Been wanting to write this for ages. It's basically an AU in which Tokaku successfully escapes with her aunt. Also, because it is AU, I've changed a few character backgrounds and ages and suchlike to fit the story.I hope you like it. if anything is unclear, please do leave me a note in a review.

Ah, also, the curly lines (~) are meant to represent Nio's verbal tic.

"Come on, Tokaku-Chan, hurry up!"

She was trying, she really was, and running as fast as her tiny legs could take her, gripping onto her aunt's hand tightly. She didn't want to fall behind, and get caught by Grandma. Being caught by Grandma would be really, really bad. She wasn't sure why, but she knew it.

"Where are we going?"

"To the World of the Sun. Where we should have been, all along."

"The World…of the sun." Tokaku liked the sound of that. Living in the forest, she only ever saw the sun through the trees. She also knew that her Grandma shouldn't have been making them live there, and that's why they were esca-

"Going somewhere?"

Grandma was there. But she hadn't been there before. Tokaku's aunt gripped her hand tightly.

"That isn't your problem, mother." She said, stiffly. Grandma glared, and Tokaku's aunt responded in kind. Her eyes went wide, wondering if they were going to start fighting, the way Grandma tried to teach her.

Instead, Grandma pulled a shiny looking knife out of the folds of her kimono, almost like magic. And somehow, she knew what it would be used for.

"Close your eyes, Tokaku-Chan."

"But…"

"Just do it!"

Her aunt sounded scared. So she did. After a moment, she covered her ears too. It didn't completely block out the sounds, but at least everything was quiet. Tokaku didn't like noise.
She had no idea how long she was standing there for, hearing muffled parts of sentences and words such as 'weak', 'simply pathetic' and 'she's just a child', but it felt like a long, long time before her aunt pulled her hands away from her ears, told her it was okay to open her eyes and then took her hand and ran faster than before.

So fast, that she almost didn't see Grandma lying amongst the leaves, the knife she had been holding stuck in her chest.

…

She stared around at the little house, at all the colourful knick-knacks and clothes and things, and at the lady who apparently lived in the house. Up until this moment, she had never seen another person. Apart from her aunt and grandmother, of course.

The lady was very pretty, with brown eyes and blond hair, and her aunty called her 'Yuki'. She smiled a lot, and talked really, really fast.

"So, you must be Tokaku-Chan." Yuki said, looking Tokaku in the eye. Tokaku nodded, and looked warily at her aunt.

"It's OK, Tokaku-Chan. Yuki's my friend. She's going to help us."

"Help?"

"To go to the World of the Sun."

"Ohh…" Tokaku looked at Yuki again. She wondered how this pretty lady would help her.

"Are you hungry, Tokaku-Chan." Her aunt asked, changing the subject. Tokaku shook her head, and then yawned, looking up at her aunt.

"Do you have a sofa or something, Yuki?"

"Even better. I have a spare bed."

"Thanks. Come on, Tokaku-Chan." Her aunt scooped her up and took her over to a bed, tucking her in with a soft blanket. Tokaku's eyes closed wearily, but she didn't fall asleep straight away. Instead, she kept her eyes closed and listened to the conversation they had.

"So, you finally left your mother."

"I had no other choice. She seriously was going to train Tokaku-Chan to become an assassin. "

"The same way she did to you and Yuuko. "

"At least she let us go to high school, and to college. She's become worse now. I thought it was just age, and the fact she lost Nee-San…but I couldn't stand it anymore. I'm going to honor Nee-San's wishes, and give Tokaku-Chan a proper childhood. "

"Mako…"

"I should have done it earlier. As soon as Nee-San died, I should have taken her and left. But I was too afraid…and now I…I killed my own mother!"

"Mako, you're human, unlike your mum. Plus, she probably deserves it. From everything you told me about her, she would have probably killed the kid if she hadn't been up to scratch."

Tokaku heard her aunt sob for a few moments, before catching her breath.

