Seasons of Chances and Love 2: Perfect Love In Summer

Now I Know

"Miyako, watch out!"

She froze. For two reasons.

One, because of Fuji suddenly yelling "watch out" that made her feel something like dread forming at the back of her mind.

And two, because of Fuji suddenly getting her attention by actually calling out her name. Her first name, at that.

But whether she admitted it or not, it was the second reason that surprised her the most. Since when did she give him permission to call her by her first name? But that wasn't what she has to worry about.

Before she gave too much thought about it, she saw Fuji running towards her. Soon after, she felt strong hands pushed her to the ground. It was obvious Fuji knocked her down to avoid something. But what could possibly be the reason? It was then that she heard something shattering and clattering, as well.

Something was dropped from above... and Fuji-san noticed this? Is this the reason why he knocked me down? And I... I didn't even notice that... she thought before she finally heard a thud, indicating that she landed on the ground. But weird enough, she didn't feel anything that resembled ground at all. She was breathing hard even though she wasn't the one who ran.

She could feel something warm brushed her forehead as she tried to calm down her erratically beating heart. Along with that, she also felt the spot where she was lying. It was warm, as well. And it was moving—just like a person breathing in and out in an almost the same time interval.

That was when her eyes snapped open. She raised her head and pushed herself up only to find herself in a most unexpected situation of all. She gaped at the sight that greeted her, technically freezing her to the spot. How in the world did she find herself in this situation? To find herself on top of Fuji now looking at her with his azure eyes open was something she hadn't exactly imagined yet.

Not even in her novels where she actually based the hero's personality to Fuji.

"Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" Fuji asked after a long silence that practically surrounded them. His voice sounded a little worried.

Or maybe not just a little.

She flushed all over as his voice actually broke the trance which started when she saw his blue eyes. She looked away and further pushed herself up. "I-I'm fine." And she finally distanced herself from him. She knelt on one knee upon moving away.

"Thank goodness." From the way Fuji said it, Miyako could tell that he was indeed relieved to know she was okay. She was touched by the fact that he was actually concerned about her.

And that was when she remembered. She looked around the area, then behind her, only to see a large flower pot broken along with one other—shards of glass, specifically mirror. She frowned at the sight before looking up, making her eyes narrow upon spotting something that looked like a silhouette.

What is that? Is that the person who tried to hurt me? Then she faced Fuji who was now standing up and dusting off his uniform. And to think Fuji-san spotted that person who was about to hurt me... She saw him approach her and offered his hand to her. She eyed him questioningly.

"Whether you push me away or not, I'll still help you. Or at least I want to put it that way," Fuji said as he gestured at his hand.

She knew what he was indicating which made her sigh. This guy surely didn't know the word "give up", did he? "Why can't you be more specific that you just want to have a reason to disturb me for as long as you want?"

"Just why on earth would I do such a thing?" he asked back in an innocent tone. But she knew better.

Or at least, she felt she knew better.

Though she had the urge to roll her eyes, she didn't do it. Instead, she quietly took his hand and he helped her stand up. She almost wanted to take her hand from his hold at the instant her skin touched his. Unnamed sensation—similar to that of a jolt of electricity—rushed through her veins as soon as it happened. But soon after, that sensation was changed with a sudden jolt of pain coming from below. To be more specific, from her foot.

She was forced to let go of his hand. But it seemed Fuji didn't want to. She only noticed that after crouching down once more and let her other hand touch her injured foot.

"You're hurt. Come on, let me take you to the infirmary," Fuji said without even letting her have the chance to disagree.

To her sheer surprise, he scooped her up and carried her bridal style that made her squeal a bit and blush.

"What are you doing?!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" he asked back in a rather amused tone.

One of these days, she really wanted to punch this guy for being too smart. Of all the things she hated the most, it was when this annoying blue-eyed tensai would outsmart her—whether intentional or not.

