Ah, that's right. This is for Midori. I meant to give this to Mio, but I suppose Midori's a close second. I approach Midori and hand her the gift. She seems a little surprised.

"Wow, Riki-kun," she expresses her surprise. "Out of all these people, you'd pick me? What did I do to deserve this?"

"The fact that you're here, right now, is enough," I answer her, smiling. "Open it, see what's inside."

She opens it slowly and carefully, something I didn't expect someone like her to do. When she sees what's inside the package...her face burns a bright red. The contents take her by complete surprise. Everyone watching instantly becomes curious.

"Midori, what's inside?" Kurugaya-san asks.

"I..." Midori is at a loss for words. She pulls out a plush seagull out of the box, and everyone stares at it in amazement.

"A plush seagull?" Masato remarks in surprise. "Riki, why did you make that for her?"

"It made sense, kind of," I stumble on my words, a little embarrassed. "It reminded me of Mio's poem book, and that poem with the seagull. She used to read it to me all the time; she said it was her favorite. I thought I would have a cute seagull made for her, but Mio's not here, so..."

"Riki-kun," Midori addresses me in an oddly meek tone. "Can you...come with me?"

Everyone goes silent at this moment. I let my throat swallow. "Um...yeah."

The both of us walk out of the cafeteria, outside and in front of the school gate, now closed. She feels the bars with her bare fingers, clutching the seagull plush with her other hand. I stand there, wondering what words would come out of her, here in this cold, dying world.

"Riki-kun," her voice trembles. "I don't...I don't think I can hide the truth from you...not anymore."

"What do you mean?" I ask, looking intently at her.

"You see," her voice shifts tone as she turns her gaze towards me. Her face...looks much like Mio's. "Midori was never here."

My eyes fluttered wide. "You mean...you were here, all this time?"

"Yes," Mio answers as she would, in a cold, quiet whisper. "Midori was always a part of me that I could never let go. It didn't matter if she were here in person; she was always within me. A memory, so to speak."

Suddenly I understand what she means. Mio and Midori...they are one and the same as far as she was concerned. I thought of them as two different people, but here...what kept her alive was the memory of her. Mio...and Midori...were always here. Together.

"Mio," I utter her name. "Why did you...do this?"

"Because I needed to express myself to you, without being myself," she explains. "It might have seemed like a spur-of-the-moment decision, but I had planned this as soon as my parents asked me to come home for Christmas."

"So why didn't you just go home?" I know there has to be a reason. Mio would never do anything without a good, logical reason behind it. She looks to the ground, looking sad and vulnerable.

"Because you and Kud...care about me," she trembles while speaking. "I thought I had done nothing to make a good impression on the Busters, but...you two...care about me so much..."

Her eyes water up, and she kneels on the cold ground. "I didn't think...anyone still cared about me...especially after you broke up with me...It's not fair...It's just not fair!"

Her tears fall on her dress like a light rain, crystallizing slowly on the fabric. I am not about to let her freeze herself, so I do what I can in this situation. I kneel in front of her, and embrace her.

"Mio," I repeat her name. "This is my love to you. Kyousuke was right. I didn't need a present to make you happy. I just needed to show you I cared. Mio..." I take a deep breath. "Can we...start over? As a couple, I mean?"

"You say the most painful things, Riki-kun," she finishes weeping on my shoulder. "...Yes, I'll start over."

She looks meekly into my eyes, and draws me close. Our lips meet for the first time in six months, on that snow-filled concrete, as the world dies around us. Our hearts, warm from the Christmas spirit, beat as one once more.

END