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It had been a few days since Song and the kendo team lost the battle against the Substitutes, and Jade hadn't seen her since.
She knew her friend well - proud and hotheaded with a strong sense of justice, and never one to back down from a fight. For those reasons alone, Jade could tell that the defeat must have crushed her. Still, this behaviour was unlike her, and Jade was starting to get worried.
Though Song could get emotional, she also always tried to appear tough, which is why she never went to anyone for help - instead, it was always Jade who went to comfort her after her outbursts, because she knew that Song would never go to her on her own. That was why Jade worried - if she didn't know where Song was, how could she go to console her, and bring back the fierce, fiery friend she knew?
Song's absence also had her worried because the school was isolated in the mountains, and the rooms the clubs had once been held in had all been taken over by the Substitutes. In other words, there were few places she could've gone. And if she wasn't hiding anywhere in the school, where was she? Had something happened to her? Was she even still alive?
Her stomach dropped at the thought. Song couldn't be dead, and she would make sure of it. She didn't care if she would have to tear through the school to find her or risk being brainwashed by Principal Ko, as long as she knew Song was safe.
On the far reaches of the school's campus, where no one else could see her, Song trained alone, in the pouring rain.
She'd taken to training there so that she could challenge the Substitutes to a rematch, since there was no way she'd let them, or anyone, think that they had gotten the best of her. She had also been training there, though, because she was too ashamed to show her face to everyone after her defeat, and to know what they thought of her because of it.
She had failed. Not just herself, but everyone. Her classmates, for letting the Substitutes continue their reign of terror. Her kendo teammates, for putting them in harm's way by making them fight. And most of all, Jade, for being unable to protect her.
Well, she knew Jade didn't really need her protection. After all, there was a reason why it was Jade that was captain of the kendo team, while she was only co-captain. Not to mention, she knew Jade hated it when people acted like she couldn't protect herself. But still, if she couldn't hold her own against those who wanted to take away everything she and her friends held dear, what did that make her?
As the rain pounded down, Song fought back tears. She didn't deserve Jade. She knew that she could be a handful, and at times thought that she was too much for Jade, who always seemed to stick by her, no matter what. And yet, now she was struck by a different feeling. What if she wasn't good enough for Jade? And if she couldn't protect those she cared about, was she good enough for anyone?
Suddenly, she heard footsteps squelching behind her, and turned around in surprise.
Someone had found her after all.
It was worse than Jade had thought.
Yes, Song was alive and physically unharmed, and for that Jade was relieved beyond words. And yet, that didn't mean that Song hadn't been hurt. Jade could tell based on how her loud, prideful friend had retreated all the way here, where no one could find her, as if being unseen would make them forget her defeat, or that she even existed at all. And knowing Song, who valued her honour more than anything else, being remembered solely for her defeat or being forgotten altogether was the worst fate of all.
Jade clenched her fists with determination. No one could ever make her Song go silent. Not if she could help it.
And she wanted to prove it to her.
Song shrunk away from her friend, eyes glued to the ground. She couldn't see her here. Not like this. Or at all, really. Jade deserved better than her, so there was no point in her wasting her time by coming for her here.
And yet something about the way Jade was looking at her suggested that she thought otherwise. She looked concerned, as she usually did when she came to comfort her. But there was also a strange fire in her eyes, as if she had something to prove. But to who?
Even as she moved back, Jade slowly stepped towards her, until she was cornered against the trees. Seemingly realizing how she was coming off, Jade lost her intensity for a moment and took a few steps back, so that Song could have some space. Still, even as her expression softened, she continued to look at her with the same determination.
Mesmerized, Song stepped tentatively towards her. She had come all this way, gone through all that trouble, just to find her. Why? Why did she care so much? What did she see in her?
As she moved towards her, Jade smiled slightly, not backing down, but instead taking Song's face into her hands. She leaned in slowly, before pausing as if to ask Song permission. Enamoured, she gave a single nod, and Jade kissed her, embracing her tightly.
And suddenly Song understood why Jade had come all this way, why she cared so much. To Jade, there was no such thing as too much, nor did she view her as anything lesser for her failures and shortcomings. Because Jade loved her, and at that moment, Song knew she loved her back.
To each other, they were more than enough.