Hanashi: CHAPTER! WE GOT A NEW CHAPTER!

Allen: -crosses his arms- Really...I never would've thought.

Hanashi: Shush, child. So...my partner in crime for this story isn't with us atm...eh-heh...so I guess I'm introducing this chapter for y'all!

Allen: Is that why we're here? Wait, where'd Tim go?

Hanashi: -shrugs- We'll find him after you give the disclaimer.

Allen: Do I have to?

Hanashi: I will give you fifty Mitarashi Dango if you do.

Allen: ...-clears his throat- D. Gray-man isn't owned by either Hanashi-o-suru, nor does Kei-Kat.

Hanashi: I'll tell you who owns which character in the end notes! See ya there!

Allen: What about my dango?! -teary eyes-


=Chapter I= Everyday Life

# Fictional Beginning of the 21st Century #

(( London, England ))

Sapphire eyes stared at the screen, a look of boredom speckled within the very orbs that gazed at it. "Jeez, I've read all these maybe a hundred times over already." She muttered, leaning back from her make-shift desk, and falling back onto her bed. Her hair spreading out like a darkened halo. Lately, there never seemed to be anything to do, and boredom was a definite no-no. In fact, for someone like her it was natural for her to simply wander around at that point. Alas, however, it wasn't like she could do that where she was currently living. There wasn't much there to begin with.

She currently lived alone in her apartment made for one. In hindsight, yes, it was a duplex, however, the two sectioned off spaces were made for one person each to live there. Her space, like any of the others in the area, had a decent sized living room, furnished with a questionable old sofa, TV stand with a twenty-year-old TV that didn't even work sitting on top of it.

Just behind the living space, was a small galley-styled kitchen to which, in all honesty, wasn't much of a functional kitchen to begin with, for Jiminy's sake! The dated counters were laminate, and she was almost certain they had been white at some point in time, for she knew no furniture piece, dated or not, would ever be such a yellow-brown color naturally. The cabinets fared no better, with one or two doors missing, and those that still did either didn't close right, much less open, or had knobs missing

The appliances weren't in any better condition. Her stove was probably the only newer thing in the kitchen. The electric range was, however, missing the dial for the far left burner, as well as the one for the center burner. The closer right burner didn't work at all, making three of the five burners unusable. The oven itself wasn't any better, she knew, for it seemed that it never got up to temperature, even if it did say otherwise.

She had an old fridge, almost as yellowed as the laminate that was between it and the stovetop. It worked, but it was anything but quiet. She had learned quite recently, that the motor was actually about to give out, though when, that was beyond her.

The other side of her stove was a sink, where she was almost certain was a gravesite of some sort of unfortunate vermin that had long ago got stuck in the garbage disposal. What sick and twisted being would even do such a thing to even a rodent, was beyond even her knowledge…and frankly, she'd rather never find out.

"RAVEN! OPEN THIS DOOR!" Speaking of dirty vermin…her eyes snapped opened, glaring down the hall where she knew the front door would be. Hell, there should've been a door separating her room from the living room for god's sake! Scowling, she got up, and quickly made a beeline to the door of her so-called home. "RAVEN! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! OPEN U—"

"Why don't you shut your mouth, fatso?" Came the insult before she even realized she said it. "Let me guess. 'I know you're in there. Open up.'? 'You're overdue with your rent. Pay up.'? I'll freakin' tell you now, that I—" At that moment she swung open the door ready to glare down at the short stubby man she assumed was there, she found herself with only a face full of…bosom?

Confused as she was, she looked up to see an older woman, whom was looking a tiny bit appalled by the earlier…incident. "My word, I had never in my life met such vile behavior."

"Um…who're you?" Was the smart remark she could come up with. From the corner of her eye, she could see some movement, not needing to turn her head to know the man she had originally meant to yell at was right there. Realizing she was still supposedly at the stout man's height, she quickly stood up, to look the newcomer in the eye.

"I take it your Miss Raven Knight?" What was it with Londoners and formalities? She vaguely wondered. "I am Mrs. Grandsworth. A lawyer."

"Lawyer?"

# Delaware, USA #

It was just another normal day. The sun was out, birds were singing, the smell of pancakes were able to be smelled all the way upstairs, and honey-colored eyes were glued to the screen. A girl with brown hair pulled up into a ponytail sat on her zebra-print bed, headphones in her ears. On her lap was a blue laptop, which was playing an anime, the main character talking to his friends. The door to her small room was opened, and a five year old boy jumped on her bed, startling her. She paused the anime and looked to her brother.

"Matt, if you don't stop coming into my room without permission, I'm gonna throw all your games away," the girl said, pulling out her headphones. The blonde boy looked at his sister.

