Anni enjoyed her victory, and started work on her most important project. It was to be a full page, colored scene. Shizuo would stand in the center, smoking, leaning against an unharmed street sign, displaying the 'peace' symbol. The only other piece of foreground would be a streetlight on one side, giving just enough light to illuminate his small smile. The buildings of the city and their glowing windows would loom far in the distance, serving mostly as texture to the horizon. The upper half of the picture was going to be a new-moon night, with every color of stars. Blues, reds, whites, yellows. The whole nine yards. She wasn't going to cut any corners on this one. She was always careful not to have it out while Shizuo was around. No spoilers for you, especially not in this.

Anni worried for a while what Alex would do when he found he couldn't contact her. A week passed without any hint of him or Izaya before she calmed down. Whatever his reasons, it was probably safe to assume he was just letting her work everything out herself. She'd moved here to do just that: work life out on her own.

Anni took as much overtime as she could to replace the essentials that had been destroyed when her apartment was ransacked. All that extra time left her tired to the bone. Thankfully, her nightmares receded, and so she was able to keep up with sleep. It all amounted to quickly having enough money to support herself and actually save up for her move. And, with her spending so much time at work, she actually got to make a friend who wasn't involved in the plot. Maya was an opposite to Anni. She was confident and talkative where Anni was self-conscious and awkward. Her black-haired coworker shared quite a few of her interests, and Anni didn't have to be as careful about what she said. Anni really enjoyed going to work after that.

After the little spat over sleeping arrangements, Anni managed to go without pissing Shizuo off again for quite a while. She had to be mindful of what she said and did almost all the time, but as he seemed to get used to her, she relaxed more. It even got to the point, after a while, where he would rant to her and share what bugged him. It made her incredibly proud to have him vent to her like he did Celty. They hung out and watched TV in the evenings, and sometimes met up at Russia Sushi for dinner. It was during one of these dinners that she was properly introduced to Tom. They got along well, and met up to eat whenever all of their work schedules would allow.

A month after her arrival in Tokyo, Shizuo helped her move into the apartment she had found just around the corner. It was more run down than her previous one, but it was really her space, so she didn't care. Her first purchase specifically for the place was a better lock.

It was just after the last of her things were in her new place that she invaded Shizuo's apartment for the last time. He had left her new place only a few minutes earlier, after she had thanked him for his help. He had said something about going to get food, but what mattered was that he wouldn't be here. She let herself in with the spare key she still had and left it on the coffee table beside her newly finished project. She admired the living room one last time, and turned to leave, but almost ran straight into the owner of said room. He was carrying what looked like a bag of take-out.

"Did you forget something?" he asked, pushing past her. Anni smiled, still facing the door as she heard him stop next to the coffee table. With a rather loud plastic rustle, the bag found the floor.

"It's not much, but thank you" Anni said, slipping out the door as quietly as she could. And then she was gone, skipping with a wide grin to Russia Sushi. This was a special event.

"Oh Anni! You look so happy!" Simon greeted.

"That's because I am! Things have finally worked out for me." She couldn't wipe the grin off her face.

"Come in! Come eat sushi, share the happiness! Sushi good for you, makes you even more happy!" Simon was almost pushing her towards the door.

"I'd love to" Anni agreed, walking in. What she saw inside, she didn't expect. At first she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, even in Japan there must be someone with the same blond hair as her brother. And the same backpack. And the same skinny build.

"Another drink please, Dennis." And the same voice. If Anni didn't think her grin could get any wider, she was dead wrong. She muffled her footsteps carefully and snuck up behind him.

"What are you doin' in my territory, punk?" she tried to growl, just behind his ear. Tried. She was far too happy to growl properly.

"Drinkin' all yer alcohol, whatzit look like I'm doing, punk?" came his smooth reply. He turned to give her a smirk. "There you are"

"Here I am." she chirped. Anni took up the barstool beside him. "Got tired of waiting for me to call back?"

"I just needed a vacation. Don't flatter yourself" Alex laughed as his drink arrived. He passed her a new phone under the counter. Liar she thought with a smile, taking her present. It was red this time. "Don't go breaking this one too" Alex instructed after a sip of his drink.

"Don't worry, I will" Anni promised, stealing a sip for herself as soon as he put the glass down; Alex elbowed her in the ribs.

"Get your own, you're old enough now."

"No, that's too easy" Anni retorted, turning to Dennis to make her order, which included a drink.

"I feel incredibly out of the loop now. You're drinking, willingly. Either you've killed my sister and taken over her body, or you've gotten a lot more confident" Alex observed, with something between concern and confusion.

"A little of both, actually" Anni admitted. She spent that lunch and most of the walk to her new apartment explaining what had happened. They were forced into silence, however, as they came across Shizuo standing outside her door.

"You're not allowed to thank me for that" Anni asserted before he could open his mouth. So instead he held out his hand. The key she had intended to leave behind rested in his palm.

"You did forget something."

"Shizuo, I don't need-" His glare told her he wasn't taking no for an answer, so Anni sighed and begrudgingly accepted the key. Once the task of return her key was completed, Shizuo seemed to notice Alex for the first time. Until then, Anni's older sibling had been leaning against the hall wall, watching their interaction with a smirk.

"Who's this?" Shizuo asked.

"Hael Alexander, my big brother. He just got into town. Alex, this is Heiwajima Shizuo" Anni explained. Something in her tone warned play nice. Alex unfolded one arm for a polite wave, and Shizuo gave a nod. That's about as nice as she was going to get.

"Ah, well, I'd better get going. Later Anni" Shizuo said, walking out. He was at the stairs before he added. "And thanks for the picture."

"No, you can't just- freaking- god damn it Shizuo!" Anni growled in frustration, only turning towards where he had disappeared. Her brother laughed at her.

"Serves you right!" he said, grabbing her by the collar and pushing her towards the door. "Now I want a grand tour of my new home!"

"If I didn't love you I'd stab you for that" Anni grumbled, fishing out her key. She was going to have to mark them; both hers and Shizuo's looked exactly alike.

"If I didn't love you, I'd let you" he said gently. Anni smiled at the opening door.

-A/N-

Edited by my dear friends Alondor Fridwein and Faded Phoenix