"Now who's giving up?" I sound so childish and vindictive that I instantly flinch, "I'm sorry, sem - Date-san. That was uncalled for." And too late now I almost do want to get angry, just as he hoped I would. It doesn't seem right. I know that I shouldn't have expected it to be so simple that he would be completely cured, and yet I did. I believed in miracles too easily. I thought that because he wasn't dead when I thought he was, the first time I became Birth, that we'd have him back forever.

I think calling me a fool is a colossal understatement.

"If it might be a few hours, maybe we should spend them somewhere else. I'm going to call Satonaka." I have to do something to distract myself from this. Otherwise, what? I'll break down or flop uselessly in his arms and he doesn't need to see that. It's not going to do either of us any good. I don't know if he's told Satonaka or Kougami-san about any of this, and at the moment I don't think it's important. She can just let us out and we'll go somewhere private, somewhere that isn't an empty office room thirteen floors above the street.

I've already decided I'm going to stay with him. If he needs medical care, or money, or to move into a residential home, whatever it is I'll take care of it. Who else does he have? Who else do I have? I'm not going to raise the subject of that now because he'll only tell me I don't need to worry about it and then we'll be going in circles around each other all over again.