"So, you'll help us? Help us change our names, and everything?"

"Sure thing. I owe you one anyway, Mako. Besides, Tokaku-Chan is just too-"

Tokaku didn't hear what she was, because she fell asleep at that point.

…

A few months later, they left Yuki's place and went to the World of the Sun-or, to be more specific, a city called Tokyo. They had a new house, which was a little small, but so cosy. Nothing like she had seen before.

And lots of other things had changed. Her aunt had let her grow her hair out a little, and now it just touched her shoulders, slightly curling at the ends. She had also had her fringe cut so it was neat and straight. She also had to call her aunt 'Mama' which was strange at first, but the more she thought about it, she was like a Mama because she was looking after her, so it wasn't that strange. Oh, and they had new names. She liked her new name much better than her old one, and she felt so proud of herself for being able to use example, on the first day they had been in their new house, a man and a lady came around, and said that they lived next door.

"I'm Keiichi Takahashi, and this is my wife Akari. And you are?" the man had asked.

"I'm Honoka Samidare." Mama had said. "Iro-Chan, can you introduce yourself to our new neighbors?"

She had peered up at them, then took a deep breath and spoke.

"Iroha Samidare, four years old!" she announced.

The neighbors had laughed, and said nice things like what a sweet little girl she was. It was nice. She liked her name. She liked her life.

…

"You shouldn't be playing by yourself!"

Iroha was just about to throw the ball at the wall again when the other girl came up to her. Nio Hashiri, she thought her name was. She was a girl who seemed happy all the time with her insane yellow hair and big smile.

"Why not?" she asked Nio.

Nio scrunched her face up.

"Weeellll~…..It's lonely!~"

"Does that mean you want to play with me?"

"Yeah!"

Iroha sighed. She supposed it would be fun to be like the other children at her kindergarten and play with others. The key worker, Kouko, was always trying to get her to play, with very little success.

"Fine then." She threw the ball at Nio who grabbed it and grinned.

"Yay! ~~"

They played for the entire of the break time, and for the lunchtime too. They did the same the next day, and the day after that. In fact, they played together for the entire year, and remained friends when they started school, each of them pleased that they were in the same school and class. Then, they would go around to each others houses to help each other with homework as well as play. But Iroha noticed they went to her house more than Nio's, even though she lived around the corner from her. She wasn't sure why, but the few times that they had gone, something had seemed weird about them. Like they were constantly angry. And Nio seemed scared of them, although she always hid it with a big smile.

But for all that they were good friends, Iroha didn't realise how much she treasured Nio until the night of the fire.

It was when they were in third grade, and it was summer, just before the holidays. It was hot, so Iroha had left her window slightly open, so that she wouldn't be sweaty when she woke up. Normally, she slept through the night, but something woke her up that night, and she sat in bed, trying to figure out what it was. She sniffed the air, cautiously.

Fire.

She went to her window and leaned out, sniffing to see if she could figure out where it was coming from. As if she was a dog or something, but she was curious. Then she noticed a flickering light, and suddenly it all fell into place, and almost without thinking she grabbed her fleece, pulled on her tennis shoes and climbed out of the window, jumping down and running in the direction of Nio's house.

"Nio!" she yelled into the night, drawing to a stop in front of the house which was, indeed, burning. "Nio!"

Suddenly, Nio's head poked out from one of the upstairs window. She couldn't seem to get it open properly, and was struggling.

"NIO!" Iroha called again, finally catching her attention. Nio looked down, panicked. She made some wild gestures.

"I…erm….." Iroha looked around, hoping to find some idea of what to do.

"Iro-Chan, what are you doing?"

Oops. Mama had come out, and a few other lights in other houses were coming on. Iroha simply pointed at the window where Nio was struggling, and Mama's face changed.

"Oh my. Where are her parents?"

"Dunno." Iroha looked Mama up and down. "Mama, give me your shoes."

"What?"

"Mama!"

