I'm glad ya'll enjoyed the art! ^^

This'll be the last chapter I'll put up for this week. I've really been writing a lot these days, and ya boi has to study to pass her 4th Quarter!

- - -

It was as if the judgement day had arrived. Kou and Yashiro held the paper, looking at it with wide eyes and looks of complete disbelief.

Seconds seemed to stretch into minutes as they kept rereading, over and over again.

Finally, Yashiro slowly looked up, her red eyes wide.

"So what you're trying to say is that... you're transferring?"

"I'm not coming back." Y/N let the words stumble out of her mouth, not wishing to lie anymore. Her two best friends deserved the truth, and the truth alone.

"Sukora is a lot of distance from Kamome."

Both friends gaped at her with looks of disappointment and despondence. Her hands, which she clasped behind her, had a more firmer grip.

"I'm sorry!" Y/N shut her eyes tight, forcing back tears. She looked down at the floor, bowing her head in shame. "Yashiro, you're my best friend. You don't deserve my sudden absence. I want to stay here and help you..."

"Y/N-chan..."

"Kou!" Y/N looked up, dodging Yashiro's approaching hand. The blonde tensed up, holding his staff a little more tightly.

"You were the nicest out of everyone I've recently met. I want to know more about you, trust me, I do."

"Don't say that." Kou's blue eyes darted to the floor, and he blushed a little in embarrassment.

"Both of you," Y/N continued, trembling from the weight she had put on all of their shoulders. For maybe the hundredth time, she had failed her friends.

"I'll miss you. I want to go back. I don't want to leave. I'll make sure-"

Yashiro and Kou leapt on her, cutting off her shaky sentence. Y/N's E/C eyes snapped open with a start.

They were hugging her.

A very tight one, too. But both were shaky. Y/N realized with a jolt that they were both crying.

"I'm sorry...." Y/N feebly managed one last time, before wrapping her arms around both friends.

"Why are you sorry?!" Yashiro exclaimed, pulling Y/N closer. "You're going to live a better life! Why do you look so sad?"

"But you guys..."

"Don't mind us." Kou buried his face into her shoulder, eyes unseeing and distant. "Sukora is a great school. You'll make a lot of new friends!"

"But..."

"You have a family, too." Yashiro continued, smiling to herself. "I'm sure they're lovely people."

"You guys are my family!"

Yashiro and Kou exchanged sad glances. They knew they had no choice but to silently agree.

"Forever, Y/N." Daikon murmured firmly. "We'll always be with you in spirit."

That seemed to warm up Y/N just a little. She let out a heavy sigh, closing her teary eyes again. She succumbed to the comfort of the hug.

"Thanks, you two." Y/N let out a quiet sigh. "But Hanako..."

She felt a stab of guilt at the buried, agonized look he had given her before he disappeared below the Tree. As much as Y/N didn't want to dwell on it, she couldn't. And she knew she shouldn't.

"What's up with him?" Kou gently asked.

"I've made him a little upset," Y/N decided, unsure how to choose her wording. But if you rejected someone, surely it made them more than just a 'little upset.' She lingered on the thought with a heavy heart.

"Why would he?" Yashiro shook her head. "You're off to a good school with a great family!"

"I put him down." Y/N continued, now wishing she could go to the Girls' Bathroom. It felt like every part of her was screaming for her to apologize.

For now, she had to explain everything to her friends... except the confession part. The thought made her feel an overwhelming plethora of emotions she didn't want to.

~

"Amane, what's gotten into you?"

Hanako stayed outside the bathroom; not stargazing, not with Y/N. The last statement was what puzzled Tsukasa... but also pleased him.

"It's nothing." Hanako waved him off in a push-away manner, continuing his absentminded pacing through the dark, empty schoolhalls.

"Too bad." Tsukasa chuckled, a kakujoudai floating alongside him. "I heard much of the story."

He merrily tailed after his brother, until he was right beside him.

"She's leaving Kamome, right? Am I right or am I wrong, Amane?"

The words still stung him like a hundred wasp bites. He strained to control his pain and sadness, looking away.

"Right..." He responded with a crestfallen look.

"Well, then! I think that's good news!"

Hanako stiffened, looking up at his younger twin. He did not show the least bit of remorse or sadness at her future absence.

"It'll just be me and you again!" Tsukasa laughed, holding his incredulous, stunned brother by the shoulders. "That H/C-haired girl has been pulling you away from me for quite a while now! What a nuisance!"

Something clicked in Hanako's instincts at the word.

Before he knew it, Tsukasa was pinned to the wall, looking up at him with a dumbfounded look. Hanako's grip was shaky, but he didn't let go.

"She's not a nuisance." He said lowly.

Tsukasa, despite the high tensions, managed to pull off a sultry grin.

"I'd say she is! Look at you. Reduced to a wandering, inefficacious ghost."

Hanako, already put down by the events that happened today, could only recoil at his words, feeling a terrible amount of guilt and shame.

"We'll hang out a lot again, just like the old times." Tsukasa continued, instantly taking note of the effect he had placed on his brother. He slowly took hold of his arms, amber eyes slitted.

"Lots of fun memories, Amane! We can relive them. Going to festivals, playing some games..."

Tsukasa grinned, hands tightening on his arms.

"...let's never forget being murdered by the other."

Hanako's eyes widened. His grip had now become absent and weak, tears beginning to well that he refused to show.

"I see you haven't forgotten." Tsukasa chuckled, slowly holding up a hand to force an agonized Hanako to look up at him.

"So then, let's forget about Y/N..."

Hanako bit his lip, unable to endure the predicament he was in anymore. He shoved his younger twin aside, racing away from him.

"Amane..?" Tsukasa called in annoyance.

Hanako kept running. He didn't care anymore; he just wanted a good, silent, and quiet place. A sort of refuge. He needed to clear his mind and get himself back on track, ignoring the pain like he always did.

"AMANE!" Tsukasa's voice grew demanding as he raced after him with open arms, in a sort of pre-forced hug.

'Stay away.' Hanako chanted in his head, shutting his eyes tight. 'Stay away stay away stay away stay a-'

Suddenly, he crashed into something in the hallway.

"OOF!" The something exclaimed in fear.

Tsukasa skidded to a stop faraway, the kakujoudai floating alongside him menacingly.

Hanako slowly pulled away from what he had landed on, still gripping it tightly in unsurpressd pain. Then, he opened his eyes.

Y/N looked right back at him, E/C eyes wide in terror.

"What are you..." Hanako started dimly, then shook his head in surprise as reality dawned on him.

"Y/N?"

"Hey." Y/N squeaked nervously. Hanako realized she wasn't moving. What's up with that?

"Easen up a little, will you?" She continued. It was only then that Hanako realized her wrists struggling against his firm hold.

The spirit slowly descended into embarrassment at the position. To say the least, being on top of her was flustering.

Tsukasa awkwardly looked to the side, letting out a low whistle. He would deal with his brother and Y/N later. He disappeared into a gray cloud, turning away.

Soon, the pair were left looking at each other. Both were speechless, a hopeless look on their eyes.