Killing five hours in the middle of the night would have been a lot harder if Anni didn't have internet on her phone. She dozed off a few times, but always managed to wake herself before the nightmares found her. Day four she announced to herself as it hit 7AM. Hopefully today's screw up won't be the interview. She quietly got herself together and left, passing her happily unconscious roommate on her way out. Her interview wasn't until 9, but she could easily kill time by looking around for another apartment in her price range. She couldn't live with Shizuo for very long anyway. It would be tempting fate to stick around during the events to come over the next few months, and with how things had gone so far, she didn't think fate liked her.

-!DRRR!-

Anni was reorganizing a display when she saw Erika and Walker stroll in. The interview had gone wonderfully, which only made her more anxious as to what else would be coming today to balance it out. "Oh, I haven't seen you around here before." Anni turned to find the pair had snuck up behind her. It was Erika who had spoken.

"I was just hired today. My name is Anni, it's nice to meet you" Anni said with a bow, keeping a professional cheerfulness. The pair introduced themselves, after going on a rant about how she spelled her name, based on her nametag. A rant which seemed to continue in a tangent after they left her to her work. Anni smiled as she watched them shop out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't wait until she got her hands on another drawing pad. Those two were too adorable together to not draw.

It was 6:30 by the time she had gotten off work and changed out of her uniform. She had decided to head to Russia Sushi for dinner, but that's not where she ended up. She ended up in a hole-in-the-wall art shop, where her money disappeared. Anni really hated herself sometimes. So instead of eating, she got to sit on a bench in a nearby park and draw. It was relaxing, and she found herself smiling as she doodled. Izaya unconscious, hung over a slightly-bent sign. Simon waving flyers with a wide smile. Shinra with shining glasses. She was pulled from her stress relief by a rather familiar voice.

"Helloooo beautiful!" Masaomi chimed, smiling. He plopped down next to her and leaned over to look over her shoulder. "How about you draw me? I'm Kida Masaomi, chick magnet extraordinaire!"

"Sure, but you'll have to stand still long enough" Anni offered, flipping to a clean page and laughing.

"Ah, you see this Mikado? My new love is going to paint a portrait of me!" Masaomi cried, jumping up to pose. Mikado, who was standing not far off, looked something between amused and mortified. Anri stood beside him, impassive.

"Aaah, Masaomi, you can't just call her that because she agreed to draw you…" he said softly, his voice almost drowned out by the ambient noise of the city. Masaomi, meanwhile, was too busy shifting through different extravagant poses.

"Oh no! Here I am modelling for you and I don't even know your name! If-" Masaomi started, falling to one knee. His hands folded over his heart, as if pleading earnestly.

"Annibel" Anni answered shortly, cutting him off. "And I did mean what I said about staying still, you dope."

"How would my glorious Annibel like me to pose then? A proud hero? A victorious hunter? Oh! Maybe you want to draw me as a cool cat!" the teenager went on, shifting through poses as he named them.

"Anything that will keep you still!" Anni demanded, doing her best to hold back laughter.

"A virtuous knight then!" he exclaimed, settling on a pose.

"Shall I draw a horse under you, Sir Kida?" Anni joked as she quickly got an outline. Masaomi didn't get to answer though.

"Masaomi, Sonohara-san and I are going home" Mikado announced.

"Ah, wait a minute!" he called as his friends started to walk off. He knelt before Anni, much to her amusement. "My dearest Annibel, I'm sorry, but I must leave you! See ya later!" and he was gone, running after his friends. Anni laughed and went about drawing all three of them. It was only with great willpower that she kept spoilers out of the theme. She did intend to give this to the trio, anyway. She lost light quickly, and was forced to return home. Shizuo's house she reminded herself harshly. Anni found the place empty of other life, so she stretched out on the couch with her sketchpad and went back to work. Her only reservation was not turning on music. She wouldn't be repeating what happened two days ago. She finished up the Raira trio and had moved on to the otaku duo when she heard the door open. Shizuo shuffled in, a cigarette between his lips.

"Welcome home" she called before returning to her project.

"Hn" was the only response he gave as he came inside. Anni made room so he could sit next to her. "What are ya up to now?"

"I'm drawing a couple people I met at work today. Oh, I got hired! They even let me start working today" Anni gushed, looking up only long enough to grin at her roommate.

"Good for you" he said, taking a drag.

Anni paused a moment before asking, "How was your day?"

"Eh" he sighed, leaning back and grabbing the remote. "It was annoying." Anni thought it best not to speak up as he started flipping through channels. It was awhile before he finally settled on something Celty had suggested he watch. Anni never saw what it was, as she made the mistake of leaning her head back into the couch as she worked. "Anni…" Shizuo sighed once he noticed the scratch of pencil on paper had stopped, but she was gone.

