~ Michi ~~

I ambled alongside Kent, lost in thought, but was brought back to real life when I realized he was leading me somewhere I didn't know. "Wait, where are we going?"

"I intend to patch you up at my own residence. Is this problematic?"

"Well, uh… I guess it's fine." I probably wouldn't have done a great job on my own anyways. "Hey… This is… An office building?"

"Yes. I often reside in my office here for the sake of convenience."

I laughed. "That sounds like something you would do." He basically carried me up the stairs until we got to his office, and then he sat me down on a couch. It was even plushier than my bed… So nice.

"Now, do try to sit still." He sat next to me with a first aid kit on his lap.

"Oh, okay." I closed my eyes as he dabbed at my face. "Ow…" The astringent made me flinch.

"You've got multiple cuts on your face. None of them are particularly deep, but they're lengthy. And the bruises will stand out."

"Why, thank you, doctor," I grumbled. "So… Are you rich, or something? To be able to afford your own office room."

"My parents are both successful."

"Why the heck are you working at a maid café then? Are you a fetishist?"

"No. A sense of independence is important, however." He didn't even react to my implication. Of course not, the dork.

"Ah. Yeah, I can get that." Every time I flinched, he tried to adjust the pressure of his touch to be gentler. It made me smile, realizing he was a little bit sweet like that.

"I'm finished."

"Thanks." I sighed. It had been an interesting few days. "Hey, do you want to talk about Sawa now? I'd like to get my mind off things too."

"Very well." He just looked at me, and I realized I was expected to frame the conversation.

"So, uh… Why do you want to ask her out?"

"I had figured that having a girlfriend would assist me in my understanding of human emotion."

"Wait, so you don't even like her?"

"I don't dislike her."

"Dude, that's really not all that great. Not hating someone doesn't mean that dating them would be any good. And it seems like you'd just be using her to try and figure out your own problems without caring about her feelings. In my opinion, you shouldn't ask her out at all."

Kent pushed his glasses up, thinking for a few moments. "I'll trust your judgement. It isn't beyond me to think of another way."

"Hey, how about this? Every time you have a question about emotions, just text me and I'll give you my best advice."

"Hm. I suppose I won't deny your assistance. On the point of dating, by the way. I called Ikkyu before the incident in the alleyway and asked him to meet me here in an hour. It should be about that time."

"Wait… What? Why?" He had laid his own trap after the trap we had laid together? This... this evil genius...

"It's best to face things head on. Isn't that what you have stated as a personal philosophy many times? Ikkyu needs to understand the situation most of all."

"Well, I agree with that, but… I didn't want to worry him either."

"I'm afraid that's not a possibility at the moment. Just a look at you is enough to inspire concern."

"Yeah… You're right." We waited until there was a knock at the door, and my hand gingerly touched the hair clip I was wearing while Kent answered the door.

"What is it? You didn't give me any details, so I was a little bit worried." Ikki stopped when he saw me. He started to smile, but it faded when he saw my face, the cuts and bruises there. "Michi, what happened?" He looked between Kent and me, waiting for an explanation.

"I, um…"

Kent placed a hand on my shoulder to get me to fall silent. "Please allow me. Michi, I synced up my phone to the camera we placed in the alleyway, so I have the footage right here."

So… Ikki would see it all for himself? I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but… No. This probably needed to happen. This was the reality, and he needed to face it just as much as I had had to. I sat fidgeting while Kent played the video. Hearing it happen was somehow worse than being in the situation at the time. Most horrible was watching Ikki react to it, the horror and speechlessness that came over him.

"Well?" Kent prompted him when it was done.

Ikki looked at me helplessly. If I'd been in his shoes, I wouldn't have known what to say either.

"Hey… Walk me home? We need to talk." I couldn't meet his eyes yet, instead just staring at my feet nervously. Ikki nodded, and I turned to Kent on the way out. "Again… Thanks." He had done something he deemed necessary, and he was right to have thought so. He nodded as a farewell acknowledgement.

"So." I broke the silence after we had walked on for a few minutes. "I guess I've got a few questions."

"Please… Let me apologize first. I should have apologized immediately, but I was shocked beyond words. Still, I understand that what happened to you is my fault."

"… Yeah." I couldn't deny it entirely. "But it's not all your fault. Those girls took it too far. That goes to my question. Ikki, what do your eyes do to people?"

"Slowly, people start to feel like… Like they need me. The sight of my eyes is something that makes them feel alive, satisfied. It becomes the only thing they think about. I've been told that myself. I suppose that's why I let this continue. They told me they felt like they would die without me. I hated it, really. But I didn't want to hurt others with these eyes."

