Arashi sighed as she checked her watch again. This was supposed their first "official" date and she supposed she shouldn't be surprised that Sorata was late but still she couldn't help but wonder if this was just a joke. Maybe he had intentionally set her up to make fun of her? She shook her head and frowned. Though Sorata had many faults cruelty was not one of them.

It was as she was leaning down to nervously smooth out a non-existent wrinkle in her skirt that Arashi caught a glimpse of white hair out of the corner of her eye. She jerked her head up. Surely that wasn't actually Hinoto she just saw hurrying past? Craning her neck over the crowd of movie-goers she caught another flash of the familiar silvery locks. Did Daisuke finally make good on his promise to ask her out? Maybe a double date would make tonight less awkward, she mused as she slipped through the crowd.

"Hinoto-chan!" She called, spotting the girl a few feet away. It was definitely her, now that Arashi had a clearer line of sight but strangely Hinoto ignored her and kept pushing through the crowd.

Arashi continued to follow, thinking maybe the girl just hadn't heard her, until they had passed through the movie crowd and Hinoto broke into an almost run. Arashi called her again and this time Hinoto glanced over her shoulder.

The look she gave Arashi froze her in her tracks. Hinoto had always been soft-spoken, gentle, and fragile as a songbird. The expression on her face just now… had been pure disgust.

Did I do something to offend her? Arashi wondered as the girl disappeared into the night.

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Satsuki awoke to a chalky dust-filled twilight in which she could make nothing out distinctly, as if the objects around her were bleeding into one another and the only sound she could hear was that of shallow, ragged breathing. This was rather like being in one of the psychologically based horror video games she greatly enjoyed. However, those were more fun as entertainment than as actual experience, she concluded.

She pulled in her elbow and felt her muscles all cry out in protest as she dragged herself to a sitting position. Her neck in particular didn't seem to care for the strain and she belatedly remembered that in the event of this level of bodily trauma, a victim was not supposed to move in case of a spinal injury. She pressed her hand to the ground for support and winced as she felt the bite of what she assumed was a layer of epidermis missing along the heel of her hand.

Her glasses… she raised a hand dimly to her face, irked to find that they met no metal rims. Well that was just great. Focusing as best she could through the dizzying effects of double vision, she thought she could make out another figure lying a few feet away. That or it was just some debris that happened to resemble a human silhouette, but since it seemed like the breathing was coming from it, Satsuki certainly hoped it wasn't chunks of concrete.

"Hello?"

"Ah, miss." There was a smile in the voice despite the obvious strain it was for the speaker to reply. "I'm so glad you're awake. I guess you can move then, huh? That's a great sign!"

Satsuki slowly flexed her fingers one by one and worked her way down her legs

"Yes I seem to be able to move." She called back. "Can you?"

"I… I'm trying not to." Came the choked reply.

Adrenaline was already wreaking havoc on Satsuki's nervous system but something in Sorata's answer kicked it up another notch.

"Are you injured?" She tried to ask as smoothly as possible. She began patting down her jacket, remembering that her phone had been on her somewhere, thinking that if she believed in God she'd be thanking him for the fact that she always zipped the pocket she kept it in.

There was a long silence then a strangled "Yes."

The screen was cracked and Satsuki held her breath as she tried the power button, exhaling only when the light flickered to life. She knew she had chosen well with Samsung. "I'm calling emergency services now."

"You're…" Sorata seemed to choke again. "So resourceful miss!"

"Hush for a minute." Satsuki explained the accident and the location as she cautiously shifted, testing the rubble to see if it was safe for her to move. When she hung up the phone, she called out again. "They're on their way; I'm going to see if I can come to you."

"You should… stay put miss."

"Don't try to play hero. Do you think you've broken something?" She wondered how much of her high school first aid training she would actually be able to implement down here as she cautiously climbed over a chunk of concrete.

"I'm… not sure. But you really shouldn't move. The debris… it might shift."

