Fourth Avenue Café - Chapter 16
Title: Fourth Avenue Café
Pairings: Akame, slight Ryopi
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jin's a successful artist when a fight with his friends forces him to seek stress relief in a little café where he meets what he considers, the strangest people.
Chapter 1// Chapter 2// Chapter 3// Chapter 4// Chapter 5// Chapter 6// Chapter 7// Chapter 8// Chapter 9// Chapter 10// Chapter 11// Chapter 12// Chapter 13// Chapter 14// Chapter 15
Chapter 16:
That night, despite it being two in the morning, his friends found their way faithfully onto his couch, with him. Pi looked over with a frown, “what happened?”
Jin curled up between the two, muttering in such a miserable tone that Ryo began sniffling, “…it’s Kame…he…why him?” He shook his head, unable to finish. “…no one deserves a time limit on their lives…”
-------------------------
The three spent the rest of that sleepless night drying each other’s tears.
-------------------------
The next day, he slammed his fists on the table as he argued with his manager. To the side, his friends watched wordlessly, understanding the full concept of his desperation. “Akanishi we can’t do it in such a short perio-”
“I don’t care!” He was seething in anger at the other, it was the first time he’d argued in such a manner against his supervisor, “Listen! I don’t care about how you do it! Just get on with it!”
The manager attempted to remain calm and adjusted his glasses, “But we didn’t have enough time to advertise or anything-”
The singer snapped, “I already said, I, don’t, care! I don’t care where it’ll be, I don’t care how many people show up, I don’t freaking care! Just get me a damn stage so I can have a concert as soon as possible!”
“Bu-”
“I swear, if I don’t get my concert, I will freaking quit this job!” This caused his friends to stare at him in surprise. After a pause, he lowered his voice and stared the other in the eyes, “please…this is really important to me. Whether you understand it or not, I need to have this concert before it’s too late…”
Eyes softening just slightly, the man sighed and nodded, “I’ll see what I can do…”
-------------------------
After he left, Pi and Ryo walked up to him, eyes full of shock, “wow Jin…”
Exhausted, he slumped in his chair, “Can you guys come over later?”
The youngest singer nodded, “Of course, what time?”
He ran a hand through his hair, “I’ll call you after I get back from Kame’s. I don’t really want to be alone…”
The two nodded understandingly, Pi gave a small, encouraging smile, “Sure, we’ll be waiting for your call then, okay?”
“Yea…thank you…”
-------------------------
At the hospital, he stepped into the room and watched the figure sitting in the bed. Beside the patient, Koki got up and whispered something to the younger man before stepping past him to leave the room with a friendly pat on the back. He managed to give a small smile that only last for a few seconds before walking towards the other.
Kame didn’t turn away from the window.
Clasping the waiter’s hand lightly, he stared at it, knowing that the other wouldn’t look over. He took a deep breath and kissed the pale hand,
“Ne…Dear Kame…
You know…
Even now, I love you so much it’s driving me crazy…
I want to be the star you wish upon…
I want to grant your every wish…
So please, believe in me…
Yours in sickness and in health,
Akanishi Jin.”
The hand twitched slightly but the other didn’t turn his head.
“Kame…don’t push me away…” he whispered softly, “please, let me continue loving you…until the very end.”
There was a soft reply, “…would you really stop if I told you to?”
“No…” he admitted, “I wouldn’t be able to…”
The waiter sighed quietly but grasped his hand lightly, “That’s just like you…”
The two sat in silence until it was time for the singer to leave.
When he drove back home, his hands felt icy cold, having nothing to hold.
-------------------------
Even though it was very late, he found his friends lounging around his apartment, waiting for his return. The three sat there in silence until Ryo spoke up from his left side, “Jin, you know…you don’t have to say anything if it’s too hard.”
Pi nodded in agreement from his right.
He shook his head, “it’s okay…I’ll be fine…my manager said that the concert will be in three or four months…you guys will come and sing with me again, right?”
Ryo cuffed him on the side of the head, “you idiot, of course we’re going to. You wouldn’t be able to give a tolerable performance or attract enough people without us.”
The younger singer grinned and looked over, changing the topic, “Hey Jin, can we go with you tomorrow, to visit Kame-chan? I promise I won’t cry if you don’t cry, okay?”
Jin dipped his head, “okay…we won’t cry…but what about Ryo-chan?”
