"I idly hit the back of my head repeatedly against a dresser in my room, sitting on the floor as Yukio leans against my desk and Haru sits on the side of my bed. It's been a while since we had an impromptue meeting like this, but they soon agreed after I recounted what happened."

har "That ain't gonna help."

mik "It doesn't hurt, either."

"Yukio just crosses his arms, moving on to more important matters."

yuk "You screwed up."

mik "Tell me something I don't know."

har "Are you two gonna fight again? Right now?"

yuk "I'm just telling her the truth."

yuk "To be honest, I saw this coming. I don't think I'm the only one, either."

har "You're not the type to be tied down, that's for sure."

"I give a grin at the at the comment, which earns a quick rebuke from the other."

yuk "That's not a good thing. For all the fun you're having now, eventually you'll need to face life outside. You might have your head on straight compared to your early days in Yamaku, but that doesn't mean anything in the outside world."

yuk "Quite frankly, I don't blame Hisao for trying to slap that into you."

"So he's taking Hisao's side in this. That's not a shock given Yukio's straight-laced nature, but it still sucks."

"Haru's impish smile takes my mind off the unwanted lecture I'm getting."

mik "What's with you?"

har "This isn't about some attempt to get you to study, is it?"

"I move to protest, but a little voice at the back of my mind tells me that he's not entirely wrong. It is true that I don't care about my academic results; I'm too far gone to recover my grades now, and what's the point anyway when one unlucky turn could take it all away again?"

"I don't think I'd have the strength to endure that. Not again."

"What most echoes in my mind since our argument, though, isn't the words spoken. It's the way Hisao looked. I don't think I've ever hurt a person like that before."

mik "Why does everyone else seem more clued in to this than me?"

yuk "Sometimes looking in from the outside is what's needed. We can get stuck in our own heads and unable to view a situation objectively."

mik "I don't get it."

har "Yeah, me neither."

yuk "I'm surrounded by idiots..."

yuk "I don't know what you really expect from us, Miki. As much as I'd like to wave a magic wand and make this all go away, you're gonna have to deal with him eventually."

har "He's right, you know."

har "You know, it's not like you have to be going out to be together. You got along just fine as friends, didn't you?"

yuk "The oaf is right; being friends isn't any better or worse than lovers."

mik "You say that like you have experience. Hitting on random girls doesn't count."

yuk "You shouldn't make assumptions."

mik "Oh?"

"Yukio just closes his eyes, frustrated with me for trying to change the topic onto him. As much as we may fight, his uncompromising attitude can be helpful sometimes."

"With a snort, he stops leaning on the desk and starts to leave."

har "Where're you goin'?"

yuk "Far as I see it, there's not much point being here."

yuk "I don't mind being used as a scratching post, Miki, but you don't even know what it is you want to do."

mik "What should I do?"

yuk "I don't know, and neither would Haru. Work out whatever will leave you with no regrets, that's all I can tell you."

"With that, he leaves. Haru just stays where he is, doing his best to not look too serious about all this."

mik "Why do I feel like I just got scolded."

har "Because you did."

mik "So what do you think about all this?"

har "I just want everyone to be happy. That's pretty much it."

mik "I don't think I've ever seen you anything other than happy. How do you manage that all the time?"

har "You just gotta smile. It's hard to feel sad when you have a big grin on your face."

mik "Yeah... I guess."

"He brings his legs out before levering himself off the bed, clapping me on the shoulder as I take to my feet."

har "You shouldn't worry so much. It's weird to see you so concerned about something."

mik "I know..."

har "You'll work it out. If there's one thing I've learned about you, it's that you're a stronger person than most."

har "To be honest, I've always admired that about you."

mik "Thanks. You're a good friend. And Yukio too, when he isn't being an ass."

"Haru just laughs."

har "That's more like it. Good luck, Miki."

"We give our goodbyes to each other as he leaves, my room becoming empty once again."

"I might not know what I want, but I do know what I don't want. The silence of an empty room. The loneliness of being without friends. In other words, the life I'd lived before in Yamaku."

"As I look out my window, a decision soon forms in my mind."

"After all, one thing has always stayed constant, no matter what's happened around me in life."

# Timeskip

"It's been a damn long time since I've punished my body like this before. I don't even know precisely where this is, my legs carrying me a good distance beyond the small town below Yamaku. I barely even managed to get off the road before collapsing beside it, utterly drained of every ounce of energy I had."

"Try as I might, my arms and legs simply refuse to move. All I can do is lay helplessly on my back, chest heaving as my body grabs at any oxygen it can."

"My eyes have trouble focusing, but it's like there's much to look at. Just a blue, cloudless sky looming above, impossibly vast compared to the insignificance of me and my collapsed body."

"I've seen this sight before, come to think of it. After I'd messed up once again. Guess that's a pretty shitty thing to associate with a nice summer's day."

