[b]"I'll try..."[/b] Makoto said, referring to Flood. 

[b]"Would she really try to kill you?"[/b] She asked as much to Phoebe as to Ryan about facing her mother. Who [i]was[/i] she? Makoto's mind began to dance with how her parents would have reacted if she got engaged. It hurt to think so, her parents would mean well... but would they have been able to show it? Makoto leaned back to sit in a neutral position in the chair. She didn't want to think about what was right now. Again, her heart felt both like it was being crushed and like it wasn't in her chest at all.