"Do you really want me to smack my bag to your head before you seriously answer my question? And will you please put me down? I can walk on my own, you know," she pointed out which only earned her an amused laugh from Fuji.

"Forgive me, Your Highness, but that's not possible considering you're currently injured."

"It's not like I'm going to die if I walk on my own despite having an injury," she grumbled as her hand formed a fist. But she froze upon realizing something.

Her eyes traveled to where her hands were actually clinging on to. Her face felt even hotter than how she felt it a while ago when she found herself on top of Fuji. Her hands right now were clinging on to the back of Fuji's neck. How come she didn't know she did such a thing?

Little did she know, Fuji's amused eyes turned soft as he looked at Miyako now blushing furiously upon seeing her realize where her hands had actually traveled to when he carried her. "I just want to make sure you're okay. You still have your club's Ranking Tournaments tomorrow, right? This is one way for you not to pressure your right foot any further."

All Miyako did was to look at Fuji since her mind somehow stopped functioning after she heard that. His voice had hints of concern and worries for her situation.

You have no idea that you're making this hard for me, Fuji-san...

"I need to take you to the infirmary, okay?" Fuji informed before he started walking away from that place.

She sighed heavily that made the tensai look at her. But he didn't stop walking. To his surprise, Miyako was lighter than he thought she was. And carrying her like that was one of those "perfect" moments he could think of whenever he was with this lemon-haired girl.

"Will you please stop?" Her voice was soft but she said if firm.

He did as she asked but not after he eyed her with slight confusion and surprise.

"Just take me home. I don't want to have another visit at the infirmary for the second time of the day," she explained before Fuji could even start asking for the reason for her to order him to stop. "My brother's at home right now. I'll just explain things to him."

"Are you sure? I told you, don't force yourself."

And with that, she faced him. "Then do you still have enough strength in you to carry me all the way to my house? If you're really that insistent of telling me not to force myself, then better suggest something that will make me follow what you want."

But after long moments of unfazed look that they gave to each other, Fuji didn't say anything. Instead, he resumed his walking with Miyako still on his arms. This had made her sigh. It looked like he was persistent about not forcing herself. Though to her confusion, they stopped on the steps at the entrance of the main building. He put her down and let her sit on it.

"Will it be okay for you if we stay here for a bit? I need to rest my arms so that I could carry you all the way to your house," he casually said which caused her eyes to open wide.

Was he really serious? Did he really take what she said seriously? He wasn't out of his mind, was he?

"By the way, you live in the 5th district, right?"

She nodded since she had no idea what to say yet at that time.

"Is it at an apartment building?"

"No. Our house is actually a chateau with an English touch to its structure. My mother specifically requested to have it built that way when my older brother was only 5 years old."

"I didn't know about that." It was the truth, but Miyako appeared not to believe in it. He just let it be, though. "It seems to me your mother liked living in a chateau as a house, with specifics that it has to be a house with an English touch at that, though I guess I could imagine how it actually looked like."

"My mother is British, that's why," she said without hesitation as she continued looking at the setting sun. It was a beautiful sight—which, of course, gave her that melancholic feeling once again. A feeling that she knew would about to make her cry.

She shut her eyes tight as to not allow her tears to fall. She wasn't going to cry in front of Fuji. Even though it would definitely take a lot of will power to do so, she should not cry in front of him at all. She couldn't afford to appear weak to this guy.

But she was clueless to the fact that Fuji had already seen that part of her while they were in the infirmary. Only this time, he chose not to mention anything about it to her.

"You don't look like half-Japanese, though. Your features are dominantly Asian, if you ask me," he commented with a smile. But then he realized that Miyako wasn't actually paying attention to him.

Her gaze was still fixated to the setting sun. Her eyes were blank as she continued to look at it. But somehow, he felt like he knew better.

