Author's Note: I received an exuberant review the other day and have, at last, been properly shamed into finishing this fic. The ending wasn't nearly as lengthy as I wanted it to be, but when typing these stories, the trend of the words tend to take on a life of their own.

Originally I had planned to push it a bit and have small paragraph stating that Yamato and Miki went on to Tokyo U. and what happened during the rest of their time in high school, but...most of their schooling actually went as planned, as did their visits to meet family so I was at a bit of a loss for how to type that up without it seeming endlessly monotonous.

I myself can't read through something that doesn't have at least several rightly positioned dialogue breaks to cut through the lengthy descriptions/explanations of character action and thought logic.

So without further ado, this is the last chapter of Throwing the Baton. Thank you SO SO much to those who've supported this fic, put up with my long hiatus, and taken the time to give me your honest opinions and priceless amounts of encouragement during the writing of this story.

I truly enjoyed reading each and every bit of feedback I got for this fic, and would particularly like to thank everyone for their patience after the events of last year and their affect on my life. Special thanks to COBRASTEVE for your touching message of condolence and support. I really appreciated it. :)

Well, here it is at last. I hope you all enjoy the ending. ;)

"You were right, Yamato" Miki said staring out colorful greenery that was just past the sliding doors in her Yamato's childhood home.

The Akitsuku family was slightly baffled at Yamato's reappearance during golden week with another unrecognizable girl in toe. It was even more bemusing that this girl seemed so able to casually deflect their attempts to enlighten her about Yamato's faults through "well-meaning" ribs about his character. They felt she needed to understand that he wasn't as determined for success as he should be, in case he was just putting up a good face to convince her to continue keeping his company.

"That must have been very hard for him" Miki commented as Yamato's grandmother told a particularly pointed story about his decision to retract an obligation to a school club after failing a math test. "It takes a great deal of maturity to understand how important academics are at that age and to have the fortitude to see something like that through is amazing."

Yamato's grandmother, Aiko Akitsuki, blinked at her in surprise.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Not everyone can be that independent at a young age, never mind have their priorities straight for the future" Miki replied with her usual genuine smile. Something that always seemed to disarm the rest of Yamato's family, much to his astonishment. "Success in sports has always been pretty dependent on one's academic career. They wouldn't even have considered me for the team back in Yokohama, despite my running time, without having the grades to back it up."

"That's unusually considerate of you, Yamato" his mother, Chisame, intoned. "I hope you've made sure to improve upon on that since you left home."

"Why would he?" his younger sister, Ino piped in. "He's never been very good at making decisions."

"I question myself all the time" Miki commented thoughtfully. "It's difficult not to get wrapped up in my own perception of things sometimes."

Yamato smiled slightly and took that as the subtle cue it was.

"So Ino, have you figured out what you're going to for high school yet?" he asked calmly. "You seem very interested in talking about my school work, but I've yet to hear anything about what you've been doing while I was away?"

"That's-it's-better than yours stupid Yamato" Ino replied, flushing slightly in embarrassment. She still hadn't made up her mind where she wanted to go and already been informed that her mock exam scores needed improvement.

"What about yours, Yamato" his father, Seijiro, prompted. "You've yet to tell us how you've been doing this term, though your aunt has expressed some concerns."

"I'm in the top ten percent of my class along with Miki and Hattori" Yamato said with a straight face, "and I'm in the running to make captain of our team next fall."

Yamato's father stared silently for three quarters of a minute, before taking another bite of his noodles and muttering that his son better stick to what he'd chosen for himself.

Everyone was wary of being too disparaging in their remarks in front of Miki at this point.

"I'm sure Miyamoto will let everyone know soon" Miki agreed. "Has Honoka agreed to stay on as manager?"

"In between her temple duties" Yamato replied. "I'm not sure how she finds the time to do it all."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Yamato's sister, Sayaka, asked.

"We dated once, but no" he answered with a shake of his head. "It didn't work out so we're friends now. Miki and I started going out on White Day."

"Why would she want to do that?" Ino wondered aloud, earning her a glare from her mother in response. "Um...that was rude of me, I'm sorry Ms. Miki."

"It was part of a conscientious decision" Miki replied pretending to take her seriously and without irony. "I had a very important reason after all."

The Akitsuki's all pressed a little closer, though subtly as to not show any overt interest in why someone would choose Yamato of all people to date.

"What was that dear?" Yamato's grandmother asked, when the rest of Miki's answer wasn't forthcoming.

"I liked him" Miki said before once more turning to the food in front of her.

The Akitsuki family all did the same as they found it very difficult to argue with such a statement. Although they were all forced to wonder why this person, who obviously had a consecutively successful track career like that nice Suzuka girl, would come to like someone as flawed at Yamato in the first place.

The rest of Miki and Yamato's trip to Hiroshima was rather fruitful, they went and saw the sights, as well as a few of Yamato's childhood haunts. It was also doubly fortunate that Yamato's childhood friend Saki Asai was still away at school during the time of their visit, as she had a tendency to try to bring him down as a way of "motivating" him to do better. Although privately Yamato would have loved to have seen Saki attempt to make any backhanded jabs after what'd happened between Miki and his family.

