Days I Chased After (Emi)

[Ryuu]

Ryuu stood near the entrance of the school, standing underneath one of the trees that was located around the school. He stared up at the blue sky above him, a few clouds drifting across the sky, as the light breeze blew his hair back, his gray overcoat fluttering slightly. It was hard to believe that his girlfriend, Emi, who had left him without any notice had returned about a couple weeks ago, but Ryuu hadn't seen her around lately, despite the fact he had received about a dozen missed phone calls from her on his cellphone. He pulled his iPhone out, and scrolled through his address book, before stopping at Emi's name. He stared at it for a few seconds, before shoving his iPhone back into his track pants pocket once more. Despite the fact she broke his heart, he still cared very much about her. The sunlight shined down on him, turning his black hair brown, he sighed softly as he closed his eyes.

Emi... Where are you? I want to see you, to talk to you, to know that you're okay. Ryuu still cared about Emi as a close friend, but his heart had already long become attached to someone else, someone whom he had started out watching and protecting as a promise, but overtime, became really close friends with, and now loved. Emily. Lost in his thoughts, Ryuu did not hear the footsteps coming behind him. Only when he heard a noise behind him did he open his eyes, and turn his head slowly. "!" Was his reaction, as his eyes widened in surprise. "I...it's you..." He said softly, his eyes now changing into an expression of relief, before he turned his head away, unable to look any longer. "You're okay...I'm glad..." He said, the last two words too low to hear.

[Emi Hitokata]

ooc: Ack short. Sorry. Been distracted.

In front of her stood a tall Asian male, his black hair turning brown from the sun. He didn't have to turn around for her to recognize who it was.

So many feelings began to surface inside her. She didn't know if she was hurt, angry, or happy that she got to see her boyfriend again. However, she did know that a rift that begun to form between her and her boyfriend. She wasn't even sure if they would be able to stay together much longer.

Plus, Nick entered the picture. She felt bad about cheating on Ryuu and didn't think that she would ever have the guts to admit what she did to another guy. Maybe it was just better for them to separate and move on with their lives.

"Ryuu."

She walked forward with a fake smile plastered on her face. However, no expression could hide how tired and sad her eyes looked.

"I tried to call you, but you didn't answer. Did you change your number?"

Emi wrapped her arms around the Japanese boy. Even if she no longer loved him, a part of her still wanted to remain friends. Plus, she still worried about what had been happening to him the past few days. How did he cope with her sudden disappearance?

"Sorry I left so suddenly. I had to go to a funeral in Japan."

[Ryuu]

"Emi..." Ryuu said quietly, his eyes just as weary and sad as Emi's were, a sad smile on his face. As soon as he heard her familiar voice behind him, he slowly turned. Was it, could it be? It was. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of her. Reira. Was he dreaming? No, he wasn't, he had one hand in his pocket, and pinched his leg, feeling pain shoot up his leg. If he was dreaming, he wouldn't feel pain. It was really Emi. He didn't know whether to feel happy, sad, hurt, or all three, now that he was standing face to face with his girlfriend. But this much was true. A rift had begun to form between the two of them, and he didn't know how much longer they could stay together, now that Ryuu loved Emily, even kissing her twice. It was probably for the best that neither knew about what the other had been doing, sparing the both of them unnecessary drama.

"No," Ryuu replied, shaking his head, "I've just been busy with training, and didn't get the chance to check my cellphone until after. I would've returned your call, but by the time I same your call, it was too late." And that was true. To cope with his heart having been broken, Ryuu spent almost all his time training by himself or with Emily. Ryuu's eyes looked surprised at first as Emi wrapped her arms around him, then his expression softened, and he smiled gently, for the first time in a really long time, a real genuine smile, as he shook his head. "It's okay, I was worried about you, I wondered every day if you were alright. It drove me nearly crazy, but now that I know you're okay, I'm glad..." Even though Emi had broken his heart and he no longer loved her anymore, he still cared about her, and wanted to stay good friends with her.

"I'm... Sorry about your loss." Ryuu said sympathetically, as he wrapped his arms around Emi, hugging her gently. ["If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know, okay?"]

[Emi Hitokata]

"Oh..."

Training? For what? She assumed that Ryuu was doing some sort of extracurricular that required him to practice constantly. He could have even had games to play. Emi understood perfectly; she remembered having soccer practice everyday, even on weekends, just so she could get better. Those days, she remembered, were very busy.

If only she knew what Ryuu did when she wasn't around. She would be very shocked to hear of the fights he got himself into.

"Well, don't push yourself too much. I understand that you have many things to do."

She smiled and rubbed his back. "I'm just sorry that I left so fast. If I had more time, I would have sent you a longer text," she apologized again.

They hugged for at least half a minute until Emi pulled away. She felt awkward, and something was beginning to feel wrong about this meeting. How were you supposed to meet a guy that you hadn't seen for almost a month? Her relationship with Nick didn't help, either.

"I think we need to talk," she finally said. Immediately after, she mentally slapped herself. The way she said her words sounded like she wanted to say something really bad. Well, she was going to say something bad, but she wanted to treat everything casually to make the blow less painful.

[Ryuu]

"I know, I know, I promise I won't." Ryuu replied, smiling slightly as he felt Emi rub his back. "It's alright, don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're here and alright." He said reassuringly, as the two of them hugged for about half a minute before he pulled away from her, he felt Emi pull away from him as well, a reasonable space between the two of them, as Ryuu rubbed the back of his head. It felt awkward between the two of them, especially considering he hadn't seen Emi for over a month, and during that time, he had grown closer to Emily, and it wasn't just from the training the two of them did, but the casual days the two of them spent with each other. But training with Emily wasn't the only thing he had been doing, he had also been fighting quite a bit, though he had gotten stronger.

