It's been quite a while since I've been here, I thought as I gazed at the off-white chipped paint that covered the outer walls of Tamotsu's old house. After he was killed back in March, Yasu had locked Tamotsu's house up and hid the keys. Of course, Satoshi tells me that he, within a week, forgot where the keys were hidden, but just the next month, I got a call from him. He told me that he had found the keys and wanted to give them to me, his girlfriend. His voice was a little shaky when he said "girlfriend," though. Maybe because Tamotsu had told him that I wasn't his real girlfriend? I didn't know. I probably never will, either.

I leaped up the rotting wood steps to his front door, each one creaking beneath my feet. I tested the doorknob - locked, as it should be. Without a second thought, I turned the key and the door swung away from me, quiet as a mouse.

The interior of Tamotsu's house was a lot... messier than I had remembered. I wasn't looking and my foot knocked against an empty can of soup. I recognized the brand name from the American store my parents ran. At first, it didn't mean anything to me, but then I realized-

Tamotsu never liked American foods.

I heard a rustle from around the corner, and before that, a sort of gasp-like sound. Like a person.

I stepped quietly through the living room, watching my feet every few seconds to make sure I didn't make any more sudden noises. Soon I reached the edge of the carpet and stepped onto the wooden floor, which was equally as grimy and dirty as the carpet in the living room. There was no door or walkway between the kitchen and the living room, just an open space, as if they were one room instead of two. As the right wall of the living room met the wood floor, it made a sharp right turn down a long, dark hallway. It, too, was littered with clothes and trash. I saw the first door in the hallway swing shut before I heard it, but I wasn't able to process it until it slammed shut loudly. I jumped.

Cautiously and quietly, like a cat, I approached the door, my right hand ready to knock out whoever was living in Tamotsu's house. I don't care how weak I am with hand-to-hand combat, I was still gonna punch the lights out of him, whoever it was.

I reached for the doorknob, slowly (but not as slow as the kids in the hallways at school), as to not make a sound.

Then the door whisked away from me and I nearly fell into the room.

"Sayuri!" a sobbing voice cried. Almost as soon as the voice came, something wrapped its arms around my waist.

"Y-Yasu??" I cried. I started to struggle out of his grip, but thought better of it, seeing as how broken he's been since Tamotsu died. Of course, I've been doing bad too, but... Yasu was like a father to Tamotsu. I'm sure he thought of himself as something more before... before I met him, but after the whole incident a year ago, I wasn't so sure anymore.

"Have you been living here this whole time?" I asked.

"What do you think?" he sobbed, looking up at me for a split second before continuing to cry. His red hair seemed to be heavy, limp, sad, as if Tamotsu's death had depressed him so to the point that even his hair would cry over it if it had eyes. It used to be brushed back and fluffy. Now it rested on the tops his black, wide-framed glasses.

"I... would think that you would be living in your own house instead of his. You know, that whole thing about 'his essence living on' or whatever."

"But that's the thing! I can't let go, Sayuri... I have to stay here or else I'll forget him!" I suppressed an eye roll and hugged him back.

"This place is a mess, Yasu..." I sighed as he (finally) pulled away from the hug.

"Since when did you care?" he sniffed.

"Since I saw how awful this place has gotten. You're a good guy."

"You- you really think so?" He sniffed again, and he wiped at his nose. "Even though I tried to take your boyfriend?"

"I don't care about that. That's ancient history." I smiled.

"You seem... different. From what Tamotsu told me about you, anyway."

"Tamotsu talked about me?" My face heated up, as much as I didn't want it to.

"Yeah. He would talk about you sometimes at work. Sure, he never sounded like he cared... But I could tell he did." Yasu looked away, a bittersweet smile on his face. "He cared a lot about you."

"You think?" A lump formed in my throat. I tried to swallow it.

"Oh, Sayuri. I know so. I know Tamotsu as though he were my own child."

That did it. I don't know how, but even after four months without crying over him, talking to Yasu had suddenly made me tear up and break down. My face went red with embarrassment as I tried to wipe away my tears. My new glasses started fogging up. "Hey, Yasu?"

"Yes, my would-be daughter-in-law?"

"Are glasses this much of a hassle?" I showed him my glasses, which were foggy and streaked with little bits of tears. He smiled.

"Only when you cry, hon." He laughed, more tears flowing from his dull green eyes. Sure, the color was dull, but the sorrow swimming in them... it was brighter than the sun.

I'm sure it was the same for me, as well.

"So, hey; You wouldn't mind if I tried to help clean this up, would you?" I spoke after a few moments of silence, my voice still a little rough from crying. I slid my glasses back onto my face, taking a deep breath as I did so.

"Nah. It really needs it." Yasu looked around, disappointment shimmering in his eyes. "I've been trying to find time, but I could never bring myself to do it. I didn't know why."

"Well, you've got me to help you. You also have Satoshi, Yoko, and whoever else works with you. They're all here for you when you need them." I glanced at the floor. "I'll, um..." I hesitantly picked up a bit of food off the floor, leaving it dangling between my fingers. "I can start with food."

---

After quite a few hours of cleaning and such, Tamotsu's- er, Yasu's house? was finally clean. It was spotless, just as it was when I first saw it. A feeling of nostalgia washed over me. I couldn't believe it had only been one month since he died. It felt... weird. Like he wasn't really dead, and he would show up one day and be totally fine. I knew it wouldn't happen, though; there's no way he could have survived that.

"I still despise you for making me pick up the bugs," Yasu grumbled from where we sat on the couch.

"There shouldn't have been bugs here in the first place. Besides, I can't stand bugs." I suppressed a shudder.

"As you've told me a hundred times." He sighed, and I expected a reply, but no returning argument appeared. I turned away.

"You know, after he died, I came back here to clean it out. You see how that failed..." Yasu gave a small laugh. "But I found something... you should know about it."

I sat up, my interest piqued. "Yeah?"

"There was a smashed radio by the window right there." Yasu pointed at the open window next to him. We opened it so that the whole place would air out, for lack of candles and Febreeze. Although Yasu had offered to run across the street to his own place for them, I leaned more toward the window. Cold was my thing, and despite the warming April weather, the breeze that weaved into the house was a biting cold.

"There was?" I instinctively looked over, searching for the long-gone radio remains.

"I picked it up when I saw it, but it's still confusing me, and honestly I'm getting really stressed out over it."

"What do you think happened?"

"It looked as though it had been there for a really long time. It's not like Tamotsu to leave things there like that." Yasu shook his head. "I don't know what happened. Do you have any ideas?"

I thought a bit. "Nothing good," I eventually replied.

"You should get home," Yasu sighed after a few moments of sitting in silence. "It's pretty late."

"You're right; I should go." I got up from where I sat on what to used to be Tamotsu's couch.

"Hey, before you go," Yasu called to me as I was halfway out the door. "I... I think Tamotsu was cheating on you."

I froze, then laughed. "Tamotsu was never my boyfriend in the first place!" Saying it hurt, but I said it anyway... I mean, he's dead, right? It has to be time to move on.

I got in my car and drove down the street. I wondered suddenly if Yasu had gone to get candles after I had gone.

---

A/N: HERE IT IS... a week late... i'm so sorry pLEASE FORGIVE ME ;n ;

AAAANYWAY here it is, the most boring book of the trilogy. let's dO THIS.

I'm at a weird point right now, so I may or may not have time to make a cover. I may draw it or use google images... idk. I'll probably draw it myself to avoid copyright shit. oOOH WELL.

Enjoy :D

-Parker