The shadow that moved when Tsubaki opened the door to her apartment made her drop her bag with an undignified squeak. When she clicked on the light and saw that it was only her brother, she didn't really feel comforted.

"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly. "And how did you get in here?"

He chuckled. "I have my ways, little sister."

"What are you doing here?" She didn't have the patience to play along with her brother's games. It had been another day of barely paying attention in the studio, giving her students less than they deserved because her eyes kept wandering to the door, hoping that any minute, Blake would walk through it. She missed his bright grin, and the enthusiasm that inspired her own drive and energy.

"Nice to see you, too," he said wryly. "I just thought you should know that your little friend Black*Star seems to have decided he's too good for the Star Clan."

Her heart leapt. "Really?"

"Yep."

The split second of elation fizzled as quickly as it had come. "Why are you the one telling me this?" she asked. "Where is he?"

Masamune grinned, studying his nails, the picture of nonchalance. "Oh, he left pretty abruptly in the middle of a pretty important job last night. Quite a few of our mutual friends were arrested. I believe Akane wanted to have a few words with him about it."

She felt her blood run cold. 'Having a few words' never meant anything good when it came to the Star Clan. "Where is he?" she asked again, tersely.

"I think they were going for a walk out south of town. Near the old steel mill, you know the place. It used to be a favored hangout of his, if I recall."

Tsubaki wasn't sure she had ever cursed in her life, but at the moment, she felt like she could quite easily swear a blue streak.

"Get out of my apartment," she ordered, glaring fiercely at Masamune.

"If that's what you really want," he said, and he sauntered through the door she held open pointedly.

She slammed the door closed behind him and leaned up against it, eyes closed. So Blake really had done the right thing… and he was probably getting beaten to within an inch of his life— or worse— because of it.

She had to do something. She couldn't just sit here and worry about it.

As she traded her soft flats in for her sturdiest pair of boots and tied her long hair up to keep it out of her face, she couldn't help but wonder if that was exactly why Masamune had told her.

Tsubaki found him lying face down in the dirt at the edge of the desert. He had blood dripping down his face from a head wound that she hoped desperately wasn't as bad as it looked, and he had bruises and vicious cuts across most of his visible skin. His shirt was ripped and he wasn't moving.

She dropped to her knees beside him, hands hovering over him, too afraid to touch him in case she hurt him worse than he already was. She knew plenty about doctoring foot and leg problems, but very little about first aid for more serious injuries.

"Blake?" she called softly. "Blake, can you hear me?"

One hazy green eye popped open and, with a bit of squinting, managed to focus on her. "That you, 'Baki?"

"Hey," she said softly, eyes stinging with relieved tears. "Do you think you can stand?"

He scrunched up his face thoughtfully. "'Course," he said hoarsely. "But I'll let you help me if it will make you feel better."

She let out a choked, watery laugh. Even beaten within an inch of his life, Blake was still Blake. "Yeah, let's get you up."

He gritted his teeth as she gently lifted him up, and the way he clutched at his ribs made her suspect that he might have cracked a few of them, but he didn't make a sound. It didn't surprise her; he'd always had an astonishingly high pain tolerance. She noted worriedly that he was favoring one leg, and hoped for both their sakes that he hadn't broken an ankle.

Slowly, trying not to jostle him too badly, she pulled his arm around her shoulders, supporting him on the side with the bad leg. "Let's go, that's it," she said encouragingly. "My car's just up the road in the parking lot and then we can get you to a doctor."

He nodded. "Probably gonna need a couple band-aids."

She laughed again, and felt a little less like crying. "Masamune told me where to find you," she said.

"Really?" He seemed genuinely astonished. "Guess he's less of a dirtbag than I thought."

"Guess so."

They stumbled along in silence for a few more yards before Tsubaki confessed softly, "I was really scared for you."

"Psh. Like those guys could have brought a star like me down," he mumbled, sounding just a bit delirious. "Idiots only brought seven guys to fight me. I'd've put the whole bunch of them six feet under if they hadn't caught me with my back turned."

She couldn't have stopped herself from rolling her eyes if she had tried, but she was smiling. If he was still talking like that, he had to be okay, right?

"Y'should see them, though," he said, pulling to a halt after stumbling on an uneven patch of ground. "Put half of 'em in the hospital. Guess they ran off to hide from my awesomeness while I was napping."

"Uh-huh, I can see that. Let's keep moving, okay?"

They were almost to his car before he spoke again. "I love you, by the way," he said. "Always have. S'why I got out. Doesn't matter if you love me or not, but I do, so. There ya go."

"Blake, you idiot," she said quietly, and the tears really did fall this time. "I love you, too."

A/N- And all we have left is a brief epilogue...