Seasons of Chances and Love 2: Perfect Love In Summer

Worth The Sacrifice

"You sure know how to make a grand entrance, Fuji Syuusuke," Ryou taunted with a smrik to the blue-eyed tensai. "...especially in Miyako's life..."

Fuji twitched inwardly as he heard the way this guy mentioned Miyako's name. It was obssessively possessive (if ever such phrase existed) which he really didn't like hearing from any guy at all.

"Well, not as grand as you did more than a year ago..." Then his eyes opened, with piercing azure eyes hardening as each seconds passed by. "...and also not as sloppy as you did more than a month ago, no matter the reasons for doing so."

Anger wasn't something that Fuji usually feel towards a stranger, not unless that particular did almost everything (and he meant "everything") to cause pain and suffering to the ones important to him. It was that trait which made him a pretty dangerous person, especially in tennis courts. But right now, he was not in tennis courts. He was outside the realm of that sport.

He already knew the person who was in front of him, with all the information provided to him courtesy of Mamoru a month ago and Kana just a while ago before he decided to wait for Miyako and give her his birthday gift. Not once did he try to leave Miyako's side after learning the truth because he feard for his beloved's life.

Beloved... How beautiful it sounded to his ears. Just like Miyako's voice.

Ryou was looking a bit surprised, as if he was doing his best to hide it from Fuji. Seconds later, he regained his composure. "Of course, it was a failure. It seems to me you already know about that. Then I guess you already know what will happen to you if you still insist on getting closer to Miyako."

Fuji's eyes—despite being closed again—hardened at the threat of the man. He wasn't scared or anything similar. After all, he couldn't let himself feel something like that in front of this person. This person had caused Miyako a lot of pain that she once though she'd never be able to escape at all. It took a long time before she was finally freed.

"What do you think you'll achieve by doing this? Do you really think you'll have Miyako's heart if you keep getting rid of the people—most especially the guys—who get close to her? She'll resent you for it, she'll hate you to the extent of her cursing that you shoouldn't have been alive to cause her so much sadness at all. With what you're continuing to do now, I highly doubt you'll be able to talk to Miyako, let alone face her confidently. But it seems you've already prepared yourself for the outcome," Fuji said confidently but with a hint of coldness in his voice that rarely show itself to others, even to some of his enemies.

And as he had expected, his words appeared to have infuriated Ryou even more than how he was a while back when the man showed himself to Fuji. Of course, that infuration didn't bring him any satisfaction since instantly faded the moment he saw Ryou smirk—and it was done evily. Pure evil. To be honest, he didn't like the dread forming at the back of his mind as soon as he saw that.

But before he could even form a firm conclusion, Ryou let it out and pointed it at Fuji. It was a pistol. And from what he remembered in Miyako and Mamoru's stories, it was the same gun that the man used to kill Kaito that night. This can't be right... He's not going to end up dead right then and there, right?

No way! There's no way he'd allow that to happen. He made a promise—albeit done so silently—upon admitting to himself that he was in love with Miyako. If he died right there, he'd never be able to forgive himself at all.

"Looks like I have to do it again, huh?" Ryou taunted once more with that evil smirk still plastered on his face. Fuji could only clench his fist and grit his teeth at the sight—a sight he loathed to many extent. Now he understood fully the extent of Mamoru's hatred to this crazy man obssessed to Miyako. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you'll only feel the pain for a short time. That way, you'll not scream in pain at all. Just bear with it for a while, okay? I'll make sure you'll meet my ever-wonderful-to-everyone brother of mine to wherever you are heading after I do that. And if you do, will you deliver my message to Kaito?" Ryou's smirk went wider at that. "Tell him that I'll take good care of his ex-fiancee and I'll make sure she won't love anyone else but me."

No words came out of Fuji's mouth. He stood firm to his ground even though he wanted to punch the living hell out of that jerk relentlessly. How dare him say something like that possessively, without even a care about Miyako's feelings at all. But the tensai immediately realized that Ryou never cared. And because of that, Miyako suffered.

But he'll make sure never to make a repeat of that ever again. Ryou was INSANELY serious about ending Fuji's life on the spot if he stood firm to his resolve of not letting Miyako go just to give her to this guy. She'd rather take her own life than live in suffering with this crazy bastard from hell. Of course, it would be her last resort if the worst thing did happen. He was sure of that, at the very least.

