuu hit Satoshi so hard, he feel to the ground. "Momosé-chan, go to Yurika, now! Get away from here. I'll take care of him!" Ryuu directed. Momosé mouthed "Thank you." and ran as fast as her legs could go. Ryuu backed up slowly to see if Satoshi would get up so he could buy Momosé some time.

"You've got a lot of nerve to punch me like that." Satoshi said as he wiped his face. "I won't let you touch her like that ever again! You won't do anything as long as I'm here." Ryuu replied. Satoshi scoffed. "Who do you think you are? I know you're not romantically involved with her. Why do you protect her?" he asked. "That is none of your business." With that, Ryuu ran like hell away from the scene. 'That was easy. Too easy.' Ryuu thought. ' I hope she's there by now.'

"Miyazaki-kun!"

It was Kairi on her bike. "I saw Momosé-chan run towards Yurika-chan's shop." Kairi stopped in front of him. "Yurika-chan told me to give you a ride. Get on." Ryuu did as told and got on the bike. Kairi peddled so fast, that they saw the snack stand in minutes. "Momosé-chan!" Ryuu yelled as they were feet away from where she was. Ryuu jumped off the bike as Kairi was still pedaling and ran to Momosé, who he noticed was stained in blood. "Momosé-chan! Where are you hurt? I'll get that punk locked away."

Momosé struggled to say 'Miyazaki-kun,' but she couldn't. Ryuu kneeled down to comfort her. Just as he was at the same level as her, Momosé held him against her and cried on his shoulder. "Shh. It'll be okay. You're fine. Yurika-chan is here and so is Kairi-chan. We're all here."

"Hey! What's going on!"

It was Kuya. "I thought you were going to be here later." Ryuu said as Kuya reached them. "Momosé! What's going on? Miyazaki-kun, what happened to her? What happened to my baby sister?" That's when Yurika said, "Yurika thinks it's best to take Momosé-chan home." Kairi went up to Kuya and said, "I can give her a ride if she needs it." Kuya shook his head and said, "It's okay. I can handle her now. But thanks for the offer." Kuya kneeled down with his back facing Momosé and said, "Here, I'll carry you back." Momosé shook her head and stood up. But as she stood up, Momosé's eyes closed and she fell backward.

"Momosé-chan!" Ryuu said as he caught her before she hit the ground.

"Ryuu take her back home. I'll go ahead to get her bed ready, got it?" Kuya asked. "Sure. Ryuu said. "Thank you all again." Kuya said as he went ahead.

"Here. Help me get her on my back." Ryuu asked the two girls. As she helped, Kairi said again, "I can taker her on my bike." "It's okay. I got her. But if I need anything, I'll run down here, okay?" Kairi nodded. "Don't be a stranger, Miyazaki-kun. You're always welcome here." Yurika said. "Thanks. You know, you guys can call me 'Ryuu-kun.' Like you said Yurika, 'don't be a stranger.' I'll see you guys tomorrow." And with that, Ryuu carried Momosé to the house with a million questions in his mind.