Chapter One

"Will you listen to how the song goes on?" Ganta asked, just as Shiro opened her brilliant red eyes. Ganta had always loved Shiro's eyes. Though they called to mind for him pools of blood such as he saw all too often in Deadman Wonderland, they also reminded him of his fated reunion with her.

Shiro looked up at Ganta, after waking from her long slumber, and smiled warmly. Seeing this, Ganta knew he had gotten 'his' Shiro back. She was the Shiro that she was supposed to be, and he was sure that nothing could change that.

Then, she took his hand, and whispered that question to him. For a moment, he said nothing to her, but then, he rested his other hand over hers, and leaned over her.

"Shiro looks forward to listening to every moment of it." Shiro replied.

Shiro moved a little, groaning in mild discomfort as she forced herself to move despite her injuries, and kissed Ganta on the lips.

"Shiro just wants you to know that she loves you as well. But why aren't you angry at Shiro?

"Why don't you hate her for murdering your friends?" Shiro asked, blushing and looking away from Ganta, half expecting him to remember that, and walk out of the room, never to return. Instead, he sighed, and brushed her cheek lightly.

"I am angry. I'm furious. But hating you won't bring them back. Hating you won't make me feel better. I could have continued to try to kill you. But killing you wouldn't have made me happy. It would just be one more friend that I'd lost, and could never get back. So hating you wouldn't have solved anything."

"You're too naïve. You forgive people too easily." Shiro said disdainfully, snorting at Ganta's lighthearted attitude.

"That's just it. I don't know if I've forgiven you. But whether I have or not, you're still my best friend, and the woman I love. I know…" Ganta said with a nervous laugh, seeing the confusion on Shiro's face. "Love doesn't make much sense, does it?" Ganta asked.

Shiro stared blankly at him, then smiled, and said "Shiro thinks she gets it." It was a lie. She didn't get it in the least. But she understood that whenever she was with Ganta, and whenever he spoke, she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach, and her heart seemed to skip a beat. She was in love with him.

There was no denying that. She wouldn't even bother trying to explain it away, as she knew it was pointless. But did he feel the same way? He had said that he did. But was he lying? Her life had been filled with lies, betrayal, and monsters. It was best, she figured, to get it over with as soon as possible. Then, she would at least know.

"G-Ganta?"

Ganta looked up at her, and smiled. It was nice just to hear her voice again, and to hear it not filled with hatred and rage, and pain.

It was good to know that she was back to her 'old self'', although she had told him that both personalities were one and the same, he didn't believe her. He knew that her 'true' personality was good, and wouldn't hurt a fly if she could help it. "Yes? Is something wrong?" Ganta asked.

"Well, there isn't anything 'wrong'. It's just… W-whenever…" Shiro started. But then, A nurse came into the room with some medicine for Shiro that she had assumed would simply go in an IV drip. She gasped as she saw that Shiro was sitting up, talking to Ganta, and dropped the bag, causing it to splash all over the floor.

"Miss Shiro. It's nice to see that you're finally awake. Are you feeling alright? Do you need anything?"

"N-no…" Shiro said, glancing away nervously, not quite willing to meet the nurse's eyes, for fear that the nurse would catch something in her stare, and realize what a monster she truly was. Now that she had stopped for a moment, she realized that she couldn't tell Ganta what she had wanted to. She just couldn't.

Even if Ganta was still willing to be with her, she wasn't sure if she wanted him to be with her. Not because she didn't like him. He was her best (and only) friend in the world. Any other friends she may or may not have had were lost to her. The other inmates from Deadman Wonderland were either in a different prison, or free, out in the world on their own.

She knew she would hate the crushing loneliness of being alone again. But she couldn't, in good conscience, force Ganta to tolerate her presence. But how could she tell him that without hurting his feelings. He had expressed a desire to stay with her, though she considered his desire naïve and ridiculous.

"Okay. Well, I'll be around if you need me." The nurse said, before finishing cleaning up the spill and walking out of the room, leaving Ganta and Shiro alone once more.

