[A/N: CAUTION! Spoiler alert. If you haven't watched the anime up to episode 47 or read the manga up to chapter 42 (first chapter of book 12) then you might not want to read this because you will either be confused or it will spoil everything else you still need to catch up on. As always, ENJOY!]

Say my name and his in the same breath
I dare you to say they taste the same

—Nana K—

The fireworks had been rescheduled for tonight. I had invited the others so we could all go together. When I first asked them I was so afraid they wouldn't want to go with me; afraid they hated me so much that they didn't even want to see me. But they had agreed. I was going to meet them at room 707. But I had gone to Jackson's first. I never thought I would run into Shoji there. I never thought he would affect me so much.

When I heard Nana's voice it helped distill my crazed emotions like a sedative. It had been so long since I actually talked with her. Seeing and hearing her on TV wasn't nearly the same as actually talking and being with her. And I admitted to her how afraid I was to see Nobu. After what had just transpired with Shoji, I was terrified to the bone that the moment I saw him, I would finally lose him for good.

"Nobu isn't here," she said casually. "He has no backbone, he backed out at the last minute. So hurry up and get over here already."

Mixed emotions flooded my heart. I was relieved that I would not have to face him yet at the same time it hurt that he couldn't stand to see me. I couldn't blame him though—I would never forgive me if I were him. I honestly loved Nobu and I felt completely terrible for causing him so much pain. I never meant to become pregnant by Takumi; I never meant to completely betray him; I never meant to betray myself.

I managed to find the will in me to get up from the bench and started walking to the apartment. My heart still felt heavy as I walked the lonely streets. I forced myself to put on a cheery face though. I couldn't let the others see how much pain I was in. I knew they all likely hated that I decided to marry Takumi and leave Nobu, so it only made sense that they would be upset with me even more if they knew I was not happy.

Standing before the door was nerve racking. I was excited to see Nana again—to see Yasu and Shin again too. I missed having all of them in my life. Lately my life had been reduced to the lonely confines of my new apartment with only the occasional visit from Jun-chan. I knew Takumi was busy with work, but that didn't get rid of the deep loneliness inside of me.

I took a deep breath, put on a smile, and rang the bell. For a moment there was no response at all. The light was on though so they must be there. I waited. I was just about to call Shin when I heard the lock click—took them long enough.

"Konbanwa," I said before the door even finished opening. When it did, my heart froze in my chest.

—Nobu—

I couldn't possibly begin to explain the extreme range of emotions I felt when I saw her standing there. The shock of seeing me was clear on her face and tears started to brim her eyes. My heart ached as she began to tremble and took a hesitant step back.

"Okaeri, Hachiko," I said lightly. The words held an awkward weight on my tongue. But I had to hide all my reservations. Now was likely going to be the only time I could actually talk to her.

Her eyes widened even more and I wasn't sure if she was going to run away or burst out crying. She didn't do either as it turned out. She fell to her knees and hunched over. Judging by her hiccups, she was fighting not to cry. A part of me wanted to wrap her in my arms and take all her pain away. Another part wanted to do nothing and just leave her there to breakdown on her own. I ended up finding middle ground and just placed a hand on her shaking shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she hiccupped. "I'm so, so sorry for everything."

This was going to be harder than I thought it would be—and I never expected this to be anywhere near easy.

I pulled her arm around my neck and helped her to her feet. "Come on, let's talk inside." I almost had to completely drag her in the room; she was that irresponsive. I managed to get her to sit at the table. She immediately fell over onto the table and buried her face in her arms. I sighed and sat across from her.

"I'm sorry," she kept muttering. I believe she was saying other things but I couldn't understand any of it.

"Hachi," was all I said and suddenly there was a pause in her crying. The only sound she made were faint hiccups as she tried to calm herself. She was likely waiting for me to say something but I had no clue what to say.

"I never wanted any of this to happen," she said semi-clearly. She was sitting up but her gaze was still on the table before her. "I never thought that I would get pregnant. The night Takumi called you and told you, he had come over on his own. I was in the bathroom and I thought he had left but he went in my room and used my phone to call you. I was so sure that you completely hated me now that I couldn't say anything when you came over. Besides, with all the terrible things I had done, you deserve much better than me. I don't deserve someone as great as you."

