Saturday morning

Today is the day Sabito can finally check out of the hospital and begin recovery.

As soon as you woke up, you skipped breakfast to hop on the quickest bus route headed for him. Your parents said nothing to you; they knew how much this meant for you, why stop you now?

You leapt out as the bus was coming to a stop, darted straight toward the main entrance, and sat in the waiting room with your palms laying flat in your lap with an expectant glint in your eye

"You...you're here.."

A voice startles you out of a trance, and you turn to meet the inquisitive eye of the boy you'd been yearning to talk to for some time

Tanjiro Kamado stands before you with his hands clasped behind his back, an expression completely devoid of all emotion on his face. His scruffy maroon locks are pulled back into a bedraggled looking ponytail, and he's wearing a long dark coat over a graphic T shirt. His outfit looks like he'd rushed to put it together.

"I..." you start to say. Your throat feels dry

"...you don't have to say anything. I'm here for my father. He's...in critical condition now." Tanjiro cuts you off, his voice straining

You frown

"I thought this would get easier, talking to you, I mean," he sighed "but it isn't. I apologize to have wasted your time. Goodbye now"

Just like that, he leaves. He seems so withdrawn now but it's almost like he's trying his hardest not to be involved with you

You spend the next hour or so trying to convince yourself not to feel guilty

Two hours passed before Sabito stepped through that elevator door. It felt like an eternity with the anticipation building as steadily as it was.

The moment you saw him, you were filled with the most wonderful feeling; a flutter in your chest at the sight of his smooth skin glowing softly in the morning light, and his warm smile greeting you from afar. Just like old times, you were addicted to the feeling of gazing at him.

You wasted no time to reach him—scrambling to cross the hall, you charged out of your seat with your arms outstretched toward Sabito, and thankfully he met you halfway

He held on to you so quickly, you stumbled to catch yourself from falling over

"I told you I wasn't gonna die." Sabito declared. Because he was leaning far into the hug due to how tall he was, you could feel him grinning against your cheek. Of course.

You shiver at the sensation of his overgrown pale orange locks brushing against your neck

"Shut up," you teased breathlessly, tightening the hug as far as you could "don't ever scare me like that again."

His chest rumbled with laughter. You buried your face into him and squeezed your eyes shut to listen to his heartbeat

"I love you so much." The words just slip out of your mouth. They were thankfully muffled by his clothing.

"What?" He asked in a tone of amusement

You place a hand to your face, feeling your cheeks beginning to warm against your fingertips

"Nothing. Let's go outside."

You snake your arm around his arm and interlock your fingers between his, leaning into his shoulder. It's all you can do to try and resist becoming overly affectionate with him

Out of the corner of his eye, Sabito takes notice of your sudden clinginess

"You're touchy today," he observed "did something happen..?"

The two of you step through the main door and you turn away to hide a raging blush across your cheeks

"You've got this healthy glow on your face," you mumble "...makes you look handsome. So I wanted to hold your hand."

Sabito leans over you to study your facial expression with a soft smirk

"Figures. I always look good." He shrugs it off with a laugh, and you laugh with him

Outside, there's a small garden surrounding a water fountain a few feet away from the hospital entrance.

Sabito spots a cut of black marble bordering the garden, which would serve as adequate seating for now

The two of you sat there for a while to catch up on everything.

You told him about Kaigaku, and the mysterious power of the charm bracelet. You explained also the circumstances in which Makomo was found, and you were shocked to discover that none of the information you'd provided was new news to Sabito.

"I've known about this, for a long time." He admitted

You stare at him wide eyed, kicking your legs idly over the edge of your seat "...how long?"

"Several days. Probably a week by now." He says timidly

Oh, Sabito...why..

"Oh," you tense your shoulders at his response

"Why didn't you say anything then?"

"I tried to," he sighs "I couldn't get in contact with you, and I couldn't call the police on my friend.."

You shake your head slowly

"How...did you know? Why didn't you even try to help her..?"

He shrugs "well, I was still in the hospital trying to recover...I remember it exactly. The night after you left your visit with me, I received a letter from Makomo detailing her whereabouts—naturally, I got nervous. I thought: nobody can see this before Y/N. It has to be her."

You turn to watch his eyes for malice. Thankfully, he looks sincere, so you decide to hear him out

"She said..that you would get a letter soon, too," he continued "She had a list of requests for me. She did this because she knew she could count on me to keep her secret."

Sabito tensed visibly at this point "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this...but now I feel like such a failure."

You immediately shake your head, nudging your face into his arm

"I know how you feel..but it's best not to sweat the small stuff," you exhale "it's all over anyways. This is the end—we can now rest, knowing the truth."

Sabito looked off into the distance in a forlorn manner

"Actually, there is something that she really wants us to do."

After your conversation, you'd explained to Sabito that you hadn't opened your letter yet. Although he didn't know if the contents within yours would be the same as his, he opened up to you about the very first thing on the list, which was to reach common ground with the new student Tanjiro Kamado. It was a simple and odd request, but it wasn't out of character of Makomo to request that. She'd always hated the rivalry Sabito had with the boy.

"...but there's just no way that guy wants to talk to me," Sabito said "we got off on real bad terms, you know."

Walking side by side with the occasional hop in your step, you and Sabito chatted casually while headed for the nearest bus stop

"I don't think that's the case." You blurt out

"No?" Sabito looks at you quizzically

You shake your head "no. I think that this time is him giving us a chance to reach out.."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and studied the ground in front of him. He doesn't really look ashamed; more like he was pondering the possibility of that

"If you do this...," you add "you won't just be fulfilling makomos wishes, but mine as well. And probably even yours too, deep down somewhere in that cold heart of yours"

"You think I'll do it just because you told me to?" Sabito teased, a sly grin spreading across his face "I have free will you know"

You stop to stand by the bus stop together. He's looking at you with a tantalizing half-lidded gaze. You turn to face him, playfully gripping his shirt with both hands. You want to close the gap between you—now would be the perfect time

Tanjiro...

"That's exactly why I think you'll do it. I'm telling you you're a jerk, but you want to prove me wrong," you smile softly at your old friend "so, we'll see what happens."

You release him from your grasp and his gaze lingers on your lips for a moment

"You're getting too crafty for me, it seems." He comments

You brush him off with a chuckle, and then lead him into the bus when it arrives