Agri (Goseiger)/Kasumi (Ninninger): Every Memory We Created

Even though you already chose to let go, I'll let every memory we created remain in my heart... --- florence joyce

xxxxxx

It was just another crazy moment, in Kasumi's opinion. But it was nothing she couldn't handle. In fact, for the rest of the day, her friends would only curse at how things had ended between her and Agri.

Not that she even mentioned anything crucial about the entire issue. But she was already tired of everything.

Yes, she became successful and respected in her field after all this time. But even with all of that, she knew in the depths of her heart that something else was missing.

Someone else made that void even bigger than it already was before. And she hated it --- a lot. She hated that the void was making her feel weak. Making her feel so vulnerable in more ways than one. She hated a lot of things ever since she and Agri separated.

She hated that he just... chose to let go.

Then again, has she even given him a reason to continue fighting? Had she even given him the chance to prove that they could still pull this through?

She shut her eyes tight upon hitting a realization after thinking it through. The answer was a staggering NO.

Yes, Kasumi just gave him a choice. But Agri ended up choosing one of those choices she gave and accepted it in his own way. And that was probably what hurt her the most.

"I guess I'm such an idiot for someone aiming to be a scientist, huh?"

As deprecating as it sounded, she knew it was the truth that she now chose to accept. At least, it was her own way of easing the pain that her decision had cost her.

Once again, she looked at the waves crashing below the cliff where she was standing. She had no idea why she decided to go there even when she knew it would only remind her of Agri and the time they had spent there together.

Before she knew it, her tears started to fall. The sky slowly became cloudy and the horizon showed shades of gray on both the sea and the sky. She doesn't have the energy to laugh bitterly at the sight. Who would've thought that she would see a reflection of her feelings in her surroundings?

"And here I thought you wouldn't go here anymore. What made you come here?"

Though surprised, Kasumi tried not to show it in her expression and also her body language. She frowned as she turned at the sight of Yakumo approaching her together with Fuuka.

"Why are you two here? Aren't you supposed to be doing some important things today?" At least, that was the reason that those two gave as to why they couldn't accompany her that day.

Fuuka nodded. "That's true. But I was able to finish practice earlier than usual."

"Classes were postponed. And I did tell the other teachers that I have to deal with a family emergency. Thankfully, they conceded," Yakumo explained.

Those reasons had only made her frown deeper. She couldn't understand why her cousins would do this. She couldn't even think of any words as retaliation to their explanations.

Or perhaps she underestimated the way her cousins would worry for her.

"So... why are you here?" Once again, Yakumo asked that question. It was direct, no hesitation.

Kasumi turned quiet as she looked at her two cousins before facing the sea. "I guess I still miss him, as much as I hate to admit it. I'm still contemplating if I even did the right thing for our relationship."

No words were spoken after that. Both people knew it was one of the few truths since the break-up that she had spoken in front of the people about what she was really feeling with her situation.

"That's the first time in a long while that you've been this honest about what you still feel about him."

Kasumi couldn't help facing Fuuka after that. She frowned at her cousin's serious expression that she doesn't usually see from a bubbly young woman like her.

"Fuu-chan..."

Fuuka smiled sadly this time. "I thought you would still tough it out in front of us after all this time that we couldn't check on you after that break-up."

"Do I even have any reason to still wish for a chance to explain and maybe tell him what I really wanted to say to him before I let him make that choice?"

It was the question that still haunted Kasumi after all this time since she and Agri separated. It was the question that never got a proper answer even after all the success she had acquired. And maybe... this question would never find an answer if the person involved in it was long gone in her life.

xxxxxx

He never wanted to hear any more. That was what Agri wanted to say to himself as he closed his eyes and leaned his head against a tree just below the cliff where Kasumi and her cousins were standing. He just couldn't believe it, though.

He didn't realize that she, too, would still go to that place even after all that had happened. Alata and Eri accompanied him there that day instead of his sister. For some reason, his sister prioritized her date over emotionally supporting him.

Then again, would she still want to support him if he continued wallowing over a decision he ended up making hastily more that two years ago? Of course not.

Or perhaps... Moune just wanted him to realize the answers all by himself --- without any interference from other people who only saw what had happened on the surface level.

"Agri, are you okay?"

He opened his eyes as soon as Eri asked that question. And yet, for some reason, he looked up to the spot where he knew Kasumi was standing. In a way, he was sure she wouldn't be able to spot him below the cliff. He was making sure of that.

"I guess both you and Kasumi-san made decisions that you're regretting now," Alata said after a few stretches of silence.

To be honest, he didn't know what to say about that. But even so, perhaps that regret could help them in a way.

He still couldn't forget her after all this time. So maybe he would just let it remain there in his heart for now, along with all the memories they've made together.