Suddenly on a Leash (1)

Chapter thirty six

I groaned under my breath as the morning sun leaked through the window, raying on my eyes to force them open. "...mm..."
What time was it...?
I turned sleepily to the other side of the bed to find that it was empty. Hm... Kyoko must've gotten up already. With a yawn, I sat up, running my fingers through my tangled silver mane. I glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. Ah. Only 10 am.
Stretching, I rolled out of bed and quickly got dressed and made my hair decent before heading into the main part of the house, looking to see where everyone was. The first person I ran into was Yuto in the kitchen making breakfast. "Where is everyone...?" I asked him sleepily.
He turned and smiled at me. "Oh, good morning, Ayano! Sora's out on the porch. He likes to drink tea outside when he wakes up."

"Ah, I see. Is Kyoko with him?"

Yuto looked confused by the question before answering quietly. "No, um... She left about an hour ago."
My eyes widened. "Already?"
I couldn't help being a bit disappointed. She was the first girl I'd had the pleasure of talking to in a while. I wished I could talk to Haruka... Perhaps I'd get the chance later.
In any case, more than anything, I'd wanted to talk with Kyoko a bit more... She'd said a lot yesterday night.
"I think it's time I let him go."
Would she really do that...?
I glanced at the door. Maybe... She already did.
I faced Yuto. "Where's Sora?"
Blinking, Yuto raised a hand to point towards the door where Sora was out. I nodded my thanks to him before going out.
I wanted to see for myself...
I closed the door behind me and looked out at the porch where Sora was sitting quietly, sipping from his teacup. Only an ear flicked back to acknowledge my presence.
"... Morning, Ayano. Sleep well?"
I didn't answer, going over to sit down beside him, crossing my legs. He scanned me from the corner of his eye for a moment before speaking again. "... Did you say something to Kyoko?"
I blinked. "... No... Did she... Did she say something to you...?"
He looked away, out at the forest. "You could say that."

•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•

"I need to talk to you," Kyoko had said to him out on the porch that morning at the crack of dawn. He knew it was serious by the strong look in her eye.
"... Kyoko?"

"Times up, Sory...."

Sora tilted his head. "Time...? What are you going on about..."
Kyoko crossed her arms, breaking the serious atmosphere with a sulky face. "Geez, you're no fair, Sory..."

"No fair....?"

"You never looked at me that way..."

Sora paused, blinking at her. So even Kyoko had seen it? That Ayano really was dense...
"So?" Sora started. "You here to break up with me?"
Kyoko looked out at the sky that was dim with the blush of dawn, her expression serene. "... It's been too long, Sora."
Sora was quiet, listening to what she had to say.
"... I've been holding onto you for too long." She turned to look at him. "... It's time to let you go."
Sora didn't know how to answer. In all the years that he'd known her, he'd never seen her so sure of herself, so mature. He smiled gently. "When did you grow up?"
Kyoko gave him a soft smile. "Goodbye, Sora."

"... You're welcome back anytime, Kyoko."

"... I know."