A/N: Here's the new chapter ^^ I hope you'll enjoy it!


Chapter 2


The large room was only illuminated by the setting sun. It was equipped with expensive furniture, a big TV screen was off to the right side of the room, surrounded by comfortable looking couches. On the left side, a set of stairs led to the second floor which was like an interior balcony, full of book shelves. And in the far back of the room, light penetrated through the typical office shutters bathing the desk in its crimson glow. On the polished desk, there were two computer screens and a brand new keyboard.

A figure stepped out of the corner of the room holding a thick folder and set it on the desk. It was a young man wearing a simple and comfortable black jacket with beige colored fur aligning the edges.

He dropped onto his chair behind the desk and spun around, smiling broadly to himself.

"Hey, Namie-san!" he called out towards the bookshelves in a sing song voice, "Do you think that the fire that spread in the Sakaki household was just an accident or," he paused for a second and a full blown grin stretched out on his face, "do you think it was caused by some group of people?"

The silhouette of an attractive woman stepped out of the shadows and stopped just on top of the stairs. She stared down at the man and answered coldly. "If you already know the answer, then don't pester someone else for it. After all, you are the expert here."

"Namie-san, that was cold of you! I was just asking a question..." he retorted with the same smirk in place. "And thanks for the complement!" he added cheerfully.

The women descended the stairs and placed a manila envelope in front of the grinning young man.

"It's all done the way you wanted it to be," she said curtly, frowning when he started to spin his chair again.

He took the envelope while typing away on his keyboard with one hand with such speed that it was almost a blur. He glimpsed inside it and hummed in satisfaction, content with the work.

"Completed with perfection as always. But I wonder... what amount of work would be enough to strip away that perfection?" he asked slyly, stopping his typing and looking straight into her eyes.

She stared right back at him without wavering, her coldness becoming even more obvious by each passing second. Night already fell, the room was engulfed into darkness except for the small rays of light coming through the window.

"Just kidding. Even if I did give you an unending amount of work, you'll still complete all of it. And what's the fun of it if I get bored of doing nothing?" he replied back, already losing interest in the subject.

He resumed typing for a few more minutes and stopped, spinning his chair yet again. "I wonder if it'll be worth my time involving myself in this troublesome stuff. Oh well, I started this in the first place, no use crying over spilt milk."

"It'll be entertaining to see you cry over spilt milk," Namie added bluntly, flipping through a file on the couch, already having turned on the light.

The young man ignored what she said, preferring to look out into the night city through the little peak in the shutters. One moment, he was contemplating the beautiful scenery and the next, he was smirking in a sadistic way.

"What will you do now? What kind of entertainment will you bring me, Sasaki Sadako?"


"Do you think they'll be alright? Won't it be dangerous just for the two of them to go?" Sadako asked in a desperate voice, trying to keep up with Yoshiko's long strides.

"Don't be stubborn, it's already decided. The Sakaki siblings will take care of this one, please don't underestimate them just because they're young," the Sergeant turned her head towards the young girl, smiling down at her gently.

"But..." Sadako said hesitantly.

"No buts. That was the final decision, and Lieutenant knows what she's doing." Yoshiko stopped in her tracks and waited for the high school student to catch up to her.

Sadako looked up at the Sergeant with a worried face, fearing for the two siblings. After all they were going directly into enemy's territory, without knowing anything at all which was pretty much suicide. She came to know them during the few days they were together, each day being a new experience for her. They taught her a lot of things about police life, the things she can do and not do, what was right and what was wrong...

In the end, the young girl became quite attached to them even though she promised herself to not get too close to anyone. She was scared for them, scared about what will happen to them if she couldn't change Lieutenant's decision.

Yoshiko's heart clenched when she looked at the young high school student. She would also have preferred if someone else took on this mission but she knew that it was impossible. Captain did all he could to at least allow a group of police officers to look into this case and six competent officers was all he could get.