Shiro blushed a deep crimson, and looked away from Ganta determined not to meet his gaze either. She was sure that it he could see into her eyes, he would know what was bothering her, and hate her for it.

"What's wrong, Shiro? You wanted to say something a moment ago, and now you're suddenly clamming up."

"Sh-Shiro can't tell you!" Shiro said quickly, feeling her body heating up rapidly.

"Why on Earth not? Whatever you have to say, I won't think any less of you." Ganta said with a laugh. He stood, and walked over so that he was looking her straight in the eye.

"Eek! I-it's just… Sh-Shi… Shiro loves you, Ganta! Shiro knows that it's wrong for her to tell you that, after the way Shiro treated you, but she…"

She was stopped by Ganta, who hugged her tightly, causing her to blush even more deeply than she had been before, if that was possible.

He held her tightly for a moment, reveling in the fact that she was once again awake and able to move around. Even if she had once been a monster, she wasn't anymore, and whatever she was before, she was still his best and only friend, and he knew he would never… Could never let her go. She was his best friend; his first friend; his beloved.

"You don't need to say anymore. I can guess what you're going to say. And it's true that I'll never forget that you killed my friends. But that doesn't mean I don't love you, Shiro-chan. You're… Looking much better." Ganta said, blushing slightly. He was trying not to, but failing miserably at the task. "I'm glad to see that you are back to your old self. I knew this was the real you."

"Don't lie, Ganta. Lying doesn't become you. You were just as terrified of the person you thought Shiro was as everyone else was." Shiro said, sighing unhappily. Ganta sighed at this, and nodded.

"You're right, of course. The Wretched Egg terrified me.

"But I loved her, too. I knew that I didn't want to live in a world without Shiro, whatever, and whoever she was at the moment. That's why I wanted so badly to find any other solution besides killing you, even if that meant dying myself."

"You've changed a lot, Ganta … When Shiro first saw you in Deadman Wonderland, you were a scared little boy in way over his head. Shiro hates to admit that she got more than a few laughs out of your fear. You were terrified of dying, and knowing that you could die at any moment made it all the worse. But you grew. You're not afraid of death, now, and… You're so much stronger than Shiro could ever be."

"What are you talking about, Shiro-chan? You aren't afraid of death. You wanted to die." Ganta said with a meek laugh.

"No. Shiro wasn't afraid of death. She was pathetic, though. Shiro was afraid of life. Living terrified Shiro like death never could. She had never truly lived before you came to Deadman Wonderland. Shiro was an experiment. Then Shiro was a prisoner. Shiro survived, but she didn't live."

"Then you came around and became Shiro's friend, and she was always afraid that you would discover what Shiro truly was and hate her for it. Finally, Shiro decided that she would rather die, but she was too much of a coward to kill herself, so Shiro forced you to do that which she couldn't. Do you finally understand how truly deplorable and pathetic Shiro really is?"

"You wanted to live by any means, and you strived every day to stay alive. You overcame your fear of death, but never lost your desire to live. Shiro lost her fear of death, and lost the will to live. Shiro's still not sure if she deserves to, or even wants to live. So, it's up to you, Ganta. There's a knife in Shiro's skirt pocket. If you stab Shiro right in the heart, she'll die. Even Shiro can't survive that kind of injury."

"Shiro… That isn't even funny. Maybe you want to live. Maybe you don't. But if you don't, I'll show you why you should want to. I'll spend as much as I need to spend to show you that life is always worth living, and that you should never give up hope."

"Ganta… There's something Shiro has always wanted to do… But she's never had the courage to ask you. Shiro knows you're the only person she could ask this of…" Shiro muttered, blushing once again, her nearly chalk white features turning a brilliant shade of red.

Ganta, who was suddenly seeing images of himself and Shiro intertwined on the hospital bed doing perverted things, also became red. Shiro finally spoke again, though, and dispelled what Ganta was thinking.

