So sorry for the spam of updates!! From this point onward is the last bit of the story. Happy reading~!

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CHAPTER 43

          It wasn't long before we found Hiro. Unlike Yuji and I, he wasn't anywhere near the snack area and instead was standing with his parents, greeting guests and sharing formal conversation with adults.

          Yuji and I were awkwardly poking our heads out for a while, ignoring the odd look passing adults and younger kids gave us until Hiro finally caught eyes staring and turned around. Needless to say, he obtained an indifferent attitude when he saw us, as if he couldn't believe what we were up to.

          "You do realize you could've approached me like regular people," Hiro said after he'd excused himself from his parents and arrived in front of us.

          "There's no fun in that," Yuji reasoned flippantly. "Plus, your parents are intimidating."

          Hiro opened his mouth to protest but in the end, I guess he couldn't. His attention shifted onto me only to have his face immediately soften. The amount of nervousness that rippled through me succeeded in making me uncomfortable. I dodged his eyes, fixing them to the ceiling above and the pretty glass chandelier. I still couldn't fathom earlier's events with Yuji, but Hiro's also stabbed me like needles.

          "So why exactly are you here, Hoshino?" Hiro said.

          I slowly brought my gaze back to him. For somebody who I'd deemed would be as awkward as I was, he was perfectly nonchalant. Like he'd always been. My mind couldn't help but race with thoughts. Was he working some reverse psychology on me or something? He and Yuji both were so terrifying...

          I struggled to open my mouth and voice a coherent response but before I could, Yuji's arm snaked around my waist. He tugged me closer, his cheek brushing against my hair.

          "Miyuki's my date tonight."

          Hiro's eyebrows sprung up a bit, his shoulders tensing. Similarly, heat flooded my cheeks with colour. I nudged Yuji away from me.

          "Reluctant date," I added, dodging my eyes to the floor. I wasn't too sure why I felt the need to. "This is, uh..."

          "It's a date," Yuji finished for me.

          I met his eyes with my widened ones, insistently praying he'd catch onto my warning signals. "But this isn't a date, date. You just needed somebody to tag along, and I decided to fill the role... Like, very reluctantly." I awkwardly paused to try to again, "I didn't want to but I did because you..."

          The more I ran my mouth, the more I realized I wasn't helping my case. Yuji, totally ignoring to the charged vibes hanging in the air, had a silly smile smacked onto his face. As if he was purposely dragging out the conversation from his amusement. I clamped my lips, inching further away from him. Didn't he know about Hiro? Why was he doing this then?

          Yuji emitted a chuckle as he faced the guy. "It's fine if you're jealous."

          "I'm not jealous."

          Contrasting his words, Hiro's grumpy scowl was black as night.

          Yuji, calm as always, returned his focus back to me. "So, Hiro's jealousy aside—"

          "I said I'm not jealous!"

          Hiro's unintentional shout had darted a good amount of eyes in our direction. Suddenly sheepish, faint colour reached his face and he turned the other cheek. Yuji's grin expanded as a result while my mortification inclined. What was the right thing to say in this kind of situation?

          "Our first order of business is to find Saki," Yuji finally spoke. In just an instant, the rough mood shifted, proven with the solemn frown that crossed his lips.

          "Are you serious about this?" Hiro asked. "You already brought this up to me, but—"

          "Listen, I know Saki's told us she doesn't want anything to do with the Humanity Club anymore but I still haven't heard that from her lips."

          That silenced Hiro for a good while.

          "She ignores and dodges us every chance she gets," Yuji went on, even meeting our eyes and insisting we voice otherwise. "Leaves our messages on read. Every single party our families have had since that day she's been sneaking around so she wouldn't interact with us. Even at school—"

          "I get what you mean," I said, "but she's made it clear she doesn't want us to intervene."

          Yuji stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Look," he said. "I'm not saying the Humanity Club is where she belongs nor am I gonna force her to join again. Just, Saki's been our best friends since we were toddlers." He turned to Hiro for emphasis. "And yet she blocked us out so easily. I want her to talk to us face to face. Then, if I find her reasons to be valid, I'll be able to move on."

          His sweet conviction struck a chord in me I didn't expect. Yuji liked to joke around a lot and possessed a strong affinity to tease others, but he had a huge heart when it came to his friends. Deep down, I knew the same was for Hiro because he ended up cracking a half-smile.

          "She can give you the most valid reason and you still wouldn't be able to drop it," he argued.

          The grin on Yuji's face wasn't easy to dismiss. "I am a very stubborn guy."