"So, you gave up on your own chances of happiness due to that."

"In the end, I suppose I did." He smiled bitterly. "But then there was you, and I couldn't quite resist. I never imagined the consequences, but… I'm sorry. For being selfish."

"Shut up," I snapped. "Wanting happiness for yourself isn't selfish. You can't think like that, or nothing will change. Here's what you should do." I held up my fingers, counting as I spoke. "First, you tell those girls to get off your case. You don't talk to them anymore, got it? Second, you don't tolerate people only wanting you for your eyes. You make them listen to you, get to know the real you. Third, you… Actually, I guess it was just those two things."

Ikki laughed. "You amaze me."

"Huh?" We had reached my apartment and sat down on the top of the staircase to keep talking.

"You came whirling in all of a sudden, and now things seem to be changing a lot for me. For the better. I feel happier now. Happier than I've been in a while." He placed his hand over mine, smiling warmly and genuinely now. I averted my gaze, turning my hand over to twine our fingers.

"Hey, Michi…" Musca caught my attention. "The Spade symbol… It's starting to disappear." She showed her hand, how the shape was slowly fading away.

Seriously? We did it?

She smiled, shaking her head. "You did it. You were brilliant."

Awesome! I grinned, then stiffened when Ikki sighed and rested his head on top of mind from the side. I blushed. Should I answer him now? It was so nerve-wracking…

"Michi?" He spoke before I could.

I jumped. "Y-yeah?"

"Thank you for everything. And… I swear to make it up to you. By following your advice, trying my hardest, and being there for you from now on." His smile was melting my heart.

"Um… About what you asked me… About dating," I mumbled.

He straightened up and blinked, caught off guard by me bringing it up. "What about it?"

"Well…" It felt like even my ears might have been turning red. "My answer…" I was too nervous to spit it out. Just one word, but it felt so heavy. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, many times over. I wanted to be with him, the person who wanted me, to see where it would go, what kind of happiness we could both find. If only I could say it.

He took both of my hands now. "Look at me?"

I begrudgingly complied, but averted my gaze. "W-what? What is it?"

He said nothing, just leaned closer while looking at me seriously, watching my reactions. It got to the point where I was so nervous I couldn't look at him anymore; had to close my eyes. Then I felt his lips on my face, being touched to the new bruises there so lightly that I didn't feel even a pinprick of pain. "Is this alright?" His breath was hot in my ear as he whispered into it. His lips brushed mine, and I leaned a bit into the contact, so he kissed me firmly.

"Michi," Musca broke in, voice urgent. "The Spade symbol is coming back. It was fading before, but it's back now!"

I backed away reflexively at the shock her statement induced. What?!

"Look!" The Spade… It was back? "What happened?"

The second I had started to accept Ikki… I had failed the pathway? I shook my head in frustration. I knew why. I just hadn't wanted to admit it. "I…" I looked up at him, and it hurt to see how confused he looked at how suddenly I had pulled away. "I can't. I can't date you…"

"Ah."

"You'll become attached to me. Rely on me. The more time we spend together, the less you'll see of other people. Then your horizons will never broaden. You'll never be free from your eyes if you don't get out there, and I… I'd get in your way if we dated, because you wouldn't feel like you needed anyone else. You have to try your hardest… But just not with me so close to you." To truly help him, I had to push him away, towards the world. What gross irony.

Ikki nodded slowly. "I understand." He couldn't mask all of his disappointment though. He sighed, then smiled. "You've given me something important, though."

"What?"

"Hope. Hope for the future, for what I can do for myself. So… I'll do what I can to grow into my own person now. Then… Maybe then, I can come at you with my feelings again."

"Maybe then," I echoed softly.

He pulled his hands away from mine. "Maybe we should cancel our appointment for tomorrow."

I nodded. "Probably, yeah."

He hesitated, not seeming to know how to say goodbye anymore. "Goodnight. Message me please, to let me know how you're feeling later." He touched my cheek, lining up his fingers with a cut, to let me know what he meant.

I nodded. "I will. Bye." When I lost sight of him I went back into my apartment, laying down and removing the hair clip just to gaze at it.

"Are you okay, Michi? What are you thinking about?" Musca asked quietly.

"Is it gone?"

"Yes. There are only the Clover and the Diamond now."

"Then I'm fine. We're halfway done."

"… What was your answer really?"

"It doesn't matter. I've realized something now."

"What is it?"

"The fate of love thing you told me about. It's really…" I laughed. "Annoying."

"Oh, Michi…" She petted my hair.

"On to the next one." It was both scary and exiting to think of what this fate had in store.