Warning: angst

Kokichi smiles mournfully, looking off into some memory only he can see. "I met the love of my life in a coffee shop. I know what you're thinking. I know it sound cliche, but I promise you I'm not making this up. This isn't a scene from a movie, or a page out of some romance novel, this was real.

"When we met, I was a waiter at the shop. Honestly, back then, I was sort of pathetic. I was just some loser, living alone and working a job that bored me to death, barely making enough money to live off of.

"Anyway, he just showed up one day, just a normal customer. It was all I could do not to gape as he walked in. He was so beautiful, and I mean that. He wasn't handsome, he was beautiful, tall and with pretty yellow eyes that looked like stars and his..." Kokichi trails off as he notices his audience's attention wandering. "Hey, you wanted this story, so listen. I'll skip all the lovey-dovey descriptions if it'll make you feel better." He clears his throat. "As I was saying, I was practically drooling over him from the moment I saw him. I tried my best to keep my cool when I took his order, and I think I did a pretty good job. Either that, or he just didn't notice how flustered I was. He could be really dense sometimes, as I learned later."

"So, there I was, in a fuc- ah, I mean in a freaking waiter uniform, bringing this unfairly attractive guy a cup of hot cocoa, and I'm thinking to myself 'Don't spill it on his lap. Don't you dare. If you spill it on him you might as well just find a hole to die in, 'cause your life will be over.'' I went over to the table and handed him the cup. He was reading a book, but he put it down to get the cup, and then it was on the table and I'm like 'Crisis averted, now to get out of here before I embarrass myself.' I turned around and walked a few steps, and then from behind me I heard a clink and hiss, and I looked back to find he's somehow spilled the cocoa all over himself.

"Of course, being an upstanding cafe employee, I had to go over and help him." Kokichi spots the look his audience is directing towards him. "Hey, what does that look mean? That was totally the reason. It definitely wasn't because I was waiting for an excuse to talk to the hot guy. Just be quiet and listen. So, I went over to the good-looking oaf, and I asked him if he was alright. Meanwhile, I'm trying not to look at the stain on his clothes, which just happened to be over his crotch, because I didn't want him to think I was a pervert or anything. Imagine my surprise when he sputters out some incoherent apology, slaps down way more money than the drink was worth on the table, and runs off. And all I could think was 'I didn't even get his name.' There was another waitress there, Tsumugi, and she came up beside me and said 'I ship it.' I just shook my head and said 'It'll never happen, he's too far out of my league.'

"The next day, he showed up again, and I wasn't sure whether I to be relieved or disappointed that I was busy with another customer. Tsumugi took his order. I was just taking my customer's order to the kitchen when Tsumugi comes over and tugs on my sleeve. She told me that the guy had asked for me specifically. And so, heart in my throat, I ended up bringing him his order.

"As I set it down on the table, I jokingly said, 'Try not to spill it this time.' After he heard that, he started apologizing profusely, and the people around us are started to stare, so I told him that it's alright, and he should really stop because he's causing a scene. That made his eyes widen, and he quickly looked around. Everyone that was staring went back to their business, but that didn't stop the guy from blushing and squirming a little from embarrassment. And then there I was, thinking 'Oh my god, he just got cuter.'

"Still blushing, he starts apologizing, albeit more calmly than before, about how sorry he was about making such a big mess yesterday, and that he didn't mean to give anyone more work. I told him it was no big deal. He tried to offer a larger than normal tip to make up for it, and I told him that it wasn't necessary. After all, he made my day at work just a little more entertaining. He blushed again and said, 'Ah, t-thank you... um' he went quiet for a second, and I realized he was looking at my name tag, 'Thank you, Kokichi.' Wanting the conversation to last a little longer, I added one more thing. I grinned and said 'Besides, I already got a huge tip from you yesterday. Remember, you left way too much money. I just decided to help myself, hope you don't mind.'

"He laughed, just as I'd hoped he would. We chatted a bit, and then he left. It was only later that night that I realized that Tsumugi had set us up. Shuichi had needed to look at my name tag to know my name, so he couldn't have asked for me, and yet that was what Tsumugi had told me he had done. I was a little annoyed, but still grateful for her meddling.

