(Note: This is 7 years after the main story.)

"Did you finish the report?!"

"I already told you I'm leaving early today!"

"Then why did you spend time chatting?!"

"It wasn't me! You insisted on telling me all about your engagement!"

"Seriously, you can't blame your Senpai!" Sara pouted.

"If you're a Senpai, start acting like one." Takiyo told her, knocking her on the head. "Make sure you hand that in, I'm leaving!"

"Hamasaki-kun, you can't leave all this to me!" Sara screamed.

"Yes, I can. Watch me." And with that, Takiyo pulled on his coat and stepped inside the elevator.

"Hamasaki-kuuuuuuuun!!"

"Don't worry, I'll do it at night," Takiyo told her, waving.

"Hang on–"

The elevator doors closed.

Sara rested her head in her hand and sighed. "Kaneshiro-san and Kinoshita-san will get mad at me, you know..."

***

"What took you so long?" Syo asked as he started the engine.

"Hirose-senpai was busy chatting about her engagement," Takiyo sighed as he got into Syo's car.

"At this rate, we'll be late." Syo sighed. "Arisu's gonna yell at us, you know?"

"I know," Takiyo told him. "Now step on it."

That's right. Today was the day Yuko was coming back to Japan at last. After 7 whole years.

Syo's prediction was right. Arisu did yell at them, screeching and twisting their ears.

"Calm down," Takiyo told her, rubbing his ear when she was done, and Arisu merely huffed. Ren gave them a pitying smile.

Suddenly, they heard someone shouting from the escalator.

"Ren! Takiyo-kun! Syo-kun! Arisu-chan!"

The four of them looked around, and they saw her. A young woman was waving her arm fiercely from the escalator. No doubt it was her. She looked more mature and a little taller, not petite like she used to be. Her bangs were longer and brushed to the sides, and her hair was tied in a very short ponytail. She was with a brown-haired young woman with a bun, and gangly man with black hair and glasses.

The moment she reached the bottom, she jumped at them, and managed to wrap them all in one hug.

"I missed you all so much!" she cried.

"Aah, it's so good to see you again!" Arisu cried as well.

Yuko pulled back, taking them all in.

"Woah, Syo-kun! You really did get your ears pierced!" she commented.

"Huh? Oh yeah," Syo mused, touching his earlobe and smiling a little. "It's already so natural, it was 6 years ago."

"Arisu-chan, you stopped dyeing your hair?" Yuko asked, taking in Arisu's natural brown hair.

"Yeah, my hair was starting to get really thin!" Arisu said cheerily.

Yuko turned to Ren. "You got taller," she said, indicating his height.

"So did you," Ren replied, smiling.

"159 cm," Yuko grinned. "Meanwhile..." She finally turned to Takiyo and looked him up and down. "Takiyo-kun is still the same, isn't he?"

"Of course I've changed!" Takiyo yelled.

"Really now?" Yuko asked, grinning smugly. "May I ask your final height? Hm?"

Takiyo's eye twitched, and he looked away.

"Hm~?" Yuko leaned in closer.

"169 cm..." Takiyo murmured.

Yuko stared at him, then burst out laughing.

"You're laughing too much..." Takiyo told her, in a forced calm voice.

"But I can't believe it!!" Yuko snorted. "You didn't even reach 170?! I can't..." She gasped for air. Taking deep breaths, she calmed down. Then she looked at Takiyo, and started all over again.

"Okay, okay," she said finally, when Takiyo whacked her head. Then she stood up straight, and introduced the two people with her. "This is Makoto-chan. She's my friend from university, and was practically Ren for me while I was there. And this is Botan, my other friend from university. I was lucky that there were other Japanese students at my university."

They both bowed.

"Makoto-chan, Botan, this is Ren, Takiyo-kun, Arisu-chan, and that's Syo-kun."

"Oh~" Makoto grinned flirtatiously at Ren. "So you're the great Ren I've heard so much about." She got very close.

"Um, no... It's nothing." Ren stammered, looking very stiff and blushing a little. Takiyo, Yuko and Syo suddenly felt an extremely dark aura, and they turned to see Arisu, practically seeping with menace.

"Oh, Makoto-chan!" Yuko called. "You should lay off." She nodded at Arisu.

Makoto instantly backed away. "I'm sorry. Is he yours?"

Arisu's aura instantly collapsed, and she went red. "Um, no, sorry."

There was silence, and then Yuko turned to her, eyes wide. "What do you mean 'no'?" Yuko asked with a scary tone.

"Uh..." Arisu was backed into a corner.

Yuko turned to Takiyo and Syo.

"They're still not a thing?" she asked them. They shook their heads.

Yuko turned and glared at Ren and Arisu. She put her hands on both their heads, and tightening her grip.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded of them.

