"Isuke-sama?"

While her eyes were foggy and only half open, Isuke could easily make out the surprise and confusion in them.

She must have been disorientated, suddenly waking up in a hospital and all. But above all, Isuke figured she was confused to see her there.

It wouldn't make much sense for someone who didn't care about you to come visit you at the hospital, and in Haruki's mind, that was just the case with Isuke.

She had been a little scared of what would happen when Haruki woke up. She knew that if she'd looked at her with that same expression from that day, she wouldn't be able to handle it. She couldn't bear it if Haruki hated her.

But much to her relief, the golden eyes that looked up at her weren't filled with spite, only with shock and sleepiness.

Unable to suppress it, she let a small smile form on her lips as she looked down on the girl.

"Hey, Haruki," she muttered in a low voice. Normally she'd be embarrassed to sound so mushy and goofy, but right now she couldn't care less about that.

The redhead attempted to sit up, but soon realized she wasn't able to. She leaned back again, bringing a hand to her spinning head.

"What's going on?" she groaned groggily. She laid her head down on the pillow, trying to find a posture that wouldn't make her head feel like it was inside a washing machine.

"Idiot," Isuke spoke softly, "You wore yourself out back at the café and collapsed. Apparently Banba found you and called for an ambulance."

"So…" she struggled to make her brain function normally, "I'm in the hospital?"

She looked around the room, which was all white. White walls, white roof, white bed… That, combined with the bright light, made her eyes sting.

Looking down, away from the strong lights, she noticed she was wearing a hospital gown, and as she glanced over at Isuke, she saw that she wasn't looking all that great herself.

The girl was only wearing pajamas, and she didn't have any makeup on at all, but she didn't look that different. Despite popular belief, Isuke didn't overdo it when it came to her makeup. She didn't have to, already being so beautiful. Her hair was slightly out of place, but not as messy as she could tell her own hair was.

"Yeah," Isuke answered, stretching her arms above her head.

"What about my family?" she questioned the second they came to mind. Would they be worried? How long had she been here? Had she been here for so long that they were short on food 'cause she hadn't been working?

"They're fine," she shrugged, "They paid you a visit yesterday, but Fuyuka wanted to go home and take care of the kids."

"Does that mean I've only been here since yesterday?"

At Isuke's nod, she breathed out a sigh of relief. She hadn't wasted that much time laying around here.

"Why do you ask"? she countered, Haruki's relief both intriguing and worrying her.

"'Cause I gotta get back to work."

Isuke tried to bite her lip to avoid saying anything, but Haruki's self-sacrificing tendencies was pretty much her berserk button.

"Don't you get it?" she snapped angrily, "You can't keep doing stuff like that! Don't you realize that when you do something that hurts you in order to help your family, it just hurts them more!"

She opened her mouth to argue, but her voice wouldn't obey. She had done everything to aid her family, but was it true that she, by sacrificing so much, only ended up hurting them instead of helping them?

"I…" she mumbled, her voice faltering.

"Honestly, Isuke doesn't get you," Isuke snorted, calming down a little, "You can be such an idiot."

The words she spoke caused a stinging pain deep within her, but even so, Haruki couldn't even consider the possibility that Isuke was saying it to hurt her. It seemed as though she was trying to get her to open her eyes.

"I can't just abandon them, though…"

"I get that," sighed Isuke tiredly, "Unless something happens, you'll be released tomorrow, but don't think I'll let you go back to work."

She wanted to protest, but it was obvious that Isuke had already made up her mind, and she was getting sleepy again.

For now, she decided to leave it be, close her eyes and just rest for a while.

Haruki was on the bed, now sitting up properly. After she took a long nap and shoved down a huge portion of hospital food, she felt a lot better. As things were now, she didn't think going home tomorrow would be a problem.

Isuke had settled in a chair in the other end of the room and was currently texting someone. She hadn't spoken a word since before Haruki's nap, and even though she didn't really feel like talking to her, the silence was killing her.

She didn't understand why Isuke would even be there in the first place, but she had been there ever since Haruki first woke up, and probably way before that too.

But they had argued and broken up, and Isuke had found herself a rebound. It wasn't as though they were friends anymore, either, so what could she possibly want?

She couldn't be here to provide comfort. As things were between them now, her presence hurt Haruki more than it supported her. She must have realized that, right?

And it wasn't as though Isuke would be here just to scold her. She could be selfish, but there was no way she would be that cruel.

