Short. Bitter. And seemingly pointless. Enjoy.

Shido fell to his knees in the empty room, the sword dissolving to become a stain on the carpet as it left his limp hand. He'd known the day would come when Riho would leave him. Nothing lasted forever. But to leave him for Cain . . . It couldn't be.

Yet he knew it as truth. He'd felt her there in Cain's memories, as real as if they'd been his own. There had been nothing of duress in her either, no forcefulness on Cain's part – she had gone willingly. He could not begin to contemplate the pleasure he'd seen in her face.

He bowed his head and rose to his feet. His face had regained its usual stoic composure. He slid his hands into his pockets and returned upstairs. As he passed Satsuna's apartment on the third floor, the fully-healed vampire glanced up from the TV and saw him.

"Hey, Shido!" He jumped up and followed the older vampire down the hall. "Man, good thing you're back. Weird stuff's been happenin' while you were away. You heard about Izawa?"

Shido nodded, but didn't look up.

"Sucks, huh?" 'Suna followed him into his apartment. "He was kinda' cool. Heh – for a human.

"Hey, I bet Riho's glad you're back! Where is she, anyhow? I haven't seen her since yesterday morning – just before they released me from the holding cells down there. Heh.

"Oh! You hear about what happened to Riho's friend, Mikao? … Shido?" Shido had stopped mid-stride next to the sofa.

He picked up the lacey white garment lying over the back of the sofa with a visibly trembling hand and just stared at it for a moment. Then he slowly sat down on the sofa and rested his forehead on his clasped hands.

"Shido? You okay, man?" 'Suna looked around confused. "Where is Riho? . . . Shouldn't she be hanging all over you about now?" There was a long silent pause.

"She's gone."

'Suna almost didn't catch the utterance. "W-what? . . . Dude, you're starting a' freak me out. I thought u just said – "

Shido cut him off. "She's gone and she's not coming back." He buried his face in the fabric of the dress. "Go away."

Satsuna went away.

Told ya. But there IS meaning in there. U'll see. Just stick around ... & review.

Oh, yeah. And here's a bribe for ya. Everybody who reviews - gets a plushie of Cain or Shido. (We all know Cain's better tho. Definitely hotter. Well, after coming back from the dead anyway.)