Seasons of Chances and Love 2: Perfect Love In Summer

Blue Paper Crane

CHAPTER 8 (Final Chapter)

Sighing heavily seemed to be the only thing that Miyako would stop doing every time she would see a certain blue-haired boy named Yukimura Seiichi holding an old blue paper crane on his hands. He would look at it with his eyes devoid of any emotions, and yet she could tell the truth that lies hidden among those set of beautiful lavender eyes of his. Yes, she was one of his best friends. But among his set of friends (including those he considered his best friends), perhaps she was the only one who knew the real story of that paper crane he held on so dearly no matter how many years had already passed.

At this point, perhaps only she could tell that the so-called Child of God in the realm of junior tennis circuit has a heart that incessantly broke apart piece by piece, thanks to the memories that the paper crane held. It was that one small paper crane which became his garden of memories with the person who gave it to him a long time ago. And that garden of memories was exactly the reason for Yukimura to zone out every time he would look at that item.

Those memories-no matter how much she try to do something-would always break Yukimura's heart piece by piece.

I wonder if there was still a part of his heart left for him to love someone other than her... But further giving it a careful thought, she came to an exasperating realization. As long as Yukimura won't learn to let go of that paper crane, he'd never be able to give himself a chance to love someone else. It'd always be that girl in his memory who will hold his heart.

And somehow, she could understand that. She was on the same boat once before...

...until Fuji came along.

Another sigh came out of her mouth-a sigh that showed a little exasperation over the situation. As light as she could, she walked towards Yukimura. She ignored the stares of the people on the court-both inside and outside.

-x-x-

"Is she really going to approach Yukimura? She sure has some guts to do that, especially for a girl," Niou commented.

"Yukimura's not the type pf person who liked to be disturbed especially when he's into deep thinking just like what he's doing right now," Marui added, followed by blowing a bubble using his gum and popped it.

"What's even stranger than that are Nanasaki-buchou and Hirota-fukubuchou. They're not doing anything to stop the girl at all. Water break or not, they couldn't have allowed her to enter the courts and disturb Yukimura," Yagyuu further stated as he pushed up his glasses while glancing simultaneously to Miyako and the team's captain and vice-captain.

"It's because they could tell," Sanada blurted out that surprised the rest of them. It wasn't like the stoic man to be like that. After all, he didn't care about girls that way.

But further analyzing the situation, it wasn't only Satoru and Hirota that were acting weird over the matter. Sanada and Yanagi were the same. The former was just watching as he was sipping from his water bottle while the latter wasn't taking down notes like he used to do when something like this happen. Those four people had a serious look on their faces. It was a look of serious understanding over the situation but it has hints of puzzlement and curiosity.

"They could tell what, Sanada?" Jackal managed to ask.

"Onii-chan and fukubuchou knew that only Miyako could take Yukimura-kun's attention away from that paper crane," Hotaru answered as she approached the boys from behind. "And from the looks of it, I think it's only her who truly knew the reason why Yukimura-kun couldn't let go of it until now."

"Not even Sanada knew the reason? What about Yanagi?"

"As clueless as the rest of us are," Yanagi answered.

"Are those two a couple?"

"No, they're childhood friends and besides Miyuzaki Kana, Miyako's one of the girls who could get close to him without worrying about the other girls throwing glares at her. It's because Miyako knew she and Yukimura-kun will only remain as friends and nothing else," Hotaru explained.

"You sure know a lot about that Miyako girl, Hotaru-chan," Niou said with a smirk.

"That's because she's my childhood friend, as well, besides that fact that she's also a family friend." That was when Hotaru noticed the wide grin on the Trickster's face which made her narrow her eyes as she looked at him. "Don't even think of trying to do anything weird on Miyako if you don't want Onii-chan to get you beaten to pulp before the Kantou Finals."

"Don't forget that Seiichi is there to double the punishment, as well," Yanagi seconded. Hotaru smiled at that, which left the rest of the boys a little astounded. Hotaru rarely smiled in front of them, but it seemed that surprises had become the theme of the day.

Miyako appearing in the courts...

Hotaru laughing and smiling for the first time since last week...

Satoru not doing anything about Miyako approaching Yukimura...

They were just a few of the surprises that had happened that one dreary day. Oh, well. They could use a few surprises once in a while. It was a rare feat that a girl could bring that to them.

"I wonder what could they be talking about," Marui wondered as he tilted his head to the side while watching Yukimura and Miyako talk.

The atmosphere between those two was something that rarely happened inside the courts of Rikkaidai. The atmosphere had obviously spoke of something akin to denial, sadness, and hopelessness. It was a type of sadness that they had never seen in Yukimura's face before, especially if it was this obvious.