The two turned their attention to the shorter man who sniffled and turned away, speaking in an annoyed tone, “shut up you guys…I’m not promising anything…” he paused, “but I guess I’ll try not to…”
Pi reached over and wrapped a reassuring arm around the other, “It’s okay, Ryo-chan’s allowed to cry so long as I’m around to make him feel better afterwards.”
Watching this brought a small smile back onto Jin’s face.
-------------------------
As the days continued to pass by, things began to settle down. There were good days and bad. Good days were when Jin would walk down the hallway to hear Nakamaru loudly exclaiming “There was a doctor hitting on Kame-chan today!”
Followed by Ueda’s outraged “What!? Which one!? I’m going to slaughter him!”
Kame’s laugh, “Tat-chan! Calm down!”
A pause.
“…No. I don’t want to. I’m going to go kill him.”
Jin stood by the door with a tired grin on his face, Nakamaru looked over at him before getting up, “and I’m going to go watch, I’ve always wondered about the lack of corpses.”
The two left the room, Ueda, mock-fumingly and Nakamaru, content with the world. The singer walked into the room, “man, I’m so glad his fury isn’t directed towards me anymore…that doctor’s going to be needing blood donors soon. I can’t believe they’re going to go around, wrecking havoc in a hospital.”
Kame shot him a smile, “It’s not that bad compared to other things…I think Taguchi killed someone with his jokes yesterday.”
He laughed, “I’m not surprised. And there’ll be mini-rappers and beat-boxers running around this building now hm? Koki and Nakamaru really shouldn’t perform in front of small children,” he moved over to sit on the chair, “but on the other hand, I recorded it and…let’s say I spread it around a bit yesterday to certain people.”
The other tilted his head curiously, “you mean…”
“Chances are, there’ll be agents looking for those two.”
A slow grin appeared on the other’s face, “Jin, you’re amazing.”
The singer gave a smug smirk, “just ever so slightly.”
The two would smile at each other, fingers comfortably laced together.
And outside, Ueda and Nakamaru would stand by the door, making sure no one interrupted their time together, with smiles on their faces.
-------------------------
But there were days when the agony of reality was overwhelming.
“Jin…I want to give up…”
It tore his heart apart when he heard the other’s words, “don’t say that, Kame…”
The waiter turned away, “…I’m tired Jin, I just want to sleep…”
“Don’t you dare, Kamenashi Kazuya. I don’t care if it’s selfish of me, but you’re staying with me until the world comes to an end.” He tightened his grip on the other’s hand, “I’ve told you before, and I’ll repeat myself until it gets the message drilled into your head, I’m not going to let go of this hand.”
On days like these, Kame refused to face him, “I’m trying my best…but I’m so useless…how can I-”
“No you’re not! If I wasn’t for you, I might not have any friends right now. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to write all the songs I did. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be me. You’re anything but useless, so don’t think of yourself like that, not even more a moment,” he ended his outburst with an indignant, childish pout, “it’s unbecoming.”
“Jin…” The waiter didn’t have the heart or the energy to tease him about his sappiness.
He held the other's hand against his cheek while pleading softly, “I like you no matter what, Kame. You’re the caffeine to my coffee…so I'm begging you…don't say things like wanting to give up…you're tearing my heart to pieces…”
When the other’s shoulders began shaking, he shifted but was stopped by the Kame’s words, “please don’t look…I don’t want you to see the rain…”
-------------------------
Aside from those, there were the days when Jin found himself staying overnight due to being unable to find the will power to leave. Those were usually the nights when the pain was too great, even against painkillers. He’d sit there, holding the other’s hand while silent tears trickled down their faces.
The pain written on the other’s face caused the tears to continue running, “It hurts Jin…”
It felt like there were knives puncturing his heart.
And all he could whisper back was “I know Kame…”
“Please don’t leave me…”
He placed soft kisses on the other’s trembling hand, “It’s okay…I’m here…I’m not going anywhere…”
On those days, he found himself longing for the day when the other could finally sleep painlessly…
-------------------------
And there were days when he ended up so exhausted, he’d walk into the room and sleep on the side of the bed. His head by the other’s, lulled to sleep by listening to the other’s quiet breathing.
-------------------------
During the weeks before his concert, Kame’s health began deteriorating. The singer found himself pacing around while the other slept, chewing his lip out of worry. Ueda looked over from his seat and glared at him, “stop it.”
