A/N: Okay! So I hope you all liked the first chapter. I do hope you all understand that there are spoilers. So yeah. Don't get mad at me, I warned you in the description. Did anyone notice Munakata in the character tab? O.O Oh~ What might he have to do with this~? Not telling~! XD Anyways, enjoy! ~Maya
To Alikkatz: Haha, so glad to hear it. Enjoy this one as well, sorry for the lack of Hara moments for they will continue later on in the story.
Fire Starters
Chapter Two
"Now that's rare. For Anna to be interested in someone I mean," Honami said with wide eyes as she gazed between Anna's back and Mikoto's face.
"Well then, that's a strange kid." Izumo cut in and narrowed his gaze at the girl in the corner. Everyone else had turned their attention to the child and peered at her from a distance with keen interest. "So, what would you like?" Izumo had realized he had not offered Honami anything since she came in. She looked at the menu and thought for a moment.
"I think I'll have some specialty curry," she said and turned in the little girl's direction. "Anna? Do you want to eat curry?" Anna didn't so much as look at her or speak only shook her head. Honami forced a smile.
"Guess she's not hungry," Izumo said as he prepared Honami's meal.
"She doesn't really eat much, but could you maybe prepare a little for her anyways. I'm sorry if it gets left over." Izumo smiled.
"Don't worry about it, it's fine." He said as he pulled out a small plate and placed a small amount of curry on it for Anna. Honami stood to gather it, but was stopped by Tatara.
"I'll take it to her, Honami-sensei. You just keep talking to King." He said and went over to the little girl.
"So, what's wrong with you today? Bringing that small kind in here and all," Izumo said while lightly leaning on the counter. Honami smiled at him and scooped up some curry with her spoon.
"It's Anna's day of temporary leave from the hospital."
"Hospital? Is something wrong with her?" He asked slightly shocked. He turned to look at the girl who was with Tatara. Tatara was saying something, but was clearly being ignored as the plate of curry sat beside her untouched.
"According to the doctor, there's something wrong with her brain. It's apparently a serious illness, so she needs to undergo examination and treatment at a special facility." Honami looked down with a sad expression and Izumo looked at her with a frown.
"Sounds tough. What's she have?" Honami shook her head.
"It doesn't have a clear name yet. She's usually normal, but there are times when she'll wake up in the middle of the night hallucinating or with a headache. According to the doctors at the facility, if left untreated it could endanger her life."
"She'll get better for sure, right?" Yata asked as he had been listening on the conversation. Honami turned to him and smiled making the boy turn red and stutter slightly.
"Yes, I'm sure she'll get better. The doctors are doing all they can to cure her." Meaning they didn't have any way to help with the current available treatments. "She's so little, but is always in the hospital with little time to get out like this. She's become a girl who won't show a shred of emotion on her face at all. She's always brooding like this at home as well. I don't know what to do anymore."
"She have any parents?" Mikoto suddenly asked after being silent for so long. Even though he still looked tired and bored, it was obvious he had been paying attention to what Honami was saying. She looked at him with surprise.
"You're looking after her, where are her parents?... They dead?" He hadn't said it coldly, just as a bland question. Honami let out a slow, deep breath and nodded.
"It was last year, my brother and his wife died in a car accident." The boys could only feel sorry for the girl. Not only was she sick, she lost both of her parents as well. "Oh dear... now I almost feel like crying." Trying to shift her feelings, Honami lifted her head and attempted a bright smile. "This is Anna's valuable day of hospital leave so let's leave such gloomy talk alone. Since this is such a rare chance, I wanted to take her out someplace. Would you mind directing me around the area?"
"I can give you a tour of the city, if you like?" Yata asked as he avoided looking at Honami directly. She gently thanked him as Izumo watched from the corner of his eye. He then turned and observed Anna further.
Tatara kneel on the ground beside Anna who hadn't paid him so much as a passing glance. She continued to just play with her marbles and didn't speak a word. Tatara decided to just wait patiently as he watched her play. Finally his curiosity got the better of him and poked a marble sending it into another which forced that marble into others and scattering them in all kinds of directions. Anna stiffened before looking at him and though her expression didn't seem to change, the man felt she might, might have been glaring at him.
