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Drops of water were splattering on the window of her apartment, as Kyoko starred at the outside scenery. For some reason, the detective has always been fascinated by rain, as it could be gentle yet also fierce. Several dark clouds were covering the night sky and the detective just watched with a frown, trying to forget her own negativity from within. It was only working barely though, as the negativity remained inside her head. She had been starring at the rain for what felt like an hour, yet she did not feel better. Maybe she should take a drink? Lie down and continue to sleep? Go to the bathroom and cry like a little girl? Kyoko wasn't sure what to pick.And then, someone shifted upwards on her bed.“Ky...Kyoko?”, the blonde person asked tiredly and rubbed her eyes. “Why are you awake? It's the middle of the night.”Perking slightly up, the detective masked her emotions once more, with her usual mask, before turning to her wife.“My apologies for waking you up.”, she said slowly, her voice stoic as usual.”I......I shall head back to sleep now.”Tugging on her glothes, Kyoko forced a small smile on her face, while Kaede let out a yawn and smiled tiredly at her girlfriend.“Don't worry, you didn't wake me up.”, the pianist explained with a chuckle. “I sometimes have the tendency to randomly wake up at night. But say.....Are you alright?”“What do you mean Akamat-”“Kaede.”, the blonde corrected her. “Please, we've been married for so long and yet you are still reffering to me, by my last name. It's okay to be more open.”"I know. You told me that quite a lot.", Kyoko replied bemused, a small smile on her face, before it disappeared once more. Kaede then moved over to her and planted a small kiss on the detective's cheek. However, the frown remained on her face and the blonde decided to ask again."Are you really alright, Kyoko?""I...I am alright.", the detective replied, reassuringly.Unfortunately, her wife saw through her lie."Okay, now I know something is up.", Kaede said and crossed her arms, albeit still looking concerned."Whatever do you mean?""Whenever you are not feeling well, you are tugging your gloves.", the blonde pointed out and glanced at the aforementioned gloves. Kyoko's eyes widened briefly, before putting her hands behind her back and turning away from Kaede. A silence settled in between the two and Kaede could hear her lover's ragged breathing, trying her best to keep herself together. Her fist tightened and the pianist just couldn't stay silent, at the painful scenery."Kyoko....What's wrong?", the blonde asked, while the detective remained silent. "We've been together for so long, so why aren't you telling me what's wrong?"Rain continued to splatter outside, as Kyoko's gaze was still focused on the drops of water. It's comforting noise did little though, to calm the detective down. Her cold facade was barely held together by her stubborness, to not show any kind of open vulnerability. Especially towards Kaede, even if she deep down knew that she could barely keep the act up.Suddenly, Kyoko felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Perking up surprised, the detective faced the pianist, who was looking at her with so much worry that her cold heart could melt. Finally, she decided to come clean, while still trying to remain as composed as possible."Do you know the date of today?""Umm...Tonight is the 31th of August. Why do you ask?", the blonde asked confused, to which Kyoko did not answer immediately. Instead, she tugged on her gloves even more, while her eyes were fixating on what was under those gloves. Scars. Burn marks. And memories....For a while, Kaede wasn't sure why Kyoko brought up today's date, but as she followed the detective's gaze down to her hands, it finally clicked in Kaede's head."Wait...this isn't about Yui, is it?""Correct.", Kyoko answered with forced stoicness. "Today...would have been her birthday..."Kaede frowned, as the detective turned her attention away from her, once more.How couldn’t she have seen it sooner? It made so much sense! After all, Yui was like a big sister to Kyoko and literally sacrificed her own life, in exchange for Kyoko’s. Even though several years had passed since her demise, the detective was still grieving for her lost friend. Especially on her birthday. How old would Yui have been today? Kyoko never told her about her exact age, just that she was a few years older than her and that she was a highschooler, when the two first met. Kaede could ask but....that probably wouldn't be a good idea and so, the pianist decided to not let her curiosity get the better of her."I...I am sorry Kyoko.""It's fine.", the detective tried to assure