DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kagerou Days or any of its characters.
Yus, late update ftw~ Oh geez, my plot line becomes more and more complicated when I don't write it down =3= And again, I'm still confused...I like both KonoAya and ShinAya...Welp, I made a decision. If this story ends with KonoAya, I'm gonna write another story that has a ShinAya ending. If this story ends with ShinAya, then I'm gonna write a KonoAya fanfic. Now, everyone's happy! -cough- Ayano reference -cough-
Kukuku...I talk a lot, don't I? ;-;
"Dreams..." Her hazy eyes gave off a red glow as she looked up at the sky, "Maybe...maybe I'm gonna try that one trick."
Wrapping her muffler around her neck, she spun around and smiled. How much time do I have left?
It's already been a week since Shintaro's last conversation with Konoha. He felt restless. He wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to unfold his secret.
"Shin-ta-RO!" yelled Kano. Shintaro let out a yelp and glared at Kano.
"What the hell was that for?" He hissed, rubbing his ear. Kano whimpered.
"Oh no! Shintaro-kun is angry~!" Kano batted his eyelashes, causing both Shintaro and Kido to punch him in the face, "D-D-Danchou-sama, I w-why-"
"Because I felt like punching you." Kido cracked her knuckles and went back to her seat.
"Good morning," greeted Seto with a smile.
"Ah! Seto's finally awake," Mary quickly ran to give Seto a hug. "Morning!"
Seto scratched his neck and laughed, "Ehehe, I overslept again today, huh? Sorry."
"It's because Seto's been working really hard! Seto deserves more sleep," Mary chided, staring worriedly at Seto.
"Eh? Why do you have to work?" Hibiya asked, "And where's Oba-san?"
"That 'Oba-san's got work too." Kano interrupted.
"Woah...I thought Oba-san was good for nothing." Hibiya crossed his arms.
"Watch your mouth, kid." Shintaro clicked his tongue. Hibiya just rolled his eyes.
"Where's Konoha?" Hibiya asked.
"Do you have to ask where everyone is?" Shintaro shot, earning a furious glare from Hibiya.
"Oi, Member #8 and Member #7, stop fighting!" shouted Kido. All of them fell silent, especially Seto and Kano. They stared at Kido with distant looks on their eyes, then she understood. Onee-chan, this is supposed to be your job...
"A-ah, s-sorry. I didn't mean to sound like-" Kido began to say, she bit her lip and let out a quiet sob.
"E-eh, it's okay. You're the leader anyway." Kano chuckled nervously whilst Seto managed a smile.
Shintaro, Mary and Hibiya exchanged weird looks. They wondered why the atmosphere had changed all of a sudden. What's worse is that they're starting to get affected, too.
"...so quiet," Konoha mused, catching everyone's attention. Then, Kido snapped...
"I don't think I can continue this...Onee-chan...she's the real leader...I'm just...I...I want her back...Mekakushi Dan needs her...we need her..." Kido cried, balling her hands into fists.
"D-Danchou?" Hibiya didn't understand anything, but it was as if he could relate to what they were feeling.
"Onee-chan?" Konoha and Shintaro said at the same time.
"A-ano...why is everyone looking sad?" Mary asked, suddenly becoming teary-eyed. Seto ruffled her hair and smiled.
"Mary-chan, go to your room for now." Seto instructed, but Mary shook her head. "I want to know...I want to know what's causing everyone to look so sad."
Kano stood up and walked towards Kido. He didn't make a joke, he didn't laugh, he didn't even smile...he just stood in front of her.
"Kano, I don't want to-" Kido's sentence was cut when Kano shouted. "What's wrong with you?!"
"Kido-no-Tsubomi...Tsubomi's not like this. Tsubomi is a strong girl, fit for a leader. And I know that...I know that...Ayano-nee wouldn't like to be the root of all this! Ayano-nee hated seeing us cry..." Kano held back his own tears and forced a smile.
With wide eyes and mouth ajar, Shintaro asked in a shaky voice, "A-Ayano?..."
Kano, Kido and Seto all turned to Shintaro.
"I guess it's about time we tell them about Mekakushi Dan's history." Seto said with a small smile. Kido wiped her tears away while Kano patted her back comfortingly.
"Our Onee-chan, Ayano, is the founder of Mekakushi Dan." Seto stated. Shintaro jumped in surprise.
"Are you okay?" Kano asked. Shintaro gulped.