He paused mid-stride, “I can’t help it…”
The waiter continued looking displeased as he ran a hand through the sleeping man’s hair softly, “you’re going to wake him up…”
Defeated, he sighed and plopped down on the ground against the wall. “…I’m scared…”
Ueda spared him a sympathetic look, “me too…”
-------------------------
He was reentering the room when the younger man finally awoke, flooded with relief, he asked quietly, “sorry, did I wake you up?”
The other shook his head weakly, “Jin…”
“What is it?”
“Did you ever figure out what I meant when I said that you saved me?”
He shook his head, “no…”
The waiter gave a soft smile, “I’ll give you a hint then…it was the first time we met…”
-------------------------
When the doctor’s report came in, his world took a dive once more.
Name: Kamenashi Kazuya
Tumor has continued to spread at an unexpectedly rapid pace, severe damage has been done to the patient’s visual, somatic, motor cortex, and cerebellum. Patient has little or no feeling in his limbs and is unable to move without aid. With the disease’s growth rate, the patient is in danger of having the tumor reach his brain stem.
Life expectancy of the patient: 2 weeks max.
-------------------------
On the day before his concert, he was at the hospital with a rose in his hand. The others had left the room to give him what little time he had with the waiter.
He leaned over and kissed the other on the head softly, “Kame…”
Slowly, the younger man’s unseeing eyes fluttered open, his voice barely audible, “…Jin? Good morning…”
The feeling of his heart being clamped painfully tight never left his chest as he watched the other. Kame had become pale and bony from lack of appetite and painfully sleepless nights. He didn’t have to ask how the other was feeling, it was obvious. “Guess what,” he smiled softly, “I’m going to bring you a surprise tomorrow…”
The waiter was trying his best to express his excitement with a smile, “What is it…?”
“I can’t tell you or else it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?”
Kame gave a soft huff, though it sounded more like a sigh, “Fine…I guess I’ll just have to stick around for another day…won’t I?”
“Yea…” he muttered, with his free hand clenched into a tight fist, “I guess you do…”
-------------------------
The next day, he presented a phone and a headset to the other. Kame pursed his lips, “…what is this?”
Jin put it on, “Idiot…like I said before, if you can’t make it to my concert, I’ll bring the concert to you.”
“Lean in a bit…”
He did as he was told, “what is it?”
Kame placed a soft kiss on his cheek, “thank you, Jin…”
-------------------------
While he was backstage, he put on his headset, “…Kame?”
He could hear the other’s quiet breathing, “…hm?”
The singer adjusted the device a bit and informed the other, “I’m backstage right now, the concert’s going to start in about five minutes…Ryo-chan and Pi are going to be singing with me too…”
A sigh, “I wish I was there…”
Jin closed his eyes and let out a soft smile, “What are you talking about, Kame? You’re right here beside me…”
-------------------------
As he made his way up towards the stage, once more into the deafening cheers and blinding lights, he whispered into the mouthpiece,
“I love you…”
Whether he received a reply or not, he never heard…
-------------------------
During his short water break, before the encore, he turned up the volume of his headset, “it’s almost over, Kame…”
Up on the stage, his friends called his name loudly. He took a deep breath and ran back up with a loud cheer. Ryo looked over, “you’re not singing for the encore?”
He raised a brow and stood beside the other, huffing indignantly, “What are you talking about, of course I am, but this is a special song!”
Pi walked over to his other side, “Oh? How so?”
“Well, this song’s never been heard before, so you guys are the first people to hear it.”
The shorter singer stretched, “really now? You’ve caught my attention. What’s it called?”
“It’s called Hesitate.” He lowered his mike and spoke into the mouthpiece,
“Hey Kame…this is for you…”
-------------------------
As he sang, he lost control of his tears and they began welling up and running down his face on their own accord. All the noise and cheers were drowned out as he sang as loudly as he could, feeling that he'd explode if he didn't express everything he could in those words, that melody…
This bond…
When the song came to an end, amidst the roars of the crowd and the encouragements from his friends, he could only hear one voice.
“…ne, Jin…ganbatte…”
-------------------------
He never heard Kame speak again.
-------------------------
A/N: Hmm...there's...2-3 chapters left of this fic, can't decide where to cut them off so we'll see. And ha-ha! I updated 2 days in a row! Except the last one was cheery and this one was more...yea...This is somewhat a challenge for myself so write a good tearjerker ;P So far so good? Enjoy!