"Ne, Fuji-san..." Miyako started, almost in a whisper. Fuji's attention to her remained unfazed. "Have you ever made one big mistake in your life that you truly wish you could go back in time in order to fix it? Have you ever made that kind of mistake enough to haunt you for a long time and let you live in guilt and regret?"

Those questions had indeed caught Fuji's full attention. Her voice was cracking that he had never heard from her before. Unmistakable pain and regret were heard from it, as well. This was the first time something like this had happened. Her eyes eyed the world blankly, coldly. But at that point, it was her voice that betrayed her, though he was aware that Miyako hadn't realized it yet.

Her tough and reserved exterior was just a front. If one didn't know her quite well, it would lead to an assumption that it wasn't a front at all but a part of her personality. No one would be able to tell that inside, she was truly fragile. Little by little, Fuji could finally tell that she was indeed crumbling down. A painful memory—caused by what he could tell as an irreversible mistake—had turned her like this.

The sunset, the song—they were just her outlet to freely show who she really was inside. And only a few could see it.

One of those few individuals was Fuji. But weird enough, he wasn't proud of that fact. Despite being a tensai, Miyako's vulnerability was something he had no idea on how to deal with it. She was still a mystery to him.

And that was when an idea struck him.

There might be a way. If he asked that person, maybe he could think of a way to deal with his predicament concerning Miyako. He just needed to convince that person to tell him the truth.

A triumphant smile carved his lips as soon as he thought of that.

"Shall we go?" he offered as he put his tennis bag to the ground and crouched down, his back facing Miyako. He gestured to his back before his eyes landed on her. "We still have a long way to go. Besides, I need to take you home as soon as possible get into your wound."

Of course, what he said had definitely come as a surprise to Miyako. It took her a few moments before she finally recovered her wits enough to react to that.

"Are you insane?! You're really going to carry me on your back all the way to my house?"

Fuji nodded with that ever-present smile on his face. She had the urge to punch this guy right there and then.

"It's not that bad of an idea. Besides, you said it yourself. I have to make sure you don't force yourself too much," he reasoned casually.

At that point, she just allowed herself to sigh out of exasperation. And to think he really took what she said seriously... But this was Fuji Syuusuke, Seigaku's tensai. There must be something running in his mind for him to take it seriously. And why would this guy ever give her this much attention, anyway?

Obviously, he had a plan. But what could it be?

"Do you really want to sit here and watch the sunset? Or do you want that wound of yours to get cleaned by your brother?"

She just shot a glare at him. He didn't care about it, though, as he continued to smile. He wasn't showing any outward signs of being bothered by it at all.

"Are you sure you're still going to carry me on your back when you're about to leave your tennis bag if you do so?" she asked, still with that glare but in a way, it was starting to turn into a soft gaze.

Fuji noticed that, of course. He would tell she had been a bit hesitant to know if he was really serious about his offer. And really serious he was.

"Don't worry about it. Tezuka will surely know what to do with it. Besides, he knew I'll be coming after you," he said casually and confidently. If he were to recall about Tezuka's question earlier, it wouldn't take even a full minute for his stoic friend to guess what happened. "If you're still worried about your weight, you don't have to worry about anything. To be honest, you're surprisingly light. I can carry you all the way to your house."

Left with no choice and with her foot still hurting, she complied to what Fuji wanted. She couldn't afford to have her parents worry when they would see her wound. It would be fine to worry her brother since he was practically used to it. She just wasn't sure how Mamoru would react once he saw her with a guy.

And carry her was what Fuji did.

"What about my tennis bag?"

Fuji turned around to face her. "You can leave it along with my tennis bag. Tezuka and probably Miyuzaki-san will know what to do next."

-x-x-

And it turned out, Fuji was right.

Tezuka found the tensai's tennis bag lying on the staircase of the building's entrance along with Miyako's. It seemed that Fuji's mail to his phone wasn't a fluke. Judging from the broken flower pot and shards of glass near the building that he spotted earlier and a few blood pools (about 2-3 inches in diameter) near it, something happened after Fuji left the rest of them outside the girls' locker room.

