The curtains swayed languidly in the wan, albeit frequent breeze. The somewhat noisy swishing was doing a perfect job of preventing me from my rather valiant endeavour to once again fall asleep.

Feeling a heavy weight settling in the pit of my stomach, I curled up in a ball, bringing my knees in close to my chest, my arms automatically locking around them in a gentle embrace. Sighing softly, I pulled the blankets up and over my head, plunging my world into a pathetic attempt at darkness. My feet, sticking out from beneath my man-made haven, were slowly being chilled by the bitter breeze.

The usual birdsong that I was so accustomed to hearing was not the first thing that had greeted me that morning. Instead, I woke to silence and a room so inky black, that for all I knew, I could have been swimming inside the stomach of the most vile demon to exist.

I allowed my eyes to slide closed, choosing to focus my attention on the steady rise and fall of my chest, instead of the numb feeling dwelling somewhere deep inside me.

The rhythmic motion was sharp and constant, just like the tapping of Ayumi's pen had been yesterday morning. We were ignoring Kei's comatose state, delusional mumbles and all, quite successfully, when Ayumi perked up, leaned heavily on my desk and whispered secretly; Who are you going to spend Christmas Eve with, like it was a legitimate question. There aren't quite enough words at my disposal to adequately answer something like that. But, really, my response should have been obvious from the beginning. Christmas Eve was a time that I would spend with my family. All of them. Honestly, I'd rather sit alone in my room the entire day than pick favourites.

Nerves still not appeased, I distracted myself with the careful tensing and relaxing of my toes, allowing the soft material covering my mattress to sink between them.

It worked.

For a little while, at least.

Eventually, reality drew me back into it's deathly clutches. I knew it was pointless, it wasn't as though I could remain here all day. I was pushing my luck as it is. But I so desperately wanted to prolong the inevitable, I couldn't bare to go another second forcing myself to pretend like everything was okay. There was only so much that my measly superglue could do to disguise the cracks in my paper thin facade.

Which, I suppose, was the whole reason that Hiro had dragged me aside into a secluded corner, eyes shinning with concern as he assessed my wealth-fare. The brunette was incredibly observant; a massive downside when I was perfectly comfortable with destroying my mental state by hoarding all my feelings. He wasn't even convinced when I'd managed to find the words to assure him, and instead patted my head and said in a soft, incredibly sweet voice that I knew where to find him if I ever needed someone to talk to, flashing me a kind smile before salmoning back into the crowd, at which point both Ichii and Zero had reached my side.

I exhaled again, feeling the movement reverberate throughout my entire body.

Had I really been that obvious?

The closet door shifted.

I stiffened and hurriedly squeezed my eyes shut once again.

It was Zero.

Obviously it was Zero.

Both boys were perfectly discrete when surveying my room for other occupants, however Ichii had the more courteous habit of actually knocking once asserting it was just me, unlike Zero who waltzed right in as if he owned the place.

A vein throbbed in my temple as he flopped down on the edge of the bed, with cheerful disregard to both my sprawled limbs, which remained artfully tangled in my blankets, and the fact that I was trying to sleep.

"I know you're awake," He said, sounding thoroughly amused.

Reluctantly, I slowly cracked my one eye open. "What gave me away?"

"Please," He scoffed. "As if Ichii's the only one that ever falls asleep on people."

My cheeks burned scarlet. "That's not what I asked."

"Technically, it is." He replied, cheekily, before softening. "It was your breathing. Ichii always wears himself out, he switches off like a light all of the time. It's annoying, really, he can be so troublesome sometimes. But... I worry. If he's asleep I can tell when something's wrong just by the pattern of his breathing. And it's the same with you."

I was almost completely certain that my eyebrows had disappeared into my hairline. "That's pretty impressive."

Zero's cheeks flushed and he awkwardly scratched his head, though he was visibly beaming from the praise. "You don't think it's weird?"

"Not especially." I said, with an offhand shrug. "It'd probably hypocritical of me if I did since I memorised a lot of factors to tell you and Ichii apart without looking."

