"Uncle... I'm hungry... "

flash.

"Uncle... "

Flash. Flash.

"Mahiru... didn't want this anymore... "

Flash. Flash. Flash. Flash. FLASH. FLASH FLASH-

'SOMEONE. HELP!'

All that pleas will never reached anyone. Her voice only echoed in this prison, mocking her. She was scared. All those flash hurted her eyes. It didn't help her when she lives so many hours--maybe even years--in the darkness of her cell. she even forgot how sunlight reflected in her skin. All she remembered was camera's flash. And, of course, the pain in her body when her 'uncle' beats her.

She banged her tiny hand at the metal door several times as she plead to her uncle. She wants to be free. Is that too much to ask?

The man kicked the doors open; successfuly sending Mahiru on her back.

"Shut up! People will hear you!"

Some beating on her already bruised stomach made her realize. It IS too much to ask.

'I... don't... want to be... here... anymore. I want... t-to be... free...'

Suddenly a voice can be heard in the back of her mind. It's familiar...

'Then why don't ya free yourself?'

She focused on the voice and not her uncle that already prepared some whiteroses; meaning he wants to take another pictures of her.

'I... I can't... He... was scary... and... and big... '

As she laying on the cold floor, she closed her eyes and was meet by her reflection--or so, she didn't know. There were only darkness and this figure. She looked the same as herself, but more...wild?

'Maybe ya can't... but I can do that for ya'

'W-who are you..? how can you free me?'

'I'm Banba Shinya! And don't worry about the detail... just... do you trust me?'

Her reflection offered a hand. A grin stretched on her face as determination filled her heart. Mahiru choosed to believe Shinya.

When the child opened her eyes, gone was the timid and scaredy girl. Replaced by an angry child. She shielded her eyes when camera's flashes hitted her sensitive eyes. She growled and stood up; throwing a whiteflower off from her shoulder.

"What the-" Oh, the man didn't even can utter a single sentence. His face was meet his camera that he gripped before. Shinya didn't waste any more time, she bashed the camera several time straight at his face while straddling him on the chest when he fall. They didn't even heard the crack of his skull, the only voice they heard was a cry of pain and an angry shout.

The man punched the girl with his right hand to send the girl off from him. He gritted his teeth in fury and pain. He stood up and picked what left of his camera. He looked intently at it before throw it hardly to the floor.

"Damn you!!"

Bad luck. Shinya really has a bad luck. Her uncle saved a cutter at his pocket. He just finished cut roses off from its stem and didn't bother to put it on its shelf. He scrolled the blade out and ready to attack his 'niece'. Shinya looked at the cutter before averted her gaze at the sharp lenses from the camera.

'That will do'

The uncle lunged at her; ready to slice her into two halves. But Shinya didn't just stand there and wait for her end. She rolled to pick the sharp lens fragment. She took three steps away from him and faces him with the lens ready to defend herself. The man turned his back and fixed his grip on the cutter.

"You know... you are really beautiful. It's a shame that you didn't have any respect to the one who pick you up!"

The girl gripped the lenses harder and growled.

"Why should I respect ya?! Ya hurt Mahiru!"

She throw the lens to his abdomen and successfully damaged him. In reflect, He lose his grip on the cutter and clutched at the wound. It took a lot of courage to run straight to him to pick up the cutter, but she managed to do that. Even though she received a kick on her side. Fortunately, the cutter didn't bounced off from her hand.

"Bitch!!!!"

She gasped for breath as she clutched her side. To be kicked twice on the same place, Shinya found it's hard to breath. But she can manage it. After all, she already have a goal. To be done with this bastard and be free.

With a renewed determination, Shinya ran at him and stab him at the stomach while jumped at the same time. The impact are strong enough to make the man stumbled back and fall on his butt. He shouted in pain as he struggled to seperate this agrresive child from him. Unlike Mahiru, Shinya grip was hard and painful on his already wounded body. And to make him more desperate, Shinya raised the cutter; ready to send him to death.

He use his right hand to stop her attack. Inwardly, he sighed in relief the blade didnt touch his chest... yet.

"You should know better than to defy me"

"Shut yer mouth!"

Shinya's hand trembled. It seems Mahiru's body already at its edge.

'Damn damn damn! Why now?!'

'S-shinya... san? w-w-what... '

'Nothing Mahiru'

Her interact with Mahiru slightly made her power wavered. Her uncle snatched the cutter from her and slashed her. Shinya--with her last strength-- jumped back and avoided his slice. She didn't know if it's fortunate or not, The slice wounded her face but it isn't deep enough to damaged her eye. The blood that ran down from her face still made her has to close her left eye though.