And with that, he didn't move from his spot. Not one inch. He'd show this guy that he'd never let Miyako go at all cost. But he wished he'd survive this ordeal before he regret not moving because he wanted to prove to this Ryou guy that he'd do whatever it takes to protect the one he loved the most.

"Better say your prayers, Fuji Syuusuke."

But the tensai only answered that first with a smirk. "No goodbyes? Just prayers? Then I guess you wouldn't end up eradicating me to the face of the earth with your trusty weapon, after all." Well, somehow, he was confident to say that.

His words only fueled Ryou's infuration which caused no surprise that the latter fired the gun without a careful thought. Infuration blinded him and made Ryou fire the gun two times. But that wasn't what surprised the hell out of the two males after the sound of the gunshots was smothered by total silence surrounding them.

None of them dared to move because of a dreadful sight. It was when someone dropped to the ground that Fuji was snapped out of his shocked trance. In one stride, he was already by that person's side, cradling her seemingly lifeless body to his arms.

Yes... her...

A girl who somehow happened to be just near the area. And what made his heart stop beating at least that moment was the dreadful fact that it was someone he knew. His hand was quivering as he removed locks of lemon-colored hair away from her pale face. She was still breathing, but...

Her breathing was ragged, even though it was faint. Feeling a warm palm caressing her somewhat cold face, Miyako opened her eyes slowly. It was an attempt she succeeded, despite feeling too weak. With her eyes half-opened, she looked around as she tried to find Fuji. She wanted to make sure he was safe. She wanted to make sure that her action was worth whatever happens.

A pair of worried—and ever-piercing—blue eyes clashed with her hazy and almost blank silver ones. Despite the pain, she smiled, feeling all too happy. He was alright; his arms cradling her body was enough poof. She knew at that moment that it was worth it.

What she did was worth it.

"Miyako..." Fuji called out, trying to collect his scattered thoughts. "Why...? Why did you do that?"

The smile on herface didn't vanish. It was still there, which made it all too hard for Fuji to bear and accept the reality.

"T-thank... g-goodness..." she started in a whisper. '"Thank God... I wasn't late this time... I saved you... And it was worth it..." Her tears fell the moment her breathing started to become uneven. "I'm glad... I was able to save you... that I wasn't late... I guess we're even now, huh? You saved me before and you did more... Thanks to t-that, I-I came t-to love... y-you... N-now I... I-I saved you... I just wished I... I... I could've done more..."

"Miyako, don't say things like that!" he blurted out in frantic that he couldn't hide now. She was getting colder on his arms and it doesn't really look so good. "You'll be fine, okay? You can hold on. Please... just hold on... Don't you even dare try to leave me, especially now!"

His words only caused her tears to fall even more; her body shaking because of it. Nothing like this had ever happened when it was her and Kaito. She was never given a chance to say to Kaito the words that Fuji had spoken just now. It all happened too fast, that's why she regretted it over and over.

Her eyelids become heavier, her pulse going fainter by the second, her breathing was slow. "I'm... an i-i***t, right? For me... t-to do something... like this..." She took a deep breath even though it was really hard for her to do so. "B-but it's... it's okay... A-at least... y-you're alright... a-and it's... it's for... the best... Syuu..." She paused for a short while. "...Syuusuke..."

And everything around Fuji seemed to have gone still. It felt like that the moment Miyako closed her eyes...

...completely...

-x-x-

"This can't be... Not again... No way I'm doing it all over again..." Ryou kept mumbling in total disbelief as his hold to his gun started quivering. But little by little, it was starting to get tight.

His eyes landed on the two people on the ground.

One was sitting on it while the other was cradled, lifeless. Fuji was staring at the unconscious Miyako in utter shock before his eyes opened, allowing tears to fall from them incessantly. Before the tensai could even think of what he was doing, he embraced Miyako's body tight.

"Don't do this to me, Miyako! Please, don't do this! I'm begging you..." was all he could say to her as his arms tightened around the unconscious lemon-haired girl. That has got to be a dream! This wasn't supposed to happen! He wanted to wake up at that moment so that he'd seen Miyako again—alive and well. "I should've been more careful. I'm sorry I let you go through this again. I'm so sorry, Miyako... I'm so sorry..."

