Anni fidgeted in discomfort. The chair below her suddenly seemed like the hardest place to sit in the world. Maya's parents were arguing with the doctor, demanding to know exactly what happened to their daughter. Poor Maya still hadn't opened her eyes, which only worried them more. Anni sat across from Maya's sniffling little sister in the waiting room, unable to bring herself to tell the family about last night's events, or that it was all her fault. So she played with her hands and avoided meeting anyone's eyes. Maya's roommate wandered in with three others in tow. The lot chose to take up more seats in the waiting room instead of talking to the doctor who still had his hands full with the parents.

"You're Anni-chan, right?" Maya's roommate whispered, taking the seat next to her. She had long black hair and a sweet face. "Maya talks about you a lot."

"That's me. She'll be happy to see you all when she wakes up" Anni replied, matching her volume.

"I'm Caroline, nice to meet you. Do you know how she is? I don't want to get involved in that…" she motioned to the commotion the poor doctor was attempting to control.

"They say she's going to be fine. Most of her injuries were no more than skin deep, but she still hasn't woken up. She should be regaining consciousness any time now…"

"I wonder what happened. When she didn't come home last night I was worried, but I just assumed she was spending the night with her new boyfriend" Caroline explained, nodding vaguely at one of the people she'd brought with her. Anni was too wrapped up in her own anxiety to notice who it was.

"This isn't your fault, don't worry about it. She's going to be ok" Anni asserted with the most encouraging grin she could manage. Caroline returned a sympathetic smile.

"You two are really close, aren't you?" The question caught Anni off guard. What startled her even more was something landing on the back of her hand. Water? She reached up to find her cheeks were wet. Anni muttered a curse and hid her face in her hands. "She's going to be ok, you said so yourself" Caroline consoled, rubbing Anni's back.

Hours seemed like an eternity as they crawled past. Maya's family and friends all introduced themselves and talked while they waited. Anni listened, but refrained from saying anything about herself.

The doctor came back in sometime in the early afternoon. Anni had stopped paying attention to the time a while ago, as it only seemed to make the world spin more slowly.

"Would you come with me please?" he asked, motioning to Maya's worried parents. They sprang to their feet and followed him quickly, pulling Maya's sister with them. He returned half an hour later without the family.

"How is she?" one of Maya's more vocal friends asked. What was his name again? Kane-something?

"She's awake, but there are some complications" the doctor reported in a detached voice.

"What do you mean 'complications'?" he demanded.

"Maya seems to be suffering from a mild case of amnesia. We don't know at the moment the extent…-" Anni stopped paying attention. Maya didn't remember what happened. She didn't need Anni around anymore. Even if she did need someone, there were plenty of people here now to take care of her. Anni stood numbly and left the hospital, not bothering to say goodbye to anyone.

-!DRRR!-

The sweets called to her from the front window of the store. We'll make it all better they promised. We're not even that expensive… Anni gave in and went inside, buying a handful of her favorites and a few extras as a gift for her boyfriend's sweet tooth. The cherry lollipop was the first sacrifice as Anni started walking again. She didn't even know where she was going. Her apartment was silent and lonely, and she would likely only end up going to sleep and breaking down after the first nightmare if she went there. Shizuo had said he was going to sleep as she left, so his place was out. She couldn't handle staying at the hospital any longer. Her feet went about taking her where they wanted again. It came as no surprise as Anni wandered up to where she'd planned to meet Shizuo for their date today, before the whole thing had been postponed. It did surprise her to see him there though. He stood facing away from her, fishing something out of his pocket. Anni crinkled her nose as he shook another cigarette from its pack. She'd always disliked that habit, but she understood why he did it, and it's not like she had any say. That is, before now. Maybe, as his girlfriend…

Anni snuck up behind him and plucked the cancer-stick from his lips before he could light it. To say he was surprised as he turned to face her would be an understatement. "Here" she said around her lollipop, pulling one just like it from her little bag and offering it to him. "It's better for your health."

"If you say so" he relented with ease, taking the treat and pulling off the wrapper. "How's Maya?" he asked before plopping it in his mouth.

"She's awake now at least, but…" she took her sweet out and twirled the stick between her fingers.

"But?"

"Amnesia. She doesn't remember what happened. They say she should be fine otherwise though." Anni admired the way the light caught on the candy as it spun.

"You seem to be holding up well, considering" he observed.

"For now" she corrected. Shizuo rested his hand on her head as a small comfort. Anni closed her eyes tried to relax. "Would it be ok if I started moving back in sooner than planned? I would like to get some real sleep without worrying about moving my clothes back and forth…"

"That's fine" he reassured, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Anni pinned his hand against the side of her face, where she could nuzzle into his palm. He smelled like smoke and safety, as always. When had she come to associate his natural scent with safety again? She dismissed the silly question. Something like that didn't matter anyway. It was so warm. So perfect. If only…

Anni froze as she opened her eyes, realizing not only what she was doing, but that they were still in public. Shizuo stared down at her in stunned silence, a blush creeping across his cheeks. Anni hurried to release his hand, heat spreading through her own face. Before he could react, she whispered a quick apology and turned away. Why? Why do I have to be so damn impulsive today? she wondered as she wandered a few steps away. The remains of her lollipop gave way with a *crunch* under her teeth. The numbness was fading, and Anni didn't want to see what was behind it.