Yoshiko took Sadako into her arms and stayed like that for a few minutes, giving her the comfort that she needed.

The Sergeant drew back and smiled down at her reassuringly. "I'm sure they'll do fine. After all, those siblings work best when they're together." She ruffled Sadako's hair and walked towards the parking area in a slower pace. Sadako followed her without another word, still uneasy about the whole thing.

"Sakura and Kohinata will be home later on after they're done with their preparations." the Sergeant informed Sadako while opening the car door for her. She thanked the older woman and got into the car, a frown still etched on her forehead.

Yoshiko started the engine and drove away from the parking lot surely and swiftly.

Minutes passed by without the two of them speaking. Sadako looked out of the window and stared at the night sky dotted with thousands of sparkling stars. The weather was getting colder as the days passed by, winter was getting near and the timing couldn't be any worse.

The fifteen year old girl sighed and thought back to the early morning when Kohinata and Sakura was given the mission in front of the seven of them. The two of them, Daisuke and herself, objected fervently but with no avail.

But what surprised her most was that the both of them insisted on doing this suicide mission, going into enemy's territory to collect information that wasn't even reliable. She clenched her hands to stop them from trembling, why was she always such a burden? She couldn't help anyone and yet...

"This is what we have to do. It's not only for you but for ourselves too. Anyways, Kohinata and I have always dreamed of solving an almost impossible case so don't worry about us and start thinking on what you have to do."

"Onee-san is right! We'll definitely get our hands on their plan! Well, she just needs to record the whole meeting. If she can do that, that is..."

"Of course I'll be able to record it! Just because I'm bad in manipulating all those new and complicating devices doesn't mean that I can't use a simple recorder!"

Sadako giggled quietly to herself, she really just loved their little sibling quarrel. It was always fun to watch in the sidelines and comment on it with Daisuke.

She glanced up when she felt someone staring at her. Yoshiko was lifting an eyebrow and staring at her in a puzzled way. When the older woman was about to open her mouth, Sadako interrupted.

"It's nothing. Just thinking about some things," Sadako said in an amused voice, staring out the window once again.

"If you're feeling better, then that's great," Yoshiko replied back, relieved to see that she wasn't as upset as earlier.

When the car came to a stop, the high school student slipped on her beige coat and stepped out into the cold night. She bowed and thanked Yoshiko as the window rolled up, stopping the freezing air from entering the car.

As the car drove away, Sadako turned around and walked into a modest apartment where she was living with the Sasaki siblings.

The young girl sighed contently when she was finally inside and away from the freezing cold. She hung her coat on the coat rack and entered the bathroom to get a long hot bath.

She stepped into her bedroom after half an hour of dipping herself in hot water. She dried the excessive water in her hair and brushed it until it became soft.

Sadako sighed once again, tired from all the ordeal, and let herself fall on the bed. She stared at the ceiling silently and closed her eyes, letting herself drift into the world of dreams.


"Wake up sleepy head! It's morning already!"

At the same time, the curtains were thrown open, letting the morning light filter through the window. The comforter covering the young girl was hurled aside, giving her shivers with the loss of warmth.

"Kohinata-san... please give me back the blanket..." Sadako groaned out while curling into a ball, trying to keep herself warm.

"Nah, it's time to wake up! And didn't you say that you wanted learn how to ride a motorcycle?" Kohinata asked mischievously and waited for her to bolt out of the bed and into the bathroom to get changed.

Sadako did just what Kohinata thought. She bolted out of the bed, not caring if the tile floor was freezing cold, took a set of clothes without thinking at all, and ran right into the bathroom to get changed.

Kohinata chuckled at how predictable Sadako could be sometimes, just like an innocent little child. But then, he frowned at what his sister and himself had to do. The mission was basically suicide and the probability of getting out unscathed was near zero percent or most likely impossible.

