I decided to try something serious instead of a humor story.

They're Ham-Human in this story.

The characters don't belong to me.

There are suffixes after character's names to emphasize the fact that they are in Japan.

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Bijou

"Boss-kun, I thought you would understand."

Two Ham-Human silhouettes could be made out in the dark blue blanket of the night sky. One of them stayed quiet, the severity of the situation was too heavy for him to speak.

Boss looked at Bijou as she swung ever so slightly in her tree swing. For the past few days she had looked sicker, paler, sadder. But never would he have ever guesses the reason for her inter depression was…

"Bijou-chan, why did you tell me this?" he asked at length.

"Because someone had to know, and I know how much you care for me!" she exclaimed, raising her voice for the first time that night. "You should know how unrequited love feels so that you would know why I am doing this."

Bijou stood up after hearing Boss's silence, "You should get some sleep. School starts in a few hours."

Boss's lips began to tremble, ignoring what she just said. "But this isn't the way, Bijou-chan…"

Even through the darkness he could see diamond like tears fall from her eyes.

"Boss-kun, if I stay here another day like this, I won't survive…"

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Hamtaro walked through the streets, diligently carrying his orange umbrella over his head.

The rain sure is coming down really hard today.

On his way to the bus stop, he always stopped by Bijou's house. Sometimes, they'd walk to the stop together. Today was no exception.

He saw her, standing before the large iron gates of her house. She had her backpack slung around her shoulder.

Perhaps if it weren't raining, he would have noticed the tearstains on her face…

"Good morning, Bijou-chan!" he cried, walking up to her. She turned her head to him, nodding as an acknowledgement to his presence.

"Aren't you annoyed by the rain?" he asked as he put his umbrella over her head, noticing that she had no umbrella of her own.

She stepped out from under his umbrella. "Hamtaro-san, my ride will be here any minute."

"Ride? So you won't be taking the bus to school today?" he asked, once again putting the umbrella over her head.

"No, Hamtaro-san, I won't be taking the bus to school today," she replied, controlling the cracks in her voice. Once again, she stepped out from under his umbrella.

Hamtaro stared at the girl curiously for a moment. There was some sort of tension in the air. But why?

"I'll see you later, Bijou-chan," he said, starting to walk towards the bus stop which was another couple of blocks away.

He walked away just in time to not hear Bijou say, "No you won't, Hamtaro-san…"

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"Hey, Boss-san!" Hamtaro chirped as he met his friend at the stop.

Boss grunted. He was in no mood to talk to Hamtaro today.

"You and Bijou-chan are strange. Aren't you getting wet from the rain?" Hamtaro asked, realizing that Boss also had no umbrella.

"You saw her today?" Boss asked incredulously. Hamtaro seemed very happy, completely indifferent to Bijou's state of being.

"Yeah. She's getting a ride to school today," Hamtaro explained. "That's why she's not with me."

"Hamtaro," Boss choked out, restraining tears and causing Hamtaro goosebumps with the coldness of his voice, "how can you be so foolish?"

"Boss-san?" Hamtaro asked, his head cocking to the side.

"She's not going to school, Hamtaro-san."

"Why?"

"She's leaving."

"Bo--what!"

"Hamtaro, she's leaving," Boss repeated. Hamtaro could see how upset Boss was over this: his dark brown eyes became pools of teary waters.

"And if I'm not mistaken, her ride should have picked her up five minutes ago."

Hamtaro didn't let what Boss just said settle in. He sprinted to Bijou's house, his orange umbrella left on the ground, drowning in the rain.

He made it to her house, and thanked the heavens that she was still there, standing sullenly before her house's main gates. He ran up to her, and Bijou looked up in time to see him grab her and make her look at him.

"Bijou-chan!" he exclaimed, panting. "Wh--What is all of this!"

"Nothing," she spoke. Her white bangs were pressed against her forehead, making her green eyes looking even larger.

How could he have not noticed the tears before?

"Where are you going?" he hissed.

"Why do you care?"

"Because you're my friend!"

"And yet you never take me seriously!" more tears escaped her eyes, despite her attempts to stop them. He immediately let go of her and stared at her with shock.

"…What…?" Hamtaro looked so taken aback as she said those words. Not take her seriously? But she was Bijou-chan, the one and only…The one who always wore blue ribbons in her hair, the one who always talked about Paris, the one…

"Bijou-chan, there's something I have to tell you," he said slowly, having no control over his own words. He reached out to her, but she slapped his hand away immediately.

"Don't touch me!" she shrieked.

Hamtaro tried to ignore the sharp pain that he felt in his chest as she looked at him with such anger in her eyes.

"Please, Bijou-chan, there's something you should know!"

"But I don't want to hear it, Hamtaro-san, please-"

"Just let me tell you!"

"No! Leave me alone like you have for the past few years!"

"Why are you leaving?"

"That's not important."

"You didn't even tell us that you were going somewhere…"

"This," she gulped, "this decision wasn't planned…"

"Then why did Boss know?" he asked bitterly.

A black car came driving down the street. It pulled up to where Bijou was standing near the curb.

