"Aika-chan, are you feeling okay?" Amaya-neechan asked. I smiled at her. I must have seemed like I was spacing out. I was just trying to listen in on what was happening downstairs.

"Of course! Aika is always feeling okay! Aika is super strong!" I cheered, and she giggled. I looked at her closely. I didn't know why she was asking me if I was okay, when she looked so pale. "Is...Amaya-neechan okay?"

"Yeah..." She said smiling weakly. "I just...want to know what's going on. I want to help Miki-san however I can, you know?" We sat there for a minute. It wasn't an awkward sort of silence, it's the type of silence where you're both just thinking.

"What's your favorite song, Amaya-neechan?" I asked. A favorite song describes a lot about a person.

"Oh gosh, well, I really like The Rainbow Connection, but I like a song called Paradise the best. Have you ever heard it?" I shook my head.

"I'll sing it for you then." She closed her eyes and started to sing. "When she was just a girl-ir-irl, she expected the world-rl-rld, but it flew away from her reach-ea-each, so she ran away in her sleep-ee-eep. She dreamed of para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise. She dreamed of para-para-paradise, every time she closed her eyes."

I clapped. "That was really pretty!" She thanked me, but then we got quiet again.

She glanced at me. Her whole atmosphere changed. She was suddenly fidgety. She wrung her hands over and over. Her face was light red. "Uh, Aika-chan...well, I-I was just w-wondering...y-you don't have to s-say...it's okay, b-but...uh, d-does, um, Miki-san l-like anyone?"

I smiled gleefully. She did like him! I knew it! "Miki-niichan is single! The curse makes it hard to have a girlfriend, after all..." I stopped myself. I was just so happy and excited, I didn't think about what I was saying. I needed to stop. She was nodding understandingly, but she looked excited. I knew what I had to do.

I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. I knew what Occhan would say in this situation. I knew what he'd want her to hear. "Miki-niichan doesn't want a girlfriend though. He says he never, ever, ever wants to fall in love. And that there's no one in the world he'd want to fall in love with. And..."

I swallowed hard again. When Amaya-neechan had passed out, and Occhan took her into her room, Miki-niichan told me something When I asked him if he had emotions for her. I knew I had to tell her. Destroy any hope she had now, before she hurt herself. That's what the curse did to people. I didn't want Amaya-neechan to be hurt. I needed to tell her this now. To stop her from falling in love with Miki-niichan. "He-he...he said he wished you never entered his life!"

She froze. She was still smiling, but I felt my own eyes get full of tears. Whenever anyone else got sad, I got sad too! I hugged her tightly. She seemed surprised, but after a second she had her arms around me, too. But she didn't cry.

Sometimes, we were too broken to cry.

Or maybe, she didn't accept it yet. Miki-niichan didn't want to be loved, or to love. I cried harder into Amaya-neechan's soft shirt. That dumb seahorse! That stupid, mean, dumb seahorse! Doesn't he care about Amaya-neechan's feelings? Doesn't he care about her?

I looked up at Amaya-neechan's face cautiously, but she was staring straight ahead, still just smiling. Her eyes were sparkly with tears. She looked down at me, and her tears faded, and her smile got brighter.

"Y-yeah, it's okay. All I've done is caused Mik-, uh, Sohma-san, trouble. It's only right that he doesn't like me much. Come on, cheer up! It's okay, Aika-chan," She forced her words out. I got up and took a step, taking a seat next to her. She wiped her eyes quickly when she thought I wasn't looking. "I don't want to cause any of you anymore trouble. I'll just...I'm going to go home."

"But you can't!" I shouted. "You'll be all alone!"

She sighed softly. "No, I won't be. I'll go to school again on Monday, and see all my friends again, and if I do get lonely at home, I'll stay with Sakura. Oh, she's a good friend of mine."

"B-but I'm a good friend of yours!" I started crying again. "Just keep staying with me! You can't go!"

"Shh," She cooed. "Don't worry, I would never share your family's secret. It's safe with me."

"That's not what I'm worried about! I'm worried about you! We're friends! I'm worried about you!"

"It's okay. I'll be okay. You will too. You have Minoru-san, and the twins, and...and Sohma-san." She looked to the doorway. She whispered, "I don't want to ever bother him again, not even by disrupting whatever is happening down there."

She stood up and walked to the window. It was already getting dark. The sun had almost completely disappeared beyond the horizon. She opened up the window, letting in a cool breeze.

But it felt bone-chilling to me.

She stuck one leg out, then the other. I watched her until I could just see her fingertips holding onto the windowsill. I ran over and watched as she let go, dropping only a couple feet. She waved at me one last time, and wandered off in front of the house, on her way home most likely.

I slumped down to my knees. I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't mean to send her away. But I knew that's what was going to happen. So why? Why did I do it?

I was so confused and sad. I just...I just did what Occhan would've done. I know it's what he would of done. I know the type of things he tells people. I just...I just did what Occhan does.

Isn't Occhan a good person?