He kept uttering those words over and over—hoping that his apology for being so careless would her back to him. And because of that, the events that had happened next didn't register all too well in his mind.

For the first time, his mind refused to think of anything else other than making sure that Miyako would come back. That's all he ever wanted right now.

Around him, a few exchange of gunshots pierced the silnce of that particular night. Deep inside Fuji's heart, he wished that those gunshots would end along with the fear of losing someone he truly loved. He wished for those gunshots to end Miyako's suffering and loneliness and though weird as it might have sounded, he wanted it to forge a new path.

A path that he truly wished for him and Miyako to walk peacefully...

...hand in hand...

...together...

-x-x-

The white ceiling of the room had what greeted Miyako's sight as soon as she opened her eyes. The room was bright, giving her the assumption that it was already morning. The sun's warmth wasn't that painful to the skin, that was why she thought that it was probably past 7 in the morning. She closed her eyes and tried to move her body. But the minute movement she did had caused a surge of pain to course throughout her body, forcing her to shut her eyes tight. She couldn't help seething through her teeth as she felt the pain.

Of course, along with it was the memory of what had happened for her to feel that kind of pain. It all made sense to her now. Letting the pain subside, she just closed her eyes for a few minutes as she slowly breathed in and out. It wasn't easy, but she managed to do it. When she opened her eyes again, her vision started becoming clearer by the second. She looked around the room, but no one else was there with her.

For some weird reason, realizing that she was alone in that room made her feel... empty inside. And she wouldn't lie that she wanted to see a certain someone at that moment. But that would be a selfish thought, right? That person still has a life to live, after all. Besides, his life doesn't actually revolve around her alone. It's not right to ask him to stay beside her all the time. Perhaps it would be better if she just—

Her thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door to her room, and upon turning her head to look at the door, a small smile crept on her face as an indescribable warmth filled her heart. Even though it was just a small smile, she knew that person would tell how happy she was to see him in that room. Now she won't feel empty anymore than how she was a while back.

As soon as Fuji opened the door, he caught a glimpse of a girl's head on that white hospital bed turning towards his direction. He caught a glimpse of her small smile—one that showed relief and happiness. The emotions lying in that smile were the ones he was also feeling the moment he saw Miyako finally awakened from her slumber. And to think it took about four long days of agonizing and torturing wait before it happened...

The moment he saw her awake, he strode towards the bed and pressed his lips against her still cold ones in a manner that virtually spoke everything he wanted to tell Miyako at that moment. Despite feeling weak, Miyako tried her best to return the kiss in equal passion. Hard as it looked like, they admitted one thing to themselves. That kind of kiss could be a good way to communicate with each other.

But it wasn't like they had to do it all the time just to convey message that the other doesn't need to know, right?

The kiss ended after a few more moments, especially when the need to breathe became overwhelming. As it was done, Fuji looked at Miyako who was blushing but her eyes showed a lot.

One of them was her worries for him and that she obviously missed him. And it wasn't a surprise for her to feel her tears streaking down from her eyes.

"I thought I'll be over for good..." she murmured as she allowed her tears to fall. Those tears could mean a lot and Fuji could interpret it in so many ways. But he could tell—fear was among those different interpretations. The fear from what happened to Kaito more than a year ago got to her.

He caressed her face and kissed the tears with so much gentleness and security that Miyako could only feel from Fuji. It was one touch that told her—her nightmare was over. In fact, at that moment the bullets hit her, she thought she would never be able to feel his touch ever again. But from the looks of it, fate had other plans for her.

"You don't have to be scared anymore, Miyako. It's over. I'm not going to let something like that happen to you again. You don't have to go through that kind of torture ever again," Fuji assured her as he continued wiping her tears as he caressed her hair. "Thanks to your brother's help, it's already possible."

Miyako frowned. "Onii-chan? What did my brother do?"

"He and your cousin Julie-san—they're the ones who took down Ryou after that bastard shot you. Without my knowledge, Tezuka and Miyuzaki-san also conducted their own investigation about what happened. They just confirmed Julie-san's investigations about the case where Ryou dropped that mirror and flower pot from the school building months ago."

