Aya gasped.

"Yuko-chaaaaaaaaan!!!" she screamed, eyes full of tears. "What is that on your faaaaaaaace?!!"

Yuko looked around to see Aya holding Taiga's hand, and they both were staring at the gauze on the side of her face in shock. Yuko sighed deeply. She had finally cleared her parents, now these two as well?

"I'm fine, honestly," Yuko assured them. But she could sense Taiga's protective older brother mode turning on.

"WHO DID THIS TO YOU?! HUH? TELL ME!!! I'LL MAKE THEM SORRY THEY WERE EVER BORN!!" Taiga shouted, shaking Yuko by the shoulders.

"Calm down, please." Yuko said, disoriented.

"Aya will also make them sorry they were ever born!" Aya yelled.

Taiga turned to her smiled pleasantly. "Aya, you're too young and innocent to do such things." He patted her head, then turned back to Yuko. "WHO DID IT?" he demanded. Then he gasped. "Did that person punch Ren too?!"

"Taiga-kun!" Yuko grabbed him firmly by the shoulders. "I. Am. Fine! I already took care of everything."

"You did?" Taiga asked in a low voice.

"You did?" Aya asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I've become very strong." Yuko laughed proudly.

Taiga and Aya stared at her with blank faces. Aya was the first to recover, and her eyes shone. Taiga was still busy comprehending.

"Wow! I'm so proud of you, Yuko-chan!" Aya said, leaping into her arms and hugging her tightly. "It's like your battle wound!"

"Battle wound...?" Yuko asked, fingers brushing against her face. She smiled to herself. It was kind of true. For once, she won a battle against herself. She was able to face everything fearlessly.

Aya smiled at her brightly, then she lowered her voice. "I'm sure... Yuuki-chan would be proud too."

Yuko stared at Aya for some time. Then she smiled a little. "You're right." she whispered. Her eyes moved to Taiga, to see he was emotional.

"Taiga-kun?" Yuko asked, surprised.

Taiga sniffed. "To think Yuko would become such a girl..." he said. Then he pulled her into a rib-cracking hug. "I'm so proud of you, Yuko!"

"O-okay!" Yuko gasped. "I can't breath!"

"Oh," Taiga let her go, then proceeded to telling Aya about how he had seen Yuko grow up since she was born and how proud he was of her. Yuko watched him, smiling.

Mr. and Mrs. Nishikawa were whispering urgently in the corner.

"Come on, Arata, you need to tell her already!" Mrs. Nishikawa urged.

"No, but she's so happy now. I don't want to take it away so suddenly." Mr. Nishikawa whined.

"It will be the same as lying to her if you don't tell her!" Mrs. Nishikawa scolded.

Mr. Nishikawa looked conflicted, and he fidgeted nervously. "I have to?"

"Yes."

"Can't you do it?"

"No."

Mr. Nishikawa sighed. He glanced at Yuko. He couldn't bring himself to say it to her happy face. "Maybe later..."

***

"Good morning..." Yuko said opening the door of the classroom along with Ren.

Michi was talking with Takiyo, and he seemed to be trying to explain something to her, but Michi looked extremely lost. Arisu was watching, biting her lip.

"Don't you know your 7 times tables?!" Takiyo demanded of her.

"I do!" Michi insisted. Her two friends, Suzuki Ide and Maru Kaneko were standing behind him, with disappointed looks on their faces.

"Then since when is 7 times 6 equal to 40?!!" Takiyo asked.

"I...It's not?" Michi asked, flustered, and Suzuki and Maru face-palmed. Michi began counting the 7 times table on her fingers. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "It's 43!"

Takiyo banged his head on the table, giving up. Arisu was trying her earnest not to laugh.

"What the hell are you doing, Iseri-chan?" Hikari asked, who had even lost her patience. "What's 7 times 5?"

"35..." Michi murmured.

"Add 7 to that!"

"42?"

"Then what is 7 times 6?" Hikari asked hopefully.

Michi was thinking...and thinking... Takiyo and Hikari looked at her in disbelief.

"It's 42!" Syo yelled.

"Ohh, I see!" Michi nodded.

"Jeez..." Syo sighed, leaning against Hikari and rubbing his face tiredly with his hand. Hikari looked stiff. "How did you even get this far? You deserve lower than the 109th position."

"My cramming abilities are out of this world!" Michi said. "I can remember loads of stuff at once, but only for a short period of time...."

Yuko didn't realise she was still standing at the door, watching the rather amusing scene. This is what came up after a week? She shook her head and called again. "Good morning!"

"Good morning!" Syo replied. "What's with the life-size doll?"

"Huh? This is Ren." Yuko said.

Everybody turned to look at Ren, who was staring blankly into the distance.

