I own nothing. Monika does.

The world around her was quiet. Sure, the constant mumble and hum of the faceless people in the background was there, and vehicles on the street gave the impression of noise, but Sayori wasn't listening to any of it. The girl smiled softly to herself, breathing in her perceived calm. It was a not so rare moment where she felt an odd sense of peace, despite the constant circumstances that told her she should be refocusing her attentions on that horrible pit in her stomach.

So what if this was nothing more than the calm before a horrible storm? Storm clouds always passed…

Sayori refocused her attentions on the calm. Today had been a beautiful day. School was almost over, and she would soon have even more time to figure things out.

And she had a present for Goro. It was a small source of pride and happiness that she was giving him something, after all he had given to her. She hoped he would like it…

The quiet persisted as she crossed the final street and made it to the mediocre apartment building. This made Sayori's smile grow as she clutched her bag tighter, yet she refused to speed up. No way was she breaking this peaceful silence with the slightest loud noise.

Keeping this is mind, the pink haired girl made sure to be mindful of the stair that always seemed to creak when she stepped on it. Gripping the railing so she wouldn't fall, she carefully stepped right on the edge of the unstable ledge. Days of Phantom Thievery, as well as reading more than her fair share of adventure novels, had taught her that this was where the nails should be built in, meaning they would creak less.

After getting past the staircase, Sayori almost chided herself. Why was she being so silly? It didn't really matter if the stairs creaked… The calm silence of the evening wouldn't disappear that easily. Besides, she would have to make noise to open the door anyway.

Sayori hid the bag behind her, crossing her arms behind her in order to appear formal. Walking along the narrow carpeted hallway, the girl counted the doors until she reached their apartment. Goro would already be there, so the most she could do to surprise him with her present would be to hide it from his immediate sight. Reaching out one hand to grasp the doorknob, she stopped just shy of touching the metal.

The silence in the apartments was broken as Sayori heard her roommate practically growl something into his phone. He must be getting into another argument with his boss…

Sayori knew it wasn't really any of her business, but what they could be arguing about might be important. She was supposed to be gathering intelligence, afterall. Sayori carefully put her ear against the door, trying not to shift her weight too much and draw attention.

"This is a horrible idea… You already took enough risks when you faked that note… Quite terribly if I might add," Goro said this with attempted composure, his voice wobbly, as if he were caught between yelling and whining. It was very obvious from how far away he sounded that he was on the opposite side of the room. Sayori shut her eyes tightly… Whoever his boss was, it was obvious he must be some horrible cop. No wonder Goro didn't like him…

After a bit of silence, Goro spoke up again. "Those people are unreliable. Whatever message you want them to send will probably only make it easier for the Phantom Thieves to counterattack… But that's what you want, isn't it?" The detective sighed, and Sayori heard a loud thump. Goro was probably sitting somewhere, legs crossed… She could practically see the tired look in his eyes, she had already seen that expression so many times…

Before Sayori let herself get too far off track, she made sure to keep the more notable things in her mind. This concerns the Phantom Thieves, and it's about delivering a message… Is his boss having other, unreliable people deliver this message because he failed to fake a note? Sayori stuck her tongue out slightly, squinting her eyes. Somehow, that didn't seem quite right to her.

Her body was beginning to ache from standing in one position for so long. By the time Goro spoke next, Sayori was almost ready to believe the call had ended. What she did hear, however, made her squirm in discomfort.

"Yes… Yes…" There was a long pause. "I understand…"

His voice seems so shaky! Sayori held her breath in contempt. A small part of her wanted to go in there and… do something! However, she couldn't interrupt the conversation… Just in case. Instead, she resolved to hug Goro Akechi as soon as she entered the apartment.

Clenching her fists, Sayori resisted the urge to press all of her weight into the door. She couldn't make noise… not yet.

After another long stretch of silence, Sayori heard one last thing that made her heart race. Any trace of Goro's palpable sadness was replaced by an unexpected gasp of gratitude. It was as if whoever was on the other side of the call had said something her detective desperately needed to hear, and somehow, Sayori could practically feel her fists curling at the mere notion. The pit in her stomach grew two sizes, and Sayori felt a rising bile in her throat. She didn't understand how a mere gasp could make her feel this way, when a crowd of raving fangirls had barely made her feel anything compared to this… this absolute horror and rage!

