Author's Notes: Christmas is fast approaching again. Are you guys excited? I am excited. I remember that it was also during Christmas and New Year when I finally finished writing Danger in the Tennis Courts. It was such a wonderful feeling to complete a long story. I hope I am able to do it again. Anyway, chapter four already? Hahah~ Things are moving fast.

As usual, thank you to those of you who reviewed, specially the ones who constantly leave ones. I tip my hat off to you guys.

Chapter IV: Ice Breaker

"You've built your wall so high that no one could climb it.
But I'm gonna try."

—Labrinth, Beneath Your Beautiful

"Did you get everything you needed?"

Sakuno paled at the question. The answer to that is exactly the root of her dilemma right at the moment.

"U-um, actually..." she trailed off uncertainly, not knowing exactly how to give him the reply yet.

About half an hour ago, Ryoma had parked their beaten up car a block away from a modest department store. The boy had mentioned how he would've preferred to grab supplies from a nondescript convenient store, but since they also needed to get warm clothes for their next destination, he thought it would save them more time if they just made one stop and get everything they needed at a department store.

She and her neighbor were walking side by side as they walked past stores in the mall. On Ryoma's right hand are a few shopping bags that contained their new clothes, toiletries, and other supplies. It was a good thing that his card case, which contained his credit cards, remained untouched in his back pocket when they were captured. This enabled them to have some form of money for their needs.

Their metal chain and their handcuffed hands were covertly hidden inside the big side pocket of a black trench coat that Ryoma was currently wearing. Obviously, they would attract attention if they walked around in public with handcuffs. They found the large trench coat inside the car's trunk when they were scavenging the vehicle for other useful supplies before they headed to the mall.

Ryoma's and Sakuno's hands weren't linked inside the pocket, but since the space was quite small, the back of their hands were definitely touching. This contributed to the discomfort the brunette was feeling. She vaguely wondered how they looked like from an outsider's point of view—what with them walking super close and sticking to each other like that.

Sakuno couldn't help but slightly redden at the thought. Of course, other people would probably think that they were some kind of—

"Hey, you two lovebirds!" a bright and overly cheery voice suddenly called out from their left, before Sakuno felt herself getting tugged to the inside of a store. As Ryoma was attached to her, he unwillingly had to follow after the brunette.

It was then that they realized that the store they were brought into had purple and pink neon lights and had the sign Lovers ostentatiously displayed at the back of the store.

The perky saleslady who dragged them in started speaking to them animatedly. "I know exactly what can make your night oh so lively. We have multiple toys that you guys can try in this section," she said with a naughty smile as she motioned to some scandalously displayed equipment, most of which Sakuno didn't know what for and didn't want to know how to use.

"Or maybe you guys are into certain kind of role-plays?" The staff inquired feigning an innocently curious tone. "In that case, these handcuffs and these whips are very popular nowadays."

Ryoma was itching to grab his gun from his waistband. One shot and he can easily incapacitate the blabbermouth. Then, they wouldn't have to listen to another junk that comes out of her mouth. They can't even take off the handcuffs they have on right now. What makes this lady think they would want another one?

Sakuno, on the other hand, had gradually turned into different shades of red as the other woman kept talking. She kept her eyes low, trying not to look at the different sizes of ahem models that were directly in front of her vision. And just when she thought the torture couldn't get any worse, she and her neighbor got pulled to another section of the store.

"Oh, I see. I see. Your girlfriend is quite the innocent one, isn't she, monsieur? Ahh, how cute!" the lady fawned over the permanently scarred Sakuno. "Then I have just the perfect thing for you lovebirds. We just got these styles of lingerie this morning. Most of them are super cute."

Browsing through a couple of lacey and semi-transparent thin layers that she actually called clothes, she started picking ones for Sakuno. "Does your lover boy over there like laces? Ribbons or strings? What color does he like on you? Red or black?" She started to put the bras in front of Sakuno to visualize how it would look like on her.

