Shizuo was enjoying his day off, wandering about the city. Even if there was a punk who thought it would be a good idea to try and mug him as he passed through an alley, he was able to brush it off after punching his face in. There was still no sign of the flea in his city, so he was happy. He'd started today in a good mood, and he was determined to hang onto it. Good moods were rare and valuable to him, and he wasn't about to let this one go to waste. It made him even happier then to spot Anni in a park he passed through. She was sitting on a bench in the grass, scratching at something on her shoulder. Shizuo drifted closer to see it was a small siamese kitten. Anni looked truly content to have the tiny cat sleep while perched on her, and didn't move a muscle save for rubbing it's little head. He smiled as he walked up, admiring how adorable the two were.
"Yo" he greeted once he was close enough.
"Afternoon" she said quietly, still not moving. "I found a new friend."
"I see that. Are you going to keep it?" he asked, standing in front of her so she could see him without moving her head.
"Can't. My apartment doesn't allow pets. I just wanted to give her a happy place to sleep for a little bit…" Anni explained sadly. The sun had started to set, casting her in a soft orange light.
"It's going to be dark soon. You should probably head home" he advised. Anni's eyes widened and she paused rubbing the kitten's head for a moment.
"I don't want to leave her just yet. Could you stay with me?" she begged with puppy-dog eyes. Shizuo gave in and took the seat next to her. "Thank you!"
"I can't just leave you sitting alone at night" he admitted as he draped his arms over the back of the bench. The small disturbance woke the kitten, who yawned and stretched. Purring, she wandered from Anni's shoulder onto Shizuo's arm. He stayed perfectly still as she made the trek over to sniff his ear.
"She likes you" Anni celebrated.
"Looks like it" he observed as the siamese bit his ear. "Ow!" He turned to glare at the feline on his shoulder. The cat hissed and jumped down, darting away. "Stupid furball" he growled softly.
"Wait!" Anni stood, reaching after the fleeing stray, who swiftly disappeared. "Are you alright?" she asked, turning her attention back to him.
"I'm fine" he sighed, rubbing his ear.
"Move your hand" Anni ordered, pulling his wrist away with his compliance. She knelt on the bench as she examined his bleeding ear. "I guess you smelled good enough to eat" she joked, pinching the small puncture to stop the bleeding. Shizuo chuckled.
"I guess so, though I've never had someone tell me I smell good before."
"Aw, that's sad. Are kitty and I the only one's who've noticed?" Anni asked.
"If anyone else has, they haven't said anything" he answered. Anni pulled her hand away, rubbing her slightly stained fingers off on her pants. "Do you know you talk in your sleep?" he asked, recalling what had woken him the night before.
"Ya, sometimes. It annoyed the hell out of Alex. He would tease me in the mornings with whatever nonsense I'd spewed at him overnight. What did I say this time?"
"Apparently you were threatening someone in your dream. I believe your exact words were 'One wrong move, and I'll skin you and hang you by your intestines'." he recounted. Anni just laughed.
"Wow, that's easily the most comprehensible phrase yet. Was that all?"
"No, but I couldn't make out the rest. You were mumbling into my shoulder" Shizuo answered, quickly admonishing himself for lying. He'd heard the second part just fine; 'I won't let you hurt my Shizuo'. He had never been one for talking about dreams, much less trying to figure out what they mean, but her phrasing it like that really seemed to say something about what she thought of him. He still didn't know what to do with that kind of revelation, but he certainly wasn't averse to it.
"That certainly fits in my repertoire of threats. I must have been really mad at whoever it was to be so descriptive" she analyzed, getting distracted by the progressing sunset. "I'm sorry I woke you with it though. Probably not the most pleasant thing to hear when you're half-asleep."
"Don't worry about me" he instructed, admiring the skyline with her. Anni scoffed at him.
"No. I'm going to worry about you, if you like it or not" she asserted, crossing her legs on the bench. "It's not like I'm going to stop caring about your well being just because you told me to anyway. You're too important." Anni seemed to notice what she'd said the instant after it left her lips. She turned away to admire another part of the sky, but Shizuo still saw the blush spread to her ears.
"Why do you think I worry about you so much then?" he asked. He waited until she turned to face him again before continuing, "You're important too." Anni's face split into a grin for a second before she hugged him.
"Thank you" she said as he ruffled her hair. The little blonde pulled back and brushed his hand off her head before adding "Stay still, and don't kill me." What the hell is she planning that she would have to order that?
"I wouldn't kill you, Anni" he stated stiffly.
"I know" she said with a mischievous smirk as she reached up towards his face. Is she going to…? No. She pulled his sunglasses off his face and quickly twirled them around to rest them on her own nose. Shizuo couldn't help but laugh at her childish smile as she admired the park with them. She looked absurd.
"Did you think I would hurt you over THAT?" he asked as he chuckled.
"No… but I'm not stupid enough to go through with the part of my plan that would have gotten me killed" she answered carefully. "Which is why I won't be running anywhere."
"Good idea" Shizuo complimented, taking his glasses back. Darkness had completely fallen by then.
"I don't want to retreat inside just yet. May I wander about with you?" Anni requested.
"Of course."
-!DRRR!-
What is she hiding now? Maya wondered as she walked. Anni had alternated between being irritated and content all through her shift, and didn't want to say anything about it, as usual. The first day they see each other after the sleepover, and she's back to being secretive. The blonde was infuriating.
