Disclaimer: I do not own the anime "Paranoia Agent" or any of its original characters. However, all of the characters in this story are ones that I made up; with the exception of Lil Slugger and other people from the show that will probably be mentioned.

Please R&R, no flames or anything please! Just be happy and enjoy the story.

Okay, I'll stop with the disclaimer thing. :-P

(Probably getting tired of seeing this already)

Strike 2- Dreadful Dreams

Shina found herself running up a long, spiral, red-carpeted staircase. She was inside a big bathhouse; similar to the one in the anime movie "Spirited Away". But what was she doing there? She looked back and saw Lil Slugger chasing her. She didn't know how the heck she ended up in this situation, but she had the feeling that Lil Slugger was going to harm her. "Wasn't I asleep a minute ago?" Shina wondered. This seemed too real to be a dream, even though it felt like one. Shina had finally reached the top of the stairs and saw a big brown door with gold, dragon trimming around it, right in front of her. She opened the door and saw the same person who was following her, standing before her. Screaming, she fell backwards down the steps, as Lil Slugger stood there, holding out his hand…smiling mysteriously.

Shina jumped awake at the sound of the alarm clock; she was strangely out of breath. She turned off the alarm and stretched. It was Saturday morning, her last day of school then she gets a day off; on her birthday. As Shina got dressed she was unsure whether she'd see Lil Slugger again or not. She remembered when he kissed her last night, and wondered if he really liked her. "Maybe he's just messing with my mind" Shina told herself. After getting dressed, she went into the kitchen and ate cereal. As she sat there at the table, next to Keitaro, she realized that her father wasn't in his usual seat. As her mother entered the kitchen, she asked her, "Mom, where's Dad?"

"Oh, he went off to a job interview," she answered as she began making water for the dirty dishes that were left over night.

"Speaking of which, I'm working the late shift tonight at the store. So I won't be home until 10:30" Keitaro added.

"Alright, just be careful on your way home. You're taking the bike, aren't you?" the mother asked.

"Yes" he answered, spreading apple jelly on his toast. Shina's brother was 17, and a senior, so he already had a part-time job during school. She wished she could get one, but she'd have to wait till next year; her senior year. Shina could really use the money in many ways: she wanted it to help her family pay the bills and she wanted to buy some things for herself; such as manga and games. Shina sat her empty bowl next to the sink and kissed her mother good-bye.

"What about me?" Keitaro asked.

Shina gave him a raspberry on his cheek, making him say, "Hey now-!" as he squinted his eyes. Shina ran out the door, giggling to herself. "Weirdo" Keitaro muttered, taking a bite out of his toast. Shina walked down the street to the bus stop. Feeling a bit paranoid, she constantly checked her surroundings to see if Lil Slugger was present. A few minutes later, the school bus pulled up. Shina gave the driver her bus ticket and went to find a friend to sit next to. She spotted Minoru near the back, sitting by the window. Shina slid next to him saying, "Good morning!" He greeted her back and smiled, and helped her remove her school bag. "I got it" she said. "I know, but I want to feel useful" Minoru replied.

"So, are you still coming over tomorrow?" Shina asked.

"Hm, tomorrow? Why?"

"Don't tell me you forgot!"

"Ha ha, I'm only teasing; I know it's your 16th birthday! Yeah I'm coming. What time?"

"12 o' clock."

"Cool, I'll be there."

"'Kay, and don't eat all my cake like last time, fatty!" she elbowed his arm playfully.

"I won't, and I told you; I was under a spell last time!"

"Suuure…"

Minoru laughed; then his expression turned grim. "Oh, did you hear about Hamako-san and Suzuka-san?"

"Yeah, they were killed by Lil Slugger!"

"I know; it's kinda scary. Some of the other students are saying that they're not coming back to school for a while."

"Hm, maybe I should tell my parents. They didn't see the news yesterday, and I'd like to take a few days off from school, ya' know?"

"Me too…But, I wonder why he attacked them in the first place."

"Hm…" Shina nodded. She knew the reason why, but didn't want to tell him that.

"Hey, did you finish Todai-sensai's project?"

"What project?" Shina faced Minoru, confused.

"The one he issued a week ago; the 5-page report on World War II."

"No, I forgot!"

"He said it was going to count as a project grade; so if you make a high score, then it'll improve your class grade."

"Aw, damn, I forgot! And I have a 'C' in his class…That'll bring my grade down if I don't turn in the report…When is it due?"

"Today"

"Today! No, no, nooo!" Shina covered her face with her hands and shook her head, leaning forward. She leaned back against the seat and her hands fell limply to her sides, while her head hung low. "I give up…I quit…" Shina muttered, staring down at her blue-plaid skirt. She was beginning to lose faith in herself. This was another strike; she'd forgotten all about her assignment when she found out that the family was having money problems. The stress on the parents eventually got to Shina, and she would lock herself in her room and cry. She felt somewhat responsible for her family being in debt. They had bought her that mp3 player and two new video games as an early birthday present a few weeks ago; just incase they didn't have enough money to get her a present weeks later. If she wasn't born, then they'd have nothing to worry about…

That morning, Shina was so depressed, that she couldn't focus on her school work and didn't realize when it was time to switch classes. She eventually fell asleep during geometry class, while the teacher was at the board explaining how to solve a certain problem.