A few minutes passed, with Anni leaning against the wall and absently watching the people pass by on the sidewalk. She lost herself in thought easily, not really caring where Shizuo was or what he was doing. It was far too likely that she would do something stupid again, and she didn't particularly want him involved if she did.

"You're quieter than usual" he observed, leaning beside her.

"So says Mr. Peace and Quiet himself" Anni quipped. There it is. "Ah, no, forget I said that. I'm sorry" She covered her face with her hands. "I'm just…"

"Anni, are you ok?" he asked, reaching out to her.

"No" she replied curtly, pulling away enough to make him return his hand to his pocket. "There was a reason I said I wasn't up for anything… serious… today." The little blonde went back to worrying the candy stick between her molars.

"I think you need some cheering up."

"Shizuo, I just said-"

"It won't be serious, I promise. But we need to hurry" he explained quickly, turning on heel to walk away.

"Wait, wha- hey!" she called. She was forced to jog after him to catch up with his long strides. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

A few minutes of power walking brought them to an old looking building. It wasn't very tall, but it was still the tallest in the immediate area. "What's this?" Anni wondered aloud as she was led around to the east side, where the fire escape was. The ladder to the metal stairs had been left down.

"Come on" Shizuo coaxed, starting up the ladder. Anni grumbled and followed up after him. What in the world is so special about this building? It looked like it hadn't received real use in a few years. Her legs started to burn after the fourth flight of taking steps two at a time. She still couldn't catch up to Shizuo, who didn't seem tired in the least. Thankfully he stopped to wait for her at the top, just below the edge of the rooftop. She did her best to hide that she was winded as she made it to his side. He stayed in place and smiled as he waved her on ahead.

Anni finally understood why he had wanted to hurry. The sun was setting on Tokyo, dyeing the sky orange and painting the towers in red and purple. Windows gleamed and shone with the dying light, taking her breath away. A playful breeze pushed her forward, tugging at her hair and clothes, and making the little bag of sugar hanging on her wrist swing. The city spread out before her, glowing in the fading sunset. She couldn't be numb to this. Some small voice inside her was screaming for her art supplies, some way to capture this, but she knew she would never be able to do the scene justice. Not even the little camera on her phone could hope to accurately portray what was before her. The little blonde could do little more but watch in wonder as the last of the daylight disappeared. The darker tones of twilight took over, bringing her back to reality. She didn't recall reaching the edge of the rooftop, but the top of the guard railing was clenched under her hands.

"Do you feel better?" Shizuo asked, drawing her attention. She didn't remember when he'd moved either, but he stood beside her, leaning his elbows on the guard rail. He looked so adorable, with that content smile, and the lollipop stick pressed between his lips. Anni couldn't find her voice, so she gave him a curt nod. This was all too much to process. After a minute spent gathering herself again, she started heading back towards the fire escape. Shizuo quietly followed on her tail.

It was as she was making her way down the third flight that Anni made her mistake. She'd pulled out her phone to check her call history, as she couldn't recall the last time she'd talked to her brother. She still hadn't told him about the thing in the warehouse, and was considering when she should make that call when she stumbled, expecting there to be one more step than there was. It was easy enough to catch herself, there was a railing right in front of her, but she caught the railing with her wrist. Her phone slipped from her hand and into the void. "No!" she cried out reflexively as it disappeared. Shizuo came up beside her to look out where her lifeline had fallen. "Alex is going to be SO mad when he can't contact me. Again" Anni mumbled dejectedly.

"You have his number memorized, right?" he asked, producing his cell from his pocket. "Call him and apologize."

"I can't. The phone that just met its unfortunate end is the only one that could contact him. Thanks for the offer though" Anni sighed before starting down again to check the damages.

"Why is that?" Shizuo asked as he followed, making Anni stop for a second.

"Because it's from the same universe I am. My home- I mean, the universe I'm from- rejects anything from this reality. A phone from here wouldn't be able to get a connection through the link" she explained, not really caring what secrets fell from her mouth now. Shizuo apparently didn't have anything to say to that, as he stayed quiet. "I'm an alien from another universe who knows the future!" Anni proclaimed as she reached the ladder and hopped down. "And I don't belong here" she added quietly.

"Don't say that" Shizuo instructed as he landed. Anni ignored him and set about searching for the pieces of her phone. The cracked screen, battery, and keypad were found, but the back cover must have vaporized on impact. The remains were dropped into the candy bag.

"Let's go."

-!DRRR!-

"I'll be back to take you home tomorrow after work" she promised, gripping Maya's hand.

"Thank you Mom" Maya said with a tired smile.

"Sleep well" she bid, kissing her daughter's forehead and leaving. Maya didn't think she would be able to get to sleep any time soon though. She was still dazed. Given the state she was in, she KNEW something important had happened, something terrible, but she couldn't for the life of her remember what. Supposedly, the last thing she could recall was a year ago, just after she moved into Ikebukuro with Caroline. What had happened in those months? Was her mind trying to protect her by forgetting, or had she just hit her head? Had someone drugged her to make her forget? No one had any answers, and it was frustrating.

She still had the feeling that she was missing something important, but every time she got close to grasping it, it slipped through her fingers. It was like a dream, flitting about on the edges of her mind to taunt her. Maya eventually fell into a fitful sleep after hours of searching her seemingly empty head.

-A/N-

Edited by my dear friend Faded Phoenix