She complied, and Iroha took them.

"NIO!" she yelled. "STAND BACK FROM THE WINDOW!"

Nio's face disappeared, and Iroha threw the shoes. The window cracked, and shattered, and Nio reappeared.

"You need to jump, Nio!" Iroha said. Mama came next to her.

"It's OK, Nio-Chan, we'll catch you!" Mama told her. Other neighbours had come out by then, and they all gawked at the burning house.

"Iro, I'm scared~!" Nio said, trembling.

"If you don't jump, you'll die! I don't want you to die!"

Nio took a deep breath, and screaming, she jumped. Between them, Iroha and her Mama managed to catch her, still crying.

"NIO!Are you OK?"

"I…I think I'm all burnt!" sure enough, Nio's skin was red, and her clothes were coming off her. Iroha stared, and then her eyes started to well up.

"Mama, Mama, we have to help Nio!" suddenly, they were both wailing loudly and clinging to each other.

"It's OK, kids, it's OK." Her Mama said, trying to calm them. "The ambulance will be here soon."

Still, they cried and held on to each other.

…

It was only afterwards, when Nio was safely with foster parents, that they found out her parents had set the fire with the intent of killing her. They had been abusive to her over the years, gradually getting worse until they just got tired of her existence. When her parents were found and arrested, it was revealed that they thought she was a possessed, cursed child. They were arrested, and jailed. But it wasn't a happy ending. Nio's body was almost entirely burnt, and overnight she became self-conscious, only ever wearing very long sleeved clothes with tights or trousers or some sort, even when it was hot. And even though she smiled a lot, it seemed empty.

But eventually, things got better. Nio was still self-conscious, but she became happier, and even more irritating. Iroha attended a Saturday tennis club, and when Nio went to wait for her one day, she met a girl called Mahiru Banba, who had been through similar horrific experiences. The friend Mahiru was waiting for was an odd girl called Suzu Shuuto, who had scarily similar tastes in clothes and food to Iroha. From that day on, they made a point of hanging out together every Saturday, and when they realized they were going to the same middle school, they met up more often. By the time they finished middle school and prepared to go into high school, they were inseparable. As Iroha's mother put it, now anyone would be hard pressed to distinguish them from each other.

But the most important change was a simple one-Iroha constantly referred to Nio as her best friend-and even if she was annoyed, it was obvious that she meant it.

…

"Kyaa~! I hate maths homework~~~!But I can copy off Suzu. Right, Suzu~?"

Iroha whacked Nio on the head with her satchel.

"You'll do no such thing." Suzu chuckled and Mahiru giggled. Nio pouted and rubbed her head, pretending to look offended.

"I'll be happy to offer assistance to you though. Perhaps we should go back to my house after out café visit."

"Okay then, Grandma!" Nio said happily, making everyone laugh. It was an inside joke with them-calling Suzu 'Grandma'-because she spoke like an old person, and had some very old-person interests, as a result of having spent her life being brought up by her great-grandparents.

"Well, that's settled then." Suzu said, mildly. They continued walking and laughing. As always, Iroha took a moment to reflect on how, on the outside, they just looked like a bunch of happy teenage girls. Nobody would suspect that they had scars. Even she had her own. At least, she thought she did. All she knew for sure was she had a few cloudy memories. Something to ask her mother about-although every time she thought that, she never ended up getting around to it.

" are here." Mahiru said in her whispery voice, jolting Iroha out of her reverie. Sure enough, they were at the café.

"Ha-ha, Iro, daydreaming again~? Which lucky boy are you fantasizing about?"

"I'm not."

"Ah, come on, do tell." Suzu coaxed.

"I can't tell you about something that hasn't happened." Iroha said bluntly. As usual, Nio payed no heed.

"Oh~! Perhaps you're fantasizing about a girl?~"

"Don't be dumb!" Iroha said, taking her seat in their usual booth.

