fantasyanimegirl283: heeeeyy welcome back! and here's another chapter to set sail ^^

StarGirl06: you'll see soon enough :)

teamBLAZE: hahaha it's almost funny at how shy these two could be! Remember how shy Raelyn was when she first met Klaus?

Sairofe: how he managed to do it is covered in this chapter, and he'll pay the price soon enough for doing it. As for Corona, aside from me liking her character personally, I think she is a suitable 'mentor' so to speak for Raelyn in terms of her relationship with Klaus because of her own experience. Out of all people in town, aside from Iris and Raeger, I think Corona and Gunther would be the two least judgmental people towards KlausxRaelyn ship (they'll be such hypocrites otherwise, lol)

This chapter was made while I'm listening to Angel Beats! Opening theme: My Soul, Your Beats. For those of you who are familiar with the story, you might understand why I chose this particular song as you read this chapter. In any case, I'd suggest you guys to read it while listening to the song :)

Regret always came a little bit too late. That was what Klaus felt right after Raelyn left to go after Ibuki. That was why the choice was clear to him when Iris burst into the house out of worry for Raelyn after she noticed that Ibuki was calling for Marian at such a late hour. She was more surprised to find Klaus on the extra bed, and was initially unwilling to help him move, but he managed to convince her. It also helped that she had taken one of the town steed to the farm.

When he woke up the next day, this time in his own house, Klaus felt his stomach to be numb. That, and a slight light-headedness. Maybe some walk would go me good, he thought.

Again, regret came a little bit too late. This time, he felt it after he walked out from the Carpenter's Shop. His abdomen started to hurt like hell. Klaus looked around, should he go to the Clinic?

"Mr. Klaus!"

Klaus looked over his shoulder and there she was, running after him. This girl, he thought, what am I going to do with her?

"I knew you shouldn't be up and about! Let's go to the Clinic!"

"I'm… fine, Raelyn."

"You don't look fine!"

Not having enough energy to resist her even further, Klaus allowed himself to be half-dragged by the farmer to the Clinic. When they entered the Town Hall, Veronica saw them and was apparently distressed at his condition. He saw her mouth moving, but could not make out what she was saying, her voice sounded more like an echo, so was Raelyn's reply. At this point, he felt his body became almost unbearably warm.

The last thing he remembered before everything went dark was Marian and Angela came rushing towards him.

The door in front of him looked so familiar—no, he knew that it was familiar, but how could he be here, and not Oak Tree Town? He looked around, everything looked exactly the same like how he remembered it; it was like a scene taken directly from his memory. Klaus hesitantly reached for the handle; he barely pressed it when it went down, almost like it moved on its own.

Klaus saw that he himself began to revert back to his childhood self. He barely had the time to process his transformation when the door swung open and he saw his parents inside; his father was reading the newspaper on his favorite highchair while his mother was serving him some tea. She was the first to recognize him, she looked at him and smiled, "Welcome home, son."

"…Mom? Dad?"

This time, his father looked up. His face was stern initially but soon relaxed into a smile. "Where have you been? Your mother and I have been worried."

Klaus took some tentative steps into the house. "I…"

"Brother!"

Klaus turned around to find a little girl running towards him with outstretched arms. Like him, she also had raven hair and a pair of melting gold eyes. Her hair was gathered into a pair of high pigtails that swayed here and there as she ran. Klaus held his breath in disbelief, this can't be, he thought, but the warmth that he felt against his skin when she wrapped her slightly chubby arms around his waist and pressed her soft cheek against his body couldn't be any more real than it already was.

"You…" he turned to face his parents in confusion, but they looked amused by his expression instead.

"What's wrong, dear? That's your sister. She's been waiting for you, too."

Angela silently wiped Klaus' forehead, noting that if this kept up, they would need to change his clothes soon. She, as well as her mother, was made aware of the true nature of Klaus' injuries and the circumstances of the recently found body.

The guild master was initially displeased by Marian's attempt to cover up the incident, but only because she was disappointed that the doctor did not trust her enough. In fact, the guild master agreed wholeheartedly that, for everyone's sake, there was no need to probe into the matter further. She decided the matter was over with a note to the doctor that any time an incident came up, he should trust her enough about the truth.

The nurse looked over her shoulder and found that Raelyn still remained at her spot. Iris had also been called, since she had been listed as Klaus' medical contact person. Both women looked pale and each was trying to shake off their own nervousness; Raelyn was fiddling with her apron while Iris was biting her nail. Angela took a deep breath and walked past the curtain that separated the two sections. As she had expected, they swarmed towards her the moment they noticed her. "How is he?" Iris asked. "I shouldn't have followed his demands to bring him back to the town!"

Angela glanced at Raelyn. "He's starting to develop a high fever, possibly because of the weapon that was used." The pinkette farmer's face paled almost immediately. "Don't worry, fever is actually a sign that his body is fighting off the infection. Moreover, the doctor has administered constant antibiotics for him."

"When will he wake up?" Raelyn asked.

From her voice, Angela knew that she was about to cry. Truthfully, she was unsure as to how to break the news. Yet, if anything, she had learned that truth was the best policy. "That depends on him."

"My… sister?"

