As she ran toward her brother, she heard him yelling her name. She ignored him a

ly. “No, we haven’t. But we were thinking about it. We are pretty much ready. Just have to pick one.”

Saya tilted her head in confusion. “Pick one?”

“Yeah,” Rin replied, laughing a little. “One of us has to propose the other, so we decided to ask you and your mother if you could help us choose the best flower for our wedding.”

“Wow…we’d love to,” Saya smiled brightly at them.

“Great, thanks,” Yuuka thanked them.

“Can I see your ring, Rin?”

The boy blushed and took out his hand and showed it to them. “See…this is a diamond, and this ring is a sapphire,” he pointed at the stone and the ring.

Saya gasped. “That’s beautiful! Where did you get those stones?”

“Well, we bought them from a jeweler on the way here. They aren’t expensive but it was worth it because of the diamonds…the sapphire is my favorite color.”

“Mine too,” Yuuka added.

“Then I suggest that we buy matching rings.Mine’s silver, but mine is gold.”

“How about we go and get these rings now then?” Saya suggested excitedly.

“Sure…”

They ordered two coffees and followed Saya out of the shop. When they arrived back at the hotel, they went up to their room and started looking through their jewelry boxes. Saya opened her box and examined her engagement ring, while Rin and Yuuka checked theirs. Rin sighed in relief and pulled out his engagement ring, showing it to them.

“It’s gorgeous…” Mitsuba complimented. “Where did you get it? Did you steal it?”

“N-no…I bought it myself,” Rin told her quietly.

“Oh. You should get it engraved, then.”

“Yeah, maybe…”

“You really shouldn’t steal things from strangers, Rin,” Yuuka scolded gently, trying her best to hide her laughter.

“Ah, sorry…I won’t anymore,” he apologized sheepishly.

“There’s no need to apologize. You just need to be more careful, okay?”

“Okay…”“Here, let’s put yours on, then.”

Rin smiled thankfully at his fiancée, taking his ring off. He gave her his hand and watched as she carefully slid the ring on his finger.

“Now you look like the perfect couple.”

Rin grinned widely while holding his hand up and admiring his newly acquired ring. “Thanks, Yuuka. I love you.”

His girlfriend blushed slightly and looked away from him. “E-ehh? W-well, I love you too, Rin!”

“You’ll be seeing lots of each other,” Mitsuba commented cheerfully. “Maybe we could try to arrange a play date. Or even just hang out together outside of work sometimes, yeah?”

Both Rin and Yuuka nodded enthusiastically. Their friends then continued looking through their belongings until they were finished. Once they had, they bid everyone goodbye and parted ways.

Once the three of them had settled down in their room, Saya laid down on her bed, her back facing the window. She sighed happily and closed her eyes. “Thank god school ended earlier today…that’s always nice.”

“Yeah,” Rin smiled contentedly.

“You knowwhat else is nice though?” Mitsuba asked.

“What?” Yuuka responded.

Mitsuba smirked. “Getting to spend Christmas with my family.”

A smile grew on Yuuka’s face. “I think that’s the nicest thing about Christmas, isn’t it? Getting to spend time with family, spending it with them.”

“Yup! My sisters and I always get sick of the house being empty. Especially since my mom isn’t home that much and dad isn’t working as much either. So,” Mitsuba shrugged casually. “We always make sure that our family is together.”

“I’m glad you’re happy, Mitsuba.”

“I am! Now, are you guys hungry? I’m starving.”

“Yeah. Let’s go downstairs.”

When they entered the dining room, everyone was already sitting down at the table. They didn’t waste any time in sitting down, grabbing food and digging in immediately.

“Are you guys excited?” Masumi asked between bites.

“Very much so,” Rin replied excitedly.

Mitsuba chuckled. “You guys seem happy, but don’t you feel nervous about going to Tokyo tomorrow?”

“Why do you say that?” Yuuka inquired.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Mitsuba smiled. “Just a gut feeling I guess. It’s not a big deal anyways. Besides, I can tell that you guys will do great in Tokyo.”

The girls laughed. They ate quietly for another minute before getting ready for bed.

When Rin got up from his bed and headed towards his desk, his cell phone suddenly started ringing loudly and vibrating against the wood. He frowned and grabbed it from his drawer and answered it.

“Hello?” Rin said cautiously.

“Rin? Where are you? I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Are you alright?”

“Umm…yeah…I’m fine,” Rin replied hesitantly. “I’m actually with my friends right now, at the hotel. What’s wrong?”

There was silence on the other end. Rin became increasingly worried.

“Kazuya? Why are you shouting? Is something the matter? Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked frantically.

“N-No…I…I’m fine, Rin. Please calm down…” Kazuya sounded a bit breathless.

“Kazuya? Kazuya, answer me! Is anything happening?!” Rin asked desperately, trying hard to keep himself composed. “What happened? Is someone hurt? Kazuya—”

“It’s Yuzuki!” Kazuya interrupted him, cutting him off. “Please come to our place! Now!”

Rin felt his heart clench painfully in pain. His breath hitched in his throat and tears began gathering in the corners of his eyes.

He gulped and slowly shook his head.

“I…I…can’t…”

“Please, Rin!”

“...Kazuya….I c-can’t….”

“Please…”

“I…I…just…I c-can’t—”

“Please, Rin! I’m begging you!”

And with that, the call cut off.

Rin dropped his cell phone and clutched his chest, letting out an anguished cry. He quickly stood up from his chair and made his way to the door.As soon as he stepped out into the hallway, he rushed down the stairs and ran outside. He didn’t even bother closing the door behind him.

He reached their apartment door and opened it. Inside was Yuuka, kneeling down with a worried expression. She turned around when she heard the door open and saw her brother running inside.

“Rin…what’s wrong…why are you crying?”

“Yuzu is in trouble…she needs help…and I have to go…”

“What? But Rin, you can’t leave. You can’t just run off like that!”

“Yuuka, listen to me. I have to go. There is something I have to do there…something that I can’t do here. Please, please understand…I don’t want to leave her…not ever again…but I have to…please.”

Yuuka looked shocked by what her brother had just told her. Her jaw dropped slightly.

She was taken aback by her brother’s request.

But he had left, so she could only nod her head in agreement and watched sadly as her brother ran out the door.

She stood there for a moment and stared at the door. Suddenly, she ran after him.As she ran toward her brother, she heard him yelling her name. She ignored him and kept running.

Chapter 5

It took all of five minutes for Rin to get to where he needed to be. When he arrived, he noticed how dark it was; the moon barely giving any light. The night air was cool and crisp.

After running through some tall buildings, he finally came across Yuzu, who was standing in front of a large tree.

He slowed down and stopped beside her. She didn’t move or even seem aware of his presence. After a moment, she spoke, but her voice was completely void of emotion.

“…you left us…again…”

“I’m sorry…I…”

“Don’t lie…to me…please, Rin, just…tell me.”

“I…didn’t mean to…I really didn’t…” Rin tried explaining, but it seemed like Yuzu wasn’t listening.

“You lied about your promise…you promised us all that you would stay with us forever…that you wouldn’t leave us…” she sobbed softly.

Rin looked at her sadly. He then wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

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