"You're wrong." She gasped and looked up at me for the first time. "I didn't hate you, not for what happened. I hated that you didn't even try to give me some excuse."

"What was I supposed to say?"

"I don't know!" I snapped and slammed my fist on the table. She flinched. I sighed, calming down. "Anything. I just wanted to know that you cared enough about me to try to explain everything."

"I've completely lost you haven't I?" she said just above a whisper.

"Hm?"

"I seem to always lose the ones that mean the most to me," she said more to herself than to me. "First Mr. Takashi but we were never really together to begin with I guess. Still, it was hard getting over him. Then Shoji. And now you too… The Demon Lord really loves torturing me, doesn't he?"

"Hachiko?"

She looked up at me with an empty, distant gaze. The things I was going to say vanished as her gaze went through me. She really did love me still, didn't she? If she was this unhappy with Takumi then why was she still with him? The child may be his, but that didn't mean I couldn't be the father. Though I guess Takumi could provide more than I could… Still, she shouldn't have to suffer just to ensure a wealthy future for her child.

"I'm sorry, Nobu. I wish things were different." She stood up and walked over to the door. All I could do was watch her go in stunned silence. I wanted to make her stay but I knew I couldn't.

"I'm going to keep my word," I said just before she walked out the door. She froze, her back still to me, and waited for me to explain. "I will wait for you and do everything I can to make you happy." I heard her choke back tears and watched with a heavy, mixed heart as she walked out the door.

—Nana O—

The fireworks were beautiful. They almost distracted me from my haunting thoughts on what to do about Ren. I had planned on breaking up with him but instead, he proposed to me. I was so confused; I still couldn't give him an answer yet.

"Nana?" Yasu asked.

I looked at him, and through our eyes we exchanged a deep conversation. I told him how lost I felt and how I didn't know what I really wanted anymore. I told him how afraid I was that things were never going to be how they were, especially with Ren and Hachi. In return, he reassured me that he was there for me and things would be all right. I had my doubts about the latter but trusted his word anyway.

Shin's phone went off and I looked over at him.

"It's a message from Hachi." He skimmed the message and a frowned. "She's not coming."

"What? Why?" I demanded.

"She likely just talked to Nobu." That made sense. If they did talk, either they were back together now and wanted to be alone, or she got upset and was too overwhelmed to be around us. Shin's phone went off again and I looked back at him. Was it Nana? Or perhaps Nobu? "Looks like it's just the three of us tonight," he sighed.

I guess they really did talk. Still, I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one. That added to my current anxiety. Were Hachi and I both cursed to have such complicated love lives? Oh shit… My breathing started to become labored and short as my heart pounded against my ribs. I was going to hyperventilate again.

Arms wrapped around me and I shuddered. Yasu didn't say anything as he held me; he didn't have to. His strong arms around me as he held me against him were enough. Slowly I began calming down.

"Come on, I'll take you home," Yasu said after my breathing had steadied and shaking stopped.

"What? The fireworks aren't even done yet."

"You need to get some rest. Otherwise you might have another attack."

He had a point. I needed to stop thinking of everything. I nodded, agreeing to leave, and stood up with a little help from him.

"We're going back to the apartment. You gonna be fine by yourself, Shin?"

"Yeah, don't worry," he said and also stood. "I was going to bail soon anyways since Hachi and Nobu aren't gonna come now."

Together, the three of us walked around the crowd up to the path. There, we parted ways. All the way to the door of apartment 707, Yasu and I didn't say a word as we walked side by side. It wasn't awkward—not from the silence at least. My mind as spinning with thoughts of Ren and somehow they ended up being of Yasu. I don't know how it happened; it just did.

The rain started falling down before we even got inside the apartment building. We ran the last few meters to the building's entrance to escape the rain as it started to rapidly turn into a downpour. We had barely been outside for half a minute and we were close to being soaked.

"You should probably wait here until the storm calms down," I said once inside the building.

He looked at me and hesitated. Maybe he was just catching his breath from sprinting like I was. Maybe he didn't want to and was trying to figure out the nicest way to reject me. Maybe he was surprised that I had just asked to him to stay, with me… in my apartment… just the two of us… alone… Shit, did I really just do that?

What his thoughts were I would likely never know for sure. He just silently nodded and followed me upstairs.

