As she recalled, walking down that airport corridor, and making her way back to her friends after receiving the news of Ikuto's departure, was not only the most heart-wrenching moment of her life, but also the most humiliating.

The stinging in her lungs and aching of her body after her long run towards the metal detectors had a mocking sensation to it; as if to say, "You did the best you could and still couldn't reach him."

Her eyes were moist and swollen from the tears she had shed at the metal detector gate; embarrassment, after having to walk down that corridor with red eyes and people's gazes piercing her, overwhelmed her.

There was hollowness within her: filled with the reverberating echo of her last palpitation.

Once she reached the end of the corridor, and caught a glimpse of Tadase and Utau, her throat tightened and stomach clenched. She didn't want to have to explain to them what had just happened, and prayed that she didn't catch either of their gazes. Unfortunately, the gaze of the person she didn't want to meet the most, Utau, met with hers.

Utau ran toward her, while dragging Tadase along. "Amu," she shouted, "Did you catch up with Ikuto? What did you say? What did he say? Did he say anything about when he'd be back?"

Utau continued her barrage of questions, and each one made Amu lower her head more in an attempt to avert her eyes from Utau's.

Tadase, who was standing next to the interrogating Utau, noticed Amu's sullen expression. He interjected, "Amu-chan? What's wrong?"

Amu began to shake, and bit her lower lip as she looked down towards the ground to hide her face.

Tadase walked up towards Amu and stretched out his arm to her, "You did manage to say 'good-bye' to Ikuto nii-san, right?"

With that, Amu lost the strength to hold back her emotions any longer, and she felt what little tears she had left to muster roll down her cheeks.

A shocked and then pained expression came across Tadase's face as he wrapped his arm around Amu and pulled her in close to him, "Amu-chan, I'm so sorry."

Amu pressed her head up against Tadase's chest, and grabbed part of his jacket as she cried against him. However, before she got too comfortable, Utau harshly pulled her away from Tadase, and met her eyes with a sharp, angry gaze.

"What the hell do you mean you 'missed him'? He had just left a few minutes earlier before you got here so how the hell did you miss him?" she yelled as she shook Amu.

Amu could only stand there wide-eyed as Utau shook her.

"Did you not run over to meet him? Is that it? Did you just take your sweet time getting over to the departure wing? You didn't even put in any effort to meet him whatsoever?"

With that Amu felt a boiling sensation in the pit of her stomach and she shoved Utau away, "What do you know?" she screamed. "I ran! I ran as fast as I could, and I still didn't reach him. It's not my fault! I did everything I could."

"Obviously not enough!" yelled Utau. "Why weren't you here with us in the first place anyway? Ikuto told you he was leaving, and you decide to just lay around in bed all morning? What's wrong with you?! Didn't you even consider Ikuto's feelings in wanting to say good-bye to you?"

"'Consider his feelings?'" Amu repeated in disgust. "What about his feelings!? Why should I care about his when he obviously didn't care about mine. Before he left he told me he was, 'never going to see me again.' How the heck do you think I can just get up to see him after he says something like that to me?"

"If he did say that then that's an even bigger reason to get off your ass to say good-bye! Why do you think he said that to you? Think, you idiot! Do you honestly think Ikuto would say something so cruel for the hell of it? You know him..." Utau paused before continuing, "Maybe even more than I do." Utau slightly lowered her head and looked away from Amu for a moment; however, her pride and the fire in her eyes quickly returned peering daggers towards Amu saying, "So just think about why he would say that and how he felt when he di-"

"Why do you even care?" Amu interrupted.

"What?" asked Utau who was caught off guard by the sudden question.

Amu looked away from her and muttered, "It's not like you liked me around him anyway." There was a tone of spite in Amu's voice as she continued, "So there, you got your wish. Ikuto is out of my life, and I'm never going to see him again."

Utau reached out and grabbed Amu's shoulders and gave her one more good shake, "You can't be this stupid! 'Why do I care?' Have you forgotten the promise you made to me?"

"It's better that he's gone..." Amu muttered.

With that, Utau's face went hard, and Amu felt a harsh slap glide across her face.

"Utau-chan!" yelled Tadase.

Amu, in shock, placed a hand on her stinging cheek, and looked at Utau in utter confusion. She saw Utau's eyes beaming with rage, and noticed tears starting to form.

"You idiot..." Utau muttered. "You just don't get how Ikuto, and I think at all do you?" With that she turned away and began to walk towards the exit of the airport.

Tadase rushed over to Amu and looked back over at Utau, "Utau-chan, where are you-"

Before he could finish Utau looked back at them and said, "You and I are through, Hinamori Amu. I never want to see or hear from you again."

And with that Utau disappeared into the crowd, leaving Amu in shock and in tears as she finally felt her powerful emotions overcome her as she cried into Tadase's arm.

...

"Well? Don't you have anything to say to me? Hinamori Amu," asked Utau, bringing Amu back from her initial state of shock.

Amu, not knowing how to respond, simply stared at Yaya in hopes of some support.

