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Disclaimer: I don't own Tokidoki Bosotto Roshiago de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san or any of its characters...

As he had predicted, Masachika found Maria sitting by the beach, hugging her knees to her chest while staring at the sunset in the horizon.

Throughout the whole day, the girl acted like her usual self (all-smiles and reassuring everyone around her), but he knew how she was feeling underneath it all.

And that's what prompted him to approach her carefully.

"Masha-san?" he called out softly.

The brunette slowly turned around to meet his gaze. Neither her smile nor her typical demeanor was present, yet her eyes were full of emotion.

"Kuze-kun…"

"Can I sit here?"

Maria didn't say anything. She simply nodded her head and he returned the gesture with one of his own, before taking his seat on the sand.

Masachika allowed a few moments to pass by before clearing his throat to get her attention.

He had already thought about what to say to her before going here, not wanting to create an awkward moment where he'd be clueless on what to do next.

Ha! Take that, stereotypes!

"So… regarding your sister earlier—"

"I'm sorry that you had to see that, Kuze-kun. I'm sorry that everyone had to see Alya-chan like that, especially Ayano-chan…"

He was surprised at how she spoke, as if she already knew what he was going to talk about, but shrugged it off. If anything, this makes things easier for him.

"It wasn't your fault, Masha-san."

"But Chisaki-chan already said it. And I agree with her. Alya-chan is my responsibility, because she's my little sister. But somehow…" she buried her face into her arms and legs out of shame. "...this is all happening under my watch…"

"You're still not at fault, Masha-san. None of us, including you, could have foreseen Alya acting like this. You're just as confused as we are, and that's not a bad thing."

"I don't know what I should do, Kuze-kun…" she mumbled. "Everyone expects me to talk with Alya-chan and fix things, but I've already done it! I've talked with her! But this is still happening! What do I do?!"

Her legs muffled her cries, but she got her point across. All Masachika could do was watch her with a sad look, knowing how hard she was working not only for their survival, but to be the voice of reason for Alya as well.

"Kuze-kun…"

Masha raised her head to look at him. Her eyes were red and tears were streaming down her cheeks. She looked completely helpless, but she was looking to him for guidance.

"...what do I do?"

It hurt to see this girl in this state and he wanted to help her, but Masachika didn't exactly know where to go from here. In the worst case scenario, he might end up making things worse!

"I don't really know how I could possibly help, but… I'm right here if you need me, Masha-san," he reassured her of his presence with a small smile on his face.

"Oh, Kuze-kun…" she sniffled, touched by his words.

"-!"

He was taken aback when Masha wrapped her arms around him in a much-needed embrace, as she buried her face into his chest.

"What do I do, Kuze-kun…? Every time I ask Alya-chan what's the matter, she refuses to tell me anything… she always insists that she's fine and she doesn't need help… even though it's the opposite…"

Feeling the need to return the gesture, he slowly returned the hug and rubbed the back of her head in a comforting manner.

"I did make amends with Alya-chan after I shouted and got angry at her, but what even is the point…? It feels like we're as distant as ever. I don't even know if she has truly forgiven me for what I did. It feels more like she only said what I wanted to hear…"

She tightened her arms around him for a few more seconds, as if she was desperate for warmth and comfort, before slowly losing strength in her limbs.

"You must think I'm pathetic… I should be talking with Alya-chan right now, but I'm here crying to you about my problems that don't even concern you… oh, I feel so ashamed…"

"There's nothing pathetic about what you're doing, Masha-san. It's perfectly normal to vent about things when you can't take it anymore. You don't have to feel ashamed."

Masachika pulled away from the hug momentarily so that the girl can look at his face.

"And as far as I'm concerned, this involves me too. She's angry with me, remember?"

"She shouldn't be. I don't know why Alya-chan can't realize it. Even when I try to tell her about this, she refuses to listen too. In fact, every time I mention Kuze-kun, she stops listening altogether…"

Maria shook her head in disappointment, both in her sister for this newfound attitude she had and in herself for allowing this to continue.

"...sometimes… sometimes I find myself wishing that our relationship can be as strong as your relationship with Suou-chan."