"What are you doing?" He asked with a childish innocence to which Anna only continued to look at him.
"Looking," she said simply.
"Looking? At what?" The looked back down and seemingly refused to answer him. Tatara studied her face in silence. Although she looked very young, her eyes somehow showed an unusual trace of maturity. It wouldn't seem as if the reason she spoke so little was because she had any form of shyness or a fearfully withdrawn personality. Those were eyes which seemed to have seen too much, or had maybe given up on something. A gut feeling told Tatara he might be on to something.
"…So you can 'see' things other people can't?" he gently asked. Anna slowly lifted her gaze. "How do you see me then?" He asked testily. After watching him in silence for a bit, Anna slowly picked one of the marbles up with her fingers, and held it to her left eye. Their gazes met through the red sphere. A strange feeling immediately assaulted Tatara almost making him flinch. Still expressionless, with that near-mechanical gaze, Anna continued to 'look' at him. The odd impression the girl's eyes gave off had him experiencing something maybe akin to the restlessness of fear, but he kept still and stayed peering fixedly at her. Suddenly, Anna's body gave a jolt of surprise. She abruptly released the marble she'd been looking through, letting it drop from her hand as if its temperature unexpectedly rose and it burned her.
The red marble bounced to the floor, rolling away. As if in a daze, Anna followed it with her eyes. Finally, her emotionless facial expression showed a small change.
"What's wrong?" He asked slightly alarmed by her reaction. The girl, though she still appeared expressionless, furrowed her brows and opened her mouth only to close it again without a word. Still keeping silent, she gathered her marbles from the floor and ignored the nineteen year old. Waiting for her to still say something, Tatara felt the tension leave his body and his shoulders relax.
"Well then, how about this?" He asked holding out the curry for Anna. She looked at the plate and only shook her head. "Are you sure? It's really good." Anna only stubbornly shook her head again. "Alright then, why not this then?" He asked as he picked up a jar of candy from a shelf and shook some pieces into his hand. "Which color would you like?"
"Oh, she can't see color." Said a voice behind Tatara and as he turned his head to look, an upside down Honami was looking at him.
"Can't see colors?" He asked unsure. Honami too a knee beside him and emptied more candies into her own palm and took out a pink-colored strawberry candy.
"She's color-vision deficient. The only color she can see is red. Even if it isn't exactly red, she should still be able to see it somewhat." Holding the candy out to Anna, the girl only showed a moments hesitation before opening her mouth and accepting the candy. "I don't know if it's because she can't see the colors, but she doesn't eat or drink much. Sorry." Tatara shook his head with slightly wide eyes. "It could be related to her illness as well."
"Illness?"
"This girl was in the hospital, she's got temporary leave or something." Yata said from a distance away.
"Where's the hospital?" He asked.
"In District Seven. We usually just go from the hospital to home then back, but Yata-kun and Kamamoto-kun have offered to show us around the city a bit." Tatara smiled and nodded. Getting up, he began to eat the curry Anna hadn't so much as touched. "Anna? Let's go," Anna immediately ran to the woman's side as Tatara followed them with his eyes. Kamamoto and Yata had led them out and was helping with their luggage.
Ding, the light chime of the bell at the entrance could be heard as the door closed. Tatara's gaze moved to Mikoto and Izumo. Mikoto sluggishly drank his alcohol, while Izumo was cleaning the plate Honami had used. As his eyes met Izumo's, Tatara beckoned once with his hand.
"King, Izumo-san. Can I talk to you for a bit?" Izumo traded a quick glance with Mikoto, and then came out from behind the counter. Mikoto, as well, got up from his seat without a word. As they headed for the stairs to the second floor, Tatara lowered his voice a little so the other members wouldn't hear. "I think that girl is a Strain."
A/N: Oh crap~ What's gonna happen? A lot more happened in the book, but I'm saving it for later. -Insert evil laugh here- :D Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it and will be here for the next chapter. I won't be updating again until either later tonight or next weekend. Work is gonna kill me. DX So~ Review/Follow/Favorite!~Maya
