CHAPTER 50 (FINAL)

          The graduates sat front and centre to the stage. Teachers flooded the right-hand side; first and second-years and families seated towards the back. As the band played slow yet saddening tunes, followed by the national anthem to which everyone rose to their feet, the principal, Fujiwara-sensei, gave a short but meaningful speech.

          Since we had to be seated in alphabetical order, Hiro was a couple seats down from where I was seated, Yuji behind. Hibiki, Hinata, Kouichi and Saki, seeing as she was in another class was elsewhere but even without looking over I could hear Saki bawling even before the actual ceremony could begin.

          Her blatant snuffles were brought to an extreme when they finally called up the third-years to receive their diplomas. With each boy that was called to the stage, the louder they shouted 'yes!' as if it were some kind of competition. And when Wannabe strolled onto the stage, primarily the girls erupted in hushed mirth. He purposely flashed the crowd a discreet smile and peace-sign, clearly appreciating the amount of recognition he was given.

I recognized some other faces as well—like Chinami from the Drama Club, Himawari Rack, and even Saki's older brother and sister—reminding me of just how much things were going to be different in the upcoming year.

It was to my surprise to learn later on that Wannabe was the one chosen to give the graduation speech, seeing as he'd remained the top student in his grade. It was a tearjerker, if anything, especially for the third-years. And immensely touching and powerful. And by the end of it even I couldn't hide the small tug in my chest when he hinted towards us and the subtle meaning of our club to him.

When the ceremony finally reached its end and everyone was ushered back to the final class of the day, from flowers in prettily wrapped bouquets and girls bombarding guys for their second buttons—the courtyard was full of parting sentiments and tears.

I'd never cared the least about graduations before, primarily because I didn't need to. But this year was different. Seisein Academy—the friends and bonds I'd accumulated here—was different.

"Crap, I lost them." I took a look around, attempting to spot where Hiro and Yuji had disappeared in this wave of students. I slipped out my cell but just as I turned it on, a cry snatched my attention entirely.

"Raku-sama!"

My legs halted as I passed another wave of sobbing girls out front near the gates. Rack stood in the middle of her minionettes bombardment, attempting to calm them down.

"You can't leave us!"

"Who will we idolize instead of you?"

It was like watching some kind of drama, the words they were spouting. And Rack's response was just as far-fetched.

"From today forth, the Himawari Raku fan club will have no choice but to come to an end."

"What!" they cried.

"No way, Raku-sama!"

"I will never forget our time together my dears," Rack went on, her own tears streaming down her cheeks. "But you all must move on to smaller and less important things."

"Raku-sama!" they all wailed in unison.

I couldn't help the amusement soaking into my countenance at this dramatic scene. But I guess it was naive of me to believe they wouldn't catch my staring.

Rack was the first to notice me, amidst her pool of sobs. My body went stricken at once, but after quickly rubbing at her eyes and smudging her mascara even further, she went speeding through her minionettes until arriving in front of me.

Her voice was shaky as she said, "Hoshika Mikayu."

"Hoshino Miyuki, actually," I responded on instinct. "Nice to see you again, Rack."

She squinted at me, the exchange between us a familiar one. Though, recalling our last encounter and her brash attitude, I definitely wasn't expecting a wide smile to push into her defined cheekbones.

"You haven't changed, have you?" Shaking her head, she positioned her hand at her hip. "I've heard you've gotten extremely close to Hiro while I wasn't looking."

My cheeks warmed considerably, but I did my best to keep my expression deadpanned. It was still hard to get used to the idea that we were dating now.

"It is frustrating to digest considering how ruthlessly you ridiculed my feelings for him back then. But seeing just how happy I saw him last I have no choice but to let it slide, huh?"

I craned my neck up, properly meeting her eyes. Unlike the hatred she stared me with before, there was nothing but genuine content administered into her smile. Despite a tad regret, she was truly happy for him—me. My eyebrows elevated on my face. Maybe Rack wasn't such a bad person after all.

"What are you doing from here?"

She smirked at the question. "Taking over the world, of course. I'm going to be a storm to the culinary arts college I'm attending and spread my name for the entire world to hear."

She shielded her mouth with the back of her hand as she cackled, her minionettes open-mouthed with star-eyes from behind.

"How can someone be so inspiring?"

"Raku-sama is so amazing!"

Rack accepted the compliments with even more joy to amplify her laugh. I laughed as well, not even the least bit startled at how this all turned out. She just had this kind of personality.