He blinked in surprise at that unexpected statement. It almost made him want to laugh, even.

"No. Trust me, you don't want that."

"But you two are close and you always look out for each other. Taniyama-chan always brings up how great you both are when you're together, Kuze-kun."

"Of course that girl did…" he sighed to himself.

Masachika never did understand why Taniyama is very critical of him most of the time but possesses a completely different attitude when he's with Yuki.

It's almost as if Taniyama liked seeing them together, but that can't be true.

It's too ridiculous to think about when they're siblings .

"It may look like that, but… we went through some big bumps on the road too. At one point, we were completely distant and out of each other's lives, because of something I did. I… still regret it."

A mental image of himself leaving his old life behind — which included Yuki — popped up in his mind. He never gave it much thought before, but due to his strange relationship with his sister now, it made him look back to that moment with shame and regret.

"Up until recently, I wouldn't really call us close. If I had to describe it, we were as close as we were distant. Always near each other but not as involved with each other like we used to be."

"I… don't really get it…" she muttered in confusion.

"It's a little hard to understand, yeah… but if anything, I wish me and Yuki shared the same kind of bond that you and Alya have. Even though you don't spend that much time with each other, it's clear to everyone else that you two are pretty close."

She smiled sadly. "I'm not sure about that. I had no idea until now that Alya-chan has this side of her all along."

"It's not fair to judge yourself based on that alone. We're stranded on an island, remember? That's gonna do a lot to someone's sanity and it's just unfortunate that Alya fell victim to it. It could have been anyone of us, really. It could have been you, me, or anyone else."

The girl thought about his words deeply. The more she did so, the more it made sense to her.

"Then what do I do? I want to solve this problem as soon as possible, Kuze-kun. Everyone else wants her to go back to being the Alya-chan that they know her as. They're not saying anything right now, but I can tell they're starting to lose their patience with her…"

"Maybe that's the problem," he pointed out. "You want to resolve it as soon as possible, but maybe Alya needs time. I think she already forgave you, but it's still going to take some time before she opens up to everyone else again. Including me."

"You're saying—?"

Masachika had a bad feeling about this plan and was very certain that it would result in dire consequences. If he had his way, he would never suggest this because of the possible implications.

But right now, he couldn't think of anything else to tell this girl, when she's desperately waiting for an answer from him.

"Let's leave her alone for a bit. At least until she's ready to work with the rest of us," he suggested, parroting the same solution that Taniyama told him yesterday.

Masha had a lot of questions in mind for the answer that he gave her, but chose not to say anything in the end. If this is the solution that he's offering to her, then that's it.

"Are you sure that will work, Kuze-kun?" she asked, hoping for some reassurance from him.

"No. In fact, I don't even know if it's the right decision," Masachika admitted. "But we do know that she doesn't want to be bothered for a while. Maybe if we give her what she wants, she'll calm down after a while."

She nodded slowly, understanding his point of view and the possible resolution from this plan.

"I see… maybe that's what I should have been doing from the start. I'm such an idiot…"

"Don't blame yourself for trying, Masha-san. Your intentions were pure, and no one can fault you for that. I can tell you that trying to reach out to Alya is definitely better than leaving her alone."

A beautiful smile made its way to her face, in spite of the tears that still remained in her eyes.

"Thank you, Kuze-kun…" she breathed out. "But… even if we leave Alya-chan alone for a while, everyone else wants to know why she's like this. They're going to want an answer from me later, especially Chisaki-chan and Taniyama-chan…"

"I'll help you explain things to them," he said almost immediately.

"Really…?"

He nodded. "You can count on it. You're not alone, Masha-san. I want to help Alya just like you."

"Kuze-kun, I don't know how I can make it up to you…"

"Never mind that. You'd do the same for me if I was in your position."

"You're right," she chuckled softly before pulling him into another hug, which he anticipated to happen this time. "I'm glad you're here, Kuze-kun. I'm glad…"

Masachika allowed her to do what she wants for the moment, as he looked up at the darkening sky.

"For now, all we can do is speculate and make guesses on why Alya's so different… and hope that the reason isn't so complicated."

MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*

-Lance