"I know Julie conducted an investigation if it's Onii-chan who asked her to do it. But to think even Tezuka-san and Kana ... What did they find out regarding Ryou?"

Fuji sighed and straightened up for a few seconds. Then he sat on the bed and held Miyako's hand before he spoke. But never did it come to her that he truth she would hear from the blue-eyed tensai was going to surprise her in so many extents. She didn't know such reasons existed behind the death of her ex-fiance.

Summarizing both Julie's investigations and that of Tezuka and Kana's discovery, Ryou was the legitimate child of the Yoshimi family. Kaito originally wasn't until the couple adopted him when he was only 3 years old. But the fact that Ryou had been damaging the family's reputation for many years because of his bad habits made him lose his right over his inheritance until decides that he changed his ways. This had been the start of Ryou's jealousy and hate towards his adpoted brother. Kaito did his best not to disappoint the family that adopted him, that's why he excelled in almost all of the things he did. While Ryou rebelled and continued to disappoint his family. It was her engagement to Kaito that made Ryou snap and lose it all. Just like what Ryou thought, his only way to get even to Kaito was through her. But everything just went worse than they could ever think of when Ryou killed Kaito which almost cost her life (incuding her sanity). Ryou was stripped off of his right to use the Yoshimi name and fortune when he was put to jail. The moment he killed Kaito, the family decided that Yoshimi Ryou was already dead.

Ryou felt his mission was far from over since Miyako wasn't dead yet. And so a diablolical plan was created in order to eradicate her. But it would only be complete if he started it off by destroying first those that she loved, thus leading him to know her connection to Fuji. He couldn't destroy Mamoru or Miyako's friends for many reasons so Ryou started it off with Fuji as soon as he escaped from prison—which had failed from the start. He used the reason of having feelings for her whereas in fact, all he felt for her was nothing more than hatred—one that doesn't disappear so easily—towards Kaito and everything that Kaito treasured the most. In other words, Yumemiya Miyako—Kaito's fiancee. Exchange of gunshots ensued on that quiet street the night she was shot when she took the two bullets meant for Fuji. Two versus one—the winner was already obvious. Especially if Ryou's opponents were highly skilled in sharpshooting. After all, Yumemiyas were known for their precision in sharpshooting.

Miyako also learned that Tezuka and Kana's investigations led them to as far as Kanagawa—her hometown. With the help of Tezuka's grandfather Kunikazu and Sanada's grandfather Gen'nemon, the investigation went on smoothly. Sanada, Yanagi, and Yukimura participated, as well, much to Tezuka's surprise. But they chose to set aside their rivalries to help their common friend—Miyako.

And now, after hearing all of that, Miyako felt more tired than ever. But thinking about it now wouldn't help her recover at all. She had a tennis tournament to think about and Fuji for her to fight and get better. Those two—as of that moment—were just some of the most important reason for her to do what it takes to recover from all the ordeal she'd dealt with.

"I never thought it was actually that worst. And you were almost taken down by that jerk if I didn't do something."

"What you did was recklessness no matter what reasons you had at that time," Fuji chided her but she only smiled cheekily. It was a surprise she could still do that despite her condition. But it was already a sign that she was on the road to recovery. "But all of that is already in the past. Okay? Just focus yourself on getting better. Now there's nothing that will ever separate us again—especially an early death for any of us."

"You still don't know what destiny holds for us."

But a gentle squeeze on her hand and a sweet, true smile on his lips contradicted her words. "I don't care about all that. The only destiny I know is you."

"Fuji?" She frowned at his words as she felt her heart wildly pounding.

"So we're together now, right? I think it's destiny that we've met and eventually fell in love like this even when you tried to avoid it. If it isn't destiny, then I don't know what to call this. Nevertheless... I won't exchange this chance to be with you for anything."

She couldn't help laughing at his cheesy lines but she wasn't going to deny that she loved hearing those words from the man she had come to love after all that had happened.

"Since when did you become this overly romantic that makes me want to puke?" she asked in a form of a joke.

Fortunately, Fuji got the message immediately, making him laugh, as well. "Ever since I learned that you're actually Aino Nadeshiko."