"Mom told me to come get you, breakfast is ready."

"Tell mom I will be now in a few minutes. This episode is almost over," the girl replied, inserting the headphones back in and shooing her brother out of her room. They boy left the room, pouting as he closed the door. The anime continued, and the real world faded away as she watched the screen and felt complete.

This was how Arianna spent her time. The 17-year old stayed up in her room all day, ignoring the world outside her computer as she either watched anime or read fan fiction. Just like any other teen-shut-in. She didn't have any friends to hang out with, her only friend just moved away, and her family bored her. It's not like they care either. Both she and her brother were given anything they want, anything to keep them busy. Her mom worked at a dentist clinic, and her dad was a doctor at the local hospital. They didn't have time to keep their kids occupied. It's not like they had to, Arianna liked this family. As long as she wasn't constantly around drunks and druggies, she was perfectly happy. She didn't need to interact with people, they only hurt her in the end.

Once the anime ended, the laptop was put off her lap and she stared outside her window, looking at the house across the street. Her best friend, Heather, used to live there. Now an old couple were moving in, their kids carrying all the heavy boxes inside. The couple smiled at their kids, proud of how well they are in life. Arianna almost glared at them.

It didn't make sense to her that these people could have a good life, no problems they couldn't handle. Even though Arianna got whatever she wanted, she never got what she needed. Yes, her parents loved her, but they aren't who Arianna wanted to love her. Why couldn't her real mom love her enough to stop doing drugs and care for her? Why did she let anyone into their life, as long as the supplied her? Why didn't she help?

Arianna sighed, forcing those memories away as she got up from her bed, and walking downstairs. Matt sat at the table, syrup dripping down his face. His blue eyes looked up at her. Her mom turned around and smiled. Her blonde hair tied in a bun, her blue eyes showing how happy she was.

"Hi, honey. How did you sleep?" she asked.

"Good," Arianna replied, sitting down at the table, her mom placing a plate in front of her.

"Your teacher called. She said you left one of your 'drawing' in class," her mom's voice hardened.

"Oops," Arianna replied, almost daring her mom to say something else about the topic. After a few seconds of blue eyes meeting honey, her mom turned around and put away the dishes. Arianna ate her pancakes and gulped down her glass of milk. She put her dishes in the dishwasher, and walked back upstairs.

It's not that Arianna wanted to cause trouble. It's just that she wanted to see how long it will take them to snap. Sooner or later they will get tired of her, and give her back to foster care. Just like all the others. She has been with this family the longest, just over a year. It scared her how easy it was to fit in with this family. They were just perfect, like the family across the street. It was unfair. Maybe it was easier living with a family that didn't care about her grades or what she wore, that they only cared about the check that came in the mail that supported their drugs.

Not all families who took in foster kids liked kids. Some were good actors, and only cared for the money that came in to help them support her. But this family didn't need the money. Some families just wanted a kid, when they couldn't have one of their own. But this one already had Matt, so that's not it. So why did they want her?

Arianna locked her door behind her and fell onto her bed, her body laying still as she listened to her heartbeat.

"The memories are coming back," she whispered, getting up and getting the pill bottles off her dresser, putting one of each pill in her cupped hand. She opened a water bottle and took the three pills. She closed the lid and laid back down on her bed, this time staring up at the light on her ceiling.

The medicine she took helped her calm down, one for her depression, one to suppress the memories she didn't want to see anymore, and one to keep her from having a panic attack from the memories. She didn't need to take the last one, but she had heard her heartbeat quicken as she thought back to her past. She'd rather keep the past behind her, and move forward. But the thing was she could never escape her past. She will always remember the first ten years of her life, living with her mom and the other druggies. The smells, the sounds, the touches; they would never leave. So she would just have to suppress them. Like she always did.

Arianna went back to her laptop, checking for any comments on the fan fictions she wrote, and when seeing none, she went to Tumblr. There she would always get a laugh, smile at the posts, and find some awesome fan art to her favorite anime. She loved the internet. It was the only place where she could be messed up and still fit in. Where she could fan girl over anything, and not get stared at. She could be around her anime characters, and feel loved. She was happy online.


Okay, here we are! I had Jeryy give Allen the dango I promised him, and now I'm introducing our characters. The Hooded Figure and Raven Knight are my OCs, and Arianna belongs to Kei-Kat.

R&R ain't for "Rest and Relaxation" for me, so drop a review in that awesome little boxy-thing there! Chapter three is in progress, so look forward to it, and other fics I've been neglecting for too long...ah, yeah...see ya next chapter or story!