Pairings: Akame, slight Ryopi
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jin's a successful artist when a fight with his friends forces him to seek stress relief in a little café where he meets what he considers, the strangest people.
Chapter 1// Chapter 2// Chapter 3// Chapter 4// Chapter 5// Chapter 6// Chapter 7// Chapter 8// Chapter 9// Chapter 10// Chapter 11// Chapter 12// Chapter 13// Chapter 14// Chapter 15
Chapter 16:
That night, despite it being two in the morning, his friends found their way faithfully onto his couch, with him. Pi looked over with a frown, “what happened?”
Jin curled up between the two, muttering in such a miserable tone that Ryo began sniffling, “…it’s Kame…he…why him?” He shook his head, unable to finish. “…no one deserves a time limit on their lives…”
-------------------------
The three spent the rest of that sleepless night drying each other’s tears.
-------------------------
The next day, he slammed his fists on the table as he argued with his manager. To the side, his friends watched wordlessly, understanding the full concept of his desperation. “Akanishi we can’t do it in such a short perio-”
“I don’t care!” He was seething in anger at the other, it was the first time he’d argued in such a manner against his supervisor, “Listen! I don’t care about how you do it! Just get on with it!”
The manager attempted to remain calm and adjusted his glasses, “But we didn’t have enough time to advertise or anything-”
The singer snapped, “I already said, I, don’t, care! I don’t care where it’ll be, I don’t care how many people show up, I don’t freaking care! Just get me a damn stage so I can have a concert as soon as possible!”
“Bu-”
“I swear, if I don’t get my concert, I will freaking quit this job!” This caused his friends to stare at him in surprise. After a pause, he lowered his voice and stared the other in the eyes, “please…this is really important to me. Whether you understand it or not, I need to have this concert before it’s too late…”
Eyes softening just slightly, the man sighed and nodded, “I’ll see what I can do…”
-------------------------
After he left, Pi and Ryo walked up to him, eyes full of shock, “wow Jin…”
Exhausted, he slumped in his chair, “Can you guys come over later?”
The youngest singer nodded, “Of course, what time?”
He ran a hand through his hair, “I’ll call you after I get back from Kame’s. I don’t really want to be alone…”
The two nodded understandingly, Pi gave a small, encouraging smile, “Sure, we’ll be waiting for your call then, okay?”
“Yea…thank you…”
-------------------------
At the hospital, he stepped into the room and watched the figure sitting in the bed. Beside the patient, Koki got up and whispered something to the younger man before stepping past him to leave the room with a friendly pat on the back. He managed to give a small smile that only last for a few seconds before walking towards the other.
Kame didn’t turn away from the window.
Clasping the waiter’s hand lightly, he stared at it, knowing that the other wouldn’t look over. He took a deep breath and kissed the pale hand,
“Ne…Dear Kame…
You know…
Even now, I love you so much it’s driving me crazy…
I want to be the star you wish upon…
I want to grant your every wish…
So please, believe in me…
Yours in sickness and in health,
Akanishi Jin.”
The hand twitched slightly but the other didn’t turn his head.
“Kame…don’t push me away…” he whispered softly, “please, let me continue loving you…until the very end.”
There was a soft reply, “…would you really stop if I told you to?”
“No…” he admitted, “I wouldn’t be able to…”
The waiter sighed quietly but grasped his hand lightly, “That’s just like you…”
The two sat in silence until it was time for the singer to leave.
When he drove back home, his hands felt icy cold, having nothing to hold.
-------------------------
Even though it was very late, he found his friends lounging around his apartment, waiting for his return. The three sat there in silence until Ryo spoke up from his left side, “Jin, you know…you don’t have to say anything if it’s too hard.”
Pi nodded in agreement from his right.
He shook his head, “it’s okay…I’ll be fine…my manager said that the concert will be in three or four months…you guys will come and sing with me again, right?”
Ryo cuffed him on the side of the head, “you idiot, of course we’re going to. You wouldn’t be able to give a tolerable performance or attract enough people without us.”
The younger singer grinned and looked over, changing the topic, “Hey Jin, can we go with you tomorrow, to visit Kame-chan? I promise I won’t cry if you don’t cry, okay?”
Jin dipped his head, “okay…we won’t cry…but what about Ryo-chan?”