The girl trembled as she barely made out the sound of a small "Thank you" from her roommate. The call ended, and a long, shuddery sigh left the detective. Hearing this, Sayori forced herself to calm down.

She was going to enter the apartment.

She was going to find out what she wanted to know.

Not even that suffocating silence was going to stop her.

Goro Akechi was just about to get up from his chair when he heard the familiar creaking of the door. His blank stare did not go unnoticed by Sayori as she strode in, happy smile firmly in place, hands placed behind her back. He felt a strange relief upon seeing her, which made absolutely no sense. He was always happy to see her, but there was rarely any assurance that came with that. There was nothing she could really offer him that would fix this mess at the moment.

Though when the message was posted, who knows what would happen?

Sayori sat demurely on the couch, looking at him expectantly. It took the poor detective only a few seconds to realize she was waiting for him to join her, and yet those seconds felt like a lifetime each.

As soon as he took his place, Sayori immediately wrapped her arms around his shoulders, sighing contently into his side. Goro immediately felt his racing heart begin to slow down, and lightly hugged the girl back. One thing that became increasingly clear to them each day was how much cuddling seemed to agree with them.

Goro sighed, deep in thought, not noticing the way Sayori glanced up at him with slightly misty eyes. Soon enough, he would need to get his head back in the game. Sae was right, he couldn't let himself be swayed from his work, despite the work itself being something the woman wouldn't approve of.

Sayori continued to gaze up at him, his blank stare making him seem a million miles away, despite him being right next to her. The pink haired girl huffed, knowing she needed to get his attention so they could talk.

This thought process was what lead Goro to being knocked out of his daze by manner of Sayori tightening her grasp around him, constantly shifting her weight in his hold like a toddler trying to get comfortable… In short, she was fidgeting endlessly, which had a way of getting on the detective's nerves when he was trying to get some much needed, much better, attention.

"Sayori, is something wrong?" Goro asked blearily. Sayori finally ceased her fidgeting and leaned on his shoulder, not quite meeting his gaze.

"That's what I should be asking you. I probably could have walked into the room with a banana on my head and you wouldn't have noticed a thing," Sayori tried to make it sound like a joke, but the words were stale and forced.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been paying attention to you…" Goro began, a deep frown becoming more apparent on his features. "I just got off of the phone with my boss, and… Honestly, I'd rather not talk about it."

"I'm not upset about the lack of attention," Sayori began. "I'm more concerned with you… You're practically dead on your feet, Goro."

The detective couldn't help the wry smile at that comment. "I suppose that's an accurate interpretation, Sayori. I can say the same for you though…"

"You can?" Sayori felt confused. She was sure she was sleeping well these days. She rarely had nightmares these days, or even dreams for that matter.

"Yes, you're always so lost in thought, even more so than I am. With the way your eyelids droop, and how you look ready to slump over, I get the feeling you want to collapse on the couch half the time," The detective pointed this out, describing it with a few over exaggerated examples of his own. After arching his own back and squinting his eyes, Sayori lightly hit him.

"I'm not that bad!"

"Yes, you are," the detective laughed at the girl's pout. It was then that he noticed the bag hidden slightly by her back. "What's in the bag?"

"It was supposed to be a present from my day at the art museum, but I think you're too tired to receive it now," Sayori replied, getting up from the couch, a teasing smile on her face.

"If I'm awake enough to make-"

"Order," Sayori corrected, winking.

"If I'm awake enough to order dinner, I'm awake enough to see what your present is," Goro complied. Sayori seemed to think it over, before grinning. The detective humbly took the bag from her before sitting back down. Peeking into the bag, the detective noticed the large postcard immediately. He carefully took it out, examining the picture with wide eyes.

"Sayori, how thoughtful," the detective hummed slightly, looking at the picture with full knowledge that Sayori was doing something on purpose.