          "Guess that's settled then," I said, placing a hand to my hip. "So what's the plan to capture the rabbit?"

          Yuji pretended to stroke a fake beard. "Pay close attention, my fellow hunters. The key is precision—"

          "I was wondering what all the ruckus was about. I should've expected it'd be you two."

          All nonchalance surrounding us disappeared. Our eyes flew towards the source, and standing with a hand to her stunning red dress was Yamamoto Ikumi, striking features emotionless as ever. I'd never glared so quickly in my life, but that was exactly what happened. Hiro equally frowned, and although Yuji was the most good-natured of us all, he even had his own features scrunched from distaste.

          "Just the girl we wanted nothing to do with," Yuji spat with tapered eyelids.

          "It is a pleasure seeing you, too," Ikumi responded, cool and detached as ever. She flipped her long black hair over her shoulder, framing her dark eyes on us. "Even if you are the sons of Ikeda and Sato, don't you think you should be a little more respectful to the family hosting this? Especially considering it is my birthday."

          I couldn't help the frown my lips had downturned into. If this was her birthday party, why did she decide to invite a bunch of adults?

          "Are we supposed to be flattered you're giving us the time of day or something?" This time Hiro took the initiative to talk, voice radiating his menace.

          "I would hope so," Ikumi replied. "I had the pleasure of receiving your gifts, by the way. Hopefully they're just as lovely as last year's matching gorilla masks."

          A snort left my nose before I could help it. After folding my arms, I glanced up at both of them. "Seriously?"

          They shared a shrug.

          "We thought we may as well buy something that complemented her personality," Yuji enlightened me.

          "And I must admit, your sense of humour really did brighten up my seventeenth birthday." Ikumi feigned a smile, even if only momentarily. "So?" she said, scrutiny falling to me. "Why are you here... Hoshino, was it? I don't believe I handed invitations outside of familial connections."

          "Does my being here bother you?" I asked coolly.

          "A bit."

          "That's wonderful. I'm not leaving."

          Ikumi's expression fell flat. I sweetly cocked my head. Eventually, she emitted a sigh. "I'm sure a plebeian like yourself can't grasp the grand importance of today, and therefore I'll have to request you stay on your best behaviour. My parents are taking the time to properly acknowledge me in front of their business partners, and—"

          "Do you always have to speak like some kind of robot?" I interjected, deadpanned.

         "Those with high status are expected to administer a vernacular befitting of that," was her excuse.

          "'Vampire?'" I mouthed to Yuji.

          He lowered a brow, equally confused. "Vampire works."

          "'Vernacular,'" Hiro had to step in. "It refers to language."

          We let out a unified cry of eureka and nodded. Once our focus was back on Ikumi, it was easy to tell she was exasperated.

          "Listen," she hissed, exposing her uglier side by narrowing her eyes into slits. "I have worked my hardest for them to acknowledge me like this. Too hard to have the likes of you or even Saki ruining that."

          The mention of Saki returned all previous ominousness back to the air.

          "Where is she?" Yuji demanded.

          "Wherever my sister decided to hole herself is none of my business," she stated. "I merely told her to stay out of the spotlight since it's my night to shine. Not too complicated orders for someone like her to follow."

          Hiro grounded his teeth. "You..."

          "While I am speaking on the matter of Saki," Ikumi said, knowing she'd touched a nerve, "you do realize how much of a nuisance you've been to her don't you? She severed her ties to you and your club months ago. Don't you think it's pathetic clinging to something that no longer exists?"

          "You're the one—"

          "And I'm sure you also realize how much it's been hurting her." Her sudden words stopped Yuji's shout in his throat. Knowing she'd caught us off guard, Ikumi paused to regain her composure. "You may believe messaging her, or saying hi is somehow lessening the burden, but it's only making it harder for her. Aim those glares at me all you'd like, but I wasn't the one who forced her into abandoning you. I merely gave her the option to abandon your club. If she cut ties from you as well that merely means your connection wasn't strong enough to begin with."

          My fingers curled into fists, and I bit my lower lip, hard, from an effort to remain silent. But every word she continued to ramble only weighed on my heart, fuelling the frustration burning inside of me.

