𝓞𝓪𝓴 | ʜɪɢʜ & ʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀꜱᴛ

Epilogue

"Are we done?" Fuyumi asked Murayama. She was sitting down on one of the hoods of the cars while waiting for the fight between him and the Kanehira brothers to end.

"Yeah," he tiredly said and raised his arm up signaling that they had won.

The students all cheered and Fuyumi took pictures of them while smiling. Fuyumi got off the hood of the car and walked toward Murayama.

"Is it weird that I'll miss this?" he questioned. Fuyumi looked at him with a smile and shook her head.

"Not at all."

She had also missed the feeling of victory after a fistfight. However, she doesn't want to go back to those times. She instead wants to move forward and face the reality that she's not getting any younger.

"Shall we go home?" Murayama asked with a smile plastered on his face and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yeah," she grinned and gave a quick peck on his lips making his smile wider.

---

"So, you did it?" Mr. Yamada asked Fuyumi as she sits at the chair across from him. The girl smiled and handed her the pictures that she took of Oya High students.

Mr. Yamada smiled at her and then glanced at the pictures but his smile turned into confusion as he saw the pictures. "These are not... they are not fighting in here."

"Yes, I took those pictures after the whole fight," she told him with a smile.

"I don't get it," he said in complete confusion.

Fuyumi sighed, "I thought about it for a while and suddenly I remembered how society viewed these delinquents. They always say that they are a bunch of good-for-nothing kids, scum, trash, and other horrible names they call them."

Mr. Yamada looked at her intently as he carefully listened to what she was trying to say. Fuyumi smiled as she noticed how the older man is interested in her story.

"I wanted to let the people see that these kids are not just good-for-nothing students and problems in the society. I wanted them to see the reason why they're fighting," Fuyumi said as she took one of the pictures that she took when the whole fight at the Hope Hill ended. 

Fujio and the other students are smiling and conversing while covered in blood and bruises. They were talking and joking at each other as if the whole fight didn't even happen.

"They're not fighting just for nothing. They're fighting for their friends and for the people that they want to protect," she finished and gently pushed the pictures to Mr. Yamada's.

Fuyumi bit her lip in nervousness as she saw the older man's face turn serious while scanning the pictures that she took.

He went silent for a few seconds and the girl already accepted in her head that she will not get this job since she basically didn't do what she was asked to.

"It's beautiful," Mr. Yamada told her making her freeze and stared at him in shock. The older man glanced at her and chuckled. "I guess they didn't call you one of the best in your previous company for nothing."

Fuyumi's mouth opened but decided to close it as she couldn't utter the words she wanted to say. Mr. Yamada looked at the girl in amusement as she was completely baffled by the praise he gave to her.

"You're hired, Hanaoka-san," he told her.

"I—" she trailed off and let out a breathy laugh. "Oh my god—t-thank you, Yamada-san!"

"You will start Monday," he said and stood up making the girl stand up as well.

"Thank you, really. You will not regret hiring me," she said with a big smile on her face as she shook hands with Mr. Yamada.

"I'm looking forward to working with you," he told her and left.

Fuyumi breathed a sigh as the big smile is still plastered on her face.

She got the job!

---

"What's the occasion?" Fujio questioned as he entered the Harasawa store. His friends, finally Arata included, are sitting down at the table with his sister.

He noticed how there are so much food on the table as if they were having a feast.

"Arata's back," Seiji told him with a smile. Fujio sat down beside his sister. "Fuyumi-nee's treating us."

Fujio then glanced at his sister with wide eyes, "Eh?!"

The woman rolled her eyes but couldn't help to smile. "What?"

"Nothing. This is just unusual since you don't always spend this much money," her brother told her.

"I got the job," she simply stated.

"Really?!" Fujio asked. He and the others are asking her about it.

"Yes, I'm starting next week," she grinned. They clapped and cheered for her.

"Yeah! We're having a feast!" Fujio exclaimed. Shinya and Masaya joined him as they were not the ones paying for their food this time.

"Arigatou, Fuyumi-nee," Arata told her while they were walking home that night. The teenager suddenly walked beside her.

Last week, a few days after the fight at the Hope Hill, they all chipped in for paying Arata's family debt. Fuyumi insisted that she will be the only one who will contribute since the two brothers are trying to earn money for building their mom a house they can live in. While Seiji, Fujio, and Madoka are still students and don't have work.

The five immediately refused her suggestion as they helped her with the money.

"I'm not the only one who's helping you," she said with a kind smile. Arata smiled and slowly nodded.

"Just remember that you have people like them on your side and will always have your back," she told him. Arata glanced at her with curiosity. "You don't have to take it all by yourself."

Arata let out a small laugh and nodded.

---

"What's up?" Fuyumi immediately asked Murayama when she walked toward him.

The male called her up while she was with her brother and his friends walking home. He asked her to meet up at the oak tree near Oya High so the girl meets up with him.

"Hey," he greeted. Fuyumi raised a brow as Murayama handed her the white oak tree flowers. He gestured for her to sit down on the grass beside him.

"I'm graduating," he stated. Fuyumi glanced at him.

"Wow, seriously?" she questioned in awe. Murayama smirked and nodded. "Congratulations!"

The girl snaked her arms on his right arm and pulled him down a bit to give him a kiss on the cheek. But Murayama doesn't want a mere kiss on the cheek as he pulled her closer to him and smashed his lips on her.

Fuyumi was taken aback by the sudden action but she immediately melted into the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Murayama's hands are on her shoulders.

After a few seconds, they pulled away and sighed but they didn't let go of each other.

"I love you, Fuyumi," he whispered making Fuyumi's heart go wild as she stared into his eyes. "I want a future with you."

"I love you, too," she replied and cupped his cheeks with both of her hands. "And I want a future with you, too."

"It's not too late for us to start again, right?" Murayama asked making Fuyumi let out a hearty laugh.

"It's never too late." 

FIN