A week. That was all the time that had passed since Naoto Shirogane's world had shattered, the future she had been promised ruthlessly torn away by fate. She sat on the futon that used to belong to her husband-to-be, Yu Narukami, with a piece of paper in her hands.

We were to share this room together,

But now I've been left behind.

Though I'm no longer the person I was,

My love for you will never die.

The rain that falls echoes my tears,

That will never stop falling for you.

My love, my life, my only hope,

Wait for me, I'll be there soon.

She placed the poem she had written on the floor, along with several others she had done prior to that one. Ignoring the pain she felt, Naoto closed her eyes and sat back, waiting as she had for the last week.

Yosuke stood at the Dojimas' front door, his face serious as Nanako opened it. "Yo, Nanako-chan. What's up?"

The girl looked up at him pleadingly, the cheer her face had once expressed now nothing more than a memory. "Can you talk to Naoto-chan? She went up to Big Bro's room the night he died, and she hasn't come back down since. I'm afraid something bad's going to happen to her too… And then Dad and me will be all alone again…"

Yosuke nodded and was ushered inside by Nanako, after which he climbed the stairs to Yu's old room and knocked on the door. "Naoto, it's me. I hope you're dressed, because I'm coming in." Opening the door, he entered to see the paraplegic detective sitting on the futon with her eyes closed, wearing the Yasogami High girls' uniform. Yosuke was shocked to see what had become of her - she was thin and weak-looking, and her bones were clearly visible. "God, Naoto, what happened to you?"

"Yosuke-kun…" Naoto said, still not opening her eyes. "Please leave. I'm not in the mood for visitors." Her voice was dull and lifeless, matching her almost cadaverous appearance.

"Hell no!" The older boy snapped. "Naoto, what have you been doing this whole time?! You look like you haven't eaten in a week!" The words he'd just spoken sank in as they left his mouth, and he quickly followed with, "You're not going to tell me…"

The small, thin girl shook her head, her eyes still firmly shut. "I'm not going to talk about it. Go away, Yosuke."

Walking over to her, Yosuke placed a hand on her forehead and flinched at what he felt. "Naoto, your skin's like ice… Don't tell me you're planning what I think you're planning!" A fear crept into his heart as he gazed at Naoto, the girl his best friend had left behind.

Naoto's lips moved as she whispered something Yosuke couldn't quite detect. Seeing that she was ignoring him, he listened closer to hear her breathe, "I'll be by your side again soon… Yu…" Hearing her words, he lifted her bodily and began taking her downstairs, ignoring her frail body's struggles.

Dojima had just come home when he saw Yosuke carrying Naoto out the door and asked, "Hanamura, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Dojima-san, we've got to get her to the hospital fast! Naoto's planning to kill herself!" Was the young man's only answer.

"Wait, what?!" Dojima blurted. "Get her into the car now, I'll take her there. You call your friends - maybe having you all there will snap her out of it." Yosuke bundled Naoto into Dojima's car, getting his cell phone out as the detective drove the girl away.

It was only a half-hour until the group was gathered at the hospital once more, minus Rise. Kanji looked furious as he asked Yosuke, "You're kidding me, right Yosuke-senpai? Naoto's really planning to kill herself?!"

"Dude, don't snap at me!" Yosuke replied. "We'll wait and see what Dojima-san says. He's in there talking with the doctors now."

As if on cue, Dojima emerged from the room and sighed. Yukiko quickly asked, "Dojima-san, what's going on?"

"Naoto's in bad shape." The man said bluntly. "I'd been having Nanako bring meals up to her, but apparently she never ate any of it. It's pretty clear now that she was planning to starve herself to death. The docs have her hooked up to a machine now to feed her, but they had to restrain her while they were at it; every time they put the tube in, she'd pull it out again. Looks like she really wants to die." He sighed once more, shaking his head.

Yukiko murmured, "First Yu, now Naoto. Doesn't she realize he would want her to live?"

Inside Naoto's room, the almost skeletally thin girl was unconscious, restrainted by straps attached to the bed. Though she looked serene as she slept, her mind was anything but.

She stood in a darkened street, the one where the Dojima Residence stood. The moon shone overhead as she walked up the road from the house, gazing at the swirling shadows beyond. Suddenly a voice called from behind her, making her freeze in place. "It is not your time, Naoto-chan."

Turning around, Naoto saw a figure in white standing where no one had been a moment before. A long spear rested on its back as its yellow eye looked at her from behind its mask, and its voice seemed oddly familiar to her. "Who… are you?" Naoto asked, her voice soft and sorrowful.

"I am not surprised you do not remember me." The figure said as it walked up to her and took her hand. "I am the ruler of this land, the dreamscape Yu Narukami's soul created. I am Izanagi-no-Okami."