Disclaimer: I just own Maria and the plot, guys. Don't sue me.

I've been awake for days it seems. Not conscious enough to move nor tired enough to fall asleep, my eyes roam in hopes of discovering a focus point.

I'm definitely in Martha's house, I know that, but this is not my room. Mom's room.

The walls are white, or as close to white as it can be after maybe ten or twenty years of being around, while mine are a faint pink. The shape of the room is smaller, not to mention how lumpy and rigid this bed is.

I roll my head over and I'm so glad to see my good ol' fluff ball back at my side.

"Annie," I whisper as I poke her paw. Black ears dart up and she jumps on me in a flash.

"You've been here the whole time, I bet." She licks my fingers and purrs. "Aren't you sweet."

Feeling slightly revived, I peel myself from the (also white) bed sheets and stand on the wood floors. My feet are unsteady, so I only get as far as the window across from the bed. The air breezes by and invigorates me with a thousand scents.

"I know the smell of flowers anywhere," I smile. Below the window is Martha's little garden sprouting with red tulip buds.

But my smile fades once the memories come in flashes.

"Here. A flower a day keeps the doctor away."

"Can you pick up the order of orchids in the back, Bumbles?"

"Maybe pulling out all my hair will distract me enough to not think about her," I say to Annie as we move away from the sill.

We take ourselves to and through the door. As I pad down the hall, two familiar voices emerge from the kitchen. Slower and lighter, we walk and stand at the edge of a wall that connects the hallway and kitchen.

"So what did you need to talk to me about?" Martha says. She pours something in a cup—tea most likely—and pull out a chair.

"Well. I wanted to talk about Maria for just a second."

Is that Akiza?

Martha chuckles. "If you're worried, there's really nothing to be worried about. Schmidt said she had a very minor hyperventilation attack. Too much oxygen in her lungs and it went to her head is all."

Annie's this close to going into the kitchen and I swap her up in my arms as I think, Too much oxygen and I hyperventilate. Not enough and I have an asthma attack. Tsk tsk.

"That's good, very good to hear," agrees Akiza. "But that isn't exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?"

"I'm not sure how to begin, sorry." Martha says to take her time and she keeps on. "When Maria passed out a couple of days ago"—a couple of days!—"I… might have seen something."

"Like what?" Martha and I say in unison.

I sharply inhale and stand erect. There's a pregnant pause, but Akiza continues as I sigh in relief.

"Mmm, well maybe it wasn't anything at all. I was really shocked and in panic so who knows? But when I got over to her right after she fainted, I saw a mark on the center of her forehead."

In an involuntarily motion, I swipe a hand across my forehead. "A mark?" I whisper.

"Do you think it was… a Signer mark?"

"No," Akiza says unsurely, "it was something else completely. It was yellow and maybe half of a circle and something else. I can't really remember."

"Hmm, did anyone else see it?"

Martha doesn't sound any different than when the conversation started, I notice. No raise in pitch or slowed speech.

"No, I was the first one to her and it went away a second or two after."

"Good. Don't say anything to anyone," speaks Martha. "Not even Maria, you hear?"

And in the moment that I hear Akiza agree on her silence, Annie takes a leap toward the floor into the kitchen. I don't know what to do then and rush through idea after idea in my head.

I know! Tiptoeing back a couple feet, I act like I'm about to walk into the kitchen. Just in time, too.

"Maria!" shouts Martha as she peeks out of the doorway. "What are you doing up?"

"I thought I was feeling good enough to walk around a bit," I say, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. I then point to my hand on the wall as I chuckle and say, "But maybe I was wrong."

Martha gives an airy sigh before taking my hand and leading me into the kitchen table. She pulls out a chair for me and goes over to the cupboard to pull out a cup.

I'd pass out more often if I knew it would make me a good liar all of a sudden.

"Are you feeling better?" Akiza asks.

I try to smile but it doesn't feel right. "Much. Just really tired and a little hungry."

Martha turns on the oven without a word and I stop myself from opposing her.

We make an attempt at small talk and, just like smiling, it doesn't come about naturally. A good ten minutes later, Martha chimes in saying, "Don't you need to get going for school, Aki?"

"Shoot!" Akiza stands from her chair and gives a small bow. "Is it okay if I come back to see you later today?"

She catches me off guard with her question and I have to answer her with a mouth full of blueberry pancakes. "Uh. Sure."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Martha scolds as Akiza leaves.

"I'm sorry!"

—

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do. It's the only way we can keep an eye on you," Martha says.

I glance at the distance between the couch and the kitchen; if something were to happen, Martha would be able to get to me in approximately three seconds.

I lean into the couch and try to get comfortable. It's lumpy, but I've gone to sleep on worse. I sit up and say, "Wait, who's we?" but Martha's gone.

I don't dwell on it for too long and by the time I turn around, three small girls stand in front of me. I swallow a gasp deep within my lungs and scoot into the cushions more.

"We didn't mean to scare you," the oldest one says, Aya.

If it wasn't for the handful of nights I've read bedtime stories to them, I wouldn't recognize them.

"Yeah," chirps Maya as her large shirt swishes back and forth on her torso. LET'S REV IT UP! it reads. Sounds familiar. "We just thought you could use some blankets and stuff."

"Oh, you didn't have to," I say, grabbing the blankets and pillow stuffed between their arms. "I could have managed."

"Well, Martha told us to," says Maya. She receives a quick nudge in her side from Aya before talking again. "But we were real worried about you anyway."

I notice Kaya, the smallest of the trio, nod her head vigorously with thumb in mouth. Ruffling their three little heads I say, "Thank you. It means a lot."