-!DRRR!-

It was the alarm on her phone that woke her. Once she had convinced it to shut up, Anni realized she wasn't where she remembered falling asleep. She tried to decide if she should curse or thank him for moving her again as she stood up from the futon, but couldn't settle on one. What she was thankful for, however, was the lack of nightmares last night. Alex will be glad to hear that she thought, stretching. Anni didn't have time to call him now though, she had to get to work. Shizuo was still asleep, so she simply picked up her sketch pad from the coffee table and left him to his dreams.

Work went by quickly, Anni filling her break time drawing. She was out at 6:30 again, and decided to wander around. She called her brother as she walked, and told him the good news, both about her quiet night, and landing the job. He quickly congratulated her, and hung up. Thanks Anni thought sarcastically. That was when she caught sight of Mikado, Masaomi, and Anri. What startled her was Anri's dress. She was wearing a beautiful blue yukata spotted with pink flowers. So that's today. "Masaomi-san!" Anni called. The trio turned as one to look back at her.

"Ah! My beautiful Annibel! Have you missed me so much-" Masaomi started. Anni didn't let him finish.

"Here" she said curtly, holding out the paper. "I finished the drawing, and I thought you and your friends might like it." Masaomi stared at the depiction in surprise before exploding.

"It's wonderful! Annibel has captured our spirits in no more than a day! This truly is a fantastic festival!" he sang, twirling on one foot. Mikado managed to catch the paper and show it to Anri.

"O-oh, this is pretty good. I didn't even ask you to draw me. Thank you" Mikado stuttered.

"Thank you very much" Anri added quietly. Anni bowed silently and walked away, grinning.

"Annibel, where are you going?" Masaomi called after her mournfully. Anni waved over her shoulder and turned a corner. She couldn't well keep them long, or she would mess with today's events. So she kept to herself as she wandered, staying away from where she knew the action was. She stopped to talk to Simon before heading in for some sushi. She leaned against a streetlight to doodle in her sketchbook a bit more. Anything to pass time until the "UFO" flew at 10. Poor saps. She was only a block away from the building when 10 o'clock rolled around and the brightly colored gang got their flying lessons. People looked up and chattered. Anni grinned at the spectacle. Satisfied, she turned and started heading back home. Sadly, she didn't get very far.

"You were waiting for it too" Izaya observed from her left. Anni froze.

"You're right, Izaya" she said, hesitantly.

"Of course I am" he gloated, "but what am I right about this time?" Anni turned to glare at him.

"It is very hard to trust you" she accused with venom.

"Oh-ho!" Izaya laughed, coming closer. "So you heard that?"

It was Anni's turn to give a knowing smile. "Sort of" she said teasingly. Izaya took the chance to put an arm around her shoulders and lead her off. "And where do you think you're taking me" she growled, trying to shake off his hand.

"Just somewhere more private, where a certain Shizu-chan won't interrupt us" he explained, not even looking at her.

"How about no" Anni offered darkly, pulling her knife. She didn't get to bury it in his ribs like she wanted though, as he danced away, just into the mouth of a nearby alley. Anni made the mistake of following him, as if all she needed to do was close the distance between his skin and her knife to win. He backed farther into the alley as she approached, only pulling out his switchblade as she cleared the corner. That stopped her in her tracks.

"Tisk tisk. Come now Anni-chan, you know better than this. I'm sure you're already aware who would win this" Izaya lectured, never losing his confident smile. Anni slowly lowered and pocketed her knife. Izaya's switchblade disappeared to somewhere unknown. "Now you just have to be civil. Is that so hard?"

"I still want nothing to do with you" Anni growled.

Izaya sighed at her. "Come on now Little Anni" he coaxed. Anni stiffened. Hearing that name come from his mouth was disgusting. It was DISTURBING, and it took her a moment to figure out why. Only one person ever called her that. Alex. And even then, there was no way Izaya could know that name. Alex only called her 'Little Anni' when they were alone. Or over the pho- Any color that had once been in Anni's face drained in an instant. She was an idiot. She could only watch stupidly as Izaya's grin widened into victory.

"You bugged my phone, you mother fucker" she said, her voice devoid of any malice, or life. The damn informant had killed her with two words.

"Language Anni-chan, language!" he chortled back. Izaya seemed all the more pleased to get her to curse, and gleefully stood, watching her expressions. Anni was at a loss. What else has he heard? She tried desperately to remember every word she'd spoken to Alex since she got here. She drew a blank. She was so angry. So terrified. So lost. She was paralyzed again, just like her nightmares. You're out of your depth, Anni was the only rational conclusion she could draw. She desperately wished Alex were here with her. He would know how to handle this. But he wasn't. She was alone. Terribly alone. But she had known him all her life. She should be able to imitate him, right? What would he do?

