Chapter 119

Len.

I went to the florist with Rin yesterday to get some flowers for my mom. I sorely wished that she could come to the festival, but she wouldn't be able to, but at least she was recovering. It had only been a little over a week and already, her health was better. We also called Dr. Kiyoteru ahead of time and requested that we come in to visit earlier than usual, because it was a Sunday.

"Mom!" I ran in with the bouquet and grinned. Rin had left me to have a little alone time with my parent. She laughed and smiled weakly. I put the bouquet down beside her and pulled a chair over, "How are you?"

"I'm better," she said after a short pause, "I don't know about my job, though..."

"They'll understand, won't they?" I asked.

"Yeah, but it doesn't look good," she said sadly, "If they need someone to fill my place, that might be it for me."

"We'll find another one if that happens," I clasped her hand in mine, "But it won't. Don't worry about that; just focus on getting better, okay?"

"Right," she nodded, "Len, I'm so happy."

"Hmm?"

"We've never spoken this much," she admitted, "I may be lying in a hospital bed, unable to move, but I finally get to fix my mistake..."

"Don't call it a mistake," I said, shaking my head, "It's not your fault. You worked because you were worried about my future. Sacrifices have to be made."

"Still, I shouldn't have sacrificed your youth..."

"Mom, please," I pleaded, "It's fine. Don't...don't talk about the past."

She sighed. "You know, Len...sometimes I think about Ren and..."

"You wish he were still here?" I tried, remembering that my mom didn't know about his death. I was talking about the divorce, anyway.

She shook her head. "No," she whispered, "If we were still married, I wouldn't have you, and I love you, Len. I don't want him to come back."

I swallowed slowly. "Just...forget about the past, okay, mom?"

"Len, why were you crying that day?" She looked me in the eye, "When you took the photograph of me and your father."

I took a deep breath, not wanting to lie, but not wanting to tell my mom the whole story about Ren and Rin and me. She was in enough pain as it was.

"I just...I was wondering," I half-lied, "I was thinking about what it would be like if you were still married."

"It wouldn't have happened."

I nodded. "I know, but my mind just wandered off for a while. I was thinking about strange things."

"We all have those times."

I sighed. "A few weeks ago, I took Rin to our little place in the park."

"Oh?"

I nodded. "We watched the sunset and talked."

"So you really like her, then?"

My face flushed a little. "I love her," I whispered. My mother giggled.

"I can see it in your eyes, Len," she sang, "You don't just love her, you really, really love her!"

"M-Mom!"

Gumi.

Yuma and I met outside the mall. It was kind of hot outside, but there would be air conditioning inside, so I was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants. Yuma showed up in a thin, coal-coloured, long-sleeved shirt that clung to his skinny figure. I waved to him once I saw him, crossing the parking lot. He waved back and once we were inside, I flashed him a grin and showed off my wallet, which was full of cash.

"Is all that for carrots?" He asked, amused.

"Most of it," I said, "We'll drop by the cafe, too, if you want."

"Can we drink something cold? A frappé, maybe?"

"I bet they don't have carrot flavoured frappes," I put my hands in my pockets and we walked past the shops, the music from one outlet blending with that of another. It felt as though we were physically browsing radio frequencies.

"You could always make a request," he shrugged, "Or have something minty or chocolatey or..."

"You're making me hungry, and it's not even two in the afternoon yet," I interrupted him, "Let's buy some carrots first."

"Gumi, did you think about how we're going to carry hundreds of bags of carrots around with us?"

Yuma.

I watched as Gumi looked around, clearly deep in thought, before coming up with her answer.

"We'll grab a taxi," she said.

"But...around the mall?"

She frowned. "Maybe we shouldn't buy hundreds of bags...do you think ten will do for today?"

"T-Ten sounds like more than enough," I couldn't believe that I had turned my girlfriend into a carrot addict.

"Okay, then!" She grinned and pulled me past the stores and into a supermarket. We grabbed a shopping cart and browsed the aisles till we got to the produce section. Gumi grabbed seven bags of baby carrots and three of normal carrots.

