Kanola quickly retrieved her umbrella and house keys from the truck after she locked up the disgusting building.

Ichimatsu was relieved to be able to actually breathe fresh air again. He hadn't realized until just moments ago that the Cat Cafe had no air conditioning in it.

Kanola slammed the truck door then opened up her pastel blue umbrella, walking over towards Ichimatsu.

"Come on," Kanola said. "It's already starting to sprinkle a bit now. I don't want your mother to get angry with me if you catch a cold. I'm sure nothing bad will happen though. It's just a silly late spring storm."

Ichimatsu nodded his head, not saying a word. He just began to walk down the street, standing with Kanola under her umbrella.

"Is it strange to trust someone who's not even related to you..?" Ichimatsu asked himself, looking up at Kanola's gentle, slightly wrinkled face. "It's funny to think that such a smart person like her would rather spend her life working at a cat cafe that doesn't get that much business. She seems to know a lot about medical treatments, but then again, I've never known how to actually take care of myself. Maybe she's just a normal human and I'm the idiot here."

"Ichimatsu," Kanola said kindly, grabbing his hand, pulling him closer to her side. "You were about to get in the street."

"Sorry.." Ichimatsu mumbled.

"It's fine!" Kanola laughed. "I remember my mother used to tell me, 'if you need help knowing your surroundings, then that must mean you're in another world where you feel you belong.'"

"That's true.." Ichimatsu thought. "Only I don't belong anywhere."

"So, what kind of world were you in, Ichimatsu?" Kanola asked as they began to approach her house. "Don't be scared to tell me, now. I'm the master of secrets."

"What kind of world..?" Ichimatsu repeated out loud accidentally. "I was just thinking..."

"What could a child like you be thinking of? I remember, when I was your age, I dreamt of owning a cute cafe so I could bring just a little joy to some people," Kanola said.

"I don't know.." Ichimatsu mumbled, answering her question. "But why did that remain your dream for your entire life?"

Kanloa smiled warmly, walking up the steps to her house, quickly unlocking the door.

"It wasn't really my dream in the beginning," Kanola said, her smile fading a little as she stared up at the cloud filled sky as it began to actually rain quite hard.

Kanola rushed Ichimatsu inside and closed her umbrella, leaving it at the front steps of her house.

"Not her dream...?" Ichimatsu thought. "Whenever she's thinking of someone she's lost, she always looks at the sky..."

"Who's dream was it then?" Ichimatsu asked as Kanola seated him at the round kitchen table.

Kanola acted like she didn't hear him as she pulled out three containers of cookies, taking one out of each, placing them on a small glass plate.

"Here," Kanola said with a soft smile, "Try these for me, will you? I want to know if people would actually want to eat these at the cafe when it opens."

Ichimatsu took the small plate from Kanola then grabbed a light pink colored cookie off of the plate.

As soon as he bit into it, he tasted a faint flavor of strawberry, but it wasn't overwhelming. The way the cookie melted in his mouth was just right. It was certainly one of the greatest cookies he had ever tasted.

"This is really good!" Ichimatsu exclaimed, widening his eyes. "Did you make these cookies today?"

Kanola nodded her head and leaned up against her granite kitchen countertop.

"I made them as soon as you left for school," Kanola replied, pulling her hair out of the messy bun she had had it in. Her grayish blond hair tumbled over her shoulders just as wavy as it could be. "They didn't really take much effort. I'm glad you like them, Ichimatsu. I suppose I'll give some away for free tomorrow then. That should draw customers to the cafe once it's completed."

Ichimatsu finished the strawberry cookie then reached for the second one on the plate.

It was a light green color with small bits of what looked like brown candy mixed in.

Ichimatsu took a bite, finding that the cookie was exactly the same as the last one, only key lime flavored.

"How do you like it?" Kanola asked, grabbing her hair, putting it in just a simple pony tail to keep it away from her face. "That one was actually a bit harder than the other two for some reason. Maybe it was the candy..."

"It's just as good as the last one," Ichimatsu said, trying to smile a little to encourage Kanola and not discourage her.

Quickly, before she could reply, he reached for the final cookie.

It was also green, but a slightly darker shade with mixed in bits of chocolate chips.

Ichimatsu bit into the cookie, and as soon as the flavor reached his taste buds, his mind was taken back to a strange memory. It didn't feel like his own memory though.

