"It's nice here."

Two idols were found sitting on the sandy shore where the sparkling blue waves tickled their toes. Birds flew across the horizon where the sun was slowly setting thus painting parts of the water red and gold. Soon, the stars would appear on the heavens above and the moon would take its place at night.

"Don't you think it's tragic though?"

Reiji turned to his companion. "What made you say so?"

"As beautiful as things are, it's kind of tragic that you have to say goodbye to day and night. You have to wait hours until night comes and in the process of doing so, you get to enjoy the day...yet you know it'll disappear soon. Same goes for the night. It's like you have to lose one in order to have the other and the cycle goes on. Plus, what if you won't get to see the sun or the moon the next time?"

"You're overthinking things, Aine."

"Life is uncertain." Said the cyanette. "What if one day, I'll wake up with no memory of you?"

"I'll treat you the same until I'm your bestfriend again!" Reiji exclaimed cheerfully. "I'll stay by your side no matter what!"

Aine smiled genuinely at the other idol. "Thank you, Reiji. Take care of Ai for me, will you? Let him live his life to the fullest."

He then stood up and proceeded to walk towards the sea.

"W-Wait! Where are you going? And how do you know Ai-Ai?" The startled sempai asked.

"I just know." Aine replied as the gentle breeze tickled his face. "Perhaps someday, our paths will cross again, but for now, it's goodbye."

Reiji hastily got up. "What do you mean by that? Aine, what are you trying to say??"

"It's nice to see you again, Reiji. I'm glad to have spent this time with you, even for just a little while." The cyan-haired idol exclaimed. "Do me a favour and wake up, okay? A lot of people are waiting for you."

Reiji started to run after his friend but Aine seemed unreachable. "Aine, wait!"

Aine stopped and turned to face Reiji. He gave the brunet one last smile.

Until we meet again.

~

Grey eyes fluttered open to the rays of the sun which passed through the glass window. The first thing Reiji noticed was a mask attached to his face and other contraptions to note his vital signs. The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't in his own room and there was a vase full of lilacs, and third,

"You're finally awake."

Reiji spun to where the source of the sound and saw his fellow Quartet Night, Camus, having a cup of tea and biscuits.

"M-Myu-chan? What happened? Where am I?" The confused brunet asked.

Just then, the door opened and in came the silver-haired rocker of the group. Upon closer inspection, Ranmaru's eyes widened with surprise and a small smile was visible until his usual frown took over.

"About time you got up." The rocker began.

"Didn't anyone tell you to knock?" Camus remarked but was ignored.

"Ran-Ran! You're here!" Reiji exclaimed then paused, "Where is here?"

"You're in the hospital, baka." Ranmaru replied.

"Nani!?? H-Hospital!? Why???"

"You were in a coma for a month." The Count answered.

"I – coma!?" The brunet shrieked. "How did that happen!?"

Ranmaru scoffed. "You seriously don't know?"

With the shook of his head, Camus knew he had to fill in the details for the eldest of the group.

"The night we had that conversation, I was heading to my room when I heard a noise which sounded like something falling down the stairs. I went to identify what it was and saw you lying unconscious on the floor. At first, I thought I could just wake you up – "

"By kicking you lightly on the gut." Ranmaru cut with a smirk.

"Fool! Do not interrupt me!" Camus exclaimed then cleared his throat. "As I was saying, I thought I could just wake you up but you weren't giving any response. You must've hit your head on something hard since you were out cold until the next morning."

"Wait...you just left me where I was!?" Reiji cried out and produced fake tears. "So mean, Myu-chan!"

"No I did not! Be grateful we called an ambulance! Otherwise, you would have just rotted on the spot!" The Count of Permafrost boomed. "That said, no more drinking for you!"

The brown-haired sempai grinned sheepishly. 'So it was all a dream?' Somehow, Reiji was relieved that it was all in his mind and he was glad to be in this reality. He wouldn't trade his bandmates and kouhais for anything. Speaking of kouhais, the two of them burst through the door and a certain red-head tackled the brunet with a hug.

