A/N: Hatori's POV

~EPILOGUE~

Come Hell or High Water (I will have you)

Insomnia is something I am invariably used to. It is habitually remedied by the vats of paperwork littering my desk. However, my paperwork had started dwindling in both size and number over the past few weeks; seeing the small pile that used to try the height of mountains, left me feeling vaguely erect in the horizontal office. Procrastination, and the tiny amount of paperwork to back up its excuse, did nothing to quell the sleepless nights and endless thoughts I am so accustomed to possessing though. On particular nights, nights such as these, I had to consult the interior of my car and the lulling hush of a silent road fabricated by asphalt to gain even a blink of sleep.

This was not uncommon, but it was not usual either. Moments like these namely occurred on days that were profligately stressful; and today had seemingly been exempt of that.

For the better part of the day, I showered, I dressed, I ate and I relaxed. Simple things that had escaped me for far too long, I had accomplished. This 'new' life was foreign to my sense of appeal. The curse having been broken was daunting, yes, but that by no means meant I was going to throw myself at the next woman that walked by just to prove it correct. No, I would not pull a Shigure; sans to him, I was going to have to testify in court.

Seems he was the only that didn't know 'Sexual Harassment' applied to hugging escapades.

It wasn't until mid-afternoon was I hit with a sinking feeling that would lead to my sleeps demise. In the small container at my condo building, confined by lock and key, mail waited for me as it normally did. I expected the usual scraps of bills, bank statements and perhaps a credit card company trying to get me to sign with them, but instead was greeted with a single, undersized envelope.

It was cream, elegantly spotted with flecks of grey and black. The flap was sealed with a gold sticker, an 'S' pressed into its middle. I raised a brow, wondering why I would get anything from another Sohma. I spoke to the ones closest to me as of recent and the ones that I didn't, or hadn't, would never send me something so formal in the first place. It just didn't suit them.

So upon entering my condo, I decided that, seeing as there was no other mail, one envelope had earned its right to be opened.

Seeing as I didn't want to rip the well-thought out particulars of the envelope, I decided to grab a knife from the kitchen and use in the same manner as one would a letter opener. Slicing the top, I pulled the outer edges apart to reveal the singular card inside. I extracted the card resolutely, turning its front to face me. As I read the greeting, my heart decided there was no better time than the present to jump off the cliff of my ribs to plummet in to the acid pool that was my stomach. How it managed that, I'll never know.

My eyes rolled over the words a few times before registering what the card was for and whom it was from.

'In Honor of the Graduate: Hanajima, Saki'

I had to scan it a couple more times, my eyes seemingly zooming in on the name, before my brain decided to catch up with my body. Saki; High-School; she was graduating? Surely, it hadn't been an entire year since she last 'remembered' me? I glanced briefly at the calendar perched on the podium separating kitchen and living room. Sure enough, the calendar proved my mind mistaken and the card correct. An entire year had passed since I last spoke to Saki. Well, one on one, really. I still saw her and spoke to her from time to time. Issued as her residential doctor by her parents and also having been 'ordered' by Akito to 'watch' her, gave me reason to see her once every blue moon. But now…now that Akito's orders rang null and void, I suppose I should consider it my time to leave.

Saki was graduating high-school, moving on to bigger and better things. What place did her doctor have in her life? It was quite simple: No place. I had no place being near or around her anymore.

Shaking my head, I tried to ignore the ache that had spread up from the pit of my stomach, blossoming in to full-grown pain within my chest cavity that now lie empty due to my heart's previous activities. But obviously, ignoring didn't quite do the trick, otherwise I would not be thinking of ways to explain my pain.

With my head in my hands, I dropped the card. I didn't care where it landed; I didn't care if it burned. Because all I could think of when her name appeared in my life were those eyes; those luminous purple eyes, full of wisdom, yet bleak with obscurity; obscurity that told me: she had no idea who I was. And more than anything else…that stung. She: one, who had accepted me despite my flaws, she: one who fell in love with me despite my inability to return those feelings and she: one who cried for me, when I deserved absolutely nothing of the sort. She, that girl, that woman, was gone. And I was the one responsible for erasing her.

I allowed myself to express my shame, my hurt within the confines of my own home; if I was comfortable doing such a thing anywhere, it was most certainly here. But the tears I cried were bitter ones. Producing from the very real need to hold her, the ability to be able to and yet the inability not to.