"U-um..." Sakuno weakly protested.

"Want some push-ups to give them a lift?" She glanced down at Sakuno's chest but then plastered a playful grin on her face. "Oh, but I don't think you need any help to make them bigger. You're kind of well-endowed already. If we make them look any bigger, your boyfriend might—"

"We're going," Ryoma muttered stiffly before he literally grabbed Sakuno out of the place. For some reason, he was suddenly power walking away from that cursed store.

Sakuno tried her best to keep up with him. "A-ano...um..." she began, but Ryoma was either not listening or plainly ignoring her. He kept looking straight ahead, not willing to give her a complete look of his face.

"Ryoma-san..." she tried again, and when it failed, she actually grabbed one of his arms gently with her free hand in order to stop him.

"What?" was Ryoma's immediate question as he turned to her with a slight glare.

Oh god, how is she going to bring this up now right after what just happened?

But she figured that this might be her only chance. They can't afford to lose any more time, so it's now or never.

"I..." She bit her bottom lip, looked down, and shut her eyes so she doesn't have to see his reaction.

"I do need to get some underwear..."

Goddammit all.

The drive to the motel was awkwardly silent.

After she finally told him the other thing that she needed, Ryoma stoically dragged her to the women's department so she can buy what she needed. There was no way in heck they were going to get her underwear from that store.

He told her to choose quickly while he turned away and waited. Unfortunately for both of them, he couldn't just walk away while she chose from the selection. After a minute or two, she ended up going for a matching set of pink bra and panties, which were adorned by simple white ribbons on top.

Their plan was to get a quick shower and eat some food at an unknown motel, before they head up to the Swiss Alps. According to Ryoma, a well-known bomb specialist has his base of operations up in the mountains and that is where they were headed.

That was why they needed to grab some warm clothes. They will be braving the snowy mountain.

Again, she couldn't help but wonder how Ryoma knows such information.

As they arrived at the parking lot of the motel and Ryoma shifted the gears with the knob, another thought hit Sakuno that suddenly drained all the color from her heart-shaped face.

Wait, shower.

They need to shower...

She and Ryoma...

How are they going to shower with their hands linked like this?

"T-they're all off now."

"..."

"So p-please don't turn your head this way."

"...Hn."

With that simple grunt from her companion, Sakuno slowly stepped into the tub and slid the shower curtain closed after her. The rattling of the chain echoed in the small bathroom that she and Ryoma were currently in. Despite the cold air that hit her bare skin when she took her clothes off, Sakuno's entire body was completely flushed—though more like from self-consciousness. She has never even spent more than an hour alone with another man in the same room in her life, and now, she was suddenly forced to be naked with another man in the same room.

Their circumstances were understandable, but that didn't help with the embarrassment.

He was gentleman enough to offer her the comfort of taking the shower first. They were able to separately use the toilet with one person at the outside of the door earlier, since the toilet was conveniently located close to the bathroom door. However, the shower tub was farther and their chain didn't provide enough length for the other person to be completely outside the room. So in order for them to use the shower, they both had to be completely inside the bathroom.

Due to the fact that one of their arms was connected to the other, they also had the problem of how to get clothes on and off. With the trench coat earlier, they ended up cutting the length of the sleeve with scissors and using safety pins to remake the sleeve. They had no choice but to just cut their dirty tops off and discard them. They will also need to cut and remake the sleeves of their new clothes, but what can they do? It's better than having dirty clothes on or being half-naked.

Being chained to each other is definitely causing a lot of bother to both of them. Needless to say, they couldn't wait until they get those darn chains off of them.

As the hot water started to run from the shower head, Sakuno couldn't help but steal a glance at Ryoma's form through the white shower curtain. Only the outline of his form was visible, but she can tell that he was dutifully keeping his back on her and not moving even a tiny bit from his spot.

