Tour Guide to the Underworld - Chapter 12 - Choices *FINAL* (part 3 of 3)

[yoru_no_hikaru]

Pairing: KinKi Kids
Characters: Nishikido Ryo, Uchi Hiroki, Nagase Tomoya, Takizawa Hideaki, Okada Junichi (and others)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own the JE boys (duh!), but OCs are mine and I created the story
Setting: AU
Warnings: Creepy, language
Multi-Chapter

Notes: FINALLY. Ladies and gentlemen, this is it. The final final part of this series. I hope you will like it and that I can bring it all to a satisfactory end. Please enjoy. :D

Intro: Choices that you make will lead the way your life goes. So, where is everybody going?



*~Uchi~*

A mere twenty minutes after Takeuchi had been found everybody was gathered at the scene of crime. Uchi was feeling quite sick. A murder had happened right here. And not just that - he had witnessed it. Well, not the act itself, but he had witnessed Koichi in this room. He was wondering whether he should report. Naturally, it would help Tackey to have an actual culprit. And there was little more to damage about Koichi’s reputation. Uchi scoffed. If anything, this little act might actually earn him some respect back. Most of the workers had at least not liked Takeuchi. He had always despised the man as well. The only reason Takeuchi continuously got away with abusing the youngsters were his unique powers. Many things would be… are going to be much more difficult with him gone. Plus, he did have a few friends… Those who shared his… interests. Uchi shuddered. He had never felt the abuse himself, but he had witnessed mistreatments. Repeatedly. Unable to do anything. To stop it. Well, maybe he could have… But only for a second - and he would have paid with his life. So, the effort-effect relation was really unbalanced. Nothing would have been gained. Nothing would have changed… Would it? Suddenly Tackey voice ripped him back out of his thoughts.

“It is clear that Takeuchi-san has been killed,” Tackey stated flatly. “As it is, we don’t have any information about what happened. Did any of you witness something off, or strange today?”
There was no answer, but Uchi thought Nagase looked kind of nervous. He kept fidgeting with his fingers. Tackey, however, turned to Uchi.
“Did you see anyone in here?” he asked.
Uchi bit his lip. This was it. He had to make a decision and he had to make it instantly.
“Oh, er…” he stuttered, “I… no, I didn’t see anyone. There were suspicious noises, so I went to check. But the noises already faded out as I got closer and then I just found… this.”
“I see,” Tackey sighed. “Well, we’ll be on high alert from now on. Collectors will be forming pairs. I don’t want anybody to go out by themselves. You can compare your shifts and find a partner. Please sign up like that at the head desk. Collectors with trainees are to report in twice a day. For now that’s it. We’ll be able to pick up transforming by tonight, so no further damage should be caused.”

There was a knock on the door and Ryo suddenly rushed into the room. As he spotted Uchi, he moved on running towards his trainer.
“Uchi-san, what…”
“What have I told you?” Uchi burst out. “I explicitly said to wait at the office until I get back.”
Ryo shrunk back slightly. “Well, I… you were taking so long and…”
Then Ryo’s eyes swept over the scene. Most of the mess had already been removed, but he could tell that something was off.
“What is this?” he asked, frowning.
“That’s none of your business,” Uchi bit at him.
“It’s fine,” Tackey cut in. “We’ll make an official statement anyway. People need to be careful. A murder happened here - just a few minutes ago.”
“Someone was killed?” Ryo gasped, eyes growing wide.
Tackey nodded. “Takeuchi Masato-san was found in here.”

