This takes place between Volumes Four and Five. There are some suggestive themes. There's some Takuto x Meroko x Izumi action, but not really. Oddly enough for me, this isn't meant to be a romance.

After the kiss, Meroko left the room to float away somewhere. Her eyes were hollow and blank as they wandered, barely focusing on the world around her, and her mind drifted with the clouds.

Sometimes a tear would leak from one of her eyes, and she would brush it away, but mostly her eyes were dry. She suspected that her sorrow had become too deep to be expressed.

The loss of love was something she had never handled well. Takuto belonged to Mitsuki; she knew it. She had known it all along and had finally been forced to face it, and it had destroyed her.

And Fuzuki.

The reawakening of her old memories had been painful. She could see the face of her old love—although he had never really been hers. He had belonged to someone else, like Takuto did now. Like everyone did. All the people near Meroko had someone to belong to, and Meroko had nobody.

I was never good enough. Not for Takuto, not for Seijyuro…not for anyone.

She didn't notice Izumi come up behind her. She didn't even know he was there until he said, "It's getting late."

Meroko turned her head very slightly. "Why are you here?" she asked. Her voice was soft. Quiet and broken, like her heart. "I thought you would be with Takuto and Mitsuki."

"I wouldn't abandon you, Meroko."

Meroko laughed bitterly at that. "You've done it before." She turned away. "I just want to be alone, Izumi."

She thought again of that kiss. The one they had shared in Mitsuki's apartment, after Meroko had flown there in tears and begged Izumi to take her back.

White curtains. Sunlight. His lips on hers.

It was something she'd never expected to have.

Izumi's hand slipped into hers, and she looked at him.

"Takuto and Micky can survive without us tonight," he said.

Meroko didn't know what hotel they were at, and didn't know if anyone was planning on coming here. All she knew was that it was a hotel room, it was empty at the moment, and Izumi was there in front of her asking if she was okay.

"I'm fine," she said dully. "You can go back to Takuto and Mitsuki if you want. I'll be okay."

Izumi touched her face with gentle fingers. "I don't believe you."

Meroko pulled away. "I'm fine," she repeated.

They were both quiet for a long while. Meroko finally broke the silence by saying flatly, "Why haven't you left yet?"

"I love you."

Meroko sighed. She was too broken tonight to protest to his words, nor did she cry at them like she'd done earlier today. All she wanted right now was to fall asleep and never wake up.

"You shouldn't even be here," she heard herself say. "You've gotten what you wanted; I'm going back to the underworld with you. What more could you possibly want, Izumi?"

Izumi's hand was on her waist. Meroko wasn't sure when it had gotten there.

"You," Izumi whispered, pulling Meroko closer and wrapping his arms around her. "This. It's you that I love."

Meroko shook her head, almost smiling. How many times had she dreamed of hearing those words, back in the old days? And now here they were, and they were piling up like snow, empty and abandoned, because she no longer knew what to do with them.

"I don't understand you at all," she told him. "You've never cared before. You hate me, remember? And even if you're telling the truth…" She shook her head again. "Why me? I have nothing to give you." Her smile was twisted, sad, self-mocking. "I'm pathetic."

Izumi's hand reached up to cup her cheek. "That's not true, Meroko."

"It is true." Tears welled up in Meroko's eyes, hard as she tried to hold them back. "I'm no good."

"That's not true."

Despite the blank look that still lingered in her eyes, Meroko wasn't completely dulled. She could feel Izumi's kisses on her neck, his hands on her body, his hot breath on her skin.

She just didn't believe in it.

Her. Izumi. A dark hotel room. Kisses.

It wasn't supposed to be happening.

Takuto.

She woke up blanketed by sunlight pouring in through the window, her body completely entangled with Izumi's, their bare skin touching in so many places under the covers. She had her face pressed into his chest, her arms draped loosely around him. It was a while before she realized where she was and who she was with.

"Oh," she murmured. "Izumi…?"

"Hi." Izumi looked at her, smiling wryly. "This is a little…"

Meroko pulled herself away and sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. "You can go if you want," she said softly.

"Stop saying that, Meroko. I don't intend to leave you again."

She stared at him. The empty look was still in her eyes.

His hand stroked her cheek briefly, then fell away.

"I'm sorry," he said.

After a few moments, he got out of bed.

She closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry again.

When she was dressed, she floated back to the apartment to get what few things were hers. She thought Takuto and Mitsuki would be there to say something, to stop her from grabbing her things and leaving. They weren't.

Izumi was waiting for her outside the window.

"You're ready to leave?" he asked.

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

Izumi looked at her carefully. "I don't intend to return."

"I understand that."

Izumi nodded slowly. "Let's go, then." He took her hand and led her through the air.

She stared at him and straight on through, her eyes seeing Izumi and a bed, and her ears hearing Takuto saying the right words to the wrong person, and her whole self pulsing with a feeling that she couldn't identify. Unrequited love, sorrow, regret? Maybe some mix of the three?

I don't understand anymore.

Everything is in ruins.

All I want now is peace.

She closed her eyes and gripped Izumi's hand a little tighter.

So, as you can see, this is not exactly a romance. It's a broken girl and a boy who wants to protect her but doesn't know how.

A couple of things inspired me to write this. Mostly the Full Moon one-shot "For What Reason" by Seppuku Doll, and the Kingdom Hearts one-shot "Unbound" by Chiharu-chan. This is some strange mix of the two.

RRE.