The days that followed Dr Nambu's had been a blur for Joe. For the first day afterwards they spent it together quietly waiting to see the outcome from Ken's latest lot of tests at an ISO base. Ken hardly responded to the news that he was getting worse. It was like he'd become numb to everything that was happening to him except for Jun. At least when she spoke to him Ken responded when she suggested he needed rest he allowed her to guide him to his new private quarters on the base...

The soft murmurs around him began to grate on his nerves, half of these people wouldn't have known him personally, not in the way he did. Dr Nambu saved when he was a boy when everyone else around him had abandoned him and gave him a way to be able to seek his vengeance for the death of his parents. Adjusting his new suit and tie he surveyed the room for the rest of his team mates.

Ryu and Jinpei had found a corner to hide away, both holding the same drink in their hands they'd had for the past hour.

Jun and Ken still hadn't arrived.

Looking around the huge function room of Dr Nambu's mansion Joe found himself wondering if this would be the last time he'd ever be able to come back here. So much of his youth since Dr Nambu found him had been spent training in the gym beneath his feet to become Condor Joe G-2 and second in command of the Science Ninja Team.

A side door opened across room and Jun walked through it. He didn't need to signal her- from habit she found him in seconds and walked through the crowd of mourners to stand by his side. Her ivory skin had become ghostly white from lack of sleep- the simple black dress only made her cheeks look paler and her pretty face more drawn and pasty than it had been over the past few days he noted.

"He won't come..." She said in despair tears welling in her huge green eyes. "He says he has no need to attend a viewing of his body..."

Joe understood it- he didn't like the idea of being here either with the ‘official' morning and formalities relating to death of a man he loved and respected, and said as much to Jun discreetly. He caught the odd mention of the Science Ninja Team in hushed tones. Some of the comments made his skin crawl...those moron's weren't there how would they know what did or didn't happen...

Shaking her head like she disagreed with him she began to speak again. "Its more than that Joe, I know it is...he...he wonders if it won't be long and we'll be attending the viewing of his body...he told me..." She choked up and put a hand over her mouth to hold back her tears. Joe gently placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and drew her in closer.

Jun found the strength to finish what she wanted to say. "He told me to go away he was bad luck to be around, and he didn't want to be the cause of my death too... since his mother died and he couldn't help her and then his father may as well have committed suicide with him watching...and he didn't stop him...or try hard enough to stop him...Then you Joe, he left you die and blames himself for it all...then Dr Nambu...he feels responsible for everyone he loves dying around him like he killed them all with his own hand..." She finished with a sob into his shoulder.

"Where is he Jun?" Joe asked knowing the answer yet had to be sure.

"He's still in his shack at the airfield, he hasn't moved from there since two days ago when we arrive back here with Dr Nambu's body." She informed him wiping away her tears.

With pleading eyes she looked up into his. "Can you go and talk to him..." Her eyes became more serious." No punch ups understand I don't think he could handle it physically right now..."

She knew them well when it came to their man to man discussions, especially when Ken was in one of his moods.

"I promise not to damage him if that's any reassurance." Joe said.

"No, but he needs your subtle way of bringing back to us Joe...he's hurting so badly..." Her voice drifted off and she began to knot her hands together nervously.

"I don't want to see him so lifeless in a coffin Joe..." Her face became haunted and he couldn't tell if she was talking about Ken or Dr Nambu.

"Then don't go in there, no ones saying you have to do it." Joe said.

Looking down at her hands she didn't respond. Jinpei by this time was by her side. "Stay with me a Ryu Sis..." He said taking her hand in his Joe knew she would be in good hands. "We don't need to see his body either...I wanna remember how he looked when he was alive not dead."

With that reassurance Joe turned and quickly left the room to leave the mansion. Jumping into one of Dr Nambu's old sports cars collection from his extensive garage Joe drove off in the direction of the airfield. At any other time he would have loved driving this old 1960's Aston Martin with its creamy soft leather interior and dark British racing green exterior and soft top and an engine so fine tuned it purred and responded quickly to his every command.  

Today he had other things on his mind.

One the way to Ken's airfield he drove down the street that the Snack J once stood in. Slowing down to almost a stop he looked out the window at the black scorched ruins of his once favourite hang out. The destruction of the Snack J resembled for him the darkness that had entered his life for sometime, and the ending of their youthful days at the beginning of the war. They had no choice now but to either become ruins themselves or move forward to and accept the changes and turning point in their lives. From this day on there would no looking back, the old days and the kids they had once been were gone forever.

The rest of drive out to Ken's beloved shack at the airfield allowed Joe time to relax. He loved to drive fast when something weighed heavily on his mind- it enabled him to sort it out.

Today however was different- nothing could break his depressive mood, his thoughts wondered to how it would have been for them when they thought he was dead. He knew Ken had gone into a state of depression from what Jun had told him. Her love for him brought him out of it from what he knew of that time in conversations since his return.

Pulling up at the Shack he turned of the engine and jumped out of the car and walked briskly over to the door.

Joe never knocked when came to visit Ken, so he tried to turn the door handle only to find it locked. Joe assessed the situation- Ken never locked the door of his shack since he didn't have time when running out on missions fiddling with keys so he just didn't do it. Soft strands of a melancholy song filtered through from inside the shack Joe didn't think he could have picked a more depressing song to listen to.

Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow...No tomorrow, no tomorrow...

"Go away Jun...please just leave me be..." Ken's distant glum voice filtered through the door. "I just want to be alone."