He wouldn't show his weaknesses. But that was all she had done since she'd met Izaya. She'd been emotionally weak when he first caught sight of her. She'd shown him her weak security when those thugs made it so easily into her home. She'd been physically weak when she couldn't fight them off herself. It was only because of Shizuo she'd made it out of their van. It was only because Shizuo took her in that she had a safe place to stay. It was only because of Alex now that she was able to think rationally. And now Izaya had made Alex her weakness. She was done depending on everyone else. If she was going to make it out of this, it would have to be under her own power. Anni calmly pulled out her phone, watching Izaya's eyes light up. 'Oh?' he mouthed. It was a small, lime-green flip phone. Anni hated the color, but she hadn't had much choice at the time of choosing. All it had was an internet connection, a few pictures she had taken since coming to the city, and Alex's number, which she had memorized anyway. It had nothing, but it was still precious. It was the only phone that could reach out of this universe. It was the only way she could reach her brother.

"I can only assume you've been wanting to break me." Anni said calmly, opening her phone. Even with her meager strength, and one arm in a brace, and awkwardly trying to keep her sketchpad locked under her arm, the phone made a satisfying *snap*. Anni held out the pieces. "You win. You've broken a part of me" she announced, dropping the trophy into Izaya's waiting hand. Not expecting anything more, Anni turned and left.

"Bravo" she heard Izaya whisper behind her, before breaking into hysterical laughter.

-!DRRR!-

Shizuo unlocked his apartment to an unpleasant smell. It was only a slight wiff, but the flea's scent was unmistakable. He looked around, but only found Anni lying rather stiffly on the couch. When will she learn to go to bed on her own? Do I have to keep carrying her every night? "Oh" he commented rather dully as he noticed her eyes were open, staring blankly at the ceiling. The expression he thought at first glance to be peaceful was actually rather unnervingly dead.

"I have my own income now, so it won't take me long to save up enough for an apartment of my own," she stated in monotone. "and I'm done taking your room from you. I'll be the one sleeping on the couch for now. Please don't move me anymore."

"Oi" Shizuo said, his tone slipping dangerously low. He walked forward to look directly down at her. "Are you going to try and tell me where to sleep now? Who are you to order me around in my own house?" he growled, leaning down to glare at her. Anni would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid, but Izaya had scared her more. So she kept her face as impassive as she could.

"No, I'm telling you where I will sleep, which is either on this couch or on the street" she announced, almost as cool as her last statement. She couldn't come this far to fail now, and she believed he wouldn't hurt her. She wanted to, anyway.

Shizuo seemed to accept that, but only for a second. Anni's belief in her safety faltered as he hauled her up to his eye level by the front of her shirt. For little 5'5" Anni, that was quite a ways. With his glasses off, Anni could fully see the barely restrained fury in his hazel eyes. Today was a bad day to test him. "You're not sleeping in the damn street" he snarled at her. Anni took a moment to try and gather herself again. She was starting to debate between her pride and the structural integrity of her skeleton. "What have you got to say now, huh?!" Shizuo started shaking her. No. Nonononononono I can't lose now was all she could think as the world started to spin. "HUH?" he yelled, finally putting a pause on the shaking.

"I just don't want to hurt you!" Anni reached up to grab the arms that held her, steadying herself. That gave him pause. Maybe that would give her the time she needed. Shizuo looked confused.

"You don't want.. to hurt... me?" he asked, as if to confirm. Anni nodded. "Explain yourself" he ordered.

"Since we first met, all you've done is go well out of your way to help me. You took me to a doctor. You hunted down Izaya on my behalf. You gave up your own room so I would have a safe place to sleep."

"Get to the point already"

"All I've done is take things from you that you would otherwise have. I feel like I'm stealing from you. Last I checked, stealing from someone hurts them." Her feet touched the ground. She's never treasured that feeling so much in her life.

"You haven't been hurting me. I told you, I've been helping you because I think it's the right thing to do" he explained, his glare losing its edge.

"And I've only been able to take your kindness without giving anything back. I don't think that's right!" Anni asserted, gripping his wrists. He seemed to notice he was still holding her, and released her shirt, letting his arms fall away.

"You said you had an idea of how to pay me back."

"I do, but that doesn't change the fact that I've only ever taken from you. At least let me give you your room back." Anni bargained softly, relaxing. Shizuo pulled out a cigarette.

"And what if those guys who tried to kidnap you show up again?" he asked, lighting it.

"You'll be no farther from me than if you were sleeping on the couch."

"I don't want them to find you first."

"They would have to be stupid enough to break into YOUR apartment to begin with. I think I could deal with those kinds of idiots" Anni said with a confident smile.

"Ah. Fine. You can have the couch, but I don't want you to complain anymore after this."

"That's a deal."

-A/N-

Edited by my dear friends Alondor Fridwein and Faded Phoenix