Chapter Two –
Nadeshiko sighed in relief as Lenalee finally let go of her. They had stopped in front of a room not too far from Nadeshiko's own.
"So, this Allen kid's room is a couple doors down from mine…" The brunette muttered.
"Yeah, I guess it is… I didn't realize, since I haven't seen you in so long." Lenalee agreed, before knocking on the door in front of the two girls. "Allen! It's me! There's someone I want you to meet!"
"Lenalee?" Someone – most likely Allen – asked through the door, before it opened, revealing a white-haired teenager with a strange scar on his left eye. "Hello."
"Allen, this is my friend that just got back from four years worth of missions." Lenalee explained, gesturing to Nadeshiko.
"Hey, I'm Nadeshiko Yuzuki. You can just call me Nade though – everyone does." Said brunette introduced herself to the sixteen year old in front of her.
"It's nice to meet you, Nade. My name's Allen Walker."
"Allen's a parasitic type, Nade!" Lenalee exclaimed.
Nadeshiko's brow rose. "Really? You don't see too many of those."
"So I've been told…" Allen chuckled nervously. "What type of Innocence do you possess, Nade?"
"Me? Equipment." She pointed to her necklace. "This is it right here."
"A necklace?" Allen asked, clearly confused at how a piece of jewellery could defeat Akuma.
Nadeshiko nodded. "Yeah, each key holds a certain power: Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Ice, Darkness, Light and Healing."
"Really? That's so cool." Allen paused. "Wait a minute, you only listed eight elements, but there are nine keys on your necklace…"
"Good to see you're observant." Nadeshiko replied. "The ninth key is the actual Innocence. As long as it doesn't get broken, or separated from the rest of my necklace, the other keys will be able to regenerate themselves."
Allen smiled. "That's amazing."
Lenalee smiled as her two friends continued to chat and get to know one another for a couple minutes. Suddenly, she heard the light patter of raindrops hitting the roof above them, and her smile faded.
Nadeshiko winced when the first clap of thunder was heard.
"Nade? Are you in pain?" Allen asked worriedly when he saw.
Said brunette quickly shook her head. "No, I'm fine. It's just –" She was cut off, however, when another louder clap of thunder occurred, causing the girl to wince again.
"…Nade… Are you afraid of thunderstorms?" Allen questioned slowly.
"Of course not… I just don't like them." Nadeshiko muttered.
Lenalee quickly stepped in. "Don't worry about it, Allen. She'll be fine."
Allen smiled faintly. "Alright then."
"…I'm going to my room… See you later Allen, Lenalee." Nadeshiko spoke up, and walked away.
"Bye Nade!"
"See you!"
-:-
Nadeshiko sighed as she closed the door to her room behind her. "Damn rain…" She muttered, and squeezed her eyes shut as a bolt of lightning illuminated the sky outside her window. "Why couldn't it have started after I fell asleep?"
After changing out of her casual clothes – she never wore her uniform unless she had too, it was just too bulky – and into a pair of black and forest green plaid pants and a forest green tank top, Nadeshiko lied down on her bed, right leg crossed over her left and her arms behind her head. She stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore the memories that came rushing into her mind, stronger at every flash of lightning or clap of thunder.
The brunette allowed her eyes to close, and quickly fell asleep.
{Nightmare/Memory}
An eight year old Nadeshiko watched in horror as her house burned to the ground – with her parents and baby sister still inside.
The pouring rain did nothing to stop the blistering flames.
Another bolt of lightning struck down – on the crumbling house.
The electric shock added to the flames, and the house collapsed.
The rain suddenly decided to put out most the flames now – moments too late to be of any use.
"No!" The little girl cried out and fell to her knees. "T-They… They can't be d-dead!" With new hope, she scrambled up right again, and ran towards the charred remains of her home.
"Mom, Dad, Mai?" The younger Nadeshiko shouted, lifting up pieces of burned wood to search underneath for her family members. After a couple minutes of searching, she came across three sets of clothing that she recognized very well.
Her father's clothes were lying across her mother's as if he had been protecting her. In between the two sets of adult clothing, the brunette was just barely able to make out a bright pink colour.
It was her little sister – Mai's – favourite dress that she had been wearing.
"W-What…? Their clothes are here but...-" The girl was cut off when a rather large piece of wood fell from above her, crushing the small child into the ground. The flames had not yet been completely put out, and burned straight through the back of her shirt.
The child struggled to get out from under the lumber, and was shocked when the pressure was suddenly gone from her back. She rolled over and looked straight into the face of a brown-haired man with glasses.
"Are you alright, little girl?"
