In a daze, Kano walked along the sidewalks of Tokyo. Kaoru had been right. He was jealous. And he made her cry. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that Matsubara Kaoru did not cry over something small and stupid. So he must have meant something to her and he must have really hurt her.

He sighed, watching as traffic zoomed by. She hadn't let Kaiba feel her up; she was right. He'd made that up out of anger.

He looked left and right as he made his way across the street.

It was all so confusing to him. Why would she just leave him, especially right after that date?

Yeah... it was awkward, but I mean, Korematsu?

He glanced up at the setting sun. He always overreacted when it came to people close to him. Kaoru was the closest thing to family he had here. He frowned. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how Kaoru still hung out with him whenever she could. She'd choose him over Korematsu any day.

So why tonight?

His aimless wandering eventually led him to Kaoru's front doorstep. He sighed, tucking his hands into his pockets and staring at the doorbell. He stood there for about 15 minutes before he worked up the courage to ring it.

A little green-haired boy opened the door.

"Who are you? Dad says not to talk to strangers, you know, so don't tell him I'm talking to you, okay?"

Kano blinked. "Um... I'm Tobidogu Kano..."

The little boy raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you? Should I know you? What do you want, anyway?"

"I'm a friend of your sister's, I guess. Is she here?"

The little boy got an impish grin. "Oooh, you're Onee-chan's boyfriend, aren't you?"

Kano blushed. "N...no. We're just friends. Is she here?"

The little boy's grin became wider. "Why, going on a date?"

Kano glared at him. He's annoying. "Is she here?"

"Nope, she's out at some haunted house thing."

Kano bit his lip. It wasn't even dark yet, and they were already gone?

He sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"You wanna come in? I don't know when she'll be back, but you can chill here if you want. But don't tell Dad. Strangers are bad."

"Um, I'm not a stranger anymore."

"Whatever."

Kano followed behind the kid into Kaoru's living room, where a video game was paused. The kid quickly resumed his "Mortal Kombat".

Kano sat down on the sofa, looking around at the pictures. The biggest one was of a woman in a wedding dress.

He got up and looked at it intently.

Kaoru has her eyes...

"That's our Mom. I miss her."

Kano turned to the little boy.

"You... miss her? Where is she?"

The kid scratched his ear. "Well, she's in the hospital. Dad and Aniki never tell me anything. But she hasn't been home in forever and sometimes on Saturdays we go and visit her with flowers and stuff. No one likes to talk about it."

Kano stared at the little boy in disbelief.

"I'm sorry to hear that..."

"Shou."

Kano smiled softly. "I'm sorry to hear that, Shou. So you're home all by yourself?"

Shou was still glued to the television. "Huh? Oh, nah. Aniki is upstairs doing something. He yelled at me to get the door."

"I should go, then. You wouldn't want to get in trouble for inviting in a stranger, would you?"

Shou's eyes widened. "No way! Go! See you later, onii-san."

Kano blushed. "I am not married to you sister."

Shou shot him a big smile. "But you make her happy. She smiles when she talks about you. You can be my Aniki too!"

He ran to Kano and gave him a big hug. Kano slowly returned the hug.

Shou looked up at him, grinning. "Take care of my onee-chan, Aniki!"

Kano smiled down at the boy.

"I will."

-+-

So she doesn't have a mom either... Kano reflected in the park.

That would explain a lot... He sighed. He began to concentrate on juggling his soccer ball.

This is hard to do in the dark...

Kano's focus broke when he heard a soft whisper.

"Lemme go..."

"Shut up!" was the harsh reply.

Kano's blood froze. Was that...? No. There is no way.

He crept over to check out the scene. His eyes widened in shock.

Kaoru was leaning against a tree, practically unconscious, and Kaiba was touching her.

Kano snarled. That bastard needs to learn...

"Kaiba... lemme go... I wanna go home..." Kaoru whimpered.

If Kano was angry before, he was now absolutely furious. His nails dug into the tree he was hiding behind. LET. HER. GO. NOW.

"Kaiba... stop! That hurts..."

Kano watched Kaoru's body collapse. If he tries anything, I swear...

"Heh." He could hear Kaiba's smirk. "Bitch fell for it. That drug works to well."

And that was all it took. Kano, or rather Butch, flew out from behind the tree and proceeded to beat the living hell out of Korematsu Kaiba.

-+-

Once the bloody, one-sided beating was delivered, Butch detransformed and raced to Kaoru.

"God, Kaoru!" He propped up her head, shaking her shoulders at the same time. "Wake up! Please, God, just let her wake up!"

Kaoru's eyes opened partway, her incoherent stare locking with his worried gaze.

"Thank God. Alright, Kaoru, just, just stay awake!" He propped her up and squeezed her stomach, causing her to vomit. She coughed violently, pushing away from him.

"Just one more time, babe. Just to get that drug out quicker."

After that, he scooped her up and carried her home.

I swear. This girl needs to learn to stay out of trouble. She's been unconscious, what, three times now? He sighed, floating through the sky.

Maybe I should sign her up for therapy...

---

Wow. That was fast. Yeah, I know it's been out of character. But hey- it's cute and fluffy. What else do you need? And this chapter was longer!

Let's say... 55 reviews.

Thank you for reviewing!