It was the least they could do for Lieutenant and of course, Sadako. By completing this task, the Operation Hiroshima will be underway. But if the information they collected weren't enough, it would put all the operation on hold until things have calmed down which will be probably too late to catch the one behind the Sasaki massacre.

He sighed bitterly, the only thing he could do for Sadako was to draw her out of her shell, trying to make her open up to the world, and show her that everything wasn't lost. But he knew that they will end up hurting her, adding another deep wound in her heart.

Kohinata collapsed on the bed and threw his arm over his eyes. He really should have slept the previous night, but with all the things going on, the last thing in his mind was sleeping. He let out a muffled yawn and slipped off into darkness.

Sadako doused herself in cold water, not even waiting for it to get warmer, and showered as fast as she could. When she was done, she stepped out from underneath the shower head and dried herself in a hurry.

She threw on her clothes and slammed opened the door, rushing to the living room to find Sakura who should be waiting for her.

"You're finally here. I thought you forgot." Sakura drawled out lazily and turned off the television. She got up and stretched, unwinding her camped up muscles.

"Of c-course not..." the younger girl stammered and blushed, scratching her head sheepishly.

"Yeah, right. I sent Kohinata to wake you up you know?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, changing her weight to the other leg. "And what are you wearing?"

Sadako blinked and looked down on herself, she was sure that she grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of jeans... She flushed to the root of her hair when she realized what she was wearing and sprinted back to the guest bedroom to change into a more appropriate and warmer shirt.

When Sadako entered the room, she was surprised to find the door open and even more so when she found Kohinata curled into a ball on the bed. The young girl smiled to herself and pulled the comforter over his body.

She then opened the closet quietly and picked out a warmer and thicker shirt, being careful not to make the same mistake. She glanced one last look at the sleeping young man and joined Sakura in front of the apartment door, all ready to go.


Light filtered into the dark office, casting white spots here and there, doing almost nothing to illuminate the room nor to alleviate the gloomy atmosphere.

One woman stood beside the window, leaning against the wall and the other was sitting on the office chair looking through paperwork. Silence reigned the room for a long time, neither of them looking at the other. The woman leaning against the wall sighed and opened the office shutters and let the morning sunshine light up the room.

The one who was sitting frowned and squinted her eyes, the excess of light blinding her temporarily.

"Yoshiko... you should have warned me when you were about to open the shutters," the woman wearing glasses murmured disapprovingly, already in a bad mood because of all the stress she was getting lately.

Yoshiko sighed once again and replied back quietly. "Reading something in the dark is not good for your eyes, Yugito."

"As if staying up late is any good for your health," Yugito retorted dryly, still reading and tidying up the papers.

The Sergeant chuckled without humor, "You got me. But with all those works needing to be done, it's quite hard to sleep early."

Yugito tucked away the papers into different folders and stacked them up neatly besides her. She then stood up and walked towards the window, stopping besides Yoshiko.

"Then work regularly everyday early in the morning, until you've finished all of the work assigned to you." the Lieutenant replied back and opened the window, letting in the cold morning air.

"I can't work that much unlike you, you who entered the police and rose very quickly in ranks because of all your hard work and intelligence beyond normal people." Yoshiko stated dryly, staring at a stain on the wall where Yugito threw a cup of coffee.

She remembered that it was when things were not going too well, if at all, during the time when Captain Takashima was in the USA and asked Lieutenant Hayate to replace him temporarily. A serious case was going on then, almost breaking Yugito apart from the stress. And when Captain came back, he rescued Lieutenant from evil like a Knight in a shining armor. How romantic... Well their love story did go well as they were husband and wife now.

Yugito pretended that she did not hear what Yoshiko said, she didn't like it too much when people gossiped about her being way more intelligent than normal people.

"But besides that, the Yellow Scarves are becoming quite problematic lately, there're rumors about illegal drug trafficking between them and Takame." the Sergeant said nonchalantly and picked at her nails. "We should have that looked into." she added without even facing the Lieutenant.