"That won't amount to much," I said as she paid for them. She nodded and handed a few bills to the cashier, who bagged the carrots and gave the green-haired girl her change and a receipt.

We left the store and headed over to the cafe, where we both bought frappuccinos. We sat on one of the tables just outside the cafe and sipped our drinks.

"Y'know, I was thinking," Gumi began, swirling her straw around to melt her iced coffee, "Next year's our last year."

I frowned. Where was she going with this?

"What am I going to so after that?" She mused, looking down at her glass, "I mean..."

"Do you want to go to university?" I asked. She glanced up at me before looking down at her coffee again and nodding.

"But I don't know what I want to do!" She sounded so worried, "I'm so confused!"

"You still have an entire year left to think about it," I smiled reassuringly, "Do you want to go out of the city or country? Your mom seems like she'd be okay with that kind of thing."

She looked down at the table and pursed her lips, furrowing her brow and shaking her head. "My mom gives me a lot of freedom, and she knows I'm responsible, but she could never let me go like that. It's not that she doesn't trust me; I think...she loves me too much, and I can't afford to live on my own. My dad's also really busy with work, and moving's not an option."

"There's still a lot of opportunities here," I reached forward and tousled her hair, "Don't worry, okay?"

She sighed and nodded. "Sorry. I don't even know why I brought that up."

"It's fine. I'm here for you, aren't I?"

"Right," she smiled a little, "Yuma...do you want to go to the park after this?"

"We could go right now," I said. She looked up at the sky. The heat wasn't as intense anymore, and the sun was playing hide and seek behind the clouds.

"Okay," she said.

We got up and walked out of the cafe and ultimately, out of the mall. We sauntered out of the parking lot and down the streets. I had one arm draped around Gumi's shoulders and we were quiet, I think because sometimes when two people are close enough, they don't always need words to express their thoughts and feelings. At least, that's how it felt between me and her at that point in time.

We stopped in an open area of the park, where there was pavement around us and grass past that. Pigeons cooed and seagulls padded around and we both sat down on a bench and watched the birds.

"Those pigeons are kind of silly, aren't they?" Gumi laughed a little, "Look at them, their heads move with their legs. It's like they're doing a little dance!"

"And their necks are pretty," I mused, glancing towards Gumi, who blushed at the sound of my words, which confused me, "What, what did I say?"

"Nothing, nothing," she shook her head, "You just...made it sound like you were talking about me."

"Oh...," I put my glass down on the bench and grinned at her, "Do you want me to kiss your pretty neck? Nobody's around."

She laughed and pushed me back. "Hush, let me watch the birds for now!"

I nodded. "Do you want me to grab one?"

"Huh? How're you going to do that?"

I shrugged, looking around and catching a glimpse of an ice cream truck. Quickly, I got to my feet and handed my glass to Gumi. "Hold this, I'll be right back."

I returned with an ice cream cone and Gumi offered a questioning look, taking a sip of my beverage as I sat down. "Don't you want to finish this?"

"Wait, watch this," I forced the entire scoop of ice cream into my mouth, leaving the cone and wincing as a headache took over and hammered my skull.

"You okay?" Gumi looked at me, concerned. I nodded, gulping down the ice cream.

"Brain freeze, that's all," I smiled, my mouth covered in ice cream, "Anyway, this is why I got the cone."

I snapped off a piece of the waffle cone and gently tossed it towards the birds. The gulls cawed and the pigeons gently pecked at the crumbs. I looked at Gumi and grinned.

"Watch, I'll draw them closer," I said, tearing off another piece and throwing it, this time closer to our bench than last time. Gumi stood up, leaving our glasses on the bench and carefully approaching a pigeon.

"Come here...," she coaxed, squatting and reaching forward. The bird didn't come closer. I walked up to Gumi and handed a few crumbs to her.

"Try it," I said, getting on my knees beside her and crushing the remainder of the cone into bits and offering them in my palms. A brave seagull came closer, looking me in the eye.