He had the urge to laugh at this out of amusement and slight disbelief for his tensai friend's ability to sense danger. But he showed no outward signs of it. Before he could approach the entrance to take the two tennis bags, Kana came towards them panting.

"How did it go?" he inquired almost immediately.

It took Kana a few seconds for her to even out her breath. Tezuka waited patiently and then he saw her took a deep breath.

"You're right. Someone did drop the mirror and the flower pot from the third floor window near the stairs—on purpose. No signs of being hesitant or at least distracted to do the deed at all. It was done on the spot," kana stated seriously which caused the others to be surprised.

"You went inside the building?"

"Through the back entrance, yes. After listening to the conversation between Kazu-chan and Tezuka-san, including the state of the broken pot and shattered mirror, I went to the building as fast as I could. The only guess I had is that either Miya-chan or Fuji-san is injured right now."

Oishi then faced Tezuka who was still stoic. As if his expression was expected to change. "Tezuka, why didn't you tell us?"

"Fuji doesn't want any of us to be involved," were Tezuka's answer as he proceeded to take Fuji's tennis bag. As he did so, however, he remembered the mail that the tensai had sent to his cellphone.

Tezuka, can you take me tennis bag home? I need to make sure Yumemiya-san is alright. Someone's trying to hurt her. I have to assure her safe arrival to her house. It might take a while and I have something else to lift. I can't bring both my bag and this "something else" at the same time. I owe you one. Thanks.

His silence as he read the message, however, only caused Kazumi to feel worried for him. His conversation with his girlfriend somehow caught Kazumi's attention, followed by spotting broken flower pot and shards of glass on the ground to the side of the building. That and the blood pool—which he had no idea who could it possibly belong to—made him fully understand Fuji's message.

Tezuka took Fuji's tennis bag and carried it. While Kana took Miyako's tennis bag and offered to take it to the Yumemiya estate.

"Miyuzaki-san."

Kana faced Tezuka with a casual expression. "Is there a problem?"

"Yudan sezu ni ikou. (Don't let your guard down.)"

It was his usual catchphrase. But this time, Kana could tell it had a double meaning to it. She smiled a reassuring smile to him before she went ahead of the others.

"Kazu-chan, please buy my favorite grip tape. I'll pay the expenses tomorrow," Kana reminded without looking back. But her grip on Miyako's tennis bag tightened that Eiji somehow managed to see.

It confused the red head acrobat, though. Not to mention, it scared him a bit, as well. "Nya! Scary... Miyuzaki-chan looked like she was about to kill someone."

"I don't know about this but something tells me Kana-chan had an idea on who could have possibly dropped that flower pot and the mirror from the building," Kazumi murmured that Tezuka heard.

He said nothing. But he, too, felt the same way. Kana knew something that they don't.

The question was: What could it be? What in the world had Fuji and Miyako gotten themselves into?

-x-x-

The answer to Tezuka's question was something that Fuji wanted to acquire from someone who probably knew Miyako more than anyone. That was what the tensai thought as he continued to carry Miyako on his back. As they continued to walk down the route to the Yumemiya residence, it was weird that he didn't feel tired from carrying Miyako.

And from what it appeared, Miyako somehow enjoyed the company no matter how weird the set-up might have been. Or at least, that was what Fuji thought. Miyako was the one who kept him entertained. All the while, he thought that she somewhat hated his guts...

Okay, he thought she hated him. Period.

"I never thought you're the talkative type," he commented all of a sudden.

Miyako stopped talking almost abruptly after that which almost made him regret he even made such a comment. Well, almost was definitely the right word.

"I just don't want to think about what happened back there," she said after a few moments of silence. "My brother's a really good listener so I could really tell him everything that I have in mind. My happiness, sadness, guilt, fears, pain... regret... future plans..."