"Daisuke should be looking into it right now. He's also taking care of the matter concerning the Blue Squares too. Must be annoying for him, he always hated gangs after all," Yugito replied back with the same uncaring tone.

Silence descended upon them once again, neither of them doing anything to break it. Yoshiko straightened up and was going to leave the room when Yugito spoke up.

"Didn't you have something else to ask me? Something about the Sakaki siblings, is it not?" Yugito asked her, leaning against the window sill.

"Correct as always, Lieutenant." Yoshiko smiled and picked up a flower in a vase on the table.

"Get on with it," the Lieutenant glared at her, her patience running thin. "And put that flower back in the vase." she added as an afterthought.

"Yes ma'am, as you wish," the Sergeant replied back sarcastically and placed the flower back to where it belonged. Her sarcasm completely disappeared and was replaced by weariness when she started to talk.

"Why them...?" she asked sadly, already mourning for two young souls that will be lost later this evening. Her posture screamed of exhaustion, her shoulders were slumped and she leaned heavily on the wall.

"You already asked me that question... and you do know that there wasn't any other choices with the limited amount of officers Captain could get us." Yugito whispered quietly, her anguished voice betraying her emotionless face. Even though she faced countless agonizing losses in the past, it didn't make it easier for her to stand back and let two officers walk to their death.

"Let's just hope that they will come back unscathed, hope that they will return to us and greet us while bickering with each other like normal times."

But they both knew that their wish would not be granted.

The both of them stared out the window and watched as the sun rose into the air, hearts heavy with sadness, having to lose two of their comrades.


"You'll be back, right?" Sadako asked quietly, her eyes downcast.

"We can't promise you that, and you know it." Sakura replied with a tender smile and hugged Sadako tightly.

"Don't be that gloomy! We'll make sure to record everything, so don't worry about not being able to continue this operation. There's no way we'll accept failure anyways!" Kohinata grinned down at her and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"It's a promise?" Sadako demanded unsurely, still clinging to Sakura's jacket.

"Of course, Sadako-chan..." The taller woman answered and gently removed herself from Sadako, while giving a glance to Kohinata.

"We have to go, we don't want to be late and raise suspicion, do we?" he asked, his eyes shining with amusement.

Sadako nodded and stepped back reluctantly, still refusing to look at them in the eyes. Sakura sighed and pecked the young girl's forehead, smoothing her hair away.

"Stay here until we come back or if Yoshiko-san comes here to pick you up." Sakura reminded her again and opened the door to leave.

"See ya, Sadako-chan!" Kohinata winked at her and exited the apartment, determined to fulfill the mission with perfection.

"Bye, and have a good night." Sakura, on the other hand, seemed to be resigned, accepting fully the consequences that came with the mission.

But Sadako knew better, the older of the Sasaki siblings was definitely determined as much as her younger brother maybe even more so.

Sakura stopped by the door frame and turned her head back to look at Sadako for one last time. She gave the younger girl one last sad look and followed after her brother, her yellow scarf fluttering in the wind.

When the door closed, Sadako's facade fell away and she rushed into the guest bedroom to prepare herself. She sighed in relief, it seemed that they didn't see through her poor act. The last time she put one up was years ago when she didn't want to go to school...

Even though she knew that following them wasn't going to change much, she still didn't want to wait until it was all over. She threw on a black impermeable jacket and brown flexible trousers to protect her from the icy wind. Sadako took a small key hidden under the sofa and took the black helmet that was placed on a small table beside the entrance.

She then headed for the underground parking lot quietly, putting on the helmet before she crossed any surveillance camera as it was illegal for a fifteen year old girl to ride a motorbike... Well, when Sakura taught her how to ride it, she promised not to use it until her birthday passed and got the license. But there were always exceptions like this time...

When she was in front of the motorbike, she gazed at it in admiration. It was sleek and black, and the metal was of the highest quality as well as the paint. Sakura told her this morning that this bike was one of the fastest in Ikebukuro as well as the most hardest to handle.

