A/N: Just an AU story, featuring Banba x Sumireko. I had this idea ever since I watched ep 10 and because of the sadness I felt for both of them, I wanted to write a happier fic. I intend to keep their pasts as part of my story. Like they say, some people just connect right away.
Disclaimer: I don't own Akuma no Riddle.
Chapter One
Seven years ago...
"Sumi-chan, everything will be alright."
A hand brushed her forehead, caressing her in a gentle manner. Yet, she could barely feel it.
Her whole body was aching with fatigue and excruciating pain. She felt like she was on fire, forced to endure the unrelenting heat of a massively large flame. She could only give a grunt with her chapped lips, simply too weak to form her own words.
She looked up at her father, who bore the same ice blue eyes at her, and caught the warm smile on his lips. He looked at her with a mixture of relief and worry, as if he was glad she was still intact. Yet, behind the warm mask he wore, she knew that their war was beyond over. There would be no peace for them.
"They told me your rehabilitation has been going well, Sumi-chan. They even say that you can walk on your own now." She frowned, lips pursed with disbelief. If he actually thought this whole process was easy and painless, he had better change his way of thinking. This pain, this agonizing torture, made her wish she had died that day.
Though, she was partially glad that she could still remain on this very Earth.
"Mom... where is... she?" She whispered, weakly, feeling the dryness within her throat. It took a lot of effort for her to speak, especially when she had just completed her training session moments ago. The lack of energy in her body made it hard for her to speak without feeling out of breath.
"She'll be here later. She's working right now." He father reassured her in a light tone. His fingers were gently probing her messy blonde locks, giving her a small sense of comfort. She could feel them giving each individual strand a tender caress. It felt more like a soothing gesture, reminding her of the days where things used to be free of unnecessary complications.
She opened her mouth, ready to protest. But when the door suddenly opened, startling her into an alert position, her mouth snapped shut. Carefully, with some needed effort, she turned to look at the door.
A silver haired girl with a thick gauze covering half her face stood in a rigid position. She wore a dirt-matted dress with crimson marks splashed across the pale material. Her eyes, almost hidden by her long silver bangs, had widened with fear. Especially when they caught sight of her father.
Sumireko sat up, despite the fact that her whole body was protesting. She let the pain wash over her, enduring it with gritted teeth. Ignoring her father's perplexed look, she carefully swung her legs over the edge of the bed and fully faced the troubled girl. Somehow, this seemed to put the girl a bit at ease, despite her tense composure.
"Hello." She greeted the girl, softly. This only made the said girl duck her head with a muffled squeak, almost reminding Sumireko of a turtle trying to hide its head in its shell. Knowing her body was in full display for this girl to see made her feel a bit self-conscious.
Yet, when the girl peeked at her with uneasy violet orbs, there was no fear or disgust written on the girl's face. All she could detect was the nervousness flickering within the girl's eyes. She wasn't sure what was going on in this girl's mind. Not knowing what to expect left her on the edge of her seat.
"H-Hi."
Sumireko's eyes widened, surprised by how soft and warm the girl's voice was. It had a nervous note to it, yet still, it was nicer than she thought it would sound. It made her yearn to hear it again. Judging by the rosy tint on the girl's cheeks and the fact that she was trembling, Sumireko didn't think she would ever hear it again.
When their eyes met after a short moment of silence, she felt a strange spark prickle within her chest. She could feel a strange tug towards this girl, almost as if someone were nudging her in the girl's direction. She could only grip the edge of her bed tightly with her hands. It was the only thing that kept her from approaching the quiet girl.
Holding a hand out towards the girl, she offered a friendly smile. This caused the silver haired girl to take a shaky step back, taking one step out of the doorway. Sumireko, feeling a bit disappointed, could only stare at the girl, sadly. Her reaction seemed to trigger something a good minute later.
It was then she saw a hand placed on top of hers, startling her almost instantly. She couldn't actually feel its warmth nor the texture of it, yet having it near her made her feel somewhat at ease. The silver haired girl stood in front of her, giving her a rather unsure look with those beautiful amethyst eyes.
During this exchange, their eyes never left one another's. It was as if they were both caught in a spell.
"Ah, Sumi-chan, looks like you've made a friend~" That was all it took for the silver haired girl to let go and flee the room in a frantic manner.
Giving her father a glare, she breathed out a sigh. The said man could only give her an apologetic smile with his hands raised up in surrender.
All Sumireko could do was flop back down on her bed and close her eyes, praying that she wouldn't strangle the life out of her own father. After all, she hadn't even gotten the chance to ask for the girl's name. But if there was one thing she would remember about that girl, it would be those...
Violet eyes.
Present time...
Leaning against the wall, a sandy haired girl panted, softly. Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath, pressing her back harder against the cool concrete. She could faintly hear their footsteps, the footsteps that belonged to the people that continued to chase her.
They wouldn't stop. They just wouldn't leave her alone. No matter how many times crimson spilled onto the pavement, they would never relent.
Surviving was all she could really do. Even if she wished to go back to the time where things were normal.
A world where bloodshed was non-existent, that was the place where she wanted to be. She wanted to go back to the time where she spent days with her parents, enjoying their newfound wealth and success. She wanted to live a normal life, a life without conflict.
But this world was not a heavenly place. No, it was hell. Brutal, unrelenting hell.
"She's near, I just know she is." The footsteps sounded closer, as if they were just steps away from discovering her. "Don't let your guard down." That was when Sumireko's lips pulled into an almost feral smile.
Drifting farther into the alley she had ducked into, she silently crept towards the end of the alley. She couldn't really tell where they would appear, but either way, she wasn't going to go down without a fight. If they wanted her dead, she was going to give them a fight they probably wouldn't survive.