her, but it didn't convince Kaede in the slightest."If it's fine, then why are you facing away from me?"Once more a silence settled in, as Kyoko wasn't sure how to answer her wife's question, without losing her cool. Eventually, the detective turned around to her and asked her a strange question."Do you believe in immortality?""Excuse me? What do you mean?""Please just answer the question.", Kyoko replied and Kaede could see the anticipation on her face. Thus, the pianist decided to choose her words carefully."Well......I mean, I do believe that souls exist....But.....""But what?""I....I don't know for sure if I'm right.", Kaede admitted sheepishly. "Of course you don't. That question was stupid of me. None of us know if this concept really exists, after all."Kyoko turned her back towards her wife once more and continued to watch the rain. For a while, none of the two said anything, as Kaede wasn't sure what else to say. Sure, she could offer her condolences, but she had a feeling that this wouldn't be enough. Just as Kaede was thinking about her next words, the detective beat her to the punch."I've been thinking about the concept of immortality, ever since Yui's death.", Kyoko began and slowly took off her gloves, revealing her scarred hands in all their grotesque beauty. She let out a small pained groan, before eventually continuing."Everyone dies, sooner or later. That's an indisputable fact. Don't you agree?""Well....I guess but-""So tell me, why form attachments to someone, who will not live forever? How can you be together with someone, knowing that one day, your loved ones will disappear, while you're unable to do anything?"Kyoko turned her head to Kaede, showing her the coldest glance the pianist has ever witnessed."In the end, none of us are immortal. In the end, we'll all be alone. In the end, we're all nothing. Less than nothing. Our deaths don't matter. If we die, then the world will simply go on without us. And that's a fact.""Kyoko.....That's not true...I...""What?!", the detective suddenly snapped. "What could you possibly say to disprove my words?! More of your usual platitudes or what?!"Kaede visibly flinched. She had never seen Kyoko this agiated before. Sure, the detective was used to stress, given her line of work, but she always remained calm and composed. Unlike now. Seeing the pianist visibly scared was enough for the ultimate to widen her eyes and turn her back towards Kaede once more. With a low voice she spoke:".....This is so very much unlike me. I'm sorry Kaede but....I suppose not even I can control my emotions forever...""It's not a bad thing to be emotional, you know.", Kaede slowly said, as she walked up towards her. "But still, life is not meaningless....And I have proof....""......You don't have to lie, so I can feel better.""I'm not lying, geez.", the pianist replied and then slowly wrapped an arm around her waist. "The evidence is you, no us.""What are you talking about?""Think about our time together. If life really is meaningless, why did you always visit my concerts? Why did you always gave me a soft massage whenever I returned home? Why did you always give me a pep talk when I was down. Why did you do all that?""....Because you mean a lot to me.""That's exactly it!", Kaede exclaimed excited, as she stroke the detective's cheek. "It's the small moments that matter in life. The time we spent with each other isn't meaningless. Sure, we don't live forever, but why worry for the future? We need to embrace the present and live in the now.""But.....One day you'll be...""Gone? Yeah maybe. I can't change that. But if I go, I won't be sad. Do you know why? Because I can look back to the time we spent with each other. The memories we created. Think about it. Wouldn't Yui want you to enjoy life to the fullest?"Kaede's eyes followed Kyoko's, as the detective continued to stare at the cold, wet rain. A small thunder lightened up the scenery however briefly and it was because of this that Kaede could notice the tears that were dropping from her cheeks. Surprised, Kaede gently wiped a tear away, as the detective finally answered."Yui.....I miss her...I miss her so much....", Kyoko slowly said between sniffs."It's okay. You can let it all out.", Kaede replied soothingly."But....But one day....you'll be gone too and....""That day won't come in a real long time now. I'll be with you, till death does us part. Don't you worry about that."Planting a small kiss on Kyoko's forehead, the detective relaxed in her touch, as the pain left her body. Outside the rain has stopped and stars were brightening up the sky. As the couple stood there, they didn't notice a ghostly figure waving at Kyoko with a smile, before fading away into the darkness.