"For 500 yen, I bet all of us won't find that out in the next two years," Yanagi suddenly declared nonchalantly as he jotted down something on his notebook.

"Isn't that a little big? Can't we just do it in tens, not hundreds?" the volley specialist whined, seriously taking Yanagi's bait. "I was planning on betting for 50 that Yukimura won't react to whatever that Lemon Girl was talking about."

"And you really have a plan on making Yukimura into Sanada? I doubt he won't react," Niou said. Of course, the Trickster earned a totally fatal glare from the said stoic man which he ignored in return. He was used to this since middle school, after all. "For 70, Yukimura will just ignore Lemon Girl with his creepy smile."

"...which is something I highly doubt will ever happen," Hotaru mumbled contradicting as she slightly shook her head. "After all, Miyako is Yukimura-kun's honorary twin sister for one reason that they have similar personalities, besides the fact that she knew why he's like this."

"I guess I need to change my bet. For 50-"

"If you even dare continue doing that bet, don't expect you'll be able to play tennis in the next two years."

Hotaru snickered while the rest just froze for a few moments when they heard that chilling voice belonging to the lemon-haired girl. And now she was looking at them with raised eyebrows. The sea green-haired manager approached the Trickster and the self-proclaimed tensai and tapped their shoulders.

"If I were you, better heed her words because she really means it."

"You're talking as if you know that Miyako-san could really do something like that, Hotaru-san," Jackal commented.

Hotaru faced the bald Brazilian with a small smile. "That's because I know what she can really do, Jackal-san. Trust me, just because she looked like a fragile girl doesn't mean she's not that skilled to do what she said. If you think I'm lying, you can ask Onii-chan about that." Soon after, however, that smile faded. Her face showed a slightly sad expression. "Her skills, however, tend to lose its purpose if the lives of the people she truly cares about are on the line. One second she's in control of the situation and in the next, she'd snap. And I don't want to have a glimpse of that worst side of my friend again. It'll take her a few years before she could even rebuild herself after that."

"When did something like that happen?" Yagyuu asked-albeit a little nonchalant.

A few moments of tensed silence surrounded them before a sigh broke it. "Two years ago, at the night where we almost lost everything that me and several others had vowed to protect with our lives. It was a night that opened our eyes to many things. And... it was a night that I think Yukimura-kun doesn't even want to remember at all... even though he wasn't really there when it all happened..."

"Now you're really getting hard to understand, Hotaru-chan," Marui complained when he was getting more confused to Hotaru's words than ever.

"It's not a situation that is easy to understand, Marui-kun... And I doubt anyone will ever understand that at all. Besides, if it's really as easy as that, we wouldn't have lost that much at all during that one night..."

A deep frown appeared on Marui, Niou, and Jackal's faces. Yagyuu was nonchalantly looking at the extremely serious Hotaru. Same goes to Yanagi and Sanada. Hotaru seemed to have said a lot in one day but her words were vague. They were like riddles that won't be easy to decipher at all.

Maybe Yanagi was right.

Maybe it would take them about two years before they could finally find out the truth about Yukimura's hold on the paper crane, his conversation with Miyako, and Hotaru's riddle-like words that held so much stories no one would easily figure out.

-x-x-

"You sure have some free time to just stare at an old paper crane, Seiichi," Miyako started in a voice that couldn't exactly hide what she was feeling at the moment for the blue-haired friend of hers. "...which of course, I don't find surprising at all."

Luckily, the person she was talking to wasn't totally drowned in the depths of his thoughts. Yukimura looked up to see who it was. But as much as he wanted to hide it, he couldn't. He was surprised to see a familiar lemon-haired girl now looking at him with a pout and her hands on her waist. He would've laughed at the sight, but one thing made him not to. It was the look on her silver eyes in which he could describe as something akin to concern and worries. In addition to that, it was also the look that said she knew what was making him like this.

Of course, Miyako was able to find that out easily. And it was safe to assume that only she knew the truth-for now. He was grateful about that.

"About time you came back to Kanagawa," Yukimura said as grateful as he could, no matter how much he knew it would be a futile effort.

Miyako sighed and crouched in front of him. Her face still has the same look as it was a moment ago. "Yeah. And I think it was the right thing for me to visit you today. If I had known before that you'll be like this again, I shouldn't have left this place all of a sudden."

You don't have to do that, Miyako. It's just that... I can't help thinking about her lately. It's starting to become so frequent that I think I'm about to go crazy if I don't look at this blue paper crane. She gave this to me, you know... And for some reason, looking at it somehow helps me keep my sanity intact," he replied truthfully. Of course, his voice still has hints of sadness as he spoke.

