Author's note: In case it is forgotten, Miyuki and Toru appeared in the episode 'City of Rain'

Difficult Reunion

…

The sun had begun to rise as Mitsuko peered out of the window, over the beautiful lily that adorned the windowsill. She had only slept a few hours that night and she awoke early, letting the events of the last two days sink into her head in hopes of figuring out how she'd ended up in the small apartment of a woman she had only met by chance in a nearby bar just the evening before.

Apparently Arai had been right in suggesting they seek their answers with the local residents of the city—though Mitsuko had merely withdrawn the photo to resurrect some strength in herself. Luckily, a kind woman had been fortunate enough to glimpse over Mitsuko's shoulder at just the right second...

"Hm? My, you're up early, Mitsuko," came a sleepy voice from behind the little curtain that separated the bedroom from the kitchen.

"Hah? Good morning, Miss Miyuki. I couldn't rest, so I decided to sit here and just collect my thoughts a little." Miyuki leaned against the archway of her bedroom and smirked.

"Just like him…"

"Miss Miyuki…?" Mitsuko queried as the elder woman smiled wistfully, shaking her head.

"You called him 'Jiro', yes?" Miyuki asked, getting a simple nod in reply.

"When he was here, I woke up to find him sitting in a chair, staring out of the window, just like you were. It's funny how things like this happen; almost as if someone higher wrote things to play out this way," she mused, walking over and starting the morning coffee.

Mitsuko smiled gently, feeling at ease with this woman. She stood up and helped set the table as Miyuki sat down, waiting for her coffee to percolate. Mitsuko then browsed through the refrigerator and began pulling out cooking pans and pots as Miyuki looked at her in surprise.

"In return for letting us stay the night, will you allow me to cook breakfast for all of us?" Mitsuko asked, a genuine smile on her face for the first time in a long while. Miyuki, still stunned, nodded slowly and blinked a bit as Mitsuko went back to setting up breakfast.

She then began to laugh softly. Mitsuko looked over her shoulder at the woman as she lounged in her seat, clad in a bathrobe.

"Miyuki…?"

"I'm sorry,' she paused to gain breath,' but this is the first time I've brought in a stray that wanted and knew how to cook," she finished with a bright smile that made her eyes glitter like sunlight on water. Mitsuko shyly smiled and returned to her cooking peacefully before a loud thud emanated from the bathroom.

"Arai-chan, there's a wall there," Miyuki said, pouring some coffee for herself. There was a snort, then:

"Yep…I do believe we've met."

Miyuki and Mitsuko giggled as Arai came out rubbing her forehead with a good-natured smile. Together they sat down to a traditional breakfast of rice, fish and miso soup.

"So, Miss Miyuki: you said you haven't seen Jiro since a few years back, right?" Arai asked, swallowing a bit of fish. Miyuki sipped her coffee and nodded.

"It was interesting to say the least. The last time he was here, I asked him what his story was. He just said 'I don't have anything to tell. There's no story. I have no home and no one is waiting for me'—it's uncanny how often I seem to hear that," she answered, leaning on her hand.

Mitsuko fumbled while trying to pick up a bit of rice and dropped her chopsticks on the table. She made no move to retrieve them; her face was lowered and her mouth drawn into a sad frown.

Arai glanced cautiously at her elder cousin as Miyuki continued to smile in that sad little way of hers.

"I guess he was wrong though. He was gone the next evening. I figured he must have made his way back to the person waiting for him…did he?"

"Yes…yes he did…but he left again."

"So you're looking for him now."

Arai finished her soup and set the bowl down gently.

"That's about the gist of it." Miyuki closed her eyes, her smile widening a little.

"Where do you fit in all of this, Arai?" she asked serenely, gazing at the girl over the brim of her cup. Something flickered in the brown eyes underneath the loose, uncoiled dark strands.

"I'm serving as transportation and investigative aid," she answered with a cool smile. Mitsuko watched the little exchange silently, once again not sure what to make of the cryptic response. The girl then stood up and carried her dishes to the sink, rinsed them off and excused herself to change.

"Mitsuko," Miyuki turned to her with inquisitive eyes. Mitsuko blinked before replying.

"Yes…?"

"What are you going to do if you find him?"

Mitsuko blinked—she had not thought of that exactly. What if he didn't want to return with her? Or worse—what if he couldn't return with her?