The two turned their attention to the shorter man who sniffled and turned away, speaking in an annoyed tone, “shut up you guys…I’m not promising anything…” he paused, “but I guess I’ll try not to…”
Pi reached over and wrapped a reassuring arm around the other, “It’s okay, Ryo-chan’s allowed to cry so long as I’m around to make him feel better afterwards.”
Watching this brought a small smile back onto Jin’s face.
-------------------------
As the days continued to pass by, things began to settle down. There were good days and bad. Good days were when Jin would walk down the hallway to hear Nakamaru loudly exclaiming “There was a doctor hitting on Kame-chan today!”
Followed by Ueda’s outraged “What!? Which one!? I’m going to slaughter him!”
Kame’s laugh, “Tat-chan! Calm down!”
A pause.
“…No. I don’t want to. I’m going to go kill him.”
Jin stood by the door with a tired grin on his face, Nakamaru looked over at him before getting up, “and I’m going to go watch, I’ve always wondered about the lack of corpses.”
The two left the room, Ueda, mock-fumingly and Nakamaru, content with the world. The singer walked into the room, “man, I’m so glad his fury isn’t directed towards me anymore…that doctor’s going to be needing blood donors soon. I can’t believe they’re going to go around, wrecking havoc in a hospital.”
Kame shot him a smile, “It’s not that bad compared to other things…I think Taguchi killed someone with his jokes yesterday.”
He laughed, “I’m not surprised. And there’ll be mini-rappers and beat-boxers running around this building now hm? Koki and Nakamaru really shouldn’t perform in front of small children,” he moved over to sit on the chair, “but on the other hand, I recorded it and…let’s say I spread it around a bit yesterday to certain people.”
The other tilted his head curiously, “you mean…”
“Chances are, there’ll be agents looking for those two.”
A slow grin appeared on the other’s face, “Jin, you’re amazing.”
The singer gave a smug smirk, “just ever so slightly.”
The two would smile at each other, fingers comfortably laced together.
And outside, Ueda and Nakamaru would stand by the door, making sure no one interrupted their time together, with smiles on their faces.
-------------------------
But there were days when the agony of reality was overwhelming.
“Jin…I want to give up…”
It tore his heart apart when he heard the other’s words, “don’t say that, Kame…”
The waiter turned away, “…I’m tired Jin, I just want to sleep…”
“Don’t you dare, Kamenashi Kazuya. I don’t care if it’s selfish of me, but you’re staying with me until the world comes to an end.” He tightened his grip on the other’s hand, “I’ve told you before, and I’ll repeat myself until it gets the message drilled into your head, I’m not going to let go of this hand.”
On days like these, Kame refused to face him, “I’m trying my best…but I’m so useless…how can I-”
“No you’re not! If I wasn’t for you, I might not have any friends right now. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to write all the songs I did. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be me. You’re anything but useless, so don’t think of yourself like that, not even more a moment,” he ended his outburst with an indignant, childish pout, “it’s unbecoming.”
“Jin…” The waiter didn’t have the heart or the energy to tease him about his sappiness.
He held the other's hand against his cheek while pleading softly, “I like you no matter what, Kame. You’re the caffeine to my coffee…so I'm begging you…don't say things like wanting to give up…you're tearing my heart to pieces…”
When the other’s shoulders began shaking, he shifted but was stopped by the Kame’s words, “please don’t look…I don’t want you to see the rain…”
-------------------------
Aside from those, there were the days when Jin found himself staying overnight due to being unable to find the will power to leave. Those were usually the nights when the pain was too great, even against painkillers. He’d sit there, holding the other’s hand while silent tears trickled down their faces.
The pain written on the other’s face caused the tears to continue running, “It hurts Jin…”
It felt like there were knives puncturing his heart.
And all he could whisper back was “I know Kame…”
“Please don’t leave me…”
He placed soft kisses on the other’s trembling hand, “It’s okay…I’m here…I’m not going anywhere…”
On those days, he found himself longing for the day when the other could finally sleep painlessly…
-------------------------
And there were days when he ended up so exhausted, he’d walk into the room and sleep on the side of the bed. His head by the other’s, lulled to sleep by listening to the other’s quiet breathing.
-------------------------
During the weeks before his concert, Kame’s health began deteriorating. The singer found himself pacing around while the other slept, chewing his lip out of worry. Ueda looked over from his seat and glared at him, “stop it.”