Uchi’s stomach twisted slightly at the first shocked, then repelled, then satisfied look in the man’s eyes that he was sure Tackey had also witnessed. Sure enough Tackey picked it up.
“You and Takeuchi weren’t on good terms?” he asked.
“Well, he… I got assigned to him before coming here,” Ryo stated. “He was… well, he wasn’t nice to me,” he muttered.
“I see,” Tackey nodded, his eyes glittering. “I suppose Koichi knew that?”
“I don’t see how that’s important, but if you mean whether I told him about that, the answer is no. I saw no need to tell him such a thing. I don’t know what he read from my record, though.”
“I see,” Tackey answered simply. Then he made to move on. “Well, everybody has their new instructions. Be careful out there, we don’t know what we’re dealing with yet. Be careful.”
With that he turned around and left the area. Uchi bit his lip slightly, wondering if he had noticed something. Ryo moved closer to him, so he could lower his voice.

“Do you think Koichi…?”
“Did you tell Koichi about this man?” Uchi asked bluntly.
“No,” Ryo answered firmly. “As I just said, I never told him. He re-read my record, though. I suppose he found the name.”
“Ah,” Uchi nodded. “Let’s get back, Ryo-kun.”
He swiftly turned and set out towards his new office, Ryo following closely behind.
“Everybody knew about Takeuchi, you know,” Uchi told Ryo as they walked through almost empty hallways. “But nobody ever did anything.”
“Why?” Ryo wanted to know.
“He has a very special skill,” Uchi explained. “Among the collector’s group here, he was the only one. We’ll have to get an expert from over-seas now.”
“And that’s why nobody ever stopped him?” Ryo asked in disbelief.

“That and the fact that moving against him was very likely to end bad for you. He has a lot of friends, you know. Some of them are… like him. They will cover each other, you know, do whatever, so they can just… keep going. Now this has happened. I wonder what it’ll do.”
“Well, if it was Koichi…”
“I saw him,” Uchi sighed.
Ryo blinked at that. “Eh?!”
“I saw him before. It was him. He vanished as soon as I spotted him, but I saw him.”
“So, it really was Koichi,” Ryo mused. “But…” His eyes searched Uchi’s face, “why didn’t you tell Tackey about this?”

“Because he did it,” Uchi explained. “What nobody else was capable of. I despised Takeuchi. He’s scum. I won’t do Koichi in for getting him.”
“If Tackey finds out,” Ryo muttered fearfully.
“Not to worry,” Uchi assured him. “I know how to keep the giveaways in. Tackey can’t read me.”
“Well, that’s good, then.”
“Get your stuff,” Uchi ordered. “And your dragon. Might as well take him.”
“Yays,” Ryo beamed, running off to prepare everything for their daily tour.

__________________________________________________________________________________

*~Ryo~*

Ryo had very mixed feelings as he and Yuri returned to the office. He was quite relieved when he found that Uchi was still out. It made him frown, though. The other was taking pretty long. It gave him some time to think, though.
“Let’s wait for Uchi-kun,” he suggested.
“Hungry,” Yuri complained silently.
“I’ll get you something soon, okay?” Ryo assured the younger one.
His hand came up naturally to stroke the boy’s head softly. Much to his surprise Yuri seemed quite affected by that, leaning into the loving hand, but then biting Ryo’s finger slightly.
“Hey,” Ryo complained, pulling his hand back. “Just because you’re hungry doesn’t mean you can gnaw on me.”
“Well, where is Uchi, then?” Yuri asked impatiently. “He’s taking forever.”
Ryo sighed. “Fine, I’ll go looking for him, okay? But you stay right here. Don’t go out, don’t talk to strangers.”
“Okay,” Yuri nodded, crawling onto a seat.

Ryo smiled kindly at the boy and then left again to go looking for Uchi. It had really been a while. Even if Tackey had gotten angry, it was merely a report, after all. As Ryo came closer to the transformation area, he noticed that there was an unusual traffic around the area. He frowned. It seemed like something had happened. An accident? People around him were chattering agitatedly. He caught a few stray phrases. Obviously Tackey had come in person. He had to see what was going on. He quickly rushed through the feeble security line and stormed right into the transformation hall. His eyes fell immediately upon his trainer.
“Uchi-san, what…”
“What have I told you?” Uchi burst out. “I explicitly said to wait at the office until I get back.”
Ryo shrunk back slightly. “Well, I… you were taking so long and…”
Then Ryo’s eyes swept over the scene. Most of the mess had already been removed, but he could tell that something was off.
“What is this?” he asked, frowning.