"Um, sure." He said, sounding slightly unsure, as he lead the way to one of the benches located underneath the trees, as he unwittingly chose the bench he had been sitting at when he had first met Emi. He then sat down, as he motioned to Emi to sit down next to him. He had a feeling what they were going to be talking about wasn't going to pretty, and more than likely, the two of them were going to part ways after this, though he hoped that the two of them would remain friends still. "What is it?" He asked, as he fixed his gaze on Emi, a look of mild curiosity on his face.

[Emi Hitokata]

"I..."

She paused, unable to bring up the courage to tell Ryuu what she wanted to tell him. Although her feelings for Ryuu were not as strong as they were before, she still didn't have the guts to end the relationship. Her worst fear was that he would take her rejection badly and never talk to her again, which she did not want. A part of her still wanted to be friends with Ryuu, since there were few Japanese people or every guys in the area that she could get along with so well.

"Are you mad at me?"

Emi couldn't breach the topic of their relationship. Yet, she had to think of something to say since he was actually waiting for her to talk about something serious. Her question was one of the many that had ran through her mind the past few days, but did not hold as much importance as the other topics she wanted to discuss. Technically, she wasn't lying, but she felt like a dirty liar.

"You know, for leaving so suddenly? How did you feel?"

She looked down and bit her lip. Somehow, her hand felt for Ryuu's and couldn't help but not have him close. She stroked his right hand before she realized what she was doing. Quickly, she pulled away. Hopefully, he would take that as only a sign of friendly rejection instead of something more romantic.

[Ryuu]

Ryuu shook his head, as he looked away from Emi and stared up at the sky. "I'm not mad at you, even though you left so suddenly." Ryuu then turned his head back towards Emi, looking at her once more, a slightly sad smile on his face. "I felt hurt and heartbroken, since you left without any notice, but certainly not mad." Ryuu said, smiling kindly as he saw Emi look down and bite her lip. He then felt his hand being held and saw that Emi had taken his right hand into her own and began to stroke it, before realizing what she was doing, and pulled away quickly, as Ryuu slowly moved his hand away, both his hands now gripping the edge of the bench. He knew that the two of them had drifted apart from each other, and anyone who thought otherwise, was kidding themselves. "... We've drifted apart from each other," Ryuu began to say, as he slowly turned his head back to Emi, smiling sadly once more, "It's pretty obvious that there aren't any feelings between the two of us anymore."

The fact that Emi had pulled her hand away almost immediately was a sign that she was rejecting him, but not in a romantic way, but a friendly way, and Ryuu realized that. "But I don't want to let that stop us from staying friends. I may not have feelings for you anymore, but I still care about you as a friend." It was pretty obvious what was happening. Ryuu was breaking up with Emi, officially rejecting her. Although he was perfectly fine with it, he wasn't sure how Emi would take it, hopefully she wouldn't take it badly and end up avoiding and never talking to him again. "I don't want to lose you as a friend just because we're breaking up..."

[Emi Hitokata]

The words were out of his mouth before Emi could even say a thing. He saved her the trouble of feeling guilty about herself for being the one that had to break up the relationship. However, he was right: there was nothing between them anymore. It was funny how two weeks in Japan could change everything that was happening in California.

"Wakatteruyo. Ryuu no shiawasenara, kohouhou ga iiyone."
(I understand. If it's for your happiness, then this method is best.)

She stood up and smiled down at him before switching back to English. "You'll take care, right? Hopefully, you'll find someone that can do a better job at being a girlfriend than me." Briefly, her smile faded and she bit her lip. However, she forced the grin back on her face, just to show him that there were no hard feelings between them over the whole breakup.

Emi had Nick, but that still didn't mean that breaking up with someone was fun.

"I have to go home. Bye Ryuu."

Her farewell sounded as if today would be the last time that she would ever see Ryuu. They would be able to see each other in the halls, but she felt as if things would never be the same between them again. How could they find the courage to talk to each other after this?

[Ryuu]

Ryuu nodded his head, returning Emi's smile. "You take care too. I hope you find some who'll be a better boyfriend than I am, and if you already have, I hope you and him stay together and make each other happy. Cherish every moment you have and spend with each other, make every moment count. I know I have..." Ryuu replied quietly, as he saw Emi's smile fade as she bit her lip. But just as quick as her smile faded, it was back, as he smiled slightly, there were no hard feelings between the two of them from the breakup, and he was glad for that. Ryuu didn't want to lose Emi as a friend just because of something like this. Ryuu had Emily now, but still, breaking up with someone was never fun in the first place.

"Bye..." Ryuu replied, giving her a small wave, he'd watch her leave, as he stayed sitting on the bench. Her farewell made it sound like they would never see each other again, but the truth of the matter was, they'd be seeing each other in the halls, but the situation between the two of them had changed, nothing was like it was before. It would be hard to talk to each other after this, but Ryuu hoped they could still be friends, though he wasn't sure if they could even do that. But he did know one thing, he hoped Emi would be happy with whoever she would find, or was already with. Looking up at the sky for a few minutes, he then stood up, and turned, walking the opposite way that Emi had gone. It was time to complete move on.

(End thread)