Friends come and go, like the wind, like time, like everything.

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The rhythm of his footsteps distinctly stood out from the rest
the tune it was creating tap by tap
resonated throughout him.

Tack, tack tack.

Sharp yet gentle at the same time,
his footsteps led him towards the place he yearned to be in—
the place where he found company.

His heartbeat added along to the rhythm,
slightly uneven and at times seemed to skip a beat.

Badump, badump, badump.

It pounded and thrashed about,
seeming like it would leap out of his chest at any moment.

Everything felt all right now,
everything felt so reassuring.

Something was burying him deep in it's embrace,
was it Luck, was it Fate?

No, it was
Belonging.

He hugged Belonging back, not wanting to let go,
but he eventually did,
knowing well that Belonging would leave at any time given.

He thought Belonging would let go, but to his surprise she didn't.

Belonging reached out and pulled him back into the embrace.

"Long time no see." She whispered into his ears.

As he was about to return the embrace, she faded away.

"Long time no see." He echoed.

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By the time Ryuu reached the entrance he was greeted by three irritated teenagers—
Chou, Makoto, and Shouta.

They glared daggers as they rushed up to him and shook him furiously,
annoyed that he had kept them waiting an hour at the entrance gate.

"Why you! Do you know how long we waited for you?
What did you have to do that it took you an hour to arrive?"

Shouta irritatedly huffed at Ryuu
who was now scratching the back of his head
and grinning sheepishly.

"W-Well...I may have spaced out while I was walking."

His apologetic demeanor caused his friends to sigh and shake their heads
at the disheveled boy standing before them.

"What are we to do with you?
You're basically the baby of the group."

Chou sighed and again
and proceeded to fix Ryuu's crumpled collar.

"Does that make you the mom then?"

Ryuu retorted jokingly
hoping that it would annoy her
but Chou silently considered it for a moment.

"I guess so."

She smiled and shrugged.

"Hey, hey. Have some shame.
You've already cried in front of me
and now you say you're the baby of the group.
Tsk tsk."

Makoto taunted Ryuu
and shook her head while her arms were folded
in a comical manner.

Ryuu only responded with an :
"Is that so?"
before bringing Makoto into a headlock.

Makoto screeched
and had numerous failed efforts of trying to hit Ryuu
and kept yapping on how long it took to fix her hair
and how she would kill Ryuu if he didn't let her go.

But deep inside she knew—
she didn't want him to let go.

A little longer.
Even if this is just a stupid headlock
let me indulge in your warmth.

She said to herself
but remembered that her wishes never came true.

Her pessimistic dismissal of her wish came true
and she disappointedly found herself being freed from Ryuu's hold.

A pang of pain struck her heart
but she faked a smile.

Don't I always?

"Be thankful that I'm in a good mood today."

She huffed and bit back tears.

"Uh huh."

Ryuu's reply sounded half-hearted so Makoto looked up to see
a sight that made the sides of her eyes sting even more—
Ryuu wasn't looking at her, but at Chou
the way his eyes shone,
the way the corners of his delicately tight lips arched into a smile,
felt like a stab in the heart.

Stop it
Stop it
Stop it

She clutched at her chest
knowing well that it was a fruitless effort—
that wouldn't be enough to stop the pain she felt.

Why
Why
Why

She looked up to stop the tears from falling.

Why
won't
you
like
me
back?

I've been kind,
I've helped you,
what does she have that I don't?

"Mako."

Shouta's voice snapped her out of her melancholic state,
startling her and causing a tear to flow down as she looked to him.

"D-Dammit..."

She became flustered when she realized that Shouta saw her crying
and quickly proceeded to wipe the tear off her cheek.

"S-Sorry. My eyes were quite dry.
Where are the other two?"

She faked a smile and made her best efforts to look "okay"
and suddenly noticed the absence of Ryuu and Chou.

"They went on without us."

He said in a soothing manner,
hoping to coax the girl in front of him
who was about to burst in to tears at any moment.

Shouta slowly took steps toward her,
fearing that any sudden movement would trigger an unwanted reaction from her.

With each step that he took
Makoto felt herself more and more on the verge of tears.

By the time he was one step before her,
the tears treated down.

"Shhh, Makoto. I'm here."

He reached out and pulled her against his chest,
stroking her hair in a calming way.

Isn't that exactly what Ryuu told me before?
Isn't that exactly what you told me before?
"I'm here."
No, you were only there for a while.
You weren't there when I needed you the most,
and now...you think I'll forgive you just like that?

After she regained composure she harshly pushed him away
and looked to the side,
annoyed at how easily she had let her guard down.

"S-Sorry.
I'll be on my way now."

She said coldly
before turning her heels away from him,
only to be stopped when he grabbed her wrist.

"We're 15 minutes late now.
I'll take you to the infirmary.
Pretend that you're lightheaded.
We'll have an excuse this way."

Shouta said in a serious manner,
which was unlike him,
after all, he too put on a cheerful front when in the company of others.

She looked up at him in disbelief.

Why was he doing this even after she pushed him away?

"Come on."

Shouta held out his arms,
which gave Makoto a hint at what he was trying to say
but she pretended to be clueless.

"Huh?"

"I'll carry you,
so they won't speculate any further if you were really lightheaded or not."

Makoto gulped
and asked a question she'd been meaning to ask him :

"Hey, Aozaki. Why are you doing this?
Why are you being so kind to me even after I've given you the cold shoulder?"

"I'm surprised that you used my last name to address me.
But I won't try to ruin the serious mood we've built up here
so I'll answer with all sincerity."

He paused and shifted his gaze to her
which gave her a warm, fluffy feeling.

His gaze was intent yet delicate.

"Makoto,
I like you."

Those words alone were enough to turn her into a dizzying mess,
and Shouta scooped her up in his arms.

His cheerful demeanor came back
and he chuckled at the fainted girl in his arms.

"Looks like we won't have to lie about you being lightheaded after all."