          "Since the day she came here, Saki hasn't lived up to the bar our perfectionist parents have placed. Her falling behind is none of my concern, but as someone who is family, it makes sense to help. That's why I forced her out of your club. Think I'm heartless all you'd like, but I'm doing this for her benefit. It takes everything I can to impress my parents while Saki continually falls behind and somehow expects to retain some status here as well? It's unrealistic. She already has a handicap not being blood-related, so you'd think she'd work a little harder—"

          "Bullshit." All eyes darted in my direction but grinding my teeth together didn't help to suppress my anger. "You keep saying Saki is family, and that you care for her, so why do you have to keep bringing up that detail?"

          It was like a volcano erupted inside me. I barely even considered how close I'd breached her vicinity, or how heinous my glower truly was. Ikumi faltered, beads of sweat appearing on her temple.

          "What do you..."

          "No matter where she came from, or whoever her damn parents were that abandoned her, Saki is your sister. Now, I can listen to you complain about your stifling parents, or how important this business is to you, but the moment you start mouthing off that Saki somehow has a handicap in your family because she isn't your blood-related sibling I take it personally."

          I barely acknowledged the stares flooding in around us—primarily Hiro and Yuji's. Definitely feeling them as well, Ikumi primmed her lips. "I'm not sure what you mean by 'personally.' Unless, of course, you yourself have experience being adopted..."

          Watching me stiffen, as if unable to mouth off like earlier, she exhaled loudly.

          "That aside, I understand Saki left that title behind her the moment our parents took her in. But, after all these years of not living up to our family status, what she needs—"

          "—is not a 'sister' who keeps pushing her away and making her feel more and more like an outsider." This time, Ikumi's eyebrows shot upwards. Her level of surprise only summoned another wave of incredulity to flood through me. "Why does everything have to be about business or status to you? If she really did leave that 'title' behind her, why does her own family have to keep bringing it up to put her down? Haven't you ever stopped to consider that maybe what Saki actually 'needs' are people who'll go the extra mile to understand and treat her like a genuine family? Is it so hard for you to at least give her a place in your heart as your younger sister and nothing more?"

          Ikumi's astonishment only grew more prominent. She stared at me as if I'd yelled something to her face that had never once crossed her mind. Did she really not think she was the one in the wrong this entire time?

          Unable to handle the vexation that weighed on my shoulders, I clicked my tongue. I knocked her shoulder and strode forward, without caring to look back.

          "Hiro, Yuji, you coming or what?"

          I was halfway through the living room when their footsteps scrambled after me. Both of them looked at me in as much shock coursing through everyone in the room. It was tough to meet their eyes.

          "You alright?" Hiro eventually asked, when we'd halted in an emptier area within this manor.

          "I've never seen you snap like that," Yuji agreed.

          "Yeah. Sorry. Just a touchy subject."

          My back to a wall, I bit on my thumbnail, rerunning what happened in my head. I knew I was lucky. I'd never once taken for granted how great my family was to me, no matter how dysfunctional we each were. Was that why I yelled at her? For not treating Saki the way Kyo had always treated me? I mean, her reasoning for not doing so in the first place were wonky and convoluted. And all this time Saki had to live listening to her and that irksome voice say it again and again...

          I hung my head, still fuming. "I'm such a hypocrite. This entire time, instead of trying to understand Saki... and without knowing anything..."

          Yuji took a moment to place an arm around my shoulder. "It's okay."

          Hiro patted the top of my head. "I'm sure she doesn't hold you against what happened."

          Their consolation only succeeded to make my lips tug further downwards. Though I should've been awkward considering earlier today's situation, I couldn't bring myself to even lift my head.

          "Stop comforting me," I eventually groaned when it became too overbearing. "I'm not gonna cry."

          Even without looking, I knew the two of them were wearing smiles. They unhanded me at that, which I was honestly grateful for. I wasn't even the one needing this right now. Not when Saki...

          "Wait, isn't that her?"

          I woke from my depressive wave of thoughts to flit my attention to where Hiro had directed. Arms propped against the railings on the floor just above us. Albeit being tucked between other bodies of adults and the dim lights above, her strapless emerald dress was the first thing that stood out to me. Her lengthy brown hair cropped her shoulders fairly well, but it was the way her eyes had shifted away from the events below, glazed with a glassy layer of tears that made me perk.

          A wry smile poked into her cheeks as she retreated from the railing. With the sway of her dress after her, she disappeared into the crowd.

          "You grab the left and middle stairwells." Yuji's order jerked us into a defensive stance. "I'll take the right one."

          I said, "Where do you think she'd—"

          But Yuji was already darting through the crowd, bumping them without bothering to turn back. I was knocked back to my senses with a yank of my arm from Hiro. With just eye contact, I snapped out of my daze and nodded. He went left while I clambered up the staircase straight ahead, bumbling past other visitors who sent me wild looks.

