It was a bit cold for a Saturday afternoon in September, due to the impending autumn season. Nevertheless, there were lots of people outside, specifically children, enjoying their free time on a day like this. But it was already approaching dusk, so their mothers had to come and tell them to come home.

"May I please see Taiyou Amemiya-san?" asked a certain brunette to the receptionist in the front desk of the Inazuma General Hosptial. "Uh, young man, visiting hours are about to close soon... but in this case, I think I'll make an exception for you. Do you know where his room is?" she asked. "Of course ma'am! Arigatogozaimasu, Ms... Yukita!" he exclaimed while reading her name tag. "Of course. Now hurry along, young man. You wouldn't want to be locked in the hospital, would you?" She chuckled. "What a lively young fellow..."

At last Tenma reached room 267, the room with the name "Amemiya Taiyou" written in bold, black characters. He opened it and said, "Taiyou! How are you?" His orange-haired friend smiled in response. "I'm doing fine. How about you and the other Raimon members? Are they doing ok? No sudden adventures whatsoever?" he asked, the last part earning a chuckle from Tenma. "Nope, no sudden adventures, Taiyou. And yeah, we're all ok."

He sat down on a chair. "Anyways, how is your relationship with your parents? I heard that they put you in this hospital - again. It must be hard being confined in here, isn't it?" He asked while looking around the room. Taiyou was surprised at his friend's change of attitude. This wasn't the normal, happy-go-lucky and over-optimistic soccer freak everyone knew. Nope, he was calmer than usual, and didn't wear his school or soccer uniforms. He was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with black slacks and black leather shoes.

Taiyou was taken aback for a while, but he quickly recovered and replied, "Yes, it is hard being confined here... but anyways, was there anything exciting that happened to you these days?" Tenma stopped looking around the room and stared at him. He was about to say no when he stopped and remembered his conversation with the ghost yesterday.

"If I tell him about Mr. Shidoku and his daughter, he might ask me what was I doing in the cemetery yesterday instead of going to school, and I might be forced to tell him my family's story. But if I tell him no, I would be lying..." After hesitating for quite a while, he said, "...Yes. Something different happened to me recently, very recently." When Taiyou asked what, he told him the story of the ghost, detail by detail. "I went to the cemetery to visit a few relatives," he said, "I just felt like I had to. They deserved respect from their own relative."

"Oh... when did all that happen?" Taiyou asked. "Yesterday."

"Yesterday!? Weren't you supposed to have classes yesterday?"

"Yes, but I remembered that we had a quiz that I didn't review for, so I just asked Aki-neesan to tell the teacher that I had a family emergency to attend to." Taiyou sweatdropped at his friend's answer. He sighed and said, "Tenma, you never fail to surprise me, along with the rest of Raimon..."

"Haha, yeah. But anyways, have you heard the news about Tsurugi's brother? He got his surgery already, right?"

"Hai, he did. *sigh* I just hope the doctors find out what's wrong with me already so I can go home now. It's getting really sad already, being trapped in here."

"True, it is really hard being stuck in here... but don't worry, everything will be alright... I hope." Tenma sympathized, the last part added by a seed of worry in his mind. His friend sighed. "But do you know something different that happened to me recently? I met a girl... a ghost girl. She was about six when she died, I think." He narrated his whole experience with her to him. "But sadly, she left yesterday. I don't know why. Huh? Tenma... why are you looking at me like that?" Tenma was looking directly at him, pupils dilated. "T-taiyou... it's because-" He stopped as his eyes looked at Taiyou's bedside table. He gasped and a hand flew to his mouth. "C-could it be-"

"Could it be what, Tenma?" Taiyou asked. "Taiyou... it's because... of that doll on your table." The aforementioned looked at the doll. "I saw that doll yesterday too...

*flashback*

Yesterday, while Tenma and the cemetery employee were still talking, the employee also told him something. "Oh, and young man, if you're going to look for his daughter, remember this: Her name is Kokeshi. She wears a red dress without sleeves, has black eyes and long black hair with bangs. She always carries a Kokeshi doll that has a gold kimono with red roses and wooden geta sandals. The doll has short hair with bangs, too. On the back of it's kimono, it has a name written on it, Kagome.

"The doll's name is kagome, named after Kokeshi's favorite game. She died ten years ago, in Inazuma General Hospital where she was confined because of pneumonia. Sadly, her parents died before she did. So if you see her, or any of these signs, try to talk to her, and tell her that her father loves her very, very much. Got that?"

"H-hai... but if her father never met her, then who brought her to the hospital?"

"You see, young man, her parents divorced before she was born, but her mother was already pregnant by then. When she gave birth to Kokeshi, Mr. Shidoku wanted to see her but his wife banned him from seeing her.

"She kept him updated, though. When she got pneumonia, her mother contacted him to wire them money because they were falling on hard times while Mr. Shidoku was at the peak of his fame. When he got the letter, he willingly wired them the money and it was used to bring her to Inazuma General Hospital, the best hospital at that time. Sadly, he never got to visit her, because he himself died in a car crash." Silence filled the air. "Their story... is a tragic one, Mr. -" Tenma said. "Anyways, arigato for the information, and have a good day." He bowed and left the cemetery.

*end of flashback*

"So that's the story?" Taiyou said. "...How sad... and to think she believed that her parents hated her." He touched the doll. It reminded him of her face. "She did? I didn't know that... perhaps her mother didn't give her the love and care she deserved." Tenma said, still looking at the doll.

"The doll's beautiful. I wonder if it was her mother's gift?" Taiyou smiled and replied, "Of course it was. Otherwise she wouldn't have treasured it carefully. She told me it was her first and only gift that she received throughout her whole lifetime. Her clothes had to be bought or haggled from dealers."

"Oh. Pitiful..." Taiyou stopped stroking the doll's hair and looked in Tenma's eyes. "Tenma... where do you think Kokeshi-chan is now?" Tenma hesitated for a bit, but he smiled and finally said, "Wherever she is now, I know she's up there, in the clouds, walking hand in hand with her father. Ain't I right, Taiyou?"

"You're always right, Matsukaze-san. Arigato..."

"Taiyou... did you hear that?"