“That’s none of your business,” Uchi bit at him.
“It’s fine,” Tackey cut in. “We’ll make an official statement anyway. People need to be careful. A murder happened here - just a few minutes ago.”
“Someone was killed?” Ryo gasped, eyes growing wide.
Tackey nodded. “Takeuchi Masato-san was found in here.”
Uchi’s stomach twisted slightly at the first shocked, then repelled, then satisfied look in the man’s eyes that he was sure Tackey had also witnessed. Sure enough Tackey picked it up.
“You and Takeuchi weren’t on good terms?” he asked.
Ryo stiffened. What should he do now? Tackey had immediately seen something in him to make a connection. He knew there was no way he could hide from Tackey. So he answered truthfully, but vaguely. There was no need to let everybody know what Takeuchi had done to him. The memory was still haunting him. Rough hands on him, feeling him up, arranging him… He started to feel slightly nauseous and tried to clear his head. Naturally Tackey also asked him about Koichi. Well, what could he say? He had never said anything to anyone, but he knew that Koichi had discovered this dark secret of his. Maybe he could keep just that little detail to himself. He didn’t know, though. All the more he was happy when the “interview” was over and they were sent back to their respective work.

On their way back Ryo started to get that awkward feeling again the something was… weird. His hands were sweaty and strangely, even though he should feel totally worked up about what had happened he felt strangely at ease next to Uchi. Even more so when he learned that Uchi felt disgusted by Takeuchi too. He couldn’t explain why, but it meant a lot to him that Uchi could at least understand what he had been through. He felt save when he was with Uchi. Comfortable. That was until Uchi revealed to him what he had witnessed.
“I saw him,” Uchi sighed.
Ryo blinked at that. “Eh?!”
“I saw him before. It was him. He vanished as soon as I spotted him, but I saw him.”

“So, it really was Koichi,” Ryo mused. He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. “But…” His eyes searched Uchi’s face, “why didn’t you tell Tackey about this?”
“Because he did it,” Uchi explained. “What nobody else was capable of. I despised Takeuchi. He’s scum. I won’t do Koichi in for getting him.”
“If Tackey finds out,” Ryo muttered fearfully.
“Not to worry,” Uchi assured him. “I know how to keep the giveaways in. Tackey can’t read me.”
“Well, that’s good, then.”
“Get your stuff,” Uchi ordered. “And your dragon. Might as well take him.”
“Yays,” Ryo beamed, running off to prepare everything for their daily tour.

____________________________________________________________________________________

*~Ryo & Uchi~*

“It was a long day,” Uchi sighed. “You did great, though.”
“Thank you,” Ryo smiled. “Yeah, today was really… something.”
“I’m tired,” Yuri yawned, rubbing his eyes.
“Why don’t you get some rest, Yuri-kun?” Ryo suggested. “Uchi-kun and I, we still have to some wrap-up stuff, but you can wait for me, if you like.”
“You can occupy my former office, if you like,” Uchi suggested. “It’s not far. Just keep moving along the way we went here. The name’s still on the door, I think.”
“Okay,” Yuri chirped.
“Ah, Yuri, wait,” Ryo called out. “Here.”
He held out a sandwich to the dragon, who beamed at the sight and grabbed the item greedily before he ran off.

Roy chuckled. “He’s really cute.”
“And you sure know how to attract a dragon,” Uchi smiled.
“I have no idea, really,” Ryo opposed.
“You’re just oblivious to it,” Uchi grinned. “You don’t realize how you do it.”
“Do what?”
“How you attract the little one. … Or other people.”
Ryo blinked at the other, blushing slightly. “Uchi-kun?”
“Forget about it,” Uchi waved him off.
“Uchi-kun,” Ryo insisted with a cute pout. “Don’t start topics you won’t finish. That’s no good. If there’s something you want to say, do it now.”

