A/N: Happy 10th chapter (AKA Season Finale)! Please use caution as you read! Also, this chapter is two long chapters combined into one so please please please make sure that you allocate A TON of time to read it if you want to read this in one sitting :) 

--

12 hours of nightfall may seem long for many but for Ryosuke and Rio, the morning sun that rose the next day came a lot faster than they expected.

Rio stared at her tired expression in the mirror and let out a sigh. Two weeks ago, she was counting down to the day of Ryosuke's departure. Yet, why was she now so disappointed now that the day for him to leave had finally come? 

Was it really because it was unexpected or was it because she knew that she felt something towards him?

After splashing some water on her face, Rio wiped the water beads away with a towel. Then curving her fingers into two fists, she raised them in the air before bringing them back down in front of her chest to assure herself that everything was going to be okay.

Taking one last deep breath, she opened the door and approached the living room, hoping to surprise Ryosuke with a homemade breakfast. However, she was surprised to see that he was already awake with his bags already packed.

"Morning..." She uttered, walking over to him. 

Surprised by Rio's greeting, he turned around in an instant. "Oh, morning." He greeted back, zipping his duffle bag before placing it on the floor. "You're up early." 

"I couldn't really sleep much."

"Me neither..." The boy replied. "Hence why all of my belongings are already packed and it's not even 7 yet." 

"How are you planning on bringing your stuff back?" 

"Dai-chan will be over later around 11 am so I still have 4 more hours." 

"I see." Rio nodded, glancing at all of his packed bags. "Before you go, can I ask you for one favor?" 

"What is it?" 

"Can we make breakfast together?" She asked. "Sorry if it's a lame request. I just thought that since I won't ever get to try your cooking anymore, I'd at least remember one of your recipes to re-create a dish." 

Ryosuke found himself smiling at Rio's request "It's not lame at all." He assured her. "In fact, I'd actually really enjoy that."

--

A dish that took relatively only 30 minutes to make ended up taking 2 hours to create. It wasn't that there were many steps and techniques involved- in fact, Rio was also really quick to learn them. The two were just finding themselves enjoying each other's company so much that time had ticked on without them realizing it.

After finishing their meal, they ended up sitting on the sofa just talking bout random things while laughing at each other's rebuttals. Neither of them paid attention to any of the news on the television. However, like how all great things need to eventually come to an end, 2 more hours had passed and 11 came around quicker than they wanted it to. 

As soon as Rio glanced at the clock, she couldn't help but feel suffocated from the overwhelming amount of disappointment. Because Daiki was running late, the two had an extra to spend together but 60 minutes was nothing compared to a lifetime of separation ahead.

This time, it was Ryosuke's turn to notice Rio's spaced-out reaction. "I'd figure that you'd be happier now that I'm leaving." He said, pulling her attention back to the present. "Am I wrong?" 

"Sorry no, I was just thinking about what I should do first now that I'm free." She explained, forcing a smile on her face. Yet, without even looking at the boy next to her, she knew she'd be a fool for thinking she could lie to him.

Rio couldn't even lie to herself.

"Actually..." She began again, sighing after the first word. "I'm just really going to miss you."

Ryosuke wasn't expecting to hear those words from Rio. He furrowed his eyebrows and firmed his lips. "You're not joking this time... are you?"

Before Rio could respond, the sound of the doorbell echoed the room and Ryosuke mentally cursed Daiki for his poor timing. "I'll get it." He mumbled, walking over to open the door for his friend.

"Yo." Daiki greeted, raising a hand in correspondence. 

"You're late." 

"Thanks for the compliment. I was hoping that the two of you would appreciate the extra hour."

Ryosuke dropped his eyebrows at Daiki's response and the older one sighed. "Sorry, I sort of overslept..." He explained. "I didn't sleep last night until 5 am." 

After making a mental note to ask his friend about his dilemma later, Ryosuke made his way back into the living room with Daiki trailing right behind him. 

"Oh hey, Rio-chan...." Daiki greeted.

