When his phone rang the next day, Ayumu didn't bother looking at the name on the front display before flipping it open. There was only one person, after all, who would call him on the weekend.

"What?"

"Mou, that's no way to greet someone whose call you've been waiting for all day..."

"Who's been waiting?"

He could hear the pout in her voice. "Mou, Narumi-san..."

"Relax. I didn't forget." He looked up from the novel in his lap, glancing at the digital clock on his nightstand. "It's getting late. If you expected me to make you dinner, you're out of luck."

"No, that isn't what I wanted to do today. I have a better idea." The liveliness sprung back into her voice. "Let's go to the beach!"

"... the beach?"

She sounded pleased with herself. "Isn't it a great idea?"

"It's March. People don't go to the beach in March." He glanced at the clock again. "And by the time we got to Odaiba, there wouldn’t be much sunlight left. If you think I'm going swimming in the freezing ocean in the middle of the night--"

He had expected her to sound insulted, but instead she laughed, the sound making his heart pound unexpectedly. "I don't want to swim. I just thought it would be a nice place to go. The sunset is supposed to be very pretty if it's seen from there."

"You want to go to the beach to watch the sun set?"

"Yes!"

"Why can't you be more like normal girls?"

Now she sounded insulted. "Narumi-san, if you'd like, I can hang up and go by myself."

"Don't do that. I'd have to hear about it later if you did." He stood, sighing softly. "Where do you want to meet?"

"What gave you this idea, anyway?"

"Hmm, I wonder..."

An hour later, after a train ride that had occupied most of that time, Ayumu was following Hiyono down to the coastline of the beach. The sun was dipping low in the sky but hadn't yet set, and fluffy clouds still dotted the blue-tinged sky. Ayumu had to admit that the weather was ideal for this sort of thing; she day had been warm and clear, with no hint of the rain that had plagued them for most of the week. "It isn't bad," he said aloud, prompting Hiyono to smile at him over her shoulder. "It's warm," he remarked, "for March."

"Maybe the lion is finally done and the lamb has taken over." She laughed. "That's how it goes, right?"

"I'm impressed. Normally you don't remember those things."

"Don't be mean." She stopped walking and looked around. They were quite close to the shore now, but still a safe distance back from the tide, which seemed to be receding with the onset of sunset. "This will be okay, won't it?" she asked, looking up at him. "If we sit here, I mean..."

"It's fine." He unfolded the blanket that he'd tucked beneath his arm, spreading it neatly out across the sand. "We seem to be the only ones here, so your view of the sunset will be unobstructed."

"How nice!" She looked to both sides of them, confirming this fact, and smiled happily. "I hope you don't think this is too strange, Narumi-san, but I haven't been here in so long..."

"If this is what you wanted, I have no objections." He sat down on the blanket and stretched his legs out in front of him. "It's peaceful, at least."

Hiyono settled down beside him, arranging the folds of her skirt around her legs. "Have you had enough time to think about what it was you wanted to say?"

Ayumu cleared his throat, gazing out at the ocean. "Ah."

She laughed softly, and he could feel her eyes resting on him. "If you're not ready to talk about it..."

"It's hard." He twined his fingers together, watching the tide slowly rise and fall, small waves crashing into the wet sand a few feet away. "I don't typically think about certain things, and talking about them is... difficult."

"Hmm... and Narumi-san always gives such serious consideration to everything, too."

He sighed, closing his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on his face. "Mm."

They sat in silence for a moment. Ayumu was struggling to form coherent words--he hadn't, in fact, given any more thought to his situation, or even come up with a plan. He'd wanted to see her, and had known that much, but simply hadn't planned his words. It had seemed pointless the evening before, when he'd given some thought to the idea, but now that they were alone... what could he say? He couldn't just tell her, not when there was the possibility of rejection, not when...

But she wouldn't reject him, would she? He could be modest as much as he wanted, could pretend he didn't notice, but he did notice. He knew full well that she felt something for him, perhaps not as much as what he felt, but there was still a telling tenderness in the looks she gave him. A year ago, her eyes hadn't sparkled when he talked to her--a year ago, she hadn't gone out of her way to change her college plans to stay by his side. There really was no way to deny what she was feeling, was there...?

He opened his eyes, allowing his gaze to fall on her. She didn't notice; her attention was trained on the setting sun, the warm light adding a healthy glow to her skin. "Listen," he began, and knew at once what he needed to say. "Do you believe in that thing you talked about?"

She turned his head, giving him a puzzled look. "What thing?"

"That thing about people being connected."

"Oh, I remember." She smiled. "Narumi-san must mean the red string of fate, right?"

