"Don't go. I don't wanna go alone." Momo pleaded, seemingly ready to burst into tears for the umpteenth time that night. 

She just looked so small, so fragile that Sana almost didn't have it in her to give in to the doctor's request for her to leave the room so Momo could check into the emergency psychiatric ward. She had lost track of how many hours they had been here, and how many breakdowns Momo had had since they arrived. She would calm down for a little bit before hysterically crying and grasping onto Sana, desperately asking to leave the room and go to the waiting room to check on Mina. 

Due to her condition the doctor suggested an overnight observation, at risk that Momo may be a risk to herself and others. And as much as  Sana wanted to disagree, her mangled grey honda civic served as proof that these claims were indeed valid. 

Sana gave the doctor a quick look and she nodded in understanding, walking out of the room. As soon as the left Sana could still see her outline through the glass no doubt listening in on their conversation. 

"I don't want to stay here! I want to go home!" Momo pleaded once again, pulling on Sana's hands.

"Baby-"

"Please."

"Baby, you need help. Professional help."

"I'm okay, It's okay. Let's just go home."

"Momo, I love you too much to let you suffer." Sana gave her a watery smile, moving her hands to caress her face softly, "How about you stay here just for a few days, you make a plan with them, they give you help. And then when we have a plan, and Mina and I can help you, you, Mina and I can go out to dinner. A really expensive one where we don't look at the prices and just order."

"We can't do that, the store-"

" the store. Okay? How does that sound? We'll get some food when all of this is over."

"I need to talk to Mina first, I don't want her to think that I hate her."

"I'll let her know. And you can tell her yourself after we get your help. Okay?"

Momo finally relented, letting go of her death grip on Sana, "Okay."

So Sana did the only thing she could do, and offered her a smile. Gave her a gentle kiss, and left with one more promise to come back. It took everything in her to walk out that door.

...

"I'm leaving!" Sana called into the house, trying as fast as she could to tie her shoes. The nine-year-old finally tugged them on and took a peek into the living room. Her mother was folding laundry with Mina sitting in her lap, the girl had just turned four-years-old and still extremely clingy. The girl just giggled and tried to grab the clothes as her mother folded them, seemingly being the funniest thing in the world. 

"Okay, just be home for dinner." Her mother smiled, waving a quick goodbye as Sana blew her a kiss, rushed out and grabbed her bike from where it sat in the driveway. It was a beige bike that road a bit crooked after her dad had run it over with his car one day after she left it in the driveway. 

She peddled to the street where Momo was waiting on her own bike, a grin on her face and chocolate coating her cheeks. "Sana! Guess what!"

"What?"

"There is a festival in the park and Hana said they are selling ice cream! And she gave me money!" 

"Woah really?" Sana gasped as Momo proudly held up two five-dollar bills. Momo handed her one and stuffed the other into her own pocket.

"Let's go!" 

And just like that the two girls were racing down the streets of Osaka, taunting and teasing each other when the other would start to fall slightly behind. They arrived at the park, taking their time to look through the various booths and the ceremonies going on, before finally reaching the ice cream truck. 

They got their cones before peddling away, finding a quiet corner for the two of them to relax as they ate.

"Remind me to thank Hana for this." Sana smiled, holding out her cone so Momo could take a . "I'll steal some of Mina's birthday money to pay her back."

"Don't steal from Mina!" Momo gasped, "She's too cute."

"She's annoying."

"Hana's annoying." 

"You see we're in agreement."

They finished their ice cream just as the sun started to set, letting the girls know it was time they started getting home. The road down the streets until they were in front of Momo's house. It wasn't as nice as Sana's, it didn't have the same homey feel at Sana's. But it had Momo. Everything was okay as long as it had Momo. But something seemed very off the second they arrived. 

Momo's dad laid passed out in their yard. A dark bottle laid next to him, nearly empty. Momo let out a groan when she saw, dropping her bike and running up the yard, "."

Sana watched as Momo bunched her fingers into his shirt, trying with all her strength to drag him into the yard. So naturally, Sana let her bike fall to running up and helping her. It took a lot of effort, to drag the man in, and when they were finished Momo practically pushed her out the door. 

The smell of whiskey off that man started to lay the seeds of hatred inside Sana's mind. 

...

"Okay next letter." Sana urged, looking back up at Momo. She wanted desperately to smack the smirk off of the fifteen-year old's face, or kiss it. She wasn't sure.

"K."

"K?" The younger asked, disbelief dripping in her tone. She looked back down at the game of hangman:

WILL YOU GO ON  D TE WITH ME?

"You already know what it says!" She whined, holding up the piece of paper, "Why do you- It's literally the vowel that everyone guesses first. You know what it says! Are you dumb?"

Momo just smirked and raised an eyebrow, not having to say a word. 

"You just want me to say it. Huh? Are we done playing hangman now?" Sana pouted and slammed down the piece of paper, "Will you go on a date with me?"

"Yes, all you had to do was ask."

"Hairi Momo!"

...

They say life changes suddenly. One day you can be at the absolute top of the world, the next at the lowest. Nothing is guaranteed. Well nothing except death. 

And Sana found that out all too well. 

The call came as she watched Momo and Mina play their games. Fourteen-year-old Mina in all her moody glory would open up when Momo sat next to her and challenged her to a game of Mario Kart (which she knew she would lose). Momo was always gentle with Mina, ever since she was a baby. It was of the countless things Sana loved about Momo. How her lips would twitch the smallest amount when she concentrated on not falling off the road, how she would shove Mina in an attempt to try and break her concentration. They looked cute, awfully cute. It made Sana wonder what Momo would be like with a kid of their own one day. 

The cry of her phone ringing snapped her thoughts away, as she raised it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Is this Minatozaki Sana?"

"Yes? This is?"

"Hello, I'm calling from Osaka Central Hospital. At around 6:49 PM there was a vehicular accident including your parents. Unfortunately, they did not make it. We offer our deepest condolences..." They said something after that, but Sana didn't hear it. 

The phone simply slipped out of her hands, clanging to the floor grabbing the attention of the other two girls. She looked white, as if she had seen a ghost and a dazed expression spread across her face. 

"Onechan?"

"Sana? You okay?"

"Mom, and Dad. They're dead."

Sana doesn't remember much. She remembers Mina's expression when the realization set in when they arrived at the hospital. She remembers Momo's sister offering to take Mina to her house for a bit while Sana got the funeral preparations in order. And she definitely remembered Momo. Who didn't leave her side throughout it all, she helped in more ways than she could ever thank her for. 

But most of all, she remembers him.

She never learned his name. She just learned fear. When he showed up at her house a day after the funeral, practically trashed the place and demanded that Sana pay back the money her father owed. She grabbed onto him