YOUR POV

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.” Bending over Odagiri’s bed, I didn’t hesitate to rip his covers off of his drowsy form, revealing his shirtless, toned upper body. “Breakfast is on the table and we have to leave for school in about 20 minutes, so get off your lazy bum and get moving!”

His arms shot out and wrapped around me, pulling me onto the bed next to him as he snuggled closer to me. “It’s too early for school,” he mumbled against my hair. Usually I would’ve protested and shoved him away, but for some reason today I allowed for his silliness and stayed like that, next to him, in his arms. Being so close to him relaxed my tense mind.

Sighing, I scooted closer, breathing in his smell.

“We should just stay like this.” The pig finally opened his eyes and smiled at me. “You and me, no worries, forever.”

“That’s what you’d call a fairy tale,” I laughed. “Once upon a time…”

“There lived a beautiful princess named ______,” Odagiri picked up from where I left off, “and one day, as she was strolling through a village, she came upon a handsome prince who was being beaten and kidnapped.”

I continued his story. “She helped him escape to her private castle, and healed his wounds. He began living with her after that.”

“He fell in love with her,” Odagiri mused, “because of her kindness, beauty, uniqueness, bravery, and playfulness.”

“Little by little she began to fall in love with him as well, after she realized his gentleness, his loyalty, his bravery, and his skin-ship-loving-ness. Most importantly, she fell in love with him because he always managed to bring a smile to her face and give her the feeling of being protected.” I looked him in the eyes.

“Then came the bad guys. They threatened the world that both of them knew. Help came from surrounding kingdoms, but neither the prince nor the princess knew what the future looked like. Both of them were worried.”

“The princess hated this period of time. She hated not knowing what lie ahead.”

Odagiri planted a kiss on my forehead. “But the prince promised to protect the princess no matter what. ‘I’ll protect you and love you all the days of my life’ was what he said. Even though the rest of the story is unknown, the prince was sure to keep his word.” Sitting up, Odagiri swung his legs over the edge of the bed and trotted over to the bathroom.

“The princess promised likewise, that she would love and protect the prince for the rest of her life, even if she had to pay the price,” I said softly once he was gone. I’d been thinking about it for a while now.

It’s me that these gangs want, right?

Then it’s me they’re going to get, and no one else- not Odagiri, Yankumi, Sho, my grandfather, Yabuki, Kuma, no. None of the people I care about are going to get involved in this mess.

Having decided this, I crawled out of bed and patted my clothes down.

If they were to get hurt because of me, I don't know what I’d do.

So therefore, I will have to fix this.

“You ready to go?” Odagiri grinned moments later, breaking me out of my somber thoughts. He waved a bagel in his hand and used his other hand to grab mine. We walked hand in hand to school with me stitching a smile across my face the entire time.

 Throughout the day, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Odagiri’s peaceful face, my eyes memorizing every detail that they could.

Yankumi pulled me aside after class that day, a worried expression on her face. “Are you okay, ________? You seemed really out of it today- really anxious and fidgety.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I hated lying to Yankumi, but I knew if I told her the truth, she wouldn’t let me go. “Thanks for being the best teacher ever. Keep up the amazing work, ne?” I bounded away, leaving behind a puzzled and stunned teacher.

Odagiri was waiting for me by the gate, the wind blowing his hair across his face. Girls from other schools who were passing by kept nudging each other and staring at him, giggles erupting whenever he turned to awkwardly acknowledge their presence. My feet slowed down, my footprints trailing in the dust.

 I watched as a pretty girl shyly approached my boyfriend. He nodded his head in greeting before brushing her off, turning back to face to school. The girl wasn’t fazed. She kept talking to him, batting her fake eyelashes, as her hand constantly attempted to hold his.

Once I’m gone, Odagiri would be able to find another girlfriend without trouble, right?

That thought jarred my heart, a sharp pain etching a pathway through my insides.

Finally Odagiri became impatient. I edged closer.

“I’m taken,” Odagiri said coldly to the girl as he took a few strides away from her, his eyes constantly scanning the main doors of the school for my presence.

“Liar,” the girl pouted, snuggling up closer to him.

“I have the best girlfriend in the world, so please don’t bother me anymore.”

“It’s not like you have to tell her anything,” the girl pursed her lips, her eyes pleading.

“I’m not that type of guy,” Odagiri replied bluntly, “and I will never be. She’s the only one I love, so like I said earlier- please leave me alone.”