"I suggest you think about your future early as well," Rack told me as soon as she'd calmed down. "Aim for the moon and even if you fall short of them you can always land amongst the stars. Don't give up once you've made up your mind, such is the way of Himawari Raku."

"So cool!" her minionettes shouted.

"We know you can do it, Raku-sama!"

I returned an equally kind smile. "Take good care of yourself, Raku."

"But of course, Miyuki," she replied, the mention of my true name not slipping by unnoticed. "Until we meet again."

With the spin of her toes, she went sashaying off—minionettes in teary pursuit. But just as soon as she disappeared, I ran into another. Literally.

"Whoops, I didn't mean to bump into you," Chinami said, stabilizing me with a grip to the shoulders. She was wearing a cherry blossom pin above her chest—one every graduate was wearing. Her green eyes met mine, a huge smile spreading back her lips. "Oh, if it isn't our little Snow White."

The rest of the Drama Club joined her from behind, towering over her short stature with ease.

"How's it going?" Chinami went on. "Since the whole..."

"It's—we're fine," I replied as she liberated me. "It's just a club."

"It didn't sound like 'just a club' to Kazuya-kun today," she said. She was talking about his speech. She gave me a little pat on the shoulder. "But I'm glad to hear you guys are moving on. If it were me—if the Drama Club couldn't exist in the future—"

"Chinami-senpai, you're not making it any better," one of the males in the back piped in.

Chinami froze and a look of panic crossed her features. She instantly bowed. "I'm so sorry!" She jerked back up, balling her fists. "But really, I wish things could've been different. You guys helped the school a lot—especially our club!"

"Like I said, it's fine," I told her sincerely. "It was fun, but the Humanity Club was just a club, and definitely not one as beneficial as you'd believe. Besides, the members are more important. As long as they're still around, what does a little club matter?"

The words that tumbled out of my mouth were almost second nature—and for some reason it'd left Chinami a tad speechless.

It didn't last long.

"You've changed a bit, Snow White." The nickname made me cringe, but Chinami's goodwill was enough to make me brush it aside. "You guys take care, alright?"

She departed with a huge wave, the rest of the club with polite nods as they followed after their senior as she went to say goodbye to other people.

I'd bumped into a sheepish Eita and indifferent Ikumi, Chiho and Rin bawling goodbyes to the swim team upperclassman, Tatsuya amidst the basketball team circle to bid goodbye as well. It was almost as if I was running into everyone. But when I arrived at the back of the school, I finally located them.

"Kazuya! Don't leave!"

Saki had Wannabe trapped in a constricting hug, one that left the blond unsure what to do about it. He awkwardly laughed as he patted her blubbering self's shoulder. "A little too late for that. My plane leaves tonight."

Saki bawled harder. "Why couldn't you have failed a year?"

"Is that really something you should be wishing for me?" Wannabe sighed, newfound guilt wafting over him. "Look, I won't be gone forever. I might come back during the summer and then we can hang out then."

"Might?" she echoed, sobbing into his chest.

Saki's waterworks weren't relenting even as Wannabe tried his hardest to make them stop. I'd experienced first-hand just how constricting her hugs were and how difficult they were to pull away from. But Saki was kind, more than anyone, so it wasn't a surprise she was getting the most emotional.

Wannabe glanced at Yuji for a little help and it was quite the comical sight to watch him try to pry Saki away. Kind of like a toddler not wanting to party with their mom to go to school.

"What happened to you?" Hiro inquired once I reached his side.

"Got carried away by the crowd," I replied. "You need to keep a firmer eye on me next time."

Hiro snorted, his lips stretching back into an equally gentle smile. "Is that your way of asking me to hold your hand?"

"Maybe." I shifted my gaze onto the pink petal I saw laying amidst his brown hair. It must've fell from above. Rising to my toes, I extended out my hand for it. Hiro locked up in surprise but I swiftly picked it up. When I settled back on my feet I showed it to him with a smile. "You had this..."

"It seriously feels like I'm dreaming."

I stared into his eyes, carefully. "Why?"

"I mean, I was so sure I had the least chance against everyone else in your life. I'd practically given up hope."

"Are you insinuating I shouldn't have chose you?" I returned, teasingly. "Now, now, you shouldn't go doubting the power of your charm. I fell for you fair and square."

Hiro's eyes crinkled as he laughed. "Way to say something cute."