She was done rinsing the shampoo from her waist-length auburn hair and was busy watching Ryoma's still form that she wasn't really looking when she squeezed the conditioner into her palm. As a result, the contents ended up spilling on the floor of the tub, and she just had the luck of stepping into that slippery little puddle.

In the next moment, Ryoma heard a female shriek, followed by a firm tug on his left hand from the chain, and then the heavy thud of something landing on the bath tub. He half-turned his body to check on the girl, but he realized the situation they were currently in and froze instead.

"Oi, daijobu ka?" He was too focused on the condition of the girl that he barely noticed that his native language had slipped out of his tongue.

Sakuno was wincing in pain, her bottom was currently tender and throbbing from the fall, but she had the mind to assure the boy on the other side of the shower curtain. "Y-yes! I'm...okay," she weakly muttered. "Sorry...P-please keep turning the other way!"

Ryoma visibly let out a sigh, though she saw him hesitate before he turned his back on her again.

The hazel-eyed lad closed his eyes as he heard her slow movements, trying to stand back up again.

'Tch, what a klutz.'

Ryoma was drying his wet hair with a towel when he settled down in the chair near the bed. Sakuno was sitting on the edge of the bed, working on a barely eaten sandwich in one of her hands when he broke the silence.

"We need to talk."

The doe-eyed maiden focused her attention on him. She had a bad feeling about this.

"Oh...okay."

Ryoma slouched forward on the chair and rested his elbows on his knees as he met her eyes.

"You really don't know what they want from you?"

She shook her head, unconsciously remembering the accusatory tone he used on her while they were locked up in the cell earlier.

"Anything at all? Money you owe, jewelries, connection to the black market?"

The brunette just kept shaking her head at his interrogation.

"How about your family?" At this question, Sakuno unconsciously stiffened. Her family wasn't really a nice conversation topic for her. Noticing this, Ryoma kept going. "Do your parents owe them something? What do they do?"

She stopped shaking her head, but didn't really have an answer to give him. She barely remembered her parents.

"Is there anything strange you inherited or own that has puzzled you or you thought was weird?"

This time, something did cross her mind, but the flurry of questions subsequently thrown at her suddenly reminded the brunette of the unfairness of the situation. She had thousands of questions for him too. It's not fair that he's the only one who's interrogating her. If anything, he's the more suspicious one between the two of them.

Breaking into a car, hot wiring, knowing how to expertly handle handguns, extensive knowledge of geography, his fighting skills...

"Ryoma-san, c-can I ask you some questions too?" she meekly inquired.

She saw the lad next to her straighten his sitting posture and look away. He didn't give her a reply, but she continued.

"W-who are you? Why...why do you know how to use guns and how to fight like that?"

Silence.

Sakuno found herself clenching her fist at this silent treatment. He had no problem asking her millions of personal questions and yet, he refused to give her at least one important answer.

"It's not just you who suddenly got dragged into all of this. I was too and it's really frustrating being in the dark about all of this," she tried to make her case.

"..."

"Ryoma-san—"

"That's none of your business," he suddenly told her in a cold tone, effectively cutting off any other plea that she might have.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

The brunette felt like she was with a complete stranger again, knowing completely nothing about the guy. She felt a little bit stung since she thought that they had at least become slightly acquainted after all the things they've gone through so far. She wondered if he even knew her name since he's never bothered to call her by it—not even once during the time they've known each other.

"If you don't want to tell me anything, we might as well go. We're wasting time in here." Ryoma stood up from his seat and grabbed the backpack he bought earlier from the floor.

Sakuno frowned at the idea. She didn't want to continue on like this. Their lives were pretty much in each others' hands at this point. How can they afford not to trust each other?

She suddenly stood up and faced Ryoma, determination in her chocolate orbs. The lad gave her a questioning look.