Even though I was going to leave him soon, and I knew I needed to prepare my heart for heartbreak, his words warmed my soul.

I snuck up behind Odagiri and gave him a surprise back hug. “Hey you.” Glancing at the startled girl, I raised my eyebrow innocently and asked, “Who are you?”

“I-You-I’m,” She had no words to say, especially since she had just told Odagiri to basically cheat on me and he’d rejected her.

“Nice to meet you,” I blinked, “I’m ________, Odagiri Ryu’s girlfriend.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re ________? The legendary fighter who disappeared?”

“Uh… yeah…” Furrowing my eyebrows with awkwardness, I looked at Odagiri who shrugged back at me.

“I’m SO SORRY! I didn’t mean to hit on your boyfriend!” She scampered off before I could reply.

“You have quite the reputation,” Odagiri commented, amused with the outcome of the situation. “But anyways, thanks for saving me. That chick was seriously getting on my last nerves.”

“No problem. Anyways, what are we up to today?”

He gazed down at me with his dark brown eyes in such a way that I felt a sudden rush of fear- he seemed to know what I was up to. Luckily, his usual smile quickly replaced the brooding look on his face. “How about a date? We haven’t had one in a while because of what’s going on.”

“Okay! Let’s go take purikuras!” Before I left, I desperately wanted a memoir of our time together.

Odagiri Ryu, I’m going to miss you so much.

That led me to remember all the people I was leaving behind- my whole class of 3D, Odagiri, Yabuki, Tsuchi, Hyuuga, Takeda, Kuma (again), my family, Yankumi, Kikwang…

 I bit my lip to hold back the tears that threatened to flood down my face.

There’s nothing else I can do. I glanced up at the sky, the large expanse of endless, infinite blue sky. This has been going on for way too long, and now it’s up to me to end it.

“You okay?” Odagiri swooped down and cupped my face, his hand pressed against my forehead as if testing for a sudden outbreak of fever. “You’ve been kind of out of it for the whole day.”

Am I that bad at acting?

Yankumi and Odagiri have seen through my pretense.

I need to get myself together or else my plan is going to fail miserably.

“Yup!” I beamed up at him cheerfully.

He gave me a hesitant look before straightening his body and nodding, “If you say so…” He grabbed my hand and we started off toward the nearest shopping strip- the place where all the fun happens. I shoved my thoughts away into the darkest abyss of my mind, wanting to truly enjoy what could be my last date with Odagiri.

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I plopped down onto my bed and relaxed my body. My hands held the pictures above my head as I examined them closely; every detail mattered. Behind them, I was holding the stickers that we took together; everything was a memory that I will cherish forever.

Holding the pictures gingerly with the tips of my fingers, I placed them carefully onto my desk and then rolled over onto my back. My eyes stared blankly at the ceiling as I tried to think through my plan again to make sure that it was foolproof. This time, I’m working with the police.

Yeah, ________, the next generation leader of one of the biggest yakuzas, is working with the police. What is this world coming to?

The police agreed to not tell anyone of my plan, since they were desperate to place these bastards behind the bars. Turns out that these bastards have a long list of crimes they’ve been convicted for. I was to disappear from society and work undercover with them, catching all the members of the Kyosodan Group and throwing them into prison. The police ensured that I would graduate from high school on my current schedule, even though I wouldn’t be attending school.

Our D-Day: the day the hurricane strikes. That’s when we start grabbing the troublemakers.

Today was day six.

That means I only have five more days left.

Flopping out of bed, I flicked on the desk light and sat down in my leather chair. Grabbing a pen and a sheet of paper, I began writing my explanation letters that I planned to give to the people I cared deeply about.

To those four dorks I hang out with, I gave them a vague explanation of what had been going on and what I was about to do. I ended their letters by reassuring them that I was alive and that whenever I finish putting the Kyosodan Group into jail where they belonged, I would try my best to contact them.

I’m going to miss seeing your dorky faces at school. I at saying goodbye. I hate saying goodbye.

You guys better graduate together this year, okay?

Promise me that.

By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be gone already. Don’t worry, I’ll stay alive.

Whenever I finish my job, I’ll find each and every one of you to let you know that I’m okay. And when that time comes, who knows how much time has passed. You guys will probably be living your lives already, working and going to school. I want to smile when I see you guys again, because I know you’re successful people who know what true fighting is.

No crying when you’re reading this letter, Take.

I’m going to miss you guys so much.

Stay alive, stay safe, stay healthy.

Stay happy.