"Rei-chan!!! You're awake!!! I'm so glad!!!" Otoya exclaimed while trying his best not to shed tears in front of his senior.

"Otoya...be more careful! He just woke up!" Tokiya chided. He faced his sempai and smiled the slightest. "Welcome back, Kotobuki-sempai."

Reiji was moved upon seeing his amazing kouhais. "Otoyan, Toki...I miss you so much!!!"

"Is he really up?" Came another voice. The rest of Starish and their composer entered the scene. All of them had expressions of joy and relief.

"Good to have you back, Rei-chan." Ren began.

"I'm glad you're awake, Kotobuki-sempai." Haruka supplied.

"The muses are so kind to have answered our prayers!" Cecil exclaimed as he did the Agnadance.

"This calls for a celebration! I will bake Piyo-chan cookies for everyone!" Natsuki cheered to which Syo paled.

"D-Don't trouble yourself! Masato will take care of it!" Syo sputtered. "Right, Masato?"

The pianist nodded his head. "Hai. I will not allow any more souls to be sent to this establishment."

The group had a good laugh when Reiji realized something – or rather, someone – was missing.

"Where's Ai-Ai?" The brunet asked.

The rest looked at each other until one of the cyanette's kouhais spoke up.

"He's not here." Syo began.

Immediately, a sense of panic shot through his nerves.

"Nani? Why?? Did something happen to him???" Reiji asked anxiously.

"Whoa, relax Rei-chan." Ren said, taking note of his senior's panicked expression.

"We left him back at the dorm." Tokiya explained.

"Yeah he's rechar – er, recovering." Syo added.

The brunet raised an eyebrow, unaccustomed to his bandmate being tired. "Eh?"

"Rei-chan, he was up for three nights straight." Otoya answered. "He even used all of his breaks to look after you."

"Ai-chan was the one who watched over you the moment you were brought to the hospital. I've never seen him so worried." Natsuki said with a smile.

"We told him we could take turns but he refused to leave the first few days." Ranmaru commented.

"It was only until last night that he was here though. Mikaze collapsed due to the lack of sleep so I called his kouhais to bring him back to the Master Course dormitory." Camus explained.

"With much trouble, might I add!" Syo exclaimed. "He kept saying he was fine but does he think I'm stupid!? Tch, he could black out again!"

"Mikaze-sempai really cares for you." Haruka added while smiling.

Reiji was speechless. Ai did that for him? It was an astonishing discovery! His youngest bandmate never cared about anything or anyone to the extent where the cyanette would stay up for days. It wasn't like him at all! The maracas-sempai never thought that the other would actually give a damn but this proved otherwise. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was another person taking care of him. It almost felt like someone else, someone like –

"Aine." Reiji muttered.

"Rei-chan? Something wrong?" Otoya inquired. "You're spacing out."

Reiji came back to his senses and flashed a reassuring grin. He told everyone that he was okay for he knew that someone somewhere had always been by his side.

Watch over me and I'll watch over you. That's a promise.

Days passed before Reiji was released from the hospital. Of course, things were still the same. He still had idol work to do and probably more to come. His kouhais were still doing great, same goes for the rest of Starish. Quartet Night had several jobs to do which was nothing new. Ranmaru complained about the amount of work he had to sort out, Camus pretended not to hear the angry rocker, and Ai typed away on his laptop. As usual, Reiji would attempt to bring some optimism to the group and he would get the same responses:

"Shut up."

"Silence, you fool."

"Please be quiet."

Nothing much had changed and on his days off, like now, Reiji could still be found driving towards a house by the sea. He'd get out of his green car, ring the doorbell, and wait until it was opened by a familiar face.

"Reiji! It's been a while since you last visited!" The professor exclaimed and let the boy in.

"Well, a lot of things happened." Reiji said sheepishly, silently hoping that the professor knew nothing about his coma. "There weren't any sunflowers so I bought these instead."

"I'm sure he'll like it nonetheless." The older male stated.

