The One Who Never Told | P5

40

As requested by Morgana, they were all going to try and live the life of honest high school students.

Instead of going to their usual hangout, the group decided to split up and just head home for the day. Ann and Suzuki were heading the same way, as they usually did.

"You know..." Ann broke the silence between them. "This morning, I felt like someone was watching me..." She admitted with a soft sigh. "What should I do...?" She questioned, a deep frown on her face.

Suzuki glanced over at the girl. It was obvious that she was feeling extremely distraught over the matter. As her friend, it only made sense that he was there to listen to her concerns. "Let's stop somewhere before we head home." He suggested.

Instead of heading home, they decided to head towards the park that wasn't too far from Shujin.

Ann sat herself onto the swings. She kicked her legs back and forth, her blond pigtails swaying in the air as Suzuki hopped onto the one next to her.

"I guess it wouldn't be so bad talking to you about this stuff." She admitted as a gentle breeze brushed past them.

It was a peaceful spot, there was no one around besides the two of them. The silence between them was peaceful, as it usually was. Although they weren't that close, things were never really awkward between the two. They had a special understanding between each other, one that didn't always require words.

"It's Shiho..." Ann spoke after a moment.

"Well.... I went to visit her in the hospital. She..." It took her a moment to gather her thoughts as she gradually stopped swinging. "She said she was sorry."

Her grip tightened on the metal chains that supported her. 'Sorry for not telling me about Kamoshida... about all the things he was doing to her... But it was my fault too. I didn't realize how much trouble she was in... I wasn't there for her..." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper.

If he didn't listen closely, Suzuki would've missed her words entirely.

"So, I apologized as well." She added with a small smile as she turned to look at Suzuki, but the male was already turned her direction.

He met her gaze with a small smile. "It's good that you too got to work things out. Is she gonna be alright?" He questioned. Ann's face lit up with a bright smile.

"Mm-hm! I finally got to tell her everything I couldn't bring myself to say before." She paused before leaning back slightly. Her gaze shifted towards the sky. "Oh, and, um... remember how Kamoshida threatened to take Shiho off the team if I didn't sleep with him?"

Suzuki nodded, although she wasn't looking at him.

Ann continued anyway. "I had only agreed to it so that I wouldn't ruin Shiho's dreams... but now that I think about it, he never would have put her on the bench and cost his team games..." She shook her head, as if she was disappointed in herself.

"I seriously should have dared him to try and take her starting spot..."

She gave a deep sigh as she finally stopped moving. Her gaze fell onto her feet. "...But in the end, maybe I just didn't believe in her ability."

Suzuki jumped to his feet and before Ann even had the chance to say anything, he moved in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't blame yourself. You only did the best that you could..." He whispered as he held the girl close to his chest.

He felt her tense in his arms, before wrapping her arms around his thin waist. Ann couldn't stop the tears that fell, as her body trembled. She sobbed into his chest, crying her heart out.

"I knew it... I'm so stupid..." She whimpered between ugly sobs.

Suzuki ran his fingers through her blond locks, gently patting her head as he continued to hold her close. "You aren't... Kamoshida had the upper hand, and knew it. You only did your best for your friend..." He whispered soft words of encouragement into her ear for a long while.

It took her awhile to calm down.

"Hey, um..." She lifted her head out of his chest and wiped off what little tears remained on her pale skin. "Personas are the power of the heart, right?" She questioned as she looked up at her.

Suzuki gave a slight nod. "Yeah, I think so at least..."

"That means if my heart gets stronger, my persona will too." She commented, a smile making her way to her face. "So... I want to strengthen my heart." She added.

She took a deep breath, as if she was solidifying her resolve. "And... I want to use that strength to help the people around me! I hope we can save people from trouble, just like we did when we changed Kamoshida's heart."

She had a flash of uncertainty wash over her face as the words left her pink tinted lips. "Though, honestly... I don't even know what 'strong' is." She admitted. "Ah, but I'm going to find the answer, I promise."

Suzuki chuckled as he watched her simply go back and forth on the matter. "Let's find it together."