"Seiichi... it's already been two years. Is it really that hard for you to move on?"

Yukimura smiled wryly, not breaking his gaze to the blue paper crane on his hands. "Move on? How could I possibly do that, Miyako?" He paused and zoned out again. "Two years... I never thought it's already been such a long time since it happened... and yet..."

At this point, Miyako couldn't say anything more to reason out Yukimura's words. She knew the feeling of having a hard time moving on. Well, she had been there before. To be honest, she wouldn't be surprised if she found out that everyone in his circle-of course, except her and his sister-were clueless about the fact that Yukimura Seiichi had always been in love with the girl who gave him that blue paper crane. And she realized that no one would probably be able to know about that in the next two years if the three of them could keep this up. No one would know the pain that the Child of God had held in his heart because of losing that girl two years ago. No one would know that Yukimura Seiichi was actually holding on to the memories of that girl until now... despite the fact that the girl was already...

Dead... It was the word that is said to be the only force in this world that is truly capable of separating two hearts in love. Or maybe not all the time... If only I can tell him the truth...

She was about to say something when her ears caught bits of the conversation on the other side of the court. It also caught Yukimura's attention-which made her glad even for a bit. She chose to listen carefully to the conversation. But as seconds passed by, she started not liking the whole point of the conversation.

To be more specific, she didn't like the whole point of the bet. So even before Marui could start changing his bet, she spoke.

"If you even dare continue doing that bet, don't expect you'll be able to play tennis in the next two years," she said threateningly with raised eyebrow as she looked at them.

Well, it did shut them up... thankfully. And not only that, it also made Yukimura smile. Now she was even more thankful about that.

"You should keep up with that smile, Seiichi. If she's alive today, I know she won't leave your side until she made you smile no matter how miserable you are."

His smile turned into a sad one, though. "But she's not here anymore. And never will be. I don't have enough reason to smile the same way I could do before."

"Is tennis not enough for you to smile?" It was a hopeful question in a hopeless situation for Miyako. But even if he didn't answer, she could already tell that the real answer would always flash on her mind.

Yukimura was quiet for a while. It was a different type of silence that further intensified the truth lying in front of them all this time.

"Only she could make me smile as if I have reached the heaven without straining myself. Her innocent smile was already heaven for me. Tennis is my life, but so was she... before. Now..." But Yukimura couldn't continue his sentence anymore. Now I felt as if a part of me was taken away the night I realized I'll never be able to retrieve it whatever I do. That part of me went with her... and no one will be able to know that at all... he added sadly in his thoughts as he looked at the paper crane on his hands. "This paper crane held so much meaning to me that made me unable to let it go easily."

"I know that. It's also the reason why I can't take that away from you even though it's so clear to me that it would only hurt you to no end."

" 'One day, I want to see you soar the sky of your dreams freely just like that crane. I used a blue paper to fold it into a crane. You know what the color blue means, right? Blue represents hope. That's why I want you to hope for a better future as you soar that sky which holds all of those dreams and hope that you have in your heart...' Those were her exact words when she gave this to me 5 years ago. But-" he paused and faced her with his lavender eyes now dimmed with pain, sadness and hopelessness that he couldn't show to other-except to the people who truly knew his predicament. He could only show it to Miyako and to his sister Mihiro. "-how am I supposed to do that? Right now, I only have one thing that I could ever hope for, more than anything else. But tell me, Miyako. Can this hope bring her back to me? Can I at least hope that I can turn back time so I could tell her I love her? Can hope do that for me?"

The lemon-haired girl was utterly speechless at those words that came out of his mouth. She knew he was hurt when he learned that he had lost the girl he loved. But never did it occur to her that he would be hurt up to this point. His words were definitely unexpected in every way possible.

All she could do was to sigh exasperatingly. But something told her that it was never meant to mock or pity Yukimura's situation at all. That exasperating sigh was meant for her inability to save her childhood friend. From his words alone, she could tell how much pain he was going through all this time. And she'd bet that it was a kind of emotional pain that could never be compared to what he had felt upon losing Nationals to the hands of Echizen Ryoma. Or even to the physical pain he had been through during his rehabilitation.

His pain right now was so much more than all of that. And how she hated herself because she couldn't do anything to help him ease that pain.

I'm sorry for being such a useless friend, Seiichi... Miyako wanted to say that but she couldn't. Instead, she said something different. "Want us to have a date after this?"

"A DATE?!"

Miyako wanted so much to punch Yukimura's friends as they exclaimed like that. Those voices echoed in the entire court like thunder that she immediately covered her ears with her hands. Do these boys know that exposure to loud sounds could cause someone to turn deaf? And to think their exclamation was so loud that it sounded a lot like a train...

