We were never been too late, all love just ends

InuShikaCho

oOo nukach'an oOo

(A/N): I'm on my final chapter, finally, the epilogue! First of all thank you for all the support. Yeah, I know that I failed when it comes to faster updates and good grammars, but just to let you know I'm really not good in english! I am not a teacher or a professional when it comes to the language, so basically all I have is just basic terms, stock & applied vocabularies. I only used WordPad for making the story, since my MS Word is having problems. I also don't have time to have a beta since just like any ordinary people I'm busy with my personal life. That is why I do my best to proof-read the chapters for you. Don't worry, I will revise the whole story for grammars and such~ ^^;; Anyway, here is the epilogue. Thank you for all who gave me reviews and for loving/liking this fan fiction. You inspire me.

Chapter Note: Elicia is pronounced as Elisha. Sakuno and Makoto call her as "Ici-chan" pronounced as 'easy'. And of course Elicia is my sweet little cute OC.

Disclaimer: All Rights Reserved!

oOo Epilogue oOo

When a heart isn't paid back with what it wants, it becomes heroic to sacrifice and continue to love. It never cared less if others stare and treat it foolishly. The only thing that matters is the willingness to believe even though failure already waves back at you. They said that life surprise us differently. It gives us the least thing we expect in an hour and later on it welcomes us a warm realization; a realization that teaches you the real meaning of being alive. But have you ever noticed that when you try to contradict realism, your destiny stops in a big twist and everything starts to fall apart; ruining the expectations and dreams you wanted to have?

I used to believe in this thing that everybody used to call "fate". I was once a witness of it to happen. But it didn't take long when I almost stopped myself from believing it. Because just like a heart that stops beating in the extent of a man's happiness, I refused my fate to be with someone and decided to renew it with the other road that brought me to reality's destiny.

Right now I am old. My age will be removed from the calendar sooner but I am not afraid. There are a lot of things around me that tells me to push myself further and if I intend to stop once again, I'll be on that same position of losing everything and start from the very beginning. As people had said, to achieve something you want you need to sacrifice the most important thing in your life. I experienced a lot of troubles, trials and sufferings. Without them I never know where I will be right now. I still pursue my tennis career. The work I once left in Japan, I returned there to be able to earn and feed my family. However I was assigned to be a private tennis coach and will only be called if students desire to get me as their tutor. Enough salary to let my daughter buy the things she needs and give her good education in the future, this work is already enough. Never in my life again had I dreamed of something big. What I see around me and how much money inside my pocket costs already satisfy me. Nothing more, Nothing less; just exact, we will be happy.

My daughter is pretty young. We celebrated her four birthdays with Makoto, her grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and her friends. I give her gifts as a reward to the good deeds she do to the people around her. During weekend, me and Makoto invite her to the department store, go to the park or eat at a family restaurant in the city. I always wanted to let her feel special and never let her feel as if she's a mistake. Even though I almost died in my labor and at the edge of losing her, I continued to fight for her life. I don't know what else can happen to me if my daughter will be gone. Because even if she's the living proof my past, I protected her and named her Elicia.

"Elicia" Standing behind her playing the piano, I tapped her shoulder and whispered to her ear, "Uncle Makoto is here". I watched her from her seat as she tried to look at me with eager smile, hurriedly looking behind me and run after her uncle.

"Uncle Makoto!"

"Ici-chan, are you ready to leave?" Makoto asked her, closely with his right hand caressing my daughter's head.

"All the time I've been waiting for you Uncle Makoto!"

"I'm finally here, Ici-chan, so you no longer need to wait!" then, Makoto glanced at me and said, "Let's go Sakuno"

I responded with a nod.

How long has it been? Five years, already? It felt like it was a lifetime when I had that nostalgic scene before me. I was smiling, watching over the people I love to be happy and take their steps to reach their own dreams. Five years had passed since I recall myself going back to Japan and decided to stay here in my land forever. And it didn't take long when my decisions turned at me and told me to start myself a family with the baby I had inside me. I was surprised to know that I was having a daughter. But I never felt the chances to abort her life... not even once.