"You made it seem like Miyuzaki-san and the others aren't such good listeners."

She shook her head gently. "I couldn't bother them with it. Most of all, I don't want to worry them. They already have their own sets of worries and problems to deal with. I don't want to add myself to the piles of it." After that, she chuckled. But Fuji frowned upon sensing the bitterness and sadness in it.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. To be honest, I was just surprised... that I'm telling all of this to you."

"And you don't like that?" He had no idea where in the world did he get the guts to ask that. Or maybe it just came out of his mouth before he could even stop himself from doing so.

But the answer he wanted to hear didn't come. At the same time, he felt his shoulder starting to get wet. He stopped walking. He then turned to face her at least just for a bit. And there it was again. The twisting pain as if his heart was grabbed tightly, stretched it, and tied it to a complicated knot.

"Miyako..." he could only murmur as he watched her did it again.

Though this time, it was different. She was awake.

That's right... She was crying again. He knew it because her shoulders were shaking and she kept on wiping her tears that would further cause his uniform to get wet if they fell.

"I'm sorry... I really don't want you to know this part of me..." she said in between tears with her looking down. "But I guess I can't help it." The only person that had ever made me show my weakness, my weak self, was you, Fuji-san. Besides him, you're the one stranger who could make me show it like this, she added in her thoughts but no desire was there in her to say it out loud.

It was enough that she had bothered to save him from that impending danger where he could've just her alone. She couldn't afford to let him get involved with her much longer. She didn't want him to end up the same way like someone from her past.

Fuji smiled as he resumed his walk along with the girl he was carrying. "Well, at least I know you don't really hate me..."

Miyako heard that, of course. Hate him? Why would she even hate him? Yes, she was avoiding him. But then it appeared that her actions from which she thought was just to avoid him turned out to have a different meaning to the blue-eyed tensai.

Hating you was probably the most impossible thing for me to do now... Besides, how could I even hate someone whom I've loved from the start even though you don't know it, even though I tried my hardest not to in order to save you while I can still do so?

If only she could say it to him face to face...

-x-x-

Reaching the Yumemiya residence turned out to be a bit of a hard task for Fuji with the slopes of the road going there and all. But he didn't have those mountain training with the Seigaku regulars before for nothing. Besides, the girl he was carrying gave him all the strength he needed, even though he insisted on carrying her despite her protest.

While traversing the slope going to the residence, he asked her to do one thing to keep his thought away from thinking about the long and hard route to the residence.

He asked her to sing.

Much to his joy, she complied. Miyako even asked him what song he wanted her to sing. Of course, it had to be something she was familiar with. For a short while, he carefully thought about it. He was about to ask her to sing "Kimi Ni Todoke (Reaching You/To Reach You)" by May's, which was the song he first heard her sang before, but decided not to.

Instead, he answered, "A song that you deem as a reflection of your emotions. A song which would reflect something from your past that made you who you are today. A special song which would explain your sadness."

He expected a surprised—or maybe even shocked—reaction from Miyako upon saying that. But it didn't come at all. For a few moments, she remained impassive. As each moments passed by, he was starting to see it.

The unexplainable sadness...

The pain and guilt which contorted that angelic feature of hers...

The tears that sparkled on the brim of her silver eyes, bound to fall any second...

At that point, he thought she wouldn't heed his request. He could think of other songs, of course. But then he didn't even know what came over him to say that. He was about to say it out loud when—

I see you beside me

It's only a dream

Pictures of what used to be

The laughter, the sorrow

Pictures in time

Fade into memory

The melancholy hidden in her voice resonated around them as he continued to listen to her singing while he continued to walk. Perhaps she didn't mind having him listen to that hidden emotion at all. For a long time, she had never expressed herself to anyone freely such as this moment she had with Fuji. With him listening to that song, it was more than enough for her.