Mitsuko wrung her hands sadly for a moment, and then placed them on top of the table.

"I'm not sure yet…I'm more concerned about finding him, making sure that he is all right…"

Miyuki accepted this answer with a nod before continuing with her next query.

"And then?"

…

A million memories surfaced to Mitsuko's mind all at once.

"I want to make him see…make him realize that no matter how sad things get…'

"Don't look at me!"—Mitsuko felt her heart throb painfully, remembering the shame on the android's face as he leapt from the window.

"No matter how terrifying…"

Another image flashed across her mind; Jiro, lost and vulnerable, hiding within the wreckage of the lab he was born in.

"No matter how bad…he will always have a home to return to."

Miyuki's eyes reflected many emotions just then: adoration, admiration…envy…

"—And he'll always have someone to heal him," concluded Miyuki, placing a hand on top of Mitsuko's. Mitsuko returned an earnest smile of her own.

Arai watched from the doorway, fully dressed with her long hair back into the odd coil, wrapped around her head with the end tucked and secured.

"Shall we get going?"

A cold sort of tension hung in the air between the young boy and the pissy android.

Masaru chewed his food quietly—cautiously, as he watched Ichiro.

"Eat faster."

Suddenly Masaru bit down hard, his temper rising with the command and he stared back at Ichiro defiantly. Ichiro stood, tapping his foot on the ground and crossing his arms impatiently when he caught the glare the child sent his way.

"Don't you look at me like that-I didn't have to get you that food, you know. A little speed and gratitude would be appreciated."

"You punched the drive-thru attendant in the face and drove off!"

"But you got your food didn't you?" Ichiro yelled back. Masaru's eye twitched.

"I HAD SOME MONEY TO PAY FOR IT! WE DIDN'T HAVE TO STEAL!"

There was a pause before Ichiro replied snidely.

"Yeah, well if you had just brought it out faster, we could have avoided the whole mess. Learn to do things quicker."

There was a hesitant pause before Masaru responded with a tone of incredulity.

"Are you sure your head isn't still broken? Maybe Dad missed something…"

"I'm fine, shut up and eat. We have to keep moving."

"Why? You mean you're actually afraid the cops are going to come find you?" Masaru questioned dubiously, taking another bite of his loot. Ichiro snorted derisively.

"Get real, kid. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we find Jiro and I can punish him."

The words 'punish him' set off warning bells in Masaru's head and he jumped up angrily.

"You're still under control of the Submission circuit, aren't you? I'll never let you hurt Jiro! I'll fight you first!"

Ichiro actually looked surprised at the sudden outburst.

'This kid is SO different from the other one…' he mused to himself, reluctantly impressed despite his irritation.

"Hey, Jiro caused me to fall to pieces in the first place; I'd say a little payback is in order—!" Ichiro paused again as Masaru started to growl.

"YOU WERE TRYING TO HURT HIM!"

Ichiro stopped—stunned as the realization hit him. He hadn't really heard it before when Fuuten had explained…but it was true. He had been trying to harm Jiro because he was under control of the Submission circuit. In his moment of blind rage…he had forgotten to consider why his brother, his peaceful brother, would be driven to do such a thing. A sharp jolt to the leg woke Ichiro from his contemplation swiftly.

"What the—HEY!" he yelled as Masaru tried to kick his other shin.

"I WON'T LET ANY EVIL ROBOTS HURT JIRO!" the boy yelled with each thrust of his small legs, which Ichiro dodged well enough until he got so frustrated he picked up the boy by his ankles and brought him up to eye level.

"Listen, brat—!" Ichiro was promptly punched in the nose. Growling, he used his other hand and restrained Masaru's wrists.

"DAMMIT, SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME! I'm not evil or under control of that damned circuit, I'm just pissed that Jiro thought he could get away with turning me and Rei into a pile of junk!"

When Masaru stopped struggling and looked at Ichiro in amazement, he was set back down on his feet.

"You're not lying to me…?" he asked warily. Ichiro smirked at him.

"If I really were under the control of the Submission circuit, do you really think you'd still be alive right now?"

The two glared at each other for a minute before Masaru began to grin.

"Ok, I'm sorry I tried to hurt you," Masaru then finished the last bite and hopped into the sidecar. Ichiro balked at the sudden change in mood.