Ren and Arisu were scared. Seeing their faces, Yuko banged their heads together.

"Ow!" they yelled. Yuko felt her resolve crack, and she smiled.

She was home again.

***

"Aah~" Yuko sighed, sipping on her milkshake. "I missed this."

She, Takiyo, Ren, Arisu and Syo were sitting at a café the next day, to catch up. Yuko put down her milkshake. "So how is everyone doing?"

"Nothing much," Arisu said, playing wit her straw. "Takin's an auditor, and guess who his Senpai is?

"Who?"

"Hirose-senpai," Syo answered. "From high school."

"Eh?" Yuko was surprised. Then she turned to Takiyo. "Eh?"

"She won't leave me alone," Takiyo sighed.

Yuko stared at him for some time, then shook her head. "And Syo-kun is working at his family bakery, right?" she asked, moving away from the topic.

"Yup, with my sister." Syo said. "My brothers got jobs elsewhere. They were never really dedicated to the bakery."

"Arisu-chan is still studying, right?" Yuko asked.

Arisu nodded. "Marine biologist, baby. There aren't enough of them in the world. I have a part-time job, though."

"Oh, and..." Yuko beckoned Arisu to lean in closer. "Ren is still a NEET?"

"I am not a NEET!" Ren yelled, hearing them. "I'm just bad at job interviews!"

Syo leaned in and whispered, "He failed the job interview he went for a few days ago too. Takiyo on the other hand–" Syo jabbed his finger in Takiyo's direction– "got in on his first try."

"Whoop!" Yuko cheered softly, clapping her hands together. Then she adopted a more serious tone. "How's Aya-chan?"

Ren picked up his milkshake. "Better," Ren answered shortly.

Yuko nodded, fidgeting with her straw. "I should talk to her, when I get the chance..."

"Oh!" Arisu yelled suddenly, slamming her milkshake on the table. "That reminds me! Remember Shiko-chan? My sister?"

Yuko nodded.

"Oh yeah," Ren smirked. "She's still hadn't given up on Nii-san. He already has a girlfriend, though, and is probably going to get engaged soon."

"And Shiko-chan had only had 1 boyfriend in the past 7 years!" Arisu laughed maliciously. "Taiga-kun owned her. Well, he never knew, but he owned her."

"Arisu-chan, why are you laughing at your older sibling's demise?" Yuko sweat-dropped.

"What? No, no, I'm an aunt now!" Arisu said proudly. "Shinobu-kun and Kana-san have a 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. I practically raise them."

Oh no. Arisu the guardian.

"Wow..." Yuko said. "What about the others? I know Shun is a physiotherapist now for a baseball team. Mii-chan started competing in gymnastics internationally."

"Eri-chan moved in with her boyfriend recently!" Arisu giggled.

"Oh yeah!" Yuko whirled around to look at Syo, who was looking down and sipping his drink, despite the tell-tale 'skrrrr' sounds it was making. Yuko grinned. "How's Sakura-san?"

Syo stopped sipping and coughed awkwardly. "Fine."

"How's it going?" Yuko persisted.

"Fine," Syo replied.

"Syo-chi is like, the densest human I have ever met!" Arisu piped in. "I felt really sorry for Hikarin. Syo-chi took centuries."

"I did not take centuries!" Syo retorted. "At least everything is fine and dandy now, right? So no worries." Yuko noticed Syo's hand clench unconsciously in his pocket, and she had a pretty good guess why. It made her grin stupidly.

Syo caught her eye and quickly snatched his hand away from his pocket. "Enough happy talk!" He pointed accusingly at Takiyo. "This guy," he snarled. "Is horrible at taking care of himself."

"What? You can cook and clean, right?" Yuko asked Takiyo, who averted his eyes.

"That's right!" Arisu said angrily. "He lives on his own! So he thinks he can go his merry way, skipping meals, staying up all night, and overworking!" Arisu huffed.

"What? Why?" Yuko demanded of Takiyo.

"I can't sleep anyway, so it's better to work..." Takiyo muttered.

"Shut up!" Arisu whacked his head. "Remember Na-chan? She lives in the same apartment building as him, and so she drops by every day to check on him!"

Takiyo felt Yuko and Arisu's intense glaring, and he shrunk against his chair.

Ren interjected. "His mother got type 1 diabetes."

"Oh?" Yuko suddenly backed down.

"Don't worry too much though," Ren added quickly, seeing the look in Arisu's face. "It's a manageable condition, if she takes care of her insulin and nutrition. So somebody is working too hard."

"We offer money, but he refuses." Syo said. "But if he does borrow money, he's bent on a debt."