"I'm being careful." Satsuki winced as numerous scrapes began to make themselves known in her movement. Although everything was a blur, she could make out the bright yellow of Sorata's t-shirt. It looked like maybe he was lying face down motionless and she wondered if he had broken his neck. It wasn't until she was right next to him that the cause of his stillness became glaringly apparent.

"Oh shi-" She gagged and turned to retch when she realized that the vague blur above him was an iron bar. Sticking straight through his middle.

.

.

"I hope that she's pretty! The girl I die for!"

The monk laughed and patted his head fondly.

"I've chosen you miss!"

Someone was screaming but it was okay. This was more or less what he had been expecting.

"Arisugawa?"

He blinked.

"Sorry Miss… Yatouji right?"

Satsuki nodded, pale faced in front of him.

But isn't she the one who…

"Help is on the way." She told him confidently, and suddenly he could see the struggle in her face to stay calm. He almost laughed but he couldn't quite manage more than a grin.

"You weren't always like this."

"What?"

"You… were kind of a bully." He gasped.

She gave him a blank look.

"Before. You know… back when…" He choked. What was he talking about?

"Stop trying to talk."

"No… it's important…" Sorata wasn't sure why but he knew it was. "Don't you remember?"

"I haven't lost any memories." Satsuki shook her head. "I checked on my phone. I know the year, my name, all the things they check for. There's an app for head injuries."

Sorata almost laughed again. "But you did forget… you forgot that you killed me."

She gave him another baffled look. "No I just got luckier than you in the fall." Alarm crossed her face. "You will be fine Arisugawa-san. I can hear sirens already, someone's almost here."

"But you don't…"

"You're not going to die okay?"

"It's… okay if I do. Someone… someone will cry… for me."

Satsuki lurched suddenly in front of him.

.

.

"Why is it wrong to kill humans?"

Oh god. How had she forgotten?

The EMT's insisted that she go to the hospital for a cat scan after the fall she had had and she found herself lying on a white cot staring at generic ceiling tiles, running not over the last few hours but over an entirely different life altogether.

"Are you claustrophobic?"

She shook her head. Of course not. There wasn't anything threatening about small spaces.

"The machine does make a loud noise, just so you know."

"I know." She replied vaguely. She'd never been afraid of machines, she knew their sounds, the patient whirring, much like a contented cat.

Wires wrapped around her, grabbing at her arms and legs, her neck…

Satsuki's breath caught.

This wasn't a content sound.

"No!" She jerked and sat up, clutching at her throat.

"Ma'am?" The technician paused.

" I'm sorry I can't go in there." She moved to get down.

"Whoa, hold on-"

She fled without looking back.

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.

It was an EMT who had answered Satsuki's phone when Yuuto called, at last concerned about how late she was for their date. Unfortunately, he didn't reach the hospital until after she had run off, leaving everything, including her cell phone behind.

Yuuto sighed upon discovering this and turned to leave before a nurse stopped him and asked if he knew anything about the young man she had been with. Apparently Satsuki had been able to give them his name but nothing else and as the guy was now unconscious and had lost any identification he may have had, they had no way of finding out who to contact on his behalf.

Curious himself about Satsuki's mysterious companion, Yuuto followed the nurse to the ICU and winced at the sight of a teenage boy bruised and bandaged. He recognized him from Karen's barbeque but couldn't even quite recall his name.

"Sorry. I don't think I'm any help either." He apologized to the nurse who thanked him for his time and moved on.

Yuuto started to follow then froze and turned back, realizing that he didn't just know the boy from the beach party. Wasn't this the boy… he edged closer, peering over the edge of the oxygen mask and the bandages wrapped over his forehead. Yes he did know the boy. They had met back then… He almost laughed as he realized he had fought this boy before. Sorata Arisugawa, wasn't that it? He double checked against the chart at the end of the bed and found he remembered the name correctly at least.