"Isuke-sama?" she addressed her, breaking the awkward silence. Isuke looked up from her phone with a questioning glance. "Why are you here?"

"Because hospitals are so cozy," she retorted sarcastically, rolling her yellow eyes.

She then stood up and walked over to Haruki's bed, sitting down on the edge of it.

"I was worried about you, of course," she claimed, "And I felt sort of guilty."

"It's not your fault," she quickly assured her. She didn't really know why she was being nice to Isuke in the first place. She had hurt her, so why couldn't she stop being considerate to her?

"Are you saying what happened didn't affect you in the slightest?" Isuke replied. It sure had affected her, but she didn't mention that out loud.

"No, I just-"

"I should have supported you, but instead I was hurting you and making this even more difficult for you…" she started, "So I feel like, no matter where things go from here, I should apologize."

"I don't really want to hear it, Isuke-sama." Was that a lie? She wasn't sure.

She wanted to hear Isuke's apology, so that they could make up and get back together, but she knew that things weren't going to be easy. It never was with Isuke. It always had to be complicated and painful, and she wasn't sure she could deal with that right now.

"Since when has anyone else's opinion stopped me from doing what I want," she chuckled humorlessly. She had always considered her own needs and wishes before anyone else's. Up until recently it had been a part of her lifestyle, but she was trying to change it. "I think we both need to sort this out."

"I guess there's no stopping you," Haruki gave in, too tired to argue with the persistent girl.

"I'm sorry… for acting like a know-it-all, when the truth is I understand about as much as I do in math class, but I guess it's just like school, isn't it? If I listened, then maybe I'd at least get some of it."

"Maybe," she agreed with a nod. She didn't think Isuke could put herself in her shoes, but perhaps she could understand the concept.

"And I didn't mean the things I said," she continued, "I was just a bit out of it…"

"We both were," Haruki concluded, feeling a little ashamed at some of the things she'd said, "I said some shit, too. It's not like I can take it back or anything, but I admit it was harsh."

For a while, they both remained silent, letting what had just been said sink in.

"Listen, about Sumireko… I don't feel that way about her."

"I know," she replied.

"Then-" Isuke started, but was cut off before she could come to any conclusions of her own.

"I was just scared that you didn't feel that way about anyone… about me. I guess I just wanted it to be real, you know?"

She didn't care that much if Isuke would lash out and kiss someone if she was upset; it wasn't that she was angry about. All that really mattered was if Isuke loved her or not, and her actions that day had made her doubt it.

"It is real," Isuke stated firmly.

There was no way the feelings she had for Haruki could be written off as a distraction or as a minor crush.

"I know I have a terrible way of showing it, Haruki," Isuke uttered, "But I care about you, and I…"

Was it too soon to say it? Too sudden? They were just making up, and she didn't even know if Haruki would forgive her or not.

If she said it now and got rejected, it would only be so much more painful, and it would hurt Haruki as well.

But that was how she felt. No matter if she said it or not, she loved Haruki. If she rejected her or if they got back together, she'd still love her. So, shouldn't she just tell her?

"Haruki, I… Well, I just-"

"What are you trying to say?" Haruki asked in confusion. What could possibly be so difficult to tell her that she'd stutter more than Mahiru?

Isuke squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

"I love you!" she confessed hurriedly.

After that, she waited for a couple of seconds before slowly opening her eyes. The first thing she registered was a broad smile.

A mere second later she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist, pulling her into an embrace. She was too shocked, more by herself than by Haruki, to return the hug.

Haruki began laughing. She didn't really know why, but she just couldn't help it. She kept laughing as she hugged Isuke even tighter.

"What are you laughing at?" Isuke snapped, false annoyance in her voice.

"You," she replied, still unable to stop laughing.

After a little while longer, Isuke seemed to grow sick of it and pried the laughing girl off of her.

"So… does that mean you aren't angry about Sumireko?" she asked seriously, but Haruki just kept grinning like the idiot she was.

"I guess I could forgive you," she teased playfully, toying with one of Isuke's curly locks, "If I get a kiss, too."

Isuke sighed as she felt her face heat up yet again.

"You're terrible," she muttered, but despite that, a smile found its way to her lips.

She leaned forward, closing the already small gap between them and planting a chaste kiss on Haruki's lips.

"Is that all I get?" she joked after Isuke moved back again.

"Wouldn't want to risk anyone walking in on a make out session," she replied simply. They were in a hospital after all, so there was a chance that a nurse or maybe some visitors could come waltzing in at any moment.