Unfazed by his confusion, the little girl began to tug at his arm. "C'mon, Brother, let's play! Play with me!"

"It will be dinner time soon, why don't you guys play afterwards?" their mother suggested. "Uncle Pierre and Aunt Daphne are coming by, I'm sure you remember them, Klaus dear?"

Uncle Pierre… Aunt Daphne…

Iris was, to say the least, shocked when she heard Klaus muttering her parents' name. She immediately straightened her back up, only to find that Klaus was still unconscious. His hand was trembling slightly. Iris moved to hold it and couldn't help but to worry when she realized how warm his body was. Her heart broke into pieces when she realized that Klaus was crying. She bent down and caressed his head gently, and whispered next to his ear:

"All these years, you've been eaten alive by your guilt, no matter how Mistel and I tried to assure you that it's not your fault… would death save you from it, Klaus? Am I being selfish if I want to keep you around longer?"

Iris rose and walked out form the partition just in time to see Raelyn walking back into the Clinic. She had left earlier to do her afternoon farm duties; Iris could tell that she was rushing back here as soon as she could.

If only he knew how much she cares about him…

As his mother had said, Pierre and Daphne Delacroix came over for dinner. "Where are Mistel and Iris?"

"They are not coming this time," Daphne replied. Her voice was pleasant and cheery, reminding him of Iris' voice. He looked up at her to get a good look at her face; her children had inherited both the color of her hair and eyes. Klaus could imagine Iris to grow up looking exactly just like her mother.

Am I being selfish if I want to keep you around longer?

That question came from the distance, from someone who sounded like Daphne Delacroix but not quite so.

"Huh? What?"

"What's wrong, Klaus?" his father asked.

Klaus blinked a few times. Pierre and Daphne Delacroix had joined the rest of his family in the dining room. They were waiting for him to join. "I… I thought someone was talking to me."

Klaus walked towards the dining room, but just before he entered the room, his sister called for him again. "Look what I found!" He turned around and she opened her palms to reveal a single firefly slowly drifting towards the sky. Its glow gradually grew brighter as the light in the room grew dimmer.

Suddenly a view of an open field with more fireflies appeared before him, at the center of it was a young woman, her hair just like the cherry blossom. She lifted her head, revealing her wine-colored eyes and smiled at him.

Aren't they beautiful, Mr. Klaus?

Klaus held his breath as his head became heavy and painful. That young woman felt so familiar yet so distant at the same time. She was almost surreal. "Who… who are you?"

As if responding to his question, that young woman rose and walked slowly towards him. Why don't you call me 'Raelyn'?

"Raelyn…"

The name brought an immense joy and pain in almost equal measure to him. He clenched his heart. "What is this feeling…?"

"Son, everyone is waiting for you," his father reminded him.

Klaus turned around and faced the rest of his family, as well as the Delacroix couple. "I will join you," he said.

His mother smiled at him, but different from her usual gentle smile, this smile of hers looked more sad than serene. "You will, dear, but not now."

"What?"

It was then he realized that the table was only set for five people.

"You have done enough, son. Stop punishing yourself," his father told him.

"Let us go, and be where you are supposed to be," Pierre joined in. "No soul is at peace knowing the guilt you have inflicted upon yourself."

His mother slowly walked towards him and pulled him into her embrace. "More than being alive, please live, just live…"

When Klaus came to, he was looking at a dark ceiling. He took a shallow breath, and the distinctive scent of antiseptic and herbs told him where he was. He looked at the end of his bed, his vision was still blurred, but he could roughly make out the two figures sleeping side by side on their arms; their hairs gave away who they were.

Have they been waiting for me?

It was then he recalled their words:

You were not there, and now I can see you alive, and I'm thankful…

Thank you for surviving everything…

Before he realized it, he was in tears again. How could he be so blinded by his guilt that he overlooked their unconditional affection? His ignorance and foolishness were almost beyond compare.

Raelyn was the first to wake up. "Mr. Klaus… you woke up?"

Iris followed soon after. After a smile while rubbing her eyes, she said she was going to call the doctor and left.

Raelyn moved closer to him. When she noticed the trails flowing from his eyes due to the tears, she said nothing and picked up the nearby washcloth that Angela had left earlier. She used it to wipe his tears together with the trace of his perspiration. She touched his forehead briefly. Her hand felt cold against his skin, almost painfully so.

"You're still warm… but at least you're awake."

His head was still painfully heavy, and his vision—although clearer than it had been—was still slightly blurred. A part of him hoped that she did not hear it. Or, if she did, maybe tomorrow, he would brush it off as a side-effect of the sedative, or simply a dream, but at this moment, he knew that these words rang true:

"I love you."

Uh oh uh oh, the three words were said!

Stay tuned for the next update!

Thanks for reading, please rate and review ^^

A/N: Maybe some of you would ask why Nik is not included in the 'party'. This is because the deaths of his immediate family and Delacroix couple had been the very root cause of his decades-long suffering, moreover, their deaths were really accidental and Klaus had no fault in it. Meanwhile, Nik's death, although it pushed our favorite gangster to the edge, was not purely accidental, Klaus did have a part in it (although indirectly, unaware and unwilling), and have admitted responsibility as evidenced by his response towards Craig.