A sort of in-between chapter. Necessary filler. Life has not yet settled, but there is still one chapter left before I run out. Sorry for the shortness.
Ayame was released from the hospital on the eleventh, four days after having been admitted. Stings were pulled, and no authorities were involved. Only the hospital staff who treated him and the strange trio who had been directly involved knew what had really happened to the beautiful man. Ayame kept up appearances, visiting all his friends and taking care of his customers as best as he could with the wounds still healing. Mine watched him like a hawk, never leaving him alone for a moment.
But even her vigilance faded eventually. As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months. Yuki and the others graduated from another year of school, and spent a blissful summer together. Ayame's garden flourished, and they were soon treated to a round of disastrous jams and jellies and pies that they ate despite the charcoal and the bits of leaves. Ayame got a whole new wardrobe full of stunning long sleeved shirts cool enough for the sweltering summer days, and Shigure took a great deal of pleasure spending those warm evenings taking them off, always careful to avoid touching the ridged scars trailing down his perfect skin.
The memory of that strange month faded quickly, pushed to the back of minds and forgotten under a thousand other, more pressing issues. The younger generation went back to school, and went forth carving out their own place in the memory of that venerable establishment with an unorthodox, yet highly amusing play. Tohru continued to work her magic on the cursed family, and one by one their broken hearts began to heal.
And yet Ayame's ever present light seemed to fade into the background, a minor player in a drama that was so much bigger than just one person. The family surged ahead, and he was left behind. His scenes had finished. His part was over. He would undoubtedly appear later on, a token reference to a token character, second fiddle to the force of nature that was Tohru.
He was forgotten.
And yet he did not forget.