Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted any chapters in a while. I've been gone for most of my summer. But no fear, the story must go on! ^^

Ogawa Ichiro's POV:

What I did came naturally, though I'd never encountered this situation with Kokone before. Sure, she occasionally cried when we were kids, but never at this level. I held her for a long 43 minutes before I decided I should take her to bed.

Though she was lying in my bed, the covers up to her neck, she still cried. I had no idea what to do, but I felt like I shouldn't try to make her stop, just because she had probably been holding this in since her father's death. After 2 hours though, my thoughts wavered – was this good for her?

I sat and watched her, occasionally touching her in some way – her hand, the top of her head, her face – in an effort to help somehow. At certain points I shushed her quietly in a soothing tone, but nothing was able to halt her tears.

It was about 12:30 AM when she was reduced to just sniffling and a few silently escaping tears. Just then, the phone rang, making me jump up in surprise, since it was in the middle of the night. Was it my mother? My father? Who would call so late? As I turned to find the phone somewhere in the house though, I felt a sudden grip on my shirt, pulling me back. Confused, I looked behind me and sure enough, Kokone's hand was clutching at the fabric of my shirt in distress, her knuckles white from squeezing so hard. She wasn't looking at me though; just straight ahead as she had all night, stray tears making their way down her cheeks.

I guess I'll be staying here for a while, I thought. I distantly heard the machine pick up the call, and was pretty sure I knew who was talking…

"Is anyone there? Hello? It's the freakin' middle of the night, where else would you guys be? Kokoneeeee, wake UP," the voice demanded in an irritated tone. It had to be Hattori. I couldn't tell if Kokone was aware that it was him; she didn't let on.

Soon enough, the phone rang again, and though the machine picked up, Hattori didn't leave a message, instead calling yet again. And again, and again, until finally I decided something had to be done. I placed my hand on Kokone's arm, willing her to look at me, but she didn't. I sighed, and continued anyway.

"I'll be back, I promise. Just…wait here." Wait here? I thought. Where else would she go?

It seemed like she was going to protest by grabbing me again, but then she just moved slightly under my touch, as if accepting my short disappearance.

I headed to the kitchen to pick up the phone, already planning the series of curses I'd sling at Hattori over the speaker. Having caught the phone in the middle of what seemed like an eternal ring, I held it to my ear and waited.

"Hattori, this had better be important." I seethed.

"Oh it is," he promised, "Why didn't you pick up earlier? This is the twelfth time I've called in the past 10 minutes!" He seemed bewildered, as if it was perfectly normal for someone to be waiting by the phone just in case he called at one in the morning.

"Yeah, I'm aware. Can't this wait until tomorrow? Er…I guess later today?" I corrected myself.

"No! Why would I still be awake at this time, CALLING YOU, if it wasn't important?" He made it sound like I was the idiot in this situation.

"Gee, I dunno Hattori. Maybe because you're insane?" I thought I heard a sort of growling response.

"Just get Kokone. I need to talk to her. NOW." He seemed genuinely urgent, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Kokone was definitely not in the right place to talk – especially with someone that sounded like he was about to burn his house down in all of his urgency.

"Uh…now isn't the best time…" I wasn't sure how to explain, and was pretty sure Kokone wouldn't want me to – at least, not in detail.

"I don't care if she's sleeping, this is an emergency!" His voice was rising with every syllable.

"An emergency? What kind of emergency? Is everything alright?" I was kind of worried at this point. What was he getting at?

"Well, okay, it's not like a serious emergency, all my limbs are still attached and everything, but it is EXTREMELY important. If you don't let me talk to her, I'll come to your house and kick in the door if I have to!" He threatened.

"Geez, Hattori. What's the big deal? This should wait until later, Kokone…" I sighed, trying to find the words to explain. For once, Hattori was actually listening.

"What's wrong with her? Is she awake?"

"Yeah, she's been awake, but she just…" I glanced toward the staircase to make sure she wasn't anywhere within hearing range and dropped my voice to just above a whisper. "After you guys left, she kinda…she got upset. Let's just say that. So can't this wait until -"

"Woah, upset? You don't mean…" he trailed off, sounding amazed at the fact that someone like Kokone could possibly be crying. I guess I didn't blame him, if I had been anywhere else at that moment I wouldn't have been able to believe it myself.

"Yeah. So is there any way -"

"Hand me the phone." I jumped about 3 feet off the ground after I heard Kokone's small but sure voice from behind me. The tears had made it a little shaky, but she seemed determined as she reached out and took the phone from my fear-stricken hand.

"What is it, Heiji?" She asked dully, turning to face away from me and towards the kitchen window as he responded. She sighed, irritated. "Crap. Make sure he doesn't try it yet. What do you mean, 'why?' Because I said so! Look," she glanced behind her at me before continuing in a lower voice, "until I get back, he can't use it. I'm not sure if it's entirely safe yet. Plus, we should wait until…you know. They're in custody. It'd be safer for him. Is that really the only reason you called?" She scolded him. After his response though, her body language turned rigid. "…I'm fine. Seriously, it's nothing. I'm hanging up now. Bye." She pushed the end button decisively and stood still for a minute before turning to face me. "Here. I'll sleep on the couch tonight." She handed me the phone before she started for the living room. I caught her by the wrist though, and she twisted around with a questioning look.

