The point where I had to choose between him and the path I chose to take when I was a teenager.
But I guess it was something expected, right?
Life would always lay out several paths for us to choose.
At the end of that path, we were forced to make several more choices with regards to our lives.
I ended up doing that... especially when I chose to leave him, thinking that it was the right thing for me to do.
"Miu, are you coming with us? We're going to have lunch at the canteen."
I shook my head and smiled when a co-worker entered my office and said that.
Right now, I was thinking that I won't be able to bear other people's company when I needed to do more thinking than usual because of that memory.
It had been two weeks since then.
Not much had changed.
Or at least I'd like to think of it that way.
When the room was quiet again, I sighed heavily.
I had been doing a lot of that lately that I didn't know how should I stop myself.
Or should I really?
The ringing from my phone startled me from my musings.
I frowned since I wasn't expecting phone calls from anyone.
But it would be different if it was from my parents or any of my relatives.
As I let out another sigh, I walked to the table where my phone was placed.
However, what I saw on the screen froze me to the spot somehow.
Was I seeing this right?
"Sousuke..."
His name flashed on the screen of my phone.
He was the one calling me.
But why?
It took me a while to decide whether or not I should answer this phone call.
I thought the surprise I felt also froze my brain that made me refuse to think properly.
It was still ringing.
Any time now, it would be over.
What should I do?
XXXXXX
In the end, I just let my phone stop ringing without answering that phone call.
Sousuke and I didn't have anything to talk about, anyway so it was better like this.
Besides, if I answer his phone call, it was like breaking the promise that I made to myself when I decided to leave him.
I needed to stand firm to my decision even though I knew it would hurt.
I averted my gaze from my phone and looked outside the window.
Even though it was noontime, the sky was a bit dark.
It looked like it was going to rain again.
I was startled when I heared my phone rang again.
I slowly looked at the screen for me to know the identity of the caller.
To my confusion, it was my cousin Renn who was calling.
But why would he call me right now?
Did something happen?
I took my cellphone and answered the call from Renn before the ringing ended.
"Hello? Renn?"
"You're really going to stand firm with that hardheadedness of yours, is that it?"
I frowned because of what my cousin started saying to me.
What could possibly be the problem again and this was how he greeted me?
"You really don't have any plans of answering Sousuke's call for you?"
I was confused with what he said. What was he saying?
And how did he know that Sousuke was calling me?
"Don't leave him hanging, Miu. Everything between the two of you isn't suppose to end this way."
I couldn't say anything as a response to that.
But I already had a decision that I should stand firm to and Renn knew the reason why I needed to leave Sousuke that day.
"We were only given one chance to meet and be with the person whom we'll truly love, Miu. From what I can see, you've already met that person. It would be a big mistake if you let that person go without even explaining him the real reason why you did that."
I couldn't think of what to say as a response to my cousin's words.
More than anyone in my family, Renn was one of the few who could truly be helpful to me when it comes to these things.
But did I really have to break the promise I made to myself for my own happiness?
Did I even have the right to do that if I was destined to remain alone for the coming days of my life?
"I'll think about it," was my only reply before I ended that call.
XXXXXX
With a sigh, I walked out of the office building and decided to walk around for a bit.
It has been a long time since I did that due to my hectic work schedule.
Not to mention that I wanted to focus on doing my work more intensely than usual because I wanted to take my mind off of those things that truly worried me.
Now that I thought about it, when was the last time I stopped talking about "what if's"?
To be honest, it felt like it was a far-off memory to me now.
Going back, my mind couldn't stop replaying the conversation I had with my cousin a while back.
He was right.
I knew from the start that he was.
I knew I had found the one for me.
I already did and my heart agreed with me.
But I couldn't tell him the reason why I had to let go of it.
Believe me, it was a painstakingly hard thing for me to do.
Don't ask me why I had to describe it like that.
I just had to, because it was the truth.
I couldn't afford to lose the one who made me feel what it was like to truly love someone.
When I raised my head, I was surprised to see myself standing in the middle of the park where the water fountain was.
The same fountain where I had that vision and where I chose to end things between me and Sousuke.
Another sigh came out of my mouth as I took out my cellphone.
I looked for a specific folder of pictures in the Gallery and there I saw the one I needed to look into again.
There were only five pictures in that particular file folder.
But each photo held the story behind the vision I was talking about.
