Her eyes opened to see jet streams dancing across the clear, blue sky above her head, and she let her eyes trace the fading streams. The lowsing-song of birds serenaded the girl as she slowly grew accustomed to reality. Green grass, brighter and livelier in color than her hair, tickled her legs and arms.

She took in a long, deep breath of air, as if she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to breathe air again. I'm alive. I'm here. I'm out. We made it. A small smile traced itself along her lips.

She lay there in peaceful silence, absorbing the fact that they did it. They made it out. She found both of her sisters. She allowed her eyes to close. She let this reality wash over her, and soak into her skin completely before she dared to move. She didn't want to lose this feeling, she didn't want to lose this reality, this world which moved forward again, this world that continued and moved on. Her world. The world where her Dan lived.

Absentmindedly, her hands reached for her pockets to retrieve her iPod, the iPod she had always turned to for emotional comfort. Her escape, her salvation, her safety. It was filled with hundreds of songs; songs to numb the mind, songs to soothe the mind, songs to distract the mind, and she loved them all.

It wasn't there.

She sat up frantically, confused. A black skirt and white blouse replaced her usual long pants and sweatshirt. Black flats with a red ribbon sat on her feet, and her green hair was tied back with a similar ribbon.

This felt similar, this felt wrong.

In a panic, she stood up and padded herself down to reassure herself that she was not set back in time, back to a small girl, back to her abuser; that she was still indeed 16 and she was still indeed herself. That the haze hasn't betrayed her a second time, through false promises. The first time through granting cursed wish, the second time by a horrible attempt to rewind it's sins by sending her back to her terror.

It hasn't. She was still her. She was the Kido Tsubomi that she knew now, not then. The Kido which had hardened and softened through the years, the Kido who had grown.

"Thank you." She whispered to no one in particular.

Suddenly she felt a wave of embarrassment shroud over her, red shading her pale cheeks as she locked her eyes on the grass under her feet. Kano was probably watching, and probably snickering to himself by now. He was probably being strange again, perching over some unassuming object and staring at her with those strange cat eyes. She could never really tell what he thought, whether he was admiring or judging her. But he was always watching, and he was always aware of her.

She resigned herself to letting him get away with his laughter this time because, god damn it, they made it. She would take his antics and laughter any day compared to being lost in that maze of time, or to his death. She would forgive him, and this time, she wanted to wrap her arms around him, and hold him in a hug for a long time. Accepting her resolution, she looked up and turned around, looking around at her surroundings for familiar golden hair and a gleeful grin.

She could not find it. He was not there. But something else was, something else that caught and stole her breath.

Her eyes widened in panic. Terror shook through her bones.

Her mind shut down. All thoughts of Kano, or any of her other friends disappeared from her mind. She knew one thing: She didn't want to be here. She never wanted to be here again. This was not home.

Or rather, it was her old home, her childhood home. The remnants of it. Burnt wood and ashes scattered across the grass contrasted with the bright green. Small objects were still scattered across the ground, parts of her childhood laying in misery. The childhood she never wanted to return to, the childhood she wished she never lived. The ruins mirrored the dark scratches along her heart, along her mind.

This was not her home. It never was.

She ran. She had to get away. She had to find safety.

. . .

The doorknob to the secret hideout was rusty and unlocked. He hesitated for a moment, his hand hovering over the metal. Did he really want to go in there? Did he really want to face them, face their faces, face this reality? Would they even want to see him? He wouldn't want to see himself.

Kido's probably waiting with a punch ready, he thought with a sad smirk, touching the side of his face with his other hand, his long fingers tracing a scar along his cheek. This scar was much older though, it wasn't from Kido.

The door creaked as he pushed it open, growling at him like it hasn't been moved in years. He braced himself for impact, he told himself that he'd accept whatever it was that his friends had in store, because they were all he had. He accepted that they might turn him away after all he'd done, they might abandon him, and honestly, he couldn't of blamed them. But he had to know.

But the impact that came wasn't what he had prepared for. He dropped the doorknob and let the door creak back and forth behind him as it swayed in the wind.

The secret hideout was barren, gray and dusty. The furniture that they, mostly Seto, had worked hard to buy was gone. Every trace of them ever living there, of them ever existing was gone. Small scraps of paper sat on the ground, and cobwebs dotted the corners. He ran to the kitchen, in some wild hope that Kido would be there cooking as usual, and Seto would be sitting at the chair reading a book to Mary, and they would just tell him that this was a joke - that this time he had been decieved! They really got him!

They hadn't. It was just as empty, it was just as run-down.

He racked his mind for answers that were not there. Had they really won? Had they really gotten their lives back? If this was their new reality, their prize for destroying the haze that had cursed them, then this was a cruel joke. Everything which had been dear to him had been ripped from him, stolen from him again by the Haze. He leaned over the counters, and balled his fists, hanging his head.

He screamed. He cried. He was alone, there was no one here to see him break, and by god, he was breaking. He really had nothing now.

As his energy wore out, he slouched down against the counter, it almost breaking in under his weight, but he didn't care. He rolled his head back and stared at the ceiling, cracking and aging. A centipede crawled across his sneakers, but he didn't care. He woke up in shorts and a t-shirt, mirroring the clothes he wore when he died. He didn't know what happened to his sweatshirt, but honestly, he didn't think he deserved that gift from Ayano at this point.

They lost. He lost. He chuckled to himself, realizing that this was probably what he deserved. He deserved to be left alone, left with nothing and no one, the liar and cheat he was. He didn't deserve his friends. He would probably fade away now, fade to nothing, away. Gone. The last thing that tied him to reality, to himself, was gone. The Dan was gone.

