There is always light at the end of a tunnel, but sometimes you have to work for it.

Epilogue:

The day was rough for the young boy, his once youthful appearance strangled by extreme exhaustion and stress. People were no longer hiding their glances at the brunette: they were openly staring at his tired eyes, his disgruntled uniform, and his messy appearance. Their eyes like daggers, the poor boy wanted to just curl into a ball and melt into the floor, away from the world.

But he kept on fighting.

The brunette fought through his emotions, managed through the never-ending classes of senior years and even managed to eat a little food, much to the relief of his friends, his allies. They didn't judge him. They understood the cost of living. The fear of survival.

But like all things, both good and bad, what seemed to be the longest school day came to an end. The class was dismissed, students eager to get home quickly. The storm, pelting heavily against the ground in the morning, had since slowed, the water gently splashing the concrete below. There appeared to even be a glimpse of sun poking through the heavy clouds, if one were to look hard enough.

As the classroom emptied, a single boy remained, fixated on the hint of light before him. He hoped it would emerge more: he was sick of the rain, of the fog that laid rest around the town.

The door opened, and a brunette girl walked in. The boy didn't budge: he was expecting her to come.

"I figured you'd still be here, Satoshi."

The girl walked towards Satoshi, watching him with equal parts admiration and concern. She was impressed he decided to come at all today, the state he had been in this morning. But she was glad to see him, in seemingly better shape.

The boy, turning from the window, faced the tomboyish girl who stood beside him, flashing a quaint, tired smile. "Just wanted to sit here for a while, Naomi." He paused, returning his glance to the window before him. "The view is better from the roof, but it's still raining."

"It is quite pretty" Naomi offered in agreement, moving a chair to sit beside him.

They sat in silence, watching the gentle patter of the rain against the glass, the sunlight creating a weak, orange glow in the sky, that caused rain to dance within its' gentle beam.

"It's the little things." Satoshi suddenly spoke, Naomi slightly jolting from the sudden noise.

"I never knew how much they meant to me, before we almost lost it all." He sighed deeply, his voice noticeably stronger than this morning.

"For the first time since returning, I feel…content." He turned to Naomi, his eyes damp with tears yet to form. "If I could have these quiet moments for the rest of my life with you, I'd be ready for the rest of my life to start." A gentle smile formed on his face, his heart beating hard.

Naomi, taken aback, felt her face glow with heat. It was a confession she'd wanted to hear for years. A confession she knew Seiko would've screamed over.

Her mind a wave of emotions, she reached out effortlessly and took Satoshi's warm hand.

"I can't wait for our lives to start, Satoshi, to put all of this behind us. But only if you let me help you, the way you've always helped me."

Naomi found her own eyes wet with tears as she looked at the tired, wet face of the boy she had always loved.

Satoshi squeezed her hand, and gave a small chuckle under his breathe. "I've been pretty selfish recently, huh?"

Flustered, Naomi scrambled for a response. "I didn't mean it like that! I just – you know what I mean!"

Satoshi laughed, squeezing her hand yet again. "I understand, Naomi. I'll do my best to help you. And myself."

"That's all I ask, Satoshi." Naomi replied, her heart beating fast.

They both felt a mutual bond emanate between them, and as if pulled together by string, they found themselves leaning towards each other, the gentle glow of light giving them the spotlight.

And as their lips connected, they felt at ease: that everything would be alright in the end. That they could get through this. That they could face the past, present and future one day at a time.

Together.

They felt ready to do it, together.

AN:

Perhaps I'll make another entry to this series, to make it a full week. For now I'm happy with it.

Hopefully I'll work on my other stories, if I'm lucky they'll be posted in a few years :p

Hope you've enjoyed my first time writing. Maybe one day corpse party will be popular again.