Hysoka laughed at something Satomi was saying on the phone, nodding his head. “Alright. See ya in – Satomi?” He took his cell phone away from his ear and looked at it uncertainly. Must’ve just… lost connection, he thought.

Hysoka sat back down at the table, toying with a napkin on his lap. Satomi was late for their dinner, but that was normal. She was always so caught up in studying. Hysoka took the tiny black box out of his pocket and opened it, looking at the engagement ring nervously. He was going to propose to her tonight. He was certain that she was the girl for him, and they had been dating for 3 years.

Hysoka glanced at his watch. It had been 20 minutes since he had talked to her on the phone and she had said that she’d be here 15 minutes ago. Hysoka stood up and walked outside, breathing in the cool night air. He dialed her number again.

Ring… ring… ring… “Hello?” an unfamiliar voice answered the phone.

“Um… Satomi?” Hysoka asked uncertainly.

He heard muffled voices on the other end. “Who is this?”

“Who is this?” Hysoka countered.

The man sighed. “I am a doctor at the hospital. The young lady who owns this phone is currently in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. She was just in a car crash. Who are you and what is your -”

Hysoka didn’t hear the rest. He had dropped the phone and it had clattered onto the ground. He ran as fast as he could to the hospital, luckily it was only a few miles away. He could be there in 15 minutes at most.

He got there in 10 minutes, fueled by adrenaline. He burst into the hospital, looking around frantically. He ran up to the desk. “I’m looking for a Satomi,” he said quickly.

The girl flipped through some papers. “I’m sorry, but she is not to have any visitors the moment.”

Hysoka cursed under his breath and sat in the waiting room, drumming his fingers on his armrest. Finally, after what seemed like days, years, decades, a doctor called, “Hysoka Saitami?”

Hysoka shot up and walked over to him. “Yes? Is Satomi ok?”

The doctor looked at his records while Hysoka stared him down with anxious, nervous eyes. “I’m sorry, Mr. Saitami, but…Satomi has passed on.”

“No…” Hysoka whispered and dropped to his knees, staring at nothing with blank eyes. “No,” he said again. He grabbed the doctor’s shoulders. “Let me see her!”

The doctor nodded gravely and led him to a room where a woman was laid on a metal table.

Hysoka pulled back the sheet to gaze down at her pale, emotionless face. “Satomi…” he whispered again, and caressed her cheek. Her skin was ice cold. He stroked her raven black hair, and gently closed her eyes for the last time. “She was going to be great... She was the top of her class... the best of the best...I was... going to propose to her tonight...” He pulled back the sheet, ignoring the blood. He took her hand and kneeled down next to her table. “Satomi?” He asked, tears welling up in his eyes. He took the tiny black box from his pocket. “Will… Will you marry me?” he asked, and slipped the diamond engagement ring onto her finger. Tears streamed down his face, and he pulled the sheet back up to her shoulders, not ready to cover her face again. “I love you so much,” he said hoarsely in barely a whisper. Then he gently pulled the sheet over her face and forced himself to walk out of the room, out of the hospital.

He stumbled down the hospital steps, unaware of his surroundings. He ran blindly down the roads, wanting to get out of there, to forget everything. To hear Satomi's sweet voice again, hear her soft laugh, and touch her delicate skin. To take her fragile, beautiful face in his hands again. To see her wonderful smile that made his heart race. To look into her bright green eyes and feel like he had the world. But never again would any of those things happen. Because Satomi was gone, forever. And Hysoka just couldn't take that. Running down the alleys and jumping over fences, Hysoka knew that without Satomi his world was going to fall apart.