Chapter 92

Len.

"Here we are," the driver said, but I was already out of the car. I wandered through the crowds of people as they left, Gumi and Yuma tagging along behind me.

"Do you see her?" I asked, my voice a whisper, so quiet that I knew that they couldn't even hear me.

"What do you think she'll be wearing?" Gumi shouted over the din of hundreds of chattering people.

"Something yellow," I smiled, thinking about how pretty she'd look in a yellow shirt or dress, "Maybe something blue."

"Something black?" Yuma offered.

"Perhaps," I nodded. We weaved in and out of the masses and headed towards the arrivals gate.

I spun around in circles a couple of times, keeping my eyes peeled. Whatever she was wearing, I knew that I had to spot her bright blond locks.

"What if she's wearing a hat?" Yuma yelled, almost reading my mind.

"She wouldn't," I frowned, "Or maybe she would, I don't know..."

I stopped talking once I saw her, the petite girl with cloudless blue eyes, the colour of the summer sky. She was wearing a yellow sundress that peeked out from under a black coat, and her sunny, sparkling blond bangs were held back, hugging her ears, by small red bobby pins.

There was a young woman walking beside her. She smiled at the teenage girl and pushed her light brown hair out of her eyes with a gloved hand. They were walking leisurely; they didn't know that we were here, but it was her.

"It's her," I whispered, taking a few steps forward. The crowds would come and go, offering a glimpse of my beautiful Rin as she came closer and closer, her eyes darting around the packed airport...

...Until they eventually settled onto mine.

I think we both grinned uncontrollably at that point, but maybe there were a few tears in my eyes as well. I sprinted through the throngs and swooped her up in my arms, enveloping her in a right embrace.

"Rin!" I exclaimed, looking down at her tired but glowing face.

"Len!" She burst out, hugging me again, "What're you doing here?"

Gumi and Yuma ran up to us, and I couldn't stop smiling. They were smiling, too, clearly thrilled to see us together.

"Rin, Rin, there's something we need to do," I told her quickly and nodded at Doris as we escaped the crowds and headed out to where the car was parked, "It's...it's important."

"W-What happened?" Rin frowned as we all piled into the vehicle, with Doris getting into the front.

I sighed, still smiling. "I really don't want to ruin our reunion, Rin."

"This isn't ruining it," she said softly. For the first time in days, we were staring at each other again, looking into each other's eyes, our faces only inches away.

"Haku Yowane knew your mom," I said quickly, squeezing her hand. It felt so wonderful, so amazing, almost like starving for days and then finally being given a piece of bread to eat, "She might know...the truth."

Rin glanced at Yuma and Gumi. They were doing their best not to stare at us.

"Do they know?" Rin asked. I nodded.

"I had to tell them," I whispered, "Besides, they're okay with it."

"More than okay," Gumi smiled sweetly, "We support you two! The fans are shipping you, Ri..."

Yuma clamped a hand over her mouth and the rest came out as a muffle.

"We're not fans, Gumi," Yuma looked down at his seething girlfriend, "We're their friends, and friends don't ship each other!"

"I can ship whoever I want!" Gumi said under her breath, "By the way, you know Miku's making a fanfiction. With these two..."

"But we have to hurry," I turned to face Rin again, ignoring the rather interesting topic that Gumi was discussing, "Haku's last day of teaching is today, and she has a flight a few hours after school."

"So we're going to school?" Rin asked. I nodded.

"I'm sorry," I stroked her face, "You're so tired..."

"No, it's fine," Rin looked up at me for a couple of seconds before clasping my neck and pulling me in for a kiss. She closed her eyes and I followed suit, but it was a short, quick kiss.

"Aww," Gumi blushed and Yuma elbowed her.

"I'll get to see everyone else," Rin said, smiling warmly.

"Except for Kaito," Gumi raised her index finger in the air, "He's..."

"He sort of...got in an accident," Yuma finished, the words shaking Rin.

"What? What happened?" Rin looked up at me.

"He's fine now," I said slowly, trying to comfort her, "But he hit his head really bad and twisted his ankle. Lost a lot of blood and got stitches. It...it all happened last night."

Rin took my hands and gently traced random patterns across them with her thumbs. "You scared me, you guys," she said, and I could see that her eyes were glistening wet with tears.

"Sorry about that," Yuma humbly apologized.

"It's okay," Rin nodded, "So..."

"I'm just so glad that you're back, Rin," I said suddenly, pressing my mouth against her forehead, "It's just...the feeling's overwhelming."

"I know," she smiled as I pulled back, "Even though I called you every day, I still feel as though my heart's going to explode."

Luka.

The situation was getting tense. The stakes were high. I eyed the orange structure from top to bottom, noting possible flaws or deficiencies.

"Scalpel," I said, reaching back until I felt the metal instrument in my palm.

"Toothpick," I tossed the scalpel aside and it clattered to the ground. The toothpick was next.

Slowly, I wiped the sweat off my brow with my free hand. The one that was occupied with the small wooden stick trembled as it gently grazed the structure.

"Steady...," I heard a wavering voice behind me. I stepped back and that was when I knew that the job was done.

"It's complete," I whispered with a drop of the toothpick. The crowd that had formed around me oohed and ahhed before breaking out into a deluge of applause.

"Luka!" I heard someone fangirling. I turned to see Gakupo, squealing and flailing his arms in the air, climbing up and down the tables and sofas like a little kid.

"That. Was. Amazing," Meiko whispered. I smiled and patted her on the head.

"All in a day's work," I said.

"Wait, what?" Mikuo frowned.

"Now let's put this baby into the refrigerator," I smirked and Meiko nodded, picking up the cake as I pulled open the fridge. She popped it in and I nudged the appliance's door shut.

Haku.

"Wow, I never knew you had such talent!" I nodded humbly at Luka, who patted my shoulder.

"We've all got talents," she smiled as the crowd of teachers and two students settled down. Her perfect smile made me blush and I turned away awkwardly. She seemed like the kind of potential friend that I had never gotten very close to, and her smile right then gave me some sort of odd trickle of hope, like I'd never really be alone, that all these people actually were there for me.

"Yeah, I guess," I said as Luka walked away. I sighed and sat down on a chair in one corner.

I began peeling a tangerine, and I was so immersed in it that I didn't realize that Luka was standing right beside me, and all the others were looming over me, too.

"We're going to miss you, Haku," Luka said sweetly. I stared at her, mouth agape, wide-eyed, and at the large silver tray that she held in her arms.

"A...A cake?" I could barely form coherent phrases. The cake was huge, maybe two feet tall, iced with vanilla and decorated with flowers.

"There's no alcohol in it!" Gakupo yelled from somewhere in the crowds. I laughed.

"Why, though?" I asked, my eyes brimming with tears.

"You're one of us, Haku," Luka grinned, "We can't let you go without a decent goodbye!"

I'm sorry, I'm sort crying right now...the Rin kiss was cuter than it should have been. The Luka scene got out of control.
See you next chapter!