But it was a good thing that she was a fast-learner, or else she would never been able to learn how to ride a motorbike in time. She exhaled nervously and got on the bike, once she was comfortable enough, she inserted they key and started the engine.

The motorbike purred back to life and shuddered softly. Sadako smiled in relief and sped out the parking lot, and into the cold night.

Sadako took a left turn and raced down the road, avoiding the main highway in fear of running into a police officer or being stuck in a traffic jam. She looked at the time and nearly had a heart attack, it was already midnight! The meeting should have started already and she was no way near that place!

Adrenaline coursed through her, making her head fuzzy. She panicked and started to tremble, her vision blurred and fear gripped at her heart.

Calm down you idiot!

Just then, a figure jumped out of the shadows and right into her path. She choked on a scream, and veered quickly to the right, the tires screeching in protest as the bike spun on itself, missing the person by a hair's-breadth.

Sadako removed her helmet shakily and was about to yell at the person who almost killed her, when the person's face stopped her. The helmet fell out of her grip and she stared at the person in surprise.

"Daisuke-san...?"

The said man took a step forward and picked up the helmet for her, "You shouldn't go around dropping this, it looks pretty expensive. Sakura would be mad if you broke her favorite helmet," Daisuke said blandly, as if he didn't just step into a motorbike's path charging with a speed of sixty kilometers per hour.

He whistled loudly, impressed with how Sadako was able to dodge him with such a short reaction time. "You should definitely enter a race after all this ordeal." But there wasn't a trace of humor in his voice.

The young girl burned with anger, suppressing the urge to lash out at him. Daisuke was an adult after all and she, just a little nobody girl sticking her nose into a business where a child like her shouldn't be meddling.

"Take me with you, I know the exact location so you don't need to lose your time searching aimlessly in the dark." Daisuke demanded anxiously, he too was worried about Sakura and Kohinata.

"Then please do drive. It would be better if an adult was seen driving this motorbike rather than someone clad in black and with a small frame which will be definitely suspicious." Sadako scooted backward on her seat and motioned in front of her.

Silence descended upon them, making the young girl anxious with each passing second.

"Well?" she asked, her patience running extremely thin.

Daisuke then scratched his head sheepishly and said, "I don't know how to drive one. But at least I brought a helmet with me." At that, he showed her the object in his left hand.

Sadako sighed and returned back to the front of the seat, motioning for him to get on. She then asked with a serious voice, "Where is the warehouse? I was pretty sure it was somewhere around here..."

Daisuke chuckled and explained where it was and what to avoid if they didn't want to get caught. After she listened to his short explanation carefully, she sped towards the destination.


When they arrived, the splash water of assaulted their ears. The meeting place was supposed to be an abandoned warehouse near Ara river. They both got down the motorbike and observed the area prudently. Sadako searched for a place to hide the bike and as there wasn't a source of light near them, it was difficult to move around.

She decided to hide it underneath a black plastic and joined Daisuke behind a high stack of rusted metal beams. He motioned for her to go on his right side and with his back to the metal beams, he peaked out to the left, where the warehouse was situated.

Just then, a loud ruckus resounded through the entire area. Sadako jumped in surprise and bumped into Daisuke who was stiff as a wooden board. They heard furious screams and shouts, crashes and booms echoing in the night air.

When she located the origin of the voices, color drained from her face and cold fear gripped her heart.

Sakura-san! Kohinata-san!

Before Daisuke could even act, Sadako rushed towards the warehouse without thinking. She was just before the large metal double doors when they banged opened with a resounding crash. The young girl jumped to the side and rolled across the ground just in time to dodge a flying metal pole.

She gaped at it with wide eyes as it traced wide arcs in the air and fell down ten meters away from her. She snapped her head towards the entrance as a crowd of people wearing yellow scarves dashed out of the warehouse, seeming to try to locate someone.