Uchi smiled at him. “You’re right,” he agreed. “It’s no good to be a coward. It’s just, you know, you have no idea what kind of effect you have on the people around you.”
“E-effect?” Ryo stuttered, turning his head so Uchi would not see his embarrassment.
“I think you know what I’m talking about,” Uchi grinned. “You attracted Yuri. It is a rare thing for a dragon to choose a mate like this. Even more so to choose a male.”
“I just gave him food,” Ryo shrugged. “You said it yourself, that dragons are attracted by that.”
“You attracted Koichi,” Uchi stated.
At that Ryo stared. “EH?!”
“Oh please,” Uchi groaned out, rolling his eyes. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice. It was all over his face - he absolutely fancied you.”
“He did?” Ryo mused, remembering the special moment during which he had felt very close to Koichi.

“Yes, he did,” the other confirmed. “And that’s not the end of it.”
Huh?”
“Ryo-kun,” Uchi dragged out, chuckling nervously. “Ah…”
Ryo frowned. “Uchi-kun?”
He took a close look at Uchi’s face, trying to read in it. Uchi looked strained. But his face was still beautiful. Soft skin, deep eyes, plush lips. Ryo blushed. Why did he notice the other’s lips? His face heated even more as he felt his heart beating faster, his stomach fluttering.
“Ryo-kun, if you… please, keep your distance.”
The smaller man first blinked, then his face fell. “Oh, er… sorry.” He brought a good distance between himself and Uchi.
“Sorry, “Uchi apologized.

He had panicked. Ryo had been too close. Just a bit more and he would have… done something stupid.
“No, I’m sorry,” Ryo muttered. “That was… sorry…”
“No,” Uchi insisted. “It’s not like I mind you… being close.”
It was his turn to blush and Ryo blinked again, taking in his reactions.
“You don’t?” he asked timidly.
“Ryo-kun,” Uchi chuckled nervously. “Can’t you tell?” He bit his lip, but then he decided to just say it out loud. “You’ve attracted me too.”
Ryo’s eyes grew wide. “What?!”
“Don’t freak out, okay,” Uchi tried to calm him. “I won’t do anything to you. It’s my own problem, so… don’t even think about it.”
“So… you like me?” Ryo asked, his voice shaky.
The strange feeling in his stomach grew stronger. Wait - was he happy about this?

“It’s pretty easy to like you, you know.” Uchi told him, a sad smile on his face. “Well, it’s not your fault, so…”
“Uchi… I… I don’t know,” Ryo stuttered.
His feelings were running wild. He wanted to hug Uchi and be close to him. But there were those horrible memories in his head that kept haunting him. But then, Uchi was always nice to him. He had never done anything to him. When he started training Ryo he was attentive and even loving.
“What Takeuchi did… was horrible,” Ryo mumbled. “But I think I understand now that it’s not because he was a man, but because he wouldn’t let me decide.”
“I understand,” Uchi nodded.
“I don’t know if I… can enjoy it,” the smaller man mused. “I can’t even… Please, don’t hate me,” he pleaded with Uchi, whose heart clenched at the torn look in Ryo’s face. “I know it’s selfish. I can’t promise you anything, but right now I just want to be close. Will you kiss me?”