It was my turn to grin. "You know I'm a sap for cheesy lines."

"Are you two seriously flirting right out in broad daylight?"

My heart nearly leapt to my throat as arms randomly swung around my shoulders, resting his chin on the top of my head. We both were immediately woken up from the isolated bubble we were forming. Tilting my head back, I stared up at his grinning face responsible.

Hibiki.

"How about you leave it for some other time and give me one last hug," he said, retreating from me with outstretched arms.

I opened my mouth to move but the bashful grin that had broken out on my face had done all the talking. Hiro equally blushed as well. Slipping my hand out of his I properly faced him.

For whatever coincidence, his flight also happened to leave today too. My lips met as I stared past his inviting arms and into his eyes. "You have to manage without me okay? Keep your playboy ways to a minimum because you tend to scare people off at first. Also, remember to take some pills so you don't get nauseous on the travel there. You're hopeless when you're sick. Oh, and—"

"Miyuki!" I was dragged into his chest without warning, a huge bear hug. Hibiki ruffled the top of my head. "Ugh, my heart can never handle you! You're always too cute!"

He patted my head as he grinned from ear to ear. But for some reason, I couldn't stop the heat from enveloping my cheeks. Had I said something odd? "Let go of me please."

Though he wouldn't want to admit it, it was easy to tell from beneath his twitching brow Hiro's jealousy metre had sparked off the charts. "Hibiki," he growled.

"I don't ever want to let go," Hibiki responded to me, pulling away from me to properly stare at my face. His smile shifted to a genuine one. "I'm going to miss you, Miyuki." He looked at Hiro. "I'll miss you too, grumpy-pants."

"I don't need to hear that from you!" Hiro barked.

I hoped my smile was enough for the both of us. "We'll miss you, too."

"Take care of yourself, Hibiki," Wannabe said.

He came up to us, Yuji still trying to tug Saki off his torso.

Hibiki looked like he wanted to say so much about that, and how Wannabe had seemed to disregard it. Regardless, he ended up chuckling instead. "You should worry more about yourself."

He returned his focus to me and suddenly leaned over, encasing my ear and whispering so that the others wouldn't hear.

"I told him."

He retreated with imploring innocence, and I had to do everything in my being to stifle any excitement. "And?"

Hibiki's full-blown grin was all the answer he gave me, and really it was all I needed. I wanted to prod him further, dearly so, but that was immediately thwarted when he was just about tackled to the ground. Saki was the culprit, who an exhausted Yuji had finally pried from Wannabe only to snuggle into his arms instead.

"Hibiki, don't leave me either!"

"S-Saki?" Seeing just how touching Saki's tears were to him, it wasn't long before Hibiki's mouth quivered as well. "Don't make me cry, dammit! You better take care of yourself!"

"Guys! There you are!"

The shout disrupted the mood beginning to circle around them. Speaking of the guy now, Hinata came jogging from around the building, Kouichi at his side.

"Why'd you take so long for you guys to get here?" Yuji said, though out-of-breath. "I messaged you a while ago."

"I was saying goodbye to my seniors in the Art Club," Hinata confessed. He sheepishly laughed. "They wouldn't let me leave."

"I was taking some pictures of the graduating class—ones the News Department asked for," Kouichi explained, holding up his camera. His attention flitted onto the snivelling messes of both Hibiki and Saki. "May I ask what is going on... with that?"

Yuji sighed and held up a hand. "Just give me a minute." He approached her, and instead of securing his arms around her waist once again, this time he bent over to say something in her ear. Saki unhanded Hibiki at once. My mouth fell when they both tumbled backwards, Yuji taking the impact into the fully bloomed cherry blossom tree behind him.

Saki had exploded into a series of apologies as she scrambled to secure Yuji's safety. Yuji reassured her with a grin, causing her to let out a loud breath of relief.

Once back on their feet, Hiro nudged his head to Yuji. "You already said goodbye to the upperclassmen of the basketball team, right?"

"Yup," he said, fiddling with his bangs to rid it of the cherry blossoms that'd gotten interspersed.

"They got close, didn't they? To winning play-offs."

"Fourth place," he replied. "At least, I think it was because the upperclassmen even went out of their way to treat us all to some food."

Hiro deadpanned. "Of course all you remember is the food..."

A small, though stifled sniffle had caught all our eyes. When we found the cause had been Wannabe this time.

"Wait, are you seriously bawling right now?" Hiro demanded.