But the main reason was that she didn't want to push things. Right now, just being here with Haruki was enough for her.

The redhead pouted a little, but quickly decided to let it go.

"I say we just start over," she suggested out-of-the-blue.

"Huh?" Isuke retorted.

"We just… you know, start over. With a clean slate, and with no secrets or lies this time around."

"That sounds nice," she agreed, the thought of finally being able to be truthful with her girlfriend making her goofy smile return.

"So you think we'll be able to be honest with each other from now on?"

They had kept many secrets to each other in the short time they had known one another, and there had been times when they had lied to each other. There was also no doubt they could argue a lot.

Their relationship wasn't perfect, and it sure as hell wasn't easy at times, but it was worth it. The good times made up for the bad times and the love made up for the hurt.

It was definitely worth the effort of making it work.

"We'll figure it out," Isuke eventually promised.

Sumireko took a deep breath before she pressed the call button.

About a second later, she regretted her decision, but it was too late to change it now. Even if she hung up, Mahiru would see she'd gotten an unanswered message, and that would be even worse than talking to her.

She had thought about what to say ever since that day Isuke brought her over to the café, but she still hadn't decided on anything.

So why she had even decided to call, she didn't know.

The blonde was too focused on her own panicky thoughts to notice that no one was picking up. It wasn't before she heard a monotone voice telling her the caller was unavailable that she was brought back to reality.

A sigh escaped her lips, but she was not sure whether it was one of disappointment or relief.

The voice informed her she could leave a message.

Again, she hesitated.

If she left a message, she wouldn't know what to say. Then again, if Mahiru saw the missed call and asked her about it in person, that would be even worse.

For some reason, attempting to interact with someone who had rejected you was beyond challenging.

"Um… Hello, Mahiru-san," she stuttered awkwardly. It wasn't like her to stutter. She had always been the one who knew what to say; the confident one. Or at least it always appeared to be that way.

Shit, maybe she should introduce herself.

"It's Hanabusa Sumireko." Why did she say that? Mahiru knew who she was. They had been in the same class for over a year, so she was certain she'd recognize her voice. "If you're wondering, I found your number in the class roster. I'm not stalking you or anything."

Sumireko wanted to smack herself in the face. What was she doing? It wasn't like her to completely lose her cool and start babbling like this.

She had to pull herself together and say what she had initially called to say.

"Anyway, I…" she took another deep breath, "I wanted to say that I'm sorry about what happened at the café. I can imagine we caused quite the commotion , so I apologize if I got you into trouble of any sort."

It wouldn't surprise her if she did. Towards the end, they had received more than a couple of weird glances, and Mahiru's boss didn't exactly seem like a very friendly guy.

"Isuke-san has a tendency to take things too far, so I apologize on her behalf… and also for myself, as I promised myself I wouldn't force my feelings onto you."

She took a short break before speaking again, simply to give Mahiru time to think about her words when she heard the message, and to try and calm down her racing heart.

"I also wanted to check up on you because, you know, of what happened to Sagae-san. I don't really know the situation, but I can imagine the two of you were good friends. So… well, I hope you're alright," she said hesitantly.

She knew what the silver haired girl was like. She was undoubtedly worried about Haruki. It was simply a part of her sweet and caring nature.

"Well, the time is almost up, so I'd better leave it at that," she said with a nervous chuckle. This entire message must have sounded so stupid. Had she sent it to anyone other than Mahiru, they might just have laughed at her. "But I sincerely apologize for everything, and-"

She cut herself off.

True, it was an awkward message with a bunch of clumsy excuses, but at least it had been an apology. Maybe if she stopped talking now and hung up, she'd actually be forgiven.

Yet she couldn't seem to stop herself from adding that one sentence that could either make it or break it.

"I hope you decide to call me back."

Hello again.

Like usual, I don't have much to say apart from my babbling.

If there are a lot of mistakes in this chapter (there might or might not be) I'm sorry but I wrote it really early in the morning and then I corrected it in the middle of the night. Probably not my greatest idea, but it was then I had time and motivation to write.

My vacation is ending this week, so on Monday I'll be starting school again. New school, new teachers, new classmates… not really looking forward to it, but I'm sure it will be better than I'm imagening.

Anyway, I'm hoping to publish one more chapter before then and after that I'll publish when I have time. Sometimes it may take longer because of tests and stuff, but I'm sure you can relate.

Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope it's becoming less painful to read.