"From then on, he would come to the cafe almost every day. We talked about whatever was on our minds, and eventually we started dating. I learned his name was Shuichi Saihara, and that he was a detective in training. We were happy together. He made me feel like I finally had a reason to bother living.

"A year later, we got married. I know it wasn't the best idea, after all, can you really be sure you're ready to spend the rest of your life with someone after only a year of being together?" Kokichi sighed. "But we were young and stupid, and drunk on our love. And surprisingly, it worked out.

"We rarely fought, and we understood each other perfectly. I moved in with him, and after a little settling in period, we had a wonderful few years of domestic bliss. Shuichi moved on from being trainee and became a full-fledged detective. Through some quirk of fate, I ended up owning the cafe I had worked at." Kokichi smiles. "I made sure to give Tsumugi a raise.

"Anyway, when Shuichi and I grew a little older, and decided we wanted another person or two to share our happiness with. We adopted two beautiful children, one boy and one girl." Kokichi pauses and looks at his audience fondly. "After that, we thought out life couldn't get any more perfect.

"We should have known it wouldn't last.

"One day, we all went for a walk in the park. I was pushing one of those double strollers, and Shuichi was walking beside us. That day, we chose to walk at night to avoid the heat. We thought it would be fine, the park was well lit, and far from the riskier parts of town. We thought it was safe, which was why we were surprised when someone stepped out of the shadows.

"It was a teenage girl. She skinny and had long brown hair. You would have thought she was harmless, unless you saw her eyes. They were red and devoid of compassion or guilt. She had one hand behind her back, like she was hiding something.

"'Are you Shuichi Saihara?' she asked, though the fact that she was looking at Shuichi and not me meant she didn't really need to ask at all.

"'I am,' Shuichi said, stepping in front of us. I dug through my pockets, then internally cursed when I realized I had forgotten my cell phone.

"'I truly am sorry for this,' the girl said. Then she pulled out a crossbow from behind her back and pointed it at us. 'Any last words?' she asked.

"Most people would have panicked then , but Shuichi stayed calm. He put his hands up and said, 'Shoot me if you want, but please, let my family go.'

"'And why would I do that? It's bad form to leave behind a witness' the girl asked.

"Shuichi tried to reason with her. 'My husband isn't going to do something like rat you out to the police, because that would put his life in danger, and if he's dead then he can't take care of the kids', he said. 'Please, just leave them alone.' The girl considered his word for a moment, then nodded."

Kokichi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You can guess what happened next.

"There I was, still holding the handle of the stroller, crying as I looked down at what had been my beloved. All I could ask was 'Why?'

The girl told me that Shuichi had been investigating a case that her employer wanted to be kept a secret. Then she went silent and glanced down into the stroller. She seemed to be thinking about something. Finally, she spoke, and said, 'I'll give you a one time offer. Leave this place, now, and I won't kill you.'

"'Huh?' I asked. 'You'll really just let us go?'

"She looked back down in the stroller as she said, 'I've stolen one parent from these two tonight, I won't take another. Now go.' Then she walked away, just like that. I never saw her in person again, but one of Shuichi's coworkers, a woman named Kyoko Kirigiri, caught her and put her in jail. And that was the end of that."

Kokichi goes silent for a moment. "And that's it. That's what happened." Kokichi takes a moment to look you in the eye. "Your father died protecting us. Because of that, we're here now. I'm alive to tell you this story, and you're alive to listen to it. Your father was a wonderful man, and I miss him everyday." Kokichi stops to take a shaky breath. "I'll always be grateful for the happiness we had together, and that because of him I have you. I know you weren't old enough when he died to remember him, but please keep in mind what your father has done for you." Kokichi looks at you lovingly. "So what are you still doing here? Go out and make the best of the opportunity your father gave you."

Author's Note: Just in case this wasn't clear, the people listening to Kokichi's story, a.k.a. his children, are also you, the audience. You, the reader, are one of Kokichi's kids, and he is telling you this story.