Zero absently stretched his arms, considering this in calm silence. I tried not to notice the way his muscles flexed when he did that. Curse him and his tank tops. It was almost as if he was doing it on purpose, just to spite me.

"Why are you here?" I asked, rather more bluntly than I intended.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're not beating around the bush today, are you?" My blank look had a small smirk tugging at his lips. "I'll skip to the point then, shall I?"

"That would be nice."

"You and Ichii are fighting. Why?"

My head snapped upright. I mentally berated myself and took to straightening out the blankets in order to compose myself. "We're not fighting," I responded, in a breezy voice that was far stronger than I felt. "Why would you say that?"

Lightening flashed in his now narrowed, electric blue eyes; it was irritatingly captivating. "Of course, how stupid of me. You're not fighting," He amended, carelessly brushing imaginary lint from his shorts as he stood. "So you'll obviously not have a problem with going out jogging with him in, let's see-" He stole a deliberate glance at my beside clock, a Cheshire Cat grin adorning his features "Ten minutes? You're fine with that, right, Hikari?"

It was a struggle to keep my face from morphing into an ugly scowl. I merely nodded, not trusting myself to speak, achieving a sort of seasick look as I smothered the anger bubbling in my stomach.

"Excellent," Zero eagerly clapped his hands together. "I'll go tell him."

If looks could kill, Zero would have been reduced to a pile of ash on my bedroom floor. Unfortunately, real life didn't work that way and Zero smugly strode out, giving me an incredibly cocky salute as he disappeared into his unit.

I wanted more than anything to scream into my pillow but I dragged myself up to get dressed and forced down a breakfast that I had no appetite for.

Sullenly, I returned to my room, hoping to slip in and grab a warm jacket without having to confront either boy.

I froze, my fingers just centimetres from the handle, and slowly pressed my ear against the door. Faint cursing was emanating from inside. After throwing a furtive glance over my shoulder, I burst into my room. Contrary to what I expected, there was no immediate damage, other than to that of Ichii's pride. Bare-chested and noticeably flustered, Ichii flinched and clocked me with wide, guilty eyes, visibly relaxing from his defensive position as he fully processed that I was unaccompanied.

I raised a thin eyebrow. "Why are you soaking wet?"

Obviously that was the main priority.

Ichii gave a deep sigh. "Zero."

Of course.

"Is he also the reason you're not wearing a shirt?" I tried to sound nonchalant, but I had to fight to keep myself from blushing.

"Somewhat."

Evidently, Ichii wasn't made of steel. He shifted uncomfortably, and subconsciously crossed his arms over his chest. I took pity on the poor boy and tossed him a blanket which he gratefully draped across his exposed skin in a toga-like fashion.

"You look like the dead." I blurted, a shocked hand flying to my mouth immediately after.

It was true, though. Rocking extreme bed hair with his skin pale and eyes heavy with sleep, it was the only appropriate way to describe him.

The brunette shrugged, absently using his fingers to tame one of the more prominent tangles in his russet locks."I feel like it. I was asleep until five minutes ago, if that helps. Zero dumped water on my head and threw me out here when I wouldn't get up. Totally uncalled for, by the way." Ichii hissed the last part, narrowing his eyes dangerously at the closet door.

"Ah," Realisation dawned on me. "He jammed the door shut?"

Ichii nodded sourly, while I struggled to smother my mirth. A strange, muffled snort escaped my lips, causing Ichii to whip his head up, evidently alarmed. He flushed and angled his body away, pouting like a child as I collapsed into a bout of uncontrollable laughter. "It's not funny!" Ichii's mild irritation couldn't last long and very quickly he was chuckling too.

"Alright, Zero. I think Ichii's suffered enough," The door cracked open ever so slightly and Zero studied us intently, eyes narrowed in thought. "At least let him put some clothes on." I badgered, making a point to keep my eyes averted as Ichii dropped the blanket and ducked inside the room the second that Zero stepped aside.

