"Here you go, sister" Emilia said cheerfully, pushing the tray of breakfast onto Maya's lap.
"Thanks squirt" Maya gave the seven-year-old a hug before digging in. Instead of leaving, Emilia sat on the edge of the bed and let her big green eyes wander over her older half-sister's room. "Don't even think about touching anything" she warned.
"O-of course" the young girl agreed, her eyes wide and fearful.
"It's all covered in my cooties. You don't wanna be contaminated, do you?" Maya threatened with a smile. Emilia mirrored her smile and giggled.
"I'm not afraid of cooties!"
"You should be! They'll get you!" Maya reached out with wiggling fingers to tickle her sister, who shrieked and darted out the door. Maya would have been concerned, if the scream hadn't turned into excited giggling while she ran. She went back to her food in the quiet. Even being home, where she'd grown up, didn't do much to help her. She still felt empty. She felt lost. Nothing anyone else said or did over these past few days had helped that. Her physical injuries were healing, but not her mind. She was still stuck in the same rut of though. What have I lost? What happened to me? But she never found any answers. It didn't help that being locked up in her home didn't afford any of her friends to visit her. She only saw her family. Her parents had said she could go out and see them once she was healed, but she was quickly getting sick of sitting around and waiting. Maya NEEDED to get out and search for answers.
-!DRRR!-
Everything had turned out wonderfully. The lights around her sparkled attractively, drawing her further into the amusement park. After so long, they finally got to go on their date!
"Hey, wait up Trouble" Shizuo called, jogging up with cotton candy. Since when does HE call me Trouble? she wondered as she took her colorful pile of sugar, but dismissed it quickly. They walked around and talked for hours. She didn't know what they talked about, but she didn't care. She just enjoyed being around him, and seeing him smiling was more than enough. Even better, there were no screaming kids running around the park for some reason. Darkness fell quickly, so they found a good spot to watch the fireworks from. How do they get the explosions to make hearts like that?
It was then that her boyfriend decided to distract her, pulling on her chin to get her to turn towards him. To Anni's wonder, he cupped her face gently. His intent was clear by the expression he wore. He was going to kiss her, finally. Anni was faster than him though. Before he could move, she had her left hand up to his neck. Her hand moved on its own. Her blade found no resistance as it flashed across his throat. Everything bloomed red, much to both of their surprise. Shizuo fell backwards. Anni felt the impact as he hit the ground jolt through her own bones.
Everything went dark, but Anni wouldn't let that stop her. I can still fix this! I'm no killer, I won't let him die! she insisted, scrambling to get to where her precious guardian lay, which was surprisingly beside her. I have to stop the bleeding first! she thought as she clawed to get at his throat again.
"What're you-" he started. He must have lost a lot of blood already if he sounded that drowsy, this wasn't good. This wasn't good this wasn't good. Anni was about to scold him, to tell him how stupid he was for trying to talk when he could choke on his own blood when he grabbed her wrists and sat up. "You must've had another bad dream, right? It's ok, I've got you" he soothed as he pinned her in a hug.
"A dream?" Anni muttered in disbelief. It seemed to be true. The fingers that were pressed just below his neck were perfectly dry. The breath that stirred her hair was smooth and even. Her own breathing, however, was still hitched with her panic.
"You're safe here" he said into her hair as he nuzzled her head.
"Of course. Thank you" she said with a shaky sigh. She freed her arms to snake them around her savior. "Let's avoid amusements parks for a while" she mumbled. In one smooth movement, Shizuo laid back down, bringing Anni with him. After pulling the blanket over them, Anni was asleep in minutes.
-!DRRR!-
The sky was clear the next day, so Anni got to move most of her boxes into her new home after work. She had to wait for Shizuo to help her move some of the heavier ones, but they were done in one day. After a quick talk with her now former landlord, Anni was free of the place. All that was left was to unpack, and that could be done at her leisure.
-!DRRR!-
"I'm going back to Ikebukuro tomorrow" Maya announced. Her parents shared a look over the diner table.
"You still haven't recovered enough-" her father started.
"I'm not going to get any better if I don't get my memory back. I need to find out what happened that day" she argued.
"Sweetie, now isn't the time to be playing detective. The police are-" her father continued, sounding tired.
"But they haven't found anything. I need to go back and talk to my friends. I can't stay holed up here forever" Maya retorted.
"Maya-" her mother broke in with a warning tone.
"Don't baby me! I know you're worried, and I love being back home, but I can't stay like this! I can't stand feeling so empty. Please" Maya begged. Silence hung as her answer.
"I think big sister should be able to go" Emilia piped up. Her father sighed.
"You can go back to visit for the day, but I expect you home before nightfall."
-!DRRR!-
Anni very carefully clicked the little connector into place. Somehow, falling from over four stories hadn't damaged the port on the bottom of her phone. It had only occurred to her while she was working that she might still be able to send her brother an email. To her glee, she found she was able to connect to the internet from back home. She had no idea how long this would last, so she quickly opened her email and began typing. She was so absorbed in her laptop that she didn't notice Shizuo until he dropped the bag of food on the coffee table in front of her.
"Thanks" she mumbled as she finished typing and looked over her work to make sure it was coherent enough to read. As soon as she could she hit send, then carefully put her electronics aside and started unwrapping her food. Shizuo was already eating beside her.
"What was that?" he asked before taking another bite.
"An email for Alex. Apparently enough of my phone survived to let me connect to the internet." Anni started digging in. She hoped Alex would reply soon, if only so she knew he'd gotten her message. They ate in relative quiet.
-A/N-
Edited by my dear friend Faded Phoenix