"Um...My name is Sakuno Ryuzaki. I'm twenty years old. I was orphaned at the age of five. I—" she stumbled a bit, but forced the words out of her mouth. "I barely have any recollection of my parents. My grandmother raised me. She made a living coaching tennis in middle school. We've lived all over Europe as I was growing up. She passed away two years ago from a heart condition and left me under the care of a legal guardian."

Ryoma noticed that her chocolate eyes turned a little opaque at the mention of her grandmother, but she took a deep breath as if trying not to break down in front of him. "Um...I am trying to major in Culinary Arts. My...my specialty are baked goods. My birthday is January 14. I'm a Capricorn. I have no sense of direction and I am terribly clumsy as you probably witnessed earlier..." She couldn't help but smile sadly at this and she shook her head. "Um...what else? My favorite color is pink. And yes... there is something I own that has always seemed weird to me."

Her last sentence caught Ryoma's attention the most and he was about to ask if she's brought the item with her, when she suddenly motioned to her chest.

"This...has always bothered me." Color touched her cheeks, and she hesitated only for a second before she unbuttoned the first three buttons at the top of her blouse.

The lad's golden eyes widened a fraction. "O-oi," he started to protest, but his eyes were suddenly glued to the dark mark that was revealed to him.

On the upper part of the brunette's chest, just above her cleavage, sat a black heart-shaped tattoo that had floral wings attached. It was positioned as if it was decoratively adorning the top part of Sakuno's chest. In fact, Ryoma thought it looked really attractive against her flawless pale skin. But his thoughts were digressing now and he forced himself to avert his eyes to the side.

Ryoma frowned.

That mark...for some reason, he felt like he had seen that mark somewhere before.

There were some rustling of clothes as the girl re-buttoned the top part of her blouse. "I've had it for as long as I can remember," Sakuno explained, slight redness still present on her cheeks. "My grandmother said my parents gave it to me, but she told me to make sure no one else sees it. She was always oddly adamant about that. But maybe, she just meant because it's in a...sensitive part of the body, so it's only proper never to show it to anyone."

They were silent again as they remained standing.

Sakuno couldn't help but let out a sigh after a while. "That's...um...probably more than you wanted to know, but I just wanted you to know that I am going to trust you..." She looked up at him this time, though he found that he couldn't quite meet her gaze yet. "I know you don't trust me...but, you've saved my life so many times in the span of a few hours, and I have a strong feeling that I can trust you..."

The brunette finally closed her eyes in defeat. "But o-okay. I'm ready to go now. Sorry for the interrup—"

"Seven questions."

Her eyes snapped open.

"Eh?"

She couldn't help but look back at Ryoma, who still had his eyes averted from her, and was watching the scenery outside their motel window at the time.

"I'll answer seven questions from you."

Sakuno clutched the sleeve of her blouse with her other hand. "R-really?" She couldn't quite believe that she was hearing his words correctly.

The lad nodded. "But I'll only answer them once, so listen carefully."

Light came back into Sakuno's eyes and her thoughts immediately started running wild, thinking about what to ask the boy now that he's given her this chance. There were so many things she wanted to ask him.

"You promise to answer truthfully?" She couldn't quite keep the excitement from her voice.

"Sure, but I'm allowed to pass if I don't feel like answering the question at the time."

Sakuno bit her bottom lip and nodded, giving him a faint smile. "That's okay with me as long as you give me an answer at some point."

This time, he turned his head to look at her and she couldn't help the fast thumping of her heart again. Every time their eyes meet, she always felt this electric jolt in her chest.

"Um...can we start now?" she asked him eagerly.

"Shoot."

"O-okay, question one. What do you do?"

"Pass."

The brunette frowned. How is that any different from what he gave her before? Is this just another sly tactic to placate her? Oh well, she did agree that he can pass.

"Fine. Second question. Why were you at my apartment the night they kidnapped me?"

Ryoma took some time before answering this one. "...Pass."

Oh come on. Seriously? Did he intend to pass on all of her questions from the start and never give her an actual answer?