He sat there for a long time, drowning in his own fate.

. . .

Footsteps. The familiar groaning of the door.

His eyes peeled open to reveal a tall, slim figure standing in the shadows. The figure stood static, aside from fabric billowing in the window, in the door to the secret hide-out. He stretched and cracked his neck, as he had fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position. He gave his eyes time to adjust to the dark, he gave them time to make out the figure.

The figure took small, cautious steps forward. It's posture going from something of stoic strength, and dissolved into the behavior of a terrified, abandoned animal. It stood in silence for a long time, and as soon as he started to make out light green hair in the darkness-

"K-Kano? Is that you?" She didn't wait for an answer, and ran straight to him, her arms wrapping around his neck, and her face hiding within it's crook. He took a moment to regain his composure before wrapping his arms around her waist in return.

"Kido?"

"Kano! Kano. I was so afraid. Have you seen anyone else?"

"No." He would of tried to offer a grin, but fortunately, she wasn't looking at him.

"We'll find them. I'm their leader. We'll find them. What happened to the...?"

"It's gone, Kido, it's all gone."

Her dark eyes rose and met with his. He offered a smile as he watched her eyes widen, he noted how they were glistening and dotted with tears. She slowly retrieved her hand and gently traced the scars along his face. "Kano, have these always been here?"

"You-You can see them?"

She sighed, the worry in her face melting into frustration - an emotion he could easily recognize. "Moron, our Eye powers are gone. I couldn't hide myself in this outfit no matter how much I wanted to as I ran here. How long have those scars been there? Were they...?"

"Oh. You're so wise, Leader!" He smiled, stealing a glance at her get-up, and then averted his eyes. "A long time, Kido. No, they're not from you."

"Why would you hide that from us, you idiot? We cared about you!" She smacked him, albeit lighter than usual.

"It doesn't matter, I deserved them." She opened her mouth to retort, but he continued, "I really do. Kido, we lost everything." He laughed to himself. "The Dan is gone. Our make-shift family...it's gone. I think... The haze rewarded us after we destroyed it by returning us to the world where the Dan never existed, where our eyes never existed...or something like that. The world is very funny and very cruel, isn't it, Leader?"

The buds of tears in her eyes grew into matured tears, and rolled down her face. "You fucking moron! You don't deserve to be hurt! You never had to be hurt!" She pounded her fists against his chest, We didn't lose! We had it returned it us, and now we're free! We're free from it all, and we can reunite the Dan, and we can be a real family. And if w-we're safe, then I'm sure everyone else is, too!"

"Leader, you are really funny, too," he gently pushed her back, sliding her hands off his chest. She sat across from her, her legs still tangled in his lap. Sitting up, she was taller than him, and she was most definitely stronger than he could of be. Her gaze bore into him, drilling through his thin existance. "Do not remember what happened in the Haze? Do you not remember what I did before? How I lied to all of you? How I betrayed you? How I hurt everyone..."

"Yes."

"Why would you hug me then?"

"Because I forgive you, you imbecile."

They sat, staring at each other in silence. She seemed larger than life, and powerful. In the dimly lit kitchen, Kido shone by her pure presence. She was more than he could ever hope to have, hope to be, strong despite the obvious shaking in her arms, and nervous twitch to her eyes. Strong despite her fears, despite herself. And he was hurting her again.

She had the strength to face her troubles, to lead others, to ask for assistance. She had the wisdom to see forward, to see hope. She had everything he never did, and never would. Without her eye power, she was completely there in a way she never was before, completely Kido. And he had lost himself to his masks, it had intermingled, and mixed, and formed Kano, formed the Liar that he was. And now, that was gone, and he was left with scraps and pieces of who he was, and he wasn't even sure if he wanted those worn-out, old scraps. Worst of all, he had no way to protect Kido from the truth of who he was now. Having Kido see him like this churned his heart. He couldn't lie to her anymore.

"Thank you, Leader. But I don't deserve your forgiveness." He cupped her face in his hand. "I believe that you can reunite the Dan, if you really wanted to, Kido."

"Shut the fuck up! Stop it!" She smacked him again, "And you're part of the Dan, idiot! I can't just let you leave, you know too much." She smiled at her own joke. "I forgive you because I...I love you."

He stared at her in astonishment, his mouth hanging. He lamented that his Eyes weren't working, because he wish he could show her a confident, smooth reaction. How long had he waited to her those words from her lips? How long had he been hopelessly lovestruck by her, trailing her like a hopeless kitten, pining for any form of attention? She was so mistaken to be in love with such a hopeless boy, a boy much so lesser than her.

You are so strong, Tsubomi.
I don't want to hurt you anymore.*
Don't waste your tears on me now, pretty girl.*

"I don't love you." He tilted his head to the side, offering his signature grin, and forced his eyes shut. He didn't want to see her reaction, he didn't want to see her heartbreak. He didn't want to know her pain. But he knew that the truth would her hurt her more in the end.

He kissed her forehead, before standing up and leaving her sitting, alone, shaking, and cold. He knew that he had to leave now, because he feared that if he didn't, he might never. He left the abandoned building, the Dan that never was. He left what little he had, left what little he could never have behind. He could hear her loud sobs, echoing her heartbreak, and piercing through what was left of his soul. His silhouette disappeared in the doorway, and his existence faded away.

His last lie. You're free now, Tsubomi.

. . .

When I hate myself for letting you go, you can be the one to say, 'I told you so.'*

A/N: This fic was inspired because of The Maine's song "These Four Words".

All lines with * are not mine, but from the song. I hold no claim to them.