A/N: What can I say? I'm back! This chapter is dedicated to Eva Namara. I hope all of you, whoever is still reading this story even though it's been forever, is safe and happy! It's a hard time for everyone. I hope this takes you mind off what's happening even if it's just for a bit. I'll be posting something light-hearted soon! Promise!

There is something that on one ever mentions about graduation. Sure, it's a parting to classmates, to teachers, to normalcy that you adjusted to. It's an end of a chapter in a book.

But what people fail to mention is that the real goodbye, the real farewell comes when something begins. Because when there is a new beginning, there must have been an end somewhere. And we were nearing it. Nearing the end of an era. Nearing the end of the book.

We could see it coming to a close. Just like when you hold a paper-back novel. You hold all the pages you've read through, that you've experienced, and with your other hand, you pinch the remaining pages together because you only have a few more pages to read before you hit that blank page. Before it's all over.

We could feel it approaching. She could feel it more than anyone though. She never brought it up, and her smile never dimmed, and yet, staring at her, I could sense I was staring a beautiful mirage. But to spare her any more pain, I kept my worry for her silent, only allowing myself relief by touching her. Because if I could touch her, that meant I was near her. Near her in case the mirage dispersed, and the reality would be visible to everyone. And the mirage she casted, it was cracking. Or it was melting. Or it was slowly slipping from her fingers. And the more it slipped, the more she tried to grab on to it to cover herself. The more she clung to it.

Until she couldn't cling any longer to the lie. Couldn't hide behind that sweet fabrication she made for herself.

She doesn't ask for me to stay over the night before. She playfully pushes me out of her apartment, saying that she needed her beauty sleep so she can wake up early to help Tatsuki pack. It's a lie. I know that, but she gives me her puppy-dog eyes, and I kiss her softly before leaving her. It's when I hit the bottom step when her reiatsu shifts.

Maybe it's because I've been with her in every sense of the word, but it feels like her spiritual pressure is screaming in agony. As if it is its own person, and it's bellowing and thrashing in anguish.

I pause and grip the railing before continuing to walk home. Because even though I want to go back and hold her until I smother the pain away, I can't. She doesn't want me to witness her in this state, and the best thing I could do is give her space. Even if it meant hurting myself in the process.

And it hurt all night long to feel her reiatsu tremble in pain, but I squeeze my eyes shut and as soon as the sun peaked out from my curtains, I quickly shower and dress and walk to her apartment.

I only get to her parking lot before noticing that she's sitting on the last step with her hair covering her face.

Before I can call out, she looks up with a huge smile.

I inwardly flinch at the sight.

She runs to me, stopping to stand in front of me. She reaches up and presses a kiss to my cheek. The large sunglasses push against my skin for a second before they settle back on her tiny nose as she steps back.

I want to say something to her, but all words are stuck in my throat. How could I ask her anything when she's clearly hiding from me? In plain sight, she's trying to keep her broken heart hidden from me.

That hurt, too.

She says nothing as well when she slips her arm through mine. She is silent when she slips her hand into mine. Silent when she clings to it frantically. Silent with that wide smile of hers.

We walk together quietly. I glance down at her, and she faces straight ahead, her sunglasses blocking me from seeing her eyes, her smile blocking me from speaking, from offering comfort aloud. I can only tighten my hand around hers.

When reach the stairs to descend down the shinkansen platform, she pauses. For a second her grin wavers, and she squeezes my hand a bit too hard, and I can see her take a small step back. For a second, she's in palpable fear, but it passes as quickly as it came, and she smiles again, and she moves down the steps with feigned confidence.

I grit my teeth, following her lead.

We walk down, walking toward the end.

When we see them, I hear a small whimper from my side, and my eyebrows furl together in frustration and pain.

This hurt, too.

But when Chad and Tatsuki come to meet us, the pain increased. For her and for me. Because this was it. The real beginning. The real end.

She still has that huge smile as she hugs Chad. She's still pretending, and I nearly choke in anger at helpless I feel right now. I couldn't do anything. Because it was already too late. Because without even reading the last page of a book, you know it's the end. There's no way to avoid it. None.

I can't hear the words she says to Chad, but she keeps that huge smile while she speaks. Keeps it up when she turns to Tatsuki.

To see her like this, it brings a lump to my throat.

"Tatsuki-chan!" she yells excitedly before trying to hug her best friend. Trying the key word because Tatsuki hold out her hand.

"Stop," Tatsuki demands.

I step closer to them as I see the anger in Tatsuki's expression.

Her head tilts in confusion at Tatsuki command.

"Stop that," Tatsuki repeats.

"W-" she tries to ask before Tatsuki shouts at her.

"Stop lying!"

I look at her, and even with those glasses taking up more than half of her face, I can see the confusion. I can see the strain of the smile she tries to maintain.

"I don't-"

Tatsuki cuts her off by reaching out a ripping those glasses off her face and throwing them on the floor, crushing them with her foot.

We all knew what she was hiding, but to see her bloodshot eyes and the dark circles underneath them was something we all winced at.

Orihime bends her head quickly as she stoops down to try to collect the pieces of the sunglasses, but Tatsuki is unrelentless as she picks up her foot to smash it down against whatever remained intact from the first attack.