The brunette couldn't help but pout, but she didn't feel like giving up just yet.

"Question three. What's your favorite color?"

Ryoma had to give her a skeptical look when he heard the third one, but she was still looking at him with the same serious expression she had when she asked her first two questions.

Her chocolate eyes displayed genuine interest in the answer. He tried to deny his treacherous thoughts, but he couldn't help but feel that it was kind of endearing.

Sakuno breathlessly waited for the answer, but when it didn't come, she gloomily murmured, "Let me guess. Pass again?"

"We should go. We don't have much time left," Ryoma reminded her, steering the conversation back to serious matters.

The brunette let out a loud sigh, before resigning to her fate and packing her things.

After they made sure they didn't leave any incriminating evidence of their presence in the motel room, she followed Ryoma into the same black Mercedes they had "borrowed" from the harbor. He once again deftly hot wired the engine back to life. But before he pulled out of the motel's parking lot, he said something to her.

"It's silver."

Sakuno's frown was evident as she turned a puzzled look at him. What about silver?

"Pardon?"

Ryoma kept his gaze directed at the front windshield. There was a pause before he clarified what he told her. "My favorite color."

It was a very simple answer, but she couldn't help the huge smile that suddenly spread on her face. "O-oh..." she uttered, the happiness in her voice was almost overwhelming. "T-thank you."

"Hn."

They were bundled up in heavy winter jackets and scarves, awaiting a cogwheel train at Kleine Scheidegg station. The train would take them all the way up to Jungfraujoch—famously called the Top of Europe at the Swiss Alps.

That was when the station master suddenly announced that they're cancelling most of the trains going up to Jungfraujoch due to a snowstorm warning. They were advising all passengers at the station to take the train back down the mountain as soon as possible.

Cancelling? Right when they can't afford to lose any more time? Ryoma remembered the glaring red numbers he saw before they arrived at the station. It mockingly flashed 26 hours.

Damn it.

Ryoma grabbed Sakuno's arm and dragged her in order to speak to a station staff that was answering people's question a few feet away.

"We really need to go up there. Is there at least one train that can still take us?" was his direct question to the staff.

The poor bloke swallowed and almost flinched under Ryoma's stern gaze. "M-monsieur, there is one train that will make the journey, but we really advice you not to take that train. It's really dangerous and you'll have to sign papers that will release us from responsibility just in case something happ—"

"Give us the papers." Ryoma didn't even hesitate.

The station employee had to glance at Sakuno, obviously concerned about the maiden going up there despite the clear warning of a snowstorm. "But monsieur—"

"Didn't you hear me?" The question was accompanied by a sharp glare.

"R-right this way," the poor staff was forced to acquiesce.

Aside from them, there were three other brave souls who took the cogwheel train that was currently sluggishly making its way further up the mountain. The other people—all men who had mountain climbing backpacks—sat near the front of the train, while Ryoma and Sakuno chose two of the vastly unoccupied seats located at the rear.

Sakuno was looking out the window at the snowy mountain. The sky was bluish white, looking unsettled, with telltale signs of the coming snowstorm noticeable in the ice cold atmosphere.

The brunette was a little worried about the storm, but as Ryoma had put it, they are still going to die anyway if they didn't push through. She turned her attention to the hills and tried to appreciate the scenery. The sight must be gorgeous during summer or spring.

'How ironic,' she couldn't help but think. She finally had the chance to visit a scenic place with someone, but she couldn't take the time to admire the view.

"Want to sleep?" her companion suddenly asked, breaking her train of thoughts.

She sent him a thankful smile for the thoughtfulness, but shook her head slowly. "I got some sleep while you were driving us. It's you who didn't get much rest. Do you want to sleep? I'll keep watch."

Ryoma couldn't help but scoff at that. "You couldn't detect danger even if it stared you right in the face."

