𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 || 𝕂𝕪𝕠 𝕊𝕠𝕙𝕞𝕒

I'm Sorry

"Miss Honda?" Joining everyone else in the kitchen, Yuki approached the girls. "The anniversary of your mom's death is this weekend? Can I come with you to the gravesite?"

Tohru beamed. "Of course! I would love that! We're going on Saturday morning with Uo-chan, Hana-chan, and Daichi!"

"If the weather permits it, we're hoping to do another picnic!" Hiyori chirped.

He chuckled. "At this point, I'd be more surprised if you weren't."

The girls giggled. But then Kyo spoke up after closing the fridge. He didn't look at them as he turned to leave with the milk carton. "...Sorry. I can't go."

Hiyori blinked. Tohru glanced at her cousin before she gave him a smile. "Oh, that's okay."

So that was the plan. Before they knew it, April 28th came around. Nearly two years had gone by since the day Kyoko left and never came back. That was an undeniable fact, and yet Hiyori was still struggling to believe it.

Walking down the hall with a small stack of books in her arms, she kept her eyes on the floor. With so much on her mind these days, she felt like she was always wandering alone, completely lost in her thoughts.

"Uh, hey!" She turned. "You...dropped this."

Lately, he was everywhere she went. She always seemed to spot him in the halls, whether it be with the student council members, some of his classmates, or his twin brother. And whenever she saw him, they always caught each other's eyes.

Now that May 1st was so close, those brief looks shared between them were even more tense than they used to be.

Holding one of the notebooks out for her, Kakeru Manabe seemed hesitant. It was as if just meeting her eyes made him feel awkward. And, honestly, she felt the exact same way.

But that didn't stop her from smiling as she took it from him. "Thanks! I hadn't even noticed!"

Turning back around, she was eager to keep walking. She expected him to do the same.

But he didn't.

"...You look pretty well."

Hiyori froze. Holding her books close to her chest, she hesitated before turning to look at him again.

"Same with Honda...That's good." She blinked. "It doesn't look like she remembers, so I thought it was better not to say anything."

She glanced down at the floor. "...Thank you for that. I appreciate it."

For a moment, both of them were quiet in that empty hallway. But Hiyori could tell that there was more he wanted to say. And though there was a part of her that wanted to, she knew she couldn't just walk away. It would leave her feeling even more guilt than she already did. So, though she kept her eyes down, she waited.

Finally, Kakeru clenched one fist at his side. "...I've been wanting to apologize. For a while now."

A shadow cast over Hiyori's eyes.

"I've come to burn incense...if you don't mind..."

The girl standing before them wasn't unfamiliar. Hiyori remembered seeing her at the hospital on May 1st. Back then, she was crying, too. They found out why eventually; it turned out that she lost her father on the same day that Tohru and Hiyori lost Kyoko.

And it wasn't just a coincidence. Komaki Nakao's father was the one driving the car that hit her.

What was one supposed to think about that? Hiyori couldn't answer that question; upon learning the information, all she could say was, "Oh,". And now that Nakao was here at Kenji's house, her mind went blank again. Bowing her head, she couldn't seem to meet any of their eyes. But the same went for Tohru and Hiyori, who were both quiet at Tohru's grandfather's side.