"Maybe we wouldn't be having this fight if you could just stop babying me!" Hanako screamed at her boyfriend, Hisao. "If you loved me, you'd treat me normally, not like some charity case you keep around to feel better about yourself!"

Hanako usually wouldn't be in such a rage, nor would she be so harsh, but everything had just been wearing her thin lately. She had become increasingly aware that despite her best efforts, she just wasn't mixing with the other university students as well as Hisao was and it irritated her, but she had been able to brush it off. This feeling of being inadequate just kept piling up as her grades slipped, she had difficulties finding a job, and she began to question why Hisao loved her. Which is what led to this charming scene.

Hisao stared at her incredulously. "Hana…I never thought of you as a charity case…I'm with you because I'm in love with you…" He crossed over to her to hug her tightly, but she backed away from his embrace jerkily, shaking her head to reject him.

She took a shaky breath and looked up at him anxiously, her grey eyes pooling with tears. "Hisao…just…just leave…please…It'll be easier….for b-both of us…" She pointed to the bedroom door as sternly as she could until he opened his mouth to speak, decided against it, and walked out of the bedroom. Once he was out of sight, she shut and locked the door before flinging herself on the bed to cry into the pillows. Hanako felt guilty for letting her jealousy get the better of her and for yelling at Hisao the way she had. Hisao didn't deserve that, he had been the best thing to happen to her since he arrived at Yamaku Academy. She cuddled into her damp pillow, worn out from yelling and crying. It wasn't long before she had fallen into a restless sleep.

Hisao sighed as he tried to make himself comfortable on the apartment couch. He knew Hanako had been having trouble to adjust to university, but he hadn't been aware of how awful it had been for her. He'd try to make it up to her in the morning. But now, it was late and he needed sleep. Yawning, he got into a somewhat comfortable position on his back and fell asleep.

Hanako wasn't able to sleep well that night without Hisao snuggling her. Around six that morning, she gave up trying to sleep and left the bedroom to pad quietly down the hallway to the living room. She found Hisao sleeping on the couch. She was torn between trying to reconcile and just running back to the bedroom. After a few seconds of debating with herself, Hanako eventually climbed on top of Hisao and laid down on him, her face buried in the crook of his neck. He stirred sleepily and wrapped his arms around her small frame tightly.

"Hana?" he mumbled tiredly as his eyes opened slowly to find his girlfriend on top of him.

"Hisao…I'm…I'm so…s-sorry…" she muttered sorrowfully as she cuddled close to him. "I…I didn't…mean it…any of it…Please…d-don't go…"

He smiled and kissed her hair as he rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's okay, Hana. You've been really stressed out lately. It's no one's fault, okay?" He thought a moment while they snuggled. "Could we move back to the bedroom now? This couch isn't very comfortable."

"Y-Yeah…" She got up and smiled shyly as she extended her dainty hand to him. He took her hand in his and they walked down the hallway together. Exhausted, the young couple were asleep almost as soon as they got into bed, spooning close together while they slept.

Hisao woke up a couple of hours later to find Hanako still asleep. He smiled as he took in her sleeping form before pressing a small kiss to her cheek. She smiled and stirred fractionally, but didn't wake up. He got up carefully and began to dress, a plan forming in his mind. He would give Hanako the most romantic evening possible. He had to go out and buy flowers, chocolate, and her favorite movie, Titanic, before she woke up. He finished getting dressed and jotted down a small note for her in case she woke up while he was out. He grabbed his cell phone and wallet and left the apartment.

Hanako woke up a few hours later, confused by the lack of Hisao's absence beside her in the bed. Had she dreamed that they made up? Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she spotted a note on her bedside table:

Gone out to the store, be back soon. I promise. Love, Hisao.

She smiled as she heaved herself out of bed, relieved that he hadn't left for good. Still drowsy, she started a pot of tea before starting her day.

An English paper and two pots of chamomile tea later, Hisao still hadn't returned home, and Hanako was feeling antsy. Where could he possibly be for this long? She sighed and resisted the urge to call him. He probably was held up by something or other at the store.

It wasn't until five that evening that she received a phone call. Hoping it was Hisao calling to tell her where he was, Hanako picked up the phone to be greeted by a stranger's voice. "Miss Ikezawa?"

"Y-Yes, this is sh-she…" she answered worriedly. "Is s-something the m-matter…?"

"Do you know one Hisao Nakai?" inquired the voice calmly. It was so clinical, so aloof, that Hanako gasped in realization. Something had happened to Hisao. He'd had a heart attack and was back in the hospital.

"Y-Yes…he's m-my boyfriend…I'll b-be right there…" She was halfway to the front door when the voice told her the worst news possible.

"I'm sorry Miss Ikezawa, but Mr. Nakai has had a very severe heart attack. He was dead on arrival."

The living room swam before her eyes as her mind processed this news. Dead? No, that wasn't Hisao. He couldn't be. Right? Overwhelmed, she hung up her phone and fell onto the couch where just last night, Hisao had spent the night. It smelled just like him. She knew eventually she had to go to the hospital and do paperwork, but for the next ten minutes, it couldn't hurt to just pretend he was still alive for a little while longer, right?