The man staggered to stood back. His cloth now drenched in red like roses. He stepped really slowly towards Banba. He didn't care that he stepped on whiterose that he picked carefully before. In his mind, he decided to end this child's live. He can pick another beautiful girl to be his bride... It's a shame that silver hair will be drowned in red.

"Prepare to meet hell"

He raised the cutter. She can't avoid it anymore, her body already lost it energy. He lunged at her with creepy grin on his face.

*Bang*

- 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 -

Hanabusa Sumireko was back at her home (we can call it a mansion tho). She was from a hospital to mastered her new limbs. She now can walk and use her hand without much trouble, except writing.

She opened her tablet and opened the newest news on it. Yes, We all know she was around 9 or so. But she has dedicated her life to continued her mother last jobs before she died on an accident. Which was related to a detective's job. Her father insisted that she inherited his company; to be the heiress of Hanabusa's pride and forget her mother's mission.

She can't decline him. But she can't ignore her mother wish too. So she will do both. She will be the heiress and she will seek the truth behind the last case. Or should she say, The Mindmaster of all the odd kills. For your information, what she meant by odd kill was the unique pattern that left on each corpses. On the victim's neck, there will be an 'A' word sliced to the skin. Odd, right?

This last week has led her to a new address. If the information she held was right (It is, because she was never wrong), she can captures one of its member, Ryuugi Yutai. He was known to be a photograph maniac and some people say he likes to took a child's picture. None of those people who know him suspected him to be a children kidnapper (or killer). But Sumireko found this guy was... odd, to put it lightly.

So here she was with her driver that act as her Butler too, driving down to the east side of the country without any other bodyguard. Afterall, she sneaked out to do this. No one will know this duty she held except her driver and some people that sided with her (most of them know and supported her mother's job).

Even her father didn't know she investigated this case. Heck, no one will think an ordinary girl on her age can do this hard job that required many studies. But, She was not your ordinary girl. She was Hanabusa Sumireko, daughter from Hanabusa Eir, the most feared woman-detective in the crime world. You do something bad? Eir comes and investigate it? Ha! You're dead!

She stopped a good metres away from the house--the only house in this kind-of-secluded-area. Her driver parked the car at the side of the road. They got out from the car; all prepared for uninvited attack from the Suspect.

They neared the house and readied their respective weapon, handguns. Sumireko gestured her driver to keep watch on the surrounding and let her entered the house alone. Her driver know better than to questioned her master self-defence and strategies. So he keep quiet and nodded his head toward his mistress.

She was so ready to bang the door open and aimed her gun. But, with her newest hearing technology that made her right ear can heard more than all people can, she picked shouts from... inside this house? Its sounded close but the echoes made it heared like it also so far away. Better check it out.

She rushed to aimed her gun at the lock before pull the trigger. The impact made the lock crushed inside out so she can open the door easily. She followed the sound and found herself in front of a metal door on the basement. Thankfully, there was a gap on the keyhole so she can peek inside.

"Prepare to meet hell"

'My guess was right'

She kicked the door open and without even aiming, she shot the guy who ready to stab a poor girl beneath him. She aimed again at his hand that hold a cutter. She shot it to prevent the weapon will fall and wounded the girl.

The man fall atop of the silver haired girl. He didn't budge even if the girl kicked the man; trying to move the guy off from her. Sumireko walked and grab the guy's collar and without even struggling, she drag the man out from the cell while called for his driver. She gave the man to her driver and walk back to the bloody cell again.

Shinya looked at her like she was some kind of alien. After all those shout and plead, she never thought anyone will come to rescue her... much less a girl around her age.

'H... huh? I... ' Shinya was really dumb-founded. She even can't talk properly on her head.

'S-s-shinya... ' Mahiru looked at her inside the black landscape. She, like Shinya, was shocked to see that anybody has found her.

The peach haired girl stood In front of her now. Concern filled her gaze as she stared at the wound on Shinya's face.

"Are you alright?" Those sweet voice echoed on the room. The girl crouched down and move a little closer. Unconsciously, Shinya move away from the girl and glared at her. It didn't scare Sumireko much, because she know the girl is in no state that can harm her, even if she can, she was so much stronger.

"Who are ya?! What do ya want?!"

Shinya looked around and picked the cutter that was full of blood. She pointed the blade straight to her. Sumireko raised her hands while keeping a concerned gaze.

"I will not harm you, so you can drop your defense and preferably, that cutter too. I do not want anything from you. I merely checked your condition."

Shinya stubbornly held the cutter on her hand. Sumireko sighed and rub her temple with her right hand.

