This chapter, we meet Angela Leon. She was a fun character to write. I played around with tone in this piece, trying to stick to Angela's childish, informal way of speaking. It's a little bittersweet since Angela still doesn't know what happened to Mifune, but at least she's making friends, right?
Speaking of nice people, thank you for the reviews, VampireCabbit! I actually thought of your piece when I wrote last chapter, so maybe it was actually me copying you…? (Btw, people, if you haven't read VampireCabbit's "Charitable Death," that fanfic is awesome.)
Well, let's hear how Angela's doing at Shibusen, shall we?
"I call myself a chameleon."Dan O'Brien
Angela liked Kim. Sometimes, Kim would sit and talk with her about clouds and candy and magic, and Kim's hands would glow pink when she hugged An goodbye. When Kim's hands turned pink, Angela would feel a warmth flow over her, and An would be calm, even if An really wanted Kim to stay longer.
Jackie was fun, too. Jackie and Harvar fought a lot when they didn't know An was watching. When they knew she was around, Jackie would start talking in a baby voice, which An did not appreciate, but at least she tried to be friendly.
Harvar babysat Angela more often, but he did not play with her much. He did catch her once when she almost fell down, so An thought he must be okay.
Angela had made great friends with Fire and Thunder, who were the only other ones An's age. The pair loved to play, and even when they did not feel like playing, their fighting was funny. Fire and Thunder had a meister (An still didn't quite know what that meant) named Kilik, who An thought acted like Mifune, but Kilik didn't like her. He acted friendly, but Angela saw him glare at her sometimes. An wondered if it was because she was a witch.
Then there was Tsubaki. Tsubaki played with Angela and Fire and Thunder, no matter how sore her back got. (An thought Tsubaki might have hurt her back at Baga Yaba… or whatever that place was.) Tsubaki acted like a mommy, just like Mifune had once acted like a daddy. She always smiled, and she played tag, and she brought An cookies she baked.
Angela even liked Spiky a little, even if he did act like a monkey. Spiky's smiles were real, and even if An thought he was stupid, An knew that he would take care of her. Angela knew Mifune had talked about Spiky as a rival, and An respected that. An even thought Spiky could be funny, like when he let the blond girl (was her name Patty?) beat him in the match.
"You seem to fit in well, Angela. It looks like you're making friends," Miss Nygus commented one night as Angela settled into bed. One corner of the infirmary had been made up into An's room. Angela loved it; it may not have been like her castle, but she had stayed in worse places with Mifune. Angela had a bed, big fluffy pillows, a shelf with clothes and books, and big green curtains to give her some privacy.
"Mm-hm," Angela said as she crawled into bed. "I'm tiiired," An yawned.
"I bet. Try to go to sleep now, okay? I'll be back in the morning." Miss Nygus patted Angela's head and began to walk away.
"Miss Nygus?" The nurse turned to look back. "When is Mifune coming back?"
Miss Nygus just smiled. Angela watched as the nurse walked away. That's what everyone did when she asked; they smiled and pretended like they didn't hear.
Angela laid back on the bed. An was making friends, and she did like Shibusen. There was plenty of food and room to run around and lots of nice people. But there wasn't Mifune.
When was he coming to get her?
Angela felt the tears welling up, and before long, she was crying into her pillow. An had never spent so long without her guardian. An wondered if he had been bullied again and got hurt, and that made An cry harder.
"Hey, half-pint."
An gasped. Instinctively, she turned invisible and stilled her breath, just as Mifune had taught her. Unfortunately, the hand resting on the top of her pillow remained visible. Spiky sat down on the edge of An's bed, placing a hand on the top of her head. "Don't cry. You don't have anything to worry about, pipsqueak."
"Meanie," Angela said, returning to normal.
Spiky turned to smirk at her. "Hey, are those tears? Better dry up there. Don't you think Mifune would be sad to see you like this, especially with so many people worried about you?"
Angela stuck out her tongue, but then An turned away and started to wipe her tears away with both fists. Angela knew Mifune wouldn't want An to cry.
"Good girl. Well, I got the last of my stuff," and here Spiky held up the small bag of items he had left beside the infirmary cot he had slept on for the past several weeks, "so I'm going back to my house." He stood up, brushing imaginary dust off his pants, and began to walk away just as Miss Nygus had done a few minutes ago.
"Wait." Angela sniffed as she pushed aside her blankets. He didn't slow down. She sniffed again. "Black Star?"
He stopped. "Yeah?"
"Um… An's… uh…"
Spiky turned back, turning his head to one side. "What's wrong?"
"… lonely…" Angela looked down, embarrassed. "I'm lonely without Mifune."
Spiky frowned. He didn't say anything for a minute, but then he started shouting, "This place isn't a place for kids! It's empty and cold, and it smells bad. What are they thinking keeping a kid like you in here?"
Angela stared at him for a second before he smirked again. Then An joined in, yelling at the top of her lungs, "It's small and the noise echoes and the floors are tiled! This isn't a place for kids!"
They stopped to listen as their shouts echoed against the walls, and then they both laughed.
"Yeah, something like that," Spiky said. "Hey, I have an idea. How about you come home with me?"
Angela frowned. "Huh?"
"Y'know, like a sleepover. I can call Miss Nygus when we get back. Come on, Tsubaki's making dumplings tonight."
"Really?" Angela grinned, imagining a warm kitchen full of food and conversation. For the first time since An came to Shibusen, she truly felt excited; she wouldn't be sleeping all by herself tonight. "Okay! Black Star!"
He raised an eyebrow as An ran over and grabbed his hand in both of hers. "Hey, that's twice you've called me by my real name. You sick?"
Angela giggled. She knew Mifune would come back for her, and life would return to normal. In the meantime, though, An knew Black Star would make sure she was okay. After all, he liked kids.