It was a very beautiful morning. The air was filled with the sweet aroma of freshly made chocolate from the local candy shop. Lil Slugger was skating out on the busy streets that morning at a very fast pace. When cars blocked his way, he simply hopped and skidded over them, and any other obstacle for that matter. People shouted his name in fright and complained about how he was so reckless. He ignored them and kept on his way. One woman phoned the police, but it was hard to keep sight of him when he was fast and tricky on those rollerblades of his. He turned down a quiet street, and made his way to an apartment complex. He skated through the parking lot and opened the gate to the apartments. He glided around slowly, searching for a certain door. Then he found it; apartment 717. The door was already open, and three little children came running outside. Two of them were twin boys and the other was a girl. They all seemed to be around the ages of 3-5. They ran up to Lil Slugger chanting, "Daddy's home, Daddy's home!" pulling on his clothes and happily jumping up and down. Lil Slugger slipped off his skates, placed his bat in the corner and walked inside, into the kitchen. There was a girl with short, shoulder length brown hair, standing by the stove and stirring food in a big silver pot. She didn't seem to be any older than 15, and she was about 4'8''. The girl turns around and Shina's face comes into view. She smiles at Lil Slugger and says, "Welcome home, darling…"

The loud beeping of the school bell sounded. One of Shina's classmates shook her hard to awaken her. She woke up with tears in her eyes. After wiping her wet face, Shina picked up her books and stumbled out of the class room, still half asleep. It was lunch time, and Shina was going to meet up with Yumi and Minoru like she always did. As she made her way up the stairs that led to the rooftop, she began to have déjà vu. She walked up slowly, careful not to fall due to her sleepiness. She yawned and thought, "Man…I'd hate having to go to Todai-sensai's class after lunch. I'm going to be in big trouble". A sudden thump and clank sound made Shina's eyes grow wide for a moment. "That sounded like…skates stepping onto something…" she cautiously turned her head. To her horror, she saw Lil Slugger walking up the steps after her. She didn't understand why he was stalking her, or why his presence frightened her. What scared her even more, was that she saw fresh blood dripping off of the bent, golden bat that he was carrying. "So…" Lil Slugger began, as he kept walking, "Who shall be next?" He looked up and smiled evilly at Shina. "No!" she shouted as she ran up the steps, "Leave me alone!" Now this situation seemed all too familiar; it was just like the dream she had last night. Shina hopped over a few steps to get to the door quicker. When she reached the door, something unexpected happened; Lil Slugger had grabbed the back of her blouse to keep her from going through. "Please stop! Let me go!" Shina cried. Lil Slugger tightly wrapped his arms around Shina's body to restrain her. "You don't have to fear me anymore. I'm here to help you," he whispered seductively as he lifted the bloody bat to her face. Shina whimpered. "I'm only here for you…" Lil Slugger whispered again. Shina broke free of his grip…or did he let her go? She opened the door, and nearly tripped as she ran over to her friends who were waiting for her.

"Shina-san, what's wrong?" asked Minoru.

Shina's breathing was unsteady as she spoke in a hush tone, "It's him…Lil Slugger…"

"Lil Slu- no way! Again! Where is he, did he hurt you!" Yumi checked to see if Shina had any injuries.

"No, no, I'm fine really…He-he just scared me…"

"So, he didn't hit you?" Minoru questioned.

"No…But, I'm not sure what he wants with me…"

Minoru hugged Shina and said, "We'll protect you, don't worry."

She smiled and nodded; Yumi balled up a fist and said, "Yeah, we'll scare him next time! You're not going to end up like Suzuka and Hamako."

"Thanks you guys…" Shina forced a wide smile onto her face, "Now, who's hungry? I brought some peaches and cherries as a treat today!"

"Yay! You rock Shina-chan!" Yumi cheered. The three sat happily against the gate around the edge of the building's roof, eating their lunches. Shina had to change her mood quickly to keep her friends from worrying. After lunch, they all had History class next; Mr.Todai's class. When they were nearing his classroom, a large crowd of students and teachers were gathered at the door. "What's going on?" Yumi asked a student. "Todai-sensai has been attacked by Lil Slugger!" he answered. "WHAT!" Yumi, Minoru and Shina shouted. They fought their way through the crowd and found Mr.Todai slumped over his desk. He had a large, bloody gash on his skull. Blood was spattered all over his belongings and on the posters behind him on the bulletin board. The principle came onto the scene accompanied by police and news reporters. "Alright, kids, get back to class! I said clear out! This is a police line so step back!" Another teacher came over and said, "All who have Todai's class at the moment, please come with me to the auditorium!" Shina's classmates and her friends all followed the teacher to the auditorium where a temporary class will be held. The other students, who were on the second floor where Todai had been killed, were pressed against their classroom windowed-doors to get a good look at the scene.

As the students were walking to the auditorium, Shina, who was among them, began to ponder this whole mess. "Once again, someone at school was killed by Lil Slugger. And it just so happen that the people involved are the ones that caused me trouble…The girls always picked on me, and I would've gotten in trouble with Todai-sensai…Maybe, Lil Slugger really is trying to help me. But I'm still not sure...If he really likes me, then what's his reason?-"

"Shina-chan watch out!" exclaimed Yumi as she pulled her friend aside. She had almost run into a pole. "If you're going to be deep in thought, at least wait until you can sit down," Yumi giggled.

Soon, it was time to go home. When Shina walked through the door, she saw her mom sitting on the sofa in the living room. She seemed to be crying. "Mom, what's wrong?" Shina asked as she approached her. Her mother faced her; she held a handkerchief to her nose and sniffed, "Oh, Shina-chan…Your father…he…" The room falls quiet as Shina's mom tells her what happened. Shina ran to her room and locked the door. She flung herself onto her bed and cried hard into her pillow. She wished that what her mom had just told her, was some kind of dream, and that she would wake up. But this was no dream; just the cruel reality…She found out that her father died in a car accident earlier that day…

End of Strike 2

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