... or maybe it was still discreet.

Ah, who cares? She has an even more important business to take care of than dealing with a bunch of tennis players who were clueless as to what privacy meant. Or maybe privacy doesn't actually exist in their vocabulary. In any case, this could be a good chance to ask Satoru to double or even triple those sneaky tennis players' training once her mission was over.

It was a mission she dubbed as "Operation: Lift Up Seiichi's Spirit And Make Him Forget About His Pain For A While"-which she realized by now, that mission sure has a long title-that she knew the others couldn't do at this point. Especially if they were this clueless about Yukimura's situation.

It's really hard bearing someone's secret when you can't even do anything to help your friend because of that secret that's causing him this much pain... Her situation was something she really need to think about. She must do her best to protect it until the time comes that Yukimura was willing to reveal it to his friends.

His soft laughter snapped her from her musings and made her face him. He was facing Sanada and the others as they looked at him with wide eyes. Well, except Sanada and Yanagi, of course.

"Don't be surprised. It's actually natural," Yukimura answered with that serene smile on his face. And yet something was still off with it.

It wasn't his true smile at all. It was that thought which made her furrow her brows as she continued to look at him. This was definitely starting to become frustrating and worrisome.

"Yukimura, I know it's natural for a girl to ask you on a date. But you never smiled like that while they were asking you. And now this Lemon Girl is asking you on a date during practice without a fuss and you're still smiling like that?" Marui inquired disbelievingly without breaking a single sentence. After that, he exhaled deeply.

Now it was Miyako's turn to smile even though she was a little pissed about the way Marui called her. Lemon Girl? She knew she had lemon-colored hair but was it even enough for him to refer to her as such? But then she decided to let that go. Right now, her priority was Yukimura. Surely, the girls who were just outside the courts were enraged, jealous, and envious that she could do such a thing to Yukimura without a fuss, as the sugar freak stated. She might as well prepare for her departure since it would be obvious that those girls would be ready to murder her when she got out of there.

"It's a natural occurrence to both of us, Marui. There's no reason for you to be that surprised. It's not like I've committed a great sin with the way you're looking at me right now," Yukimura said casually and then he faced Miyako. "Isn't that right?"

"Well, it will only be natural to me if you accept it. Of course, you can decline. But that doesn't mean I won't stop bugging you on the phone by this evening."

Soft laughter erupted from Yukimura and Miyako that the others could only watch while gaping at the sight. The lemon-haired girl had actually made Yukimura laugh when he was zoning out earlier and no one could actually him when he was like that. They couldn't believe it.

"Lemon Girl is unbelievable..." were the words that Niou managed to utter, also adopting the nickname that Marui used to refer to Miyako.

"I agree," Yagyuu said.

"Without too much effort and just her words, she managed to distract Yukimura from zoning out even more," Jackal added.

"I hate it when Hotaru-chan is always right," Marui grumbled and chewed his gum with much haste, probably out of frustration.

"And I hate it even more when Sanada and Yanagi here are not actually saying anything about this the entire time."

"It's not like it was actually mandatory for them to say something about a natural occurrence, as Yukimura-kun stated it," Hotaru said nonchalantly while listing something on her notebook.

Seriously, this girl Hotaru has the exact same habit as Yanagi. No wonder those two were so close. But there were no news about the progress of their relationship other than the fact that they were friends...

...which was too cliché for an answer whose relationship was obviously not as simple as being friends...

"Then Sanada and Yanagi really knew that something like this will happen after a short conversation between Yukimura and Miyako-san a while back?" Jackal asked. Hotaru answered with a nod.

"They're childhood friends, after all. And it was Miyako's way of distracting Yukimura-kun whenever she could tell that there's something which could make him upset or sad. That's how sensitive Miyako is towards her childhood friend."

"If that's the case, then why didn't they end up as a couple?" It was Niou's turn to ask a question to their sea green-haired team manager.

To be honest, Hotaru's head felt like it was about to burst from dealing with the inquiries of these boys. She might need some aspirin for easing her severe headache at least for a bit. And she might as well answer this porcupine-haired Trickster's question before she completely burst out there.

"There's only 0.02% possibility. For them to become a couple was already deemed impossible from the start..." Yanagi started, much to the team's surprise and Hotaru's relief.

"...especially when Miyako was already betrothed to the youngest son of the Yoshimi family ever since she was young. And besides, I think there's another reason for the impossibility of those two being a couple to exist," Hotaru finished.

"A reason that only Yukimura knew..." Sanada added gravely. "...and probably even Miyako also knew. Only that she made a promise not to tell it to anyone at all."