'Just like that…?'

Shrugging off his disbelief, he turned on the engine.

"Whatever—just make sure you're secured in there or you're going to go flying and I'm not going to stop to scrape you off the road."

Masaru just laughed and scooted further into the seat.

"Yeah, yeah…just drive. We've got a brother to find!" he shouted, pumping a fist into the air with enthusiasm. Ichiro just sighed and pushed off the ground.

…But he couldn't help smiling at the little pain in the ass.

Miyuki sighed and smiled softly. Once again, she was alone in her dreary apartment, left with only memories of life that once was there. She walked over to the window, tending to the flower as diligently as she always had since she was told how similar it was to herself…

When she found nothing that needed to be done with it, she sighed again and stared out of the smeared windowpanes. Chuckling wryly, she mused that no matter how sunny the sky was elsewhere, the light never seemed to fully reach the city with the same vibrancy.

"I wonder…' she spoke softly, '…if I had had someone to push me like that…could I have found you?"

As always, silence answered. Closing her eyes, Miyuki was brought back to the days of when he came into her home—into her heart. She wistfully remembered how gentle she had been when tending to his many wounds…how softly he had rested a hand on her face, leaning in closer even though it pained him to move…

She even giggled softly, remembering how he had apologized afterward, looking sheepish—a feeling that appeared to be foreign to him.

"…Good luck, Mitsuko…"

Den was beside himself with worry. Although he now knew that Masaru was somewhat safe, there was still the question of his daughter…and his niece. What with mention of DARK still being after his family….

"Hey Doc, try not to worry yourself…I mean, you don't want to make yourself sick, do ya?" Hanpei cautioned, unsure of how to word things exactly.

"How can I calm down, knowing that my only daughter is out there where DARK could pick her off at any given moment?" he held his head in his hands, staring hard at the floor.

'Ah geez…Etsuko's giving me that look again…how am I supposed to figure what to say? She was always better at the comforting routine than I was—I'm a detective, not a counselor…' Hanpei looked down at his feet, praying that his assistant's glare wouldn't suddenly disintegrate him into ash.

"My boss is only trying to console you in his own way, Doctor. He is right though: what about your niece? At least Mitsuko isn't alone out there."

Hanpei looked up hopefully.

"Miss Sarutobi is correct, Den. I'm sure they'll be fine so long as they are together," Fuuten said calmingly. Den wasn't sure he had heard them correctly.

"But what about DARK? I highly doubt an evil organization would be dissuaded from attacking Mitsuko just because another young girl is with her!"

"Doc, look at it this way…from the looks of it, that girl has been out on her own for a while, so she must know how to take care of herself pretty well. And your daughter is no pushover, with all due respect, Sir," Detective Hattori said logically…however, something about that sparked a thought in him, something that nagged at him a little…he decided to file it away for later and looked around at the group. Etsuko was filling a cup with hot tea for the doctor in order to soothe him, while Mieko and Rei observed everyone else silently. However, unlike the stoic Rei, flickers of unease and sympathy played on Mieko's expressions.

Hanpei still couldn't figure out how she managed to look that way without a conscience circuit. He had not even been aware that she was not human until after it was explained to him just the day before. He shook his head again and looked at the monk who met his eyes with a meaningful stare. At first he was baffled as he couldn't remember saying anything wrong the second time…but as he continued to look at the monk, he found there was no anger, but instead a look that conveyed a sense of urgency.

They would talk later.

"Arai, it's getting very dark now. We should look for a place to stop for the night," Mitsuko spoke loudly over the engine. The girl stopped the vehicle for a moment and looked at their surroundings.

There was no sign of civilization for miles.

Arai sighed reluctantly, but conceded. However, she turned the motorcycle in the direction of the forest that flanked the road.

"Mitsuko, I'd duck as far under the shield as you can," she said, reaching into the sidecar, flipping a switch placed conveniently under the small dashboard. By doing so, the windshield extended further up over the opening in the sidecar, almost covering it.

"Reach under your seat and push up on the lever so that you can lean back a bit," she instructed. Mitsuko did so and she was able to recline slightly. When she had appeared to have gotten comfortable, Arai leaned further into the driver's seat, revved the engine and they were soon rushing through the middle of the forest.