Giggles fill the air when they hop away. I place the sheets on the bed and lay down soon after. I'm alone now. Where Annie is, I don't know. Albeit nothing troublesome, I worry she won't come back.

I make do with the worries and prepare for a nap.

—

Fire.

One strong enough to drag you down

and burn your soul.

—

Liquid catches my attention when I bring both hands to my face. I ignore it; crying is nothing new. But the little paw repeatedly pressing against my nose is a change.

"Annie," I whisper, "what are you doing, you silly cat?"

I yawn and stretch before heaving myself up from the couch. The gentle touch of her sliding into my lap tickles my stomach. Just to mess with her, I pick her up and raise her into the air. Her response goes as expected and I laugh.

"Glad to see you're up," says someone from the other side of the room—Crow. I place Annie back in my lap and turn my head.

Sitting at the table with him are Jack, Yusei, and Kaito. I'm speechless, yet able enough to stutter a small hello, I sink back into the covers soon after.

"Maria?" It's Yusei this time.

I ignore him and bury myself in the sheets, curling myself into a ball as I go.

Why do you hate me cruel, cruel world?

"Pssh, don't even waste your time on her," Kaito butts in. He takes no approach in hiding his snarky tone from me.

A stringy silence lingers on the ceiling.

"Why do you say that?" There's something to Yusei's voice. Not nearly as malicious as Kaito but masks some emotion I'm not quick enough to pick up on.

"She talks to her cat all the time," Kaito scoffs. "If that's not weird then I don't know what is."

"That's not weird," Crow cuts in. "Lots of people do that."

"Yeah," Kaito starts, "but she obviously thinks it's her mom. You know, like the cat's a reincarnation or something."

I've never had a problem with him until now. Even when him and his brothers tried to sneak a peek at me, I didn't care. Kids, I know from experience, don't know when they're getting close to that line and I can tolerate that.

But you don't do that. You don't say stuff like that. To or about anyone.

And I know Kaito's fully aware of what he's saying. So that fire, the one that drowned me in my dreams? It swells in my heart and flares in my throat.

I walk to the table, a slight frown on my face and tension in every bone. "I don't really know what you're trying to do," I say. He turns, but doesn't look at me head on. "I don't know if you're trying to make me dislike you or lose any respect that I might've had for you."

"Well I was just—"

"And I don't expect an apology, nor do I really want one. You said what you said and you can't take it back." The stares of the other guys shake me and break me. "Although, if anything, you should understand my situation rather than cut me down for it."

I grab Annie, walk to the doorway, and take in another gulp of air before I leave. "Maybe," I say hurriedly, "I should forgive you for what you said. But you wouldn't want me to waste your time on that, now would you?"

I'm so thankful for the short distance up the stairs to my room. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to run as fast I do.

Slam the door. Put Annie down. Fall into the sheeted mound on my bed—all have been checked off today's to-do list.

I stare out the window, pondering on this day. It's been too much for my unsteady mind, and now I'm exhausted. So naturally, I groan loudly when someone comes knocking on my door.

Despite this, I turn my head to the door and say, "It's open."

It's Kaito coming to apologize, no doubt.

However, the glimpse of those yellow streaked spikes prove me wrong. I gasp and whip my head back around, heartbeat fluttering.

"Hey," he says.

I'm so jittery and nervous and shy and slightly panicking. "Hi."

His gaze pierces my back and I mentally beg him to stop. But I'd be lying to say I don't like him being around. In an indecisive battle of emotions, my mouth quivers, "You can sit, if you like."

I guess he was leaning on the wall or something because he takes me up on my offer, making the bed heave under added weight.

"How are you?"

I leave him answerless. There's none to give and I'm positive he can guess one better than any I could think of.

A sudden hiss and a sharp inhale later, I'm sitting up and looking over his shoulder. Annie leaps from his lap and onto the floor, waggling her tail back and forth. Yusei, who's clutching his right index finger, looks at me without much of anything in his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"She bit me."

"Annie?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." I'm so entranced by his pools of blue that it takes time to fully comprehend in my head. "Oh!"

My smooth transition to the floor is far too sloppy and I have to chuckle—which comes out just as awkwardly—to hide my embarrassment. I curse my luck and disorganization as I search for a first aid kit in my drawer.

I ignore his eyes as I make way back to the bed. I hand him the box and scoot to a corner. He opens it and instantly begins slapping a band-aid on his finger. I try to mute my disapproving grunt but he obviously hears me.

"Something wrong?"

"You're not cleaning it?" I sigh, scooting closer. "It could get infected."

"Oh."

"Let me see."

A skimpy line of blood runs from the tip of his finger. Taking a wet nap from the kit, I wipe the blood and dry his finger with a cotton ball. The bite is noticeable but nothing to worry about; I place the band-aid over it.

I pat his hand and murmur, "All done."

He doesn't take it away immediately. He's looking at me, I know it. So I look back and, like I thought, regret it. "Yes?"

"You're okay, right?" He's so blunt about it, but in no way harsh. I purse my lips and nod. "Okay," he says softly.

"Okay," I whisper back.

Too soon, he takes his hand from mine and gets up. I look out the window, using the sunshine to disguise my blush.

"I'll see you," he says from the door.

"Alright," I agree.

And that's that.

Though, I really wish it wasn't.

This chapter makes me so happy you don't understannnddddddd. Maria's not so normal, it turns out. Kaito got dissed, which he completely deserved. And we had our first YuseixMaria moment~

Stay tuned for more semi-normal happenings folks!

TTFN