At the end of golden week Yamato and Miki returned to Tokyo to the news that Suzuka had been taken to the hospital the night before after suffering from dehydration. She'd been found unconscious in the onsen by a frightened Miho after hours. Ayano hadn't been home at the time, so Miho and the other girls, unable to find the spare key, had been forced to break down the door with their combined strength.

Suzuka's prognosis was a good one, but the damage she'd done to herself had resulted in temporary disqualification from any formal competition. For the first time Ayano found herself disappointed in Suzuka for doing something that had nearly resulted in her death and would have without Miho's vigilance during both herself and Yamato's absence from the dormitory.

Miki insisted on visiting Suzuka alone, despite Hattori's insistence. They both knew Yamato couldn't be there after what had happened between the two of them and that someone who wasn't part of the dormitory staff needed to check on her. So Miki made the long walk downtown to Tokyo General to visit her friend. When she finally reached Suzuka's room, she was surprised and disturbed by the other girl's nearly gaunt appearance.

"I didn't think anyone would notice" Suzuka said weakly, "because Yamato wasn't there to...scold me this time."

Miki closed her eyes at the revelation. Apparently Yamato hadn't been exaggerating his feelings of concern about Suzuka having done this type of thing previously.

"Is this what you wanted?" she asked quietly.

Suzuka favored her with a sadly wide eyed expression.

"I was only trying to become a bit lighter for the tournament" she answered honestly. "I'm competing with all of Japan now."

"Not anymore" Miki responded, in a depressive tone before revealing the finality of another decision that had been weighing on her mind as of late. "I've decided not to try out for a track scholarship. My Tokyo University acceptance will have to be based on academics alone."

"That's a waste, isn't it?"

Miki shook her head.

"I can't reach that level without giving up more than I'm willing to" she answered. "I think you could make it into Seijo if you tried, once you recover. Just don't...try anything like this again. Promise me, Suzuka."

Suzuka sighed and turned away to face the window.

"I don't know if my parents are going to let me stay after this. They're coming in on Saturday."

"You could tell them that it was an accident...that you were tired after practicing too hard" Miki said, trying to give her friend an out, despite her worries. She knew that something like this could have an effect on Suzuka's entire life from this point on.

The other girl shook her head.

"No" Suzuka whispered hoarsely. "This time it was my fault alone. I have to take responsibility and then I might be able to come back."

During the next couple of days Suzuka's fears became a reality as her parents insisted on taking her home to complete her recovery in Yokohama. The paperwork for her transfer was put in the following day and the school was left talking about it for weeks afterward.

"She admitted something to me before she left" Miki informed Yamato one day as they were walking back from track practice. "She said you were right about what you said to her, about not losing sight of what's important."

"My grandfather used to tell me that" Yamato said. "He's the one person in my family that always gave good advice."

"I'm sorry I never got the chance to meet him" Miki said sympathetically.

Yamato grinned.

"I never said he wasn't around anymore" he replied as Miki gave him a playful swat on the shoulder. "My mother's father is still alive. He lives in Nagano and I was actually considering paying him a visit over summer vacation. Would you be okay with joining me?"

"Provided we stop by Yokohama on the way" Miki insisted, "my father and brother keep insisting that I bring you home to meet everyone. They're a bit...passionate about kendo, so you may find yourself being roped into a few short matches. My father likes to think of it as bonding time for everyone. You don't have to take it too seriously if you don't want to."

"I'm game, it sounds much more interesting than seeing the rest of my family again" he said lightly.

"I thought it was very interesting" Miki replied teasingly. "Your little sister was so cute."

"She's not usually that nice" Yamato grumbled. "Only when we have a guest."

"So, do you think you're ready for the national tournament next month?" Miki asked curiously.

"No, but I'm going to give it my best" he answered honestly. "Hopefully by the time we graduate I'll have done something to truly be proud of before calling it quits."

"Me too" Miki agreed. "It'll be a nice change after years of only focusing on one overarching goal."

"To Tokyo U.?" Yamato asked holding up a hand jokingly in a symbolically excited cheer.

She smiled in response and raised her arm as well.

"To getting there and working to make things happen the way want them to."

Special Author's Note: Yes Miki and Yamato do end up going to Tokyo U. and eventually getting married after they graduate. Although Miki insists that they live separately until then, so that they won't distract one another from studying. Yamato also rebuff's Hattori's suggestion that he pressure Miki to take let him take their relationship to the next level as he has a great deal of respect for her goals and doesn't want any unplanned events, like pregnancy, to cloud/potentially damage their what they have.

This happened in the original manga with Yamato and Suzuka, and while Suzuka just seemed to go along with it, I highly doubt that Miki would do the same. The controversial stance on birth control and Japanese population decline likely means that the two of them might not have access to the use of it until after they got married, particularly if their parents didn't agree with it while one of both of them were still on their family's health plan while they were still students.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed: flareose, 0553140, triviatrap1982, Grey Wolf4, Guest, sharingan prodigy, Stormchaser17, COBRASTEVE, SasukexKill, Exalted-Demi-Soul, Josh, Fresh2Deff, Immatureboys, Nina Himmel, amikethefish, flame55, Xauntis, Gyromice89, TriviaTrap1982,Snow-White-and-Little-Red, and newcomer MrGreyHoodie

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the conclusion and that I see you all around the site from time to time. Until then, later days. ;)