"It's coming!" Gumi whispered as a pigeon carefully approached her. I watched as she lowered her palms and the bird pecked the crumbs out of her hands, "It feels ticklish, almost..."

I frowned at the gull in front of me, silently counting to three in my head before lunging forward and grabbing it with both hands clasped around its warm, feathery body. "Gumi, look!"

The pigeon waddled away after eating the last of the crumbs and Gumi turned to look at me. I was holding the cawing seagull away from my face and laughing like an idiot. "I caught it! It's so soft, Gumi, touch it!"

She gently prodded the bird's body and gasped. "I wish I was a bird..."

I frowned. "What? No!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean it literally!" She apologized suddenly and I let go of the gull, "I meant, they're so soft and cuddly!"

I sat down on the pavement. "You are soft and cuddly."

She blushed and I looked up around at the birds as they ate up the rest of the crumbs.

"Hey, I was being honest," I shrugged, "That's a compliment."

"I know, I know," she nodded, "It was just surprising to hear that. I didn't expect you to come up with something like that."

"Well, I did," I said, "Listen, even that seagull wasn't as...er, soft and cuddly as you. A-Anyway, we should go wash our hands now."

Gumi sighed. "Yeah, and the ground's hot," she complained, "My butt is burning."

I laughed and we both got to our feet, picking up our drinks from the bench and finishing them up before leaving the park.

"Hey, wait a sec," I stopped walking, tossing my empty glass into the trash before swiping her phone out of her pocket, "Come here."

"Another picture?" She mumbled as I pulled her towards me and held the phone high over our heads.

"This is your chance to smile," I grinned. She laughed.

"I'm ready!"

I snapped a picture and we looked at it for a moment. I pecked her on the cheek and silently wished that we could stay standing with the phone over us like that forever.

"Hey, Gumi, can we go to your place?"

"Sure! I need to get these carrots there, anyways."

We walked off towards our neighbourhood, talking with words and sometimes with silence. It was the best Sunday of my life, just like last night had been the best Saturday.

Oliver.

I was in my pyjamas on Sunday as I practiced my drumming for the concert, I was too lazy to change into something more appropriate, and besides, it wasn't like I was walking around the neighbourhood in my PJs, right?

During the fireworks, all Neru and I did was hold hands, and even that felt like a lot. She had rested her head on my shoulder and that was also really cute. It seemed so strange, though, that a girl who used to seem so obnoxious was suddenly someone I loved.

Around three that afternoon, there was a knock on my door. I was still wearing my pyjamas and when I opened it, I saw Neru.

"H-Hey," she waved nervously before looking down and examining my attire, "Oliver, you look so cute!"

"Huh?" Blood rose to my cheeks and I pulled the door open, "Really?"

"Yes!" She nodded and walked in. I closed the door behind her, "You don't mind if I drop by, do you?"

"Of course not," I replied, "I was...well, to be honest, I can't stop thinking about you, Neru."

She sighed and fixed her long ponytail. "Neither can I."

"What, you can't stop thinking about yourself, either?"

"No, I meant, I can't stop thinking about you!" She hugged me suddenly and if I were butter or, if I use my Kaito mindset, ice cream, I would've melted.

"Well, I'm right here," I patted her back and she pulled away, "I was practicing my drumming for the concert. Do you want to watch?"

She nodded and I led her down in the hall and into the room where the drum set was. I pulled a chair over so that she could sit beside me.

"Did you have fun last night?" I asked, taking my seat. She nodded and reached forward towards me, slowly running her fingers through my hair, seemingly deep in thought.

"I'm sorry for being so obnoxious all the time," she whispered, "I know I'm kind of always like that, but I was like that more so with you because I wanted you to notice me."

"Don't apologize for anything," I took her hands in mine and pulled her towards me, "You were perfect the way you were, and you still are."

I think, for a second, she thought I was going to kiss her, but that actually wasn't what I was planning on doing at that one moment.

"Let me teach you," I said softly, handing the drumsticks to her. She looked a little disappointed, but she smiled quickly after.

"I don't think I could play," she shook her head, and put the drumsticks down on her stool, "You should practice. I expect a good job this Thursday, at the concert!"