Her eyes widened in surprise when she heard that. "How did you know that? Did someone tell you about that?"

Fuji shook his head. "I guess you're forgetting who I am, my dear Miyako."

Of course, his statement made her roll her eyes. "How could I forget? Okay, Tensai-san, how did you figure it out?"

"Your ninth novel," he said plainly. "The author's page had a message in it—one that the readers had easily spotted. Even though it was just a dedication page, the words that you wrote there made me figure everything out. And of course, don't forget that you've written my name on it."

The words that I wrote on my ninth novel? Despite her confusion, she tried recalling the words that Fuji was talking about. Until the words he was talking about flashed in her mind.

In the depths of those blue orbs lies a story of million words. As I try to touch it, reality made me feel so shattered. Those blue eyes stared at me with care which I chose to ignore. No matter how much I ignore or avoid it, he always finds a way to reach out, helping me get out of this suffocating darkness. His blue eyes showed me a lot—more than words can say. It was so blue—the color which made me still continue to hope. Those blue eyes that he possessed told me that one day, I'll finally be free.

This is for the knight that could save me—the knight which holds all my hope for a better future.

To my blue-eyed knight... Fuji Syuusuke...

She should have guessed that it would be easy for Fuji to figure out the message in it. He was the tensai, after all. And boy, he definitely lived up to that title. But it was no doubt that she was glad he figured it out. The message was meant for him; no one else. He was her knight. He saved her long before she accepted the fact. He didn't turn his back on her no matter who worse she treated him.

And how glad she was because of that.

"Are you angry because I didn't tell you anything about it?" It was a question that she ventured on asking, though her face was neutral. But it faded as soon as Fuji smiled.

"I'd rather kiss you senseless than be angry with you," he slyly said that made her body turn beet red.

She didn't expect such answer to come out from his mouth.

"W-well, that won't work on me all the time," she countered in which he only replied with a heartfelt laugh. It was a laugh so contagious that she couldn't help laughing along, as well. As soon as it dissipated, she looked at him intently. He did the same. "Will everything I've suffered for a long time finally end after this?"

A gentle squeeze on her hand answered that. "I don't know. But I'll make sure one thing to you. Consider this my promise."

"A promise?"

"I'm not going to let you suffer all alone anymore. I'll do my best to make you happy, to love you more than you think. I'll be with you all the way. That's how I love you, Miyako. Remember that, okay?"

Hot tears streaked down her cheeks once more. But this time, those tears meant a lot—of which it held her relief, happiness, and love for the person who saved her when she least expected it.

Fuji chuckled lightly as he wiped the tears that stained her cheeks with his free hand. "I just realized now that you're a crybaby."

"Your fault."

A light laugh erupted from both of them. But it was okay. What mattered now was the fact that they were together again. Death didn't succeed in taking Miyako away from Fuji.

And with that, they all had the time in the world to cherish the second chance that was given to both of them. They all had the time to show their love to each other. That was what mattered to them.

-x-x-

Two weeks later...

"You're going where?"

"To Kanagawa," Miyako answered simply to Fuji's surprised question. She told him about her plan to head to Kanagawa two days after she was discharged from the hospital.

Well, initially, Fuji took it as a joke. But upon learning that Kanagawa was actually Miyako's hometown, he decided to give it a careful thought. It was summer vacation but the tennis practices for both girls' and boys' tennis clubs had become rigorous than ever. In addition to that, Miyako wasn't able to participate in the Kantou Regionals because of her condition that time. In a way, he felt guilty because it was partly his fault why it happened. To repent for that, he told Coach Ryuzaki that he won't play in Singles 3. Their captain agreed to it, much to his surprise. He didn't dare find out the reason for that, though.

One thing he knew, he was thankful that the tennis captain allowed him not to play. In his guess, Tezuka probably told the truth about the reason why he decided not to play for that particular competition.

"But why are you going to Kanagawa? And at this point of the year, too." He tried reasoning but no plausible reason came out. Right now, he just wanted to know the reason for Miyako to decide something like that.

Her face turned from slightly enthusiastic to seriously sad. She turned and looked away, too. At that point, the ground seemed to be extremely interesting.