Then I wonder how he was already? That man I still adore up until now, is he happy? Has he reached his own dreams already? Because I can still remember the last moments I had the chance of seeing him agin. For that fact, I was sure he wasn't happy. He was wearing that face with full of agony and disappointment. With just his lips speaking and his existence standing before me, I felt his whole body crushing down just by seeing me. And without holding back anymore, my memories created a short play in my head... that I totally regretted.

"Why are you here?" I looked at his face with his eye brows meeting at the center of his forehead. But that expression he created didn't look up at me in anger, instead with pain and sorrow.

"Why did you leave me?" he said.

"There's nothing we should talk about, Ryoma" turning my body away, I started to walk.

"We have!" he shouted at me, stopping myself to continue, "There are a lot of things we need to discuss!" grabbing my wrist, I paused. "Sakuno, there are a lot things that we need to make things right, just to get things back again!"

"Ryoma..." I glanced at him and saw his face at the very edge of crying. I got hurt, "Ryoma... there's no longer 'we'"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Can't you just understand?" pulling my hand, "You no longer exist here! I finally realized how foolishly I cling myself to you! And I already let go!"

"You just can't do that!"

"Yes, I can!" I shouted at him, pushing him finally away from me, "I already did! So, Ryoma, let's just stop this nonsense anymore!"

"Never in my life had I thought this became nonsense, Sakuno! Because all my life, I tried to work things out! All my life I hoped for that time to arrive when you will understand how much I sacrificed my all for you! So please don't talk to me as if you regret everything we had!"

"Yes!" I was merely crying, "Yes, I do! I do regret everything! It hurts so much to think that I fell over a river full of lies! That's why I swim away from that river just to survive!"

"Sakuno~"

"Didn't you say it? If we really were meant for one another, fate will bring us back together! But no, we were both wrong to believe with those words! From the start, we were really never fated! Because, just before we started this relationship, when you and I confessed, we were already too late!"

"No we don't!" he covered his face with his hand and I heard him whimper. For another moment, I watched his heart being tore apart by me. I felt sick, "Sakun… If we try things out... fix things together... change for the better... fight for our love... then we were never been too late."

His words reached me that I heard my heart ringing my whole life out. But if I had to believe with selfish words and a love that never failed to fall then we will just end up breaking ourselves once more. So, for me, for Ryoma, for Chris, and for all of us, this is the only thing I can do best, "But just like any relationships start... just like how a human life begins... our existence will soon leave us... because there's no such thing as eternity and just like it... all love just ends..."

"Mama, are you alright?" Elicia woke me up from my memories as she pulled the end of my shirt, "You look sad..."

"Don't worry, Elicia, Mommy is fine!" I gave a smile that I hope my own daughter will never learn; a very sweet, pleasing smile that conceals the real status of what you feel inside. But I never had second thoughts, because I guess that's what we call 'human nature'.

With the three of us walking, through a path covered with clean and trimmed grass and nicely scattered tablets out of marble, we stopped in one certain tombstone that had an epitaph of a special person. Elicia's hand that was clinging in my own suddenly tightened, looking me with a smiling face. After a minute of staring and smiling, she finally let her grip out of my hand and walked fast to Makoto. I was standing near the grave, Makoto and Elicia stood behind me.

I kneeled down, took the flowers beside me and placed it perfectly above the grave. For a moment, I smiled and felt my tears appear from the corner of my eyes. Again, I placed my hand over the epitaph and traced each letters through my fingers as I spelled them as Ryoma Echizen. Finally, I cried.

"Mama..." Elicia spoke

"Ici-chan, mama is not crying because she's sad..." Makoto explained, "She's crying because she was able to see someone become happy"

"Happy? But Uncle... the person is dead, isn't he?"

"He might have lost his life but everyone knows that he's happy wherever he is now! And for sure, he's beside mama and you too"

"Me too? Uncle... is he an important person to mama?"