"Takiyo-kun..." Yuko sighed. "I understand you're worried and everything, but still! Your mother will be upset if you don't take care of yourself!"

"Yes..." Takiyo mumbled.

"Don't make it sound like a drag!"

There was silence for a few moments, and then Ren suddenly said, "Oh, I needed to buy something from there." He was staring at the store across the street.

"I'll come with you." Arisu said, standing up.

Syo watched them for a few moments, then jumped up as well. "I'll come too!"

No matter how hard they tried to mask it, it was pretty obvious they were trying to leave Takiyo and Yuko alone. There was still the major topic left over, one they never discussed on phone. They definitely wanted to know, but it seemed fit to have her talk about it with Takiyo first.

Yuko twisted her straw in the silence, and then Takiyo broke the ice. "So, what's it like with your Senpai?"

Yuko looked at him, and then down at her milkshake. "Senpai was a jerk." she murmured.

"What?" Takiyo asked.

Yuko put her milkshake aside, and buried her head in her arm. She seemed to not talk about it, but she did."After one year, he called me. We did talk other times, but after one year, he called me and told me that he couldn't possibly keep dating a girl who lives in an entirely different continent. Who knew how much longer he could keep it up." Yuko said, throat tight.

There was a moment of silence.

"He found someone else at uni," she added quietly.

"Oh," Takiyo didn't know what to say. Yuko looked up at him. "What about Michi-chan?"

Takiyo took some time, but then said, "I guess she wasn't a jerk." He felt Yuko's hand twitch. He sighed, and continued, "She told me that she tried, she really tried, but she couldn't see me that way."

"I see..." Yuko replied. She tried to read him, but she seemed to disregard it in the end. She buried her head in her arm. "I guess all people aren't meant to fall in love with other people." Yuko's hand tightened, and Takiyo unconsciously gave it a squeeze in return. "Love is so mean." she whispered.

"Nishikawa–"

"But..." Yuko said suddenly.

"We're back!" Ren called, marching over, with a bag and Arisu and Syo at his sides. Syo sat down as Arisu peeked into the bag.

"Who's this for?" Arisu asked.

"Oh, it's for Aya." Ren replied, backing away a little. Arisu looked up at him. Takiyo and Yuko watched them with menacing eyes.

"What?" they asked.

"JUST GO OUT ALREADY!!" they yelled, making Syo almost spill his milkshake.

"Eh?" Arisu asked, blushing, but Ren moved back a little.

"Actually, Arisu," he began, looking extremely nervous. "About that..."

Arisu whipped around to look at him. "Eh?"

Takiyo, Yuko and Syo immediately pushed their chairs back, giving them space but watching intently. Ren had said that be was procrastinating until Yuko came back, and he had no excuses anymore.

"I like you, Arisu." he said. "I've liked you for a really, really long time now. I just couldn't accept it. But... I don't want to lie to myself anymore."

Arisu blinked, looking flustered. Takiyo chose this moment for revenge. He whistled.

"Shut up!" Arisu hollered at him. "Um..." She shifted her weight from one leg to the other, delaying the moment she had to speak. Syo sighed.

He got up, took Arisu's shoulders, and said,"Yay, Arisu likes you too! Cheesy stuff, and.... you're a couple now!" He shoved her at Ren.

"What?" Arisu stared at him, but Syo just shrugged at her with his hands in his pockets. Then she looked at Ren, who was also blushing. Then she shook her head and put up a smile. She took one of his hands, and said, all bubbly again, "I guess we are!"

Ren returned her smile.

Takiyo and Yuko watched as Syo started teasing them, and Takiyo forgot he was still holding Yuko's hand. When he remembered, he started to draw his hand away, but then Yuko caught it. When Takiyo gave her a quizzical look, she smiled at him brightly. It was now that he noticed it wasn't the same smile he knew 7 years ago. It was more normal.

"True love does exist, Takiyo-kun." Yuko said, and it took a while for him to realise that she was continuing their conversation from before.

Takiyo was reminded irresistibly of something he had thought about a long time ago. If things didn't work out with Michi and Saburo, would Yuko go out with him?

He shook his head. Who knows. Love isn't that simple. And neither was this person whose reassuring hand was held in his.

Life isn't singular. It is divided into many different battles. Each time the setting changes. And so begins another battle, and perhaps, another love.

Battles remain unfinished. But wasn't too late; they had a lifetime. They had made sure of that.

Author's note
I know, it's really rushed T_T
Also, I suck at confession scenes. This epilogue is not worth the story T_T
Does it feel like I purposely altered the story to suit your interests? Does it seem forced? Ughhh, even though this ending is something I had thought if from the start, who knew it would be so sloppy T_T
Anyway, do you want a chapter that explains all the characters endings? Because I don't think I got everything across clearly.