Another month had passed. Anni knew all too well, because she had been keeping careful count, all leading up to the long weekend. It was no accident now, that she was walking home with Shizuo on a Friday night. She was practically humming as she strolled along before she noticed the odd look he was giving her.

"Is something going to start up again? You only get this excited when you know something is coming" he observed.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I'm going to do my best to keep my nose out of this one, but I wanna watch!" she gushed, gazing up at him as if begging permission.

"Of course, just stay out of trouble" he laughed, rubbing her head. Anni wondered for a moment if acting like a kid was worth the treatment. "I don't want you getting hurt like you did last time."

"I'll be fine. I did go overboard last month, but-"

"No excuses. I just want you to stay safe" he asserted, cutting her off. Anni could now make out the light glare he was giving her through his glasses.

"Allright. I'll stay out of trouble then" she agreed, stopping in place. There was a turn up ahead, and she could barely see the front tire of a motorcycle poking out. "I need to stay here for a minute. Go on ahead. Don't say anything about having a girlfriend, ok?" she instructed quietly.

"Ah, so it's right now? I get it" Shizuo nodded before continuing. Anni watched him go, something twisting uncomfortably in her stomach. She stayed where she was as he turned the corner, and as his conversation with Rocchi began. She didn't move until after the distinctive impact of flesh on flesh signaled the start of their fight. By the time she had jogged close enough to watch, Rocchi had gotten back up and was sprinting forward to try and land another blow. He never got to, as Shizuo's fist was faster. Rocchi went flying again, landing on his back. Shizuo just advanced slowly, calmly closing the distance to deliver another punch.

"Two" Anni counted under her breath. To her horror, as Rocchi sat up again, his eyes fell on her. She kept her face impassive, but she knew she'd already messed up. The knot in her stomach threatened to reintroduce her to her dinner.

"This isn't the place for you, Little Miss" Rocchi announced as he stood up.

"Don't worry about me" Anni asserted quietly, but she doubted Rocchi heard her as he threw himself at Shizuo again, and endured hit three. Then he got back to his feet. Even knowing before that he could pull this off didn't quite kill the awe Anni felt, watching him take hit after hit from her Shizuo. He was a bit slower getting to his feet again, but stand he did.

"Don't you worry, I can still take care of this" he proclaimed, though he had yet to do anything to Shizuo, and was just barely still on his feet. One last time, he closed the distance between himself and her guardian with a kick. His foot found Shizuo's face, but he didn't even flinch. Rocchi landed, and the fourth punch met his face. Anni held her breath.

With much effort, Chikage Rokujo pulled himself to his feet again. You're going to get yourself killed, you stubborn idiot! Before he could stumble forward enough to attack her boyfriend yet again, she threw herself between them, arms spread wide. One more hit and you're as good as dead! Don't you dare take that for me. She made sure to face Rocchi, so there was no mistake who she was defending.

"Enough, Rocchi!" Anni stood still a second, regathering her wits. No one else moved. "Please, don't make me watch you try to hurt my boyfriend any longer!"

"Haha, you didn't mention having such a sweet little lady" Rocchi said as he fell to his knees. He crumpled on the spot, saying "I've got a sweet thing to, she'll be sure to nurse me back to health." With that he was gone. He'd simply given into unconsciousness. The little blonde let her arms fall as she released the breath she hadn't been aware she was still holding. A hand fell on her shoulder, making her jump. Shizuo came up from behind her, looking concerned. She had almost managed to forget he was here.

"I'm so sorry, I almost messed everything up…" she admitted, hanging her head. "I shouldn't have been here."

"I'm going to take him to Shinra, you should be able to make it home from here. We can talk about it when I get home, alright?" he ruffled her hair as he spoke, comforting her.

"I'll see you at home then" she agreed with a weak smile. A quick hug later, Anni was alone, quickly walking to their apartment. The midnight aria that usually soothed her only made her more tense. I messed up I messed up, I could have impacted everything from here on! she ranted to herself as she walked, keeping a careful eye on her surroundings. If Rocchi were more seriously hurt, or worse, KILLED, how would things turn out two days from now? Relaxing wasn't an option until she'd safely locked the door behind herself. Anni just threw herself into the couch and wallowed in self-loathing for a while.

-!DRRR!-

Shizuo was certainly curious by the time he made it home. He had of course been wondering about his girlfriend's secrets since he knew she had them, but recent events had only made it worse. He had never been one to pry, but this was something that involved him. He unlocked his door to find Anni laying face down in the couch, in a rather uncomfortable looking position.

"Welcome home" she said as she pulled herself up to poor girl looked so sad.

"So what exactly happened?" he asked as he came to sit beside her. Then she did something he had thought she wouldn't do; she flinched away. Shizuo froze in place as her little blue eyes widened in fear. "Anni?"