Not many people knew, but I was born with the ability to predict certain events that could possibly happen in the future if nothing was done to prevent it.
And my means of doing so was with the help of cameras I held.
More commonly, cameras from cellphones and tablets.
My hands had the power to give those cameras I hold like that the ability to determine future events.
In the pictures from that Gallery's folder, they held the story... of Sousuke's death.
Because of me.
XXXXXX
Now that I reached home, I was thinking of resting early since I had nothing much to do other than to watch television or to continue reading the novel I had been meaning to read for weeks.
But in the end, I never got to do any of it.
I was only staring at the photo of the park's fountain that was saved on my phone, which was the first among the five photos on that file folder of the Gallery.
As I looked further, there was nothing wrong with that photo, honestly speaking.
But then I realized the day I first saw them that it held a certain vision for me to see when the second photo appeared.
Sousuke was standing there, just beside the fountain and he was smiling.
The weird thing was-Sousuke wasn't with me when I went to that park and took a photo of the fountain that particular day.
I smiled wistfully upon seeing Sousuke's smile on that second photo.
He really looked happy... and truly in love.
But perhaps that wasn't the case now that I chose to leave him and forget everything between us, even though the last part seemed a bit impossible for me to do.
Forgetting someone who had captured my heart like that was something that I could never do no matter how hard I try.
I knew that all along, even during those times I chose to leave the man I love behind.
I swiped on the screen of my phone to the left to reveal the third picture.
This was where I started feeling something ominous about Sousuke's life since he was looking on a different direction with a frown, as if trying to verify if what he saw was real.
I swiped again that soon revealed the fourth photo where a man wearing a hooded jacket was seen aside from Sousuke who was now looking at the man in question with wide eyes.
If one would look at it rather quickly, the two men were just standing in front of each other with a distance of perhaps only a few inches.
But I immediately knew something was wrong with what was happening in the photo because of the thing that was in between Sousuke and the hooded man.
It was a knife-plunged right into Sousuke's stomach!
I only noticed it a bit late that I was already gripping my phone tight because of that photo.
When I calmed down after a few moments, I swiped my finger on the screen of my phone to reveal the final photo.
It was still on the fountain, but the focus was now on Sousuke who was lying on the ground looking lifeless and appeared to be bleeding profusely.
Beside his body were words written in blood-perhaps by the perpetrator.
'This is all your fault!'
XXXXXX
Everything went downhill for me after I saw that on my phone, saved in its Gallery.
I was only appreciating the view of the fountain by the sunset when I decided to take a photo of it that day.
But I never realized that my powers would manifest that way.
And to think I would even see Sousuke's possible death.
There was no date on the photo as to when it could possibly happen.
But one thing was for sure-it would happen in sunset and by the park's fountain.
Usually, my ability to predict could determine possible events that would happen from the time I took the photo to about a month.
That was the only time limit that my prediction could discern.
Three weeks had passed since I took the photo and a week had gone by since I left Sousuke.
It was the fifth and final photo that made me decide to do the latter.
I knew from there that the message was left for me.
And it wasn't about my family or the clan that I belonged to-at least I was sure about that part.
When I asked a friend of mine who was working as a police, Gunpei, to do a little investigation for me, it turned out that the man I suspected right from the start had escaped from prison.
That same man was responsible for killing my older brother two years ago.
It was the same time the built-up charge from my powers took a turn for the worst, when the energy saved up from my body became a nearly fatal weapon I used to attack that person.
I never revealed myself as the one who made him face near death, but I did what I could until the end to make sure that man was apprehended for killing my brother.
And now he got out of the prison.
My only way to protect Sousuke from that man was to let him stay away from me.
That jerk must not know Sousuke's connection to me at all.
The only was for me to do that was to end everything between us.
But up until now, everything around me seemed to be persistent in reminding me that what I did was wrong.
That there had to be another way for me to protect the man I love other than leaving him like that.
Now how was I supposed to retort to that?
XXXXXX
Three days had passed faster than I thought.
But things seemed to get even gloomier than I could ever realize and now I couldn't think of what to do to get away from this depressing mood.
I didn't have any work today but I also didn't feel like staying at home all day.
That would only make me think of unnecessary and even worrisome things more than usual.
Going out was my only option.
I was about to take a step outside the house when my phone rang.
I frowned.
Who would call me at this time?