My situation was ironic if anything, really. Now that I was able to hold a woman within my arms, the one woman I desired most was no longer within my reach.

I opened my eyes, removed my hands and gazed at the remnants of mail on my floor.

This little envelope. This tiny envelope holding its equally dwarfed-sized card, led me to the seat of my car; to the path of my sleep-destruction.

Tossing the envelope to the passenger's seat, I rounded a curve and waited for the insomnia to take a back seat to drooping eye-lids, but the sensation had yet to overtake me. And so my drive continued.

As my day had dealt with the reminder of her; my mind wander to thoughts of Saki. Life without her was nearly as difficult as life with her. The only downside of it is: there are no upsides. With Saki around, I found myself feeling a little lighter despite the heavy air between us that kept us apart. Mostly the resistance was on my part, I'm keen on admitting my mistakes, still that didn't excuse her from the equation. She was just as afraid to trust as I was. And I hadn't seen it until it was too late.

I happened to notice a lot of things 'too late', mind you.

For a while, I was consumed by thoughts of the 'what ifs' in life. What if I had seen her feelings sooner? What if I refused to erase her memories? What if I had never gone for a drive that night, when she ran in to the road?

In fact, that night had been on a night very similar to this one. I was, at that time, suffering from the same sort of insomnia needing the very same healing methods as this one: a night drive that lulled me to sleep.

Those days my worries all centered around Akito; my insomnia plaguing me after a particularly harsh day dealing with the Sohma. Or in some cases: Sohmas.

No matter, I'm jumping issues here. In continuation: I often thought of 'what if' I had done something differently. But after a while, I learned that I probably would never do things differently. Seeing as I hadn't learned from the first mistakes I made with the woman I first fell in love with, it was really no surprise I had done much the same with Saki.

I sighed, hitting my head rest as harshly as I could manage. No, that wouldn't knock any sense in me. Gods know how hard I'd tried before.

It wasn't until long after midnight that I felt my limbs drop an inch or two from their resting place, my eyes staring vacantly ahead and my mind barely registering lights and signs. Carelessly, I was awoken from this demeanor by a passing driver that honked at me for having my blinker on, but never moving when the light turned green. Not that I cared, I came out on the road for this purpose. If I had finally accomplished my goal, then the next step to my seemingly endless night would be turning around and heading home.

Which is precisely what I did: I turned around, went straight home and flopped on my bed.

Without turning on lights or even changing clothes, I fell in to my bed and drifted off to sleep; all the while dreaming that I held Saki in my arms.

XXXX

That morning, I woke with the ever-unpleasant ring of my phone as well as the feeling of my eyes crusting themselves closed. Regardless, I peeled them open only to realize, they hadn't; they just felt absurdly irritated.

After rubbing the hell out of my eyes, I snatched up the phone in mid-growl, shoving the receiver to my ear. I grunted something incoherent, even to my understanding, in to the phone and listened to an enthusiastic laugh respond.

Perhaps a little too enthusiastic; I immediately knew who it was.

"I told you never to contact me through my cell-phone unless it's an emergency, Aya."

Another bellowing laugh escaped my old friend's mouth, giving me a clear image of him holding a hand to his mouth as he expressed his amusement at my expense.

"O HATORI-SAN! You're positively ADORABLE! You think I'd forget what you told me? This is an emergency!"

I scratched the hair atop my head, wondering slightly how, when I pulled my hand away, no locks came with it. With a sigh I covered my eyes and relented. "What is this…'emergency'?"

"That better not be doubt I hear in your voice, Ha-san!"

"Wait…what did you call me?"

"'Ha-san'? What, do you like it? It's CHARMING, I know, a nickname expressing how much I ADORE you, it fits quite well, no?"

"Uh…sure. Continue?"

"On what?"

I blinked. "The emergency…"

"O HOW BRAZEN OF ME TO FORGET! Really, it's not very tidy to say over the phone, so why not just head down to the shop, sound fair?"

"I don't know if 'fair' would be the correct-"

"TA-TA, HA-SAN!"

Click…aand dial-tone.

With Ayame, things never changed and most certainly, never got old.

More awake than before (Ayame's personality had a tendency to affect people that way), I put on my jacket and put on my shirt. In that order. I forgot I slept in my shirt and also hadn't realized the 'shirt' I pulled on was my jacket and the 'jacket' I pulled on was yet another shirt. Perhaps I wasn't as awake as I gave myself credit for.