It was as if it didn't even matter to him that we saw him crying. He buried his eyes into his sleeve. "I'm going to miss you guys so much...!"

Yuji chuckled. "Our emotional Kazu won't change will he?"

"There are idiots crying here, too," I piped in.

"We're not crying!" Hibiki and Saki shouted in unison.

Hibiki was attempting to bury his face into forearm. Saki was rubbing at her soiled cheeks to rid it of the wetness. Even, Hinata, with his cheeks puffed like a chipmunk, was sniffling.

Kouichi's warm laugh stirred through us all. "Why don't we all make our goals official?"

"You mean, for the future?" I asked.

He nodded. "Let's not leave any regrets. If we can state our resolves now and strive to get there, the disbandment of the Humanity Club won't have been wasted."

Hibiki wiped away his last tear, following with the rest of the those crying.

"Well, I wasn't apart of your club but my goal is to star in badass movies in the future. Maybe even sing one of the main soundtracks."

Yuji hummed. "Maybe I'll officially join the basketball team next year and win first in the playoffs."

Saki furiously bobbed her head. "Then I'll work hard practice styling hair so I can become a hair stylist."

"Make the baseball team, I guess?" Hiro said next.

Yuji sighed. "Hiro, at least say you're gonna win championships."

"Your goal is smaller than your height, pipsqueak," Hibiki said.

Hiro twirled towards him, fist clenched. "You freakin'— Fine!" he grunted, crossing his arms. "Make championships. There's my goal."

I fought a laugh, gingerly patting his arm to cheer him up.

"I don't have a legitimate goal," I said. "But I think I want to try drawing a manga."

"Ooh, a romance?" Hibiki cooed.

"An action adventure," I corrected. "The next shounen mainstream, if I'm lucky. But if that doesn't work out, I'll become a voice actor or something. I want to become apart of the anime industry in any way."

"Your dreams are as extravagant as yourself, Hoshino-san," Kouichi said.

I laughed as a thanks. "So what's your goal, Kouichi?"

"To spread my reach as a photographer and properly join the News Department. I'll definitely get more involved next year and improve on my craft. Then maybe in the future I can professionally take pictures of the beauty I treasure so much."

Hinata timidly scratched at his cheek. "Then, I guess I'll do my best to improve on my art, too. And get into the art university I want."

"Knowing our talented Hinata he'll make it in a breeze," I cooed.

"Of course he will," Hibiki added, grinning. "His art is phenomenal already."

Hinata bashfully laughed, eyes lingering on Hibiki just a second longer than me.

"What about our actual senpai?" Yuji said.

"You've been quiet, Kazuya," Saki agreed.

We weren't surprised that he was still stifling tears. "M-my goal," he stammered, "is to see my mother and better myself in marketing and business as the heir to the Hayashi Enterprise. And to come back to check up on you all."

"We'll be fine without you, old man," I sighed.

"Just focus on your goal," Yuji agreed.

Hibiki nodded. "Then maybe one day you'll end up as successful as I will."

"Hibiki, you're not even famous," I rebuked. "Stop with your sarcasm."

"Yes, ma'am." I gave him a look. "Bestie?" he tried again. "My snickerdoodle—Ouch."

It was Hiro.

"Ow!"

And I guess that smack belonged to me.

"Let's take a photograph to commemorate the moment," Kouichi said, holding his camera to his ray of sight and adjusting the focus with the aperture. "Hibiki-san and Hinata-san weren't in the last one."

Hibiki gasped. "You guys took a picture without me?"

"Oh, the horror," I played along.

"Damn straight," he said. "Have you seen my blessed looks?"

"Can't say any of us have," Hiro replied.

Hibiki's mouth fell, appalled. I high-fived Hiro at once, sharing a snicker as I did. Hibiki pouted but was quick to bounce back when Hinata went to console him.

It was clustered picture; a bit of shoving and arguments so we all could fit into the frame. A smile carved my lips when Kouichi started counting down from five.

Who would've thought the past introverted otaku me would come to treasure the bonds of friendship in the way that I had.

Even as we all went to bid farewell one by one, it couldn't erase the heaviness in my chest. Not from sadness from having to have said goodbye. But mostly because even though I wasn't going to be seeing them all again tomorrow—fooling around and going on pointless adventures together like always—at least we all could be assured that though separated in our pursuit of different aspirations, we would remain connected.

'The Humanity Club,' would.

THE END