The bluenette was the picture of innocence. He didn't even falter under my scolding gaze. "What?"

"Was that really necessary?"

"Seriously?" Zero's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. He crossed his arms over his chest, rocking back on his heels while I battled my confusion. "Did it bother you or something?"

"Well, of course it did! He's supposed to be your friend. Why would you make him that uncomfortable?"

"He's supposed to be my friend?" Zero echoed, stonily. "That's an interesting choice of words there, Hikari. Surely you consider him as a friend, too. So wouldn't that make him our friend?" I floundered, already spluttering defences but Zero merely raised his hand, silencing me. "Why should you even care, anyway? You two have been avoiding each other for days-"

Frustrated, I stamped my foot childishly. "I already told you, we're not fighting! And I haven't been avoiding him!"

Zero clicked his tongue, his jaw subtly clenching. "You two are as bad as each other. Whatever the hell is going on, sort it out. I'm sick and tired of dancing around trying to do the work for you."

He closed the door silently behind him. Despite his temper, Zero wasn't stupid enough to made a huge racket with my mother still present in the house.

Scowling, I shrugged the jacket on and left, muttering darkly under my breath as I laced up my trainers. I'd just finished when there was a cautious knock at the door. Kicking off the bottom step, the visitor turned out to be a reasonably bewildered Ichii, his hair noticeably more tamed than before but still fairly damp.

"You want to jog in this weather?"

"Do you?" I shot back, with more venom than I intended.

"Not particularly," Ichii admitted, commandeering the band from my wrist, despite my protests, and carefully collecting my raven locks into his hand. "But it doesn't look like we have a choice." I mumbled in agreement, as he secured my hair in a loose ponytail.

"Ready?" I asked, unenthusiastically.

Ichii nodded shortly.

We jogged in complete silence for a good ten minutes. Thankfully, it wasn't as awkward as I initially thought it would be. Ichii still avoided my gaze, though that could have been due to our earlier encounter, instead of the strange animosity that had sparked between us.

I, for one, was content with the lack of conversation. The silence was calm, comforting, almost. A welcomed break from the whirlwind raging inside my brain. I was angry, more at myself than anything, and maybe just a little bit confused, too. Zero and Ichii were leaving soon. Nothing I could say or do could change that. Part of me didn't want to change that, because I felt so incredibly selfish. Selfish because both Zero and Ichii were not here for me, they never intended to befriend me, the only reason we had met was because of the bane of my existence- the Sorcery Exam. They had a dream that they were willing to do anything to accomplish and to do that, they would have to leave. Their home wasn't here, it wasn't with me- it was back in their own world, with their own family. It wasn't right for me to steal them away from that. And what part of our relationship entitled me to dictate what they could or could not do based on my own feelings, anyway? Especially after only knowing them for half a damn year.

Hiding all my selfishness was enough to make me explode, let alone adding my self-imposed isolation from them. They were going to leave soon, so I wouldn't allow myself to become any closer with them. If they were just going to disappear from my life in a matter of days, then what would be the point of causing myself more heartbreak? Maybe it would be better to be how I was before. To put my walls back up. To push everyone out and only allow a sliver of emotion for the most determined, stubborn two girls I had ever known to exist. If I never made any meaningful relationships, then I would never have to worry about losing them. If I closed myself off and became more like a spectator in my own life, then I would never be hurt. I would never have to experience that intense, agonising pain from the gaping hole in my heart that my father left with anyone else ever again.

It would be so, so much simpler that way.

"Hikari."

But deep down, after all the chaos of the last six months or so, I couldn't bare to be lonely again. And every single time I spotted that troubled expression flit across Ichii's face, or the subtle clenching of Zero hands, the way that muscle would jump in his jaw and the worry that would flash intensely in his eyes, I felt awful all over again, because I was causing them so much pain just because I didn't want to hurt any more.