Uchi stared at him. “What - seriously?”
Ryo blushed as the other kept looking at him in disbelief, but even so he nodded. And next thing he checked his lips were overly busy kissing his new superior. He sighed happily. There were arms around his body, stroking him softly, but never taking too much and he let himself fall into those arms, kissing and stroking the other’s body too. When they came up for breath, they smiled at each other.
“Sorry, I…” Ryo mumbled.
“It’s okay,” Uchi assured him. “That was nice.”
“Yes, it was.”
“Maybe we can… do it again some time.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Ryo nodded, his cheeks still flushed. “I would like that.”
“Me too,” the other agreed, pecking Ryo’s nose softly. “For now… shall we get something to eat?”
“Sure,” Ryo chirped happily. “I’m pretty sure Yuri will appreciate something warm too.”
“Then let’s get him and then we get going.”
“Alright.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

*~Tackey~*

As he arrived in the area, the picture in front of him almost took his breath away. Takeuchi had been practically torn into pieces by the transformation stream. Whatever happened, it had been violent. Immediately the thought of Koichi came to his mind. But as it was, he had to take care of the current situation first. For starters, he had to inform everybody in charge. So, he gave order that all office heads should gather right in the hall. It didn’t even take too long to arrange that. After a short explanation of what he knew, he gave instructions.
“It is clear that Takeuchi-san has been killed,” he stated flatly. “As it is, we don’t have any information about what happened exactly. Did any of you witness something off, or strange today?”
There was no answer, but Tackey noticed the nervous twitch of Nagase’s fingers. Probably he had heard something. He’d deal with that later. For the moment, the guy who first came to the scene of crime was more important, so he turned to Uchi.
“Did you see anyone in here?” he asked.

Uchi bit his lip. He very unconvincingly pretended to have been in thoughts. “Oh, er… I… no, I didn’t see anyone. There were suspicious noises, so I went to check. But the noises already faded out as I got closer and then I just found… this.”
“I see,” Tackey sighed.
He tried to sound as even as possible, but his guts were twisting painfully. Uchi had just lied to him. And most obviously so, so either he was too flustered by the entire situation, or it was his conscience that tried to hint for Tackey to get information. Either way, the essence of what he and Uchi had vanished in that very moment. The young man had always been completely loyal to him, he had always likes Tackey, encouraged him, had some nice words for him. And now he was… Tackey frowned. The door flew open and Nishikido came in and that was when Tackey saw it. Uchi’s eyes, they said it all. Tackey bit his lip, trying to keep from screaming. Uchi had fallen for the kid and thus, he had switched sides. Once again, he was on his own. Nobody who would support him. It seemed that in the end, no matter what happened, or what he did, he would end up alone. He quickly finished the meeting and all but fled back into his office, where he locked himself in, crying miserably. He didn’t know what time it was when insistent knocking on his door ripped him out of his thoughts. He sniffed, trying to clear his throat.
“I’m not accepting anything anymore today,” he rasped out.
“Tackey…”

The man blinked at the voice.
“Tackey, is everything okay?” Yamapi asked. “There was such a mess today and nobody has seen you ever since. Do you need anything?”
“No,” Tackey bit out. “I just have tons of work. There’s almost too much to handle in the first place, but right now it’s unbearable. I just have to work long hours for a few days, though and it’s gonna be okay again.”
“Okay,” Yamapi muttered. “Well, I brought tea for you. Ah, I’ll just put it in front of your door, okay? Please, just take it in, if you like. I’m not going to disturb you anymore. And I’ll leave a note at the reception that you left so…”
Big eyes blinked at Tackey when he opened the door to his office. Yamapi was crouching on the floor, placing a tablet with tea in front of the door.
“Oh,” Yamapi made. “Hey,” he smiled at Tackey. “Tea?”

Tackey smiled back at him sadly. “I’d love to have tea. Thank you. Wanna come in?”
“Sure,” Yamapi nodded and slipped in.
They set up a small tea area in front of the desk and seated themselves right on the floor.
“Rough day?” Yamapi asked carefully.
“You have no idea,” Tackey sighed.
“Care to tell me?”
“Well… Takeuchi was killed. That’s a severe blow,” Tackey analyzed. “And then…” he sighed. “I wonder if it’s a good idea to tell you that. But Uchi-kun… well, we’re kind of… close. But today he turned his back on me and now…”
“I’m sorry,” Yamapi said, sounding sincere. “That must have been awful.”
“I can’t believe he’s favouring that little brat,” Tackey bit out angrily. “I mean, that kid has been here a few weeks and everybody’s fawning over him. Even Uchi. We’ve been… well, close for such a long time. That little brat is messing everything up.”