"My favorite cookies are the mint chocolate chip ones from the Cat Cafe! I used to go there all the time with my sister until I was hospitalized here..." Ichimatsu heard a feeble sounding girl's voice echo in his mind.

Ichimatsu threw the cookie down onto the plate and began to choke.

"Is something wrong?" Kanola asked fearfully, running up to Ichimatsu.

"I'm fine," Ichimatsu mumbled. "I just heard something, that's all."

"What did you hear?" Kanola asked.

"Do you know a girl named Akari?" Ichimatsu asked, ignoring her question just as she had done to him a few moments ago.

Kanola's eyes widened and she nodded her head slowly.

"Y-yes," Kanola replied, turning slightly pale. "She died just the other day."

"Yeah..." Ichimatsu mumbled. "And uh..what happened to Tsubaki?"

Kanola's eyes filled with tears but she quickly shook her head, laughing it off.

"She's being raised by my mother in a safer, better place," Kanola replied, walking towards the window behind the kitchen table, staring up at the stormy sky.

"Do you miss her?" Ichimatsu asked, hoping he wasn't hurting her too badly.

"Yes, sometimes. But now that I think about it, there's no way I could have ever supported a family. Working at a cafe won't bring in much money, I know, but I have to do it," Kanola replied. "I remember when I was little, my younger brother loved cats to death. He loved them so much that he would often go to old alleyways to feed them. He always told me that he wanted to work in a cat cafe so he could save cats from being put down in the local shelters."

A tear ran down Kanola's face, but she quickly wiped it away.

"Did his dream ever come true?" Ichimatsu asked.

Kanola shook her head bitterly.

"He was always the loner in school. Kiek was his name...I forgot to tell you that. And one day, as he was out in one of the alleyways, feeding the cats, someone shot and killed him...." Kanola said, her voice sounding a bit weaker.

"What then...?" Ichimatsu pressed.

"I, being the terrible older sister I was, never once told him how much I really did love him. And that day being his tenth birthday, I wanted to tell him that. But when I found dead him in the alleyway, I knew I had been too late. Never once was Kiek told that he was loved. Not by me, not by my parents. I don't blame him for being around those cats so much. They made him feel like he actually belonged and was loved. I told myself after that day that I would make his dreams a reality. Even if he would never get to experience it, I would do it for him. That was really all I could do to keep from feeling guilty..." Kanola whimpered but quickly choked out a laugh.

"Then...do you think your brother ever forgave you?" Ichimatsu asked, beginning to worry more and more about Jyushimatsu. He knew his time was limited each and every second now.

"Whenever I visit his grave I feel at peace," Kanola said. "But his grave isn't here. It's in London, England, meaning he's very far away from me. I'm sure that he forgave me eventually. He was always so kind to me...he never held grudges against the kids who bullied him at school. He would just laugh along with them."

"How do you forgive someone..?" Ichimatsu asked worriedly, a knot tightening in his stomach. "What do you even say...what if who you want to forgive isn't even aware of the situation? What if the situation is dangerous?!"

Kanola turned around to face Ichimatsu, her index finger on the tip of her lip as if she were thinking hard about his question.

"I don't think you have to say anything," Kanola replied sweetly, her eyes squinted shut as she smiled calmly. "It's more of something you just do in your heart."

"But how do I..." Ichimatsu mumbled.

"How the heck do I know if I've forgiven my brothers? What even happened that day?! I can't remember it! This is so frustrating...how the heck can I salvage what little hope I have left? How do I know..? How can I figure it out? Akari told me to kill them once I'd forgiven them...that's just wrong..." he thought to himself silently.

"Don't worry about it," Kanola said, resting her hand on his shoulder. "I have a gut feeling about why you asked such a question. Things might just be making sense now. I'll be right back..."

Kanola briskly ran off, leaving Ichimatsu all alone in the kitchen as it began to thunder and lightning just outside the nearby kitchen window.

"Jyushimatsu...Karamatsu..." Ichimatsu thought, trying to think of what to say to his brothers once he arrived home. "Todomatsu...Osomatsu...Choromatsu...I'm not sure what happened that day, but I just need to tell you this...I forgive y.." Ichimatsu stopped himself.

A vivid flashback began to play through his mind. It was just a few hours before he had gone back in time.

"They..claimed to not love me, didn't they..?" Ichimatsu thought, pain gripping at his heart as he laid his head on top of his arms at the table. "That makes sense...but have I really been holding a grudge against them for so long...?"