7: Burning Screams

A/N: Quick note, sorry. Just by the way, whatever is in bold is being spoken in English :) Enjoy!

"Long time no see, Hane."

The girl sighed into her hands, still in the same position 30 minutes later, trying to focus. Trying to fight what she knew what was coming. It was too late to go back down though. They'd wonder what she was doing. They'd ask questions. They couldn't know.

"What, you're not just bursting with joy to see me?"Suddenly the voice was right there. Right in her ear. In her head, and the hairs on her arms stood on end, a shiver sliding up her back. "To HEAR me?"The voice whispered in her ear and it took every ounce of her being not to jump away.

Why him? Why him every time?

"Shocker..." she looked up at the form perched on the bed beside her in a crouch. Dressed in all black, with a hood covering his eyes, it leaned in with a freakishly wide smile. She could feel his breath on her cheek. "No. Sorry to hurt your feelings hun."

"Pity. We always have so much fun when we get along." The blindingly white smile grew even wider and she had to look away before she threw up. Standing up abruptly, she made her way to the bathroom to tend to her wounds again. Tatara had left tons of medical supplies in there for her... enough bandages and antiseptic to keep her wounds clean for at least a week. How long is he expecting me to stay exactly? The thought of his efforts just to make her comfortable put a small smile on her face.

"He is quite foolish, isn't he? Trying to make you at home. HA... does he know you don't even understand what home is?" She ignored the words, used to hearing that kind of thing from him. As she prepared the bandages, she saw where he had moved to through the reflection in the mirror. Why the shower, what the fuck is wrong with you? Sure enough, the black form, now standing up straight, could be seen behind the glass shower doors, white teeth peering out at her. Of course that wasn't bad enough though. Of course he was standing on the CEILING. Smile eerily glinting off the mirror, hood still covering his eyes, it took every bit of courage in her not to turn tail and run for her life from this terrifying THING haunting her.

"Well maybe I should start learning, then." She barely spared him a glance, but she saw the glowing teeth disappear. She placed the last bit of medical tape over the gauze on her shoulder and turned around with a mild glare and emotionless expression. She would not let him see her fear. Never.

Even though she nearly jumped through the roof as she turned around to be face to face with him, noses nearly touching, and eyes at the same level even though he was still upside down and they were hidden in shadow. Damn, he was fast. "You couldn't if you tried, Akane Himura."

"Oh yeah?! Who says? You've never even given me a chance!" Her glare became more hostile and her lip curled in anger. She hated being told what she could or couldn't do, and he was fully aware of that.

The form began to laugh maniacally, and she could smell the stench of his cold breath.

"Who says? WHO SAYS?! Why don't you ask your family?! Why don't you ask Takumi Suzuki?! WHY DON'T YOU ASK ME AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO YOU'VE KILLED BECAUSE YOU WANTED SOMETHING AS PITIFUL AS A HOME!"

Akane's eyes widened as this monster screamed in her face, her breath became shaky and finally the fear began to boil over and show. No no no don't let him see, dammit, don't be such a pushover! Nonetheless, tears formed in her eyes and her senses were so focused on the threat before her that she barely noticed the orange flames starting to crawl up the bathroom walls around her. No smoke formed, but she could see the wallpaper curling and feel the temperature rising in the room. She didn't move. Not a muscle.

"N-No... you're wrong. You have to be. I couldn't possibly hurt them." Her voice came out weak and pitiful and a tear trailed down her cheek even as she internally screamed at herself to be strong. To stop being so childish.

"Really? You really think that?" A sneer appeared on his lips and amusement coated his words. "And why would that be? Because they're HOMRA? Because they have the power of flame?" He scoffed, "Honey, not even the burning heat of Mikoto Suoh himself could melt your stone-cold heart. They will all freeze and fade AND PERISH AT YOUR CURSED TOUCH!"

"NO!" She tried yelling back at him, but she felt like her voice could barely penetrate the heat caused by the fire engulfing the entire bathroom. Tears streamed down her face and fear and anger contorted her expression.

Suddenly, in one fluid, lightning fast motion, the figure before her ripped the hood away from him. Revealing two dead eyes. Once the warmest brown she had ever seen, filled with joy and happiness, they were now clouded over and cold. Blank and pale. Terrifying.