"I'm sorry I'm sorry, I've just been beating myself up… I'm mostly expecting a lecture. Alex would be ripping me a new one about now" she rambled, hiding her face in her hands. Shizuo huffed and forced himself to relax a little.

"I can't lecture you if I don't know what you did wrong, can I?" he asked.

"No you can't. I just almost messed up a lot more than I can say…. I guess I should start at the beginning" she started, scooting over so she could melt against his arm.

"You plan on telling me all of your big secrets then?"

"Not exactly, but a lot more than I have told you. Do you remember how I said I was from another universe?"

"Ya, back when you broke your phone, right?" he recounted, watching her close her eyes as she relaxed.

"Exactly. My home is almost exactly like this place, but it's missing a few things. One of the main differences is what it has that this universe doesn't, though. A story. It was a rather popular story. It started as just a light novel, but was made into both a manga and anime" Anni explained lazily.

"And what's so important about this story then?" Shizuo scratched the back of his neck while he listened, trying to figure out what some story in another universe had to do with it.

"It's a story about Ikebukuro" she answered, opening her eyes to see his reaction, "and it's named Durarara." When he didn't say anything, she continued. "It's a chaotic and rather dynamic story, that manages to show the point of view of almost all of its many characters. And Celty is the protagonist of it all."

"You sound like you know this story well" he commented. His little blonde laughed a little before speaking again.

"I do. I know it inside out, upside down and backwards. I adored that story."

"I still don't get how that story can be like Ikebukuro here though" he sighed.

"It's a bit complicated. Basically, because there are infinite universes, and infinite differences, anything you can imagine is possible is some other universe. I simply had a way to create a link between two worlds, one where all this is only a story, and one where it all actually happens." She made a little demonstration in the air with her fingers as she spoke, marking the different realities.

"And how did you make that… link?" he asked, trying to keep up with this nonsense.

"Alex and I… That time is a big blur. I still know how it happened, but I can't talk about it. I'm sorry"

"That's alright. So you know all about me because of Durarara then" Shizuo assumed.

"A lot, but I wouldn't really say all. You and Celty were once my favorite characters of the whole thing" she said with a smile, as if reflecting on something.

"Heh, I'm honored. Why the past tense though?"

"Because I can't think of anything here as JUST part of the story anymore. I've lived it. You're not just characters, we're all just humans. Well, not necessarily in Celty's case, but… This all isn't the point though" she finished, her face losing the little joy it held a moment before.

"What is it about then?"

"How should I say… The story is about a whole city. It's chaotic, and a bit unpredictable. It hinges on a lot of little things happening, that bring about bigger events that guide the lives of all the characters involved" she explained, bringing her hands in for emphasis again. "Left alone, here, everything should still happen that way. No matter the chances of those little coincidences, it'll all turn out like it does in Durarara. It won't change at all from how it's supposed to be."

"And that's a good thing right?" He reached over to move an errant bit of hair out of her face.

"Yes. I believe the end to everything in this story is a good one. I want that end to come about. But there's one big problem. The events should work out right without influence, and the only thing that can possibly mess with the balance is something not from the story. Or something not from this universe. Someone... like me" Anni's voice cracked on the last word, so she reached up to cover her mouth with both hands.

"Anni…?" Shizuo asked in surprise, taken aback by the sudden show of emotion.

"That's why I never wanted to tell you this. I'm a poison. Anything I do has a chance to mess with the fragile balance of events and destroy the story I know in ways I can't fix. Being anywhere near the story or those involved in it can have disastrous effects, and here I am, I've ended up dating YOU. Do you have any idea how important you are to everything?" she ranted emphatically. "Don't you see? I'm the dangerous one. The worst you can do is put me in the hospital, but I can destroy your whole life without even knowing it!" She turned to him, practically yelling at him as she lost it. Shizuo had no immediate response, still processing what she was trying to say. "It terrifies me. I never wanted to hurt you…" she admitted, her voice cracking again as she hung her head. Her fists balled on her knees.

It clicked. When he first asked her about what she knew, right after he had been shot, she ran away. She had been trying to protect him from herself. Was that why she immediately forgave him for hurting her that night in the alleyway too? Did she feel so guilty about putting him in danger that she would overlook a broken rib and collarbone without a second thought? All those months of keeping this secret, and trying to keep from changing him, how much had it worn on her? It was a wonder she didn't keep running away from him, after the first question. She'd been working so hard all this time to balance her connection with him and her fear of hurting him. Shizuo smiled. He still didn't quite get why she was so convinced she would change his life, but he did understand her fear.

"Y'know, you keep talking about changing the story as if it's some terrible thing, but I don't think it's the end of the world" he said casually as he rested a hand on her back. Anni just looked up at him in helpless silence. "I guess what I want to say is, I don't really care what happens to my life from here on out, so long as I can keep you in it."

