Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I'm completely pulling this out of my ass now, because the last chapter was a total deviation from the original plot. That makes it a slower write. This chapter is dedicated to everybody who's reviewed, but especiallyMoon and Waves, for whom this chapter is named. I love you guys! Also, if I get three or more reviews per chapter, I might start doing shout-outs. Totally un-beta'd. Hope there aren't too many typos. Alright, enjoy...

Chapter 8—Tragedies Always Make Good Conflicts

That night, nobody made or ate dinner. Mizuki refused to enter her bedroom—after all, her mother had died in there! Mizuki and her father pulled out the sofa bed, for he didn't want to sleep in the room he and Eiko had always shared—and lay there for hours, complete insomniacs. When morning finally came, and the travel alarm clock they had set up next to the bed let out a series of obnoxious beeps, Mizuki rolled off the uncomfortable mattress gladly. She had simply spent the night passing time, trying not to think about Sano or her mother, trying not to cry. Morning was a welcome distraction.

Mizuki rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and ambled over to the kitchen. The counters, cabinets, and refrigerator were, as always, stocked very well with food, some Asian, some American. However, nothing appealed to Mizuki. In fact, she felt slightly sick to her stomach.

After finally settling on a simple piece of toast with butter (although the powdered mini donuts came in a very close second), Mizuki meandered back into the living room, carrying her already half-eating breakfast. To her dismay, though, eating the toast did nothing to settle her stomach.

When Mizuki finished her breakfast, she sat back in the armchair she had occupied the previous night and reflected on the events of said night. As she thought, a fact hit her: Mom fucking committed SUICIDE! She had realized it the night before, of course, but hadn't really accepted it. If Mom committed suicide... oh, God. Why was she holding the phone? What... what happened? Why wasn't anybody there

Slowly, Mizuki hoisted herself out of her chair and walked over to the stairway up to the second floor, where her bedroom was. When she reached the closed door, she felt a knot twist in the bottom of her stomach. With a shaking hand, she pushed it open and flicked the lights on.

The room looked exactly the same as it had when Mizuki had left it, at first glance. Mizuki was fairly surprised—for some reason, she had expected something to look awfully different. Perhaps she had expected blood on the carpet, or everything torn up and thrown out of place, or maybe even her mother's body still lying on the floor. However, everything was exactly the same, but—she gasped. There was a sheet of paper most of the way under her bed, with something scrawled on it in large letters. Pulling it out, Mizuki saw that the letters were actually numbers. A telephone number. Mizuki turned the paper over, looking for futher clues as to what the number could be. The other side of the paper was blank.

Shaking once again, Mizuki picked up the phone. She refused to let herself think about what she was doing, and punched in the number. Then she held the phone up to her ear.

Whomever was on the other end only let the phone ring once before picking it up and barking, "IDENTIFY YOURSELF."

Mizuki paused, unsure what to say. "Um, I'm Eiko's daughter?"

"WHO?"

"Eiko?"

"Who the fuck is Eiko?"

"My mother?"

There was a pause, then the man on the other end yelled, "HEY FREDDY, YOU KNOW AN EIKO?"

Mizuki heard muffled speech—nearly ten minutes' worth—before the man came back and said, "We don't know an Eiko."

More muffled speech.

"We don't know an Eiko, plus we wouldn't talk to her daughter if we did."

"But, sir! She's—she's dead!" Mizuki blurted.

Silence.

"Eiko's dead?"

"Yes, she—"

"HEY FREDDY, SHE'S DEAD!"

Mizuki frowned. I thought they said they didn't know her!

"Listen girly, Freddy wants to talk to you."

"Um, ok—"

"Eiko's dead?" This was a different man, presumably Freddy.

Mizuki suddenly felt like she shouldn't have gotten herself in this in the first place. "Yes, that's what I—"

"Is it our fault?"

"I don't know."

"Fuck. FUCK."

"Um—"

"I guess I better tell you what was going on?"

"Yes!"

"Your—Mother, you said?"

"Ye—"

"She was doing some work for me and Freddy here, and the company."

"The company?"

"Yeah. We're... I think you'll have to come down to the office if we're going to tell you anything else."

"Um—" Mom wouldn't want me involved...

"RAY, CAN WE HAVE THE KID DOWN TO THE OFFICE?" There was a pause, then Freddy said, "Come down to the BP gas station on Main. We'll pick you up there. How soon can you be there?"

"Um... Fifteen minutes?"

"We'll be there. You'll know us because we say we're us."

"I—"

The line went dead.

Mizuki dropped the phone back in the cradle and ran down the stairs. Calling, "I'm going out, I'll be back in a while," Mizuki grabbed shoes and a jacket, stuck her wallet and cell phone in her pocket, and ran as fast as she could to the BP.

She was a little bit early arriving there, and huddled by the corner of the building. A few minutes later, a silver convertible pulled up and directly to her.

"I'm Freddy," a black man in the driver's seat said. "You're Eiko's kid?"

"Ye—"

"Get the fuck in."

A/N again: Bit short this time. Sorry, guys. Please review!