There were moments where I just wanted to break down. To apologise and spend the last remaining days as happily as I could. I wanted them to leave having good memories of the time we spent together. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it, knowing that I would only self-destruct later. I would regret it, I knew that much. It may take years to do so, but I would. Only, keeping my distance was the only form of self-preservation that I had left at my disposal. It was the only thing that was keeping me going.

"Hikari."

All the while, I was trapped in a spiralling pit that just seemed to get worse the further down I fell. Soon, I was certain I'd never be able to climb back out of it.

"Hikari!"

I released a startled cry as a hand snapped over my upper arm and roughly yanked me back. I slammed into Ichii's chest, just as a car barrelled through the space I had been previously occupying, blasting the horn loud enough to deafen us.

Wide-eyed, I stared blankly ahead as Ichii wheeled me around to face him, crouching down to my level, face pale and pinched with worry. His hands ran up my arms, as though checking if I was all there, in one piece, then up my throat until they came to rest on either side of my face.

"Are you alright?"

Numbly, I nodded.

He relaxed, but only slightly, and pulled me into a tight hug. "God, don't ever do that to me again."

My hands remained by my side. My muscles were stiff and tense, still frozen solid with fear. I pressed my forehead against his shoulder and carefully controlled my breathing, while he murmured a constant stream of reassurances against my ear, his hand gently stroking my hair.

We went straight home.

Ichii held my hand the entire way. I wasn't too sure whether it was to just reassure me, or whether he was making absolutely sure that I wasn't planning on doing something like that again.

Neither of us told Zero.

It didn't matter though, it was only a matter of time before he realised something was amiss. At first, Zero seemed insufferably smug upon noticing that the strange atmosphere between both myself and the brunette had been toned down somewhat.

Maybe it was the way that Ichii was sitting so close our shoulders brushed, or the worrying crease between his brows. Maybe it was the haunted look in his eyes, the way my hands couldn't stop shaking, or the blankness of my expression. It could have been any of those things and more. But, very quickly, he realised that something was incredibly wrong. Instead of pressing us, as I expected him to, Zero fell into an troubled, but thoughtful silence, occasionally shooting glances in our direction, the muscles in his jaw tense as steel cables.

We barely spoke for the rest of the day. I mostly napped, sometimes curling up on Ichii's lap- which seemed to appease his relentless anxiety for a short amount of time- or by cocooning myself in enough blankets to bury me for years.

I hardly ate at all. That tiny breakfast had seemed so long ago, and light snacks weren't enough to keep me going. Failing to muster up the energy to go downstairs, I feigned illness. I didn't even touch the soup my mother brought up, while Zero and Ichii artfully hid themselves in the closet. I felt drained, lifeless almost, and it wasn't particularly pleasant.

Both boys were content to lounge about. Ichii had been with me the entire time, so I was never surprised when I rose from dozing to find his fingers absently running through my hair, only half concentrating on the book in his hand, but at one point I'd tossed fitfully, semi-conscious, to find Zero on my other side, knees tucked up close to his chest, sleeping peacefully. It was a relief to see him finally looking relaxed.

When night settled, they returned to their own little unit while I stared up at the ceiling, exhausted, but unable to sleep. I remained there for an awfully long period of time, feeling hot and irritated, constantly tossing and tugging at the blankets that would snap tightly around my legs. Eventually, I grew weary of my struggle and lay still, listening intently to the occasional clatter against my window pane.

"I'm thirsty." I whispered, blinking sedately into the inky blankness. "I'm thirsty." I repeated, with more strength, warily eyeing my bedroom door.

I slipped out of bed, cautiously approaching the closet. "I'm thirsty," I reminded myself, edging a step closer. "That's all."

But that wasn't it. That wasn't it at all.

I'm lonely, I thought. I can't take this any more. I want to fix it. I've had enough of making them worry about me.

Hesitantly, I allowed the tips of my fingers to brush against the smooth wood.

I-

"We're going to have to leave her soon, aren't we, Ichii?"

"...Yeah."

My world came crashing down.