"Hey, Dai-chan." Rio greeted back. "He's all yours."

"Are you really sure you don't want to keep him for another two weeks?" Daiki pouted. "It was a good break without having him text me every other minute."

Ryosuke rolled his eyes at the latter's response before smacking him lightly on the back of his head. "Because you said that, I'll make sure to annoy you even more."

"How fun." Daiki joked, taking hold of half of the duffle bags. "I'm going to bring these down first. I'll be back for the second half." 

After the older one disappeared, Ryosuke glanced back at Rio who was trying her best not to smile at the exchange from just now. "You really do have a habit of picking fights for fun." 

"Well, I choose my battles wisely." He smiled back, winking at her in return. 

Wanting to give Ryosuke a proper send-off, Rio shifted her weight to her feet before approaching the boy. After stopping right in front of him, she noticed for the first time how much taller he was compared to her. 

"I meant what I said before... that I'm going to miss you." She began, looking at him directly. "But I'm sure that your girlfriend misses you a lot more. She seems like a sweet girl so be sure to treasure her with your second chance at life." 

Rio's words were enough to heal and break Ryosuke's heart at the exact same time. Feeling his words get caught in his throat, he decided to show his appreciation to her instead by pulling her into a sudden hug. 

The girl was immediately taken back by his actions. Although her mind was filled with confused thoughts, her heart felt at ease by the sense of his touch. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her own arms around him, taking in his scent while feeling his body against hers for one last time. 

By the time they parted, the two took a step back and exchanged reassuring smiles, not for themselves- but for each other. About a minute later, Daiki reappeared at the entrance to grab the last of Ryosuke's belongings. "Are you ready to go, Ryo?" He asked, leaning his back against the door frame. 

The latter nodded, taking in one last glance at the girl he loved before turning around to follow Daiki out the door. 

"I'll see you around, Rio."

"I'll see you too, Ryosuke."

--

Amu took a deep breath as she stared at the wooden door in front of her. 'You've come all this way, Amu. You can do this.' She reassured herself before placing a hand on the door handle then turning it.

"Oh, Kitagawa-san!" The man greeted after recognizing her. "If I remember correctly, JUMP doesn't have any events scheduled for today. What are you doing here?"

"There's actually something I wanted to ask you about...

... Nishida-san." 

Nishida raised an eyebrow at the girl before narrowing his eyes into a squint. He let out a deep breath, leaning back in his chair as he crossed his feet on his desk. "How can I help you today?" He asked, intertwining his fingers before finally placing them on his stomach.

"I'm here today because there's a request that I want to make..."

"What's with all these requests recently? First Yamada and now you?" Nishida asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "You kids are driving me crazy with your personal wishes." 

Amu furrowed her eyebrows at the sudden mention of Ryosuke's name. However, not knowing too much about his current situation, she decided to dismiss it for the time being.

"It's actually not about me." The girl began, cautiously choosing her next few sentences. "It's about Arioka-san and Matsuoka-san."

The names immediately caught the man's attention and in a haste, he placed his feet back onto the floor before rolling his chair closer to his desk. "What about them?!" He asked as if his personality had completely taken a 360-degree turn.

Trying her best not to be intimated by the man's stare, Amu took another deep breath before bowing. "Please allow them to be together again."

Nishida tilted his head as he analyzed Amu's request. "I'm assuming that you must've heard about this from Arioka." He began, rubbing his chin. "Before I respond to your request, I want you to look at my face and answer my question honestly."

"What is it?" Amu asked. 

"You've caught feelings for our Arioka, haven't you?"

Nishida's question took Amu by surprise. She wasn't great at concealing her feelings but she was in no position to tell the truth, especially when the lives of many people were at stake here. "No." Amu replied in her best stern expression. 

But unfortunately, her best wasn't enough to fool JUMP's manager.

"I did tell you not to lie, didn't I?" Nishida smirked, tapping the table with his fingers. He took a brief moment to think about his next words before glancing back at the girl. "You have my word. I'll allow them to be together." 