"Oh-uhm-I really need to go to the bathroom..." Shintaro bit back his tongue and left. Small world...
The three blinked owlishly, they began to wonder if Shintaro had some connections with Ayano. Then again, it was normal of Shintaro to act all goofy.
"Onee-chan..." Kido mumbled, her lips curving downwards.
"Ah, Onee-chan's gonna get angry if she finds out about this! C'mon, don't be such a downer, Ki-Danchou." Seto grinned at their leader.
Kano nodded and smiled, "I wonder if...Ayano-nee's in a happy place."
"What a troublesome girl," Azami pouted, "Haa...it's gotten a little boring when the two boys left. Do you think they're coming back?"
Her snakes hissed in response. Azami smiled mischievously, "Of course, there's no way they're leaving this little lady alone, yes?"
"H-her? The first l-leader of Me-Mekakushi Dan?...Really...what is the world coming to." Shintaro's whole body trembled. Small world indeed.
"Shintaro." He turned around and saw Konoha. And why is this guy following me?
"What do you want?" Shintaro asked, tucking his shaky hands in his pocket.
"So you really are Shintaro." Konoha cringed a little. Shintaro saw a few streaks of gold appearing in his eyes.
"Y-yeah...what of it?" Shintaro mumbled, trying to act cool.
"Hibiya and I...we were trapped in another world..." Konoha said with a slightly uneasy face.
"...What?" Shintaro deadpanned.
"In that world, repeating time was possible...but I only know one person who could do that." Konoha continued.
"Why are you telling me this?..." Shintaro asked, biting his lip nervously.
"In one of those endless days, I met a girl with a red scarf around her neck." Konoha made gestures that went on with his description, "Her name was Ayano."
Konoha noticed the shocked look on Shintaro's face. He bowed his head, his bangs covering his eyes, "What's wrong Shintaro? You look rather alarmed."
"No-I was just-I...I..." Shintaro trailed off, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"Ayano never smiled, not truly at least." Konoha continued, still keeping his head lowered. Shintaro gritted his teeth. You're wrong, Ayano's always smiling.
"When she sleeps, she would often cry." Konoha's tone became noticably lower and darker. Ayano...I only saw her cry once. Why does he know so much about Ayano?
"And whenever she cries...she only exclaims one name..." Konoha looked Shintaro in the eyes, " 'Shintaro'."
Shintaro-kun! Don't you know how to smile?
Nee, Shintaro-kun...let's take a picture! This time, you really have to give me your best smile!
Mou! This time for sure, I'm gonna make Shintaro-kun smile!
If anyone makes Shintaro-kun cry, I'll beat them up! Shintaro-kun should always be smiling!
"...Ridiculous." Shintaro muttered, receiving a confused look from Konoha. "Your story is ridiculous."
Konoha pursed his lips, "Believe it or not, what I said was true. In the short time I spent with Ayano, I have come to grow fond of her. Ayano is truly a nice person, but there's one thing I want to see. I want to see her smile..."
Why haven't I...why haven't I thought like that before? Why was I so selfish? Why couldn't I be the one to say that?
"So this punk likes Ayano..." Shintaro broke into fits of laughter. "Really, I couldn't care less."
Stupid! I'm so stupid! What am I saying?!
"She's dead anyway. You're pathetic. Just move on, brother." Shintaro patted Konoha in the back before walking off.
No! He just said he met Ayano. She can't be dead. Ayano's somewhere out there.
"Master, you're talking about yourself! How immature!" A voice scolded. Immediately, Shintaro pulled out his phone and saw Ene.
"E-Ene?" Shintaro sweatdropped.
"Yes! Who else could it be?! Or perhaps my master had already forgotten about me?" Ene made a pouty face. "Ah! By the way, welcome to Mekakushi Dan, new member!"
"Ha?" Konoha asked, scratching his head in confusion. The atmosphere made a perfect 180°. Really Ene, sometimes you amaze me.
"Nice to meet'cha! My name is Ene, the cyber girl~! Oh, and you're Konoha, right?" Ene's grin reached her ears. "Let's be friends!"
And thus, their paths have finally crossed. This chapter also marks the beginning of Konoha and Shintaro's rivalry. REALLY. HELP ME. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE. I LIKE BOTH KONOAYA AND SHINAYA. HELP ME CHOOSE. Please review your answer, if ShinAya gets the most vote, then ShinAya it is. But if KonoAya wins, then Konoya. See ya in the next chapter! I'll try to update sooner. -waves hand-