"I need to find a closure... with regards to what had happened in the past. I have to finally let go of everything I've held on for a long time the moment Kaito died." A heavy sigh escaped from her lips and faced him, the same facial expression was still on her face. "Going back to Kanagawa where it all originated is the only way for me to do that. And besides, I have to help Seiichi at this time of the year. He tends to act a lot stranger than he usually does during this time of the year."

"He acts strange? In what way?" Well, that made him quite curious about the Child of God since acting stranger than he usually does was something that... was quite intriguing.

"I can't tell you about that since I made a promise to him that it's supposed to be a secret. But that's besides the main point. I have to let things go. This is the only chance I have right now. Please?"

So the issue there was about finally letting go. And from what Fuji could tell, it was of extreme importance that she must do it alone. But he knew he would be worried for her the moment he allowed her to do what she had asked him to. It wasn't like he didn't trust her. Any possible dangers and threats to her life—especially a threat named Yoshimi Ryou—had been properly taken care of. But he couldn't help it.

He was still worried for his girlfriend...

"I'll be careful if you're really that worried for me, Syuusuke," Miyako said reassuringly as she held his hand and squeezed it a little.

He faced her. This time, she has a smile on her face.

"You just have to trust me on this, okay?"

"Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?" Sheesh! He was starting to worry the same way as Oishi.

She nodded confidently. "There are people there who wouldn't let anything bad happen to me again. I'll be okay, I promise."

Another squeeze he did on her hand that he held finally made him agree to her plan. He guessed she really needed this.

And I think I need this, too... It's about time I let her do this on her own.

-x-x-

Well, a year of not going back to her hometown was probably enough for Miyako to feel something like butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Why wouldn't she? No one knew the real reason why she left Kanagawa after Kaito's funeral. She left everything and everyone without a word, without even saying goodbye to them. In a way, she could say she was a little guilty for doing so.

She just hoped they'd understand her reasons as soon as she managed to explain to them the truth about that.

Though there wans't many people around, Miyako felt cramped as soon as she arrived at the train station of Yokohama. And to think it was summer, too... The air around was sticky and hot. Good thing she was wearing the right clothes for that particular season. Or else, the sun was bound to cause dehydration if her body released too much sweat just because of wearing the wrong type of clothes.

Adjusting her duffel bag onto her shoulder, she looked around the area for a while. The place hadn't changed a bit, in her perception. But somehow, she still felt... different when she looked around. She was expecting something to come and hit her as soon as she set foot on the place which held too much memories to her. But it never came.

In fact, what she truly felt was nostalgia. No pain, no sadness, no regrets—just nostalgia. A small smile appeared on her face when she thought about that.

Instead of riding a taxi to go to the place that came to her mind, she chose to walk and enjoy the scenery. She didn't care if the sun was too hot for her skin. Her hometown was too beautiful for her to ignore at all. And so she started her long walk after buying three bottles of water and two bottles of hydrating drinks. She would definitely going to need all of it.

Two hours of walking and a total of three hours of enjoying the scenery—all in all, she sum it all up and realized that it took her five hours just to reach her first destination on foot. And what was even weird, she didn't feel tired at all. Well, the sea breeze helped her a bit with that. She took a stop at the seaside as soon as she reached the area just near the sparkling ocean. Despite the hot sun, she was impressed at that particular scenery. After all, ocean once held her dreams from a long time ago.

And those dreams buried in the depths of her mind were starting to resurface. At first, she thought remembering those moments would bring out a lot of her emotions that she tried to bottle up. But just like what happened at the train station, it didn't come. It looked like they turned into merely memories—a part of her life that she once held on. From the looks of it, she must have let it all go before she knew it.

No... Not all of it... Not yet...

So in order for her to let it all go just like what she wanted, there was one place she needed to go for her to do that. And finally, she reached it.

"First in the list of important places to go as soon as I reached Kanagawa..." she mumbled and looked around for a while. Her face turned solemn at the sight of something in front of her. "...Kaito's grave..." A wry smile appeared on her lips. But soon after, a grateful smile replaced it the moment she placed a bouquet of purple lilac on the tomb. She bought those purple lilac earlier while she was walking.

She bought those flowers for a reason. And that was to remind her of who Kaito was to her—just as how purple lilac meant.