"Too much important that he became a big part of her life"

He was a part of my life that I never had the chance to forget even for once. It's like a certain reaction that will stick inside your head and creates a trauma inside of you. But in my case, it was not a frightening trauma but a deep happiness that even though it created big wounds we were still blessed to experience it; teaching us that it never mattered if you were right or wrong, you were the winner or the loser, just as long as you had given your best and do what you think you can for it to last. It may look like what you've done is not enough of fighting but the truth is it's quite too much.

"Sakuno, is that you?"

With my eyes full of surprises, I was shock to see her face once again, "Chris?"

"It is you Sakuno! It's been a while" She ran towards me and gave me a big hug. In awe I couldn't do anything but to hug her back, "How are you?

"I-I am fine" 3 years since I last saw her in Europe and seeing her that day means only one thing: I'll be seeing him once again.

"I knew I'll meet you here in Japan! I miss this place already..."

"I see..." snatching a small glimpse behind her, I was hoping that I could see him there. But sadly, all I see was a small kid hiding.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce him to you!" pulling the kid in front of her, she said, "This is Dino, our son!"

Thinking of it must not be a 'surprising news' to me because I knew within myself that I was the one who pushed them together. "That's great..." but absorbing the thought makes me jolt in pain.

A moment or so, I heard a door open near us and a small ring from a bell. The two of us were alarmed and we both looked who it was. We first saw his feet placed on a silver platform, followed by huge wheels and completely a man was sitting on a wheel chair. Another man, in black, stood behind him and was helping to move the chair. Again, I was in great shock.

"I'm sorry, Sakuno..." I heard Chris utter these words but I couldn't respond from what I saw. Chris's son started running and went to the man shouting 'papa'—the most painful words and scene I saw.

Exactly, another bell rang and another door opened. I had completely forgotten, behind me stood Makoto and a young child being held by him. In one instant swoop, two families collided in a painful meeting. The feeling was too heavy to bear. And as for a single mother, who has seen the only partner she could only accept being with a new family he tried to create, all I could do was to smile, look up to them and say...

"Oh yeah, this is Makoto and this pretty child is my daughter, Elicia" It was quite painful to talk. I could only bit the tip of my tongue just to burry the pain. I saw him move his head facing at us and looking at me with a fake smile and later on looking away, making me feel bad.

"She's really pretty! Looks like her mother a lot!" Chris complimented

"But I think she resembles her father more..." I smiled and joked, "What happened to Ryoma-kun?"

There was complete silence and I watched her face turned dark, "I'm sorry Sakuno..." she bowed her head down and said, "Ryoma is suffering from a sickness. He's having tumor..."

I got paralyzed.

"But the doctor said he'll be fine! We'll be going back to America tonight! We found ways to get him cured"

"Chris... let's go..." I heard his voice and it lingered in me. It's impossible for that to happen.

"Well... we'll be going now" her face shuttered in agony and I could see it clearly, "It's really great to see you here! Let's get a family reunion in the future: me, Ryoma and Dino then you, Elicia and your husband, Makoto!"

"Ah, sorry to intrude" Makoto walked closer to us, "But I'm not her husband! I'm just a mere best friend of Sakuno... It's really nice to meet you"

The scene ended with their faces filled in great shock that I couldn't paint at all.

Obviously, Elicia was Ryoma's daughter too. I was happy but quite sad after knowing it. Makoto wanted to take responsibility for the child, but I refused. I told him that it was my fault why all of that happened so I took the child and the burden as a blessing and a punishment for my act. Makoto tried to comfort me and tried to make me understand that it was just love and it was not really a fault of anyone. Experiencing pain and being left behind is a part of falling in love. It's neither a punishment nor reality. It's a nature of life. He even told me that he still loved me and he will always be. But I rejected him to think that I would love only one person and will always be, too.

Our world was not compatible at all. He had a wider life ahead but mine was smaller. He was carrying a high title beneath his name but I only carried my own name by how I present myself to other people. Despite that fact, we fell in love to one another. However it's sad to say that we put an end to our love just to make things clearer and easier. I knew that feeling because I did everything to make the best; and loving him was really the greatest part of my life.