"Oh?" Syo waved his hand in front of his face. "Yo~ Ren! Ren! Muranaka Ren!"

"He's like that since yesterday." Yuko said.

"Why?"

"Oh," Yuko said, hitching up a smile. "That's because...

"...I'm moving to America."

It took time to digest this piece of information. It caught the entire class's attention.

"Eh?" Arisu whispered.

"Eh??" Michi and Syo yelled.

"EH???"

***

"...why is the classroom so depressed?" Saiki-sensei asked looking around the classroom. Everybody was shrouded with a dark, depressing aura. Amidst all of them, Yuko was smiling like a beacon.

"Does this have to do with Nishikawa-san moving to–"

"Don't say those ugly words!" Arisu yelled, banging her hand on the table, making Saiki-sensei jump.

"Calm down, she's still there till the end of the year." Saiki-sensei reassured them, lining up some papers on her desk. She looked up again, and the class was still depressed. "I can't teach this class..." she muttered.

***

"Yuko is going to America, huh?" Syo asked, opening a can of iced tea.

"Yes..." Arisu sighed. "I can't bring myself to believe it. I mean, look at Rekkun. He's still in shock."

Ren was still nothing more than a looming figure. Arisu and Syo looked at him, then turned to Takiyo, who was leaning on the window sill, staring across into the distance. Yuko was gone to explain things to Saburo. Regarding her dad's sudden job transfer and everything.

"Aw, look at Takiyo." Syo said. "He's depressed. Have you gotten that attached to Yuko~?"

Takiyo looked around at him. "Shut up. I'm not depressed."

Arisu and Syo displayed shocked expressions. "How heartless..."

"Okay, I will miss her!" Takiyo said quickly.

Arisu and Syo grinned.

"You guys are annoying." Takiyo said, pushing away from the window. He buried his hands in his pockets and walked out into the corridor.

Not looking where he was going, he bumped into someone.

"Sorry," he murmured, then he saw who the person was. They were smiling up at him.

"Something on your mind, Hamasaki-kun?" Sara asked.

"Oh, Hirose-senpai."

"I wouldn't mind being your sounding board." Sara told him. "In fact, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" Takiyo was confused.

"Come with me." Sara beckoned him over, and then walked down the corridor. They went to the vending machine, and Sara bought him and herself some juice, and they sat on a bench. She took a long drink from her bottle, then turned to Takiyo.

"So," she said, grinning. "I heard something." She gestured for him to lean in closer, and she whispered, "You're going out with Iseri-san?"

"What? No!" Takiyo replied quickly. "I mean...she broke up with Ishida and all, but...it's complicated."

"Oh..." Sara drank from her bottle again. "So, you're still battling, huh? ... Anyway, what's on your mind?"

"Um..."

"Come on, you can tell me. I'm your Senpai, after all." Sara said proudly. "And it's our job to help our kouhai."

(Note: Kouhai means junior.)

"Really now?" Takiyo looked her up and down, and then drank from his own bottle. Then he said, "Nishikawa is moving to America."

"Really?!" Sara yelled, causing Takiyo to shush her.

"Yes, really." Takiyo replied in a low voice.

"But then..." Sara seemed to be lost in thought for a while.

"Hirose-senpai?" Takiyo asked, bringing her back.

"Oh, yes." Sara said quickly. "So...are you troubled?"

"Huh?" Takiyo asked.

Sara grinned. "Now, now, don't tell me you're having conflicting feelings now. What? Realisation? That the one you like is..."

"Don't be stupid." Takiyo said, whacking her head. "I've liked Michi for years. I won't just dump her all of a sudden for someone I met not even a whole year ago. Nishikawa is my friend. It's natural."

"I'm your Senpai, you know!" Sara complained, rubbing her head. "You're so cold, Hamasaki-kun..." Then she flicked her bangs and looked at him. "So?"

"So what?"

"What more is there to say?" Sara said, standing up.

"I guess not much..." Takiyo replied.

Sara gave him a look. "But you're still troubled."

"It's just... I guess Nishikawa has done so much for me. If it wasn't for her, nothing would ever have happened. Michi never would have smiled to me on the first day. I owe her a lot. I don't even know how to repay her, but now she's going away." Takiyo explained. He didn't say anything about the doubt he saw on Yuko's face that day. That had been bothering him too.

"But I thought she was somebody you met not even a whole year ago." Sara mocked.

"Shaddup." Takiyo whacked her head again.

"I'm your Senpai!!" Sara yelled.

"If you're a Senpai, mature up a little." Takiyo scoffed.

"Bleh..." Sara stuck out her tongue. Then she finally decided to be serious again. "You've done a lot for Nishikawa-san too, right?" Sara said matter-of-factly, sitting down again. "I'm sure she owes you a lot too. But, you can't owe each other when what you want is fulfilled, right? There's nothing to owe."