Reiji went inside his friend's room and placed the blue camellias in a vase. Then, he took his place right next to the sleeping cyanette. Like always, he held the other's hand and smiled.

"Hey, Aine...I had a dream about you. I was back in the past. Kei and Hibiki were there too! It was fun being with you guys and I miss hanging out, but..." Reiji bit his lip before continuing. "I don't think I belong in that reality. As much as I wanted you to stay, I just knew that you couldn't without risking someone else. Actually, a lot of someones. I never met Quartet Night and my kouhais...Otoyan was a fucking pizza delivery boy! And Ai...I couldn't live with the events that happened."

A tear rolled down grey eyes as Reiji recalled the scenarios which played in his mind while he was in the hospital. At first, he thought saving Aine was all he wanted but as things progressed, the brunet knew what mattered most to him.

And that was living in the reality he was now in.

"In the dream, you told me that our paths will cross again someday. Until that day comes, I'll continue to watch over you and," Reiji gave his friend's hand a squeeze. "I forgive you."

The past used to bother him but now, there was enlightenment. True that all he could do was hope and wait, yet Reiji wouldn't want it any other way. With one last glance, Reiji walked out of the room smiling. He thanked the professor before he drove back to the Master Course dormitory. On the way back, he passed-by a coffee shop where he saw two familiar faces and they were no other than Kei and Hibiki. The two seemed to be doing okay and even though Reiji wanted to join them, he knew he couldn't for they would only cause a scene. Things were different regarding their friendship but that was okay.

After all, he was Reiji Kotobuki and he has the best set of people he considered close to family.

"I'm back and I brought food!" Reiji cheered.

"Is there any meat?" Ranmaru asked and was pleased once Reiji said yes. "Good. I'm starving."

"I hope you didn't forget the cake I ordered." Camus added.

"Why would I? Here you go, Myu-chan!" The brunet chimed and passed a box of chocolate cake to the Count.

"Do you always arrive this late?"

Reiji turned his attention to the youngest of the group.

"Oh, Ai-Ai! Were you worried?" The older teased. "I brought you marine jelly!"

Instead of giving an offhand remark, Ai simply switched his focus to something else.

The maracas-sempai chuckled before he called the other. "Ai-Ai."

"What?"

Reiji smiled gently. "Thank you."

At that moment, Reiji could have sworn he was looking into the surprised eyes of another cyanette. It was a quick one, but there was a flash of joy and gratitude in those cyan orbs. Just as how fast it showed, those emotions disappeared too soon as Ai reverted back to his usual stoic self. It was enough for Reiji though and he had a good feeling about the days to come.

For somewhere, another pair of cyan eyes finally opened after years of deep slumber.

~

It had been a year since the incident of Reiji falling down the stairs. Despite the much appreciated concern from his kouhais and bandmates, Reiji went on with his daily routine as if nothing drastic ever happened. Work had been plentiful especially with the ones that were put on hold due to his leave so the clown sempai busied himself with his various jobs hence it served as a reward once he got a much deserved break. It was one of those days where Reiji found himself sitting on a park bench – incognito of course! – under a shady tree with the sun shining brightly in the bright blue sky. The brunet had a strong feeling that today was going to be a great day so Reiji decided to enjoy the day the way it was.

'It's too bad Otoyan and Toki have work today.' The maracas idol thought. 'I would've brought them with me.'

Reiji breathed out a sigh of content. He basked in the sun's light and he was so caught up in his relaxed state that he failed to notice the presence of another person sitting beside him.

"Wonderful weather, huh?" The stranger said.

Without moving, Reiji replied, "Yeah."

It was silent for a moment until the stranger spoke again.

"You must be free for today with that disposition of yours. Being an idol must be quite tiring."

At that moment, Reiji twisted his neck to the side and encountered an unexpected someone.

The eldest of Quartet Night nearly choked on air. "K-Kei!?"

Aforementioned male crossed his arms. "You sound like you're shocked to see me."

"Of course I am! It's weird for you to talk to me without hurling any insult...actually, you wouldn't talk to me at all!" The brunet exclaimed.