"Right. That." He glanced away, staring out at the sun setting over the water. "Do you believe in it?"

"Honestly..." She paused. "No," she said finally, as if she had stopped to think about it. "I used to, but... I don't anymore."

"Why's that?"

"I... it's because I don't believe in fate anymore." He voice softened. "Asazuki-san, Rio-san, and the others were told that their fate was something terrible, that they would be better off dead... but they've all changed, and they're living their lives like normal people. If I believed in fate, I would believe the same thing that the Hunters did... but the Hunters were wrong. So I stopped believing in fate."

He considered this briefly. "Then why did you tell Takamachi--"

"Takamachi-san just wanted to hear someone say that it was okay for her and Asazuki-san to be together." She smiled at him ever-so-slightly. "In her case, I think... if such a thing did exist, and if people really could be connected in that way, the two of them really would be tied together. But it was probably inevitable for them, because all the Blade Children were going to meet someday... Takamachi-san and Asazuki-san didn't have to be the ones who felt the way they do about each other, but because they've been together for such a long time, it makes sense... for them."

Ayumu was silent, now watching the tide of the ocean. Hiyono continued to speak, her voice picking up a little strength. "I think... that believing in fate is silly, because it means you may not be able to do anything about your own future. It's as if you should just accept things as they come, and not try to change them for the better, or create a different outcome for yourself. I don't believe that... and even if a string of fate exists, it wouldn't be right to just accept the fact that you're destined to be with one specific person. How do you know when you've found that person? Are we to just sit and wait for them to show up, one day? And if we even knew who the person was... what if something happened to them? Or what if you didn't even like them?" She stopped suddenly, her face flushing. "I'm sorry, Narumi-san, this is--"

"Go on." He turned his eyes to hers. "I want to hear it."

"R--really...?"

He nodded. She examined his expression for a moment, as if she expected him to scold her or start laughing, but he simply waited. Finally she resumed her explanation, clearing her throat once before speaking again. "Everything is unsure, in life... and accepting everything that happens as fate, and making no effort to change it... I think that's wrong. If we try, instead, to live our lives the way we want to, and to change everything for the better, then good things will happen. Of course, there will be bad things, too... but in the end, it will all turn out well. And that's how I want to live my life... for myself. I can't accept things as they are, anymore... instead, I'm going to try my best to shape my future with my own hands."

Ayumu chuckled. "That's poetic."

"Mou. It's the truth..."

"I know." He studied her profile in the light of the sunset, contemplating what she'd said. He believed the same things that she did; it was almost uncanny, hearing his thoughts come out of her mouth. She was a little more optimistic about her future than he was, true, but he still agreed with her fully. It was wrong to believe that someone had no influence over their own future--he'd learned that long ago. But still...

"Even so, it's hard for me to believe that the way that Narumi-san and I met was chance."

He blinked, snapped out of his reverie. "What?"

She smiled a little, drawing circles in the sand with one finger. "If Narumi-san had never been accused of pushing Shiranagatani Sayoko-san from that balcony, we probably never would have met. It seems inevitable, that he would have been one day involved with the Blade Children, because of what his brother said... but without what happened on that day, you probably never would have met me, or had my help. And that doesn't seem right, to me..."

"Ah." He watched her, recalling those first few days. "Without you, I probably would have been dead."

"That's saying too much."

"That's the truth. If the bomb at Rutherford's concert hadn't killed me, Takeuchi would have defeated me in her games, and I would have either been poisoned or blown up." Ayumu winced inwardly, still regretting his actions in Rio's hospital room. But that was long past--all of those things were in the past, now. "If you hadn't been there, I would have failed all of their tests. And because of that, the Hunters probably would have killed them..."

"Did I really make that much difference in how things turned out...?"

"Don't sound so surprised. Without you, I would have been useless. We all would have been dead." He smiled slightly, gratefully, in her direction. "Maybe you're right. Maybe this wasn't chance."

There was a pleased look in her eyes--she wasn't looking at him, but he could see it anyway. "It's silly that we can't stick to our beliefs, just because of one thing that happened... I don't believe in fate, but I still want to think that Narumi-san and I--"

"It's not just "one thing." There's more to it than that." He swallowed, hard, feeling his heartbeat quicken in his chest. "Even if we don't believe that two people are fated to be together, something like that can happen... can't it?"

Hiyono looked at him with wide eyes. A soft sound of surprise escaped her mouth before she began to blush, her fingers tightly gripping the fabric of her skirt as she slowly turned her head away. "What are you trying to say?"