Amu was stunned by how quickly Nishida agreed. "Thank you." She responded, bowing back at him. However, just as soon as she turned to leave the room, Nishida's voice echoed once more, stopping her in her tracks. 

"I didn't say that I wasn't expecting anything in return." 

Without even knowing the man well, Amu could tell that the conversation was taking a turn for the worse. "What is it that you want?" She asked, refusing to meet his intimidating glare.

"Give me your word that you will not get involved with Arioka Daiki after today. Everything must be strictly professional." 

"... And if I don't?" 

"Then I'll assure you that you'll be blacklisted from working in this industry ever again." The man said, pulling out his drawer before throwing an envelope on the table. "In the meantime, you can go ahead and pass this to the girl that Yamada has been living with. You and Yamada Rio are best friends aren't you?" 

"What is this?" 

"It's her compensation check for fulfilling her end of the deal." 

Not wanting to be in the room anymore, Amu walked back over to the desk to grab the envelope before quickly hurrying out. As soon as she left, the man burst into laughter and clapped his hands in amusement.

"Just a bit longer and JUMP will finally be done for good." Nishida grinned, standing up from his seat before turning around to glance out the window. 

"Yamada... Arioka... I will make sure that the two of you will experience a very very lonely death...

... even if I have to sacrifice a few additional players."

--

Rio laid on her bed in silence with only the sound of the clock echoing throughout the room. It was strange without Ryosuke around. She didn't have to return to work for another 2 weeks and she didn't know what to do with all this extra time on her hands. 

Just as Rio thought about potentially tidying up the apartment- again, the doorbell rang, and she sat up in confusion. 

Wondering who it could be, she made her way to the front door before opening it to reveal her best friend on the other side. "Amu-chan." She uttered, having not seen her for over a week.

"Sorry Rio, I hope I wasn't bothering you..." Amu began. "Nishida told me to give this envelope to you. He said that it's your compensation check for completing the deal?" She asked in a confused tone as she passed the envelope over. "I thought Yama was staying at your place for two more weeks."

"He actually moved out today... and there's so much I have to tell you." Rio sighed. "But first of all, why were you at the Jimsuho today? I thought you were off?"

"It's... a long story too."

"Come in." Rio insisted. "I think we need to catch up on some overdue girl talk."

After stepping into Rio's apartment, Amu closed the door and followed the older one into the living room. Everything was already back to the way things were. Rio's place was so organized to the point that nobody would've ever guessed that another person had been living here for the past 2 weeks. "Why did he move out so suddenly? Was he already healed?" 

"He wasn't fully healed yet." Rio answered, shaking her head. "Nishida suddenly allowed him to return back to his apartment so Ryosuke made the decision to go back early."

"Eh? Nishida said so?" Amu asked, raising an eyebrow. "Nishida told me that Yama made a request just recently."

"Perhaps, he requested to leave?" Rio asked, feeling the disappointment even more. "I didn't know he disliked being here that much." 

Amu quickly noticed Rio's sudden change in expression and she firmed her lips in curiosity. "Rio-chan, do you by any chance have feelings for him?" 

"Even if I said yes, there is nothing I can do to change the situation. He's planning to propose to his girlfriend anyways... not just that but Yuto he..." Rio paused."He confessed to me two days ago." 

"Ehhhh?!" Amu exclaimed, covering in complete surprise. "Did you say yes?" 

Rio shook her head. "I haven't given him an answer yet." 

"What's holding you back?" The younger one asked, repeating the same question Ryosuke asked her that night. Except for this time, she couldn't use him as an excuse. 

He was already gone. 

"I think I just needed some time to organize my thoughts," Rio replied. "Anyways, you haven't answered my question before about the Jimusho." She added in an attempt to change the subject of the conversation. "Don't tell me you're already having to work overtime." 

"No, no. It's not that." Amu insisted, waving her hands back and forth in front of her. "I just went to the Jimusho to