Ren had come back from his training camp some time ago. He had come over to Yuko's house to have some lunch, and she told him about taking Takiyo to Yuuki's grave. He listened silently, and then nodded.

"Yuko, you're leaving something out." Ren's older brother, Taiga said. He happened to have come along.

"No, nothing important, really." Yuko said, thinking. Then an unpleasant memory came to her and she shuddered.

"There is something, right?" Ren asked, leaning forward.

"Um..." Yuko didn't really want to recount it, because she already knew what Ren and Taiga's reactions would be. They kept pressing on, and then Yuko gave in. "I came across a groper." Yuko said finally.

Ren and Taiga's eyes widened. Three...two...one...

"Who was it?! Tell me! I'll rip them limb from limb!!" Taiga yelled, standing on the table.

"Calm down, Taiga-kun!" Yuko said. "You're going a little overboard."

"What did he do to you? Huh? Huh? I'll never forgive him!" Ren shouted, slamming his hands on the table.

"Calm down, Ren. He didn't do anything." Yuko said, flustered.

"Eh?!" Ren and Taiga yelled.

"Takiyo-kun was with me!" Yuko said.

"Takiyo was the groper?!" Ren asked, grabbing her shoulders.

"Who's this Takiyo? I will pummel him!" Taiga said, punching his hand.

"Seriously, calm down, both of you!" Yuko finally screamed. "Listen to what you are saying! Why would Takiyo-kun be the groper? Are you nuts? I meant he was there with me to save me!"

"Oh..." Ren let go and sat back down, and so did Taiga. Then they mumbled, "Whoever it is, I will not forgive the groper." With a menacing aura.

"I told him about how you suck at using chopsticks." Yuko said.

"You did?!" Ren yelled, and Taiga burst out laughing.

"I showed him the picture too!" Yuko added.

Ren banged his head on the table. "Yuko....why would you do that...." he groaned.

"Shut up. He was bound to find out anyway." Yuko said firmly. "Anyway, that wasn't the point of inviting you here."

"Hm? Then what is?" Ren asked, raising his head.

"I...I've been thinking...about performing in the show that's coming up." Yuko muttered. Ren and Taiga caught her words, though.

"Show?" Ren asked.

"The gymnastics show your mom is setting up." Yuko said, louder this time.

Ren and Taiga were silent for sometime. Then Taiga spoke, "Are you sure about that, Yuko?"

"A hundred percent!!" Yuko said determinedly. "I'm gonna perform in the show!"

"Yuko... you're not obligated too." Ren told her softly. "Oka-san isn't forcing you or anything."

"I still wanna do it!" Yuko said.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Taiga asked, concerned.

Yuko stood up and gathered their plates. "I won't know till I try! Plus, I'm much better now!"

She exited the room, and Ren and Taiga gave each other concerned looks.

"Hey, doesn't she remember? That one time?" Taiga asked.

"What happened?" Ren asked in return.

"You don't remember either?" Taiga looked flustered. "Either way, I don't think it's a good idea for Yuko to participate in the show."

"Me neither." Ren sighed. "But she's bent on doing it. I think we're finally going to have to bust out her anxiety tablets."

***

"What?"

"Yup. I'm totally gonna perform." Yuko said into her phone.

"Hey, hey, are you sure about that?" Takiyo asked.

"Absolutely. I'm giving myself a challenge." Yuko said, picking her nails.

"Mm..."

"And so, since I'm challenging myself, I'm gonna give you challenge too!" Yuko said suddenly, sitting up straight.

"What?"

"You know the festival at the end of summer, right? I challenge you to invite Michi-chan to the festival."

Takiyo nearly dropped his phone. He steadied his grip and said, "Are you crazy? She'd obviously want to go with Ishida."

"Still!" Yuko insisted. "I gave myself a challenge, so you should accept yours too!"

"Are you serious?" Takiyo asked, sweat-dropping.

"Absolutely. And if you don't...I'll..." Yuko thought for some time.

"You'll...?"

"Tell Michi-chan you have an in-grown toenail!"

"WHAT?"

"Yes, you heard me. So you better do it."

"...Fine. But one condition."

"What?"

"You invite Anzai-senpai to see your show."

Yuko choked. "W-w-what?!" she yelled. "But my challenge was already enough."

"If you don't invite him, I'm telling him you have an in-grown toenail."

"... you're a monster."

"Deal or no deal?"

"...deal."

"Then that's decided. Later."

"Yeah, later."

Takiyo cut the phone call and the moment he did, the doorbell rang. His mother got it, and instantly went into a good mood.

"Arisu-chan!" she said happily.

"Riko-san, is Takin home?" Arisu asked quickly.

"Ah, he is. Let me call him." Mrs. Hamasaki turned and yelled, "Takiyo! You have a visitor!"

Confused, Takiyo came down the stairs.

"Sorry for the intrusion." Arisu said, coming in. A tall, young woman came in behind her, muttering the same. Arisu looked up at Takiyo and said, "Hiya, Takin!!"

Takiyo gave her a questioning look. Arisu seemed to identify both questions he wanted to ask.

"This is my older sister, Shiko-chan." Arisu said, pointing at the young woman. She bowed slightly. She looked like the rebellious version of Arisu, with dark brown hair that had blonde highlights, tied in a messy bun, and three piercings in each ear. It was surprising how much she looked like Arisu, although she didn't have a single airhead feel about her. She looked kind of scary.