"Yeah, it made me think of you… and that night," Sayori replied hesitantly. "It made me think that there's still a lot I want to do while I'm here with you. But I don't think I can do any of it with how little I know…"

The detective froze in his seat, nervous about where the conversation was going. "What exactly do you want to know?"

Sayori bit her lip, pondering which questions she wanted to ask first. "I suppose I want to know a bit more about your mother. She seems so mysterious, and I can't help but wonder if it's because you didn't know that much about her yourself, or if it's just uncomfortable for you to talk about…" The girl would accept any answer the detective did or didn't give her. She was probably putting him on the spot.

"Why do you want to know that?" Goro asked, sounding almost relieved. "I honestly thought with the way I acted last night that you would want to know more about my fa-"

"He doesn't really matter to me, if he makes you so upset," Sayori interrupted. "I want to talk about something that might make you happier." The explanation was rather short and simple, and Sayori hoped she got her point across.

"I see," Goro knitted his brows, his mouth now a thin line. "What would you like to know?" This was definitely something better to think about. For the most part, thinking back to his mother are the only good memories he has, right beside the last few months at home, and then there was…

Sayori took a deep breath. "Was your mom from China?" The question came out in one breath, the girl walking on eggshells with every question she planned to ask. However, when she looked up, Sayori found Goro gazing at her with wide, impressed eyes.

"I am impressed it only took you glancing at an art piece to put something like that together… Yes, my mother was from China. I mainly know this because she took every free moment she had to teach me what she could about the culture…" Goro looked sad for a moment. "It often makes me think that one other reason she… did what she did, was homesickness. In the end, the only family she could turn to was me, and I was just a small child who couldn't do anything to help. I'm sure she knew that going home wouldn't have helped her situation at all, because her family would have had the same views of us as everyone here seemed to have, but it would have been better for her if she was close to them rather than stuck in an entirely different country…"

Sayori nodded, knowing that was probably true. "I see… And the instrument she played was something she brought with her from home, one of the only things…"

"Yes… The only other item was something that she gave to me, but I lost it a long time ago at a foster homes," Regret and anger flashed in his eyes for a brief moment. Sayori got the feeling that something else happened, something more than it simply being lost.

"What did the instrument look like?" Sayori asked, her voice full of sympathy.

"If you think you'll be able to find it, don't bother," The detective released a slight grunt. "I watched somebody buy it only a few short weeks after she died. That day isn't one I really like for a number of reasons."

Sayori got the feeling that she would want to finish asking these mother related questions soon. "I know… I'm just curious to see if I can find out what it is called."

The detective hesitated, ashamed at his own idiocy as to not remember the name of something so important. Finally, he put his hands above his head, lowering them down as if he were feeling the sides of the instrument itself. "It was long and thin, if I remember correctly. It was a string instrument made of a good quality wood. To play it, my mother would have to lay it out across a flat surface, and watching her pluck the strings almost made me think of the way someone sits down to play a piano… Or was it?" Goro slammed a frustrated hand on his forehead. He really should be thinking about work.

"Maybe I'll see if I can find out the name," Sayori replied cheerily, taking Goro's gloved hands in her own, giggling when he smiled back at her. "I appreciate you being willing to tell me so much. In return… How about I make dinner while you get some rest?"

"No."

"Why?" Sayori asked as Goro began to sweat a little.

"We're getting food delivered, remember?" The detective quickly reached his phone, dialing the number of a new restaurant he had heard about before Sayori could protest.

After the order was placed, Sayori leaned back on the cough with a grunt of disappointment. After another moment passed, she was back to clinging onto him, the silence somehow deafening. "I have a question about something else…"

"What is it?" Goro asked curiously, hugging her back tightly.

"You're boss is nice to you, right?"

"What do you mean?" The detective asked, confusion and concern on his face. Did she know something?

"It's just… Actually, it's probably nothing…" The girl seemed disappointed in herself. She could give away the fact that she was eavesdropping, but she couldn't do that until she did something with her new information. However, she did notice the way Goro's grasp seemed to tighten around her, his eyes vacant. Once again, he was deep in thought.

Sayori decided to let silence reign once more, and snuggled back into his arms.

Not much goes on in this chapter because I got a bit sick while writing it, but decided to post what I had down. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!