"Including us..." Hotaru said matter-of-factly.

Well, the ongoing conversation was something that Miyako chose to ignore for now. She was only focused on waiting for Yukimura's answer to her suggestion of the two of them having a date after his tennis practice.

And it was just a friendly date, for heaven's sake! Why did people have to make such a big fuss about it? Just because she was actually asking Yukimura-a.k.a. the Child of God-on a date? How she wished these people wasn't so clueless about the situation...

But it wasn't something that mattered so much to her. And she mustn't be careless about hiding her childhood friend's secret.

"You'll go?" she ventured. That suggestion for a date was actually an out-of-the-spur suggestion for not being able to handle looking at Yukimura so hurt-even if it was physical and most especially, emotional. That was how special Yukimura to her.

To her delight, he smiled and nodded. His smile at the time he did that was true, no matter how sad.

And that concluded their conversation during the team's water break. She was glad she was able to distract him even though it took her so much courage with so little time to do that. But she knew that everything was far from over.

-x-x-

A satisfied smile had crossed Fuji's face when he managed to defeat his opponent who was a junior member of the club on that particular practice match. The score was 6 games to 3. He had to admit that it was a little hard for a practice match. But he was able to pull through. Well, it was a good way to vent out his worry for Miyako, even though he completely knew there was nothing to worry about.

"Fuji."

The tensai looked up and saw Tezuka approaching him as soon as he got out of Court B. It looked like his friend ended his own match quite well in Court D. He smiled at the sight of his best friend's mood at that particular moment. Yes, Tezuka was still stoic but the aura he was exuding was totally different to that of those times during their middle school.

It was a slight change but the effect was completely out of range. And Fuji was glad to know that it was love that had caused those changes to Tezuka.

"Is there something wrong, Tezuka?" he casually asked when they finally decided to head out to the locker room to change clothes. The practice that day was harsh but they managed to come out alive. And to their delight, it was ended early. They still have time to relax until evening.

"I haven't seen Yumemiya-san all day," Tezuka started.

"My, my, Tezuka. Since when did you become interested in my girlfriend's activities?" the tensai teased which made him earn a glare from the bespectacled stoic man. He just laughed at it, though. "She went to Kanagawa... to find closure and let her heart heal completely. Or at least that's one of the main reasons she told me."

Of course, what he said had caught Tezuka's attention. Though the action was subtle, it was still obvious. They've been friends for a long time for him not to notice at least that much. And from the way Tezuka looked at the tensai, Fuji could already figure out the next question that was about to come out. The question could actually went like "What's she doing in Kanagawa? Will she visit Sanada and Yukimura at Rikkaidai?"...

...or maybe not.

Before, he couldn't do such a thing no matter how hard he tried. Or maybe there were times he succeeded but not that completely. He really had to thank Hondou Kazumi for doing such changes to Tezuka.

"I know she's going to Rikkaidai to visit some friends. Especially Yukimura, for some reasons. She told me up to that much so I have nothing to worry about. Didn't you tell me before? Yukimura, Yanagi, and Sanada helped you with investigating Miyako's case. And she told me that those three were her childhood friends, with Yukimura being the person she was particularly close to. She said that at this point of the year, Yukimura usually acts strange that made her worry for him."

"Yukimura's acting strange?"

Fuji shrugged a bit. "I don't know the particulars but it seems that she knew the reason behind that. In any case, I just let her do what she wants before the Kantou Finals three weeks from now. I don't want her to worry about other things that might distract her during the match."

"You really love her that much." It was a surprising statement on Tezuka's part, though. The whole conversation and the case which almost cost Miyako's life were also enough to prove that statement.

"It's just the same way as how you love Hondou-san," Fuji said with a gentle smile. "To ease Miyako's worries in her mind, I could only do this much."

-x-x-

Watching the Rikkaidai Tennis Club members with their training and practice hadn't been a bad thing to do at all for Miyako. In fact, she was delighted that she could watch it. Because of that, she was able to formulate new techniques in her mind that she might be able to use during the Kantou Finals. As it went on, she was able to inquire Hotaru about the damaged tennis equipment. Without letting Hotaru and even Satoru protest, she firmly suggested that they could take her tennis equipment left in the Yumemiya mansion right there in Kanagawa.

"But aren't those your tennis equipment, Miyako? We can't just take something that can be considered as your personal belongings," Hotaru reasoned.

"No one's going to use those tennis equipment there, Hotaru. Among those who resides in the Yumemiya mansion here in Kanagawa, I'm the only tennis freak there. Besides, I don't want to use those equipment to rot in there and get wasted. I'm sure I won't be able to use to in more than a year or so."

"Then why didn't you just bring them to Tokyo?" Satoru asked.

