A/N: SUPER LONG CHAPTER! Please beware :)

--

"Satoko?" Ryosuke uttered, not expecting to see his girlfriend on the other side of the door. 

"Ryosuke." Satoko greeted back with a smile. However, the curve of her lips slowly resided back to its relaxed form when she realized that he wasn't smiling back at her. "I thought you'd be just a little bit more excited to see me after all this time." 

"Sorry..." Ryosuke apologized, scratching the back of his head. "I was just a bit surprised." 

Rio couldn't help but feel as if her presence was getting in the way of their conversation. Grabbing a light coat and her keys, she quickly proceeded to the door. "I'll let you two have the place to yourselves for a bit." She offered, slipping on her shoes. 

"It's fine, Rio. You don't have to go." The boy insisted. The thought of Rio's absence made him feel uneasy and he wanted her to stay. "It's your apartment after all."

Rio smiled at the two. "It's okay. I think you both have some catching up to do. I'll be at Amu's place for a bit." She assured him before turning to face the taller girl. "I'm Yamada Rio by the way," Rio said, introducing herself with a slight bow. "I'm Ryosu- I mean, Yamada's doctor." 

"Satoko Miyata." Satoko replied back, bowing back to greet her. "Thank you for everything that you do for my boyfriend." 

"Oh- Don't worry about it. It's my job." Rio replied back, waving to the couple before taking a step out of her own unit. She began to quickly make her way towards Amu's unit before eventually hearing her own unit door close behind her.

After glancing back to make sure that she was alone, Rio crouched down where she was and sighed. She buried her head in her arms and closed her eyes. 'You need to get yourself together, Rio... Ryosuke is just your patient. He's nothing more.' She thought to herself. 

But who was she kidding?

She couldn't dismiss the disappointment she felt when Satoko called Ryosuke her boyfriend. Rio knew that he was in a relationship, but she was never expecting to feel this way about it.

The girl was so consumed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice someone walking towards her along the outdoor corridor until the person called her name.

"Rio-chan?"

Confused by the familiar voice, Rio glanced up and was surprised to see Yuto standing not too far away. She immediately straightened her back and stood up, tucking her hair behind her ears to get a better glimpse of the guy in front of her. 

"What are you doing here? I thought you had a reunion party today."

"I didn't go. I just felt like I had to see you..." Yuto paused. "Are you okay? Did Ryo hurt you?" 

"No, he didn't!" Rio quickly denied, waving her hands. "It's just uhm... his girlfriend stopped by so I figured that I should give them some space. Amu is already asleep so I'm just kind of passing the time out here."

"By crouching over in that solemn state?" The boy questioned, raising his eyebrow.

After realizing that he might've asked a question that she didn't want to answer, Yuto pressed his lips together before glancing up to stare up at the clear night sky. "Let's go for a drive. It's been a while since the rain has let up." 

"Eh?" Rio uttered, surprised by the sudden suggestion. "I'd say yes but I left my phone back in my apartment. Not just that, but my outfit doesn't seem too appropriate." The girl frowned, glancing at her jogger pants and hoodie under her coat. 

"I'll text Ryo to let him know that I'll be borrowing you for a bit." The boy winked. "And don't worry about your outfit. We don't have to leave the car. Besides, you're already perfect the way you are." 

Rio was expecting Yuto to follow up on his compliment with a joke- the same way, Ryosuke would always poke fun at her. However instead, Yuto's expression didn't budge.

"You're not kidding?" She asked. 

The latter shook her head. "I don't see how anyone can lie about that." He smiled. "So, what do you say? Want to go on a short night adventure with me?" He asked, offering her his arm. 

The girl couldn't help but smile back at his warm gesture and decided to loop her arm through his. "Where are we going?" She asked as they proceeded down the corridor.

"It's a secret," Yuto whispered. "But I know you're going to love it." 

--

Ryosuke didn't get the chance to protest further against Rio's decision to leave the apartment. After she left, Satoko was quick to invite herself in, closing the door behind her. 

"I see that you two are on a first-name basis now." She noted, taking off her shoes before walking past the boy and into the living room. 

"Rio and I are friends too, you know..." Ryosuke replied, trailing after her steps. "Besides, if it weren't for her then I wouldn't be alive right now." 

"If it weren't for her?" Satoko sighed. "Have you really forgotten who stayed by your side for the past 5 years?" 