"You've already told me what you believe. I believe the same thing: it's foolish to accept everything that happens to you as "fate" without making any attempt to change it." He looked out at the shimmering water of the ocean and took a deep breath, the salty air filling his lungs. "But that still doesn't explain the way things have happened. It doesn't explain the way things changed without me making any attempt to change them. Everything feels as if it's been out of my control."

"Narumi-san..."

"I don't know how to say any of this," he admitted, and shook his head. "But things have... really changed."

She looked over at him. "B--between the two of us...?"

"Ah."

"I... Right now, I want to know what you're feeling..." She smiled a little, absently rearranging the folds of her skirt. "I knew that something had happened, and that I was starting to feel differently, but I didn't think... that Narumi-san, too..."

"You didn't notice?"

Her cheeks flushed abruptly. "M--maybe a little..."

He swallowed hard, gathering his courage, and reached out to take hold of her wrist. "Come here," he said softly, and turned himself to face her. "Look at me."

She obeyed, although it was becoming obvious that she was nervous, her fingers shaking against his arm. After a few small movements they sat facing each other on their blanket, the ocean and sunset almost forgotten. "Narumi-san," she said softly, "I didn't think that you felt... anything, for me..."

"That's my fault." His voice was just as soft, and the kindness in it almost startled him. "I've been keeping a secret."

"Really?" Her eyes reluctantly lifted to his, and she reached out, gently placing her hands atop his own. "Even though I'm annoying...?"

"Somehow I've been able to look past that." His heart felt like it would pound its way into his throat. He laced his fingers through hers and pulled her just a little closer to him, watching as the blush spread across her cheeks. He could only imagine how his own face looked--it was burning hot, and not because of the sun, either. "You're more than an annoying person who follows me around. You're not my sidekick, either--" He was remembering the way she had described herself once. "--and you're not my partner in crime." That was Madoka's favorite phrase. "You're... more than that."

"I'm happy... to hear that..."

"I want you to be something..." He struggled with the word. "... important, to me." His hands trembled suddenly. "Can you do that?"

She smiled at him, shyly, her gaze never leaving him. "All ever you had to do is ask, Narumi-san."

"I... nngh." He glanced away. "This is stupid--"

"It's not stupid." Her voice was gentle. "I want to hear it."

"I don't know how to say these kinds of things..."

"If you really can't..." She was still smiling, her eyes shining with the light from the setting sun. "It's okay. You already told me how you were feeling, didn't you? When you made me lunches, or walked me home from school... or played the piano even though you knew I was standing outside of the music room..." She laughed quietly. "That was enough... but I don't think even Narumi-san realized his feelings were coming through that way..."

He shook his head slowly. "No."

"But I realize it now. That's the most important thing..."

"Did you know?" He released one of her hands, reaching up to hesitantly touch her cheek. Her skin quivered but she was otherwise still, watching him. "I couldn't even understand--what was happening--"

"I didn't want to be too hopeful." She leaned into his touch, her eyes falling closed. "But because I've always loved Narumi-san, it didn't matter what happened."

The words threatened to paralyze him, but at the same time that he wanted to shut down, to sit in shock, he also wanted to do something--anything--in response to that. She loved him, she had been by his side this whole time, had done so much that he couldn't repay, she loved him--

He loved her.

The hand that had been on her cheek slid down to the back of her neck, and before she could open her eyes or ask what was going on, he had pulled her to him and was kissing her. He hadn't planned on this at all, hadn't given even a single thought to the idea of experiencing his first kiss with her, but it had been necessary, had been wanted so badly in just that moment. Hiyono's eyes were still closed, and so he closed his own, struggling to ignore the rapid pounding of his heart. She seemed startled at first, but then her free hand was pressing gently into his chest, her lips parting to better match his mouth. He wanted this to go on, wanted so much more, but he was running out of air and had forgotten how to breathe--

He pulled away and gasped, his hand slipping down her back, reluctantly opening his eyes to look at the girl in front of him. Hiyono's face was quite red now--had the situation not been so serious, he would have surely burst out laughing--but she was smiling, her eyes wide and bright. "Narumi-san," she said softly, her voice almost a whisper. "You really..."

"Yes," he murmured, and that said it all. She leaned into his arms as he slid them around her back, and they watched the rest of the sunset just like that, her head on his shoulder and a soft smile on his face.

"I can't believe we missed our stop..."

Ayumu chuckled, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jacket, looking down at the girl to his right. "You shouldn't have fallen asleep."