I nodded with a smile. "I promise, I won't disappoint."

She leaned towards me and put her hands in my hair, pushing the ruffled mess behind my ears. "Since what happened last night...," she whispered, "My life's felt like a dream, and I never want to wake up. It hasn't even been a day and I'm already going crazy."

"I think the fire burns more fiercely at the start," I said softly, glancing at her lips before looking back into her eyes. She nodded.

"Or maybe it'll burn fiercely till the end," she said.

"Don't talk about the end. There isn't going to be an end, not yet, anyway."

I pulled her closer and gently brushed the side of my face along hers, taking in a slow breath and gripping her shoulders. The corners of our mouths met and I glanced at her silently before bringing my lips to hers. Her mouth was small and soft against mine and the contact sent sparks along my spine. It was the first time I had ever kissed anyone like that, and it felt, to me, that she was a little afraid.

"Don't be scared," I whispered when we pulled back a second later, "I love you. Don't be afraid of me..."

"I'm sorry," she shook her head before closing her eyes.

Her hands were still in my hair and she took a step closer. We kissed again, my hands sliding down to her waist and my eye closed. There was a knock at the door that jolted both of us. We gasped and I got to my feet, face flushed as I hurried to the door.

I looked through the peephole and saw Meiko and Mikuo. I unlocked the door and opened up, taking a look at the two.

"Hey," Meiko waved, "Are you practicing?"

P-Practicing kissing, maybe, I thought, blushing a little.

I nodded and she stifled a laugh.

"In your pyjamas?"

"Hey, it's a Sunday," I snapped, "Can't a guy wear pyjamas if he wants to?"

"Sorry, sorry," she crossed her arms and grinned, "Can I practice with you? Is Neru in there?"

I rolled my eyes and opened the door all the way, letting them in. Mikuo smiled and waved and I nodded in response. Meiko knew where I kept my drums, so she was already headed that way. Once we got there, Neru was sitting on her stool and the drumsticks in her hands. She smiled a little and waved to Meiko and Mikuo, blushing as she met my glance.

"We're going to practice," I explained. Neru smiled and Mikuo took a seat on the floor. Meiko pulled a folded up sheet out of her pocket and started reading over the lyrics. I took my seat and held the drumsticks, waiting to begin.

Luka.

Gakupo tapped the glass and called to the kitten on the other side. We were at a pet shop in the mall, looking around at the pets and getting some things for his cat.

"Look at this one!" He grinned like a little kid, watching a kitty play with a ball. I stood beside him and nodded.

"Do you have everything?" I asked, looking down at his hands. He was holding a toy for his kitten and a bag of cat food. He nodded.

"Let's go and pay for it," he said. We walked over to the cashier and purchased the items, leaving the store and heading to the food court.

"Are you hungry?" He asked. I laughed and nodded. We went to a restaurant that sold sandwiches. I bought a tuna sandwich and he bought an eggplant one. We found a table, sat down, and started to eat.

"The last rehearsal for our concert is this Wednesday," Gakupo said, "And then the concert's on Thursday."

"I know!" I grinned, "I'm so excited! I know you'll do well."

He shrugged and took a bite. "The last day of school is Friday. The day after the concert."

"Will we still see each other?" I asked suddenly. He blinked.

"Of course we will!" He said, "Just because we won't see each other in school doesn't mean that we'll stop seeing each other altogether!"

I blushed and looked down at my sandwich. "R-Right. I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry, Luka?" His words were soft. He leaned forward so that he could whisper, "First of all, asking me was never a mistake, and even if it was, I love you. Can't I accept a mistake made by the person I love? That's the real test, right? If you really care about someone, you should be able to forgive them."

I nodded. He smiled at me and it was contagious, so I smiled back. "You really are an artist. An artist with words."

He shook his head and chuckled. "It's all you, Luka. Say, do you want to eat something sweet?"

"Huh?"

He gestured towards a small restaurant behind him. "They're selling ice cream."

"Ice cream," I repeated, thinking about Kaito.