Kaito would forever be the person who thought her how to love for the first time. He would forever be her first love—just like the meaning of the purple lilac. Heaving a heavy sigh, she crouched down in front of the grave.

"I'm sorry if I only visited you now," she started in a really apologetic tone. "It took me a lot of time before I finally had the courage to face you again. To be honest, I still can't forgive myself for what happened to you even though most of them kept on telling me that it wasn't my fault at all. But I still kept on thinking that it was. I couldn't move on because of that. And you know that, don't you? You let it all happen, so that I could meet Syuusuke and make me realize that I should never linger in the past forever."

The wind blew gently and slightly cold—with the cold part being weird since it was summer. When she looked up to the sky, she saw that the sun was still there blazing hot and causing the weather to turn nice and warm. But slightly cold wind blowing forth? That doesn't make any sense. Still, she continued.

"I really don't know how to thank you for doing that. I can't thank you enough for making me realize a lot of things. What we had before was already in the past. I know you're one person who would never let me live my life in regret all my life. You'll always be my first love and I'll always remember that. Because now I know fully well that... I'll forever be thankful to you for bringing Syuusuke to my life after I had lost you. I'll forever be thankful for making me realize that Syuusuke will always be my true love. Thank you for making me realize all that, Kaito." But never did it come to her that saying all that would make her cry and her heart would swell in so much happiness.

One realization after another... All of which had made her grateful for having this second chance to live her life again...

...this time, she'd live it with the man she considered as her one true love who had never forsaken her despite all that had happened.

She'd live that second chance of her life to the fullest along with her true love—Fuji Syuusuke.

"Thanks again, Kaito..."

Those were her final words before she left the cemetery with a light feeling in her heart, as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted off of her. She left the place with a smile on her face.

Now she was off to go to the second of the important places she must go to in Kanagawa.

-x-x-

Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku. Well, it was better known in its short term—Rikkaidai.

Well, it wasn't actually the school that was important. But it was more of the people who actually go there to study. More specifically, her friends. Even though she didn't study there during her middle school years before she transferred to Seigaku, it was one of the places she constantly went to.

Looking around the campus, everything seemed to be the same. The atmosphere, the discipline, the aura of the students there—it all felt the same as the last time Miyako went there. Middle school or high school, the school's aura remained the same. Or maybe not all of it were really the same.

The aura around the high school division was much more serious than the one in middle school, much stricter than she ever thought. All of it were more evident on the tennis courts of the school where the best tennis players of Kanagawa prefecture were trained since the school was most likely known for its capabilities in honing the tennis players to their best. After all, they had a reputation to live up to.

As soon as Miyako reached the courts, she immediately saw several familiar people there. Four of those people were doing their regular drills for that particular day and the other one—who happened to be the only girl there—was busy listing something down as she watched the tennis members' training. Miyako's steps were technically as light as that of a cat on a hunt when she decided to go near the courts. But with steps similar to that of a cat doesn't seem to be enough to approach the girl who was listing something down on her notebook. She also needed courage to do so.

That girl—as Miyako thought—was somehow compared to Yanagi when it comes to her habit which was gathering data. But the lemon-haired girl knew there was more to that seagreen-haired girl than that. Her data-gathering ability encompassed an even larger scale than just about tennis and the school. In a way, that's what made the girl a little hard to approach, especially if the atmosphere around was something that must not be broken at all cost.

On the other side of the court from where Miyako stood, few groups of girls where there ogling at the sight of the tennis club members doing their training. Some of them couldn't possibly help it that they squealed the captain's name, the vice-captain's, and the other members' names—including Yukimura and Sanada. Well, including Yanagi for some reasons, Miyako heard that the Three Demons of Rikkaidai made it to the regulars' spot durin the Ranking Tournaments. While the others (Niou, Marui, Yagyuu, and Jackal) were substitute regulars.

Miyako glanced to the courts and immediately took notice of the Rikkaidai captain's narrowed eyes boring holes in her. But she didn't feel uneasy or scared. She knew that look. The captain, Nanasaki Satoru, was looking at her as if he was trying to assess her in some way. And since she doesn't want him to think or try to remember her thoroughly, she smiled and waved her hand. Satoru's face lit up in such a way that no one from the team noticed but she could easily tell. And the seagreen-haired girl appeared to have noticed that, as well, making her stop listing down whatever notes in her record book and confusingly turned around to look. Well, no surprise there that the girl smiled upon recognizing Miyako standing a few steps behind her.