"Ah, but Iroha-Chan, that isn't bad either." Suzu said. "We had a teacher in our elementary school who was a lesbian. Mahiru-Chan, do you remember Namatame-sensei?"

Mahiru nodded.

"She was really nice to me. And Shin'ya." She said, referring to her long-dead imaginary friend/defence mechanism.

"Yes, exactly. She had a girlfriend-probably still has-and nobody cared about it. She was just Namatame-sensei. Everyone thought she was cool." Nio snickered at Suzu using the word 'cool'.

"Her name was Kirigaya. The girlfriend. Didn't she come and help Sensei help us with the school festival in fourth grade?"

"Oh, yes. I remember now."

"Guys! We feel left out!" Nio pouted.

"No, we don't." Iroha responded, dead-pan. They laughed again as their regular waitress approached.

"Lively today, aren't we. Same as usual?" she asked.

"Haruki-san!~" Nio greeted the waitress cheerfully.

"Yes, same as usual." Suzu said politely.

"Yes, yes." Haruki scribbled on her notepad then regarded the girls with a grin. "So, what's this I hear about Iroha fancying someone?"

"I don't." Iroha pouted. Haruki chuckled.

"Well, I think Natsuki might like you." She said, referring to one of her many siblings. When she saw Iroha's face, she laughed.

"Gomen, gomen. I'm only joking. What about you guys and your love lives?"

"Oh, I'm still taking a break. Hiroshi's not been long in his grave." Suzu said. Everyone maintained a respectful silence for a moment. Then Nio spoke up.

"But Mahi's been catching the eye of a guy lately, haven't you~~~?"

Mahiru went red. Iroha rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. Jun Inoue was in the other class in their grade, and was in the drama club with Mahiru. She had to admit they did look adorable together, and they both clearly liked each other, but Iroha could understand why she wouldn't want to date.

"Jun-kun's just a friend." She protested. Haruki smiled, and ruffled Mahiru's hair carefully.

"Eh, no-one's forcing you. Take your time, okay. " Mahiru looked grateful.

"Yeah! I'm just being an idiot as per normal~!" Nio said cheerfully.

"I'll go and get your drinks now, okay?" Haruki left them. They chatted for a while until Haruki brought over their smoothies, and then Suzu attempted to help Nio with her maths, with hilarious results.

The sun was setting when they began to head in the direction of home.

"Heyyy, Irohachiii!" Stifling a groan, Iroha turned to look across the road, where two girls were walking in the opposite direction to them. It was the tall one with a purple ponytail who had called her and was now waving dramatically while her frazzled brunette friend tried to get her to move along.

"Otoya." Iroha said simply, nodding at the girl. She turned to the friend and waved briefly, before turning and catching up with her friends.

"Who in hell's teeth was that?" Suzu asked.

"You know the man my mum's been dating for a few years? That's his daughter, Otoya. She's a third year student in high-school but acts like a grade-schooler."

"Oh~. Wait, isn't she the one who got institutionalized~?"

"Nio-Chan, that's cruel. " Mahiru said.

"It's true." Iroha pointed out. "It was a long time ago though. "

"Ah, you told us about her that time, I think. So, is she like your step-sister?" Suzu enquired.

"Thankfully, no." Iroha said.

"Ha-ha~~!"

They walked in silence for a while. Iroha looked up at the sky. It was almost paper-white, as though it might snow, even though the weather forecast suggested otherwise.

Suddenly, she got a flashback of blond hair and brown eyes, and colourful clothes.

"Yuki." She said suddenly, only realizing she had spoken aloud when the others looked at her strangely.

"It's not snowing,Iroha-Chan. Are you ailing?" Suzu enquired.

"Nah, just remembered something I have to ask my mum."

"If you say so. Oh, I have to go this way. Bright and early tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" they chorused as they waved to Suzu.

Eventually, they all separated until Iroha was by herself at her door. She opened it, and carefully slipped off her shoes, locking the door behind her.