A pout. "Mou, you can at least try to say that in a nicer way."

"Heh." Ryoma was just taking his attention away from her, when the projectile hit. The cogwheel train was shaken violently by the force and was pushed to the side of the railway.

Ryoma had instinctively covered Sakuno with his body. As soon as the shaking stopped, he checked their surroundings. The front of the train was consumed with fire, thick black smoke enveloping the first few seats.

That was definitely no ordinary projectile if it had caused that much damage.

Shoulder-fired missile?

His eyes turned to the window and scanned the area beyond the train, trying to discern where the attack came from.

Much to his dismay, he recognized a red light at the far side of the opposite hill. It looked suspiciously like a sniper light to him and the red dot was being projected on him and Sakuno. They're firing again!

Taking a hold of Sakuno's arm to get her up, he practically pushed the brunette out of the train in a hurry. As soon as they hopped off, the second projectile hit their previous seats and the car train was finally blown off the cliff from the force.

Ryoma didn't wait for a third missile to hit and kept on dragging Sakuno farther toward the snow-covered slopes so they can take cover from the missiles.

Once he's satisfied that they were far enough, he allowed the poor girl to crouch down and attempt to catch her breath. They were surrounded by snow and the temperature was in the negative degrees. Even the simple process of breathing the cold air in and out was becoming more difficult.

"Ryo...ma..." Huff, huff. "-san..." Huff, huff.

He turned his attention to her and knew immediately that she wouldn't last out there for long. Unlike him, her body wasn't tempered against harsh conditions. They didn't hear any further attacks after the third missile hit, so it might be safe enough to return to the railway area. They would use the railroad as a guide to take them back to the station and just figure everything out from there.

Just when he took a hold of her arm again, they heard the ominous low rumbling of the air, signifying that something was approaching.

Ryoma froze, knowing exactly what that thing was.

It was the snowstorm.

Everything was a flurry of white in the blizzard that viciously attacked their bodies. Simply maintaining a standing position proved to be an impossible feat amidst the snowstorm.

He had a firm grip on Sakuno's arm, leading her as they diligently trudged through the storm. He knew they couldn't afford to stay out there longer. They needed to find a shelter fast.

The lad suddenly felt the brunette stumble and fall to the snow-covered ground beside him. She was shaking violently, her face completely pale, and her lips were an alarming shade of blue.

He cursed in his mind. How long had they been out there? She would pass out from hypothermia any time now.

Ryoma knelt and took hold of both of her arms, trying to make her focus on him. "Hey, we have to keep going. Just hang in there for a while."

Her eyelids were fluttering and she couldn't stop her shivering. Moving was proving to be more difficult, but she tried to give the boy a nod to at least signify that she heard him.

Ryoma gave her a slight smirk as a reward, admiring the girl's fighting spirit. He placed her arm around his shoulders so he can support her as they continued their laborious effort to seek shelter from the blizzard.

It was nothing short of a miracle when he did spot some type of snow cave shelter in the area, most likely created by previous mountain climbers just in case of an emergency. By the time he had pulled Sakuno inside the cave, she was barely conscious and her constant violent shivering was starting to alarm to him.

Her lips were quivering as he laid her on the sleeping platform of the trench. "Hey...hang on a little longer, alright?" he whispered to her as he tore off his own heavy jacket in a hurry and wrapped it around her. The brunette gave him another definite nod amidst her shaking. He didn't even know if she actually understood what he said, but if she can still respond to him, then that's good enough for him.

Ryoma grabbed the red firework he bought from the department store earlier. He lit it with the lighter from his backpack and sent it flying up outside their shelter, hoping someone would see it.

He sent a coded message in the form of an email to some of his friends earlier while they were at the mall. The hazel-eyed lad was just hoping that one of them saw the message and were already somewhere in the area. If so, they should be able to see that firework he just sent as a distress signal.