"Miyako?"

The lemon-haired girl's smile widened when she saw that girl's smile. "Looks like you're getting busier as a team manager, Hotaru." Then she glanced at Satoru who was still seriously watching over the tennis club members' peformance. "And it also looks like Satoru-san hadn't smiled the whole day. His wrinkles keep on adding up on his face. If that serious atmosphere doesn't dissipate for even a bit, I won't be surprised if I see Satoru-san looked older than my father by next year."

Of course, Hotaru laughed at Miyako's rantings that obviously caught the attention of the other team members there. From the looks of it, Hotaru wasn't known for suddenly bursting out in laughter in the middle of tennis practice of the club, especially on that particular day.

"It seems to me you haven't laughed like that all day," she commented and looked around. A smile appeared on her face when Satoru told the team to have half-hour break and the Three Demons finally saw her with their manager Nanasaki Hotaru—also known as their captain's little sister who was totally serious in her job despite being just a freshman like the Three Demons.

Finally succeeding in containing her laughter, Hotaru faced Miyako and nodded as an answer. "Well, the weather is one reason for that. It's totally driving us nuts. And the other was because some of our advanced tennis equipments had been vandalized to the point that the club needed to but new once before the Kantou Finals."

"But the Kantou Finals will already be three weeks from now. How will you be able to produce new ones before next week?"

"I don't know, to be honest. The club's semestral budget was already used and we won't have any additional until next semester. So don't be surprised if you saw Onii-chan this frustrated to the point of having additional wrinkles on his face. Even Hirota-fukubuchou is frustrated. At this point, we can't really do something to calm them both down," Hotaru stated a little exasperatingly.

Miyako tried to observe around the area more and she noticed that Satoru's frustration over the situation was taken out on the club members—regulars and non-regulars alike. But before she could even comment about her observations, her vision caught something on one side of the court that made her frown a bit. Hotaru noticed that, though.

"What's wrong, Miyako?" Hotaru asked, a little worried and confusingly.

A heavy sigh (probably close to exasperation) was the only answer that came out of Miyako's mouth before mumbling something that confused the team manager further.

"He's still holding on to that?" was the only thing the lemon-haired girl said.

"Who's holding on to what?"

"Seiichi," Miyako answered soberly with hints of pity and sadness in her voice that further heightened Hotaru's confusion. "He's still holding on to that old blue paper crane..." Could it be that... he's still hoping for something to happen? Perhaps a miracle? She added in her thoughts without tearing her gaze away from Yukimura who was sitting on one corner or the courts and blankly staring at the blue paper on his hands. The look on Yukimura's face made it hard for her to just stand there and watch him like that.

Without a word, she put down her duffel bag beside where Hotaru stood and jumped across the small fance to enter the court. The group who was watching the tennis practice were surprised. But to the tennis team's confusion, Satoru didn't dare try to stop Miyako at all. Even Hotaru who was strict when it comes to people causing disturbance during practice wasn't saying anything. There and then, they realized that Captain Nanasaki Satoru and his sister Team Manager Nanasaki Hotaru somehow—if not fully—knew the reason for Miyako's actions. The serious looks on their faces—one that was different from what they were used to see from them before—already proved that.

"That blue paper crane... How is it so important to Yukimura-kun that he always zone out whenever he looks at it?" Vice-captain Hirota Sui asked as he approached his captain.

"To be honest, I don't know the real story of that paper crane to that boy. But Miyako... Maybe she can distract him away from it for a while."

Hirota smiled a small smile. "If one wouldn't dare try knowing the truth, I would say that Yukimura-kun and that girl Miyako were once a couple." A few seconds later, his smile faded. "But now that I look at it carefully, I think it's only Miyako who knew the story of the item that Yukimura-kun could never let go. I think even Sanada-kun and Yanagi-kun doesn't know the story of that item at all."

If only they knew how true it was... and it was increasing the Emperor's worry for the Child of God even more...

Not only him, but also the other team members had the same question in their minds. But it seemed that no one would be able to know the answer to that—at least for now...