Nadeshiko pushed open the door at the end of the long staircase, wincing slightly as it hit the wall with a thud. Normally she would apologize for being so loud and disrespectful of someone else's property, but she didn't have time. For as she spun, her eyes hurriedly scanning every inch of the room, Rima was nowhere to be found.

She cursed under her breath, foul words falling from her lips. Where did she go? People were piling into the elevator as she stood there, so Rima must have already gotten off of it. But there was no glimpse of blonde hair anywhere throughout the lobby.

Nadeshiko's heart dropped as she turned to face the front door. Rima had fled the building.

There was no time to think through what she was doing. She had to act quickly or else any chance she had of catching up to Rima was lost.

Nadeshiko ran to the front door and pushed it open. Outside, the dark night air was accompanied by a faint drizzling of rain. The combination for the two narrowed Nadeshiko's line of vision greatly, and even as she squinted into the distance she was unable to see Rima.

"Rima!" Nadeshiko yelled, knowing that it was useless, as the blonde wouldn't respond. At least, not to her. Not now.

Which way should she go? Would it be worth it to run forward blindly? Rima could have gone in any direction, she could have even jumped in a cab if her timing was good enough.

It was no use.

Nadeshiko dropped to her knees, clutching her head in her hands. There was no way she could catch up to Rima now.

She had lost her. She had let Nagihiko down.

No, that wasn't what mattered. More than letting Nagihiko down, she had let Rima down. Rima, who she was supposed to be protecting, was now blindly running throughout the night.

The tears just kept coming. What should she do? Rima couldn't just wander around the city alone, but how could she find her?

Nagihiko would know what to do, but Nagihiko wasn't here. She couldn't even call him and ask him for help. Nagihiko was gone, and Rima was gone, and now Nadeshiko was all alone.

What else could she do but cry?

~oOo~

Nadeshiko and Rima's stay at the hotel was set to last two more days, so Nadeshiko spent all her time in their room until they were to leave.

She just sat there, waiting and hoping that Rima would come back to try to get her stuff. She didn't leave the room once, with the fear that Rima would return while she was out.

She never showed up.

Nadeshiko had tried her cell phone several times, knowing Rima had it with her as she had grabbed her purse before running out of the room, but it went straight to voicemail. And she had left at least a dozen messages, ranging from tearful pleas for her to return and frantic apologies, to angry demands she call back.

Part of Nadeshiko was terrified that something bad had happened to Rima, but she had glued her eyes to the television the entire time she sat in her room, and flipped from station to station watching every news show she could find. She had even called the police, but they had assured her Rima would be fine, as crime was down in the area.

When their reservation ended, Nadeshiko packed up all of her and Rima's stuff and carried it down to the front desk to check out.

Again, as she had several times before, Nadeshiko asked the person working at the front desk if they had seen Rima anytime recently. The woman smiled weakly, shaking her head and telling her, "I'm sorry."

Nadeshiko knew staying there would do no good, so she went back home. Without Rima.

Who knew where Rima was? She had her credit card; she could have left the city, or even the country, days ago. Was she even in Asia anymore? She could have left for Europe, or America.

All Nadeshiko knew was that she was not sitting next to her on the trip home.

There was no way to find Rima now.

Nadeshiko had failed her brother's last request. She had lost the love of his life, she was unable to protect her.

For the first time since Rima's departure, Nadeshiko slept for longer than a short nap.

She cried herself to sleep, and woke up with red, puffy eyes and tears on her cheeks.

~oOo~

When she returned to Tokyo, Nadeshiko called Tadase. And she was surprised when the boy arrived at her house that night, suitcase in hand.

Tadase decided he was going to stay with Nadeshiko until Rima returned, or was found (hopefully not in a body bag, Nadeshiko prayed). Nadeshiko didn't know if it were because Tadase thought she needed the support and company, or if it was because he didn't trust her not to do something rash.

The next few days were long. Nadeshiko would wake up in the early hours of the morning and go sit at the table, trying to drink a coffee but finding her hands unable to pick the cup up. She would stare at Tadase's face as he peacefully slept on her couch, watching his chest rise up and down and his head snuggle into the pillow.

She didn't know why she watched him so much. By no means was it because of a "deep attraction" or something like that; their old romance was not being rekindled by the current state of things at all. Rather, it was more like she was comforted by someone else's presence. She wasn't truly alone right now; she had Tadase. And if she would build the courage to pick up the phone and call her, she would have Amu as well.

Nadeshiko sighed. Maybe it was nothing like that. Maybe she just needed somewhere for her eyes to rest, and Tadase was the only thing she could see in the dark.

Maybe it was because looking at all the other stuff in the room reminded her of Rima. The photographs on the shelves, the comedy dvds stacked against the tv (Nadeshiko had told Rima a dozen times to put them away properly), the abnormally small jackets strewn across the furniture...

Nadeshiko would do anything to talk to Rima right now, and not just because it was what Nagihiko would have wanted.

No, Nadeshiko, as herself, wanted to see her.

Nadeshiko remembered Tadase asking her what she would do if Rima wanted to stay married to her. Well, Nadeshiko wasn't sure, but all she knew now was that she would never get the chance to decide.

Rima wasn't coming back.

~oOo~

A/N: I'm sorry this is so late... I spent a lot of my free time watching Attack on Titan (Which is the best anime ever and you need to watch it now if you haven't already) and this would've been up yesterday, but then I had to drive around the city to like five different stores to get Animal Crossing New Leaf. =_= That game is near impossible to find.

Anyway, the good news is there is only going to be one or two more chapters left, so we're almost done! :D

Please review if you have a moment!