He sobered up remembering another time he had seen him. He had been watching the monitors the day Satsuki had had a face-off with this same boy. That had had a less agreeable ending, particularly for Sorata.

Satsuki hadn't shown any indication yet of regaining her memories but then, he hadn't had the slightest inkling until the incident with the bonfire and his own brush with death. With a growing sense of unease, he hurried from the room, catching the first cab he could find, giving Satsuki's address.

There was no answer at the gate when he arrived but Yuuto thought he could see a light on so he bade the cab driver good night and waited until he was out of sight to jump the fence. He winced as his knees protested the impact and briefly reflected that it had been years since he had hopped a fence. In fact, now that he thought of it, the last time he had done so was to get into the all-girl's Catholic school Karen had gone to in high school. Goodness those had been good times. He chuckled to himself as he realized that while his joints may have changed, his motives certainly hadn't. It was always a girl.

Again there was no answer when he knocked but out of curiosity he tried the doorknob and found it to be unlocked. Red flags had been slowly unfurling at the back of his mind and security-conscious Satsuki leaving her front door open like this finally brought them to the forefront.

Worse, when he walked in, the lights were all on but there wasn't a persocom in sight.

"Satsuki-chan?" He called out, wondering if this place had always been this big and empty.

No answer came so he wandered from living room to kitchen to bedroom, cautiously peeking in. The house was deserted but again, the lights were all on and he couldn't escape the niggling sense that she was here somewhere.

He found her in her "office" staring at her desk covered in computers and monitors, a baseball bat hanging limply from her hand.

"What are you doing?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice and the bat came up, her grip tightened and ready. There was a slightly wild gleam in her eyes, Yuuto noticed before she dropped her arm again and jerked her gaze back toward the computers as though afraid to let them out of her sight.

"I'm thinking."

He stepped into the office and let his eyes roam her profile, taking in the rips in her jacket and pants, the blood stains spattered across them, and the numerous small bandages. At least she had allowed the EMT's to clean and dress minor injuries. Still something else seemed wrong about her appearance and it took a moment before he realized.

"Where are your glasses?"

"They broke." Her intent stare at the computers didn't.

Yuuto looked curiously back and forth between her and the desk, feeling as though he had missed something. Without warning Satsuki seemed to come to some sort of decision and he had just enough time to see the baseball bat come up before flying forward to grab her arms.

"Whoa there, tiger." He laughed nervously. "What did the computers ever do to you?"

She gave him an inscrutable look and made no move to lower the bat.

After a moment's silent stalemate he gave her arm a gentle squeeze.

"Why?"

He had made plenty of girls cry before but he was shook to the core to see tears fill Satsuki's eyes.

"Hey, whoa." He hesitantly let go and was relieved to see her lower her arms. He wrapped her in a hug, partly for comfort and partly to keep her from trying another Babe Ruth.

She remained silent but he could feel warm drops seeping into his shirt and he pressed his cheek briefly against the top of her head.

"Why don't we go somewhere else huh? Somewhere with no wires and monitors. See how that goes?" He suggested lightly.

She nodded against his shoulder and at last he heard the thud of the bat falling to the floor.

.

.

It was a pity really that she had lost her glasses, Satsuki had always wondered what Yuuto's apartment would look like. On the other hand it was kind of nice, having him guide her like this. The warm weight of his arm around her shoulders was a solid comfort as the adrenaline rush wore off, leaving her slightly shaky.

As they reached the landing and Yuuto withdrew to search for his keys, a neighbor's door opened to reveal a voluptuous woman in a slinky nightgown.

"Kigai! I haven't been able to catch you lately. You're getting behind on your rent you know." Her features were mostly a blur but Satsuki thought she caught a wink before the woman noticed her and went quiet.

Yuuto gave her a winning smile. "We wouldn't that. I'll make sure to stay more on top of things." Ah yes, he definitely winked in return. Satsuki had wondered how on a such a low-level government worker's salary he was able to afford to live in such a nice building. It looked like that mystery was solved.