"I'm back!" she called out. She wandered into the kitchen to put her lunchbox away. Her mum was at the kitchen table, reading a newspaper.

"Oh, hi! Good day?"

"Yeah." Iroha took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Mum, who's Yuki?"

Her mum's eyes widened.

"I think we went to see her when I was really little, but I can't grab at the memory." Iroha explained.

Now it was her mum's turn to take a deep breath. She sighed, and rubbed her eyes.

"It was a long time ago…" she murmured. Then, she straightened.

"Let's go into the living room, Iro-Chan. Get some snacks from the cupboard. We have things to talk about." She said with a weary smile. Iroha narrowed her eyes, but did so all the same. Once she got the snacks, she perched warily on the sofa, and listened as her mum told her the truth.

…

"Hey, you OK Iro~~?" Nio asked as they wandered to their homeroom after Iroha and Suzu's tennis practise.

"Tired." That was putting it mildly. She was reeling from finding out that they'd had to run away from her grandma and that they'd changed their names. That her grandma was now dead. She'd spent most of the night examining the memories that she had of her early childhood, fuzzy as they were.

"And now I…I killed my own mother!"

Feeling proud of remembering my name.

Grandma…knife stuck in her.

"Going somewhere?"

Yuki's colourful house.

Tokaku.

It explained everything, and yet didn't. She liked her life the way it was now. But some of her felt it was impossible, just like her old name.

"Well, I would imagine that practise didn't help much." Suzu commented, jolting her out of yet another reverie. "My bones are all stiff!"

"Sure they are, Grandma." Iroha said, deadpan. Suzu glared at her, and then smiled.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Mahiru asked as they turned to the corridor that their home room was in.

"Hear what~?

"Shh!" Mahiru scolded, uncharacteristically. They all stopped in their tracks, and listened.

"I believe someone is in our home room." Suzu said. They looked at each other, and made the decision to approach quietly. They all gathered around the doorway, and peered in.

There was a girl sitting at one of the desks. She was wearing a different school uniform to theirs, and appeared to be holding the class register, reading the names out to herself. The sun was still in the process of rising, and it illuminated the girl. Iroha was entranced.

"….Tadashi Saito-kun, Emi Saito-san, Iroha Samidare-san, Ryou Satou-kun, Aya Sawai-san, Kiyoshi Shirozuki-kun, Suzu Shuuto-san, Kaname Tanaka-kun, Kanade Watari-san…and me!" Suddenly, the girl seemed to notice she was being watched.

"Oh!" her cheeks reddened. Putting down the register, she looked at them.

"Are you in this form room?" she enquired.

"Yes. You just read out my name. Suzu Shuuto. Pleased to make your acquaintance. "

Suzu came into the classroom, and the others followed. Iroha took every detail about the girl in. Her purple ponytails, her matching eyes, her big smile. Her scent, like the sun.

"Did you transfer here~?" Nio asked her.

"Yeah! I start today. I got here early though, so Mizorogi-sensei let me sit here. He 's so nice, isn't he?"

"Yup!~ I'm Nio Hashiri, by the way~~!"

"Oh! Let me introduce myself. I'm Haru Ichinose!"

Haru. The spring. That makes sense.

"I'm Mahiru Banba. Iroha-Chan, introduce yourself!"

"Iroha Samidare." She managed to choke out. Nio laughed heartily.

"Iro can be really cold, but she's awesome really~!" Nio declared.

"And even though you said that, you're still my best friend. " Iroha retorted.

"Ahh, thanks~~~~!"

Haru giggled, and looked right at Iroha. She hoped she wasn't blushing.

"You guys are funny. I hope we can be friends."

"Sure." Iroha said, surprising herself by being the first to reply. When Haru smiled at that , her heart sang, almost irrationally.

Maybe, when Haru's season comes, I'll tell her. She'll be the first to know that my true name is Tokaku.

The ending is deliberately left open. This will remain a one-shot. I hope you liked it, however. Please leave feedback