"Sh-Shiro wants you to kiss her… She's never been kissed before. The scientists never saw Shiro as anything but a lab rat, and your mom felt sorry for her, but she didn't see Shiro as a daughter. Please, Ganta?" Shiro pleaded.

Ganta nodded, and walked around to the other side of the bed, and sat down facing Shiro, taking her in his arms, and pulling her close to him, and he kissed her forehead. Shiro shook her head violently, though.

"No, you idiot! Shiro wants one like this!" She snapped, kissing him on the lips, holding it there for a while, her strength far greater than his, so instead of fighting, he merely surrendered, and tried to make Shiro happy with the kiss. He prodded gently at her lips with his tongue, and pushed it into her mouth as she did the same, and they kissed for a moment or two before breaking away for air.

"Was that what you wanted, Shiro-chan?" Ganta asked, still blushing heavily. Shiro nodded, her normally chalky face now beet red. Ganta smiled, and kissed her again, but this time, it was a quick kiss, and he stood up afterward, and went outside, assuring her that he would be back, and she trusted him unconditionally.

"Um… Nurse? Now that Shiro-chan is awake, when will she be released from the hospital?" Ganta asked with a hopeful look on his face. The nurse looked at him with a worried look.

"Well, there's a problem with that. First of all, I shouldn't discuss this with you since you're not her family. But that's also a problem.

"I've gone through every method I could think of to dig up some family history of hers. We did genetic testing, blood samples, saliva swabs, everything. She has no family, and therefore, no home… And she's just a child…

"She's no older than you are, and from what I've heard, she's lived in that Deadman Wonderland her whole life. I can't just release her knowing she has no place to go, no school to go to, and no job to support her."

"If I found a place that she could live, would you let her go?" Ganta asked, knowing now what he had to do. The nurse looked at him with a smile.

"Son, you've come here every day, and sat at her bedside, just staring at her.

If you can find her an acceptable home, then I'd certainly release her on the condition that you take responsibility were anything to happen."

"I think I know just the people." Ganta said cheerfully.

"Aunt Aoi! Uncle Menma!" Ganta shouted, running into the house, forgetting to take off his shoes as he ran in.

"Ganta-kun, take off your shoes. We've been over this before. We don't live in America. We use slippers in the house." Came Aoi's response.

"Yes, Auntie. Aunt Aoi! I have huge news!"

"You made the basketball team like you were hoping?"

"No! Better!" Ganta said brightly. "Shiro-chan woke up! She just needs somewhere to go when she's released."

"And you think we should take her in?" Menma asked casually, though his tone wasn't exactly inviting.

"Well… Yeah… She doesn't really have any other friends. Where else would she go?"

"Ganta-kun, I admire your heart, and the kindness you've shown Shiro, despite what happened between you two is nothing short of awe inspiring." Aoi said kindly. "But I don't think I'd feel comfortable with someone like that in the house."

"Don't think we don't trust your judgment. We do…" Menma said solemnly. "But the fact that she slaughtered an entire classroom of children in mere seconds speaks to her true nature."

"She isn't like that! She's a wonderful, beautiful woman, and the kindest girl I've ever met! She was abused beyond anything you could possibly imagine in your wildest nightmares!

"If you had read my mother's diary of the research that they did, you would know the kind of torture they put her through! It wasn't her fault! And she's not that person anymore! She doesn't even have her Branch of Sin anymore.

"All that remains of it is the passive aspect of regeneration, and enhanced strength and endurance. You always talk about giving people second chances. Doesn't she deserve one as well?" Ganta asked, going from yelling to reasoning in a matter of mere moments.

"Normally, I would agree with you. But this girl is dangerous. Are you absolutely positive that there's no way she would turn on us?"

"No way in hell." Ganta said confidently.

"Well, we'll give her the chance to prove herself, then." Menma said cautiously. "Tell the nurse there that she can live with us. But I won't hesitate to send her away if she puts you or anyone else in danger."