She knew at that point that he was intrigued with her. But she decided to just let him be. He would never find a thing about her, anyway. She thought she could remain as an enigma—one that he'd never be able to solve no matter how hard he tried.

Apparently, she was wrong.

In fact, she knew she was wrong from the start.

How could I ever let you go?

Is it too late to let you know?

I tried to run from your side

But each place I hide

It only reminds me of you

When I turn out all the lights

Even the nights

It only reminds me of you

It looked like what he had anticipated to happen actually... happened. Despite the twisting feeling inside his chest at the glimpse of it, as he felt it while listening to her singing, he was glad. He could see through her again...

...just like the first time he managed to do so.

Any song could really destroy the barrier that she surrounded around herself, huh? It was the thought that made him feel it was even more hopeless to reach her. She didn't have to sing all the time for him to get to know her more. He has to think of another way to deal with that barrier of hers.

I needed my freedom

That's what I thought

But I was a fool to believe

The heart lies while you cry

Rivers of tears

But I was too blind to see

Everything we've been through before

Now it means so much more

Weird for Fuji, he couldn't help but to smile the best smile he could muster. But if Tezuka could see him now, his stoic friend could easily tell that it was a fake one. That smile he mustered was tinged with bitterness and pity for what he thought was Miyako's life before that made her cold and impassive—at least to him—like this.

From the song alone, he could tell. Miyako was living in pain for who knows how long. She lost someone—probably a lover (which made him feel a pang in his chest at this point)—and until now, memories of it reminded her a lot. Those memories were enough to cause her to feel so many emotions. That loss was probably too much for her that it made her feel guilty over it after it all happened.

Now here was the question.

Who could be that person that she had lost?

How did she lose that person?

How long had it been since it happened?

What could have been the relationship that Miyako had with that person?

I've tried to run from your side

But each place I hide

It only reminds me of you

When I turn out all the lights

Even the nights

It only reminds me of you

He sighed at all that.

How come he had so many questions about this mysterious person that Miyako was referring to in the song? Why did he even have such desire to discover the answers to those questions? He wanted to know them so much as if his life depended on it.

Or maybe your heart was actually the one that depends on whatever answers you seek for... a part of his mind corrected that made him chuckle inwardly. It could be a plausible reason.

Probably even the perfect reason of all to answer those questions.

So come back to me

I'm down on my knees

Oh, can't you see?

How could I ever let you go?

Is it too late to let you know?

I've tried to run from your side

But each place I hide

It only reminds me of you

When I turn out all the lights

Even the nights

It only reminds me of you

His heart... It was actually his heart that desired to know the reason for those sad eyes, reserved personality and melancholic voice. He wanted to know more about her. Not just through the songs but also through the help of something else. But would he be able to find a way?

Miyako was doing her best to avoid him—which he realized that it actually failed in the end. Now that he knew someone wanted to hurt her badly, he had to be with her most of the time.

But that was where the problem lies. Their schedules—in class, in club activities and the like—didn't actually meet. And if ever it did, she was the one who stayed away from him. How long would he let her do that?

It only reminds me of you

Apparently, unbeknownst to him, not long enough.

-x-x-

"We're here"

Fuji looked up to see where they were at the moment. The nameplate on the front gate was indeed engraved as Yumemiya in kanji. But somehow, he wanted to disagree with Miyako when she said earlier that her house was an English house similar to that of a country house—or as she stated it, a chateau with a touch of something similar to those structures of the English country houses. The Yumemiya state was literally... a estate. A large mansion. Probably triple or quadruple the area to that of Atobe's.

Weird... He never knew her to be this rich.

"Don't be too surprised," she said that snapped him out of his musings. "My mother used to do expansions to this house every year. She just stopped doing so about two years ago when she finally realized that this house could accommodate even her grandchildren in the future. Not unless I decided to become a nun if I felt like it."

He couldn't help chuckling at her words. This was the side of Miyako that he had never seen before. This was another side of her that even the songs could not unravel that easily.