I rid myself of the extra shirt and kept on my coat. Not the coat that screamed 'I'm-a-doctor', but a more subtle brown one. I figured Ayame wore enough clothes that screamed various obscenities. It seemed detrimental that I take something with me that toned down such an encounter; else we both be silently screaming. And, truth be told, I had a headache enough as it was from just the phone call.

On the verge of calling Ayame back and cancelling, I shook my head and walked out the door. An 'emergency' was an emergency. Even if it was coming from Ayame; no, that didn't fit quite right. Especially if it was coming from Ayame…emergencies could pop up out of thin air.

XXXX

The door beeped as it slid open, vacancy greeting me as I expected. If Ayame was waiting for my arrival it didn't show; which was odd in itself. I stood there looking around, half-expecting him to jump out from one of the various aisles trying to scare me, but nothing.

So I did what any sane man would do: I sat down and stalled the inevitable meeting. If he or his equally crazed employee hadn't heard me then luck was on my side. It was much like the setting of an oncoming storm; always calm right before the lightning strikes.

"I'm going to check the front, Ayame-san. I think I heard a customer walk in."

Here comes the thunder.

"Excuse me, but we are closed at the moment, come back to—OH MY!" Mine-chan gasped mid-stride, her eyes widening and shining at the recognition of my presence. Politely I nodded, unable to manage a thing before…

"WHO IS IT DARLING?"

And here comes the lightning.

"HA-SAN! WHAT A LOVELY SURPRISE!"

"You called me here."

"OH THAT'S RIGHT! The emergency! Come, come! Mine-chan, be a dear and watch the door for me, will you?"

"Yes sir! I'll do my best!"

"FABULOUS!" Aya clapped, reaching out to grab my arm as he whisked me away in to the back room of the shop. Vaguely I remembered that this was the room he dragged his patrons to in order to dress them or measure their sizes. I grimaced and hoped the 'emergency' didn't involve the previous.

Finally reaching the room, Aya shut the door and, in his fashion, dramatically drew the curtains closed around us. I sighed. "Really, Aya, what is this all about?" My patience has been officially expanded with his 'chase-me-down and you get your answer' games. I'd been wondering for the better part of an hour just what fetish of mine was in question.

"You." He paused "Her. I'm worried that you're making the same mistake, Ha-san."

Oh. Just that one. "I don't know what you have to be worried about, Aya. Kana is off and married, she only came back to the office last month to show her husband where she got her start. Until then I hadn't thought of her."

"Not Kana-chan. Hana-chan."

Oh shit. That one.

"Tohru-chan informed me that their graduation ceremony is later today. I think you should go."

I had to swallow the lump in my throat before I could make a clear defense. "That part of my life has passed. Saki is in good hands wherever she goes."

"You mean to say: she's fine in another man's hands?"

Yes. She was. She is. Only in my mind was she not.

The words wouldn't cross paths with my lips. I couldn't say it. I loved her. I love her. She was everything. I would have given her anything. Damn. I am so messed up.

"Ha-san…you love her."

"And when you love something it's best to let it go."

Ayame raised his hands and threw them to his side. "FOR GOODNESS SAKES! If what you love is A BIRD, Ha-san, then yes!"

"Maybe that's exactly what Saki is."

"NO. She is NOT." Ayame grabbed my shoulders and twisted me to face him, his yellow eyes piercing in their gaze. I could finally see his eyes holding the similarity of a snake's. His personality out-shined any of his features making him seem nothing like the snake that he was born to be. But now, after inciting his vast determination and anger, the hunter stalking its prey showed visibly. How had I ever missed it? "Hana-chan is like a rare flower. Despite thorns surrounding its roots, it manages to blossom, but if you smother it with more thorns it will only wilt and die. Will you be the thorn that kills her, Hatori?"

"Probably."

He dropped his head and sighed. "At least go to the graduation for Tohru-chan, will you?"

"I plan on going for both her and Saki."

"REALLY?"

Bleakly I gazed at Ayame. He really did get his hopes up entirely too quickly. "Yes; to congratulate them both and to inform Saki that she no longer needs my 'doctor' inquiries or observations."

He chuckled. "Ha-san you never change."

"As neither do you."

"Touche'." He stretched, getting up and standing before me. "But at least I'm not masochistic enough to cause myself pain every time I meet a person I love."