"A bird soars overhead, squarking as it reaches out with its great wings and begins to glide on the air. I briefly wonder if it's teasing me."

"That is, before I get a solid kick directed at the side of my ribs."

mik "Ow!"

"I roll my head slightly to see who's stuck their foot into me, only to find the wind taken our of my sails."

mik "Oh. It's you."

"Hisao just looks down at me, his face flat. Try as I might, I just can't get a read on him at all, and he isn't saying anything."

mik "So why are you here?"

his "To make things clear. I've had enough of being dumped the easy way."

"He lowers himself to the ground, taking a seat beside my slowly recovering body. Silence ensures as we both end up watching the bird hovering above us, barely making any headway as it rides the breeze."

mik "How'd you find me?"

his "A one-handed girl running through the campus and local town in the male uniform isn't exactly subtle."

"He has a point. I never have been the subtle type, after all."

The letter of his I managed to find bubbles into my memory. I can't remember much of it, but I can see his point. Getting dumped would be hard enough, let alone when the other side doesn't care enough about you to do it properly."

mik "You came all this way to make sure it was you who was dumping me. How terrible."

his "Don't put words in my mouth."

"I never thought it would happen, but Hisao's completely managed to take hold of the conversation. Between his placid face, brief replies, and near-monotone voice, I've little choice but to let him talk as he wants."

his "It's a funny place, this."

his "Half in the country, half in the city. A school for students with disabilities; an idea strange enough to feel surreal when you first enrol, but utterly normal once you've been here a while. Isolated enough that some are dumped here to hide them away, but with staff and facilities so good that others think it's their kid's best chance."

mik "I have to admit, I've only ever seen it as just another school. Sure, most of the students have disabilities of whatever kind, but it's still just a bunch of regular teenagers, and some teachers trying and make them learn."

his "All depends on your poit of view, I guess. Just like everything."

mik "Are we seriously gonna do we 'say sorry to each other and make up' thing?"

his "Not at all. I stand by what I said."

mik "Well... Good, because I stand by what I said, too."

"The silence afterwards makes me wonder if I said the right thing. I'm still confused why he's even wanting to talk to me, or why I'm not questining him about it. I've totally let myself get caught in his pace."

"Unless he's just dancing around what he really wants to say. Now that I think about it... that really is something he'd do."

"Still sore from my running, I manage to sit myself up with some difficulty."

mik "I'm not buying the poker face thing. Out with it, Hisao."

his "In the end, I just can't keep up with you. You might want me to run about and play rough, but I just can't do that any more. I wish I could."

mik "Well what about me? It's too late for me to rescue my studies, and I'm an idiot anyway. Sure, I might get some scholarship or anther, but I'd just flunk the academics anyway."

mik "We started from such a similar place, but our paths are already drifting apart so fast..."

"This always happens, after all. Given enough time, everyone I enjoy spending life with slips from my fingers. It's just the same for him, given his friends and his ex. Is it really so wrong to admit that, and just enjoy the present?"

his "I don't want to let go, Miki. I know you don't either, no matter what you said."

mik "It's going to happen again. It always does."

his "So you're not going to even try? That's not the Miki I fell for."

his "You worked so hard in your baseball team, and your body is proof you kept working hard at staying physically strong. You made such tight bonds with the friends you had back home, and with the ones at Yamaku, too."

his "Maybe you're right, and it will fall apart. Maybe might get into the same unversity, or we might not. We might not stay together even if we do."

his "But I want to try, Miki. Because I love you."

"It feels like Hisao has my heart in his hands, gently squeezing as he stares at me with those eyes. It's not that he's begging, but... hoping. This is what hope looks like."

"After all this time, I'd forgotten what that was like. All I can do in response is give a long sigh."

mik "It's ironic, isn't it? The first time we truly feel like a couple, is after we've broken up."

his "We don't need to stay that way."

mik "You really are a hopeless romantic, you know that?"

his "Is that a bad thing?"

mik "Don't put words in my mouth."

"There is it again; I really do like that smile of his. I could forgive a lot about him, just for the chance to see more of that face."

"As I take to my feet and dust myself off, Hisao doing the same. For some reason, I don't feel tired at all."

mik "Whatever am I gonna do with you, boy?"

his "Perhaps... go out with me again, together?"

mik "'Together', huh?"

"I give a grin as I swing my arm around Hisao's neck."

mik "That doesn't sound so bad when you say it."

"With that, I put one foot ahead of the other as I begin to walk once more, Hisao being dragged along. I don't think I've seen where this road leads ahead of here, after all."

his "Wait, hold on! Where are we even going!?"

mik "Anywhere we want to, boy!"

"He just gives a snort of laughter, smiling as I drag him along."

"I guess we're both going to change in the weeks, months, and years ahead. That's how life is, though. You can't just set things up the way you want them, and expect it to go on forever."

"Like this, the two of us will walk towards that unknown future ahead of us. Together."