Teacher

Chapter 17: The Final Meeting

Shinichi stood erected to the spot.

What she said had gone through his senses, but still had not traveled fully to his head and mind. It was like being locked into a freezer. His entire body seemed to go numb, silence circling the area between the two of them. And he felt cold. Unknowingly cold. He just gaped at her, eyes wide with shock. People surrounding them seemed to get the hint that something had happened which did not go according to Shinichi's plan, and edged away at the undying tension that was passing between the two of them.

" You're. . .sorry?" he whispered.

She let out the breath that she was holding and crossed her arms across her chest, refusing to look up at him; to look into his eyes. " I viewed you as my best friend." She said, almost to herself. " You were my pillar of support, and were the only friend I could cling on to. When I first met you, you were someone that I thought I could count on more than anybody else. Kind, sweet, and gentle. I gave you the lessons so that you could win Mouri back. I do love you too. . .but as a friend."

Nothing that she said went through his head. Just a sense of resignation, a feeling of retirement, a hope for her to just accept him; or at least allow things between the two of them to be the same again. But who the Hell was he kidding?

He forced a smile and turned his heel to walk away.

" Shinichi." She said, and he stopped.

" Yes, sensei?" he whispered, and she flinched at the sensibility of his tone. There was no signs of the old Shinichi that he knew. He was not calling her by her first name like he always did. It was then when she really understood the true pain of her rejection. He was rejected twice. Twice in just a matter of days. She licked her dry lips.

" I just wanted to. . .thank you for the friendship you shared with me." She said.

He smiled.

" You're welcome." He said, before disappearing behind the door.

Shiho stood there for a long time, just gazing at Shinichi's back, until he was just another person in the crowd. She sighed and leaned against the pillar behind her. He glanced at it slightly before letting out a small smile. " Another pillar of support for me." She said, before slamming her fist against it. " Please don't shatter to pieces too."

Akemi watched from the tree she was in, and sighed, shutting off her video recorder. " I knew that something like this would happen." She said depressingly. " Even so, I just hoped that she would accept Kudo's confession. Oh well."

She noticed someone watching the two of them too.

She smiled softly. Slowly, she dropped down from the top of the tree, crossing her arms across her chest. " You were the one watching the two of them in the bushes, weren't you?" she whispered, and the person jumped at the sound of her voice. Yet he refused to look at her, his lips pursed, staring at the many people who were dancing on the dance floor.

" How did you know it was me, Akemi?" he asked softly.

" It was pretty obvious that it was you who was watching her all along." She said casually, stuffing her video camera into her bag. " You may seem heartless at some moments, but I know that you still care for her at the bottom of your heart."

The person said nothing.

" Don't try to act like you understand me." He said quietly.

" Oh, I think I know more about you than anybody else." She said gently, in a voice of self-praise and understanding. " I'm one of the persons who went looking for you when you left."