“Hey,” Yamapi addressed the other, grasping his shoulder softly.
“Thank you,” Tackey smiled. “You know, it’s really good to…”
Tackey’s eyes grew wide as suddenly he felt a pair of lips against his. Neither of them moved. It wasn’t even a real kiss. Just lips against lips, but even so they felt no hurry to part again. As Yamapi drew back after a while, he smiled nervously at Tackey.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I don’t think that was a very good idea.”
“Then why did you do it?” Tackey asked.
“Well… I thought… I just didn’t want you to be sad,” Yamapi shrugged.
“I practically assaulted you when you were working here, and you are worried about my well-being?” Tackey asked in disbelief.
“You didn’t really…” the younger man blushed.

“What I did was bad,” Tackey insisted. “It’s still bothering me, you know.”
“I said it’s okay,” Yamapi told him. “You can, you know… if you like.”
“No, I can’t,” the other stated. “I couldn’t… stop.”
“But you didn’t jump me just now.”
“Yeah, well, I guess I was too shocked.”
“You’re too hard on yourself, you know,” Yamapi smiled at him. “Try to be more at ease with yourself.”
“Somehow that’s impossible for me,” Tackey sighed. “I wish I could…”
“Yes?”
“I wish I could just… vanish. I’ve thought about running, you know. Just run off and never look back. Start over somewhere else and…” Tackey sighed, shaking his head. “I’m so pathetic.”

“So, you don’t like being here?” Yamapi asked. “I mean, are you happy with things as they are?”
Tackey huffed. “I haven’t been happy since… I don’t even know.”
“Is it my fault?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Tackey laughed. “If anything, you brought me at least somewhat on track.”
“But maybe that wasn’t the track for you,” Yamapi mused.
“Who knows…”
“Tackey,” Yamapi said softly, looking directly into Tackey’s eyes, “kiss me.”
“What?!”
“Just do it already.”

Once again Tackey’s lips were claimed by a plush counter-pair and this time he did not fight. The day had exhausted him and finally he was shown some much-needed affection. He hadn’t felt loved for as long as he could remember, but in that very moment there was at least an illusion of warmth engulfing him and he let himself be drawn into that impossible feeling and rushed into a kiss that was filled with emotions he was unused to.
“Oh god, Pi… I…” he muttered against plush lips. “I… love you so much. Please…”
“I love you,” Yamapi whispered back. “I just wish we’d love each other the same way.”
Tackey drew back and Yamapi gasped at the sight in front of him. The other was crying, but he was showing the brightest smile Yamapi had ever seen.
“You know, ever since I came here, I don’t think anyone ever said that to me. I just wish… Why can’t I just break out of this?”
“But you can,” Yamapi smiled at him. “I don’t know why you keep clinging to things.”
“I think I’m scared,” Tackey admitted. “I’m scared of finding myself somewhere I don’t know and totally alone.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Yamapi told him. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. If you just let go, you can find many new things in your life. You don’t have to hold onto… this.”
“And… you think it will be okay?”
Yamapi nodded. “All you have to do is… move on.”
He pecked Tackey’s lips once more, smiling tenderly at the other. And suddenly something seemed to break in Tackey. It was as if a tight knot inside him finally burst, letting him go, his energies floating freely. The world seemed to burst around him and… He gasped. It felt like he had lost his breath, but not in a bad way. It was more like even breathing had been a burden he didn’t have to bother with anymore. He saw Yamapi’s smile again - a single tear running down his cheek.
“Take care,” Yamapi whispered. “I will take it. Your burden.”
He just remained seating, watching calmly as Tackey’s energies spiked and mingled, floating and sparkling colours as they moved him - on to the next level.