The classroom was empty when I returned from taking out the trash. Classroom duty was normally allocated to more than one person, however it was my luck that one classmate was off sick and the other flat-out ditched me. Usually, I would be pretty annoyed about something like this, but for once, I was glad. It meant that I didn't have to force myself to smile for another person.

I collected my bag, head too heavy to realise that it was my first time walking anywhere alone for quite a while.

Checking the time, I quickened my pace into a springy jog and exited the building. Hopefully, they wouldn't mind me being a couple of minutes late.

"Hikari!"

Zero and Ichii were leaning against the gate, hands raised in greeting. Zura peeked out from the hoodie that the bluenette had donned and waved enthusiastically.

I slowed to a stop, somewhat confused. "You guys waited for me?"

"Of course we did." Ichii smiled, ruffling my hair. It felt terribly fake, like he was trying to pretend everything was okay when it so obviously wasn't.

Zero tipped his head, suspicious. "Why wouldn't we?"

I raised my shoulders in a half hearted shrug before turning sharply on my heels. "Well, I'm sorry for wasting your time but I've already got something planned with Kei and Ayumi."

"Cool," Zero said, with an easy-going smile. "Let's go then. We don't want to be late!"

"Actually, I..." Shifting my weight awkwardly, I scuffed my shoe against the ground. "I want to go by myself."

I felt absolutely awful at the wounded look of confusion that flashed across Zero's previously cheerful face. He blinked and took a deep breath, his arms crossing over his chest almost like he was putting a barrier between us. "Oh," The pain was evident in his voice. "Right. Whatever, I don't care. Do what you want."

I should have apologised.

I didn't, though.

I stalked away, and every step tore me apart from the inside.

Kei and Ayumi instantly realised something was wrong once I finally reached the cake shop. "Where are Zero and Ichii?" I was so zoned out, I wasn't entirely sure who had asked. Instead, I hastily sat down, choosing to look at the menu rather than reply, despite the fact that I always ordered exactly the same thing.

"Hikari, are you alright?" Kei. It was Kei who spoke this time. I stared at her mouth, watching he lips move, forming words that, for all I knew, could have been an entirely different language. It took several painful seconds for me to register what she was saying, in which their concern only grew.

"I'm fine." They didn't seem too assured. "How have you been?" I asked, anxious to break the silence.

We chatted for a while.

I ordered Strawberry Shortcake, as usual. Ayumi grinned and teased me about my height and suddenly everything was okay and we were laughing and for the first time in days I was happy. And it felt great. I let everything go. I laughed more than I had in that measly hour than I had in an entire week. Both of my friends noticed the change, how I almost seemed to glow- the dull eyes I had met them with completely forgotten. For once, something was actually going right. I wanted it to last forever.

It didn't, of course.

Eventually, we finished our cake, still smiling giddily.

Together, we headed home; Ayumi with her arm slug around my shoulders, enthusiastically pointing things out and gesticulating so wildly it was a miracle she hadn't managed to KO one of us yet, and Kei faithfully walking alongside, close enough to share sideways glances and inconspicuous eye rolls.

I'd missed this.

I'd missed this all much more than I could've ever imagined.

I really am just a dumb little kid.

I keep denying myself of the things I want... Being selfish... Making everyone worry about me... How long have I been pretending that I've got everything together? All this time I've been trying to isolate myself; the kicker is, that's the one thing I'm most afraid of. Being alone and staying that way for the rest of my life. For so long I've stumbled around with my fingers crossed, hoping the universe wouldn't notice... I bet it was just sitting back and laughing at me this whole time.

I chucked lightly, stretching an arm up and feeling my back pop pleasantly.

… Man, I'm such a mess.

"Hikari?" Kei's soft expression seemed to be inviting me to open up my heart.

"I'm fine." I assured and this time I actually meant it.

Ayumi gave me a little squeeze and life went on.

We reached the crossroads and parted, Ayumi, true to her energetic nature, gave an enthusiastic salute right before they disappeared around the corner. Feeling a soft smile grace my lips, I headed towards my own house with a cheerful bounce to my step.