She contemplated this a few minutes later as she soaked in his tub, relieved to be rid of the grime of earlier. It didn't come as a surprise that Yuuto still had sex with other women but she hadn't actually given the matter any thought before. She paused in her thoughts for a moment to see if jealousy would rise to the surface but it didn't. She wondered what other people got so upset about then. She liked spending time with Yuuto and she got to do so. What difference did it make if he spent time with other women too? She didn't need him to be by her side every waking moment, she had her programming.

At this thought, she frowned and pulled her legs in close, wrapping her arms around her knees to create a place to rest her chin. She could feel the panic rising in her chest as the memories came flooding back but she screwed her eyes shut, trying to slow her breathing back to normal.

Beast had betrayed her. That was the one thought she came to repeatedly in her head ever since the moment she had faced the MRI machine.

Screens surrounded her, all showing different angles but the same scene- Yuuto and Karen locked in a deadly dance. It was obviously going badly, anyone could see this wasn't going to end well. But as Yuuto lost his footing and slipped off the edge of a jagged piece of concrete, falling hard into the street a thought struck Satsuki like lighting.

I don't want him to die.

Her fingers flew across the keys. Help him! She commanded Beast but the cameras stayed in place.

Help. Him. She repeated furiously, inwardly screaming in frustration but Beast remained inert. In exasperation, she leapt from her seat.

"Why won't you help him?"

Beast whirred, a low angry growl she had never heard from it before. A warning growl.

Flames covered the screen and for one heart-stopping moment Satsuki thought it was too late. Then she saw Yuuto emerge from the inferno, still fighting for his life and she turned to run. If Beast wouldn't help him, then she would go herself.

Before she made it two steps, a cord flew out and wrapped around her ankle, bringing her down. The shock of the fall was nothing compared to the shock of Beast's insolence.

"What do you think you're doing?" She wrenched her ankle free but not before another wire wrapped around her arm, cutting into her skin. Still she fought, reaching for the door as cords dragged her back. As it became clear to Beast that she wouldn't relent, a cord found her throat and she felt her glasses slip off as she struggled, shattering on the floor below as she was lifted away…

The screens filled with flames.

Satsuki clutched her knees.

Why, Beast? She silently asked but there was no answer. Beast was gone. Or had never existed here. She had built numerous custom computers over the years but none of them were Beast. She had a natural affinity for coding but it never spoken directly to her soul the same way Beast had. She loved programming but Beast had consumed her.

Even as she thought this, she remembered her last thought as the coils had crushed her throat.

Don't let him die.

Was that why Beast hadn't let her go? Had Beast not been able to reconcile her caring about something other than it?

She had planned to destroy every computer in the house earlier. She didn't know what she would do after that, programming had been her life since she was old enough to reach a keyboard.

With a sigh, Satsuki leaned back against the tub and picked up a bottle of shampoo sitting on the edge that proclaimed it was for producing "glossy curls men will love!"

She replaced it and studied the bottle of men's shampoo that had been sitting next to it. If Yuuto could enjoy other women and still care about her, couldn't she enjoy her computers and still care about him?

There was a knock at the door and Yuuto peeked in. "Everything okay?"

Satsuki nodded and he slipped inside, taking a seat on the floor by the tub. "Are you feeling any better?"

"I think so."

"Thank goodness, you had me pretty startled there earlier!"

Satsuki set the bottle back down and turned to face him. "Hey Yuuto? Why did you stop me?"

"Why?" Yuuto tilted his head in thought. "Well I guess because I thought you would regret it later."

Satsuki stared at him, taking in the easygoing smile.

"Was I wrong?"

"No." She shook her head and reached out, pulling him toward her. "Thank you." She whispered as she pressed her lips to his.

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A/N: Oh my lord. I did not realize how long it had been since I had written anything. I am so so so sorry guys. T_T Thank you to everyone who has been reading in the meantime!