"YOU WILL NEVER KNOW THE LIFE YOU STOLE FROM ME!"

And with that she spun around and bolted out the door. Unfortunately a little too quickly, because as she tried to turn the corner and head for the door to the hall, she slipped on the carpet and fell, sending pain through her whole body and making her yelp. Her vision was blurry, and the room spun as she tried to catch her breath, trying to escape the flames slowly wandering into the bedroom, following the unhooded figure's slow advance towards her vulnerable form on the ground.

"You will never be able to save them. From you or especially themselves, and you WILL watch them all die before your very eyes." She had no idea what the hell he was talking about, but she did know that she had to get out of there at any cost. With a deep breath and hopes that she was headed in the right direction, Akane pushed herself up and she half ran, half fell into the door, scrambling to open it. They were getting closer. The heat was getting hotter. His gaze was piercing her skin. Get out get out get out GET OUT!

He reached a bony, pale hand out to her and grinned. "Come to me, my dear, and receive the punishment you know you deserve. I will make you hurt so much that you will never feel the pain of another loss again. Don't run like a coward." He reverted to whispers once again, "Face the consequences for your actions and give in to me."

The door finally gave way and she slammed it behind her, vision only slightly blurry now but her chest feeling like it was on fire as she hyperventilated. She could see the light flickering under the door, casting horrifying shadows in the hall. Her eyes widened again, and she turned to flee and get as far away from that place as she could.

Hiro sat on her couch patiently, hands folded in his lap as he looked around and waited for her to change. Her room was scarce of any decoration, which made it hard for him to get to know her a little more. She had moved to his school fairly recently, so it didn't surprise him all that much, but he was hoping to at least learn what her favorite color or taste in music was.

Although the situation would've seemed awkward or inappropriate to others, he knew that Akane had no devious intent. She was genuinely scared of something, even if it was just being alone. Everyone had days like that, he knew, when someone's company could save them from themselves if even as just a distraction.

He heard her footsteps before he saw her leave her bedroom and rush directly to the kitchen. The small amount of makeup she usually wore was gone and she wore a school issued pair of shorts and a t-shirt with Hiro's jacket over it still. For some reason this little detail made him smile. Her black, wavy hair was pinned up and a few getaway strands framed her face.

As she moved around and pulled things out of cabinets he noticed how she refused to look at him. It couldn't have been easy for her, letting him see her in this state. She really did work hard to build a threatening reputation around herself so that no one could bother or hurt her.

"Tea?" She turned her head to the side in acknowledgement, back still facing him. He had to get her to relax.

"Sure, sounds good. Can I help?"

"I can do it." The words nearly cut him off they came out so fast, and he could see her wince. It didn't bother him though. She could never bother him. It was just her.

"I know." Was all he responded as he pulled out his phone and started quietly playing a game while he waited for her to face him.

Which happened sooner than he had expected as a mug was set on the table in front of him with a thud. Steam wafted out of it and he noticed the pleasant scent of green tea in the room.

Akane sat on the other end of the couch, one leg curled under her as she cradled her own mug in her lap. She was inspecting it avidly, as if it had the answers to all her problems in it. He realized that if he didn't say something they would be sitting there in awkward silence all night.

"What's wrong, Hane? Why are you afraid?" It looked like she would snap back at him. Denying that anything was wrong and that she even knew what fear was. But the words wouldn't have been convincing. He already knew, and he deserved an explanation.

Hesitantly, her eyes met his and he was surprised to find they were distant and slightly watery.

"You can't tell anyone, Hiro. They'll... they'll send me away. I really don't want to move again, especially now that I'm finally figuring things out."

He reached over and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, leaning down a little to make her look at him. If she had been in a better mood she would have laughed at how comically cliché this was.

"I won't tell anyone. No matter what it is."

"I don't want to make you look at me any differently. Even Yata refused to talk to me for a week after I told him, and he's acted different ever since. Like I'm a ticking time bomb. I'm..." she paused for a moment, trying to think of the right words. This could make or break everything she had finally built up. "Broken."