Maya was taking a shortcut through an alleyway when said blonde passed by right in front of her. Anni was talking to Shizuo who was on her other side, so she didn't see her friend as Maya grabbed her arm. Maya didn't have time to process what happened next. She only knew that she was on the ground, and her head hurt like hell.
"What the hell Anni?!" she cried once she got her breath back. Her eyes pinched shut as she held the back of her throbbing head. She would have rolled onto her side had her legs not been tangled in one of the bushes lining the street.
"Maya?" she heard her friend say in confusion.
"Of course it's me you dipstick! Did you FLIP me?" Maya demanded, prying one eye open to see Anni's horrified expression.
"I'm sorry, I didn't… YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME!" the blonde yelled.
"Then help me up already you scaredy cat!" Maya yelled back. Her legs were pulled out of the plant and she was dragged to her feet, where she wobbled and let one hand cradle the back of her skull. "That hurt damn it" she grumbled darkly. Anni huffed a sigh.
"Your turn then" she offered quietly, crossing her arms and closing her eyes. She planned to let Maya take revenge immediately, and her coworker was only too happy to oblige. Maya's hand stung with how she smacked the back of her friend's head, sending Anni stumbling forward a step, but it was well worth it. That is, until Shizuo stepped in and snatched her arm.
"What the hell was that?" he demanded angrily as he hauled her into the air. "I thought you were her friend!" Maya was frozen in terror, unable to reply. Anni had to speak on her behalf.
"It's ok, I asked her to do that to make me feel better! Put her down!" she begged, grabbing the bodyguard by his vest. When he only glared down at her, she wrapped her arms around his torso and leaned her forehead into his chest. "Please, I've hurt her enough already!" she demanded, her voice cracking. Maya was slowly lowered to the ground, where she wobbled on her feet. As soon as she found her balance, she took off running. She had to get away. If he caught her again, there's no telling what he'd hit her with, or how far she'd fly. All she could think about were the stories she'd heard of things he'd done, and imagining herself on the receiving end. One thing the rumors could never capture though was the way the air around him changed. It was like his anger became a palpable thing, an aura surrounding him as a threat to any who dared to get too close. It had taken her breath away.
Maya tripped, and went sprawling out on her face. She stayed there for a moment, listening. All she could hear was her own labored breathing and her pulse pounding in her ears. No shouts of fury. No pounding stampede of pursuit. No crashing projectiles. Was she safe? Maybe. Maya used a wall to climb back to her feet. She thankfully recognized the street she was on. In her terror she'd made a beeline for home. Just a little further and she'd be safe. Thanks to Anni distracting him- Anni. Maya gasped. She'd left Anni alone to deal with him. He'd been furious, and Anni had put herself right in the line of fire. Maya couldn't go back. She couldn't face him again.
"I'm sorry, Anni" she whispered as she made the rest of the way home.
-!DRRR!-
"Maya, open up! It's me!" Anni called out as she started pounding on the apartment door. She'd only ever been to Maya's house once, and she hoped she remembered it correctly. She hoped Maya had made it home. She hoped Maya's phone was only dead, and not lying unattended in some dark alley. Relief flooded her as Maya opened the door. "You're ok!"
"Ya. Are you…?" she asked, looking around.
"He's not here. I came alone" Anni explained. She was then roughly dragged into Maya's apartment by the front of her shirt.
"I'm sorry" Maya said softly after she'd locked the door again. "I abandoned you."
"It's ok" Anni asserted, spinning Maya by her shoulders and wrapping her in a hug. "I'm ok. Nothing happened."
"That doesn't make it better" Maya pushed the blonde off. "I still left you behind when I should have stayed. You put yourself in danger for me, and I ran away. Some 'friend' I am."
"Let me pay you back for it then" Anni offered.
"What?"
"Like back there, where I let you smack me. Let me take revenge for leaving me."
"Oh. Fine" Maya agreed, not at all liking the way Anni smiled at her. She closed her eyes and waited. And waited. It was the door closing that made her open her eyes again. She was alone.
Anni thoroughly enjoyed the short snort of a laugh that she caught through the door. With her job done, she rushed down the stairs and out onto the street, where Shizuo waited.
"How is she?" he asked after emptying his lungs of smoke.
"She seems well enough. It looked like she mostly felt guilty for leaving me behind"
"Ah. I was more asking if she seemed injured…"
"Nothing that you did. Her palms were a little scraped, but her arm looked fine and she didn't have any trouble moving" Anni reported.
"Good" Shizuo said, visibly relieved. He put out his cigarette. "Where do you want to go now?"
"I don't know" Anni shrugged. "You know the city better than I do."
"Come on then" he instructed, messing up her hair as he walked by.
They wandered about together for a few more hours, until Anni finally let him walk her home around midnight. She insisted on sleeping in her apartment, even if she knew she wouldn't be free of the terrors in her head. After a parting hug, Anni was alone again. She got a midnight snack before condemning herself to sleep.
This time around, she was watching as the scumbag pulled someone else into the alley. Maya didn't even have a blade to try and defend herself. Anni watched in paralyzed horror as her friend was tied up and groped. Shizuo didn't show up this time either, so he got to lead Maya away with impunity. NO!
Anni stared down at her white knuckles, stained a ghostly hue by the moonlight streaming through her window. I can't let that happen.
-A/N-
I'm too impatient to wait another day to post this. Also, huge thank you to Randomcassie8. You cheered me up enough to pump out a few more chapters and get over the pessimistic slump I've been in with my writing. You really made my day.
Edited by my dear friend Faded Phoenix