—Nana K—

I sat by the window staring blankly into the darkness as rain ran down the window. After talking with Nobu I couldn't bear to stay and watch the fireworks with Nana and the others. I sent Shin an email apologizing. He said it was okay, but I knew they likely were upset with me. Though I'm sure after they talk to Nobu they will understand better why I could not watch the fireworks with them.

Time dragged by but it was already well past midnight. Still, I was alone. Takumi seemed to be working later and later. I barely ever saw him during the day. After he woke up he would have to go to work. After work he would be so exhausted half the time that he went straight to bed. I never envisioned things to be like this when I thought about getting married and having a child—for multiple reasons. But I couldn't change how things worked out. All I could do was hope that the future will be pleasant enough, if not for me, then at least my child.

Time became an enigma around me as I lost myself in thought. I likely would have fallen asleep without noticing it at all if the light slamming of a door didn't shake me back into the consciousness. Takumi was finally home.

"Okaeri!"

"Tadaima," he sighed flatly. It was clear he was exhausted. Still, couldn't he have been a bit happier to be home with me?—especially after such a long day.

"Do you want me to make you anything to eat?"

"We had dinner already. I'm just going to go to bed."

"Oh, okay." I tried not to left my voice give away my sadness but the look on his face made me think I didn't do a very good job of that.

"You should be getting rest as well. Have you been crying?" He cupped my face and narrowed his eyes as he looked at me.

I pulled away and turned my face away from him. Were my eyes still red? Did my cheeks still have the trails left from past tears? Had my mascara or eyeliner started to run? Damn, I hadn't wanted him to see me like this.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just hormones. Don't worry."

It was a bit shocking how quickly he accepted that answer. He didn't bother trying to comfort me in any way; he just nodded and retired to the bedroom. Did he even care? All the stress was starting to overwhelm me and drive me close to an emotional breakdown. I had to sit down. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and started humming to myself to try to calm down. All this stress was unhealthy—for me and for the baby.

"Nana?" Takumi called from the hallway.

I ignored him and continued trying to calm my nerves. This had to be the worst night of my life, or at least a close second to the night everyone found out I was pregnant.

"What's wrong now?" He had entered the room and now sat next to me. He didn't hold me, didn't place a hand on my shoulder even. The tone of his voice gave no comfort either.

"Do you love me? Are you honesty in love me?"

He flinched from my abrupt, frank question. "Do you really think I don't love you?"

"At times I question it, yes."

He sighed, letting head fall back against the back of the couch, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "With everything I've done for you, you still question my love?"

"There's a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone."

He looked over at me with an annoyed gaze. "And what about you? Are you in love with me? Or are you just marrying me because of the baby or my money?"

I frowned as tears stared rolling down my cheeks. "Do you really think I'm that selfish that I would only be with you for such petty reasons like that?"

"For all I know you would, since we really don't know too much of each other."

All the more reason why I question our love, I thought to myself. "If you took more time to be with me then—"

"Took the time?" he cut me off. He sat up and held the coldest, hardest expression I had seen before. As he spoke, his voice became rougher as ire filled him. "Where do you suggest I find the time? I spend all the free time I can with you. Would you like me to quit my job and spend all my time with you?"

Never before had anyone yelled at me in such a way. My friends, like Junko, had yelled at me but I knew she only meant the best and all the anger came out of love. But with Takumi, I felt only annoyance. Should I really have expected any though? He was a famous rock star and I was just a small town girl who ended up with a couple connections and a once in a lifetime encounter with a star. I had never expected I would end up having his child and marrying him.

Between my conflicted emotions and Takumi's rising temper, I knew I had to clear my thoughts somewhere that wasn't here. Without really thinking, I stood up, grabbed my coat and left without another word. Where I was going to go I wasn't sure. I just needed to get away.

Takumi didn't follow me or even try to call out for me to stop. How I saw it, he either didn't care at all or he understood my need to go clear my thoughts and calm down. Which was his real motive I doubted I would ever find out—like it would change anything even if I knew.

I roamed the nearly empty streets restlessly. I stuck to the main streets where there were lights. Other than that, I didn't pay much attention to my surroundings. I turned a corner here, crossed a street there, went over that bridge then turned another corner.