Hiro frowned at this. Broken? No matter what she had to say, she could never be anything other than perfect in his eyes.

"You can tell me, Akane. You'll always be you no matter what you tell me."

They sat in silence for a moment longer. Her grey eyes were sealed shut and her breathing was shaky. He admired the courage she had for telling him such a dark secret and he would wait forever for her to be comfortable enough to share it. How bad could it possibly be anyway? It wasn't like she had killed someone or something.

"Hiro... I..." Her eyes finally opened, not meeting his, and he could see they were filling with tears that were waiting eagerly to fall. "I'm a murderer."

Well that was unexpected.

Too bad she was only able to make it a few feet until she crashed into yet ANOTHER obstacle. Panic filled her as she realized it was breathing. And obviously alive. Instinctively she began to try and shove it away to continue her retreat from the fire, waving her arms around and wildly trying to hit it even as the figure tried to grab them.

"Woah woah woah, calm down! It's just me!" She appeared not to hear him, trying to wrench her wrists away from the unknown form's grip. "Akane! Calm down! HANE!" It was like he had slapped her in the face. She froze, and her eyes snapped to his, and he could see the fear in them, the tear tracks on her face as she shook from pure terror.

Luckily, she finally recognized him through her tears. "Yata-san? What are you-"

"Where is it? Where are you keeping it?"

She was shocked to see that he was actually worried, holding her wrists firmly enough that she couldn't hit him without putting a huge amount of effort into it, but gently enough that she wouldn't get hurt from the grip. The one person she had expected to throw her back in that room of flame was the one who was trying to save her from it.

She barely noticed another door open in the corner of her eye, Kusanagi peering out of it, having been woken up from all the noise. He was obviously not pleased, yet looking as clean and sharp as ever. Did he brush his hair before getting out of bed?

"What the hell is going on, you two?!" He hissed.

She didn't even pretend to not know what Yata was talking about, instead just quickly answering his question and completely ignoring the bar owner. "Downstairs, in my case."

He nodded and lead her down the stairs, still holding on to one wrist and making sure she wouldn't fall, Kusanagi having picked up that something was wrong and following them down. The light was still on and Mikoto was back on the couch, she noticed, head leaned back like he was asleep. She had quickly learned though that this didn't mean anything. He was probably very aware of the situation, especially considering the yelling and thumping that had been going on upstairs.

"I'm gonna grab a glass of water while you get them." She nodded as Yata practically ran to the kitchen in the back of the bar, its owner following him and asking him questions in hushed tones. Yata took the time to answer none of them. Akane walked over to the violin case in a daze. Trying not to disturb the king sitting at the end of the couch, she carefully opened it and hit a latch on the top, opening a secret compartment containing exactly what she had been looking for.

Her hands shook as she held the bottle of pills, and after a couple of tries she finally got it open. A single white pill with AMI 200 engraved on it fell into her hand and she looked down tearfully at it. Just in time, Yata came rushing back into the room carrying the promised glass of water and he practically shoved it into her hands, causing her to almost drop the pill. Kusanagi leaned against his bar, watching them suspiciously with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.

"Shit! Sorry sorry..." She downed the white capsule and water with shaky hands after only a brief hesitation.

"It's fine... I don't wanna bother him though," she gestured toward Mikoto with her head, "Could we maybe talk outside?"

He nodded and took the glass back from her, "Use the side door there, I'll be out in a second."

She put the pills back in their place, taking a mental note that she should probably get some more in the next week or so, and carefully closed the case. But not before grabbing something else and shoving it in her pocket before she walked outside into a tall alleyway lined with various crates and boxes, littered with trash and dirt covering the floor.

Home sweet home.

Yata soon followed, closing the door behind him and leaning against it after handing a glass of water and a granola bar to a grateful Akane, who was now sitting on a stack of said crates in silence.

"Kusanagi-san agreed to wait inside." He stood in silence for a moment before addressing her again. "So... I guess that's still happening, huh?"