          My head jerked rapidly once I reached the top step. Amidst the masses, it was tough to spot much and I definitely couldn't locate Saki's green dress. I couldn't call out for her either. In the distance, I heard the opening and closing of doors. Hiro and Yuji. I didn't waste any time in going racing past and scrutinizing people and peering through doors myself.

          Though begrudging for ruining a sense of privacy, I soon relented before long and took the initiative to open them. After a while, I was starting to become desperate. They had way too many doors in this house.

          "Found her?" Yuji asked, arriving at my left out of breath.

          Hiro wasn't in any better condition. "No."

          "I quickly ran out but she wasn't outside either." Yuji ruffled his hair, gritting his teeth. "If something happens to cause her asthma to flare like last time because of stupid Ikum—"

          "Saki's tougher than that." I was a bit startled when the words came out of my mouth. Quiet lapsed through the air but it wasn't long.

          "Let's check her bedroom."

          Hiro was already leading the way when Yuji and I came to our senses. The faint laughter, conversation and classical music in the background was something easy to disregard.

          We arrived in a bedroom before long. Lavish, cleaned to perfection. But no Saki.

          I could feel Yuji and Hiro's frustrations incline while I swallowed hard. Where else could she have gone?

          "I'm gonna go check outside again," Yuji declared.

          "I'll check the main hall," Hiro agreed.

          They both turned around before they could leave.

          "I'll just look around upstairs," I told them.

          "Text us if you find her," Yuji said.

          And they were gone at that. Racing as fast as their feet could take them, insurmountable worry in suit.

          I ambled towards Saki's large bookshelf, scanning the only colour in this otherwise crystalline bedroom. Fashion magazines, textbooks, photo albums. A lot of the pictures inside the albums were family photos from Saki as a little girl to an older version of herself. All of which she was clearly treated differently by the rest of her family. Then there were more lively ones of her grinning from ear to ear with two other little boys—Hiro and Yuji. I guess they were tied by the hip even back then.

          "We were."

          My blood ran cold. I spun around, nearly dropping the photo album in the act. Wide-eyed, I disregarded the fact that I'd spoken that last little bit aloud to take in the half-smiling girl at the entrance of the room.

          "There you are!"

          I regretted my choice of wording as Saki softly shut the door. She sauntered inside, flopping onto her floral blanket on her neatly made bed. "Here I am," she mumbled back.

          I could've reached into my pocket to notify them of her arrival, made some small talk or voice any of the racing thoughts flooding my mind earlier, but now I couldn't help but draw blanks. Heavy, white blanks where my mouth refused to work.

          I wasn't just going along with Yuji's conviction, right? I felt the same way too. So I had to say something to her.

          But what? What could I say that I hadn't already? The apologies or sentiments never flowed before. And even now...

          "I saw you talking to Iku-nee." Saki's attempt at breaking the silence stabbed me with even more invisible needles. "She's pretty harsh, huh? Especially when it comes to me." A forced laugh pushed past her throat as she smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles of her dress. "Obviously, though. Maybe it just comes with being adopted—"

          "Of course it doesn't." The words were stiff on my tongue. Tucking the album back into its position on the bookshelf, I took a seat beside her. "My family's always been so accepting of me. I can't even see myself as anything other than a Hoshino. And I wouldn't be here now if they hadn't decided to take me in."

          Saki's glossy eyes met mine, and though taken by momentary surprise, she smiled. "I can tell that much. You're so nice, Mi-chan. I just wish mine—especially, Iku-nee—stopped dwelling on that little detail and actually appreciated me."

          I set my jaw in place, once again finding it difficult to speak.

          "It's funny. Iku-nee always told me family is supposed to stay with you forever while your friends at one point will leave you behind and move on." Maybe it was because she witnessed my outburst to her sister or something, but Saki was undeniably calmer as she spoke to me. "So I've worked my hardest and pulled through the stifling environment and hate from others... only to realize not my family, but Hiro and Yuji were the only ones willing to see me for who I was. Ironic, isn't it?"

          She balled her fists, to keep her composure.

         "I know you hated it, and maybe still do, but I really loved going to the Humanity Club. I could just laugh, fool around and have fun without a worry in the world. It's not the best, and it does have its ups and downs, but when Kazuya approached me that one day, I never expected joining such an obscure club would make me so happy. That becoming a member of a 'Humanity Club,' and fitting in for the first time regardless of my flaws could make me feel so satisfied. It was only about a year but the entire club really helped me forget about how much of an outsider I am here. But now I'm back to it. I'm stuck here again."