'S-s-s-shinya... m-maybe... s-s-she... meants... good... ' Mahiru chimed in her head.

'Mahiru! She had a gun and I don't want to put the cutter down and risking our live!'

'B-b-but... she... saved us... a-and... y-ou don't have...to.. drop... the cutter... j-just... maybe... an-answer... her? '

Shinya groaned loudly and catched the heiress attention.

'Fine'

She opened her mouth and tell her condition.

"I'm fine. Just my stomach and face hurt a little. Happy?"

the girl looked surprised that Shinya finally cooperates with her.

"Of course I am not happy. You are terribly injured. But I am grateful for you cooperation."

The weird girl--as Shinya named her--called her driver that has come back from putting the guy (hopefully he's still alive, they want to squeeze information out from his brain after all) on the car. Shinya flinched when she saw him. To be near a man after all this mess was uncomfortable. It didn't go unnoticed by Sumireko, she quickly tell the driver to call their private doctor to go on this house and maybe do some stitches. She almost told him to make the appointment on her palace but she didn't know if Shinya comfortable to follow them to her house. She was kidnapped and surely her suspicion-radar was high as fuck.

Shinya relaxed when she saw the man get out of the cell to make a phone call. She and Mahiru sighed in relief.

Sumireko offered her hand to Shinya.

"How about we sit and talk outside of this room? Perhaps in the dining room?"

Shinya squinted her eyes at her. She took her hand and stood up; slightly put her weight on the girl. Her body still weak and trembled violently. Sumireko did her best to help the girl walks.

When Shinya stepped out from the room, she was blinded by bright light. Her mind replaying those camera flashes she hate. She crouched down and put her hand to close her eyes.

"Bright! A-argh! D-dont look at me! Don't!"

Sumireko didn't expect this kind of reaction from the silver haired girl. But she understood that the girl has some kind of trauma with light and flashes, judging by the broken camera on the room and this peculiar reaction. She looked for the light switch and grateful the switch isn't far. She quickly flipped it and the room loss its light, save from the moonlight that shined trough the window. She walked slowly to the girl again.

"It's okay, It's okay. You can open your eyes now."

Shinya peaked between her finger and was meet by a pair of calm, glowing blue and a beautiful smile. Her heart has calmed down and she finally catch her breath. She appreciated the moment and the girl in front of her. Her 'hero'.

Sumireko keep the small smile attached on her face while helping Shinya stood up again. Step by step, they finally made it to the dining room.

She put Shinya down on a chair and sat on the other chair infront of her.

"I am sorry for scaring you before. I do not intend to hurt you."

She nodded and relaxing her grip on the chair.

"But if I may ask, What's your name?"

"I'm Banba Shinya. And who the hell are ya?"

"My, no need to be so harsh. I am Hanabusa Sumireko. Pleased to meet you, Banba-san"

"Yeah yeah."

'S-shinya... you're... rude...' Mahiru 'scolded' her.

'I still don't trust her. She sounds fishy. I meant, how can she found us?'

'M-maybe... she.. she hear... our scream...? '

'But Mahiru, if she can hear us. Why she didn't come earlier? Why people didn't help us?'

'I... I-i... Don't... know... '

'See? Fishy'

"Banba-san?"

Shinya snapped out from her conservation.

"What?"

"I was asking you, Would you be comfortable to receive treatments for your wound? I already called my personal doctor to took the suspect and perhaps stitchs your wound, if you like."

'Okay, first helping us, then shut down the light for me, and now a doctor? She's really fishy now'

'S-s-shinya...san... I-is it alright... to... let... let her... help us...? I... I'm... scared... she... might... hurt.. us... in the.. end... l-like...-'

'Don't say it, Mahiru. And if she want to hurt us, I'll Slice Her body, eh? So.. don't worry, I will keep us safe.'

"Ya sounds fishy. Why help us? Ya didn't know us and suddenly, bang! Ya shot him and then ya offer me help? What da ya want, girl?"

Sumireko sighed.

"Is it really suspicious to you when people want to help you?"

"Hah, yes. 'cause no matter how loud ya scream, people will never heard ya. They will never help ya. That's what I learn." She averted her gaze to the side and refused to talk to Sumireko again.

Sumireko isn't blind. She can saw those sadness glistened on her eyes. But what intrigued her, those sadness was mixed by something powerful. Something... beautiful... Ah, She has come to learn. Banba-san's madness are fascinating. It's instantly engraved on her mind.

She smiled softly.

"But I heard you, Banba-san"

0 --

Lol, I know I'm really late. I meant, i posted akuma no riddle fanfic years after it come out. lol. but hey, I wanna do it so here I am.thank you for reading this.