"Ganta laughed in relief and victory, and grabbed his shoes, putting them back on, and running out the door to go back to the hospital. There was no reason that Shiro should stay in the hospital any longer than she needed to. That would be just like she was in prison again. And that was unacceptable.

"There he is… Where does he go every day after school? He goes every day like clockwork, and doesn't get back until late. I've tried to call him at his home, but he's gone almost every time." A boy said suspiciously, followed by two other boys and two girls. The girls weren't terribly interested, but they were following their boyfriends.

"Hatsuya-kun… Maybe we should just leave him alone… Whatever he's doing, it's probably important. Maybe he's visiting a friend of his that he had in Deadman Wonderland. He was in that place for almost a year.

"He must have made some friends." His girlfriend said nervously. She had seen his Branch of Sin in action on the television, and it was terrifying and awe inspiring. He had said that he had lost the Branch of Sin. But she wasn't convinced.

"Quiet, Kyoko-chan… We're following him to get to the bottom of this." Hatsuya responded, beckoning for the group to follow him. They went behind him into the opening, making sure that they were far enough behind him that their shadows couldn't be seen in the fading light.

"This is a bad idea!" The other girl said, extremely uncomfortable, now, not only with spying in itself, but spying on someone who had proven that he could easily kill all of them just by biting his finger.

"Shush. Akira… We're just gonna see where he goes and who he's seeing. Then we'll leave… I promise… Besides… A wimp like Igarashi could never hurt us." Though Hatsuya spoke fairly ill of Ganta on occasion, they were acquaintances, if not actual friends. They were on relatively good terms, and spoke often between classes, and sometimes after school, as they were on the basketball team together.

"Y-you didn't see him in battle… I managed to watch some of the Carnival Corpses with him in them… He fought this bodybuilder guy, and he not only outwitted him, but he also beat him. Igarashi-san is smarter than he looks…" Kyoko replied nervously, not wanting to get on the bad side of anyone who had been accused of mass murder, even if it was a false accusation…

Especially if that person had gone on to somehow survive being a fighter in Carnival Corpse at Deadman Wonderland. She had read the papers and seen the news about the real goings on, all after DW had finally been closed down, of course. Hatsuya sighed.

"That doesn't really mean much, considering what a dumbass he looks like… Here we are… The hospital? The hell is he doing here? Does he actually just have a sick relative? That doesn't make sense.

"He's so secretive about it… Let's go… I said let's go…" Hatsuya said forcefully. Even the other boys were looking nervous, now, though.

"I dunno, man… I think I should…" Akira began

"Fine… Go… I'll find out, myself… Anyone else still wanna come?"

"I-I guess I will…" Kyoko said reluctantly, not really wanting to stick her nose where it didn't belong, but also terribly curious, now. He nodded, and looked at the others, who all made lame excuses, and walked off. Hatsuya sighed, and took Kyoko's hand and led her in.

"Hi, Nurse… I talked to my aunt and uncle, and they said Shiro can live with us…" The nurse looked down from her magazine at Ganta, who was smiling hopefully at her. She sighed. There was no way she could really deny him, if he had already gotten his guardians' approval. But she knew the story behind the white haired girl.

She hadn't told any of the other staff that she wasn't just an average ragamuffin, but a cold blooded killer. She hoped that Ganta knew what he was getting into. Technically, she wasn't supposed to divulge information to anyone who wasn't strictly family, or permitted by the patient themselves. But she felt a sort of civic duty in this instance.

"Igarashi-san…" The head nurse said nervously, looking left, then right. "I could get fired for divulging this sort of info, but you know that she's the mass murderer who caused you to go to prison, right?" She whispered nervously. Ganta sighed, and nodded.

"I didn't know anyone else knew about that. But yes, I do know. I understand your concern, head nurse. I know her pretty well though. We'll be fine…"

The head nurse sighed, and nodded, looking resigned now, and not at all happy about it. There really was nothing she could do.

"If you know what you're getting yourself into… Just please don't come back here in a body bag…" She whispered desperately.