"Then why weren't you there when I needed you the most?" The boy quickly responded, raising both of his eyebrows in an interrogative expression. "Ever since Daiki and Mayu broke up, you started distancing yourself from me. And when I thought things couldn't get any worse, you didn't even bother visiting me once when I was admitted into the hospital- let alone, visit me here in the past few weeks." 

Ryosuke paused, hoping that Satoko could provide him the answer to the question he had spent months trying to figure out on his own. To his dismay, she decided to keep silent and he sighed in frustration. "If you have nothing else to say then I think you should leave."

"I'm just..." Satoko began, feeling tears swell in her eyes. "I'm just afraid of losing you. I've been spending the past 2 months preparing myself by putting distance between us... Just in case we end up like them."

Ryosuke shook his head. "You're not afraid of losing me. You're just afraid of ending a long relationship." He clarified, pausing to lean his body against the wall. "If you were afraid of losing me then you would've fought as I did, but instead, you chose to run."

He folded his arms and looked carefully at the girl that he considered to be his entire world only just a month ago. Yet standing in front of her today, he couldn't help but feel like he's talking to complete stranger. "Why are you really here today?"

Satoko dropped her shoulders, letting the bag that hunged there just a second ago drop to her hands. "I wanted to make amends." She began, taking a step closer to her boyfriend. "I wanted to apologize for allowing us to grow so far apart. If you can give me another chance, I promise that I'll make it up to you."

Ryosuke couldn't help but sympathize with the girl's apology. Yet, before he could utter a single word, Satoko spoke up once more- causing him to completely forget everything he was just about to say.

"Come back home with me. I can be the one taking care of you instead. All I need are your medical instructions."

"Satoko- you know I can't do that." 

"Why?" The girl asked, raising her tone in frustration. "Is it because of her?" 

"N-no... it's just..." Ryosuke began but paused halfway when he realized he couldn't tell her the reason why. "... my manager's orders." He concluded.

The girl nodded, her expression filled with disappointment from his vague answer. "I see." She said, glancing over at his suitcase. She could see that his game console was still perfectly tucked away- a sign that he never once touched it in this apartment. "I didn't know that you cared more about your job than our relationship." 

Ryosuke sighed. "You know that's not true."

"Then come home. Please." Satoko pleaded once more in a whisper. She lowered her eyelids, leaning in to place a kiss on Ryosuke's lips. As their lips met, Ryosuke couldn't help but feel that something seemed off. The spark that he used to feel was no longer there. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, he pulled away, placing both of his hands on her shoulders to place some space between the two. 

"Sorry- I..." He began, struggling to find the words to describe his actions just now. Even he didn't know why he backed away like that. The girl he had spent the past months wishing for attention from was finally paying attention to him. Yet, somehow his attention remained somewhere else...

... on someone else.

"It's okay. I know what your answer is... to me, and our relationship." She replied, proceeding back out to the foyer. 

Ryosuke didn't protest this time. He watched as the girl slip her shoes back on before opening the door once more. The two exchanged solemn glances before the door slammed shut, encasing them in their own separate worlds. 

'What did I do?' He thought, sliding his back against the wall before letting his bottom hit the wooden floor. 

--

Yuto and Rio didn't say much in the car ride. It wasn't that they didn't know what to say. Rather than having a conversation, they felt comfortable around each other's silence- just simply enjoying each other's company. 

The two left the bustling area of Tokyo and in no time, they were driving up an area with a large incline. 

"I forgot to ask, but you're not afraid of heights are you?" Yuto asked, his gaze set on the road in front of them. 

"Nope." Rio answered, shaking her head. "But please tell me you're not about to make me bungee jump off a cliff." 

Yuto chuckled. "No, not today at least." He replied, slowly putting the brakes on the car before halting it to a complete stop. "We're here." He announced, unbuckling his seatbelt. 

"Eh? Where are we?" Rio asked, unbuckling her own seatbelt before stepping out of the car at the same time as the boy. 

The two arrived at what seemed to be on top of a large hill. The lights in the small parking area were enough to illuminate their path, allowing them to find their way around. 

"I wanted to take you to a place that I often escape to whenever I feel overwhelmed. It's just around the corner here." He replied, holding out his hand for her.

Rio paused for just a brief moment but decided to take his hand. As soon as she wrapped her fingers around his, he pulled her closer to him, letting the side of her arm touch his. 

"You seemed really troubled earlier before so I thought that this view could help alleviate some of the worries you had." 

After the two turned the corner, they