I winced. Yeah, it hurt. It was nothing less than the truth though. I love her so much I've convinced myself that the only way to console the need and make everything better was to let her go.

I nodded, dropping my head once more in my hands. "I love her, Ayame."

He paused. "More than Kana?"

Swallowing hard again, I tried my luck on breathing. I was able to exhale. "Yes." I whispered and promptly inhaled.

I felt his hand caress the top of my head, yielding and warm. But, for once, Ayame had no expressions to give me, because there never is anything one can say when you're life is a garbage compost of "what ifs" and the one you love was never meant to be yours in the first place. I didn't blame him. I couldn't have. I just clung to his hand.

Because if he ever let go…I would have too.

XXXX

Ceremonies are often meant to be ceremonious. Yet had I the chance to describe the graduation as such, I would not use that term. No, my opinion ran along the lines of: unnecessarily elongated, extremely explicit and a tad over-glorified. Not to mention musical; I understood and respected the traditions of our culture, but singing was not in my, nor others, best interest. For the sake of everyone's hearing.

I made my way to the exit as soon as the graduation had commenced. It was one thing for me to be there for Saki; it was another entirely for her to see me. I knew, had learned in that brief time with her, that she had no need to see me to know that I was there. Her denpa would lead her to such a conclusion. And I figured with all the commotion of parents and friends, she would have no desire to meet up with her doctor.

"Hatori." The voice sent chills rushing up my spine, gracing the back of my neck and only stopping as it reached the top of my cranium.

Obviously, I had 'figured' wrong.

"Saki," I started, bowing my head "Congratulations."

She waved off the compliment as soon as it left my mouth, the over-usage of it setting a dull gleam in her eyes. "I didn't think you would come. More than just 'congratulations' would have to entice you in order for you to be here…or is that just wishful thinking on my part?"

My brain questioned her question as I didn't understand the full meaning of it, but it was easy enough to shrug off and continue with the pleasant banter that I hadn't gotten from her in such a long time. I missed it; perhaps, a little too much.

"I admit: 'congratulations' wasn't the first thing on my mind. But I figure, as your doctor, it's only right that I inform you of our cancellations."

"Killing two birds with one stone."

"Precisely."

She hummed "So then, what is this 'cancellation' you're talking about?"

I paused, gazing at her as she stood before me; her brow raised in question, her stance erect, but leaning slightly. It must be that sleeping pattern of hers. I remembered her mentioning such a problem with sleep, how she managed to get any, though, was beyond me. In her gown (I don't say 'cap' as she had that specific accessory grasped in her hand) she looked beautiful. It suited her well enough: white and crisp. Not the Victorian-styles I had become accustomed to her wearing, nonetheless she remain gorgeous.

Shaking the thoughts from my head I answered her "The cancellation or relinquishing of my position as your doctor. You have no need for 'monitoring' any longer."

Without word, Saki nodded. If I were a romantic, I'd say the light she held in her eyes: dimmed, I'd say the expression that she wore: dropped and I'd say the hand that held her cap: clenched. Alas, I am not a romantic. And she: did nothing of the sort.

Saki nodded without a word, without an expression. Her parents walked over to greet her, greet me, and congratulate her while thanking me for coming. Once done exchanging words and meaningless life banter, Saki dipped behind her parents, pulling them aside.

Taking that as my cue to leave, I headed back out towards the school side-walk, where I haphazardly parked, and strode up to my car.

I was opening the door when her hand touched mine. I jerked my hand away, the touch feeling foreign to me; as any touch would have, I more or less kept to myself since her departure. "Saki…"

"My parents left without me."

My eyes widened at the surprising news before scaling back down to size "That's…terrible." Well, what else was I supposed to say? Call it insensitive, but I didn't want to carry her with me. I just announced my leave of her not but six minutes ago.

She sighed. "You're a gentleman. Take me home."

I stood in silence for a few moments as I processed this entirely new proposition. Next thing I knew we were on the way to Saki's parent's house in my car.

You may be asking yourself: is he really that easy to cave?

Why, yes, yes I am.

XXXX

For the next half hour my attention was focused on solely trying to hear the talk-show radio above the hum of the engine. My eyes watched the road as lights changed, cars passed and signs emerged, but my mind was focused on the fact that I was alone in a car with Saki, her memory of me: non-existent. The fear that I might say something pertaining to our past encounters was suddenly very real.