"Don't be stupid. You're sleeping upstairs. Goodnight." I said diplomatically in a way that she couldn't argue with. Her responding expression seemed pained, and after a second she reached up and covered her face, slowly kneeling to the floor as she took deep, steady breaths.

"Woah, hey. Are you okay? Come on, let's get you to bed." I was about to lift her up, but she smacked my hand away. What was I supposed to do now? Leave her here? I knelt down to her level, willing her to look at me, but she kept her hand over her eyes.

"Kokone," I said softly, "what's wrong?" She peeked at me through her fingers, and I saw tears had formed in her eyes once again. "Hey," I tried again, reaching out to pat her head carefully. "Hey, shhh. It's alright."

"No, it is NOT alright!" She retorted. I have to admit, I jumped a bit, not expecting her to respond at all. "You're too…too…" she struggled to find words, but then she stood up and started to pace around the kitchen. I stood back and watched her, listening patiently. "Too…you know!" She insisted, though I really didn't. "And I just…" She slowed down and stood in front of me, looking at me helplessly as she crossed her arms tightly. "I've done nothing for you. And I probably won't be able to do anything for you for a while…" she trailed off, her eyes seeing farther than the kitchen wall.

"That's not true." I said quietly, knowing she'd argue her point anyway.

"Of course it is! Why am I like this? Why does my LIFE have to BE like this?" She was starting to freak out, I could tell.

"Okay, okay, okay. Calm down. I'll let you know if there's something you can do for me, alright? But seriously, you've done more than you know. I'm just glad that we're…" I wasn't sure how to phrase it…were we friends? Best friends? Family practically? Or were we something else entirely…

She stepped a bit closer to me. "That we're what?" Her beautiful blue eyes seemed lost and unreal behind the tears. All I wanted to do at that moment was wipe the tears away so that I could see them better.

"That we're…close." I finished. There, I thought, that kind of defines it. She sighed a tiny bit in a disappointed way, but then she nodded.

"I am too." We stood there in silence for a moment, not breaking eye contact the whole time. It may have seemed awkward to anyone else, but I felt comfortable and could probably stare at her all night if given the opportunity.

"Now…do you want to tell me what's wrong before you go to bed? Might help you sleep better." I reasoned. She glanced away nervously, but then she looked back up at me, taking a deep breath.

"I think…if I were dead. If I were dead, my mom would be happy." She closed her eyes for a minute, as if willing herself to go on without tears. I resisted the urge to take her into my arms. If only I could shelter her from this kind of stuff, I thought. I can only help with so much. "She wouldn't have to spend all her time hating me, and she could do so much better…And I wonder if that will be me. If…if I have a true love, and I, you know, marry him," she seemed embarrassed about something, but I stood patiently and waited. "And then if he were to die, even in old age…"

"You're afraid that you're just like your mother in every way." I finished for her. She looked at me gratefully.

"I guess so." For some reason, I had the feeling that this wasn't all that was bothering her.

"Anything else?" I asked, stepping closer. I thought she was going to take a step back for a minute, but she didn't, instead taking a step towards me. We were only about 2 feet apart. She hesitated in her response though.

"Yes…well, I don't know. I don't know why it's bothering me now…it never really has before…" I had a feeling I knew what 'it' was, but I chose to keep quiet. She was looking away, her cheeks a light pink in embarrassment. "I guess…ever since she said that I was a failure for not being able to have kids?" She glanced up at me slightly, as if to make sure I wasn't accusing her of anything. "I kind of wish I were able to." She whispered, looking down.

"I…I didn't know that you couldn't." What the hell? I mentally kicked myself. Why would you say something so stupid? She sighed, not bothered by the assumption.

"Well I mean…there's a very slim chance that I can. And even if I could…it'd probably kill me. And the baby." She added as an afterthought. I looked at her sympathetically. Her mother was so unfair to her sometimes. She took a resounding breath, as if to steady herself before continuing. "But I guess it's for the best, you know?" I raised my eyebrows in response.

"What…what do you mean?"

"I'm not fit to be a mother. I mean come on, if I am like my mom, how am I supposed to raise a kid the way I was raised? I couldn't do that to someone, especially someone directly related to me…" She looked out the window, her eyes far away.

"Kone-chan." I waited for her to face me again. "The fact that you even thought about that – about how you don't want your child to be raised like you were – that right there shows that you have the ability to…" I wasn't sure how to phrase this…to do it? That just seemed too awkward…

"You think so?" She responded instead, saving me the embarrassment.

"Would I lie to you?" I asked, smiling slightly. Her face seemed sad at this response, but she tried to smile too.

"I guess not, huh? Well, I'll see you in the morning. Or…afternoon, maybe." She headed for the stairs.

"Kokone?" I hesitated before continuing. "You will tell me…right? Before you leave again?" I was afraid to look her in the eyes, and could tell she felt the same way. I knew she hated lying, hated hiding things, but it just happened to be something she did best – from everyone else, anyway.

"…I guess it couldn't hurt, huh. I think…I think I'm leaving the day after…today I guess." One day, I thought. I can deal with that.

"Okay. I guess…I guess I'll see you later. Night." I smiled slightly before exiting the kitchen as quickly as possible. How could I allow her to see this? I had to get out of there, before she realized just how much it was killing me that she had to leave.