If the world is eager enough to show me real happiness, then I will proudly embrace it. If it throws me thorns then, with open arms, I will endure the pain. But when the time comes when it asks for me to give up and wants me to stop, then, with no doubt, I will. Even if I'm the one to be left behind, if that's the only way to make things right, if it will make him happy... then I will forget him. It may not be that easy, but I can take it step by step. Each day will be a step of burning the ashes of my memories. But in every single ash is a proof of my own love and dreams. For the final day of my final step is the day when I will completely open up to someone else and if it's possible to do that, then my new adventure begins.

"It's quite unexpected but it seems like today is our family reunion, right Sakuno?" a woman's voice was heard a few feet away from us. We all looked back and glanced to that person and, with a friendly and true smile, I welcomed her.

"Chris!" I stood up and walked closer to her.

"Though, it's sad since one member is not present here..."

"Condolence..." I looked down in respect, "I'm sorry, too. I wasn't able to go to the funeral last year..."

"Today is his first death anniversary, isn't it?" she smiled, "It's also funny to see two ladies of his life"

"And we all know, who he chose, right?" this time was painless, "I wanted to attend your wedding but I couldn't leave because I was giving birth to Elicia"

"It's okay. I understand" suddenly, she took out her bag and rummaged a few things inside, "There's something I want to give you"

A few seconds, she took out a black notebook and handed it over to me, "During Ryoma's last willing testament, your name was included in the discussion. One of his wills was to give this note for you. I don't know what's inside of it. I didn't ask the lawyer. I didn't read it too, so completely I know nothing at all. Only I remembered that a month before he died, he was writing something inside his room. He never told me anything about what it was. But I think it's this..."

I took the notebook out of her hands and stared it out of the blue. In confusion, I looked at Chris again and then she added her words, "This might be the last time we'll see each other! Dino and I will be staying in London and we don't know when we will visit his grave next. I'll do my best to be just like you Sakuno; someone who is braver and independent. I know that a lot happened from the past, but I hope you'll forgive me..."

"Love is conditional. We sacrifice and fight for the things we want. So I do understand..."

The wind blew our hearts out. I knew that this day will arrive: when everything will fall in to right places and everyone will be happy. After ending our conversations in a deep sigh, we looked at one another and gave a healthy laugh.

"Well, I think this is goodbye!" Chris smiled in happiness, "Visit us in London when you can! I hope I can contact you anytime around!"

"I will! Thank you!" waving at her as she turned around leaving, I heard her spoke.

"Lastly, Sakuno, Ryoma didn't accept my love to him. The last time we met was the day after we adopted a child, which was Dino. A year after our wedding, he arranged an annulment. He still chose you in the very end and he's happy to know that Elicia was his daughter"

I was stunned in my place, unable to comprehend the things she had said. But I knew that within my heart I completely understood them. Yet the feeling that grew inside me was quite unknown. It was a mix of regret, happiness, frustration and love. With the feelings that were dwelling inside more, I opened the notebook and flipped its pages. In one group of lines, I read:

A lot of things had me realized how much I must not waste any chances that pass through. And when the moment of all-things-are-going-to-fall-apart arrives, there's only one thing you can always do... believe and have more faith about you and the people involved; because if the thought of "too late" will continue to exist in your mind then you can't really do anything. It will be the start of your ending and the beginning of nothing; and worse, the start of the final ending and just perfectly the ending. That's why, if people only believed in what we call "eternity", then it's not over yet.

oOo THE END oOo

(A/N): Again, thank you for all those who supported me in this fic! Thank you for those readers who sent me inspirational messages and gave me the chance to finally finish this story. Sad to say, that this might be my last update for now! College life is here and I need to focus myself on my studies! Aside from that, this might be my last story for a sweet romance of RyoSaku because I'm going to switch my preference to a new genre. Well that excludes the prequels/sequels/alternate chapters and revisions for some of my RyoSaku stories! Just keep me inspired and persuade me more x) that's a great help for me to do them! :D THANK YOU!