When I checked the number flashing on the screen, it didn't take me long to know who it was.
I memorized that number by heart and it was still there even though I erased it from my list of contacts.
I decided not to answer the call coming from him before.
Should I do the same thing again?
With a sigh to calm my erratically beating heart, I reached out to my phone and answered it.
Whatever it was that he wanted to say to me, I thought it was for the best if I should hear it.
But my hand was quivering for some reason.
How was I supposed to stop this?
I had to answer this phone call.
"Hello?" I started.
"Miu... Is that you?"
I took a deep breath once again before replying.
"Yes, it's me. Sousuke?"
I asked that even though I heard from the voice that he was indeed Sousuke.
But I still wanted to confirm it.
I didn't want to make a mistake just because it was what I wanted to happen, because that was what my heart was wishing for.
"It's me. Did I disturb you?"
"N-not really. W-why did you call, by the way?"
I heard Sousuke take a deep breath from the other line before answering my question.
"I miss you. Even though you left me that day."
I couldn't stop my tears from falling when I heard that.
It was like Sousuke's voice seemed cracked when he said that.
That was why I knew I wasn't the only one who was suffering from my decision that day.
"Sousuke..."
"I want to talk to you, please. To the place where we'd usually go whenever we'd have our date. Let's meet there."
I couldn't say anything to respond to that since I never expected that.
I placed a hand on my chest thinking that, doing so would make me calm my erratically beating heart.
"But I won't force you if you don't really want to see me. If ever you agreed, just tell me. I'll text you the day and the time when we'll meet."
I remained silent while Sousuke was talking.
I couldn't really think of anything to say even when he ended the phone call.
I placed my cellphone to my chest and held it tight.
My heart won't stop beating fast even though some time had passed since Sousuke's phone call ended.
Perhaps it was for the best if I should think this through... if that was the only way for me to finally have some peace.
XXXXXX
I was tapping my foot too fast as I was sitting on a bench.
I chuckled amusingly as I looked at the time on my wristwatch.
The agreed time was supposed to be at 3 in the afternoon.
And yet here I was, reaching the place at exactly one in the afternoon.
"I'm too early," was all I could say before looking around.
I shouldn't be acting like this, but for some reason, I couldn't really help it.
I contradicted my decision with what I was doing right at the moment.
But perhaps this only proved that he still mattered to me.
I wanted to hear him out, so now I was here.
Despite my excitement, my hands began to feel clammy all of a sudden.
It was wrong, but I couldn't help thinking that something might happen today.
And no, it wasn't just because of the conversation that could ensue between me and Sousuke.
Does this had something to do with my vision?
I hoped it wasn't the case.
I took deep breaths for a few times, hoping that they could help me calm down.
I clenched my fists as I did so before releasing it.
"Miu..."
That voice brought me back to reality and made me open my eyes all of a sudden. I couldn't help gaping at the sight of Sousuke standing in front of me and now looking at me in surprise.
Wait...
Why would he look at me like that?
But I couldn't bring myself to do the same as I looked at that smile.
It was laced with sadness that I knew I brought to him.
When his words finally registered in my mind, I nodded.
"I got nothing else to do, that's why."
Well, partly it was true.
But heck!
I would never tell him that I was also excited to see him.
I guessed this only proved that I missed him so much, huh?
As if trying to sense the situation first, Sousuke soon sat on the same bench that I was sitting at carefully.
Why was this guy acting as if I was going to eat him or something?
But I guess I should blame it to the awkwardness that ensued as soon as we saw each other.
No amount of excitement (whether I admit it or not) could dissipate the awkward feeling that surrounded us.
Besides, it wasn't the same as it was before between the two of us.
"I'm glad you came," Sousuke said that broke the tensed and awkward silence between us.
"Like I told you, I got nothing better to do. And... I think I do owe you an explanation."
I felt Sousuke face me but I remained looking down as I clasped my hands together.
They did feel clammy but I needed to do everything to calm down.
"You don't need to do that. Your cousin already explained the situation to me."
Those words made me face him in surprise.
There wasn't any indication at all that he was joking or at least bluffing just to get my attention.
At least I could tell that much.
"Then..."
"I was with Renn when I tried to call you that day but you didn't answer it. That's how he knew I was calling you. When you didn't contact me after he scolded you and you even said that you'd think about it, he said the possible reason why you left me all of a sudden."