Mitsuko was so startled when the first branch scraped her window that she almost yelled in surprise. However, fighting her urges, she pressed herself back into the seat until suddenly the stars were clearly seen overhead and the vehicle slowed into a stop.

The windshield retracted to allow room to get out and Mitsuko took the opportunity to stretch her legs. Just as she turned around, a bottle was tossed into her arms. Mitsuko looked at it in confusion for a moment before Arai pointed in the direction where a relatively small river was heard babbling away.

"…If you wouldn't mind, that is," Arai grinned, a little shyly. Mitsuko nodded and headed off towards the sound of water.

…

A little while after she disappeared over the hill, Arai punched in the numeric code on the motorcycle to retrieve her own phone. Dialing a number, she leaned on the side of the vehicle and waited for the receiver to pick up on the other end.

A chilly draft bit at Masaru's nose and cheeks as he sat on the parked Doublemachine. After spending the entire day speeding through various towns and escaping from numerous police officers who eventually gave up the chase, the boy was finally able to stay in one area for more than a few minutes; he took this chance to relax a bit while Ichiro went to explore.

Masaru had actually been glad Ichiro was gone for the moment; aside from all the yelling, which he had not minded all that much, he was most worried when Ichiro got quiet…pensive even. He had kept his eyes on the flanking forest for the last hour as they drove up to it.

At first, he had thought maybe Ichiro needed a private place to use the restroom, but then realized how ridiculous the idea sounded.

'Ichiro didn't eat anything today, so he couldn't be using the bathroom…Oi, sometimes I really do act like a little kid,' he blushed, embarrassed with himself.

Masaru suddenly shot up in the air as something…moved next to him. It surprised him greatly, but then the sensation stopped. He exhaled slowly, laughing nervously.

'My leg probably went all tingly for a second from sitting for such a long time." He laughed at how silly he was being when—

"AIEEEE!" he yelped. He then thrust his hand into his pocket to stop the movement…then realized it was the phone.

He brought it up to eye level and glared at it accusingly before answering it quickly.

"…H-hello?"

"Oi, 'Saru-kun! How are you?" came a boisterous greeting from the device. Masaru blinked before the realization dawned on him.

"Arai…-chan?"

"Mm, who else?" Masaru could hear laughter on the other side and began to grin happily.

"Ah, listen, 'Saru-kun, we're sorry we left so suddenly, but something kind of came up and—"

"Huh? What do you mean, Arai? Who is 'we'?" Masaru interrupted, thoroughly confused by the unexpected apology.

…

Arai took the phone away from her ear for a moment and stared at it in disbelief. Hesitantly, she put it back to her ear and began talking again.

"Ahh…Masaru, your sister and I left pretty early from the house a few days ago. We're looking for someone really important to Mitsuko…you don't mean to tell me that all this time you didn't notice your sister and I were gone? Why do you think I left you the phone?"

You could almost hear the puzzle pieces snap together in Masaru's brain from the other end of the line.

"Ohhh! I was wondering who left me with this-but I haven't had much time to think on it! Actually, I'm not home either…" he admitted, chuckling sheepishly. Arai's eyes snapped open on the other end of the conversation.

"Masaru, what happened? You've lost me now."

"Well,' he began nervously, 'it's kind of a long story, but to shorten it, I got shanghai-ed from home by accident."

"Ehh?!"

"Cheh…this is stupid! There's too much junk in here to get through!" Ichiro ranted, making his way through the forest with his usual caution. The natural wildlife scattered in every direction to avoid being left in his destructive wake.

Ichiro couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about this particular forest had grabbed his attention the second he saw it as he was running through several stop lights. Ever since then, he had ignored almost everything else and just kept driving towards the greenery. It was only the brat's yelling that kept him from hitting random pedestrians…and running into a ditch that one time.

'…Guess the kid was useful after all. There was no way in hell I was going to carry him all the way out here if the bike got trashed,' he smirked as he thought to himself.

Unfortunately, he was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice the small dip in the ground and stumbled a bit.

"Oh dammit…Jiro, where did you—what the...?" he grumbled a bit until he heard something…

Straightening up, he found a good low branch that would give him a better view and keep him hidden from whatever was down there. He leapt as quietly has he could and leaned in as far as the foliage would allow him.

'Now let's see what I can find out here…'

"…So he basically woke up, got mad and drove off without even noticing you were in the sidecar?"