Typical Ken on a self pity trip, Joe thought. And that song...argh it's so dismal.

And I find it kind of funny...I find it kind of sad...The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had... It's a Mad World...

"It's me Ken and if you don't open it, then I'll break it down." Joe threatened.

Ken went silent and Joe waited, the door didn't open. So he followed through with his threat and with one swift front kick he sent the door flying inward. With splinters still flying around him he took one step into the small usually immaculate shack and gasped.

Ken when it came to keeping his space tidy was anal about it. Joe couldn't remember ever seeing a speck of dust in the place let alone the sight that met his eyes in the dim light. Broken furniture littered the small living room and into the kitchenette, his desk overturned and paperwork and small person objects were strewed from one side of the place to the other...Quietly he walked over to the small CD player and pressed the stop button took the CD by Gary Jules out and broke into pieces and threw it over his shoulder.

"Ken, where are you?" He called out scanning the room again. Without waiting for a response he walked into his bedroom...The room was in much the same state as the rest of the shack.

Ken sat in the middle of the floor holding his knees close to his body staring into nothing. His penetrating blue eyes looked up at him. "I'll have you know that's my favourite Gary Jules album you broke just then, and I expect it to be replaced."

"What happened here?" Joe asked ignoring his glare and comment- he didn't really need to ask, since he figured it out in seconds. Ken in his grief had lashed out in his personal space making the world around to reflect the inner pain and broken spirit inside of him. Pushing Jun away only gave him more of an excuse to wallow in his depression. Joe knew the signs after all he'd felt that way himself only his way was to sit in a sleazy bar, with an untouched scotch in one hand. For one night he didn't care about himself and anything else in the world. He felt short changed in life and basically ripped off. So close to defeating Galactor and he'd been given a week to live. Even Jun didn't want him so he's discovered earlier that night over dinner.

Joe picked up a well loved teddy bear off the ground and sat in a safer place along with a picture of Ken's parents now with a cracked glass that had been on the wall of his room for as long as Joe could remember.

"I'm not going to tell you it's all going to be okay and you'll live and we'll win the war...you know me better than that." Joe said being direct to the point.

"I figured Jun would send you out to see me...you've seen me so go away." Ken stood up, and walked over to wall putting a dent into it with his fist.

"She's worried Ken and can you blame her?" He said stepping forward.

"She knows I'm dying Joe...I have nothing to offer her...nothing to give her but this lousy shack and an airfield that's worth nothing..." Ken's gloomy tone only made Joe angry.

 "Start thinking of someone else other than yourself." He reprimanded him."I died remember, so you're not alone in this, I know the self pity...the wanting a future but all you can see is you're coming death...at least you have someone who cares about you enough to stay even when you're not able to offer her a future only a funeral at the other end of it even if we win...it's a rare thing to have in life Ken." His voice became quieter as he spoke.

"I'm jinxed Joe just looked at-"Ken started to say but the wind had been taken out of his sails.

"-Get over it Ken, you have too we still have a planet to save and Gatchaman doesn't have the luxury of feeling sorry for himself...you just don't Ken..." Joe knew his words were blunt, but Ken didn't need him to be gentle just now. He needed Joe to bring his focus back to where it belonged.

Ken's defiant stare didn't make Joe back down on bit. Ken needed him to stay strong and knock some sense into him mentally. He remembered his promise to Jun and kept his temper in check.

"Besides you're not the only one here who lost a friend and mentor, we all did." He reminded him.

He watched Ken's internal battle from the way his face distorted, he punched the wall again. "I don't have the strength any more Joe... We can't see that asteroid, the only one who believes it is Kamo. I don't know where the hell this place called Almeron is...it's not on any of our data at the ISO. How can I tell Jun that Dr Nambu left us a clue and I can't solve the riddle...how can I face Matt and Natasha knowing I've failed again...I die and it will be all for nothing..."

"Build a bridge Washio, you're not dead yet so we have time to stop Count Egobossler and Galactor, if it comes down to it we'll all die together doing just that." Joe said reminding of the pact they all made together before their first battle against Galactor.

"We know who Count Blue was...it was him Joe buying arms in Africa, we could have killed him before he became a menace." Ken said, straightening his shoulders.

"I can't look at his dead body again, but I'll be at the funeral tomorrow, I won't let him down and not show up at his funeral...I promise." Ken turned to look at him with melancholy eyes.

"I know- I'm not the one you need to say it too." Joe acknowledged with a short nod.

"How is she?" Ken asked concern crossing his frail features. He really did look frail in this light Joe thought.

"She's hurting too, after all Jun's never known what its like to have parents, for her he was the closest she ever had to a father." Joe said looking away. Was she the one who lost most out of all of them in Dr Nambu's death? He realized for the first time. All this time they had focused on Ken's grief, yet maybe some it was miss placed. Ken appeared to come to the same realization.

"I've been so selfish." He murmured miserably.

"We're all inflicted from that from time to time." Joe agreed.

"Jun..." Ken said into his bracelet snapping out of his sombre mood. "You there?"

"Yes Ken...how are you?" She asked trying to mask her concern.

"Better when I'm with you..." He said sincerely. "I'll be there for you if you need me...I'm coming back with Joe."

"Okay, we're upstairs in our old bedrooms, I'm tired and I thought I'd take a nap." Jun said.

"I need some sleep to...be there soon to keep you company." He promised.

Joe still felt a tinge of jealously at Ken's response to Jun, choosing to ignore his feelings he walked with Ken out to the car and began preparing himself emotionally for the funeral the nest day.