"But I was tired..." Hiyono blushed and looked away, quickening her pace to keep up with him. They were on the way to her house, the sky dark and full of stars above them, the air cooling rapidly with the onset of night. Their train ride back from the beach, which should have only lasted an hour at most, had turned into a two hour trip instead--they had both fallen asleep and missed their stop the first time, and had been forced to switch to a train going in the opposite direction. While Ayumu had initially been annoyed with this development, he had to admit that there was some humor in it. And Hiyono had fallen asleep with his head on his shoulder, after all... "It was nice," she said, as if she was reading his mind, "even if you don't think so."

"Waiting at the wrong station for half an hour wasn't nice," he replied, but there was no frustration in his voice. It was hard to stay mad at her considering what they'd just been through, the emotions they'd just made clear. She was already good at cheering him up when he felt depressed or angry, but the addition of his feelings for her only made it harder. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing, though. "But," he added, as she turned her head to look at him, "it wasn't all bad."

"I'm glad you think so." She smiled, drawing a little closer to his side as they walked. "Today was a good day, wasn't it?"

"I'm not sure..."

"Mou, don't tease me."

"It was a very good day." He turned his attention to the sky, watching the stars that twinkled serenely overhead. It had, in fact, been one of the best days of his life. He had expected there to be something said or done about his feelings--their feelings--since the day before, but before the current month, or even the current week, he would have never even dreamed of kissing Hiyono on a beach while the sun set behind them. It was one of those things that only happened in romance novels or shoujo manga, not something that happened to him. He'd begun to think that his whole life would be wrapped up in some sort of mystery... that there just wasn't any room for romance or a meaningful relationship. Yet here it was, presented neatly to him, the result of a simple coincidence and a year's worth of unacknowledged feelings. "Are you happy?" he asked, looking down at her.

"I wonder..." She was still smiling, her eyes bright. "After all that's happened..."

"Last week, I wouldn't have expected anything like this." He paused for a moment to move the blanket he was carrying, tucking it securely beneath one arm. "Even just a few days ago..."

She laughed lightly. "Just a few days ago, Narumi-san was scolding me for making silly jokes about doing romantic things in the rain. But then he did something romantic with me in the end anyway... and on the beach, too..."

He snorted and looked away. "It's your fault."

"You've really changed..."

"Like I said--"

"It's wonderful."

He swung his head back towards her, blinking. She had begun to blush, and avoided making eye contact with him, her hands clutched to her chest. "It's not that I didn't enjoy spending time with you before, but... lately, it's made me so happy to be by your side. Even before I knew it, I was wanting to be near you all the time, and I made the decision to stay here... almost without thinking about it... but I knew it was right. I knew even before today... before we..." A nervous giggle escaped from between her lips. "Anyway, I think it's wonderful that these things have happened. I just... didn't think that it would..."

"Why not?" He chuckled. "I'm not completely unfeeling."

"Sometimes it seems that you are." She scrunched up her nose. "You never say anything nice, and you're always calling me stupid--"

"You are stupid."

"Then that makes you stupid by association, Narumi-san, because you kissed me." She shot him a look that was half annoyance and half girlish embarrassment, her eyes meeting his for scarcely a second. "I've done my best to help you with anything you've asked me for, even if it got me involved with the Blade Children or the police, so if that's what makes me stupid--"

"That isn't it."

"Then what?"

He reached for her hand and found it easily, twining his fingers through her own. "Only an idiot would let me do this kind of thing."

"M--nn..."

There was a pause. They continued walking, and it seemed to take Hiyono some time to put words together again. "Do you think it was fate?" she asked quietly.

"What?"

"The way that we met..."

"I don't believe in fate." He glanced down at her. "Neither do you."

"But then..." She sighed softly. "What should I call it? Is it really just a coincidence? It's so hard to think that... everything that happened was an accident. You even said so... that it was out of your control..."

"It felt that way." He looked at her hand, clasped within his own, and felt again as if his heart would jump into his throat. It was going to take some time for him to really come to terms with what was happening--after all, he had never held hands with a girl before, and what he felt for Hiyono still scared him. It really had happened without his knowledge, almost behind his back...

"Was that..." Her voice was almost too soft to be heard. "... a bad thing?"

"Wh--"

"If you don't want this--if Narumi-san really doesn't want this to be happening--"

"Stop that," he scolded her, but there was a tremor in his words that prevented them from being harsh. He tightened his grasp on her hand, looking hard at her out of the corner of his eyes as they continued to walk together. She seemed bewildered at first, but then a shy smile appeared on her lips, her cheeks coloring as she glanced briefly at their hands. "I want this," he said, and knew that repeating the words only made him more sure. "You are... very important to me."

She bowed her head, and even in the low light he could see her face flush even darker. "Important?"

"Mm."

"You're important to me, too..." She smiled. "... Narumi-san."