"Hehehe…yeah, that's about it."

Arai blew a loose strand of hair out of her eyes and leaned back in relief.

"Good grief…well, at least you're somewhat safe…"

Masaru could be heard sighing in relief as well, now that he knew his sister and cousin were safe also. The young boy was suddenly struck with a thought that he was sure might make his cousin laugh a little.

"Hey, Arai! You wanna know what he looks like?" He chirped enthusiastically. An exasperated smile crossed her face.

"Actually, 'Saru-kun, I want to know where you are. Have you eaten at least?" There was a reluctant pause and Arai was sure she could hear something growl. Quirking an eyebrow, she posed another question.

"Masaru, what was that?"

"Actually…we haven't had time to eat today because Ichiro said there was something he had to check out. We're looking for Jiro too because Ichiro said he…"

But Arai's attention was focused on something else at that moment. Her eyes narrowed, glaring at the hill to her right.

"Say, Masaru-kun? I'm going to call you back really quick, ok? Mitsuko has been gone for a while and I want to go check on her."

"Oh, ok. I'll be waiting then! Be careful," the young boy warned cautiously.

Arai blinked at the phone before replying.

"…Ah, this shouldn't be too long. Later—"

-Click-

Arai reached for the sky, stretching her muscles…

Ichiro huffed from his perch. He couldn't hear anything the weird-looking girl was saying as long as the wind kept blowing and rustling the leaves so much.

Oddly enough, he finally noticed a chill in the air and haphazardly cast a glance back in the direction from which he came; Ichiro considered the sky, coming to a decision…

'I wonder if the kid's getting cold…I'll head back in a—'

-BLAM!-

Ichiro suddenly found himself flattened against the forest floor.

"Son of a bitch, this is getting old!" he fumed, throwing the tree off of his body; ready to confront whatever had caused him to kiss dirt. However, he wasn't quick enough to recover as something whirled him roughly against another tree. When he turned to face his assailant, he was met with a fist that stopped just millimeters from making contact with his nose.

"Eh? Oooh…sorry, I thought you were someone else! My mistake—!"

Ichiro caught a flash of hair springing away from him.

…

Obviously, Ichiro wasn't willing to let it end there. He leaped nimbly after his attacker and caught a leg, causing her to fall to the ground. Before he could pin her and have a few words, she rolled away and was upright once more.

"HEY! I apologized already, don't hold a grudge!" Ichiro growled and struck at the girl's head. There was a yelp of surprise and she jumped back just in time to avoid severe damage. Ichiro followed up with a volley of punches, which kept getting harder to dodge; he almost made contact with his opponent's torso-but before any of the momentum could carry the blow through, she grabbed his fist and pushed, repelling them away from each other.

"Geez, you really take things too personally, you know that?" Arai panted softly, trying to catch her breath while the Ichiro fumed. The clouds, which had been hiding the moon from view up until now, finally cleared and Arai was able to see one eye glaring at her fiercely, although she could tell the one hidden behind the chestnut tuft of hair was glaring at her with just as much rage.

"What the hell are you?" Ichiro spat, his curiosity overriding his anger briefly.

Now that the moonlight had broken through, he was finally able to see just how unusual his attacker looked. She had a coil around her head like a crown, but a few inches of spare tail blew about in the breeze at the back of her head. An odd suspender-like contraption had a band placed around her waist and her diaphragm as well as diagonally over her chest; in the center, a red jewel glittered vibrantly. He scowled deeper as he noted these oddities, but he wanted an answer to be certain and returned his focus to her face.

She appeared to be completely baffled by the question.

"…Hah?"

"I asked what are you? Hurry up and answer, or I'll just beat you up and find out later,' he flexed his hand into a fist and grinned menacingly,'—the choice is up to you."

As the initial shock wore off, Arai's bewildered expression was soon replaced by one of indignant aggravation.

"Okay, first of all…I AM A 'WHO'—NOT A 'WHAT'! Secondly, don't talk so big—you'll end up eating your words as well as your teeth."

Amazingly enough, Ichiro was taken aback at being threatened by a girl who could dodge his hits. There was only one other that he knew that was capable of doing such things…and it helped him to believe that his suspicions were true: this creature was not human.

