I do not own anything. I went to camp… Just putting that out there so that maybe you'll be more proud of my "coming-out-of-shell" moment than annoyed of my "haven't-been-updating" moment.

"You could think about it as if I'm here to teach you to let go." Yoru flashed his Cheshire grin, the same grin he wore when we watched that cheesy chick flick and when we ate at our usual café. It wasn't anything like that shallow smile when he die—no, departed.

The pink-haired girl almost asked for specification, but the once repressed emotions hurtled at her with no remorse. The memories of the grief and her futility during his death pillaged her senses. The child fell to her knees, thrusting her head to the floor. The sobs shook through her body.

Since a strange cold air drifted to her back, Amu turned her head against the fallen autumn leaves and looked at the ghost, who kneeled beside her with a hand stroking her back. She couldn't exactly feel him but sense him. She sat up and looked into his warm honey eyes, finding comfort in them.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help you. I wanted to so badly, but I couldn't… I just watched you go through hell," With wide orbs, she apologized in hushed tones as if the words hurt her.

"I wouldn't have wanted you to help me. If you'd helped me, I probably would have pushed you away and told the bystanders to hold you back. It was my time to die. If you continue to blame yourself, I don't think I can move on; but that's only partly the reason I'm here. I just deeply regretted one thing I left unfinished." His eyes evolved to a gentle caress.

"What is it? If I can help, I'll do whatever you want." She cried to him, hands flush against her beating heart.

"I won't be able to be around for long, and even then, I'll have to leave for hours, days, and maybe even weeks." Yoru said as the wind blew him into millions of particles, but seconds after, the particles glued back together into his form. "I want to give you what you've always wanted."

"Yoru, what are you talking about?" She asked him with wonder gleaming in her eyes.

"Sorry, Amu. I have to go for about a few days or so. Oh, but, before I leave, you have to remember that we're no longer a couple. It's been two months since I died. I think you're in the clear for scouring for those good-hearted men. See you in a few." Yoru waved as he literally disappeared into thin air. It was just like him to let her go like that, and disappointment filled her, because he wasn't mad at her as she wished he did.

Dead Brother's Girlfriend

"Ikuto, I know you don't know much about women; and so I'll tell you this. Next time, don't bring your girlfriend when you're trying to comfort me." The girl who broke his heart sibilated, in an obvious attempt to shun him. With azure eyes that never failed to follow his unrequited love, Ikuto could clearly see her broken spirits and reached out to hold her; but Lulu dropped a hand on his and brought it to her cheek, stilling his hand to caress her bright, flawless cheeks.

"Lulu, I need to go after her." Ikuto drew his hand back to his side and looked at the banner of pink hair fading into the copse of trees. His converse-clad shoe stepped forward, and yet again, Lulu, stepping in his way, stopped him.

"Ikuto, what will you do when you reach her? How will Amu and you benefit from this? I'm not asking this for my sake, but for yours and hers." Lulu looked at him with those bright blue eyes, which seemed to have robbed all the blue from the dim sky.

"Amu needs someone to comfort her—someone to be her support." He desperately tried to persuade her. In truth, he didn't feel the need to explain it to his girlfriend; but he guessed that if he explains himself to her, maybe he could understand it.

"Say, 'You go to her.' Say, 'She moves on.' What then!" Her properly mannered, still voice rose an entire octave.

"We would, we would…" At a loss of words, Ikuto trailed off. Realization pierced through his facial expression.

"You would try to be her friend, but try as you will. Soon enough, being her best friend won't be enough. You'll pine after her more and more as the present creeps into the past; but you'll torture yourself even then. Considering Yoru, you would never go for her. You'd think that going for Amu would be the same as taking advantage of Yoru's death. At the end of it all, neither of you would get what either of you need or want." Lulu explained her reasoning, stilling Ikuto's restlessness and leaving only grief. If he couldn't be her friend or more, he wouldn't be anything.

"…What do you suppose I do then?" Defeated, Ikuto stood with a blank face. Taking advantage of the moment, she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him with her smoldering gaze. Though her attempt at seduction failed, he didn't move, too stunned and puzzled to be in reality.

"Allow her to meet someone new, and I know just the guy." She smiled up at him, reaching up and giving him a peck on his lips. Ikuto stood there motionless, still processing the fact that he and Amu would never be anything, even just friends.

Dead Man's Girlfriend

Seeing the pink-haired girl stumbling along the side walk wrenched the good-willed heart of a florist part-timer. The boy's downcast shaded eyes stayed on her who stopped to gaze at the flowers in front. Making his way to her side, he held two flowers with white petals. Her gentle honey eyes, red by past tears, crashed into his ruby reds, making them lost perhaps forever if she had not spoken.

"A white carnation is a 'regret that a love cannot be shared', a-am I right?" The girl's voice croaked slightly with a scratched throat. He would have offered her water, if he had his wits about him.

"No, actually, that would be a striped carnation. This isn't even a carnation. It's a white chrysanthemum." He replied, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Death and grief?" She asked unsure. He wanted to see her smile, but her plump lips remained a straight line. Though for him, he could never remove his smile.

"Yes, but it also means honest." He said.

"I guess flowers know me better than I do them. May I have two flowers?" The girl attempted a smile, but it shot a superficial emotional pain jolting through her veins. His smile momentarily fell at the sight.

"You can have these two off the house, um… I never caught your name." The blonde failed at subtlety, but the petite customer didn't notice.

"No, I shouldn't get them free. I can pay right now." Amu's hand moved to her pocket of her nonexistent jacket. She groaned, realizing that she had forgotten her jacket in the woods. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. You can pay me by telling me your name and why are you buying the flowers. You seem troubled. Oh, I'm Hotori Tadase." Tadase shone his gentlemanly smile, holding out a hand.

"Hinamori Amu. I'm visiting the dead today." A dark shadow crossed her face as the words left her shaking lips. Her teeth bit down on her lips to stop them from shaking, but to no avail, they shook all the more.

"Would you like to come in the shop to talk about it over tea?" Dropping his hand to his side, he gestured to his workplace.

"I'll have to pa…" She trailed off in though. She actually wanted to talk to someone about it, and since Ikuto would only remind her of her sins, a complete stranger would be the best option. "Sure, that'd be great."

Thanks for reading.