Just a little thought of how Jodie grieved for Shuichi after his 'death', along with how she would've coped with the loss of her loved ones. Enjoy!

"Hello, Shuu? …Well, even if I say that, you won't reply, will you? Heh… Of course you won't. Really, what am I doing, calling the number of a dead person? I'm being stupid, aren't I? If you were here, you'd probably say the same and tease me about it, won't you? I…I just…wanted to hear your voice, that's all."

"You've always been the kind of person who was always one step ahead of others, Shuu. Part of me wants to believe that it's not real, that maybe you're still alive, somewhere out there… That maybe all this is just one big elaborate plan, one that you kept me and everyone else out of the loop for, like you did for that Mizunashi Rena case. Even though I saw the evidence for myself, I still can't believe it. But If it were you, Shuu, you'd find a way to make the impossible possible. I can't help but hate you for that. Because that just makes it harder to accept that you're really gone, and this false hope is doing nothing but making me miserable."

"Look at me, calling and leaving voicemails for someone who's already dead. If I didn't come across as foolish before, I'm definitely acting the part now. …I hate you, Shuu. I hate you so much! Why did you always have to be so confident and make me feel like nothing would go wrong as long as you're around, only for you to die so easily at the hands of the Organisation you swore to destroy?! Wasn't there something you still had to do?! How could you have died without even accomplishing any of your goals?!

…The Silver Bullet that will destroy evil… What Silver Bullet? Don't make me laugh. What do you amount to, Shuu, now that you're dead? Nothing! Once you die, people will eventually forget you and carry on with their lives as usual. Just like they did with my father. The same way they did with my mother, my house, and my entire history and identity. They're all nothing but ashes now, and you're no different."

"Why did you have to die, Shuu? Leaving your family to join the FBI against their wishes, risking your life and the lives of everyone you knew to investigate the truth behind your father's disappearance, breaking up with me to date Miyano Akemi in order to infiltrate the Black Organisation, and then breaking up with her when your cover was blown… Giving up everything you had to chase after the Black Organisation, and using your hatred and guilt to fuel your motivation… What did all of that achieve? All the time and effort you've put in, all those plans you made, all the traps you laid, everything is going to waste without you. …If you were going to just die like this, then why…why did you even sacrifice so much for…? Shuu, you idiot…"

"I wonder, Shuu. If I had listened to your warning back then, would you have lived? What if I had gone there instead of you? Pfft, knowing you, you'd come after me anyway and what would that change? Maybe if I had gone with you, would things turn out differently? I guess not. It's ridiculous to even hope that changing one small thing will result in a different outcome, isn't it? In the first place, this isn't some fictional world where I could just travel back in time and redo everything.

…But if I could redo everything, would I have chosen to never meet you? If everything was going to hurt so much, it would've been better if I had never known you… …Wouldn't it be easy if I could just forget you, with a snap of my fingers like some sort of magic? But that would mean forgetting all the happy times we've shared too. I could never forget them, even if I wanted to. All those long drives to nowhere, sneaking little hugs and kisses during work while pretending to be nothing more than colleagues, just chilling at home together on a peaceful day…even just having the opportunity to work with you, I was glad to have experienced all of that, even with all the painful and sad moments. Because it was you, Shuu, and to me, you are worth suffering for."

"I took a day off from work today. More like, I just woke up and didn't feel like going to work, so I didn't. How unprofessional of me, isn't it, Shuu? I didn't even tell James, and it's only been an hour, but he's already called me 28 times. Hahaha… 28, huh? Out of my 28 years, you've only been with me for 5, but somehow, without you, it feels like a hole has opened up in my heart. Or rather, the hole that was left behind by the death of my parents, that I thought had been closed, had opened up once again and stretched out bigger. Do I even make any sense? I don't know… I just feel…empty. I don't feel like doing anything. …Maybe by tomorrow, I'll feel better."

"I've lived without you once before. I can do it again, Shuu. It's not like I was moping around for the 3 years after we broke up and lost contact with each other, after all. Or so I thought, but why is this harder than I remember it to be? Perhaps it's because back then, after we broke up, you were still around. You still sent in occasional reports, and I knew you were still alive, somewhere out there. But you're not there anymore, are you? I can never see you again, touch you again, talk to you again… I can only hear your voice like this, through your voicemail greeting. But even so, why…? Shuu… Even though I know so well that you're dead, why do I still feel your presence? Please…just leave me alone, Shuu… Don't make this any harder for me…"

"I think I'm doing better nowadays. I ate an apple at breakfast, and I just had a slice of pizza for lunch. Granted, it's not a lot, but just a few days ago, James would've gotten down on his knees and sent a grateful prayer to whatever god up there if he could even get me to take more than a few bites out of the food he's been constantly buying for me. Heh, of course, it's not like he'll actually do that, but you get the idea. Then again, you probably don't need to hear it from me, if you're really watching over us. You must've been worried with how I've been acting and couldn't rest in peace like you're supposed to, sorry about that. I hope that it'll put you at ease to know that I've been taking care of myself a little more now. I'm still depending heavily on James to remind me to eat, but other than that, I've been able to act normal and carry on with my work professionally. So, you don't have to worry about me. Soon, I won't even be sending you voicemails anymore."