"We better get in. Can you please step closer to the intercom of the gate so that I can press the buzzer and notify our presence? The guards will open the gate using the button in the guardhouse."

He did what she had asked. She pressed the buzzer and afterwards, the intercom sounded.

"Who's there?"

Fuji decided to put Miyako down for a while in order for her to talk to the guard who responded in the intercom. "It's me, Miyako. I brought a friend along. Is Onii-chan there?"

"Yes. Mamoru-bocchama arrived about thirty minutes ago, Miyako-ojousama. I'll open the door immediately."

And about five seconds later, the large gate leading to the state opened automatically. Though Fuji really wanted to admire the entire state, he couldn't do so at the moment. He had to worry about Miyako who was obviously enduring the pain from her wound. They made a stop to a park near Seishun Gakuen earlier and took it as an opportunity to at least stop the bleeding of the wound using his handkerchief. Miyako didn't say anything about it the whole time. She just let him do it.

For a while, during the time he was traversing the route going to the estate, he thought that the bleeding had indeed stopped despite how deep it appeared. But then he realized he was wrong when he noticed the discoloration on the handkerchief that he wrapped on Miyako's wound. It was getting larger and larger. He noticed it when he put her down while they were at the front gate.

He couldn't help feeling worried, of course. But he decided not to show it to her. They already reached the estate, so that means she would be fine.

It didn't take him long to finally reached the entrance. But before he could even knock at the door, the door opened almost immediately. It made him a bit surprised, he had to admit that. The opened door soon revealed a princely-looking man—whom Fuji could tell was a few years older than him—with golden hair and silver eyes. The worry on that man's face was evident, as well as the surprise he felt as soon as he saw the tensai.

"Wow, Mi-chan! I never thought you'd really bring a boyfriend at this time of the year," the man said with a smirk.

Miyako blushed at the remark despite the slight fury she felt. In a way, Fuji could actually tell that she was fuming in anger.

"Onii-chan, will you please quit with the joke already and let Fuji-san enter the house so he could put me down? He's been carrying me from school all the way here and he's surely tired now."

Miyako's brother remained impassive even after she said that. But he further opened the door and ushered them to enter. The man led them to a wide living room with grand chandeliers, decorations and all in one of the rooms there. But the tensai paid no mind about the grandness of the house. Fuji soon put Miyako down on a single-seater sofa.

"Your name's Fuji, isn't it?" Miyako's brother asked as soon as Fuji put the girl down. The tensai nodded. "First name or last name?"

"Last name."

"I see..." The man approached him and extended his one hand in front of the tensai. "Nice to meet you. I'm Yumemiya Mamoru, Mi-chan's older brother. Ah, scratch that. I'm actually her only sibling."

Fuji took Mamoru's hand and they shook hands. "Fuji Syuusuke, Miya—err, I mean—Yumemiya-san's schoolmate."

That mistake didn't go unnoticed to the golden-haired man, t hough.

"By the way, what made you bring my sister all the way here? Is it true that you only carried her on your back from the school all the way to our estate?"

A nod was his only answer to that and gave a knowing glance to Miyako's wounded left foot. "Someone tried to hurt her a while back. I only saw the silhouette of the culprit but I can tell the estimated height and body built of the person who did this to her."

"And after that, you decided to carry her on your back?" Mamoru faced Miyako after that. "Mi-chan, since when did you become a slave driver?"

Miyako pouted and threw a cushion straight to Mamoru's face. "I am not!" Mamoru caught it and playfully stuck his tongue out before laughing. "And besides, I never asked him to carry me all the way here. He's just so persistent that it gets on my nerves."

"Hmm... That's not how it looks to me," Mamoru teased. Then he faced Fuji once more. "But whatever it is that you used to convince my sister to have it your way, I guess I have to thank you for that."

