He could hear Aikawa worrying, but didn't register her words. Misaki turned away slightly and looked down at the ground, wondering if this had been his fault.

After all, he had been so mean to the author… what if Usagi was doing this on purpose? Just to scare him?

He zoned back into the conversation just in time to hear Aikawa say, "...well we need to find out where he is. Could he be with a friend? Do you know any of his friends?"

Misaki nodded. "My brother and him are best friends. I could call him, but he lives all the way in Osaka."

She shrugged her shoulders. "You should call anyway. He'd wanna know if Usami was missing, either way."

The boy nodded again and got out his cell phone before walking into the hallway. "I'll be right back," he said over his shoulder to Aikawa. When he was in the hallway, he quickly dialled the number and Takahiro picked up on the second ring.

"Hey Misaki! How're you?" Takahiro asked.

"H-hi, Brother…" Misaki answered solemnly.

He heard the happiness fall from Takahiro's face. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Misaki nodded, knowing the other couldn't see him. "W-we can't find Usagi… he's been missing for over a day now. I haven't seen him since yesterday morning."

"What?! Where did you last see him?! Did he mention he was going anywhere?!" When the older brother's voice picked up, Misaki could hear Mahiro beginning to cry in the background.

He felt like his life was in a downward spiral, and all because that damn Usagi wasn't here.

Misaki stared at his left hand, hanging limply at his side. "Well, in his kitchen, during breakfast. But then I left and I haven't seen him since… he didn't mention going anywhere. It was like he just…" The boy shook his head slightly, stretching out his free hand and then balling it into a weak fist. He remembered the odd sensation of not being greeted when he got home… he didn't want to have to go through that again after work. "...Stopped existing…" The boy's voice cracked. "Brother… I-I don't know what to do now…" He choked.

Takahiro took on a determined tone. "Don't worry, Misaki, I'm catching the next flight to Tokyo as soon as possible. I'll help you look."

"N-no, you don't have to inconvenience yourself l-like that…" Misaki protested, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes.

"The only inconvenience would be if I couldn't help find my best friend," the older replied. "Don't worry, Misaki. He's not gone forever. I wonder why he's missing, though… what happened?! Where is he?! Is he trying to run away from something…?"

Misaki held his breath so that his chest would stop moving with every silent sob that he couldn't hold in.

Maybe it's my fault?

Maybe he was trying to escape me?

Admittedly, Misaki had been pretty rude lately. Maybe Usagi had simply had enough of him…? It sounded ridiculous, but given the circumstances… it really wasn't impossible.

Misaki couldn't hold it back and a sob broke through his lips. "...Maybe it's me."

Takahiro was in so much disbelief to hear that, that his younger brother heard him scoff from the other line. "Misaki, don't say such untrue-"

"But it makes sense! I've been… I've been horrible to him lately… I drove him off, I know it."

"You have? Why? Did something happen with you two?"

Misaki shook his head, knowing the other couldn't see. "...That's the worst part… he did nothing wrong… I just… I just… I give him so much shit all the time and… a-and…!" Misaki covered his mouth, but it was too late. The sob had escaped.

"Misaki…?" Takahiro's voice lessened into a delicate whisper. "It'll be okay. It's not your fault."

"How do you know f-for-"

"Because when Usagi talks about you on the phone, I can tell he really cares. You guys must be really close. Heck, you may even be better friends than him and me now!" He chuckled dryly. "...But, really, I couldn't imagine you're the reason for him doing anything bad."

Misaki trembled and sighed, trying to catch his breath. The rapid convulsing of his chest was knocking all the breath out of his lungs with every shake. He didn't know what else to say. He just continued to hold back the whimpers and whines that wouldn't stop coming, but to no avail. "...Thank you…" he managed to mumble, though it only let out another sob.

"Misaki, you sound like a wreck! I'm flying up to Tokyo first thing tomorrow morning. I'll be down soon. Tomorrow's a Saturday, so you don't have work, right?"

"...Y-yeah."

"Okay, good. We can talk this out and I'll aid in the search. Is that okay?"

"...Y-es. Thank you so much, Brother."

"Of course. Don't worry, Misaki. We'll find him."

"..."

"Are you gonna be okay?"

"...Yeah, I'll be okay."

He could hear Takahiro smiling slightly on the other line. "That's the spirit." Just then, Mahiro's crying got louder. "Hey, I should go. See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

The line went dead and Misaki put the phone back. He suddenly remembered where he was.

Work. Sobbing.

He took some serious deep breaths and quickly wiped his face.

Not fast enough though. Isaka walked by. "Ah, Takahashi! Are you okay?! What happened?"

"Oh, sorry…" Misaki tried to continue wiping his tears. "I-I… it's a… family thing."

"Oh. If you want, you can go home for the day. I'll make sure it passes with the higher-ups." He gave the boy a smirk. "I'm good with that stuff."

Misaki shook his head. "Oh, that's okay. I wouldn't want to-"

"Don't worry about it!" The man waved his hand dismissively. "Seriously, get outta here! And get your stuff straightened out. It's no big deal."

The boy thought about it. It might be more of a burden to be an emotional wreck than to just leave and let everyone have some peace from him and his drama. "...Okay. Thank you so much." He gave the elder a quick bow.

"No problem. Say, that reminds me… have you seen Usami?"

Misaki felt a fresh batch of tears form in his eyes. "...N-no…"

"Okay, well can you give this to him next time you do?" The man handed him a large sealed envelope, probably filled with reference files or manuscripts of some sort.

Misaki nodded slightly. "...Yes."

"Okay, great. Bye!" The man waved and left down the hallway toward some other destination.

Misaki turned and made a mad dash for the elevator. He could barely breathe anymore.