Many weeks later, Jyushimatsu sat down at Ichimatsu's grave, praying for a few minutes.

"I'm going to go see Akari now, Ichimatsu," he said, standing back up after praying. "I haven't seen her in awhile. After all, I haven't been to the hospital ever since you died..."

Jyushimatsu gave one last glance at Ichimatsu's gave, nodded his head, and began to walk away.

As he walked away from the graveyard, he heard several cats meowing pitifully from the alleyway.

"They miss you too, Ichimatsu..." he said, smiling a little. "Everyone does. I wish you could have realized sooner how many people cared about you."

As Jyushimatsu continued down the street, he passed the Cat Cafe for the first time in awhile.

Kanola was sitting inside on the floor, petting one of the cats. Her apron and face were covered in flour, but she was the type of person who didn't care about things like that.

Jyushimatsu pushed open the door and went inside. The sweet aroma of sweets filled his nose, calming his shattered heart.

"Hey, Kanola," Jyushimatsu said, giving her a small, nod. "It's been awhile."

"It sure has, Jyushimatsu. I wish I could have said this sooner, but I'm sorry for your loss. I realize you were very close to him, weren't you?" Kanola asked, brushing her pants off as she stood up.

"Yeah," Jyushimatsu said, managing to smile. "But he's in a better place now! I'm sure he's happy too. I would kill to see him smile as much as he did around the cats here! Todomatsu printed out a photo of him that he took on his phone while Ichimatsu was holding a cat, smiling. We look at it every day now, hoping that's his permanent face wherever he's at."

"Don't say such sad things!" Kanola scolded, picking up her broom from behind the counter. "But anyways, did you want to buy something?"

"Yeah, just a bag of those mint cookies," Jyushimatsu replied. "It doesn't matter if they're fresh or not."

Kanola immediately handed him a brown paper bag of the cookies. "Here, Jyushimatsu. They're fresh too. I made them this morning. They've been getting quite popular!"

"How much for the cookies?" Jyushimatsu asked, fumbling through his short's pocket for money.

"You don't have to pay for them. I'm sure they're for a good cause," Kanola said, smiling. "Have a nice day, Jyushimatsu!"

"Bye bye!" Jyushimatsu replied, waving as he pushed open the glass cafe door with his back.

As he walked down the streets, a familiar feeling washed over him. A feeling that Ichimatsu was still alive, just sleeping.

"Is it because I'm walking to the hospital?" Jyushimatsu thought sadly. "This is for Akari though..."

Jyushimatsu stopped in front of the hospital and let out a sigh. He stepped forward, his heart heavy with sorrow. This place reminded him so much of Ichimatsu now.

"Hello, Jyushimatsu!" the nurse said when he walked inside. "It's been a very long time since I've seen you. Why are you here today?"

"Is Akari here?" Jyushimatsu croaked out desperately.

The nurse shook her head sadly.

"Akari passed on after her surgery. Her illness was too strong for the doctors to defeat. I'm terribly sorry, Jyushimatsu." the nurse said.

Jyushimatsu began to tremble, but he didn't cry. No, he had no tears left to cry anymore. After all, the last few weeks he had been crying every day.

"Where does her family live?" he asked, gripping the paper bag.

"They live in the apartment complex just across the street from here. I believe they're moving tomorrow. Otherwise, I wouldn't have just told you where they live. It's apartment 303 on the left side. Not hard to find, really. Since Akari's father is a retired physician, I used to know him very well," the nurse said.

"Thank you!" Jyushimatsu gasped somewhat happily. "I want to give them these cookies! They were Akari's favorite,"

And at that, Jyushimatsu ran out of the hospital and across the street the apartment complex.

When he reached apartment 303, rang the doorbell and waited. A few seconds later, two extremely tired older looking adults opened the door.

"Hello, Jyushimatsu!" Akari's mother exclaimed, "What brings you here today?"

"Here," Jyushimatsu said, shoving the cookies at her. "These are for you,"

"Oh?" she asked, extremely confused, but then smiled, "Thank you, Jyushimatsu. We won't forget you when we move tomorrow!"

Jyushimatsu sighed a sigh of relief and walked all the way back home, still with a heavy heart. Nearly everyone he had grown attached to was leaving. Who would be next? All of his brothers?