The thing about wandering around in the rain is that you get cold pretty quickly, especially if you grabbed a normal jacket and not a waterproof one. Being closed to being completely soaked, I began searching for refuge. Thankfully there was an enclosed bus stop half way down the block. I sprinted for in and sighed in relief as I plopped down on the cold, metal bench. This was stupid. Why did I think that running out in the cold, rainy night would help things?

I was about to call Takumi to come get me—or even a cab—but I realized that I had left my phone on the coffee table at home. Great… just great! How in hell was I going to get home now? Maybe there was a payphone around I could use. I glanced both ways down the road but didn't see any; not that it really mattered since I also didn't have any change on me.

I felt terribly foolish for leaving the house in the middle of a rainstorm without my phone or any money. I didn't even know where I was. I sighed and slumped over, leaning on my knees. Blankly, I stared across the street as I contemplated what on earth I was going to do. As I stared at the building across the street, a nagging feeling began tugging at me. The building seemed so familiar, like I had been here before. Slowly, I realized where my subconscious had led me.

—Nobu—

I guess it was a good idea that I went home after talking to Hachi instead of going to watch the fireworks with the others considering how hard the rain was still coming down. The steady drone of the rain outside mixed with my crazed thoughts prohibited me from going to bed. I stared at the ceiling and watched the shifting shadows cast by the trees moving outside from the wind.

Why is Hachi still with Takumi when she clearly wasn't happy?

Why wasn't I fighting more for her?

Do I even still love her like I used to?

I sighed and tried to wipe all those reoccurring thoughts from my head. I tried focusing on the rain and the steady drumming it made as it splattered against my window. I was beginning to zone everything out when I heard a car's tires screech. At first I didn't think much of it. I could faintly hear someone rambling frantically but I figured they just damaged their car by hitting a lamppost or tree.

Then the feint shrill of sirens gradually filled the air. It was then I became curious. I glanced out my window but could only see the reflection of the taillights on the wet pavement. Slipping on a coat and my shoes, I went outside to check out the commotion.

When I saw a person lying in the middle of the street my heart dropped. Were they still alive? The longer I stared at the body the deeper my heart sunk as I noted more about them. The person was a woman, relatively young looking, and was a bit on the chubby side. No, she wasn't chubby; now that I looked at her more closely at her I knew she was pregnant, though she wasn't showing much. The only reason I knew she was pregnant was because I suddenly recognized her.

"Hachi!" I called and instantly fell to her side. I pulled her into my arms. Her body hung limply in my arms and I started to fear that she was already dead. I leaned forward and heard the shallow labored breaths her lungs struggled to grasp. Thank god she was alive still.

"You know her?" a man—I'm assuming the driver of the car—asked frantically.

"Yeah," I nodded. Fear curled up and clawed at me like a cat stretching and extending its claws. I glanced down the sides of the road yet all I saw was darkness. Why wasn't the ambulance here already? I could hear it getting closer but I still didn't see it.

"Nobu!" I heard Shin call as he ran up to me. "What's going—" He stopped short when he saw Hachi in my arms. His eyes went wide as everything connected. "She's not…?"

"She's alive. For now at least." We stared at each other helplessly for a moment. What were we supposed to do? Behind Shin I spotted emergency lights quickly approaching. "Shine, I need you to do something," I said without taking my eyes off those lights. "Call Nana and Yasu and tell them that Hachi was in an accident and is at the hospital. I'll meet you guys there."

Shin pulled out his cell and stepped inside the building just as the ambulance pulled to a stop. Paramedics rushed out and surrounded us. They pushed me off to the side so they could get to Hachi and one of the started asking me questions. What he asked I didn't know. I was too focused on Hachi to hear what he was saying. When they started to move Hachi to the ambulance, I followed.

"Sir, I'm sorry but you can't come with," one of the medics said.

"I have to! I have to make sure she's alright."

"I'm sorry but you're going to have to get to the hospital on your own."

"No, I'm not leaving her!" The medic I was arguing with tried to hold me back but I fought against him. Both of us were stubborn and he seemed to want to give in as much as I did.

"Oh just let him come, Takashi. You two are just wasting time," one of the other medics said. Takashi let go of me and we both climbed into the back. The entire ride I sat squished to the side, wondering if she was going to be okay. They worked on her, taking stats and poking her with needles, as I sat there uselessly. We soon reached the hospital. This time, I had to leave her. As they took her back into the ER I was forced to resign to the waiting room with all the despair in the world weighing down on my heart.