"…I miss you, Shuu. I love you. …Heh. It's funny, isn't it? How I could never say this to you when you were still alive, but now that you're dead, everything I've always wanted to say but never did are now pouring out of my mouth so easily.

I love you, Shuu. I still do. Always had, since 5 years ago. The truth is that I've never truly gotten over our breakup, and even now, my heart yearns for you and no other. But you probably know that already. I've never been able to hide anything from you. But just once, I wanted to tell it to you clearly from my own mouth, with my own voice.

Today will be the last time I ever call you. I'm not going to call you anymore. After all, I can't keep holding on to a dead person forever.

…Goodbye, Shuu."

"Just…Just one last question. Hey…Shuu. If…If we ever get the chance to meet again, in this life or our next… I mean, you're dead already, so technically it'd just be in our next life, but still…if that time ever comes…I wonder, if we'll fall in love again? I…honestly don't mind if we do, but let's do without the drama, shall we? Even if we don't date again, I'll be happy just to be able to work with you again or something. I just hope that the next time we meet, if we ever do, our meeting will be short and our time together long.

That's all I wanted to say. It's really time for goodbye now, Shuu. I know I said that you'll eventually be forgotten, but don't worry. Even if it's just me, I won't ever forget you. Thanks for everything, Shuu. Goodbye."

"Hey, Shuu?"

"Hm?" Shuichi looked over his shoulder at Jodie, who was watching him from the table.

"What have you been listening to this entire time?" His lips curled into a smirk at her curiosity as he didn't even pause in his task of stirring the stew.

"Reminders. Not so pleasant to hear, but must be heard, so I will never forget." Although his back was turned to her, he could tell that the childlike innocent smile on her face had instantly been dropped.

"I see…" Jodie swallowed audibly before she spoke again, albeit more hesitantly, carefully choosing her words. "S-Shuu…"

"I kept these reminders to remind myself of the sacrifices I had to make." He cut her off. "Until the day I have atoned for what I did, I will need these reminders to remind me of the things I have yet to do."

"I suppose, that's the way you cope with loss, Shuu. It's just like you." Jodie smiled softly, looking down.

"Oh?" Shuichi turned off the stove and spun around to face her. "How do you cope with loss then, Jodie?"

"I…" Jodie's smile widened, though her eyes reflected her sorrow. "I write letters."

"Letters?" She nodded.

"After that fateful night when I was 8, I wrote letters to my parents, to my home, and even to my own lost identity. It probably sounds stupid, but I just wanted to let them know how I was doing, and sometimes it was for me to convey everything I should've said while they were still around."

"That's not a bad way to cope."

"I did it too, you know, for you, Shuu." She sniffled, wiping the tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "When I thought you were dead. Though for you, it wasn't letters, but voicemails. At first, it was just because I desperately wanted to your voice, so I called you to hear your voicemail greeting, and I ended up leaving a voicemail for you. Somehow, it just escalated from there and I found myself leaving voicemails for you whenever I missed you." She jumped suddenly, waving her hands wildly to Shuichi. "Ah, I didn't mean to bring something like that up, Shuu! I mean, you're alive now- well, it's not like you ever died in the first place, but I did think you were dead! It's not like you'll hear it anyway, so there's no need for you to concern yourself with-!" She froze suddenly, her jaw dropping. Shuichi's smirk widened as he watched her fumble through her pockets for her phone, and then pale rapidly as she saw something on the screen. "Shuu!" She nearly screeched as she jumped out of her seat and ran up to him. "Are you- Did you- Did you change your number?"

"Hm... Not that I know of." He crossed his arms, secretly enjoying her panic.

"Wait, that means- Don't tell me, you actually received those voicemails?!"

"Since you were so curious about what I was listening to this whole time, do you want to listen as well?" He asked teasingly as he placed his headphones over her ears. "I saved them." Instantly, her face flushed red and she threw the headphones back.

"Argh, Shuu, you idiot!" Flustered, she turned tail and fled the scene with a string of curses spewing from her mouth, leaving Shuichi chuckling to himself in the kitchen as he put his headphones back over his ears and turned back to the stew, resuming his task of stirring it.