"Shizuo, I could screw up absolutely everything just by ending up in the wrong place, just like tonight, are you sure you want someone like me-"

"Are you going to start telling me what I want now?" he challenged, leaning forward so their faces were barely an inch apart. It was so easy to smile, to call forward enough of a glare to make her stop arguing. He made sure to be mindful of how much pressure he put on her back, but the rest had become so simple to control. Anni flinched back for a second, but then started laughing. The frantic giggles only quieted slightly as she shook her head. She had clearly just been on the verge of tears, but she couldn't speak now past her own compulsive laughter. Shizuo pulled back and gave her room to struggle to breathe in her mirth. He could only sit and smile, proud that he had broken that horrible mood she had been in.

"Thank you" she managed to choke out after another minute.

"What are you thanking me for? I should be thanking you for telling me all this" he observed, laughing with her.

"I really should have trusted you with this earlier. Thank you Shizuo. I love you."

-!DRRR!-

"Yo. You usually don't call at this time anymore, is it important?" Alex asked, pinning his cell against his shoulder.

"I…. kinda? I'm just…" came his sisters hesitant answer.

"Alright, something happened…. again. At least you can still call me. Start talking" he ordered. The next 15 minutes were spent with Anni explaining the events of last night, and Alex occasionally making sounds to show he was still listening. She even explained the previous theory about the universe trying to counterbalance her interference. Once she had gone quiet for a minute, signalling that she was done, Alex took his turn. "You know exactly what I'm going to say next."

"...Yes" Anni agreed softly.

"Then I don't think I need to say it. You sound like you've tortured yourself enough already with my voice. What I will say is I still believe in Maya's theory" he explained, switching ears for the fifth time since they started talking.

"What?"

Alex huffed a sigh at her so intelligent answer, and explained himself. "I mean, Rokujo Chikage did not take more than the allotted four hits, did he?"

"No, he didn't but I had to step in-"

"Exactly. You're a part of that universe now, if you like it or not. You are now a part of that balance. You were effectively used to counteract yourself" he said as he continued going about his business. Anni was quiet.

"Please don't get my hopes up about something like this" she said after a time.

"I'm not, I'm just sharing what I think. Besides, it's still just a theory. It's not like you'll have any indication of if the UNIVERSE is telling you to do things or not-"

"OH SHIT" Anni yelled, making him jump in his seat.

"What the hell?!"

"I did though! I had this feeling… since I got here, I've been having bad feelings sometimes, and they've always been RIGHT. Alex, the universe HAS been trying to influence me! Right before the fight started, I got the sense that something was going to go wrong, like a twist in my stomach. The same thing happened the night Maya was kidnapped, and around the time Shizuo first figured out that I have a secret-"

"Slow down! What the hell are you talking about?" Alex demanded, putting a pause on what he was doing to rub the headache away from his eyebrows.

"I think I have actually become incorporated into this universe. I think you're absolutely right. You and Maya both" she continued in an overly excited tone.

"Alright, I get that. What were you saying about your stomach now?" he continued.

"That's how this universe 'orders' me around, I think. Or maybe how it lets me know something is wrong. I get this twisting, horrible feeling in my gut that something is going to go wrong" his little sister rambled.

"I think you've had too much coffee, or not enough sleep" he suggested as started going back to what he'd been working on.

"I have not had any caffeine today" she asserted with a little too much force.

"You didn't sleep well after all that, did you Little Anni?" Alex guessed. The silence that answered him was all too certain.

"My lunch break is almost over. I'll talk to you later tonight" she said finally.

"Later Trouble."

-!DRRR!-

"Tom-san, I got you some coffee" Shizuo offered. "What's wrong?"

"Thank you. I just saw a familiar face, see. Oh wait, he might've come here for you" Tom realized as he started on his drink.

"Huh?" his coworker asked as he sat down.

"The other day, didn't you beat up, or should I say blow away a bunch of bikers from Saitama? Well that team, the Toramaru team's boss, he was just there. His name's Rokujo Chikage" Tom explained, glancing out the window where the man in question had just been.

"You talking about that guy in the leather jacket with the white hearts?" Shizuo guessed.

"You know him then?" Tom asked in surprise.

"Ya, he came up to me yesterday…" Shizuo then went on to explain what had happened to him the night before, leaving out Anni's part in it, as she had asked.

"Huh, now that's unusual, for you to take someone to the doctor" Tom commented once he had finished his story.

"I don't really dislike that kind of guy. Now if it were Fleabag, I'd just apply the finishing blow" Shizuo said, imagining for an instant actually getting to land a hit on that annoyances face.

"Fleabag? Oh, you mean that information broker" Tom said, as a small tremor ran down Shizuo's spine. The straw he'd been holding was crushed between his fingers. "Well, taking one punch from you is more or less a finishing blow" Tom amended.