Said brunette child nodded. "W-What's your name? I'm Nadeshiko Y-Yuzuki…"
The man smiled and helped her up from the ground. "My name is Froi Tiedoll. Nice to meet you Nadeshiko – can I call you Nade?" The younger Nadeshiko nodded, and Tiedoll's smile grew. "Great! Now then, what were you doing under a piece of wood?"
The girl opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of a gunshot being fired.
{End of Nightmare/Memory}
Nadeshiko gasped and sat upright. She shook her head to get rid of any lingering traces of the memory that had taken the form of a nightmare. 'After that… General Tiedoll discovered my necklace was Innocence… And I was a compatible user…'
Glancing over at the clock on her desk, Nadeshiko discovered it was just past four in the morning.
"That's just great." She groaned. "There's no chance of me getting to sleep now… Especially with the storm outside…" A loud clap of thunder made the brunette jump. After calming her slightly faster heartbeat, Nadeshiko stood up and went over to her desk.
Digging the drawers, she pulled out the worn brown leather book she had been reading just before she met Lavi. "…I might as well read some more." The brunette left her room, book in hand.
-:-
Nadeshiko quietly pushed the large door to the library open, not wanting to disturb anyone's sleep. She slipped inside the large space, and shut the door behind her. Glancing around, she noticed there was someone else there.
"…Lavi?" No response. "Lavi, is that you?" Still nothing.
Nadeshiko sighed and went over to a table piled high with books and papers. Sitting at it was none other than the red-headed Bookman Junior himself.
"Damn, didn't know Bookman gave you this much work…" She muttered, noticing Lavi was asleep. She pulled out the chair opposite of the sleeping teenager, sat down, and began to read her book.
-:-
Lavi wearily opened his eyes, blinking sleep away. "Damn it, I fell asleep…" He groaned. "The old panda's going to kill me if I don't finish this by morning…"
"Hm, you're awake?"
Lavi's head shot up from its spot on the table, and noticed Nadeshiko sitting across from him.
"Nade-chan?" He exclaimed in a hushed tone as he saw the still-dark sky from a window behind the brunette. "What're you doing here?"
The girl didn't even look up from her book once though. "Reading."
"…But why here?" Lavi repeated, pointing at the table for emphasis.
"Why not? There's no law against it."
"…" The red-head couldn't think of a way to reply, so he changed the subject. "What're you reading?"
The brunette looked up for the first time since he had woken up. "…A journal…" She murmured, going back to reading said object.
"A journal? Whose is it?"
"…It was my mother's."
Lavi blinked, noticing the use of past tense. "…Was?"
"She died… a long time ago…" Nadeshiko replied quietly. "Akuma burned my house to the ground with the rest of my family inside."
"Oh… Sorry…" Lavi muttered, looking down at the table.
"Eh, it's alright – not your fault."
"…Where were you – when the fire started?" Lavi asked cautiously.
Nadeshiko glanced at the red-head over the top of her mother's journal, sighed, and closed it. She placed the book down on the table before answering. "I was inside, but managed to escape. My parents tried to get to my little sister – Mai – but they died trying to get her out. Mai died with them, and I almost died trying to see if they were alive or not.
"It was stupid of me to even think they were… But I went in anyways. During my searching, I found their clothes – but no bodies. I was distracted, and a piece of burning wood fell on me… If General Tiedoll hadn't seen the smoke and come to see what was going on, I would've died back then… I was only eight…" The brunette sighed. "Sorry, I'm rambling."
"No, no, it's fine…" Lavi replied instantly. "…So, why'd you come to the library this early?"
"Couldn't sleep so I decided to read… The library's calming…"
The red-head nodded. "Yeah, I can certainly agree to that." He sulked. "If only that damn crusty panda didn't give me so much work…"
THWACK!
Lavi clutched his head in pain. "Why are you always showing up, old man?"
"Hm, seems like you get hit a lot." Nadeshiko snickered.
"It's not funny!" Lavi protested. "Getting smacked by a panda hurts!"
"Watch your mouth, boy." Bookman threatened his apprentice before turning to face Nadeshiko. "Nadeshiko, I think it would be best if you returned to your room and at least try to rest some more."
Said girl nodded. "Alright." She stood up from her chair, grabbing her mother's journal on the way, and waved to Lavi as she walked towards the door. "See you later, Lavi. Don't drown in all this work."
AN/
I have no clue why I made it serious… then have Bookman randomly show up and smack Lavi… Oh well! This chapter was basically a little info about Nadeshiko's past – cough, why she hates thunderstorms too, cough –.
Please review!