"Stop it, Orihime. Just…please. This is already so hard," Tatsuki pleas, her voice cracking at the end.

Orihime stays crouched. We can see the tremors that rack through her before she stills. It takes a few seconds before she stands up.

She stands up, her head held high, a smile fixed on her face. Her tears streaming down her face.

"Ah, Tatsuki-chan! You're so smart! I'll really…I'll really miss that!" she shouts happily before throwing herself at her only family. If it weren't for Tatsuki, I could swear she would crumble to the ground.

I step forward as her sobs become audible, but a hand on my shoulder holds me back. I look up to see Chad.

It really shouldn't surprise me to see the red in his eyes, but it does. It really shouldn't have hurt me, but it does. Because I really was prepared for this. But I was only prepared to try and hold Orihime together as we said goodbye to our closest friends. I guess I never really prepared myself to actually be the one to say goodbye.

"I'm not good at this," I tell him as we face each other. "I don't want to be good at this," I admit.

"I know," he agrees.

I laugh a little before looking down at my shoes. I'm trying to gather the courage to say it. To let him go, to wish him luck in his travels, to say that stupid word, but it gets lost in my mind before I can try to form a sentence.

I sigh shakily before I look back at him.

"I'm here."

Chad's quiet before he steps forward and holds out his hand. I grab his and clasp my hand with his as he pulls me forward to give me a hug. I pat him on the back hard, trying to convey all the words I'm not able to say. Too afraid to say.

"I know," he states as he pulls back.

I grin at his words.

"Always one with the words."

He nods.

We turn to the two girls who are still tightly embraced. I still can't hear anything, but words really weren't needed to get the message.

They were both breaking. They were trying to hold each other together. And it wasn't working.

We hear an announcement overhead, and we all look up. It was signal that the time was nearing.

Orihime pulls back, kisses Tatsuki's cheek before letting her go. They stare at each other before Orihime turns to us, and she runs forward and grabs onto Chad.

I smile at the bug-eyed Chad.

But my smile drops as I hear Tatsuki clear her throat. I look at her before steeling my nerves and walking over to her.

Her eyes are red, too. Watery. It felt weird as it always did to see Tatsuki like this. It hurt to see her when she's like this.

"You'll take care of her, right?" She asks in her haughty tone.

I snort and cross my arms.

"Of course. Who do you think you're talking to?" I retort.

"You'll make sure she's okay?"

"Duh."

"You'll call me if anything is wrong, right?"

"Yeah."

"You'll…you'll let her take of you, too, right?"

I look away.

"Yeah," I whisper.

"Good."

I look back at her, and suddenly, so many memories come back at one. Like that one time she sat on me during a match until I cried. Or the time that she took my sisters to the bathroom when we couldn't find my dad at a festival. Or that one time she treated my wounds when I got into my first fight. All of it came back as I looked at her.

Again, the words that I'm supposed to say are not coming, so I reach for her and crush her in a hug. I couldn't remember the last time I hugged her, but it felt like hugging Yuzu and Karin. She felt like family.

"I'll miss you," I whisper in her hair.

She pulls back and shoves me with a toothy grin.

"Of course, you will! I'm awesome!"

I smile back at her.

"Yeah. Yeah, you are."

"Ah~ So cute!"

I smile at Orihime as she walks over to us. I put my arm around her shoulders before looking at the other two.

"Well, I guess this it."

"I guess it is," I agree as I tighten my hold on the girl who buries who her face into my side.

We let the buzz of the voice announcing the onboarding times fill the air. We all keep that lonely word to ourselves, knowing that the implication is there. I nod to Chad and Tatsuki as they start to head toward the open doors.

Orihime keeps hidden in my side, so I wave at the both of them as they step inside. But she must have felt my movement because she lets me go and stands in front in me.

I see her cup her hands in front of her face.

"Sado-kun! Tatsuki-chan! I love you!" She screams brokenly.

Everyone turns to look at her. Turn to look at the beautiful, crying girl who is smiling through her tears as she bares her heart for everyone to see.

Chad and Tatsuki both smile at her before they disappear into the shinkansen.

Everyone returns to what they were doing except for her. She still remains frozen in the position with her hands still around her mouth. It's only until the train leaves when she, with her head down, reaches for my hand.

I grab it and bring her hand to my lips. She doesn't peek up at me like she usually does when I do this. All she does is step forward toward the exit. When I do not move, she tugs me gently, telling me without words that she wants to leave. I follow in her stead.

Again, we walk to her apartment silently. The only difference from the morning is that she is using her hair to block me from her. It hurts all the same.

When we reach sight of her apartment, she stops.

"I did it, right? I…I sent them off with a smile, right?" She tentatively asks.

She leans her head back to look up at me with her broken grin.

Her tears run freely.

"I did good, right?"

I swallow before nodding.

"You did. You did good, Hime."

She nods before she steps forward, away from me.

I reach out, carefully wrapping my arm around her head, my forearm covering her eyes, and I tug her towards me.

"You did so good. So you can stop smiling. You can stop," I tell her before placing a kiss on her head. "I'm here."

And finally, after fervently holding it together, the mirage she desperately created ends.