I own nothing. Monika does.

Her fractured senses slowly came back to her. It started with a slight awareness in the back of her head, telling her that something wasn't right. Then she began to remember. Today's the festival! She had to get up. Feeling came flooding back into her body as she sat up. The pain that followed forced her back down. It was only when her head connected with the hard sidewalk and not her pillow that she realized she was no longer in her room.

Sayori's eyes shot open as she bolted upright. Instead of the morning sun streaming through her window, she found herself in a busy street, a huge city and the night sky as a backdrop. All around her people walked by, some pausing to look at her briefly. Sayori soon understood why.

A pane of glass in a nearby store reflected the sight of her, adorned in her favorite pair of pink pajamas, now torn around her shoulders. When she looked closer to inspect the tearing, she noticed something that nearly made her heart beat out of her chest. A large wound made a ring around her neck. A mix of purple and blue bruises and red scrapes made for a painful combo upon her curious touch. She had no idea where it came from.

Sayori took deep breaths. She couldn't panic right now. She couldn't cause a scene. Not when she needed help. She turned her chin inward and tried to rearrange her short hair to cover the wound. Once confident that the wound was hidden, she looked around and went to the nearest person she could find, a short, balding man in a yellow business suit.

"Excuse me," Sayori asked politely. "Could you tell me where I am?" The man's stern glare evaporated any courage that Sayori had built up. The man pointed to a nearby street sign and stomped away. Well, that was uncalled for, Sayori sighed. Her best option at the moment would probably be to walk around and hope to find either a familiar landmark, or a bus to get home. She shivered, wishing she had at least put on slippers, and began to walk down the street.

About ten blocks later, Sayori realized something. She was hopelessly lost. The bitter shock of this revelation made her want to crumble. A nearby bench caught her eye. She didn't want to have a meltdown on the cold ground, afterall. She sat down, before folding her knees to her chest. It didn't take long for her small frame to start shaking as she sobbed and wailed. The sound of a clearing throat was the first thing that registered in her mind, at least enough to make her look up.

Akechi yawned. It had been another long day. The pressure of juggling school, work, and the fame of being "The Second Advent of the Detective Prince" always seemed to leave him exhausted. It'll all be worth it in the end, he thought to himself. These musings paraded in his head as he dragged his suitcase to the nearest bus stop. Normally, he would've taken his bike. However, his alarm clock had died this morning, causing him to be late. In his hurry to get ready he ran out of the apartment without his bike, and did not realize it till a few blocks later. He was looking forward to getting a few minutes to sit down on the bench and rest.

As Akechi came around the last corner, something disappointing caught his eye. There was somebody already on the bench. Those feelings of disappointment would fade, however, as he took a few steps closer. As he approached the bench, a peculiar feeling took hold. It was a disturbing combination of guilt and sorrow as he noticed something on the back of the girl's neck. Memories of a woman he had cursed with his existence arose as he gazed upon the injury which could only have one origin. All of this came from the crying girl, who seemed to be lost in her own sadness. With his mind made, he cleared his throat.

The girl paused, before she looked back at him. Akechi was finally able to get a good look at her. He had never seen anyone with pink hair before. The red bow that was clipped to it contrasted the miserable defeat reflected in her entrancing blue eyes. She appeared to be dressed for bed more than a stroll through town. A seemingly endless list of questions started to fly into his brain. Instead of asking any of these, he decided on a rather pointless question.

"Are you alright?" Stupid, stupid, stupid, he chastised himself. Of course she wasn't alright! She has rope burn around her neck, and looks like she's ready to go jump off a bridge!

"Oh, you don't need to worry about me. It doesn't really matter if I am," the girl replied with a most pitiful tone of voice. Akechi was surprised she actually answered him, in her state of being. He was even more shocked when she continued. "Can you tell me where I am? I'm… lost," she said, blushing deeply as she started to bury her face even deeper into her knees.

Ah, I've found a niche, Akechi thought triumphantly. "Perhaps if you tell me your name, we could find our way to your house." He decided to break the ice a bit more himself, in order to not creep out the young lady. "My name is Goro Akechi. I'm a detective. What's your name?"

The girl's head rose from its sorrowful position. "Sayori," she said with a whisper.

Akechi smiled, deciding to be a bit more specific. "What about a surname? Because Sayori is awfully close to Sayuri, and that could get confusing." he explained.

Sayori shut her eyes tightly. "I don't know," she replied with tears welling in her eyes. Akechi finally let a frown slip onto his face. Did this girl have amnesia?

He set his briefcase down. The bus would be here soon, and he would lose sleep if he were to let an obviously suicidal girl wander around unattended. For now, there was only one thing he could really do until this case could be solved. He sat down by Sayori and smiled kindly. "Would you like to stay with me until we can figure things out?" He let that question sink in, fully prepared to further explain himself. If she felt uncomfortable in his apartment, perhaps he could convince Sae to take the girl to hers.

Sayori weighed her options. Go with the charming boy with seemingly good intentions and a job that probably offered good income, versus stay out in the cold and wait for death to slowly overtake her. Steeling herself, she smiled up at him, hoping that this wouldn't turn out to be a horrible mistake. "I'd really like that. Thank you."

Goro Akechi smiled at her as they both stood up. Before she could protest, he had taken off his jacket and draped it over her. Her arms weren't even in the sleeves all the way before he started buttoning it. Sayori gave him a confused look as he popped the collar. He noticed before pointing to her neck. "This will do a better job of covering that bruise up. When we get back to my apartment I can clean it off. I'm willing to bet that it stings a lot."

Sayori nodded sheepishly. Akechi smiled, going around the bench and grabbing his briefcase. As if on cue the bus finally turned the corner. Since it was so late nobody else was on the bus. Sayori took a seat toward the back while Akechi gave directions to the bus driver. After he gave her a generous tip, the woman agreed to take both of them straight to his apartment complex instead of the bus stop that was a couple blocks away. Sayori appreciated that.

After Sayori settled into her seat, she allowed her mind to drift. She felt exhausted. A sudden wave of drowsiness made her fall asleep with her head leaning on the glass. It irritated the large bruise she had gotten on her forehead only a few days prior. The last thoughts Sayori had before she drifted off into a dreamless slumber were of poems, cupcakes, cookies, and her friends.

A friend of mine and I are writing this story together. We'll be updating on Sundays. Please R&R