I decided silence was my best approach. Saki didn't seem like she was too anxious about conversation either as we sped down the road. Her gaze focused solemnly out the window and in to a cold spring's day. The air hadn't warmed up much yet, though it was slowly starting to. Days like this often reminded me of when Saki and I met; but mostly so of when we parted.

When we met it had been spring, barely warm enough to keep her from contracting hypothermia during one of the seasonal downpours. She had fallen harshly to the ground in front of my car; her body motionless by the time I reached her.

For a while I debated on whether it had been a good thing that I found her. At times it seemed I was plagued by her memory, wishing that I'd never met her in the first place…and then other times I'm only happy to have spent the little time I did with her. In many ways, her personality and moods opened my eyes as well as my mind. But if there was something most important that Saki taught me above all else, it was that: Love knows no age.

Seems even at my age, you're never too old to learn something new.

My brakes squealed in protest as I pulled the car in to park, having arrived at the destination in the midst of our silence. They were in dire need of a change, but I hadn't the time (nor the will to power the need) to take my car to the mechanic for a replacement in brakes. One could argue that 'not having time' was just an excuse to cover up my fear for the mechanic finding more than one problem with my reliable vehicle. I would say: they're probably right. It didn't matter much to me because my car was still able to get me from point A to point B. As long as it did that, I had no need for a mechanic and his fancy brakes. Besides, my old ones still work…they just whine a little.

Reaching my arm under the side of the steering wheel, I gripped my key, subduing it in a flick so it would kill the engine. Noises of my car, both normal and concerning, died beneath my hand settling in to latency as I leaned back, listening to the jingle of my keys until that, too, faded.

She stayed silent; so I spoke. "I believe this is your stop."

Her eyes rose, pulling away from the excitement her lap held and gluing themselves to examine her house. "It does look that way."

Ignoring the comment, I opened my door and slid out of the vehicle, promptly shutting it before marching my way over to her door. My hands were steeped in the insides of my coat pockets. The air was chilly for the returning warmth that was supposed to be forthcoming. I wondered briefly if it might snow.

Pulling the door handle, I wrestled the door open, allowing a cold current of air to waft in to my car and on to Saki. She mentioned nothing though. All she did was glance up at me, grab her cap and drag her body, as though it were a hassle, out of the vehicle.

"I'll walk you to the door." I said, giving her no arguing matter in this conflict between myself.

I was debating goodbye methods on the short walk. How did I want to say 'goodbye' to her? If I were being honest with myself, I would want to tell her that I loved her and wished her well. But to keep from scaring her, I would most likely just say 'it was wonderful having you as a patient', 'come see me again if you need me', or rather just simply 'goodbye'. The others were a little too talkative since 'I love you' no longer existed as an option.

Letting her lead as we reached the door, she turned around to face me, the backdrop: the entrance of her home surrounded by snow foretelling clouds and departing wishes.

'Goodbye', I said. Or…I thought I said. My mouth formed the words, but my voice never lent me an ear. Producing the sounds to annotate words, to speak occasions and to occasionally speak, was not coming to my beck or call. I stood there, gaping like a dumb-founded fish that just realized it was gasping in oxygen, not water.

A smile ghosted across Saki's lips as she watched the fiasco taking place before her, but (thank god) she said nothing about it. Instead she took a step forward and pulled me to her.

That's right: she hugged me. And I never transformed.

Her arms wrapped tightly around my torso, her warmth crawling around my body like delicate, yet strong-willed vines; her heartbeat blossoming like a flower amongst the greenery which coiled itself around my body. I glanced at the head lying on my shoulder, rising as I heard her breathe in. For the first time in my life, I was experiencing what an embrace felt like. I wanted this, for an entire year, my body craved this. And now that I had it: I stood stone-cold like a statue. More than marble, more than ice, I was solid, frozen and empty. My thoughts escaped me as my mind let itself be ruled by sensation.

I could think nothing of her hands clenching and slowly releasing the coat material on my back only to grip it tightly once more; I could think nothing of her chest receding only to push back against my torso as she breathed; I could think nothing of her hair as it cascaded down the side of my shoulder smelling of morning dew and iris'. But I could feel it all.

When at last, more so tragically, she pulled away, the smile on her lips was both warming and disconcerting. For, if I didn't know any better, she had a little something up her sleeve.

"Greetings are at their best, when in the form of an embrace."

My eyebrow quirked. Greeting? When did this little escapade go from a goodbye to a salutation?