"Zero... Ichii?" I halted, surveying the boys (and Zura, who was perched comfortably on Ichii's shoulder) with a confused tilt of my head. "You guys... Have you been waiting for me this whole time?"

"Of course." Ichii said, still smiling just as sweetly as he had earlier.

"We can't let you get attacked again, now, can we?" Zero, the precious little bluenette, seemed so tentative and unsure, with his little lopsided smile that tugged at my heartstrings, I just wanted to squeeze him and never let him go. "Hey, we're sorry for making you run around with us all the time, I know it must be really annoying for you..."

What are they saying?

"There's only one week left, so just try to be patient with us until then, okay?"

Slowly, my smile disappeared from my face.

Do they think... that I don't want to be with them?

"When the test is over we'll go back home to the Magic World and then you won't have to hang out with us any longer."

I bit down hard on my lower lip and dug my nails into the fleshy part of my palm. My entire body was shaking. It was a surprise that neither of them had noticed yet.

That I... hate them?

"I understand that it must be bothersome for you, so we'll stay out of your way as much as we can. Soon, you won't have to worry about anything of this, I'm sure that'll be a- Hikari? Hikari!" Ichii broke off abruptly, concern flashing in his eyes.

Zero sparked into motion and fleetingly tugged on my arm. "Are you... crying?"

I wrenched my limb free and quickened my pace into a sprint, swallowing down the thick lump that rose in my throat.

I lost Zero reasonably swiftly. He was faster and had more stamina, but I'd played dirty and gave him the slip in one of the many back alleys. Now I found myself crumpled against a garden wall in a surprisingly familiar neighbourhood, face pressed against my knees, shivering from the biting chill of Winter wind.

A gentle hand brushing against my shoulder had me reluctantly raising my head. A boy with a shocking mess of brown hair and the brightest green eyes to exist greeted me with a slight curve of soft lips. My eyes darted to the name plate on the wall.

Hanari.

Of course.

Hiro happily sank down next to me. He easily looped his arm around me, and my head fell against his chest. There was something so incredibly soothing about the way he stroked his fingers through my hair and the soft rhythm of his breathing. "Do you wanna talk about it?" I didn't think I could bring myself to speak. "It's alright," He breathed, planting a gentle kiss on the top of my head. "I'm not going to force you."

He was incredibly warm, I realised, and nuzzled further into his embrace, fisting my hand into his shirt. "You've changed a lot over these past six months." Hiro stated, like on would state a fact. To him, he believed it as much as he believed that the Earth rotated around the Sun. "I guess I've got Zero and Ichii to thank for that. They did a lot more than I ever could. Because of them, you've grown so strong and I couldn't be more proud of you. But being strong doesn't mean that you always have to be okay. Your feelings are valid, you know?"

"I'm not upset." I managed tightly.

"I know," He agreed, far more easily than I thought he would. "You're just hurting. And you've been hurting for a long time now." He pinched my cheek between his thumb and forefinger, giving it a brief squeeze. "It's okay. It's okay to be in pain, to be upset or to cry. Nobody expects you to be happy all of the time. I'm not going anywhere, so just let it all out."

I couldn't get my breath. The pain in my heart seemed to be smothering me, as if every heart beat might be my last. I made a sound- I wasn't sure whether it was anger or anguish. The tears fell thick and fast, welling up in my eyes and trailing relentlessly down my cheeks in hot streams. The cause of my episode wasn't entirely the conversation I had just fled from. I suppose it was mostly just my way of releasing all the emotions I had been bottling up for a good month or two.

They were little things. They always little things at first. But then it would build up and up, and before I knew it, everything would spiral out of control.

That's just how I was. It was almost as though I liked to make myself suffer.

Eventually, I stopped. I was tired of crying and wallowing around in misery. I was sore and felt utterly to blame for everything, but at least I wasn't alone. Hiro, just like he promised, had remained by my side, simply holding me while I broke down. His hands were warm against my skin, fingers expertly wiping away the wet streaks from my cheeks.

"Are you okay now?"