__________________________________________________________________________________

*~Nagase~*

Nagase drained his glass of scotch. He wouldn’t have thought that Koichi would actually… Not that he felt reluctant in any way, but he hadn’t expected something like this. And it was quite something to digest. In the end he had been an accomplice for murder, after all. He sighed as he flopped down in his chair. He remembered the gathering Tackey had ordered. He was certain that his boos had noticed something off about him. There was no helping it, Tackey would ask him about the incident. He could merely try to assure his boss that he’d had no idea what Koichi had been up to. Well, even so, it was clear that he could not keep his position. It was too obvious how he’d called in for an out-of-the-ordinary meeting and in just that moment a murder was committed. Naturally, there had to be a connection. He sighed again. It wasn’t that he was too keen on the job, he didn’t really like it much, but then, where should he go?
“Well,” he said to himself, “at least you’ll get away from your desk. You always wanted to do that, after all…”

__________________________________________________________________________________

*~Koichi~*

Koichi took a deep breath.
“Koichi,” Tsuyoshi burst out. “You’re back.”
“Yes, I am,” the older man nodded.
“Did you finish what you wanted to do?”
“Yes, I… Tsuyoshi, I did something despicable,” he told his lover. “I killed a man. And I don’t regret doing it. It’s still a severe crime, of course. Even though he was a dirty bastard, it’s still a vile thing to do. But then, there was no other way. He would have kept doing these things… Abusing others.” He looked at his lover. “There is blood on my hands now. I never would have thought I would do such a thing. But at the same time I can’t bring myself to regret my decision. And I’m not going to run away. We cannot stay right here, but I will not leave my home. My life is here and I refuse to leave it behind. No more compromises.”
Tsuyoshi merely nodded at him. “If that’s your choice.”
“Will you stay with me?” Koichi asked him, sounding wary.
“Stay with you where?” Tsuyoshi wanted to know. “To do what?”

“To do what you think is right,” Koichi told him. “As to where we want to go… I’m not sure. But I know I can’t stay here. I’m not a hunter, Tsuyoshi… and neither are you. You are like me, you go by your own measure. So, come with me.” He held out his hand to Tsuyoshi.
The other bit his lip. “I don’t know… Being out there as only a couple, we’re easier prey.”
“We’ll find companions,” Koichi suggested. “Other people, to build our own group.”
“Sounds like a fun idea,” Okada threw in amusedly.
“What - you think I should go?” Tsuyoshi asked, eyeing him skeptically.
“I just always thought you’re not really one of us,” Okada shrugged. “And maybe if you leave I can… move on as well.”
“You’re not exactly good with that,” Tsuyoshi said doubtfully.
“I’ll give it my best,” the other promised with a grin.

Tsuyoshi smiled at him. “Thank you, Jun. I’ll be sure to visit.”
“You’d better.”
“Say good-bye for me to everybody?”
“Sure,” Okada nodded.
“Okay,” Koichi smiled, holding his hand out to Tsuyoshi. “Shall we go, then?”
“Yeah, let’s go,” Tsuyoshi smiled back, taking Koichi’s hand as they rushed out the door - towards an unsure, but hopefully bright future.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Well, this is it. The story. I can't believe I finished it. It always feels a bit weird to end a series. But I'm really happy that this is where it... well, not ends. It doesn't end here. At this point, it's really the beginning of a new story for everybody. I wish them all well and I'm sure that they are going to be fine. I want to thank everybody for supporting me so much, for reading all of this and for your love!!! <3<3<3 As a little gift, first I will add a little glimpse into the new world the characters are going into. Just follow the link below.
Furthermore, there is another surprise. I hope you will like it. ^_^

Chapter 12 (FINAL - Part 2)

Epilogue