"Never mind, I know exactly what you are now!" he lunged at her. Unfortunately for him, she saw him coming, hopped back, coiling her leg muscles; she sprang forth where Ichiro's forehead met with her knee bluntly. Incidentally, her landing suffered for this blow as she wobbled slightly.

"Damn…a bit hard-headed, aren't you?" she commented, rubbing her knee. Ichiro seethed and practically roared as he lunged to make another strike when a shrieking sob pierced the night.

Ichiro froze and Arai whipped her head around frantically.

"…Mitsu—MITSUKO!"

In an instant, Arai was racing off in the direction of the sound. However, Ichiro was not ready to end the fight and charged after her. Arai was about to call out again when she was tackled hard from the side—and both fell into the river, sputtering, kicking and punching all the way down…

Mitsuko's hand absentmindedly clutched at her heart as she stepped closer to the stationary figure before her.

She had only been walking along the small river, looking to the bright starry sky when she had suddenly come upon the small clearing. There, about five feet from the riverbank sat a large, misshapen boulder that had otherwise been perfect for sitting on. Mitsuko stood, gazing up at the heavens and was reminded of a better time; of a similar night which she looked back on fondly…and she smiled, moving closer to sit on the boulder to reminisce for a while.

As she advanced, however, she noticed that part of the boulder that was misshapen was not part of the boulder at all.

A gloved hand lay motionlessly beside the huge rock, covered with what appeared to be bits of moss; sure enough, there was a matching layer over the rock itself. However, as she drew near she saw that the appendage was still connected to something larger. Mitsuko swallowed thickly, trying to get her heart rate back to normal, but it was almost impossible…she knew that gloved hand.

Gathering her courage, she grabbed a handful of the damp vegetation and tore it off of its resting place.

Her heart stopped.

"Jiro…?"

No response.

Mitsuko leaned in closer, laying a hand on his left cheek.

"…Jiro…?" she questioned again, her voice wanting to break. She finally moved in so close that her nose almost touched his and looked into his eyes.

They were hollow, unresponsive…dead.

It was more than she could take. Tears silently rolled down her face at first as she wrapped her arms around his torso…then she began to sob quietly. She didn't even acknowledge the commotion coming from behind her.

...

"DAMMIT, FOR THE LAST TIME: GET OFF OF ME, PERVERT!"

"DON'T FLATTER YOURSELF, SPY!"

"Oh, for the love of—!" There was a resounding splash and the squelching of soggy footsteps reaching the muddy bank.

"Mitsuko, are you all rig—?" Arai was interrupted by further volatile protests.

"I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU! GET BACK HERE AND—"

"SHUT UP!" she roared, turning back to him and slinging water behind her unintentionally. Initially, she had thought her outburst had stunned him into silence, but she found her attacker looking past her…towards Mitsuko.

Or rather whom she was holding on to.

"…Jiro…? JIRO?!" Ichiro tried to pull himself out of the river quickly, but his fully saturated clothes gave him some resistance.

"Ji—dammit!" he yelled, frustrated because now his foot had sunk fairly deep into the muddy river bottom. He placed his hands flat on the ground and attempted to pull himself out—until Arai knelt beside him and grabbed his legs, freeing them from their murky prison. He looked at her incredulously—angrily, as if he were going to try to fight her again.

But he stopped himself as she moved immediately to the sobbing woman's side.

"Mitsuko…what—?"

"He's not—he won't move…" Mitsuko said stonily; she did not turn to face the girl.

"What?" Arai asked again, softly.

"What did you do to Jiro?! If he's hurt, I'll—!" Ichiro interrupted furiously, advancing on the women menacingly, with every intention to avenge his brother if anything was wrong—but he stopped himself.

He saw the tears streaming down the other woman's face—then Ichiro noticed her arms wrapped around Jiro in a protective embrace.

'What…? What the hell is going on…?' Ichiro stood by, completely baffled by this turn of events. Not only did he have a distressed stranger panicking over his unresponsive brother to contend with, but his only potential enemy wasn't even paying him any attention. Instead, the soaked girl focused entirely upon the weeping woman.

"Mitsuko, what do you mean he won't move? Is he mad or—"

"No,' she gritted her teeth to keep from screaming in grief, 'he won't respond to anything. It's as if—he's—" Mitsuko had looked up into the lifeless face of the android and was silenced by another flood of tears, and she buried her face into his chest.

Jiro was lost.