I nodded firmly. "Thank you for putting up with me."

"You think I'd stay here if I thought it was a waste of time?" He lifted my gaze up again, to meet his blazing eyes. "I love you," He said, tenderly, affection pouring from every inch of his body. "You're like the little sister I never had. And I will alwaysbe there for you; I'm sick of letting other people do it first."

"Someone's showing their possessive side." I teased, lightly nudging him with my shoulder.

He chuckled and ruffled my hair. "Damn right I am." After patting my head, he carefully pulled me to my feet. I was aching all over, but I didn't mind. "Are you coming in? We can have a movie marathon."

While I desperately longed for some kind of normalcy, now wasn't the time. Reluctantly, I shook my head. "Rain check. I can't right now, I have something important I need to do." Hiro made a small noise of understanding. "Next Sunday...?"

The brunette smirked and tipped his head. "Friday."

"Friday." I echoed, biting back a smile.

I was almost at the end of the street when I heard Hiro's distinctive voice calling after me. "Oi! If they upset you, I'll beat them up!" I stifled my giggles and shot him a thumbs up. Hiro was never one for violence, but I appreciated his words nonetheless.

For quite a while I wandered helplessly around, searching for Zero and Ichii. Unfortunately, both their cells had gone straight to voicemail and they weren't waiting back at my house, as I had first anticipated. Eventually, I spotted the distinctive blue locks disappearing from my line of sight and instantly cupped my hands around my mouth, yelling "ZERO!" at the top of my lungs.

He immediately stopped dead in his tracks, frozen still like a statue.

I reached him in seconds, my legs screaming from being pumped across the ground.

Contrary to what I expected, he wasn't absolutely furious with me. In fact, he looked incredibly relieved to see me standing there, panting softly, glowing brighter than I had before. I pressed my finger to his lips before he even had the chance to speak. Zero appeared to be thoroughly amused by this. So did Ichii, after he recovered from his initial shock. Out of the corner of my eye, I had seen him double back for the bluenette and almost laughed aloud at his stunned reaction.

"I love you." I declared, staring dead into his electric blue orbs. Zero blushed brighter than humanely possible. "You guys are two of my best friends. I cherish every single moment we spend together, you hear? I don't ever want you guys to feel like you're bothering me ever again. Honest to God, I'd swallow this pearl a thousand times over if the alternative meant never meeting you! Everything's been all messed up because I didn't want you to leave. I didn't want to tell you. I tried to hide it, to pretend everything was okay, but you saw how well that turned out. I'm okay now, though. I'm going to miss spending time with you, but I can handle it because I'm so proud of you and I know you'll do great things! And it's not like I'll lose you completely. I mean... we'll stay in touch, won't we?"

Ichii smiled, bright and warm, and opened his mouth to reply.

Right as crushing force landed directly on my back and slammed me into the ground.

Things were about to get a whole lot more intense.

A/N: Wow. Okay, I really need to stay on top of things, don't I? I apologise for this chapter being late, as you can see I'm struggling to keep to the 2-week deadline I'd set way back when I first started this story. Unfortunately, I still haven't edited the Jealousy Arc, however I'm quite happy with my previous edit of Chapter 10.

This update was reasonably hard to write. I'm still concerned about it, I hope that Hikari won't be seen as whiny or for everything be dull and boring. It's the main reason why I took so long to post it, I guess.

Breebreebabygirl: I'm really glad you liked it! I'll try my best to keep my chapters up to the same standard.

James Birdsong: Thank you! I hope you like this one, too.

Le Nouveau Moi: I really tried to take on your suggestion, so I hope you can see a difference. In my earlier chapters I noticed that I do tent to shower all these flowing descriptions, so I totally understand what you mean. I'm glad you enjoyed that! And Zero is just so precious, I love writing him, even if he is one of the most difficult. I'm glad you noticed that! I absolutely hated having to refer to him as the "Blue-haired boy" all the time, compared to Ichii's "Brunette". That was my solution~ I hope you liked this chapter just as much!