"People change." Kei began which caught Reiji off-guard. "I've done a lot of thinking and I came to accept some facts. I know I may never see Aine again nor know his reasons for his attempted suicide, but I'm certain that pinning all that blame on you was wrong."

The air between the two changed from a fresh breeze to a warm and open one – the kind of atmosphere Reiji least expected from Kei and not that he was complaining.

"I was just so angry and disappointed with myself. I couldn't be the friend he needed. If I had known, I could've saved him. I definitely would." Kei turned to Reiji. "But he called you. Not me or Hibiki, but you."

"..."

"I guess I was just mad that...you were given the chance to save him...to play the hero...but no, and it wasn't your fault." Kei continued and looked at the brunet right in the eye. "I'm sure as hell that you would do everything and anything to stop Aine from jumping off that cliff. I know you would."

A strong sense of forgiveness surged through not only the brunet, but also through his companion. A ray of reconciliation finally managed to break through the walls built by years of loathe and regret.

Kei stood up and smiled the slightest. "Hibiki wanted to say the same thing but he's off directing. Oh, and if you happen to visit the professor, say hi to him for me."

Reiji grinned. "Will do!"

The other male waved goodbye and walked into the distance until his silhouette was no longer visible. The brunet sighed before he went to his little green car and drove down a path he knew too well. He stopped by a flower shop to purchase sunflowers and boy had it been a while since Reiji last bought flowers personally for Aine! Due to his piling workload, the clown sempai didn't have the time to go and visit his friend so he resorted to having the shop send flowers for him. He was overjoyed to visit after a long time.

Once he arrived, Reiji got out of the car and approached the professor's house while humming Quartet Night's latest single. The brunet hit the doorbell and waited. Seconds later and the door was still closed so the idol pressed the doorbell again.

'Maybe he went to a convenience store.' Reiji thought after a minute passed and no one answered. In any case, the professor would be back in a jiffy if he did leave.

Deciding to wait in the car, the brunet walked along when something caught his eye. There was a figure near the coastline. Thinking it was the professor catching some air, he merrily made his way to where the other was. Reiji continued to approach the person until he got a clearer view. That was when he stopped. Sensing the brunet's presence, the other individual turned around and smiled.

"Hello, Reiji."

Right there and then, Reiji took a deep breath. He prayed this wasn't another strange dream or dimension for finally, the portrait in his mind where all the people he cared about – his kouhais, Starish, and Quartet Night – was completed with the addition of this person. With a grin as bright as the sun, Reiji gave his response.

"Hey, Aine. It's good to see you again."

"Likewise."

The two males began to talk like it was only yesterday that they parted. This was one of the best days in the brunet's life.

After all, he was talking to a person near and dear to him only this time, it wasn't silence that answered him.

"Are those sunflowers for me?" The cyanette asked.

Reiji grinned sheepishly. "Yeah...hey, I had a dream about you!"

By the way Aine smiled, Reiji knew the other had an idea of what he was going to say. "Please, do tell."

It was all déjà vu for both of them with one thing different: they were no longer dreaming.

...

"Reiji?"

"Yeah?"

"It's nice to see you again."

Reiji could only return the smile Aine gave him. "Likewise."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QUARTET KNIGHT FINALLY ENDED!

That said, I would like to thank everyone who supported me and this fanfic! As others had known, this was supposed to end two chapters ago yet thanks to everyone, I was motivated to extend this so yippee for you! Seriously, I wouldn't have made it this far if it weren't for you dear readers. I want you to know (as always) that I greatly appreciate every message/review you gave whether it was just a smiley face or a paragraph of encouragement! Thank you so much! Special shout-out to wingless_otaku, AoiShoutaOTAKU, and quite recently M_Vanderwood. May your lives be filled with sparkles and cake :D

To everyone, good luck with whatever you're dealing with right now :) Chin up lovelies~ you are amazing!

Thank you once again ;)

(I will reside in Haikyuu hell for now. I wrote a fanfic about it btw *cough*shameless self-promotion*cough*)

See ya~! Thanks for reading!