He paused mid-stride, “I can’t help it…”
The waiter continued looking displeased as he ran a hand through the sleeping man’s hair softly, “you’re going to wake him up…”
Defeated, he sighed and plopped down on the ground against the wall. “…I’m scared…”
Ueda spared him a sympathetic look, “me too…”
-------------------------
He was reentering the room when the younger man finally awoke, flooded with relief, he asked quietly, “sorry, did I wake you up?”
The other shook his head weakly, “Jin…”
“What is it?”
“Did you ever figure out what I meant when I said that you saved me?”
He shook his head, “no…”
The waiter gave a soft smile, “I’ll give you a hint then…it was the first time we met…”
-------------------------
When the doctor’s report came in, his world took a dive once more.
Name: Kamenashi Kazuya
Tumor has continued to spread at an unexpectedly rapid pace, severe damage has been done to the patient’s visual, somatic, motor cortex, and cerebellum. Patient has little or no feeling in his limbs and is unable to move without aid. With the disease’s growth rate, the patient is in danger of having the tumor reach his brain stem.
Life expectancy of the patient: 2 weeks max.
-------------------------
On the day before his concert, he was at the hospital with a rose in his hand. The others had left the room to give him what little time he had with the waiter.
He leaned over and kissed the other on the head softly, “Kame…”
Slowly, the younger man’s unseeing eyes fluttered open, his voice barely audible, “…Jin? Good morning…”
The feeling of his heart being clamped painfully tight never left his chest as he watched the other. Kame had become pale and bony from lack of appetite and painfully sleepless nights. He didn’t have to ask how the other was feeling, it was obvious. “Guess what,” he smiled softly, “I’m going to bring you a surprise tomorrow…”
The waiter was trying his best to express his excitement with a smile, “What is it…?”
“I can’t tell you or else it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?”
Kame gave a soft huff, though it sounded more like a sigh, “Fine…I guess I’ll just have to stick around for another day…won’t I?”
“Yea…” he muttered, with his free hand clenched into a tight fist, “I guess you do…”
-------------------------
The next day, he presented a phone and a headset to the other. Kame pursed his lips, “…what is this?”
Jin put it on, “Idiot…like I said before, if you can’t make it to my concert, I’ll bring the concert to you.”
“Lean in a bit…”
He did as he was told, “what is it?”
Kame placed a soft kiss on his cheek, “thank you, Jin…”
-------------------------
While he was backstage, he put on his headset, “…Kame?”
He could hear the other’s quiet breathing, “…hm?”
The singer adjusted the device a bit and informed the other, “I’m backstage right now, the concert’s going to start in about five minutes…Ryo-chan and Pi are going to be singing with me too…”
A sigh, “I wish I was there…”
Jin closed his eyes and let out a soft smile, “What are you talking about, Kame? You’re right here beside me…”
-------------------------
As he made his way up towards the stage, once more into the deafening cheers and blinding lights, he whispered into the mouthpiece,
“I love you…”
Whether he received a reply or not, he never heard…
-------------------------
During his short water break, before the encore, he turned up the volume of his headset, “it’s almost over, Kame…”
Up on the stage, his friends called his name loudly. He took a deep breath and ran back up with a loud cheer. Ryo looked over, “you’re not singing for the encore?”
He raised a brow and stood beside the other, huffing indignantly, “What are you talking about, of course I am, but this is a special song!”
Pi walked over to his other side, “Oh? How so?”
“Well, this song’s never been heard before, so you guys are the first people to hear it.”
The shorter singer stretched, “really now? You’ve caught my attention. What’s it called?”
“It’s called Hesitate.” He lowered his mike and spoke into the mouthpiece,
“Hey Kame…this is for you…”
-------------------------
As he sang, he lost control of his tears and they began welling up and running down his face on their own accord. All the noise and cheers were drowned out as he sang as loudly as he could, feeling that he'd explode if he didn't express everything he could in those words, that melody…
This bond…
When the song came to an end, amidst the roars of the crowd and the encouragements from his friends, he could only hear one voice.
“…ne, Jin…ganbatte…”
-------------------------
He never heard Kame speak again.
-------------------------
A/N: Hmm...there's...2-3 chapters left of this fic, can't decide where to cut them off so we'll see. And ha-ha! I updated 2 days in a row! Except the last one was cheery and this one was more...yea...This is somewhat a challenge for myself so write a good tearjerker ;P So far so good? Enjoy!