Forever 5 (Erina End)

The blood in his body ran cold upon reading the note. What did she mean by this? It couldn't be what he thought it was as the boy took a step back from the shock. There was no sign of her anywhere here, so could she have…

No, there was no way. Arata summoned up his courage and flipped over the paper. There was a lot more writing on it that described why she wrote this. It said this:

"I'm assuming whoever is reading this is because you're wondering why I didn't go to school today. Which means you're one of my friends and I really have to apologize." He couldn't believe what was written here. Erina knew she wasn't going to school, but why? "It's just that I can no longer live here in good conscious, so I'm going to begin the proceedings to move back with my father." While it wasn't the best of news, Arata was able to breathe a sigh of relief to hear this wasn't a certain kind of note.

"You're really going back to your dad?" He spoke to himself. "I guess that's probably for the best." The boy continued reading, and it really did not do him much to instill confidence.

"I thought about things." Her note continued. "And… The truth is, I'm just as horrible as my mom. There's a lot I need to fix about myself." He was surprised to hear her writing like this. What exactly happened to cause this line of thinking? "Because, I no longer hold love for Yogi. Because just like her, I'm not truly loyal in love."

"What?" Arata was stunned with the realization that Erina had fallen out of love for his friend. All this time he thought that to be the case. It was no wonder she seemed to be less pushy for that boy.

"And if you're reading this… Arata." She directly addressed him in the letter. "Then, you should know that you don't deserve a terrible person like me… But, I love you." And that was the end of the letter left behind by the girl. The boy stood there alone in the dark in silence. The only sounds being the patter of tears falling atop the page as he began to cry.

"In love? With me?" He spoke, breaking the since. There was only one thing running through his mind as the boy attempted to process what was left behind of her. If she had just written this not too long ago, then…

In a flash, Arata dropped the paper and rushed out the door. He was holding onto a small chance of hope. That she had only just left, and was going to be taking a train ride back to her father to ask to move back again. And even if he was too late, then he would take what little money he had on him to take that ride and find her. No matter what, he wasn't going to let her slip out of his life.

Now he understood his own father. The way he must've felt when Arata's mom said she was moving away. The idea of finally falling in love, only to be told that it was going to leave you the next day. And Erina, she must be feeling something similar to what his mom felt that day too. How they both believed there was no chance for them to find happiness and be with the person they loved.

Arata ran as quick as he could. If she was still here in this town, then she wouldn't be for much longer considering how the trains ran. However, at this rate there might not be a shot for him to make it in time to stop her. Not with all the people around, just going about their business getting in his way. "Sorry, sorry." He said, dodging and weaving among the crowd. "I just need to-"

He unfortunately ran into someone. Causing the pair to tumble over and fall onto the pavement. This was bad, a delay like this could be costly considering the circumstances.

"I'm so sorry." A girl's voice said to him. "I didn't mean to get in your way."

"It's my fault." Arata rushed up to his feet and offered a hand to help her up. "I just need to… Whoa, I can't believe it." Of all the times to be in a rush, the boy had happened to stumble into a real life idol. She was beautiful up close, but of course he already knew that. Her ocean blue hair had gotten a bit messed up from their collision, and it seemed she was also on her way to a performance considering her idol clothes. "Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"It's no problem." She stared him right in the face. It was a bit uncomfortable for him, but for her, she saw something familiar with the look in his eye. "You're on your way to someone, right?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"No time to explain." She quickly got up and took his arm. "We can take the limo there faster than you can run."

"Well, I'm going to the train station."

"Then we need to really get there quick." The way this idol was talking confused him. Perhaps her falling in love with that dude and risking her career in the process had led the girl to be weird. Though he was grateful for the ride, which shaved off a fair 10 minutes on his trip to the station.

"Thanks so much." Arata leaped out of the vehicle and ran inside the station. "And sorry about making you late for the concert!"

At the same time as this was occuring. Erina had been sitting alone, patiently waiting for the train to arrive. Soon enough, it had come right on schedule, which prompted her to get up and begin walking to it. She had a downtrodden look on her face, as she knew this was going to be a major decision that there was no taking back. However, in her mind it was the right thing to do after all the horrible things she had done. Right as she took her first step inside, something grabbed her arm, ripping her backwards. "Wait!"

That voice, she knew whose voice that belonged to. As the girl tumbled backwards, she turned her head to see the desperate look on Arata's face as he pulled her away from the train. He was way too forceful in doing so, as this moved caused the both of them to fall to the ground, with her on top of him.

"Arata? What are you doing here?" She asked, as the announcer called out that the train door were about to close.

"I can't let you leave." He answered, revealing his knowledge of the note. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you're not a bad person."

"But I am." She replied, her tears beginning to form and fall onto him. "I'm just like my mom. I thought I would love Yogi forever, but then I go and… Fall for you instead." She closed her eyes, bracing for him to yell at her.

"You're nothing like your mom." He responded, not with the high intensity of anger, or even desperation. Instead, Arata spoke in a soft, calming nature to help her feel better. "She's a cruel person who abandoned her family." If she left on the train right now, then perhaps there might've been cause to believe she was not different from her own mother. "But I know how hard it was for you to write that note. You don't want to leave us behind at all."

"But, I don't-"

"You do." He cut her off. "You absolutely do belong with us because we all love and cherish you. And we all know you're a better person than you say you are."

"Oh, Arata." She burst out in tears, burying her face into his chest. "I love you so much." She said, muffled by his chest as well as from the doors closing on the train. "But, how can I promise that I won't hurt you like my mom did to dad?"

"Because I trust you." He responded, reaching into his pocket. "And, I know I'll always be able to." She lifted her face from his chest. This was when she saw the slight glimmer of what he was holding in his hands. Arata had produced from his pocket the ring given to him by Hine. "Maybe this isn't the best position to do this in." After all, they were still both laying on the ground of a train station. "But, consider this to be my confession." Then, the boy took her hand and picked out her ring finger. "And my proposal."

Slowly, Arata put the ring on her finger. There was plenty of time for her to reject him, to tell him that she either didn't love him, or wasn't ready to be engaged. However, that would make no sense in her mind. For Erina did love Arata, and she would've loved nothing more than to be engaged to him.

"Arata, it's so beautiful." She spoke, her voice breaking up from the emotions as she took in the sight. Despite thinking of it all the time with Yogi, she never once thought she'd actually be able to leave with this feeling of getting engaged. "I can't believe you're already doing this."

"I realized that… I've been in love with you for a while." Even if in his mind, he had the thought of it while sitting in the hospital bed after his surgery. The truth was, Arata had fallen for the girl for a long time now. This was why he held back for so long after being confessed to. Because his heart truly wanted someone he believed he couldn't have. "And I know I'll love you forever."

"…" Erina smiled deeply at him as they stared into each other's eyes. "And I'll love you forever too." With that, she moved in on him and kissed the boy as they continued to lay on the ground. It was here Arata realized another fact. That Erina had truly fallen for him at the same time he did. All the way back during the fall festival on that fateful night.