          "Saki..."

          "And I miss it so much."

          Her chin trembled like a child, and the walls she'd held up—that seemed to protect her—collapsed. Tears welled in her eyes, but even as she pressed her hand to my shoulder, it trembled.

          "I do want to be with you guys again. But I don't think I can. Iku-nee will get rid of the club for sure if I try. And if it disappears because I want to be selfish, I..."

          Her tears soaked her cheeks, fingers curling around my arm even tighter. The sorrow must have come in waves, seconds of sobbing broken apart by short pauses for recovering breaths. Was the reason she was adamant on leaving the club because of that? True, Ikumi was going to disband our club if Saki hadn't joined, but... The reason she put herself through her sister's slandering was because she was looking out for the rest of us?

          My own eyelids prickled with tears. "Saki, that's not..."

          "You can lie just this once, Mi-chan," she sputtered. "I know we're not really friends, but... even if it's only right now, tell me you actually want me to come back."

          As much as she tried to hold it in, her sadness came like an uproar from her throat. And only remembering the things I'd said and done to her since we met stabbed me repeatedly in the chest. I was part of the reason she'd been hurting like this. The reason she even had to ask me such a blatant question was because since the moment we met I...

          It was like a hit to the face. I could bury myself in anime, but that didn't erase how rude I'd been to her. How fragile humans really were. A single mishap or word could rend anyone's heart in two, and multiple ones stacked on top of that—insensitive jerks who only added to that daily—could crush you completely. And I had to go and be one of those jerks.

          "Saki." My voice was just as croaky, the lump in my throat tough to swallow. "Just come back to the club. The guys and I will work together to put your sister down so you can join us again. We can fool around like idiots together again."

          Saki rasped a titter as she pulled away from me. Her lips stretched back in the trademark smile I'd always dismissed—one where if you peered close enough it was easy to tell how weak it really was. "I almost want to believe that. Thank you, Mi-cha—"

          "I'm serious!" I gripped her shoulders. "We'll get you out of the Disciplinary Committee! And we won't let the Humanity Club go down with it."

          "Why?" she asked, eyelashes almost sparkling with her tears. "I left without warning and was such a jerk. I bet Yuji and Hiro even gave up on me. Kazuya and you, too. I'm sure you all don't want me around either—"

          "You're the one who gave up on us!"

          Her eyebrows picked up on her face.

          "Do you know how much those idiots continue to try to gather new members for our club?" I pressed, the tears overwhelming my eyes making it difficult to see her face. "It's stupid how often. And they think they're being discreet about it, too. But we just can't get any new members. No matter how hard we all try, we can't save the club or get you to join us again. And you just sit idly by like this... How could you ask me to lie about something that's already been established?"

          She tensed. "What are you—"

          "Of course you're my friend. Of course I want you to join again." Her mouth parted, speechless. I pulled back my arm to rub away at my eyes. "I know I've been hella rude and terrible, but I'm just not used to having many friends, let alone any girl ones. So stop acting like you're alone in this. The entire club has been waiting this entire time for you to come back."

          I heaved in and out, attempting to stabilize my breathing. The echo of my words boomed in my ears. It was embarrassing, but there wasn't a single word I didn't mean. Saki seemed to understand that because she sniffled to stifle a second means of waterworks.

          I felt like a mess inside. It'd been a long time since I cried. Nonetheless, even as I retreated from her and pressed my hands on my cheeks to wipe them away, I was caught off guard to be thrown into a hug.

          I almost teetered over and fell, but Saki's squeezing embrace nearly sucked all the air out of my lungs again. But my eyes weren't playing a trick on me. She was smiling from ear to ear—the most sincere one I'd ever seen come from her.

          "Thank you, Mi-chan. For saying that."

          My own lips quirked up also as I returned my own hug. At that exact moment, there was a knock on the door. Saki pulled away from me just as a sheepish Hiro and Yuji poked themselves inside. It only caused me to snort. They were eavesdropping.

          I turned back to see Saki's open-mouthed stare. Further amusement seared through me. "Let's head to the clubroom tomorrow."

          She retreated the slightest, rubbing at her eyelids. For the first time in a long time, a swell of hope glinted in her warm brown eyes.

          "And all of us, together," I went on, a wide grin filling the bottom half of my face, "will figure out a plan to get you out of this."