Her ice blue eyes flickered upwards, gazing up at the moon shining in the dark sky. It glowed like a beautiful pearl, looking almost touchable if she stood on the tip of her toes. She reached a pale hand and held it upwards, almost as if she were trying to grab the moon. But as the appendage lingered in the air, her lips slowly pursed into a frown.
Letting her arm swing back down to her side, she continued to press herself against the wall as she quietly moved forward. Her eyes flickered from one end of the end alley to the other, keeping her guard up.
She wasn't sure who these people were or what clan they were from. She just knew that they were after her life, just like the other people that have tried to end her. It was really becoming a tiresome routine for her. Especially when all they did was chase her or attack her out of the blue, she had grown tired of their repetitive antics. It was bound to get old sometime.
Bang! Her arms moved in front of her, protectively, easily deflecting the bullets that were fired at her. Her lips curved into a devilish smirk as she dodged the next spray of bullets.
Pulling her arm back, she easily punched the nearest man in the jaw, sending the man spiralling into a nearby trashcan. She didn't wince nor bat an eye when she heard the sickening thud his body made when it landed on the ground. She simply felt nothing but satisfaction.
She hadn't expected for there to be only seven men in total. She had thought that there would be more of them. But that didn't matter to her. Numbers weren't important to her.
"Stop gaping and start shooting!" Her lips were turned in a feral grin, displaying two perfect rows of pearly white teeth. She watched them eye her with a mixture of shock and hatred, yet she wasn't surprised when they complied.
For the next few minutes, she happily toyed with them. She easily dodged the knives that slashed in her direction and deflected the bullets that tried to embed into her flesh. Like a graceful dancer, she'd twirl and dodge an attack before retaliating. But she never harmed the men to the point where they were lying dead on the ground.
Instead, she waited for the fun to die out. After all, once the thrill of the battle faded, the boredom would hit her and she would soon grow tired of this prolonged game. She'd then end everything once and for all if their persistence began to dull her moment of glory. That would probably take a while though, especially when she was just getting warmed up.
The rain of bullets had halted. The men had already wasted most of their ammo on her, to the point where the bullet shells were lying in a pool around their feet. Sumireko, revelling in this fact, grinned wider and engage them in a more intimate battle.
One of the more desperate of the seven men lunged at her, slashing his dagger in her direction. Her head merely ducked out of the way, letting his arm swing over her head. In a quick motion, she grasped his wrist, jerking him backward. He only had time to stumble before she gave him one sharp and quick roundhouse kick to the back of his head.
"S-She k-killed him!" A chorus of voices shrieked, horrified. The man she had just kicked lay in a heap on the ground. From what she could see, he didn't seem to be breathing.
Seeing the anger and defiance shining in each person's eyes only dulled the mood for her. She couldn't care less about their feelings over losing a comrade; she only cared about her life and safety. If they were going to attack her foolishly for killing a man who had attempted to slit her throat, that made the fight less enjoyable for her.
Without a word, she brandished her own handgun from her pocket. She didn't give them time to react as she easily sunk multiple bullets into their heads effortlessly.
Watching them collapse on the ground with blood already pooling from their heads made her heave a sigh. Just knowing she would finally have a chance to rest for the night made her feel accomplished. After all, she survived another day.
Pocketing her handgun, she turned on her heel and quickly made her way out of the alleyway. If she stayed another minute there, she was sure someone was bound to notice her surrounded by several of dead bodies. Yet, the moment she took a step into the open, she slammed into something hard.
Clang!
She quickly recovered, shaking off her disorientation to look down at the person sprawled across the pavement. Her eyes immediately shifted to look at the sledgehammer lying beside the person. Frowning with her eyebrows furrowed, she carefully fixated her gaze back onto the motionless figure.
Just by looking at the person, she could tell it was a girl. But what made her feel slightly nostalgic was the fact that the said girl had long, silver hair pulled back into a ponytail. Half her face was covered by the messy silver strands sprawled across her face. Yet, when she squinted her eyes to get a better look at the girl, she noticed the jagged scar etched vertically on the left side of the girl's face.
"How mean." The girl suddenly spoke in a dangerously low voice. Her voice was rough in texture with a hard edge to it, taking on a slightly mocking note.
When the girl began to laugh in a rather manic fashion, she blinked. She could see the girl's shoulders were shaking hard while the girl covered her face with a pale hand as she wailed her laugh into the night. But when the girl sobered after a minute or two, she saw the girl reach for her sledgehammer. Feeling suddenly threatened, her hand immediately tucked into her pocket.
Violet eyes.
Sumireko froze, hearing those words echo in her mind. It made every fiber within her body tense, feeling a rush of nostalgia rush into her.
The silver haired girl, having recovered from her supposed fall, was looking up at her with a familiar pair of amethyst eyes. She could see they were a warm shade of violet, almost identical to the ones she was slowly beginning to remember. Yet, instead of the fear clouded within those orbs, she only saw the wild danger.
They were looking back at her in a taunting manner, just beckoning her to charge at the girl. She almost felt compelled to comply, to implant a bullet in the girl's head. But because of this nostalgia, this odd sense of familiarity, she found herself rooted to her spot.
"You..." The word left her lips, softly, in a quiet murmur. Her hand, subconsciously, moved forward and lingered a good foot away from the girl.
Violet eyes widened slightly, losing just a bit of its wildness. They peered up at her, giving off a slight confused look. The girl scanned her face with an immense intensity, as if she were trying to remember her face.
Before either of them could blink, the girl hesitantly took her hand.