She continued. "No less an embrace where one does not 'poof' in to a creature of the zodiac's choosing."

I froze and Hell just froze over with me.

And while all I could do was stare, Saki had turned away and headed inside of her house. My mind caught up with time and begun screaming at me to say something to her, but I had nothing practiced. I wasn't aware that she was aware of everything. For an entire year she remembered everything and here I was, still reeling in the aftermath.

Still, I couldn't let her go without saying something. Anything. Now.

"Sa..ki?"

She laughed softly. I'd never heard her laugh like that. It was refreshing. "Ha-Na-Ji-Ma. Did you forget already? Hmm, and here I thought I was the one with my memories erased."

"You...didn't forget-" I sounded like a fool in all honesty. I couldn't articulate my words or even create an accurate sentence. A cat held my tongue. Or in this case: a Saki.

"I did. For the better part of a month. Once the damage had been done and the dust settled, denpa decided to kick in and jolt my memory."

"How?"

"I don't know. It does what it wants, mostly. I suppose it was being cynical. Leave me with the aftermath of my choices. But they were mine. In a way, it possessed the rights to do so."

After she decided to answer in her own confusing fashion, I became slightly aggravated. All this time. All this time she remembered and not once did she inform me of this finding. Was it so important to leave me out of the loop? I had a feeling it had been her scheme for quite some time. One of her plans along the way. For a while now, I'd held this gut feeling she'd done this to toy with my emotions. But I absolved it by convincing myself I was blaming her to simply overcome the turmoil of my own mistakes.

And then I researched in to the phone call she had supposedly made to her 'brother' one night when we resolved on living together for my family secret's benefit and her life's. Instead, the minx had searched through my contacts and promptly dialed Akito. I found out later by Akito's raging that she had called him to reveal how much of our secret she had knowledge of. Almost as if in bragging. It both infuriated him and gave him reason to demand the erasure of her memories.

I, for most of the year, had been unaware of this detail. Therefore I remained susceptible to all things involving Saki. I discovered the love buried in me for her as well as the tears for release of such a loss.

Seeing her now, standing here in front of me, smiling, happy; it made my blood boil and the emotions resurface. I was over-joyed and angry; relieved and infuriated; optimistic yet somehow upset.

She remembered...everything.

It shames me to say so, but it pleased me to see the surprise in her eyes as I gripped her shoulders with punishing force and, before she could protest, brought her lips hard against mine.

Above everything I discovered over the past two years, I re-discovered that I was a man with wants and needs. Wants and needs involving the woman: Hanajima, Saki. I'd be damned if I let her slip from my grasp a second time.

I bruised her, I bit her. Never in my life had I been so brutal or raw with a woman. I was a gentlemen. I courted, I pleased and I was polite in every manner. With Saki, I lost all of my thoughts and reasoning, reverting to primal instinct. I wanted to be ashamed, but I wasn't. Instead, I was more worried she wouldn't accept this new side of me; the side I had never unleashed.

A horn blared and I practically jumped out of my skin as I came crashing back to reality.

She smiled against me, laughing quietly as I ran a hand through my hair aggravatingly and glared at the departing vehicle down the road. "You find this all...very amusing, don't you?" I huffed, my hands supporting my weight against the wall, caging her in the small given space.

Saki licked her bleeding, kiss-swollen lips. "You've forgotten...or moved on. I can't decide which."

I quirked a brow "Excuse me?"

"About Kana...Have you thought of her lately?"

A strange question to ask after such an intimate display of affection, but it struck me to the core nonetheless. Kana...I hadn't thought of her. And after thinking such a sentence, I felt no feelings of regret for having not thought of her. The one that filled every corner and crevasse of my mind was Saki. She left me so abruptly, so voluntarily that it left me feeling a torrent of emotions I never wanted to feel again. Emotions that had pushed Kana out of sight. If I ever gave the past woman a thought, it had been because Ayame brought her up in conversation.

"No. No, I haven't."

She tilted her head "Do you regret that?"

I shook my head soundlessly and repeated "No."

Saki smiled. "I love when plans work."

A/N: THE END

Thanks for sticking with this story til it's ending and always waiting for the next update despite how long I may have took. This fic has been tons of fun, and the best part, hands-down, has been reading your reviews, so I would LOVE to hear from you all one last time! 83

In hopes that I may hear from some of you in future fics, happy writings and reviewing! :D