"Four punches" Shizuo corrected.

"Huh?"

"He kept getting up until after I landed my fourth punch" he described flatly.

"For real?" came Tom's surprised question.

"Ya, just before I delivered the fifth, 'I've got a girl too, she'll be sure to nurse me back to health' I think that's what he said? And so saying, he crashed to the ground" Shizuo expanded.

"I'd heard that he was a durable fellow" Tom said with a laugh.

"To be honest, it actually kind of made me happy." Shizuo found himself smiling, thinking of how Anni had thrown herself between them at that moment, protecting him. He of course didn't want her to put herself in danger, but he enjoyed having someone who would do that for him.

"Well, you did manage to find a sweet girl for yourself, didn't you? I told you looking like your top idol of a brother wouldn't hurt." Laughter still rang in Tom's voice.

"Do we really look that much alike?" Shizuo mused aloud.

"Why don't you ask Anni when you see her? Anyway, we've had a snack at Lottaria, so for dinner, how about we balance it out with Woc… huh?" Tom started as he stood, pausing as he looked out the window.

"What's wrong?" he wondered, leaning forward.

"No, behind you" Tom corrected, making his coworker turn. There, with her face pressed up against the glass, was a young girl. As he watched, she took what looked like a picture out of her shoulder bag, looked at it, looked at him again, then started spinning.

"Hey, is that a relative of yours, Shizuo?" came Tom's baffled question.

"No, I've never seen her before" he admitted.

"But I don't think she was looking at you because she's never seen anyone dressed like you" Tom speculated.

"Probably not. I'm going out to check." Shizuo stood and took his tray out to the door.

"Hey, what are you going to do if she suddenly goes 'Daddy' or 'Darling'?" Shizuo could hear the panic rising in Tom's voice, but continued on anyway.

"That would never happen."

-!DRRR!-

Anni had been out of her training for a while, had dinner, and was now wandering about the city she loved. Sitting still at times like this was simply impossible for her. Around this time, she theorized, Celty would be meeting Varona. Chikage Rokujo would be gathering his forces for their meeting. Later on, Varona would be going after-

"Aren't you the beauty from last night?" A voice broke through her little bubble, calling her to look up. None other than Rokujo Chikage stood before her, in bandages and his usual attire.

"I believe I am, Rocchi" she answered, a smile creeping over her face.

"Might I know the name of the young woman who so courageously stopped me?" He took up one of her hands to clasp as he spoke.

"Hael Annibel, though I ask everyone to call me Anni. It's nice to meet you" the little blonde explained.

"A pleasure to meet you as well! I'm on my way to a meeting of sorts, but I was wondering if you might accept my invitation-"

"If you want to take me out on a date, my dear Rocchi, you'll have to beat my precious Shizuo in a fight" Anni offered, watching her suitor stop dead in his pursuit.

"Sorry, that isn't a challenge I'm willing to take up" he admitted, making Anni giggle. It was then that her phone started playing its tone for calls. She reclaimed her hand to fish it from her pocket, and found it was her precious guardian.

"Speak of the devil. Excuse me" Anni said with a bow.

"Until next time."

-!DRRR!-

Shizuo took up a place on the couch as Tom took a short break from the game he had been enjoying a moment ago. The owner of the house they sat in had apologized for his teasing and disappeared somewhere.

"I looks like we might be spending the night here at this rate" Tom commented with a sigh. "Have you let Anni know where you are yet? There's no need to make her worry about you not coming home."

"Ah, no, I haven't yet. I'll give her a call now then" Shizuo agreed, standing. Since he was calling his girlfriend, he did want a little privacy, so he took his phone out onto the balcony. It rang twice before she picked up.

"Hey there. I assume you won't be coming home tonight?" Came her greeting. Shizuo couldn't help laughing a bit.

"Of course you would already know about this. Ya, I'm staying at Shinra's tonight."

"Enjoy! Tell everyone I said hi please" she asked. In the background, Shizuo caught the sound of a passing car.

"You're not home yet, are you?"

"Not yet, but I'm on my way. Don't worry about me though, really. Think of it this way… the more chaotic the city gets, and the more dangerous, the more I know about what's going on. The more I know, the safer I can make myself. Don't spare me a second thought" Anni instructed smoothly.

"Alright, I'll try. Oh, there's something I've been meaning to ask you" he added, recalling his earlier conversation with Tom.

"Yes?"

"Do Kasuka and I really look that much alike?"

Her line went silent for a moment, before she finally answered him. "Yes, you're both incredibly handsome, but you each have your own charm, I think is the best way to put it? Either way, you certainly look like you're related."

"Huh, thank you. I'll see you later then."

"Sleep well, I'll miss you. Later" Anni said, hanging up.

-A/N-

Edited by my dear friend Faded Phoenix