And now, the final installment. I feel kind of bad, ending it with a really angsty one. But that’s just how it went…

She’s gone now.

Izumi sits on his couch every night, drinking bottle after bottle of alcohol until his mind feels fuzzy and his vision spins wildly, and the pain on his body matches the pain in his heart. He throws up a lot afterwards, but he doesn’t care.

He doesn’t care about anything, now that she’s gone.

Meroko.

And the horrible thing is, it’s his fault. His fault.

Meroko…

She had been chasing him for years and years. Constantly running after him, breathless and eager, shouting that she loved him. Always waiting for his response, paused in anticipation of something never to come.

She had loved him so much.

And time and time again, he had pushed her away with cold words and glares, saying that he would never love her.

Meroko, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize, did I? I didn’t realize…

And finally, on a day in the street, when the rain fell like the tears from her eyes, he had finally blown up at her.

Before she had run off sobbing, she had shouted out that she was sorry.

That she was sorry.

I’m the one who should be apologizing to you, Meroko…It was all my fault…

Afterwards, he had realized what a horrible thing he’d done. What a wonderful person Meroko was. And how he had truly loved her all along.

I love you, Meroko. I love you…

He had been so afraid of a relationship—of love—that he had pushed away the only person in the world who had ever really loved him. He had hurt her in a way that could never be forgiven.

And now she’s gone.

Meroko…

And so Izumi sits alone every night, drowning his pain in alcohol, trying so desperately to forget the person he loves so much—who once loved him.

Wishing that he wasn’t such an idiot. That he didn’t make the worst mistake of his life.

That the one he loves will come back.

But he can’t wish away his mistake. He can get drunk as many times as he wants to, but in the end, he can never destroy the image of the sobbing Meroko that burns in his mind’s eye; nor can he destroy the mistake he’s made, because it will always live with him, no matter how hard he wishes it away.

And now we're finished. Well...thanks to the one person who favorited this, and to the very few people who read it.

Yeah. Later, all. Check out Some Small Part of Love if you want any more Izumi x Meroko love.