I was speechless, but I remained facing him.
My heart was beating loudly at the moment with just that.
But I knew this was meant to happen, and only meant to indicate one thing.
Sousuke was still someone I could never let go whatever I do.
He remained to be the only one in my heart.
This had never happened before with my previous relationships.
I was able to recover rather quickly after a break-up.
But with Sousuke...
Everything was different.
I became like that since our paths crossed a year ago.
"Then... even though you know the reason why I left you that day, you still... want to see me?" I ventured.
I didn't want to keep my hopes up that I wasn't the only one who felt that way, which was why I asked that.
My eyes widened when he nodded.
"It didn't diminish my love for you one bit. You have to believe me."
Again, his words left me speechless.
Before I knew it, my tears from so much emotions pent-up inside of me began to fall incessantly.
I couldn't make them stop.
I scolded myself since I shouldn't be acting like this but I couldn't help it.
Everything was still sudden to me.
"Besides..." Sousuke continued.
I remained silent and just let him talk.
"What you've predicted to happen to me... That wasn't your fault at all."
Wasn't my fault?
Wait!
Did he just say that in past tense?
I looked up and faced Sousuke. It only answered my suspicion with a firm nod.
Did that mean...?
"It nearly happened, but I was able to prevent it thanks to an early warning from the police."
"I-I don't understand."
And it was the truth.
"I had a cousin who was working as a police officer and he was stationed where that jerk who tried to kill me was jailed. When the jailbreak happened, my cousin gave me an immediate call that the man would possibly come after me. You see, I was one of the reason why he was arrested. And I also secretly provided the crucial evidences needed to put him in prison and sentenced him to life imprisonment. That's why... you don't have to put yourself through this. Don't pit everything we've worked hard for to nothing. Okay? I'm still here despite what I learned about you and your ability. And I still love you whatever it takes."
That was it.
That was all it took for me to break down.
Before I knew it, I found myself throwing myself to him.
And he was there.
He welcomed me with open arms.
We embraced each other tightly, as if afraid that we would both disappear if we let go.
But that wasn't going to happen anymore, right?
"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..." I said in tears as I held him tighter.
It seemed that I was right in letting him remain in my heart in spite of my decision to leave him that day.
In the end, he still decided to be with me.
Not many people had the same luck as I had.
And for that, I would be forever thankful to whatever force that brought us together that one time and even today.
Whether it was love, fate, or destiny, it doesn't matter now.
"Don't leave me again like that, okay?"
I could only nod since I was still emotional from all that had happened between us.
But that nod also held my promise to the man I love.
"I love you, Sousuke... And I'm sorry..."
"Miu, enough with the apologies, okay? I love you too much for me to remain angry at you. Just promise me you won't do that again."
"I promise."
xxxxxx
More than a year had passed since that day we reconciled.
Everything felt surreal to me so there were still days that I was thinking that everything was a dream to me.
But Sousuke was there to make sure that it wasn't.
That everything between us was in the realm of reality.
Of course, I still had disturbing visions after that.
Thankfully, I was able to confide them to Sousuke without the fear of being laughed at or be told as a fake or something similar.
In fact, he listened to me carefully and intently.
He would even give his insight as to what they could possibly mean.
I never had any more vision relating to me or Sousuke after that, as well.
But I still couldn't help fearing that it won't end with just that.
And one day, I was able to know that I was right.
Yet this vision I had about Sousuke was something that was beyond my expectation.
Right after our date that day, we decided to make a stop by the fountain.
It was still the same as it was on its other days.
But for me, the water flowing from it seemed to be sparkling even more beautiful than I would usually see it for some reason.
I only chuckled at that cheesy thought running in my mind.
What was wrong with me today?
"Are you okay? You've been quiet all the way. Did something happen?" he asked, almost inconspiciously.
But he didn't have to do that, right?
It wasn't like we were keeping secrets or anything.
"Did you have any visions lately? Especially weird ones?"
I shook my head and held his hand.
"I'm fine. I was just thinking about a few things. But they're not that disturbing or weird."
I even smiled to ease his worries for me.
He removed his hand that I was holding and used it to pull me closer to him.
Probably out of instinct, I placed my head on his shoulder as we continued walking.
Not long after, we finally found an empty bench and decided to sit there to pass the time.
Now that I remembered it, this was the same bench that I sat on the day I took those photos that revealed a vision about Sousuke getting killed.