Yaya, seeming to get the message, stepped in between Utau and Amu and outstretched both her arms across saying, "Calm down, Utau-chan. What happened then was a long time ago. I know from what I heard it was pretty bad, but-"

"You be quiet," Utau ordered. "Why is she even at your house? Doesn't she live on campus in a different town?"

Yaya just stood there quietly.

"Well?" Utau asked.

"You told me to 'be quiet'," Yaya muttered.

A sign of annoyance crossed Utau's face as she reached her hands over to Yaya's face, grabbed her cheeks, and began stretching them out, "Do you really want to piss me off right now with your childish behavior?"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Utau-chwan tha hurrrs," Yaya slurred as her cheeks were pulled.

When Utau finally let go, her attention returned to Amu, who was beginning to get up off the floor, and looked at Utau's face awkwardly.

"Utau..." Amu began, "I- I know that you're still mad at me about what happened the last time we saw each other but-"

"I'm not mad," Utau interrupted, "I am furious."

Amu averted her gaze and felt her mouth tightening up.

"Do you even know what I'm so mad about?" asked Utau.

"Well..." Amu began, "Isn't it about what happened with Ikuto?"

"What about that event exactly do you think I'm the most upset about?" Utau pushed.

"I don't know... about me not seeing him off?" Amu said.

Utau looked at Amu in silence for a moment, making Amu uncomfortable. She let out a frustrated sigh before saying, "Wow. Even after all these years you still don't understand what I'm so mad about. What are you some kind of idiot?"

Amu felt anger wince inside her.

"You still don't get it, do you? What? Do I have to spell it out for you? Are you that dense you can't even understand the most basic things?"

Amu looked up and met Utau's gaze, clenching her fists with frustration, "Yeah, I guess I am. Cause even after all these years I still don't understand why you've refused to talk to me. You know damn well I tried my best to get to Ikuto, and yet all you do is criticize me for something I had no control over. Ikuto would have left regardless of whether or not I was there. So why are you so hung up about this?"

"There's no point in me explaining it to an idiot like you!" Utau yelled. "If you can't understand it yourself than there is no point in continuing this conversation with you. I mean really! Did Ikuto mean absolutely nothing to you at all?"

"Will you just shut up!" yelled Amu as she shoved her way past Utau and ran down the stairs.

"Ah- Amu-chi!" yelled Yaya as she ran after her.

"Hey! Don't you run away from me," yelled Utau as she followed after the two, "It's because you're always running away that we're in this mess in the first place."

Amu felt her eyes beginning to heat up as she stomped down the stairs towards the front door.

"Come back here, Hinamori Amu! We're not finished."

Amu pulled the door open and looked back at Utau saying with a tight throat, "Yes, we are! So just leave me-" Before she could finish Amu felt herself bump into someone as she was exiting the door.

She slowly raised her head and was hit with the sun's harsh beams. She saw the silhouette of a man through her winced eyes, and immediately felt her eyes water and cheeks flush.

"I-Ikuto?" she thought.

Her initial thought of the male silhouette's identity, however, was quickly dropped when she heard the man's confused response, "Eh? Amu-chan?"

While she didn't recognize the voice at first, she did, however, recognize the man's features: blonde hair, red eyes, and pale skin.

"Ta-Tadase-kun?" asked Amu.

A sudden beaming smile spread across Tadase's face, "Ah- so it is you? It's been a long time." He placed a hand on her shoulder and then looked behind her confused, "What's going on? Why were you running out?"

His question was answered as soon as he saw Utau at the bottom of the stairs near the front door.

"Utau-chan? What are you two doing in the same place? I thought-"

"Trust me it wasn't on purpose," Utau interrupted bluntly.

"Ah~ Tada-kun," Yaya said relieved. "Thank goodness you're here."

"Yaya? What's going on?" Tadase asked again.

"You wouldn't believe the morning I've had to-" she stopped when she noticed the bag Tadase was holding, and the smell emitting from it.

"Ah~! Are those the new cakes from that bakery your mom was talking to my mom about over the phone the other day?" Yaya asked with sparkling eyes, completely dismissing the situation at hand.

Tadase, caught off guard by the sudden topic shift, awkwardly lifted the bag towards Yaya, "Umm... Yeah. My mother went by the bakery today, and bought some extra cakes. She told me to come by and drop them off at your place, so..."

Before Tadase could finish, he felt the bag snatched away from his hand.

"Hooray! Thanks so much, Tada-kun," Yaya squealed as she held the bag close to her chest. "This is so great! I bet these cakes will taste delicious with some coff-" The happy aura Yaya was emitting began to stifle when felt the chill of Utau's annoyed glare hitting her in the back. Returning back to the situation at hand Yaya awkwardly cleared her throat, "Umm… Heh. Heh. Uh- I guess snack time can wait a little bit."

Amu, feeling bad about the whole situation, walked up to Yaya and said, "Yaya, you know maybe it would be better if I just got my clothes out from the dryer and left."