She just turned her head away from him, expressionless. The tears had dried from her face and she was no longer shaking from fear. Taking a bite from her granola bar she answered blankly, "I doubt it'll ever stop. It's not the kind of thing that just fades with time. Gotta love genetics." She paused, and he crossed his arms, choosing to look at the brick wall across from him rather than at her. "How'd you know, Yata-san? I mean aside from the yelling and all... how could you tell it was just me having another 'episode' instead of just talking to myself or trying to run?" She looked over at him, trying to discern his reaction and using air quotes on the word episode.

He paused before answering and his reply seemed hesitant. "You were speaking in English. You always do that for some reason."

"Huh... that's weird. Do I really?" He nodded, still watching the wall and her finishing the granola bar. "I guess my mind just automatically reverts to it for some reason in all the chaos."

They sat in silence for a while, Akane turning over the thing in her pocket and Yata just... brooding. Or trying to. The stars were nearly invisible in the center of the city and the only light they had was cast from streetlamps on one end of the alley. Shadows sprawled over the building walls and Akane fidgeted at the sight of them. She was still shaken from what she had just seen and would kill to break the silence. Just for a little comfort.

"So-"

"I-"

They paused and looked at each other blinking in surprise.

"You go first." Akane gave Yata a look so he wouldn't protest instead of just spitting out what he was going to say.

"Look, you don't have to tell me if you'd rather not think about it but..." he sighed, debating whether he was going to ask or not, "What the fuck did you even see? Why did you freak out so bad? I mean you know I've been there for your episodes before, but I've never seen you legitimately afraid for one. You always put on such a brave face. What were you yelling at?!"

Her expression turned bitter, "I think you know exactly who it was, you just don't wanna admit it to yourself."

"Didn't think he could be scary though. He was always so calm and happy," a combination of nostalgia and sadness filled Yata's eyes as they talked about their ex-friend. She knew what he was feeling. The pain throbbed in both of their hearts and began to give her a headache.

"Yeah well, you forget it's not actually him. It's just got his face. His voice... his- oh god why am I like this?" She put her head in her hands and tried to get a hold of her breathing so she wouldn't start crying again. Yata didn't move, instead going silent and just watching her. After all, she had done to him, after she had hurt him, she completely understood why. It must've felt good to see her suffer at least a fraction of what he had because of her. She eventually threw her head back against the wall, eyes closed and breathing deeply. It was the only sound in the alley besides the occasional hum of cars or cat moving around in the trash.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

She looked at him once she had gotten a hold of herself, a question obviously in her eyes. "I just... before anything else I have to know the truth." He raised an eyebrow at the broken girl, only moments ago on the brink of tears. She was so different and yet she hadn't changed in the slightest from when he knew her. "Can you really do it? Can members of HOMRA really harness the powers of fire? I mean of course there have been the countless rumors on the streets but I'm never really sure who to trust or if I'm just hallucinating again or-"

He smirked as his pride for HOMRA and what they could do took over. He held out his left hand, effectively cutting her off, and she eagerly watched and waited for what would appear. Suddenly, his fingers lit up with red flame and the alleyway glowed. Her eyes widened as she felt its heat and she knew that this was really happening. It was truly in front of her and not just another trick of her mind.

"-or that." Then she cleared her throat and the side of her mouth twitched in amusement, "Alright now for the real test," and she reached into her pocket. Yata watched in concern, debating whether he should have shown her or not, and he rolled his eyes when she pulled out a cigarette.

"I thought you quit."

She scoffed, "I did. But..." She held the end over Yata's red flames until it caught, which didn't take very long, and she took a long breath from it. "This has been too much of a fuckshow for me to worry about such trivial nonsense right now."

He looked at her in curiosity, putting the flame out. "I'm surprised you're taking this so well actually. It's not every day you see someone set their hand on fire."

She smiled lightly up at him through the smoke. "Trust me, that's one of the least bizarre things I'm seeing right now. That's what my life has always been like. I've learned to accept the stranger things in this world without questioning them, because they are what they are regardless of what I see. Only solid proof like this," she held up the burning cigarette, "is truly reliable, and every bit I can get is a blessing. That or everything around us is on fire and we're about to die extremely painful deaths. But you're being pretty chill about it, so I guess it's whatever." She shrugged nonchalantly while Yata looked at her wide eyed, like she was truly crazy. Which she probably was.