When Sousuke left after offering to buy me a snack as we pass the time, I ended up deciding to take a multi-shot photos of that fountain.
I was probably doing this out of curiosity or just a hunch that something could possibly happen to this place.
But I wanted to do it.
So I did.
I sighed deeply when I was done.
Then I took a few more deep breaths to calm myself before I looked at the resulting photos.
As soon as I saw the file folder of those saved photos on my phone's Gallery, I frowned when I saw the last four shots out of the usual five that I would take.
Well, the first one was a picture of the fountain.
That much was given.
But as I looked at it carefully, it appeared that the surrounding of the fountain was designed with Christmas lights or something similar.
Was this supposed to indicate something?
I set that thought aside for now.
I decided to look at the next one.
To my surprise, Sousuke was standing beside the fountain, looking dashing in that photo.
But he wasn't looking at the camera.
Instead, his gaze was fixated on one direction.
Anticipation and anxiety were evident in his eyes as he did so.
But what could he possibly be anticipating for?
Perhaps the answer could be found on the third photo and so I swiped on the screen to reveal it.
I could only gape at the sight of me on that photo... standing just a few feet away from Sousuke.
I looked confused, not to mention anxious, as well, on that photo.
As for Sousuke, he looked calm and was even smiling gently as he faced me.
Was I overthinking things if I said that I was having an idea as to what the visions revealed in those photos could possibly hold?
But I needed to see it all.
I didn't want to jump into conclusions and become disappointed in the end.
I sighed once again and swiped on the phone's screen so that I'd be able to see what was on the 4th photo.
I instinctively put a hand on my mouth to prevent the possibly loud gasp from escaping because of what I've seen there.
Sousuke and I were only inches closer from each other, his hands holding mine.
But when I looked closer, I saw that his right hand was holding something small.
Like a box.
A ring box.
Was this for real?
"I shouldn't have brought you here if I knew you'd end up doing this."
Though the voice startled me and snapped me out of my musings, I calmed down soon after when I realized who it came from.
I turned to the source of that voice and I saw Sousuke smiling with a guilty look on his face.
Did that mean...?
"Is this...?" I ventured, my heart glowing at the moment.
Slowly, he nodded and handed a can of fruit soda and a pack of melon bread to me.
Because of that, I decided to put my phone inside my skirt's pocket.
"I've been planning to propose to you a week from now. I don't want us to stay like this anymore. I want to have an even bigger reason for me to remain by your side for the rest of my life. And... this is what I thought of," he explained with him looking intently at me.
From there, I knew he wasn't lying to me or treating this as a joke.
I couldn't help smiling despite the tears that started to fall.
Damn it!
They won't stop falling.
I wasn't dreaming, right?
"Hey... Don't cry. I didn't plan that to make you cry like this."
"I can't help it. I never expected you to still choose to stay with me even though I'm different," I reasoned, tears still falling.
"But that doesn't make you any less of a person, Miu. I chose to love you despite all that I've learned about you. So rest assured, I'll stay loving you whatever happens. Okay?"
His words sure knew how to calm me down.
I nodded and placed my head on his shoulder.
Soon after, I felt Sousuke place a kiss on my forehead that made me close my eyes instinctively.
From there, I could tell that he was sincere and that he was telling the truth.
We watched the sunset together as we talked a lot of things.
But when he asked me about the 5th photo that came out, I only smiled mysteriously and with him watching, I deleted the file folder where the photos were saved.
"Why did you do that?" he asked in surprise.
But I just smiled and embraced him.
"I think it's for the best if I just let it happen next week. I'll give my answer to you by then."
That's right.
It was better off like that for now.
At least, I wanted to let it be that way.
It wasn't all fun to let him know the result of his proposal to me before it could even happen, right?
xxxxxx
My first Sousuke/Miu one-shot and in my opinion, it's quite dramatic, isn't it? I'm not sure if you've read my other AU one-shots posted here. But if you did, this story was more or less connected to the universe where the stories "Has Become The End" and "Times Like This" took place. As for the story "My Heart's Searing Pain", though the topic was the same about one of the characters possessing certain abilities, the scenes there existed in a different dimension (as I'd like to say it) than this one-shot.
I'm not sure if I'd be able to write another long one-shot like this again. Anyway, we'll see in the next updates.
Till next time!
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