"You're right..." Takiyo said.

Sara swung her legs back and forth. "But really, I'm surprised you didn't fall for Nishikawa-san. That's against the laws."

"What laws?" Takiyo asked skepticially.

"The laws of the world." Sara said simply. "There must be something psychologically wrong with you."

"HAH?!"

"Like, even after everything happened with Iseri-san," Sara began counting on her fingers. "Forgetting you, hurting you, breaking her promises, and then asking for forgiveness..." Sara put up a scowl for a second, which surprised Takiyo.

Sara glanced at him. "To be frank, I find it annoying." she smiled innocently. "On the other hand," she held up her other hand. "What all has Nishikawa-san given you? Sunshine, rainbows, happiness, blah blah blah." Sara looked at him. "Well." she concluded.

Takiyo stared at her. Then he looked down at his lap. "But all that hurt that I felt...just proved how much I like Michi, right? Despite everything."

Sara didn't say anything, then out of nowhere, she burst out laughing, and Takiyo suddenly blushed, realising what he just said. "That's so cheesy!" Sara snorted. "Oh my god, to think Hamasaki-kun would say something like that! Aaaaah, I'm laughing too much! Jeez..."

Sara brought herself under control, then smiled at him. "You're probably the biggest idiot on the planet, but if that's what my beloved kouhai is happy with, that's fine by me." She patted his head. "Oh well, you must have your reasons. You're still young."

Sara sighed, and after a moment's silence, she got up and stood on the bench.

"Allow me to introduce," she said at the top of her lungs. "The biggest idiot on the planet, Hamasaki Takiyo-kun!!"

"Oy, Hirose!!" Takiyo hissed, as everyone turned to look at them.

"Senpai~" She giggled as she sunk back into her seat. "You huge idiot."

Takiyo thought for sometime, then said, "Nishikawa is different. She's something else from that."

Sara stared at him. "What sort of a person would that be?"

Everything, since the moment he became her friend, led up to this moment. Every single thing was thanks to her.  If it wasn't for her, he'd be living a completely different life. He felt reborn.

Takiyo looked at Sara, and smiled.

"A saviour."

"Somebody you met not even a whole year ago."

WHACK!

"I'M YOUR SENPAI!!"

***

"Um..."

Yuko was overwhelmed. Her arms where piled with gifts. She wasn't very good at handling this outpouring of love, as the entire class sobbed their farewells. She honestly didn't know what to do. Finally, Ren and Syo decided to take pity on her and rescued her.

Yuko stumbled over to Takiyo and Arisu.

"Who would have thought your last day at school would be like this?" Arisu asked with a small smile.

"Kaneshiro is trying not to cry." Takiyo said, glancing at her.

Arisu ignored him.

"Hey, Yuko!" Ren came over, grinning. "Do you want to say something to everyone?"

Yuko looked at everybody's eager faces. Saiki-sensei invited her to the teacher's desk. Yuko stood in front of them, but something was missing.

Ah, she knew. The fear. The shaking legs. The pounding heart. The sweaty palms. She didn't feel scared. These were people who liked her, accepted her. It wasn't cured, but these people...she couldn't be afraid of them anymore.

She had learned to accept herself, along with everyone else.

"Thank you, everyone, very much." she said. "I have no regrets. There is just one thing that I want."

The class leaned in, eager to hear.

Yuko turned to Takiyo and grinned mischievously. "Takiyo-kun, I'm challenging you to list everyone in this classroom, by first name."

The class cheered and pushed him to the front. Yuko moved aside.

"Really?" Takiyo asked her.

"Really. Nothing more. Just list everyone, by first name." Yuko said, smiling smugly.

There was pin-drop silence. Takiyo sighed. "Seriously..."

Then he looked up at them all, scanned their faces, then closed his eyes. He opened his mouth, and began.

"Hikari, Erika, Sayua, Suzuki, Maru, Emica, Isao, Katashi, Hisano, Tora..."

The class was surprised. They stared at him, as he continued to list their names flawlessly.

"...Ryoko, Mamoru, Fujita, Renjiro, Tsutomu, Hiroyuki, Izanagi, Michi, Ren, Arisu, Syo...and who was the last one?" Takiyo asked, opening his eyes.

The entire class stared at him in shock. Then...

"It was me, jerk!" Yuko yelled, shoving him.

"Ah, yes." Takiyo said, patting her head. "Of course it was Nishikawa."

"You knew!"

"No, I forgot."

"You liar!"

Meanwhile, the rest of the class was celebrating.

"He knows my name! He knows my name!!"

Yuko stopped hitting Takiyo and looked around at them, then at Takiyo. He was smiling.

Her goal was accomplished. She was done here.

Author's note
Next chapter, final chapter!  Don't leave yet!