Though before the tensai could even say anything about that, Mamoru called out one of the maids and asked to bring the medicine kit along with a small towel and warm water. Despite Miyako's protest, Fuji decided to help Mamoru in cleaning disinfecting the wound. And he was right all along. Her wound was indeed deep. No wonder it bled out so much.

After that, Mamoru ordered his sister to rest for a while just until she was called out for dinner. Knowing Mamoru wouldn't take no for an answer and that she was tired from all the commotion all the same, Miyako obliged to do it. But before she left the living room, she faced Fuji and smiled gently and gratefully. Of course, it caught Fuji off-guard but just for a short while.

"Is there something wrong?" was his question to the lemon-haired girl.

She just shook her head gently. "Nothing. It's just that... I haven't properly thanked you yet. So... thank you." And then she left, just like that.

But she didn't know at all that she had left Fuji with her brother quite dumbfounded. Even Mamoru was dumbstruck with his sister's words but managed to recover faster than Fuji.

"Well, that was the first," Mamoru commented with a smile, though it was a sad one that the blue-eyed tensai noticed after recovering.

"What do you mean by that?"

"That was the first time after more than a year... that she smiled like that, especially to someone other than to me and her friends."

Of course, those words were puzzling enough despite being said in an understandable language for Fuji to frown at it. He knew there was more to his words.

"Would you like to stay here for dinner? It's just to thank you for what you did to my sister earlier," Mamoru offered afterwards.

"If it wouldn't cause any disturbance to your family time, then I'd be honored. It's not every day that I got to be invited by someone for dinner such as you, Yumemiya-san," he said politely and gladly. But that gladness didn't last long.

"But before that, and while we wait for it to be prepared, why don't you tell me about what happened earlier? How exactly did she get hurt like that?"

It didn't even take long for Fuji to decide whether or not he would tell the truth to Mamoru. After all, hadn't Miyako mentioned it before? Mamoru was the only person who really listened to all her rants and frustrations. There were a few things or so that only Mamoru knew about Miyako. Her parents didn't know those few things. And the danger that she went through earlier was something that her brother should know.

Fuji told the truth. Everything from what he had spotted just before the flower pot and the mirror fell from the third floor until the point where he almost saw the culprit's face even from his lying position below the building. He didn't dare leave out any details about what he had observed. And from there, he knew that Mamoru already figured out who the culprit was. He made that assumption upon seeing the man's facial expression.

"Did Mi-chan mention anything to you? Anything at all... that made her sad like this?" Mamoru asked seriously after a few moments of contemplation.

The tensai didn't say anything for a while. He gave the question a careful thought. He tried his best to remember his encounter with Miyako—no matter how few they had all occurred—which might provide an answer that he was looking for. But only one or two possibilities came out. He recalled the conversation he and Miyako had together.

"She asked me a question a while back... while we were at the school. She was watching the sunset back then. She asked me if I have ever made one big mistake that could make me wish to go back in time to fix it. From what I could tell, she wanted to know if that mistake made me feel guilty and regretful as time goes by," Fuji answered.

"That means you're special—at least to Mi-chan," Mamoru said seriously and meaningfully.

"I-I don't understand." And Fuji wasn't lying.

Mamoru then faced him. The tensed air started hovering around them as he waited for the golden-haired man to answer. Soon after, they sat on the sofa. But not after Mamoru took out something from one of the drawers of a mahogany cabinet (which was about half the height of Mamoru) placed on one corner of that room. He showed it to Fuji—which turned out to be a picture frame.

But what he had seen in that frame was something that made him fee like a knot in his heart was pulled and tightened. He wanted to say that it was a dream... a nightmare, perhaps. Then one morning, he would just wake up and everything would return to normal. However, the weird feeling he could say was akin to jealousy never left him at all. Not only that, the pain and hopelessness began to intensify—

—especially when he heard Mamoru said something that made him feel as if he had lost big time.

"That person was the reason for all the guilt and regret that my sister had felt all this time..."