"Igarashi! So this is where you were going every day!? What the hell? You ditched us to talk to some old bag!?"

"Yagumo-san? I didn't know you came to this hospital, too?" Ganta asked with a placating smile.

"Don't gimme that! You been comin' here every day! Even on weekends for the past year, and you act like it's nothing? So… Whoya visiting? Is it your cousin? Is she a girl?"

"Hatsuya!" Kyoko snapped angrily, blushing.

"Sorry, Igarashi-san… He can be rude, sometimes, but he usually means well…" Kyoko said nervously, hoping that they weren't about to piss Ganta off too badly.

"Fukuyama-san… You don't need to be so jittery around me. I told you, I lost my Branch of Sin after that final battle, though 'final battle' makes it sound a lot cooler than it really was…"

"Ganta-kun? Who are these people?" Came a weary voice from behind Ganta. Hatsuya looked over at Shiro, feeling a heavy blush come to his face.

"Oh, Shiro-chan… This is Yagumo Hatsuya-san, and Fukuyama Kyoko-san… They're classmates and friends of mine…" Ganta said. He then turned to Hatsuya and Kyoko, and smiled again.

"Guys, this is Shiro, my…"

"Shiro is already Ganta-kun's girlfriend… So he's off limits to you, Bimbo-san…" Shiro said, edging closer to Kyoko, and giving her a stare down." Ganta couldn't help but feel that it was a little bit cute that even Shiro felt jealous sometimes.

"Um… U-um…" Kyoko muttered nervously, feeling white hot in the wake of Shiro's glare. Somehow, Kyoko felt like death in its purest form lay in the crimson eyes and white hair of this pale, and extremely thin girl.

"Fukuyama-san isn't my girlfriend, Shiro-chan. She's already taken by Yagumo-san. They must've come together…"

"So you were spying on Ganta-kun…? Spying isn't good. Have you ever heard the saying that those who stick their noses where they don't belong are liable to get them lopped off?" Shiro asked with a tight smile that nonetheless displayed no humor.

Kyoko and Hatsuya shivered simultaneously, both now under the impression that they were in the presence of the Grim Reaper rather than a sixteen year old girl.

"Shiro, stop it. Don't scare them. I admit, it's a little funny, but… It's not really nice to frighten people so acutely." Ganta said, pulling her along with him.

"You guys are welcome to join us. I'd be careful, though. Shiro is much stronger than she looks…"

"Well, that couldn't be hard. She doesn't really look that strong." Hatsuya said, leading Kyoko to slap him.

"Hatsuya-kun! Can't you even be nice to a girl who's obviously still convalescing!?" She asked.

"I'm very sorry, Shiro-san." Kyoko said politely, bowing in apology, hoping that Shiro wasn't angry. She had seen the look in Shiro's eyes as well, and there was something slightly unsettling about her.

Maybe it was simply that she had stark white hair, and red eyes, and her skin was ghostly white. She was certainly beautiful, and Kyoko could see why Ganta was so smitten with her. But there was something slightly off about her.

"Oh, don't worry. Shiro isn't angry. It's true. Shiro's not half as strong as she was before she went into the hospital. She tried to lift her bed earlier, and couldn't even manage that…" Shiro said cheerfully, obviously still under the impression that being able to lift a hospital bed in the air was perfectly normal. Kyoko yelped upon hearing this, and Ganta watched with slight concern as she stiffened.

"Shiro, stop kidding around like that. You're gonna scare them…" Then he leaned in, and whispered, "Shiro, you have to remember that no normal person can lift a hospital bed. Most people just don't have that kind of strength…"

"Right! Wowwww! It's such a beautiful day out… Shiro has never been so happy to be outside before…" Shiro said happily, spinning around, leading to a near overwhelming sense of vertigo that almost caused her to fall over.

"Well, w-we'll get going. My house is right around the corner." Hatsuya said nervously, taking Kyoko's hand, and leading her in the opposite direction of Ganta and Shiro.