Sadako stumbled and tripped, trying to hide behind a small bush in haste. She peaked through the leaves and scrutinized the scene, her heart racing a mile per second. She had a hard time to quiet down her breathing as she wasn't at all used to exerting so much physical effort.

The young girl muffled a scream with her hand when a broken window frame flew past her above her head, scaring her to death. She inhaled a shaky breath as tears prickled her eyes unintentionally, she had always hated how her body reacted so quickly to fear, and how she shook and trembled in fright way too quickly even if she could resist mentally.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of long black hair pulled up in a ponytail and right then she knew immediately that it was Sakura running as fast as she could, dodging the crowd gracefully.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind, a large hand covered her mouth to stop her from screaming. The man, guessing from his strength, dragged her beside the warehouse and when she was about to chomp down on his hand, a familiar voice stopped her.

"Would you please stop struggling? Someone will find us if you make too much noise."

The young man released her slowly. It was Takasato Kaname, the cold man with few words. She didn't see him lately because she almost always didn't linger around after their daily meeting and Kaname always came back later in the night doing tasks that only he and Lieutenant knew about.

Maybe this was one of his numerous mission, spying the meeting alongside the Sasaki siblings and giving them aid when they were in a pinch.

As if reading her mind, Kaname replied, "Don't misunderstand, I'm not here to meddle with anything. My mission only entailed to observe the meeting, whether it be good or bad."

Sadako was stunned, it didn't make sense to her at all. Sakura and Kohinata were in danger and yet, this man refused to help them just because it wasn't entailed in his mission?!

When he did nothing but stand there, staring at the night sky as if nothing was wrong, Sadako finally snapped.

She grabbed his jacket and shoved him right into the wall, refusing to let go even if her hands hurt at the strain. She wheezed heavily and blinked away the sweat that rolled over her eye, she saw the surprise on his face but it was quickly erased a second later.

"What in the world is wrong with you? People are going to die tonight and yet you're saying that you don't care?" Sadako hissed at him, her eyes narrowing in anger.

"I'm just following the rule that Lieutenant Yugito placed for me, to not do anything that wasn't written on the mission file," Kaname stated, staring down at the younger girl with a cold gaze.

Sadako chuckled without a speck of humor. "Hey did you know? Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. I can't actually believe that an Anime character is smarter than a real person." She retorted and stared up at him with an equally freezing glare.

Sadako let go of the older man and turned on her heels, determined to follow Sakura. Before she departed, she gave Kaname one last word.

"If they die tonight, and you did nothing to help them escape, I'll blame you for the entirety of my life."

Without any further ado, she ran towards where the motorbike was, not even giving a backward glance. If she did, she would have seen the barely concealed pain on the young Corporal's face.


When she arrived at the place Daisuke had been hiding, he was not there. She searched the area anxiously but could not find him. Inhaling and exhaling, she tried to calm down and slow her heartbeat.

The sound of quickly approaching footsteps drew her attention to the right, and there was Daisuke running towards her. He dashed towards the hidden motorbike and threw away the black plastic cover to reveal it.

"Hurry up! We don't have time to waste, we need to follow Sakura!" Daisuke yelled frantically at her and put on his helmet in haste while riding the bike.

Sadako mirrored his move and started the engine, awaiting his instructions.

"Towards Russia Sushi!"

After Daisuke's arms were securely around her waist, Sadako sped towards the said restaurant. Buildings and houses alike sped past her as she drove the bike to its maximum speed.

The icy wind whipped at her and adrenaline coursed through her body once again. She swiftly turned left and right, riding the bike was so natural now that it surprised her.

She veered to the left and went through a narrow alley between two tall grey buildings, because it was a shortcut, and as she neared the exit, a white truck sped past her with such speed that she had to turn her head to the side in fear of receiving the wind right in the face.

"Sakura's in that truck!" Daisuke yelled out loud enough so that she could hear him. With that being said, she flew down the road to pursue the truck.