Takiyo quickly bowed to her too. Arisu smiled. "Shiko-chan wanted to come along, because she wanted to meet you."

"I see." Takiyo replied, unnerved.

"Secondly, did Yu-chan call you?" Arisu asked quickly.

"She did." Takiyo replied. "Firstly, sit down."

Arisu and Shiko sat down in the sofa, and Mrs. Hamasaki said, "I'll get some tea." Takiyo sat opposite to them.

"Anyway, Yu-chan called me a while ago." Arisu said, talking very fast. "After that, I called Rekkun. Then I came here. She called you, right? Did she tell you?"

"You came here for that?" Takiyo asked. "Yes, she did call me. I just finished talking to her, then you rang the doorbell."

"What do you think?" Arisu asked eagerly.

Takiyo rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not really sure. I mean, if she wants to do it, let her. Right?"

"You don't get it." Arisu said, shaking her head. "When I called Rekkun, he told me that his brother told him that when Yu-chan was younger, she tried to perform gymnastics once too. She was very small back then. I think around six."

Shiko suddenly seemed to sit up. Takiyo thought she was concerned for Yuko, but she said, "That hot guy from your class has a brother?"

"Shut up. Yes, he is older, and don't go anywhere near him." Arisu said sternly without looking at her. Shiko sagged down in her seat again. Arisu continued, "Anyway, he told me that back then, Yu-chan had an intense breakdown right on the stage. That's when they found out she had social anxiety. She had a major anxiety attack."

"Is that even possible from such a young age?" Takiyo asked.

"Yu-chan has been like that since she was born," Arisu explained. "But her parents just thought she was a shy baby."

Takiyo's immediate thought was that he made it worse by asking her to invite Saburo.

"What's wrong, Takin?" Arisu asked, seeing the look on his face.

"I...I told her to invite Anzai-senpai." Takiyo said.

"Hm..." Arisu started thinking. Then she looked up again. "Can we talk Yu-chan out of it?"

"She was pretty stuck to doing it." Takiyo mused.

"Would she listen to you?" Arisu asked.

"If she didn't listen to Muranaka, she definitely wouldn't listen to me." Takiyo said. "Have you tried?"

"No." Arisu said. "But...I have seen Yu-chan with an anxiety attack before." She added in an undertone.

"You have?" Takiyo asked. "When?"

Arisu didn't expect him to hear. But she replied, "I don't really wanna talk about it. But it was very minor back then. Ren was able to do something about it. But I think the performance is going to make it happen at a larger scale. I don't want to see that."

Takiyo gritted his teeth.

Meanwhile, Yuko was slumped over the sofa. Mrs. Muranaka came charging into the room, followed by Aya. She grabbed Yuko by the shoulders and shook her.

"What are you talking about?" she said hysterically.

"Muranaka-sensei..." Yuko took some time to process what was happening.

"This!" Muranaka-sensei pointed at the email Yuko had sent her some time ago. "You're participating in the show?"

"I am." Yuko replied.

"Are you crazy? Don't you remember what happened last time?" Muranaka-sensei screeched.

"Last time...?" Yuko looked confused. Ren and Taiga hadn't told her about her previous breakdown yet.

"What is Oka-san talking about?" Aya asked, looking up at Muranaka-sensei. Muranaka-sensei ignored her.

"Are you seriously serious?" she asked Yuko again.

Yuko was starting to get annoyed. "Do you think I'm that incompetent that I can't pull off a single performance?"

"No, Yuko, that's not what I..." Muranaka-sensei began.

Yuko stood up. "At least have faith in me! I may not be able to do it, but I can try! I'll practice a lot, I'll train a lot. I'll make sure my performance is perfect! I'll do all the hard work! I understand that you're worried, and everyone is worried! But please, at least have faith in me and believe in me. It will make me feel better. I promise, I'll try very, very hard! Just lend me your support!"

Muranaka-sensei stared at Yuko. Then she smiled. "Okay, then." she said softly. She backed away, and said, "You have my full support, Yuko. I'll just tell you...be careful. And good luck."

"You'll be training me!" Yuko told her. Muranaka-sensei nodded, and left the room. Aya looked at Yuko, then asked, "Why did Yuko-chan yell at Oka-san?"

"I yelled?" Yuko asked, covering her mouth in horror.

"You did. I think you made Oka-san cry." Aya said.

"I did?" Yuko looked petrified. Aya, seeing the effect she had on Yuko, quickly said, "I'm kidding, just kidding."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Okay then." Yuko sighed. She spread out her arms. "C'mere." she said brightly.

Aya leapt into her arms and gave her a big hug. "Yuko-chan should become stronger." she whispered. "You should become better. That's what Yuuki-chan wanted. And when he comes back, he should see you in much better light."

Yuuki isn't coming back, Aya. Yuko thought, hugging her more tightly. Aya was very attached to Yuuki when she was younger. He was a huge part of her childhood. She admired him. She couldn't bring herself to accept his death so suddenly. She convinced herself that Yuuki would come back some day, even though it was impossible.

Yuko also blamed herself for this. If she had told her something, or given her some sort of heads-up, she could have been able to slowly accept his death. Aya was only eight when he died. Nobody had the heart to tell her Yuuki wasn't going to come back.

Ever.

***

That night, Ren, Takiyo and Arisu all received texts from Yuko. They all said the same thing.

Yuko/Nishikawa/Yu-chan:
Please have faith in me.