"Onii-chan bought new ones when he transferred to Tokyo. Not only that, those tennis equipments would only remind me of a lot of things. This is just my way of letting go of those memories so that I can move on for good. Please accept it. And if you're worried about what the principal will say about this, just tell him that he could talk to me or my brother if he has concerns with regards to this. I could do equipment testing if I have to just to ensure each of their functionality. Is that okay?"

Of course, with that kind of pleading, the Nanasaki siblings couldn't do anything but to accept her request. After all, they were aware of what had happened to Miyako.

Right after tennis practice, Yukimura immediately took his tennis bag and approached Miyako on the right bleachers where she was sitting and probably busy finishing her 11th manuscript. Her 10th manuscript was already approved by her editors and just waiting to be published. Without giving Niou and the others a chance to stalk on their date, Miyako and Yukimura immediately left the courts with Satoru and Hirota's permissions.

And now, they were on the beachside where they used to stay when they were kids. It was their long time sanctuary, after all. It was the first place that came to Miyako's mind when she suggested that date.

"By the way, I forgot to ask a while back," Yukimura started. In response, Miyako shifted her focus from the ocean to the blue-haired boy's face. He was staring sadly at the ocean, though. "How are thing between you and Fuji-san after that case involving Yoshimi Ryou?"

A gentle smile appeared on her face no matter how much she tried to suppress it. "We're progressing. At least I can say that much, though. But then I must say that he had gotten a little similar to Oishi-kun who worries a lot. Not to mention, he got a little possessive, too."

"You can't help it. With what happened to you, I can understand the reason for Fuji-san to worry for you."

"I guess you're right." Her face turned serious. "But to be honest, I think I should be the one worrying for your actions this past week."

Yukimura wanted to deny that. But just like smiling in front of Miyako even though she completely knew the whole reason why he was acting strange, he knew it was already a futile effort. He couldn't hide at least that one fact from this lemon-haired friend of his.

"I could only do this much for her, Miyako. As each years passed since it happened, the memories that I have with her started to fade away. For now, they were just getting slightly blurred. But I can't help it. The thought of totally forgetting her one day is already too scary for me to acknowledge."

"Seiichi..."

"I don't want to forget her, Miyako. I can't bring myself to do such a thing, especially at this point where I could only think of nothing else but to reach her in every way possible."

Her eyes narrowed at those words. "...including the part where you have to venture your life for that to happen..."

A wry smile formed on Yukimura's lips before staring blankly at the ocean starting to get tainted by the red-orange sun. "I won't do something as foolish as taking my own life, if you're thinking of that. Despite knowing that she's not residing in the world of living anymore, I'm not that desperate. She'll hate me for sure if I did that."

No words came out of her mouth after hearing all that. His blank face, his sad words, his longing stares to the ocean-they were just the reasons why she couldn't say anything to comfort her friend. She couldn't help feeling so useless...

...and guilty, as well.

The latter emotion, however, was because of one other reason that she couldn't tell to Yukimura. After all, she made an oath a long time ago. Whatever happens, she must protect that secret in any ways she could. But seeing Yukimura mourn over the loss of a special girl in his heart like this for two years already was making it hard for her to keep that oath.

"You really... love her that much..." she murmured and faced the setting sun. "But how long are you going to keep up with it? How long are you going to stay like this? You still have a life to live for, Seiichi. If she sees you like this, I don't think she'll take it lightly."

"But she's not here anymore... and it's one fact I can't live with no matter how hard I try. Not once... Not once have I forgotten to wish for something like giving me a chance to see her again... Be with her again..." Yukimura clenched his fist on his side. Miyako noticed this, though.

So he was struggling to keep his tears from falling... Now she wouldn't wonder why he was like this. He couldn't release it. He was putting up this tough act despite the futility of it. "You know, you don't have to struggle like this, Seiichi."

Yukimura's head shot up at the word 'struggle' which made him face the girl beside him. She was looking at the ocean but he could tell that her attention was completely focused on him. Minus the eye contact, of course.

"Lucky for you to notice that," he retorted wryly.

"I'm not exactly that oblivious to your internal struggles at this time of the year, Seiichi. But you don't really have to do this all the time. Sanada-kun and Yanagi-kun are worried about you. Even Satoru-san and Hotaru wondered why you're like this. If you keep on hiding it and bottle it up inside of you, I don't think-"

"I know that!" Yukimura snapped that cut her off and startled her a bit. But she wasn't that surprised on his outburst. "I know that... But I don't want to bother them with this. I realized that when I struggled to fight for my life while I was sick during middle school. Besides, they will consider this as foolish once they found this out. For now, I don't want to be called like that. I don't want them to call those memories as foolish thinking."

