Note: This three-part story is canon-compliant; all characters are going to be in the roles given to them by the epilogue. In this chapter, Miyako is 18, and Ken and Daisuke are 17. I am taking some liberties with other characters not mentioned in the epilogue, which will be important to the plot. Please read and review! I desperately need feedback to improve my writing since I don't currently have a beta.

Recommended tracks: Cocco – My Dear Pig; Asian Kung Fu Generation – ブラックアウト (Black Out); Cornelius – Tone Twilight Zone

Inoue Miyako ran as fast as she could in the post-school crush of people to get to cram schools, clubs, tutors, work, and home. Her best friend wasn't a particularly patient guy but he never minded if she was late to their regular venting session. Her hurry and somewhat scandalous skirt-flaring sprint was due to her own giddiness and elation. It had finally happened! The thing….. the thing she had wanted since forever… had finally happened! She crashed through a huddle of girls with tennis skirts and sneakers, running blindly. "Hey! Inoue-kun, watch out!"

She made it to a quiet hallway and slipped out the door into an empty courtyard. The sun was low in the cornflower sky, making a hazy glow and giving the puffy clouds a golden tinge to their edges. Strange weather for March but the glow and the warmth perfectly matched the way she felt. If it weren't for those pesky laws of gravity, she would surely float away into that glorious sky.

"Miyako-chan! I knew your head was full of air but I didn't know you had to refill it every single day! It explains so much about you!" Miyako closed her eyes and couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips before whirling with a joyful and predatory smile, "Daisuke, if I weren't so completely and totally at peace with the world, I would demolish you." She positively skipped over to her friend and dropped to her heels, adopting the gangster pose he insisted they use for these meetings. She threw an arm around him for a fervent hug, a rare occurrence, and stole his cigarette from him at the same time. He returned the hug, giving her questioning look before digging through his pockets to retrieve another cigarette.

"I swear, you are the most obvious person in the whole world," she grumped, "this whole gang pretense with me is just an excuse to get in touch with your bad boy side and seem mysterious and desirable! Daisuke, the cool kid who doesn't play by society's rules, isn't going to university, who happens to have an earring and smokes in the school yard." The redhead blushed at that before wrinkling his nose and pulling a lock of lavender hair gently. "As if I needed to pretend to be cool, Miyako-chan. Everyone wishes they were as amazing as me. Besides, we are here for a reason. Are the rumors true? Show me the goods."

The girl turned red and suppressed a grin, lifting her right hand up to show the bauble in question. A silver ring graced her finger, deep purple and pale pink stones crafted into a delicate flower shape. Daisuke's eyes widened looking at it before becoming unusually misty. His features drew almost involuntarily into a deeply pained look before he covered his eyes with a hand and sighed. Miyako did smile a little at that and snuffed her smoke out. She did the same to his before sitting back against the school wall, not bothering with her skirt hitching up her legs. She drew Daisuke against the wall so that their heads propped each other up and laced their hands together.

Daisuke laughed at her tenderness and turned his head before slowly kissing her cheek. "That bastard did that to you? Typical Ichijouji… overdone and classy…. making it hard for all the regular guys out there. So what did he say to you?" Miyako was looking at the sun hovering just above the horizon and nearly missed the last question; it was said so quickly and quietly. Blushing again and feeling that thrill of perfect happiness in her chest, she toyed with Daisuke's oil-burned and cut hands so she wouldn't have to look him in the eyes yet. Whether that was for her benefit or his, she wasn't sure.

"Yesterday he had met me at the computer academy and was walking me home when we passed a newsstand with that grade school genius on the cover of every magazine. One of them even said "the New Ichijouji" on it and I just lost it." Daisuke chuckled at this before nudging her with his shoulder. "Those damn vultures love dragging his name back into the news whenever they can. Go on." She chanced a look at him to see how he was doing and any traces of pain were gone from his face. He had closed his eyes and looked as serene as if he were sleeping. "Well I was saying something ridiculously dumb and planning a DDOS campaign on the magazine's website and Ken just started laughing, like really laughing…" Shivering, she was caught up in the memory and trailed off.

Her boyfriend had cracked up with laughter for a few minutes before spontaneously embracing her in the street, with only the night shielding them from the nosy stares of passersby. The two were hard to miss, as tall as they were, with such distinctive features and hair. As Ken's laughter slowed down, even the sounds of the bustling street and chattering crowds died away until the only thing she could hear was the roar of silence, her own nervous breaths, and Ken's steady heartbeat. He pulled her close, too close for propriety, but she didn't care. Her heart and stomach were tied up in knots as she braved a look into his dark, affectionate eyes. He smiled down at her, kissing her forehead gently before whispering into her ear, "How is that you make me so completely happy?"

Not a word of innuendo or lechery but the way he spoke, with such intimacy, gave her a deep blush and set her heartbeat racing. Ken delicately pulled her hand up and slipped a cold band onto it, his own hands shaking a little. Taking a step back, he stuttered over the words, "Miyako, I want to try to make you as happy as you make me. You mean so much to me, will you let me make a promise to you that I'll always take care of you and give my love?" Miyako looked at him, pulse racing in her ears. He was everything she had never known she wanted and everything she had. And he wanted her to be his forever! She burst into tears, whispering over and over, "Yes, yes!" They fell into each other's' arms feeling older than ever before, feeling known, and feeling the mystery of love that had lead them to this point.

Daisuke and Miyako sat there for a long while, ignoring the time, the sunset, and their own schedules. Adulthood and the real world seemed ready to crash down on them at any moment so they simply sat and basked in their environment. Finally, the redheaded teen spoke up. "I'm so glad it was you, Miyako-chan. I couldn't threaten anyone else he decided to give a promise ring to. She'd probably be a real girl and cry." Miyako couldn't help giving him a disgusted look but she was so happy that she just pulled him closer to her. Daisuke wasn't done, though. He kept his brown eyes trained on the ground, "Seriously, Miyako-chan, if I wasn't so in love with Ken, I'd be in love with you anyway. So I'm glad it's you. You'll take just as good care of him as he'll do for you." She smiled, she knew, she felt the same. "Yeah, stupid Ken had to go and be so impossibly perfect." They laughed and fought back tears.

Running a hand up to trace through his thick hair, she turned to him, face lit with an interior happiness but still solemn. "Daisuke, let's make our own promise, hmm? Let's always promise to be there for each other, no matter what. If I call, you pick up, if you call, I'll pick up, got it? Forever." Glaring at him, she held up her pinkie, the sun's last rays glinting off her gorgeous promise ring. Daisuke quirked a bittersweet grin before linking his little finger around hers, "Idiot, I thought that was already part of our deal."