Through her eyes, the alleyway had been burning this whole time. When they were quiet she had just been watching the flames. And although they were slowly fading as the medication kicked in, they were still definitely there. In fact, they had followed her through the whole building and if she turned around she knew that fire would be pouring out the windows.

She took another drag from the cigarette, one leg up on the crates and the other hanging toward the ground. Every breath made her healing lung ache, but she ignored the pain. It was something she was used to.

She shivered as a figure appeared at the end of the alley. It didn't approach yet, but she realized that it was only a matter of time. She looked back at Yata, doing her best to ignore the ghost she had just escaped from.

"Look, Yata-san..." He looked up at her trying to act normal, if not a little dazed, her previous words not bothering him to the extent that it would bother most people since he already knew she saw everything through her own twisted filter. They still bothered him but still. Ok who was he kidding... he was freaking out, but if she knew that she would probably give him something to really be afraid of. So, for now he would just have to sit patiently and listen to what she had to say. "I'm sorry. For leaving you guys after everything." His expression darkened as unpleasant memories began to return to him. "The thing is, you were my best friend. For years. Hell, you were my only friend. And I just threw that out the window like an idiot. You didn't deserve that, and I could never blame you for hating me. I'm the one person who's really earned your hate and I completely accept that. I just... I wanted to know if you think we'd ever have a chance at being alright again. Like it used to be. I've missed having everyone around so much, and I could never live with myself if I didn't at least try. Even if it is too late. Even if we're all that's left. I just wanted you to know how sorry I am." She paused and put out the light, casting it aside in the alleyway. "Sorry, but I had to get that out while I'm still here and at least semi-sane. If you want me to leave I will. I shouldn't even be here in the first place to be honest."

He looked away and shrugged, obviously not exactly the type to have heart-to-heart conversations all the time, while she just inspected her suddenly fascinating hands in her lap. "Yeah. We were best friends, weren't we? It's a shame you drove that right into hell." She winced at his words even though she had been expecting them. She had really been expecting worse, but they still hurt. "But I don't see why we couldn't try to drag it back out. It would be stupid to not even give an effort." Her eyes widened with a smile, and she was so overcome with hope that she didn't even notice the smiling creature at the end of the alley walk off into the street and disappear. "But..." he stopped her before she could say anything, "...that doesn't mean I forgive you yet. What you did was super fucked up and it's gonna take some time to get over it if I ever do."

She looked at him in astonishment for a second. Did that actually work? Then her eyes lit up and a smile graced her features as she laughed, causing him to blush.

"I don't expect you to forgive me. But I promise I won't let you down again. I promise." Yata went quiet at this. She always took promises ridiculously seriously, no matter how insignificant they were. Usually words meant next to nothing to her, but as soon as you slapped that word on them, they became more sacred to her than even her beat up violin. "Friends?"

"Yeah. Sure. I guess I don't have a choice anyway since Tatara won't be letting you leave any time soon." She laughed to herself at this.

"Well, we'll see how long that lasts."

She had missed him so much, she had dreamed of trying to make everything better between them for years, and she knew that she would even die to protect him. She would do anything to make up for lost time and broken hearts. Just to prove herself if nothing else. She would not fuck this up again.

Akane turned and stood in front of the door, preparing to go in and explain herself to not only Kusanagi, but Mikoto as well. It was possible that her first night in HOMRA would also be her last. However, before that she had one more thing on her mind.

"Hey Yata, before they kick me out already- "

"They're not gonna kick you out over this. I won't let them."

She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes, "Really. I don't mean to overstep my boundaries, but this is really important... can you promise me something too? Please. And you can't tell anyone about it."

Their eyes met for a moment and they had a mutual understanding of how serious the situation was.

"Fire away."

A/N: Ok I know it's been a while, but I've been sick the last few days so I had plenty of time to write THE LONGEST CHAPTER YET!

Ok fine I know it's junk but still take what you can get and I knowwwwwwwwwwwwwww I'm trying to rewrite absolutely everything Yata said because he's so out of character. Hey can you tell I'm sick XD ok anyway I hope you like it and I am really gonna try to shut up now.

Favorite, Follow, and every Comment you guys leave makes my day a little brighter! (Also help with the whole ooc thing would be great lmao)