All she could bring out as a reply to that was another exasperating sigh. "If you say so, then. But can you at least try not to think about it too much? I don't want to be going here every time I listened to Satoru-san and Hotaru's phone calls complaining about you acting weird during water break. You're really going to kill me for worrying so much about you."

Yukimura smiled at her remarks and embraced her soon after. "I wonder what will I do if you're not here at this time of the year."

"You're probably here at the seaside, sadly watching the sun to set as you compare them to human's end of his lifespan. And I guess you're probably be even more dramatic and angsty than this. You're a boy, okay? It's not good for your image if they saw you like this. Letting them know how you act while this angsty is way out of your character."

Of course, what Miyako said was enough to make them laugh.

"Thank you so much for being my friend and for doing this, Miyako," the blue-haired boy said sincerely as he embraced her tighter.

With a grateful yet sad smile, she returned the gesture. "I'm your honorary twin sister, right? It's just natural for me to do at least this much to help you cope up, I guess."

-x-x-

After that long talk at the seaside, they decided to have dinner at the Yumemiya household. Miyako hadn't expected, though, that Yukimura's parents would be there, too given the busy schedule of the couple with their respective jobs. The couple welcomed her the same way before, while Miyako was still residing in Kanagawa. As for his little sister, a 13-year-old Mihiro, she welcomed the lemon-haired girl with a big hug that said everything about how much the younger Yukimura missed her.

"You just left without saying goodbye to us," Mihiro said with a pout.

Miyako only smiled apologetically as she patted the younger Yukimura's head. "I'm sorry. A lot of things had happened and I don't want to bother you with it. It's already enough that I lost Kaito. I don't want to lose another important person if I told you about it and let yourself get involved in it. I'll never be able to forgive myself if something like that happened." And it was the truth.

Before, all she could think about and prioritize was the safety of her friends and not to involve them with her problems. And until now, that determination was still in her heart. Only intensified tenfold because of her relationship with Fuji. That blue-eyed tensai was the one reason why she was able to fight like this when she couldn't do so before.

Unconsciously, he face showed a faint smile that Mihiro noticed. At that point, the blue-haired girl already knew Miyako's meaning behind her words.

"I'm glad Fuji-san is taking good care of you right now," Mihiro suddenly said with a knowing smile. The blue-haired girl's words snapped the lemon-haired freshman out of her musings. "I heard from Sei-nii about what happened to you two weeks ago. And I also read your 9th novel. Whoever is this guy named Fuji Syuusuke, I have to thank him for making you smile like this. I have to thank him for saving you from drowning yourself in loneliness because of Kaito-niisan's death. Promise me you'll let me meet him one day, okay?"

Though surprised at the words that Mihiro spoke, Miyako was truly glad to know that the younger Yukimura approved of her relationship with Fuji. And she made a mental note to fulfill this young girl's wish. "I promise."

-x-x-

"You heard that, Fuji-san?" Yukimura asked to the person on the other line. He was in the kitchen when Fuji called him and asked him about Miyako. It was just then that he overheard his sister and his friend's conversation. All he did was to place his phone stealthily in the living room and let Fuji hear it.

A chuckle was Fuji's first reply to that. "I really have to give your sister a compliment for her observation skills."

"Well, I know Mi-chan will be glad to know that."

"Mi-chan? Miyako?"

"No, it's how I call Mihiro. Come to think of it, that's how Mamoru-san call Miyako, right?"

"Yeah." Then silence hovered around for a few moments. "How are you there? Did Miyako succeed in distracting you from whatever it is that disturbs you at this time of the year?"

Of course, what Fuji had asked surprised Yukimura. "What else did she tell you about that?" Though he must admit, the way he asked that question was a little frantic. He was worried that other people knew his secret besides Miyako and Mihiro.

"Don't worry. She didn't mention the specifics of that. Only that she must be there with you to distract you from it."

Yukimura mentally sighed in relief when he heard that. So Miyako really kept her promise... he couldn't have been more glad to his childhood friend about this. A smiled soon appeared on his face, despite knowing that Fuji won't be able to see it. "Take care of Miyako, Fuji-san. For now, that's all I could ever ask of you."

He had no way of knowing what Fuji could be thinking on the other line. But from how he knew the Seigaku's tensai, one way or another, Fuji would find out the truth behind the Child of God's words. But somehow, he knew that Fuji respected Miyako's privacy regarding Yukimura's secret.

"You don't have to tell me that. And you don't have to worry, too."

"Glad to know," Yukimura answered in relief and with a grateful smile.