Ryoma turned his attention back to the brunette. She was still shivering and her breath was coming in short gasps now. He had tried to start a fire using scraps of paper he gathered from his backpack, but that didn't last longer than a few minutes.

Shit.

Looking at her deteriorating state, he knew there was only one way left to warm her up.

In her semi-delirious state, she felt something warm envelop her and pull her into some kind of a happy zone. She vaguely heard his voice whispering to her, encouraging her to keep hanging in there and fight a little longer.

Sakuno couldn't help but snuggle deeper into that embrace. Her body, which was desperately seeking any form of warmth, automatically clung to this new source. She buried her head deeper and felt the heavenly warmth of something that somehow stiffened momentarily when she wrapped her arms around it. A few seconds later though, she felt the arms already around her tighten their hold on her, allowing more of their warmth to transfer to her.

"Ryuzaki—"

Her eyes snapped semi-open briefly, giving her a blurry glimpse of intense golden hazel eyes, before her eyes closed again.

"—stay with me—"

Is it Ryoma?

Ryoma just called her name. Finally... She couldn't help the small smile that showed, despite her quivering lips.

"R-rryo...ma- s-s-sann..." she murmured.

"...S-s-so g-g-glad...I m-m-met...y-y-you..." she tried to voice out, unsure if she can be understood at this point. "...s-s-so h-h-happy...I-I'm...n-n-ot...a-l-l-one..."

Sakuno could remember a time last year when she was bedridden from a severe flu and there had been no one in that lonely apartment to keep her company as she was desperately fighting against the virus. As sad as it was, she really thought she was going to die alone back then.

But right now, it's different. Even if she felt like dying, at least there was someone with her. At least, she wasn't alone.

For some reason, she felt him stiffen again as soon as she uttered her words. Then she felt the sensation of a hand settling on top of her head, before pulling her head closer to a solid warm chest.

In her muddled mind, the sound of a metal chain rattling pierced through her thoughts. That's right, they're still connected. Ryoma couldn't escape because of her.

She knew herself that she couldn't last long. But Ryoma...she knew he can escape. She had seen his skills, he can get out of basically any kind of trouble. He didn't need to worry about her. He didn't owe her anything, after all. She needed to tell him that.

The brunette gritted her teeth so she can get her words out clearer.

"Y-you n-need...t-to g-get out of h-here...Y-you h-have...p-p-per...m-m-ission...t-to...c-c-cut off...my...a-arm...but p-p-please w-w-wait u-u-until...I-I'm...p-p-passed...o-out."

Was it just her delirium or did she hear him scoff? Though the word "Baka!" came out loud and clear.

"P-p-please..."

"—stay—"

I wish I could...

"—stay with me—"

'I really wish I could,' she thought miserably as she felt the cold sensation of water in her eyes.

Then somehow, her shutting down brain gave her one last present before it bid her goodbye.

Sakuno was able to imagine coming back to Switzerland during summer. She had time to leisurely admire the green hills with their beautiful blooming flowers. She was breathing in the cool—not cold—air. Giggling carelessly, she spun in place as she enjoyed her time with the person beside her.

In her fantasy, she looked up to the man beside her and gave him her warmest smile.

He turned his golden hazel eyes to her, apathetic at first, but then softened ever so slightly as they focused on her smile. She saw the man open his mouth to say a word.

This last word sweetly echoed in her mind for a few seconds.

'Ryuzaki...'

Then everything went dark.

The end.

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Just kidding.

Or am I?

Author's Notes: I could totally just end it there. It will be a bittersweet ending, but so many questions left unanswered. I think I read a mystery book that ended like this and I was so frustrated because I never found out about what actually happened. But I do want to hear your guys' guesses about the unexplained things in the story. Let me know your hunches.

Anyway, please read and review. I really had fun writing this chapter. So much fun with blushing Sakuno. And I'm not kidding. I really am just tempted to end it here. I think it's really fun that way too.

Merry Christmas~