"Stop calling me that already." He raised his head and looked at the sky, clearing his throat. "We'll never get anywhere if you can't even call me by my name."

"But it doesn't feel right..."

"That'll change."

They said nothing else after that, continuing to walk towards the distant shape of Hiyono's house. Occasionally Ayumu would glance at Hiyono's hand, tucked snugly within his own, and feel his heartbeat quicken; every now and then he could feel her eyes on him, but the moment never lasted long, as she seemed to get embarrassed and would look quickly away. They were almost at the front gate when she finally opened her mouth and spoke, quickly, apparently nervous. "If there is such a thing--if destiny does exist--I know it's silly, but I want to be with Narumi-san."

He chuckled quietly. "You're too young to be saying something like that."

"I--I know..." She bit her lip for a moment, then sighed, shaking her head. "It's just... when I'm with you... and on the roof--when that thread--"

"You said that was a coincidence, didn't you?"

"Yes... but..."

"But you want it to mean something."

Her voice was hushed; she almost seemed ashamed. "I do..."

By now, they had arrived at the front gate to the house. They stopped walking, and Ayumu gently pulled his hand free of his companion's, readjusting the blanket beneath his arm. "I can't argue with you, if that's what you want," he said, raising his head to look up at the stars sparkling in the night sky. "But if you want to hear a secret, I'll tell it to you."

"A secret...?"

He swallowed, closing his eyes, and the words fell freely out of his mouth. "I wanted it to mean something, too."

"You w... what?"

He smiled and said nothing more. A moment later she collided with him, throwing her arms tight around his back. "I know it's too soon, Narumi-san, I know I shouldn't say anything--"

"Then don't." He wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, opening his eyes and directing his smile down at her. "You don't need to say anything at all."

She didn't. Their embrace went on for nearly a minute, and just as Ayumu was stepping back to tell her good night, Hiyono lifted one hand to tug gently on the collar of his shirt. He looked at her for a moment, confused, but after a second tug--and a telltale blush on her cheeks that could be seen even in the near-dark--he understood what she was wanting. Laughing at her embarrassment, he stooped down slightly, and after a moment of obvious hesitation, she leaned up and pressed her lips softly against his. Their second kiss wasn't nearly as passionate as the first, which had been a release of several months worth of tension... but it still left Ayumu's heart pounding and caused him to nearly drop the blanket under his arm. It was terrifying, what she was doing to him, how she was making him feel...

"Is this okay, Narumi-san?"

... but it was wonderful, was the best thing he'd felt in months and years, was just what he needed after wanting--no, after craving love without even realizing it.

"Is what okay?" The words came out murmured against her cheek; she'd drawn back but not away from him, and had pressed herself back into his chest, one of her arms looped gently around his hips. "Hm?"

"I-is..." Her voice softened. "All of this..."

"If you were going to ask about kissing me, that's fine." He chuckled into her skin and felt her jump slightly, as if the sensation had startled her. "As for... everything... it's..." He paused to select the right word, couldn't decide, and chose instead to press his lips to her cheek. She jumped again, but her arm tightened around him, and out of the corner of his eye he could see a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Go," he mumbled after a moment, glancing towards the lighted house that sat beyond the gate they stood at. "They'll be worried."

She sighed, deeply, tucking her head snugly beneath his chin. "I don't want to go..."

"I'll call you in the morning."

"Do you promise...?"

"Nn. Don't make me commit to something like that."

She drew away from him, making a face, and he couldn't help but laugh. "Go," he said again, and nodded at the house. "Get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."

"Okay..." There was a clear tone of reluctance in her voice at first, but then she smiled again, one hand lifting to touch the spot on her cheek where he'd kissed her. "Okay. Well, then..." She finally stepped away from him, and opened the front gate, smiling over her shoulder at him as the latch gave way. "Good night, Narumi-san."

"Good night." He watched as she closed the gate behind her and started making her way up to the front door, and he waited until she'd gone inside--with one more glance and a small wave in his direction beforehand, of course--to turn and start back towards the train station from which they'd come. Her house was only a few stops from the apartment he shared with Madoka, but he still wondered if he'd be able to stay awake through the trip. All the excitement, the feeling of constantly being on edge with his emotions, had worn him out...

He looked up at the stars glimmering in the night sky, then at the sidewalk that passed beneath his feet, and sighed. It had been a long day... but it had been a good day, too. A very good day. And now that he'd come to this point, said and done some very important things...

Ayumu sighed again, his mouth curving into something that resembled a wistful smile. Now that he'd said good night and left the reason for his happiness behind him... somehow he felt more alone than ever.