Aya

Four years ago

The sound of sobbing echoed through the forest. A young girl sat hugging her knees against a log lying on a mossy embankment.

"I couldn't save that man." Thought Tsuki, wiping her tears. "I can't save anyone. I'm useless." She put her head I her hands. "What's the point of me being here?"

"Watering the plants with those tears?" Suggested a girl's voice.

Tsuki jumped as a pair of red eyes appeared in front of her. They were nestled in the happily grinning face of a girl the same age as Tsuki. She had neck length, dark brown hair. The girl was also wearing tight fitting black trousers and a black top that was essentially just a strap covering her chest. On her feet she wore a pair of sharp looking black stilettos. Tsuki however, was more interested in the long, blue and black beaded necklace hanging around the girl's neck.

"No," said the girl slyly, "You can't steal it."

Tsuki coughed self-consciously. "I wouldn't think of it." He said quickly.

The girl smiled. "You just were…"

Tsuki stared at her. "How do you know?" She asked suspiciously.

The strange girl smiled knowingly at Tsuki, sitting down next to her, to the silver haired girl's alarm. "Because I can read minds."

Tsuki laughed, stealthily edging away from the weird eyed girl who was sitting far too close to her.

"Oh really?" Both girls said at the same time.

Tsuki stared at her in surprise.

"I'm Aya, by the way." The girl said with a friendly smile. "Of course, I already know your name."

Tsuki was about to ask what she thought it was.

"You're Tsuki." Aya chirped before she could. "It means 'moon', according to you. Mine means colour!" She blinked her red eyes. "It fits!"

Despite being seriously disturbed by the girl, Tsuki couldn't help liking the girl's blatant insanity.

"Nice to meet you, Aya-chan!" She said with a smile.

Aya smiled back. "I know…"

"So you can sense people's heartbeats?" Exclaimed Aya. "That's so cool!"

The two girls had quickly become friends and were now walking together through the woods.

"I guess," sighed Tsuki, "but you're mind reading is way cooler!"

Aya grinned proudly. "Thanks, but that's not all I can do…"

Tsuki cocked her head to one side. "Really?"

"Yep!" said Aya. "Watch this."

The girl fixed her red eyes on a large stick twenty feet from her and, after a moment of concentration, the stick flew into her outstretched hand. Tsuki watched in awe. Aya turned to her modestly.

"I'm awesome, aren't I?" She said. "I can't remember the word for it though."

"Telikelisis." Tsuki answered.

"What!?" Exclaimed Aya, laughing at her new friend's pronunciation of 'telekinesis.' "Say 'inanimate'."

Tsuki frowned. "Inaminate?" He attempted and failed.

Aya giggled girlishly. "Not quite… Now say 'cinema'."

"Cimena?" Tsuki tried.

Aya tried to restrain her laughter. Tsuki raised an eyebrow, deciding that her new best friend was even more insane than she was.

"You know what I want right now?" She asked with a sly grin.

"Yep!" Replied Aya.

"COOOOOOOOOOOKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE DOOOOOOUUUGH!!!"

As it turned out, Aya was as much a slave to sugar as Tsuki was, carrying around several tubs of cookie dough with her at all times. As the two girls sat together devouring the sweet dessert, Tsuki forgot all about her depression. Aya was staring at her new friend intently.

"I like your eyes!" She said.

Tsuki laughed. "You're the second person to tell me that, Aya-chan!" She replied.

Aya took another spoonful of cookie dough. "I know."

Tsuki sighed. "Of course you do, seeing as you can read my mind and such…"

Tsuki happily munched on the cookie dough while thinking back to the incident at Daichi's house.

"Kazuki, huh?" Said Aya, reading Tsuki's mind again. "Not a bad name…" She chewed the cookie dough thoughtfully. "Hey!" She suddenly shouted. "That rhymes with yours!"

Tsuki wasn't really paying attention. "Mmm?" She mumbled through a mouthful of cookie dough.

Aya begin to sing: "Kazuki and Tsuki, sittin' in a-"

It was a good job that Aya could read minds, because if she couldn't, she never would have avoided the punch Tsuki threw to her face.

Violence was avoided and the two girls resumed eating their beloved cookie dough. The mood of the conversation had deteriorated rapidly.

"Do you remember your parents?" Asked Tsuki.

Aya coughed. "Kinda…"

"What happened to them?"

"They died…" Said Aya absent mindedly while tucking into yet more cookie dough.

Tsuki looked shocked. "Oh, I'm sorry…" She mumbled, depressed. "How did they die?"

Aya looked at her blankly, chewing her cookie dough. "I killed them."

Tsuki gaped. "What?!" She exclaimed. "Why did you do that?!"

Aya swallowed. "I didn't do it on purpose!" She protested with an inappropriate smile for the subject. "I accidently made the house collapse on top of them when I was ten!"

Aya laughed, happily spooning in more delicious dough. Tsuki had lost her appetite and pushed the cookie dough away. Aya eyed the tub greedily, reaching out a hand to grab it. Before she could, Tsuki lunged and snatched it out of her grasp; she hadn't lost that much of her appetite…