One moment, the truck was a hundred meters ahead of them and the next, it swerved to the right crashing down on the asphalt and spun a few times so violently that it provoked dangerous sparks.

Sadako screeched to a stop before the truck, her body gone numb with stupor and terror. She noted unconsciously that they were beside a park and that there was no one in the near vicinity which could be better for their situation.

Daisuke on the other hand got off the bike and rushed towards the truck, he jumped on top of the left side and threw open the door with a surprising force. He then took out his phone and dialed the police number, glancing down at Sakura with a worried frown etched on his face. He then reached into the truck and took out a small black object, the recorder.

"Go after Kohinata, Sadako! Some of the men are pursuing him and he's headed for the police station! Intercept his path and make sure that he's safe!"

Without waiting for another word, Sadako rushed towards her destination with full speed. From the corner of her eye, she saw a young man clad in a simple black jacket approaching them but she was sure that Daisuke could handle himself.

Once again, she veered left and right, stopping only if a car was blocking her way and made use of the shortcuts. Just then, she saw a black motorbike heading towards her in the distance. She squinted her eyes and tried to see the figure more clearly. It was that of a young man and he was somewhat familiar... And then she realized it.

Kohinata-san!

But it was too late. Everything seemed to slow down for her. Kohinata brought something out of his pocket and slammed it into her breast-pocket. Her eyes widened as she turned her head backward and watched as a bullet pierced through Kohinata's left shoulder. He then turned his head and looked straight into her eyes, seeming to say that it was alright, that this tragedy wasn't her fault.

Then everything resumed its normal pace. Kohinata's motorbike swung to the left violently and crashed into a building with such speed that it provoked an enormous explosion.

Sadako tried to slow down her motorbike but with the explosion and the shock of seeing a friend die in front of her eyes, she failed. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she fell unconscious and the last thing she remembered were strong arms wrapping around her and pulling her up before she cracked her head on the hard road.

During that time, she could only see Kohinata's bittersweet smile.


Sadako slowly drifted to consciousness and opened her eyes. She saw white. She closed them again and wondered just how many times she would end up in a hospital room in the near future. When she sighed, the noise in the room died out as if she turned off a switch.

Sadako glanced at Daisuke who stood at the center of the room and asked a question that made all the occupants of the room stiffen.

"Is Sakura alright?"

When the young tired girl saw the agonized look on his face, she knew that he was not able to protect the older of the Sakaki siblings.

Tears of frustration leaked out of her eyes. Even though she tried her best that night, even though she swore that she would not let her precious people die again, she let two of them leave her life. And it was all her fault. If she tried harder to stop them or change Lieutenant's mind, they would probably be still alive and standing by her side at this moment.

"Get out... Get out!" Sadako yelled out at all the people in the room, refusing to look at them as she hid her tear stained face with her arm.

Daisuke left the room with his head hanging, ashamed and angry at himself for not being able to protect a woman. The Lieutenant then followed him and soon Kaname stepped out of the room.

Only Yoshiko stayed back with a worried frown on her face. She stayed back a few steps from the younger girl and waited for her to speak.

"Please... leave me alone... for now..." Sadako hiccupped in agony, trying to stop her tears with her arm.

"No. I'll stay here until you feel better," Yoshiko replied back with a firm tone, refusing to leave the girl to wallow in her sadness alone.

Sadako turned her back to the motherly Sergeant and covered her face with the white blanket already stained with her tears.

Yoshiko approached the girl and gently sat down on the bed. She then reached out with her deformed arm and patted the girl's head.

"It's okay to cry. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It just shows us that we are humans who feel emotions," Yoshiko murmured softly, combing Sadako's hair soothingly with her fingers.

The young girl with a bleeding heart curled into a ball and cried herself to sleep for the first time in a long time.


A/N: Don't forget to review if you've liked it! Review is LIFE! xD And tons of thanks to asura for being the first reviewer of this little story of mine! You've brightened up my day! ~ ^^