The truth had to be revealed at some point.

I believe than some people may assume that I remained completely oblivious until the final moments, and then the thing we call truth would come up and slap me in the face before it ripped me to pieces.

I didn't want that to happen, so I didn't let it.

It began the day we met Shintarou, and Ene had convinced all of the group to travel to the amusement park together, as Shintarou apparently owed it to her and had promised her it.

It seemed not all members of the gang were enthusiastic about this.

Shintarou quickly made his escape away from us, and I understood his reasons. It must have been too much for him, having all of this shoved in his face in only a half hour and the rest of the gang could be a little overbearing at times. I went after him, trying to convince him to come with us some more. I knew he would only flee and hide within his house, for Ene and Momo told us that he hadn't come outside in years and without any reason to stay he would most likely return there.

And lucky for me, when I did find him, I was forced to deal with a panicky shut in who had no idea on how to control his emotions.

"Shintarou, what's wrong?" I asked, trying to get him to stand still.

"It's that man there he...and those kids! There was a truck and then suddenly...We have to do something Seto! Something happened! Something swallowed those guys up and- I don't know what to do! What should I do, Seto?!"

"Shintarou! Calm down please! People are taking care of it." I moved in front of him before he could walk over to where the truck and the bodies were. "Everything is going to be fine, now, please. Just wait here for a moment."

I wandered over to where the others had gathered, and was quite shocked that despite the truck slamming into the car and completely crushing it, the two victims were actually only unconscious and there were no signs of there being any damage besides that. They were still breathing and would be fine once they woke up. I stood up and turned back to Shintarou.

"Shintarou, there absolutely fine. The two of them are only-"

"What do you mean, two? There were three people! Two kids and one adult! I saw three people! Where is the girl? What happened to the girl?!"

"Shintarou...you must be seeing things. Please calm down. I know you are upset but the ambulance is here. I think they will let one person in with the victims. Why don't you go ahead, and I'll inform the rest of the gang and we will be there soon, okay?" I asked, pushing him towards the ambulance like he was a dead weight. He honestly seemed to be shocked beyond comprehension in this moment, and knew that whatever he was going off about, Kido probably had more knowledge of it than me.

"This is Kido speaking. Seto, what is it?"

"I found Shintarou, but he seemed to be freaking over a friend of his."

"A friend? Shintarou doesn't have any friends beside Ene..." I heard Momo mumble in the background.

"What happened, Seto?" Kido asked.

"I think his friend was hit by a truck or something. He was pretty upset when I got there. He headed over to the local hospital a couple of minutes ago. There seemed to be something about the situation confusing him, but I think you might be able to help him better than I can."

"Alright, but Kano is going to stay behind at the cemetery a bit longer. We will head over there right away. See you." She said and I heard the line go dead.

"Hey, Kano!" I waved as I walked a little faster, approaching my younger brother as he continued to face the grave. The gang and I had returned home to only find Kano still out, and after the fiasco at the hospital, we didn't need to be worrying about another person.

"Don't sneak up on me like that. What's up? Why are you so worked up?" He stated, his voice rather plain.

"Don't give me that! You never came home and you don't have your cell, so we've all been worried sick!" Kano simply turned his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his dead eyes as they returned to the grave.

"Oh. Sorry."

There was a brief, silence in which he simply seemed to stare off into space, unfocused yet clearly uncomfortable with my presence.

"Oh, right. I never got a chance to pay my respects at Nee-chan's grave." I said, practically pushing Kano out of the way so I could kneel down and talk to my sister. "Do you mind?"

"Eh?"

"Well, we've managed to spend another exciting year together." I folded my hands and shut my eyes as I spoke to Ayano. "We've gained some new friends, so things have gotten a little chaotic. Kido's been trying really hard to-"

"I already told her that." Kano interrupted, his tone emphasizing his boredom.

"Eh?! You did? Um...well, anyway, we are getting by just fine. Keep watching over us, Nee-chan."

Kano's sigh broke my thoughts once again.

"Are you done yet?" He asked.

"What's the hurry? You don't have to rush me, do you?" My voice came out a little like a whine as I looked up him. He appeared so distant and off in his own place. "You seem depressed. What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Not really."

"Well, if you say so. But you haven't really been yourself today." I had picked up on little tiny things throughout the day that just didn't add up. His silent and soft spoken yet rude attitude now was certainly a big change from his normal jubilant self. "Are you sure you are okay?"

He spun around to face me so fast I almost toppled over.

"If you're so curious then use you damn power!" He blurted out as his face twisted into one of fury. "You can see inside my head, can't you, Kosuke?" He leaned over towards me and clutched his scalp angrily, "You don't even need to ask!"

"...Kano...?" I whispered.

"I'm so pissed...You all are so hyped up but you don't know anything about anything! It's not like you even care about Nee-chan, do you? I'm right, aren't I?!"

"What the heck is wrong with you?! How can you say something like that?" Confusion wrapped around me in a tight embrace as my brother continued to spit words laced with poison at me.

"Stop talking like that!" He yelled, and I watched silently as his face crumpled and her covered it with his hand. "I just...what the hell? How did everything come to be like this...? Mom and Nee-chan are both gone..."

I watched as the water trickled down his face from behind his hand and the sidewalk absorbed the little water droplets. The cloudy, gray moonlight cast its shadow over us as a streetlight flickered in the distance.

"I mean...we all are going to die at the hands of him sooner or later..." He stared up at the sky, and I rose to my feet. It took so much self-restraint not to simply get up and tackle him in a hug in that very moment.

"I'm just so tired of it...I hate this cruel world..." As he coughed up words he had kept locked away for so long, I gently placed my hand against the back of his head, and pulled him towards my chest.

Even though I didn't understand anything at the moment, I had to try.

"It will be okay...It's always going to be okay." I cooed.

"How the hell is it going to be okay?! Damn it...!" He sniffled and pushed his head closer to me. It hurt me to hear his voice so broken and his smiling face replaced by this mask of sadness and pain.

No, wait, this was my brother's real face.

I guess I always knew deep down he was faking it. No one could smile all the time. I guess that Kido and I just grew accustomed to it after a while as our Kano. After all, even after Kido punched him and broke his mask, he was still smiling.

I rubbed the back of his head as I looked to the sky, seeking answers from the foggy haze that concealed the moon.

"You've always shouldered our burdens since we were young, Shuya." I said, almost thankful to be able to say his real name. It made me think that Kano and Shuya were two different people. "You always had a smile on your face when you were with us..."

He sobbed some more.

"But you see, when we were little, I finally noticed it. You're always pushing yourself."

"Kosuke..."

I almost started bawling when he whispered my name.

"I know you don't want to tell me anything, but from now on, let's share the burden, okay?"

I slowly pulled back, and placed my hands on his shoulders as I turned to meet his gaze.

"Shuya...you and me...we are brothers...You are not alone anymore." I said, and let myself steal his gaze.