"Because someone had to tell you why…Hamtaro-san," she spat his name out. As she was getting into the car, Hamtaro grabbed her arm so that she couldn't let go.

"You have to hear what I have to say!"

Bijou let go of the car door handle and brought up her hand to Hamtaro's face. One would have thought she would slap him, but inside, she touched his cheek, more and more tears breaking from her eyes.

What seemed like eternity passed in the span of a few mere seconds. She shook her head.

"No…No…No."

She pulled herself away from him. As she got into the car, Hamtaro looked as if the life were being pulled out of him.

"Bijou, please!"

But she quickly slammed the door behind her. The car started to drive away.

Millions of raindrops hit his skin, but he was far too numb to even feel them.

After a moment or two, Boss came up behind Hamtaro.

"She left, didn't she?" he asked as his voice cracked more and more with every breath he took.

Hamtaro whipped his head and stared at Boss with an icy glare.

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know, Hamtaro-san-"

"LIAR! Tell me where she went NOW!" He screamed with a voice he didn't know he had.

"She didn't tell me, Hamtaro-san…"

"I'll follow her. I have to. I'm the one to protect her," he said. In his heart, he knew that Bijou was an extremely independent girl. She didn't need anyone to protect her. But he had to be by her side. "She needs me there. I have to be there for her."

"Hamtaro-san, don't act crazy."

"I HAVE TO FOLLOW HER! BIJOU! WAIT! I'LL FIND YOU, WAIT!"

Boss watched sadly as his friend ran down the street, trying to catch the car that had already disappeared from sight.

"I'LL FOLLOW YOU, BIJOU! JUST PLEASE, WAIT!"

"Hamtaro-san," Boss whispered, "she left because of you."

Hamtaro felt his heart stop. "What did you just say?"

"It was all because of you, Hamtaro-san," Boss repeated. "She couldn't stand being near you anymore."

Hamtaro felt his body tremble. Did Bijou really hate him that much?

"But why?" he stammered, thinking out loud.

Boss shook his head. "Hamtaro-san, think. All those times she told you she loved you, she wasn't talking about friendship…"

…it wasn't friendship?

…….how could he be so stupid!

"…and she knew you could never take her seriously…"

….he took everything she did seriously. Why didn't she know that?

"…she knew that your feelings for her would never be what hers were for you…"

…she didn't know that…If only she let him speak!

"…she loved you so much, that it nearly destroyed her to think you could never love her back…"

"BIJOU! BIJOU!" Hamtaro cried exasperatedly, getting nothing but the rain and his own echo as an answer.

"…and she told me, that, she couldn't come back. Not now, at least."

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Five years later

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A young adult Ham-Human stood outside the gates she once called home. She grabbed one of the large iron posts as she sighed. All those memories she had here.

All those memories she missed…

Could anyone really understand the turmoil she went through? The past five years, she tried to rid her heart of all its happiness. In other words, she tried to rid her heart of him.

She took in the scent she could never forget: sakura flowers and rain, the sweet aroma of Japan.

She looked down the street at the curb she had left him at. To this day she remembered the way he pleaded to her. She had always wondered why he cared so much that she was leaving.

It was friendship at most, she convinced herself.

Those years, spent in France, living away from her life and heart. All those years, convincing herself that love was highly overrated. Crying herself to sleep for how many months, she learned the heart is terrible at choosing.

"You're back."

She gasped. She wasn't expecting this, no, not at all. She had just returned home from the airport. She didn't even turn around to face the reason she left.

"Did you enjoy your vacation?" his voice sounded so bitter. Was he mad at her? He had no right to be.

She turned to face him. After five years, he had hardly changed. His eyes were the same shade of amethyst blue. His hair still parted in its orange and white swirl. He grew a few inches.

After all those years trying to collect herself, his stare still made her fall to pieces.

"Good day, Hamtaro-san," she squeaked. Did he notice that she wasn't so sad anymore?

It was then that she noticed Hamtaro had a small infant hiding behind his leg. The small girl, three years old at most, looked carefully at Bijou with one eye while the other eye remained hidden behind Hamtaro's leg.

"Hello," Bijou greeted the small girl. "Who might you be?"

But before Bijou got her reply, another voice called out to her.

"Bijou-chan!" Boss cried. He ran up to her after he had noticed her snowy-white head a block away. As he ran to her, he embraced her in a hug.

"Hello, Boss-kun," Bijou said slowly, smiling.

The little girl tugged at Hamtaro's pant leg. "Father, who is she?"

Bijou immediately looked up. He had a child. He was happy now.

"Just an old …friend, sweetie," Hamtaro replied gently.

Bijou released herself from Boss's embrace, trying not to notice the way Boss looked up at her nervously.

"You know," Bijou said softly, kneeling down to the girl's level, "you still haven't told me who you are."

"Bijou-" Hamtaro started to say, but was cut off by the small girl.

"I was named after the only woman my father ever loved!" the girl exclaimed proudly, coming out from behind Hamtaro.

"Oh, really?" Bijou asked quietly. Suddenly she didn't want to know her name.

"Yeah," the little child chirped. "My name's Bijou!"

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There may be more chapters, if I get good feedback.