Yaya reached out her hand to grab Amu's wrist, "No, Amu-chi! You just got here! And I haven't seen you in so long and-"

"Don't bother leaving on my account," said Utau. "Although I know that running away is a strong suit of yours."

Visibly annoyed by her remark, Amu had to bite down her tongue in order to keep herself from making any snide remarks.

However, Tadase was not as held-back, "That's enough, Utau-chan. What happened at the airport was no one's fault. You can't hold it against Amu-chan that Ikuto-nii-san decided to leave. You really have to learn how to let this go."

Utau, surprised by Tadase's sudden reprimanding, simply crossed her arms together and looked away in protest.

He then looked towards Yaya and said, "Yaya, do you think you can bring over Amu-chan's clothes?"

"Huh? Uh... Yeah, sure," Yaya replied as she left to retrieve Amu's clothes from the dryer.

Tadase then looked at Amu, "Amu-chan, if it's alright with you, would you like to come to my house?"

A flushed face swept over Amu, "Huh? Wha-? Umm.. wh-why?"

"Well I'm assuming you don't really have any other place to go to sleep for tonight; considering that I don't see a bag on you and that Yaya is washing your clothes," said Tadase.

"Oh... umm. Yeah, I guess that's true," Amu was impressed with Tadase's keen sense of observation.

"Or am I wrong and you're actually staying at your parent's place?" asked Tadase. "Is that why you don't have a bag on you? But wait that still wouldn't explain why you'd need Yaya to wash your clothes."

Amu, feeling embarrassed about the whole situation, decided to end Tadase's pondering by simply saying, "Umm… It's a long story. My parents assume I'm already back on campus after I visited them yesterday, but some things happened, and I wouldn't want to worry them by going back to bother them again today so..."

"Oh, is that so?" Tadase said as he placed a hand on his chin.

The sound of Yaya running back towards the front door echoed throughout the hallway. When she got to the front, she handed Amu a bag with her clothes inside it. "Sorry, Amu-chi. It's been so long since we've seen each other and I..."

Amu wrapped her arms around Yaya and pulled her in for a hug. She then placed both her hands on her shoulders, and looked her in the eyes with a smile on her face, "Don't worry about it. It was just bad timing. Next time we meet I'll be sure to return this outfit you lent me, okay?"

A small smile returned to Yaya's face.

"So would you be alright with staying at my house for tonight, Amu-chan?" Tadase asked again.

Amu blushed in embarrassment and looked down on the ground, saying, "I-If you don't think I'll be a bother."

A sudden cheeky smile grew on Yaya's face and she looked towards Tadase, "Why~ Tada-kun. How bold of you to invite a young girl in distress to your home. You've really matured haven't you?" She said while she nudged his arm with her elbow, hiding her teasing smile behind her hand.

Tadase's face suddenly grew red, as if he had just realized the gravity of his invitation, "Ah! No! That's not what I meant. I just- I just don't want her to have to sleep outside or anything." He flailed his arms around while explaining. He then looked towards Amu hoping his true intentions got across, "Sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like that. If you'd rather stay here then I understand."

Amu also flailed her arms awkwardly, saying, "Ah- No. It's fine. I understand you're just trying to help and um..." She stared at Yaya flustered, as if attempting to convey facially her disdain for Yaya making the situation awkward.

"O-Okay then. Let's go," Tadase said as he took the bag out Amu's hands and carried it for her.

Yaya then handed Amu a pair of her old shoes, "Here you go, I can't have you walking around town barefoot again. I hope they fit."

Amu quickly crouched down, and slipped on the pair of shoes, which were a somewhat tight squeeze, but not enough to make Amu uncomfortable. As she did she felt Utau's silent, hateful gaze pierce here from above. She got up, wave good-bye to Yaya, and ran to catch up to Tadase, who had started walking ahead of her to avoid any further embarrassment from Yaya. As she caught up with him, Amu didn't even need to look back behind herself to know that Yaya was probably getting scolded by Utau as soon as they had rounded the corner.

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…I know. I know. "It took you more than a year to update this story! What's wrong with you? Why are you making us wait so long?" Again, no amount of apologies can make up for my inconsistencies in updating this story. Since the last chapter updated, I have started attending university, and as obvious as it is to everyone, university is very time-consuming and as much as I wanted to work on this story, and update it, I just couldn't find the time to do so. Since last year's update I have taken some writing courses, and hopefully it shows in this new chapter. I would really like to become a novelist one day, but that will be impossible to do if I continue making people who actually want to read my work wait for so long. So again, I thank everyone for their patience, and I am so happy to see many people asking me to update this story. I've had this chapter somewhat complete for a while, but decided to rewrite it in order to fit the writing format I learned in university. I hope this chapter was worth the long wait, and while I make no promises with how soon it will take for the next chapter to come out, just know that this story is always on my mind and I am always thinking about how to continue it and when to update it. Thanks again for your support and patience. Please feel free to leave any ideas or corrections in the comments.