"You're over him, right?" Gakupo asked suddenly.

"Yes!" I nodded furiously, "The poor boy's probably confused, though..."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I never gave him detention or anything before," I elaborated, "Now I treat him like every other student."

Gakupo smiled. "He'll be fine."

Rin.

After dropping Len off at the hospital, I went to Haku's home. I was standing in front of the door and had just knocked. I fidgeted nervously, unsure of how she'd react to me coming to her home. Suddenly, there was a clicking sound as the door was unlocked. Haku peered down at me and I smiled.

"Rin," she whispered, "Is everything alright?"

"M-Ms. Yowane," I swallowed my spit and nodded, "Everything's fine. I just...came by for no real reason."

"Where's Len?"

I looked down at my shoes before looking back up at her. "He's at the hospital. His mother was in an accident about two weeks ago."

She let out a small gasp and I shifted my weight from one foot to the other uneasily. "Come in," she said, opening the door completely.

I walked in and she closed the door. She led me down the dimly lit hall and into the living room. Dusty, burgundy curtains had been drawn to let the sunlight in. It streaked the furniture and walls. Haku gestured towards an emerald coloured sofa and I sat down.

"You like oranges, right?" She asked. She had me at 'oranges' and I nodded.

She walked out of the living room and into what I assumed was the kitchen. I heard some clanking and in a minute or so, Haku was back with a plate full of orange slices. She smiled and put the plate down on the metal table in front of me, taking a seat beside me on the sofa.

"I like them, too," she grinned. I took a slice and so did she, "So, what's the matter, Rin?"

I chewed thoughtfully. "Nothing, really. I guess...I just can't believe it."

"Believe what, the story of your parents?"

I nodded slowly. "For so many years, I thought my mom had abandoned me. I feel guilty now."

"You shouldn't. Your mother would forgive you," Haku said, "And she'd be proud of the girl you've grown to be, and the woman that you will become."

"I don't know," I mumbled, "Who can say, right? If I'm still like this in a few years."

"You have Len," she said, "He's not going to let you go."

I smiled a little at the thought of Len. "His mother likes me," I whispered, "We didn't tell her that we were dating before, because..."

"You two thought you were siblings, right?" Haku finished.

"Yeah, but when we did, after we learned that we weren't...she really, really liked me."

"That's a good thing," Haku chuckled, "Listen, Rin. I'm here, too, if you ever need anything. I don't think you will, but if you do..."

"I know," I said, "That's why I came here. I wanted to spend some time with you."

She laughed and I looked at her. She was really pretty, with a pale, narrow face and sparkling grey eyes. Her silver-greyish hair was tied into a loose ponytail and it fell over her eyes.

"You're really pretty!" I said suddenly. She stopped laughing and blushed a little.

"Funny, someone's been telling me that for a few days now," she mumbled, a small smile still on her lips, "Say, Rin. How's Oliver?"

"Oh!" I took another orange slice and ate it, "He asked Neru to come watch the fireworks and she said yes!"

"And?"

"He confessed his love for her!" I sounded excited, but Haku looked excited.

"Really?" She squealed, "And did she..."

"She said she loves him, too, and they held hands and it was so cute!" I couldn't believe that we were both fangirling over Neru and Oliver.

"That sounds so perfect!" Haku grinned, "Oliver's been so anxious these past few days; I'm glad it worked out."

I nodded. Was I like that with Len, back when we got together? I laughed a little to myself, thinking about Miku's fanfiction. I think it was safe to say that they thought we were cute, too.

Sorry for the non-cliffhanger ending (hah!). Thanks for reading. Now you know how old Yuma, Gumi and the others are, well, approximately, at least. This chapter had to be long because I wanted to cover everything before shifting scenes like I will in the next chapter.

The next chapter...that's when the end begins. *cue ominous music*

I'm going to run around and smash things with my Writer's Hammer. That's all I can say.

Also, if you look back in previous chapters, you'll see SO MANY HINTS to just about everything that has happened so far, and for things that have yet to happen.

Anyway, thanks for reading.