-x-x-

Though a little unexpected, Miyako was somehow forced to sleep at the Yukimura's since they knew she wouldn't be able to reach the last trip of the train going to Tokyo. Besides that, it was already past 11 that Mihiro felt herself sleeping. The streets at night weren't that safe, as well. The younger Yukimura didn't leave Miyako's side the entire time and asked her questions with regards to her tennis life and of course, her love life. She obliged to that, although there were times that she couldn't help worrying for Yukimura especially when he was alone.

She took the early trip going to Tokyo. Well, before that, she and Yukimura took a morning stroll and once again, stopped by their sanctuary. Seeing him smiling at the moment the sun appeared on the horizon was somehow enough for her to think that he would be okay in the next coming days. Or at least, before next year where he would surely sulk like that again in one corner with that blue paper crane. And she would definitely come again to make sure he'd be fine.

As soon as she stepped out of the train upon arriving to the station, her cellphone rang. With a slight frown (due to curiosity) and a faint smile (because she was happy) upon seeing a familiar name on the screen, she pushed the Answer Call button and placed the phone to her ears.

"You sure call at a great time, huh?"

"You think?"

"Being my boyfriend for two weeks already, do you think I'm still clueless as to how you actually do things, Fuji Syuusuke-san?"

A faint laugh was heard in the background. Of course, her ears caught a few more sounds in the background while conversing with Fuji.

"Where in the world are you right now? I can hear something else in the background." But before she could even try to look around the area for some reasons, her vision went black as a pair of hands were placed over her eyes. The warmth from those hands was undeniably familiar to her as it coursed through her veins. And for that, she smiled as her hand moved to one of the hands that covered her eyes and turned around. "You knew I'd be coming back today."

What she said was a statement, in which Fuji answered with a smile and a nod. "Someone told me, to be more specific."

"Seiichi told you, huh?"

"By the way, how are you after going to Kanagawa?" he started asking as he took the duffel bag from her and dragged her with his one arm around her waist.

Miyako just went with the flow, thinking that Fuji would want het to talk on a quieter place than the train station.

"I've never felt better like this before I met you. Going to Kanagawa did a lot. I finally managed to explain to them why I left all of a sudden. In a way, I could say it all went well." After saying that, she suddenly remembered something. "By the way, where will we go for our next date?"

"To your first official book signing."

She frowned. "My what?"

Fuji chuckled at the puzzled and hesitant reaction of his girlfriend. "You still don't want to do an official book signing, do you?"

"I do... but I think I like the thrill of being a novelist whose true identity is unknown. I just like to stay hidden and anonymous, as much as possible. More or less, I want to do the things I love without too much disturbances like book signing."

Her explanation was enough and Fuji nodded knowingly. "You just like to do things secretly, huh? Well, I think you have a point. Just don't pressure yourself."

"Look who's talking! I know that just because you're a tensai doesn't mean you're not pressuring yourself."

"I'm not," he insisted.

"Liar," she murmured but she meant it as a joke.

But it was enough to stop Fuji to his tracks which made her face him with a confused look. "What's wrong?"

Though long before she could comprehend the events that had happened, Fuji pulled her close to him. She found herself being kissed by this tensai gently and full of love. She might find it weird and extremely surprising, but she gladly returned his kisses in the same degree. It took her a few moments to realize something, making her squirm a bit and let go from his lips.

"What?" he asked confusingly, but his smile seemed too suspicious to be real.

"Well, I need to remind you of something important."

"Something important?" This time, his smile became amused.

She should've known. "We're in public, in case you didn't know that!" she hissed as she looked around.

"Well, you returned my kisses just the same. Besides, I think it's okay with them," he said teasingly that she had the urge to punch this guy in the face.

"Syuusuke!" Her face reddened at his remarks.

But before she could really punch him, he dragged her again, doing so as careful as he could. His hold on her was possessive, and for once, she liked the idea of Fuji Syuusuke being possessive. They agreed to walk for a while instead of taking a taxi going home. They did it hand in hand as they talked about various topics.

"Ne, Syuusuke... did I ever tell you?" Miyako suddenly blurted out.

"Tell me what?"

"Thank you... for making this story-our love story-as perfect as possible. For making this love of ours something that I want to remember my whole life..."

They stopped walking and faced each other, with his hands on her shoulders. "You're the one who made it perfect, Miyako. And I can only have this perfect moments when I'm with you. I want you to remember that. Okay?"

A smile crossed her face and then she embraced him. Indeed for them, their story was close to perfect. They've endured a lot, sacrificed a lot, and struggled a lot. All of it turned this story into something worth remembering. And it would always be a perfect love story to them that full bloomed that particular time of the year-underneath the blazing summer sun.

**THE END**