Momo sat down in a corner of Hana's room, just about as far away as he could get. It physically hurt him to see Hana like that. And it was all that Vivi's fault! How could he have let her starve herself to the brink of death?

If only the butler had brought him sooner.

"Why?"

Momo hadn't meant for the question to slip out, but there was no going back. Hana didn't even turn her head, instead choosing to look at the curtained window.

"Why are you doing this to yourself? Surely Vivi ̶ "

Hana cut her once best friend off with a glare, her voice rusty from not being used. "Don't you dare mention him." As quick as her anger was to appear, it was gone even sooner. Once again there was just the blank mask.

Standing up and walking towards the thing that was once Hana was one of the hardest things Momo had ever done in his life. She wasn't the girl he had loved. He wasn't sure if she was even human anymore. After having been dumped by her boyfriend, Tsubaki had just moped for a day and then gone and beaten up her ex.

Needless to say, Hana didn't attempt that.

"What happened, Hana? Things used to be different. Even when he left you weren't like this. Sure, you were upset, but you didn't try to starve yourself!"

A cold, solitary chuckle came from the corner. "You will never know what I went through those years. My pain is my own. There is nothing you, or anyone for that matter, can do for me. I'm alone." She let out the same low chuckle. "It can't be helped if he doesn't love me."

Momo wanted to scream with frustration. THAT'S what this was all about? He was only a man, a demon at that. Here was the love of his life, withering away because he didn't love her? Were demons even able to love?

The boy, who had stopped in the center of her room, took the last several steps and sat down next to her. To his surprise, Hana didn't scoot away or dive beneath the bed. She still looked like she might at any given moment, but he was safe for now. A strong, muscular arm found its way around her shoulders. "It's alright Hana." She gave him a look of complete disbelief. "I love you."

They always said actions spoke louder than words, so Momo leaned over and captured her lips in his. She was completely unresponsive, but she still hadn't fled.

At least until the window shattered.

Toni picked himself off the ground from where Vivi had dropped him. His head was cocked as he tried to listen to what was going on at the mansion. It was too far even for demon hearing, and Toni sighed. He would just have to wait and see.

The watering can was picked up, the gloves taken off, and the butler went off to start digging a new addition to the graveyard.

Momo shielded Hana with his body to prevent any shards from reaching her. Not that it would've mattered; she was too broken as it was.

Little did he know that in doing so, he pretty much asked for an early death.

An enraged demon had Momo by the throat. "What did you do to her?" The boy's face was nearly purple and strated seeing stars from lack of oxygen. Vivi shook him viciously, his fury getting the better of him. When he got no response, he tossed him to the side. Momo landed in a corner and lay there like a rag doll as he struggled to regain his lost oxygen.

Vivi slowly turned to take stock of the bedroom, his eyes eventually falling on the bed. Hana was nowhere to be seen.

Memories of the thunderstorms that had plagued Hana's childhood came flooding back into his mind. Without even a second thought, Vivi landed and tucked in his wings as he made his way over to her neglected bed.

Lifting up the sheets from the side, Vivi found a tiny and frightened Hana. She looked up at him through tear-filled eyes, the first she had shed since she stopped eating. He found himself reaching out to her, a foreign feeling of wanting to comfort her prevailing, urging him to go so far as to reach out a hand to her.

But as she reached towards him, the rational part of him took over again. Vivi quickly snatched his hand back and left her to curl up again, feeling more alone than she had before.

Even though it pained them both, he could not touch her.

Momo staggered up, all the blood rushing to his head. "Why are you doing this to her?"

Vivi turned around, just now remembering the boy. "It's none of your business, brat. This is between us." And he made to leave through the window."

"It's killing her, you know. The fact that you don't love her."

He halted his movement. "Is that what you think? That I don't love her? This has nothing to do with you. Just stay out of it." Closing the door behind him, Vivi left the two alone.

Momo went to the bed and held out his hand toward Hana, but this time she didn't reach out to take it. There was nowhere she would ever want to go with this boy. He had ruined everything. She had been able to cope before, but seeing Momo, and seeing him nearly killed her. And she couldn't go back to her numbness.

And it was all because of him.

Hana crawled out from under the bed on her own and stood up. Looking him directly in the eye, Hana said, "Go. You don't belong here. And don't ever try coming back. See yourself out."

For the first time in months, Hana left the haven of her room.

Vivi sat slumped against the wall just down the hall from Hana's room. What had he done? He was so close to her, and his resolve had been tested. But he just hadn't expected her to look so, so horrible. Food was a luxury to demons, and his lack of sleep was noticeable only by the slight rings below his eyes.

But Hana...

The demon shook his head. There was nothing he could do. Not without killing her. But it was just so hard! Even now he could feel his resolve waver. He wanted to go and love her, love her until they were both exhausted.

But he couldn't, not without killing her.

From down the hall, Vivi could hear the light footsteps of his girl as she left her room, and they were slowly growing louder. Vivi panicked, and fled the other way. The footsteps stopped, and he could hear the sound of her sobs as she curled up in the same place he had sat just moments before.

Blood ran down from his knuckles into a pool at the base of the wall, just below the new dent in the wall. Where was that damned boy? He could at least make himself useful!

Hana started to hiccup, but tears continued to stream down her face. His demon senses also picked up the low murmurings she made as she rocked back and forth. Finally, he could hold back no more. She was calling him, and she was hurting. How could he not?

Without giving himself a chance to see reason, Vivi raced over to where Hana wallowed in her misery. He picked her up in his arms and carried her back to her room.

But when they reached the thick wooden door, Hana resolutely shook her head and clung onto her demon. Vivi merely shrugged and took her to his room.

Toni was beside himself. He had snuck onto the third floor just in time to see Vivi flee Hana's room. When Hana started to cry, his heart aached for her, and wished for nothing more than to be able to comfort her. But he knew that he must refrain if his plan was to work. It wasn't going exactly according to plan, but it would do.

The butler watched as Vivi picked her up and took her back to her room. It was at that point that Toni quietly went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. He had the feeling they would both be eating that night.