Lisa spent most of her time in the library when she came back to school that fall. She had rarely visited the place before the terrorist twins came into her life as quickly as they left. But after Shibizaki and the other police had decided they had exhausted all the information they could out of her, she had to go back to her everyday life as if nothing had changed.

Thankfully they hadn't forced her to go back to living with her mother. Lisa had learned to cook decently and managed to support herself with the help of Shibizaki and his wife's weekly visits. It was still hard to speak sometimes, so now she was legally diagnosed as selective mute. In addition the bullying had decreased greatly. Instead now most of the other students were scared of her, the girl who was spirited away by the mythical Sphinx. They knew that Sphinx was dead, but that didn't stop them from worrying if they went back to their old ways, a bomb might end up being delivered to their house. Those either too brave or too stupid would pester her her questions about the twelve days that changed the country. When they saw her panic and be unable to answer, that would put an end to the questions. Still Lisa went out of her way to avoid such uncomfortable situations.

So the library had become her sanctuary. Here she could hide away from the reality and escape to new worlds. She traveled to worlds where kind boys were only that, and everything ended with smiles and laughter. Most people probably saw these stories as boring. Why read about boring, everyday things? However there was one person who also liked these books. It was a girl with a bob cut and intelligent dark brown eyes. She spent as much time in the library as she did, reading anything she could get her hands on. They never spoke, but Lisa liked to think they had a bond of sorts. Some days when the library was crowded with students rushing to finish a project, they'd share the one table in the back, reading whatever book had caught their eye.

She wanted to say something, anything. However whenever she tried to twist her tongue into syllables, she always choked on the words. Lisa was never one for talking. It had always been Nine and Twelve who initiated conversations and made her feel comfortable enough to breath. Besides who was she to intrude on this perfectly normal girl? Everywhere she went she brought chaos. Maybe it was her natural state, but whatever the case she couldn't force it on anyone else.

Lisa looked up and noticed the sun was already setting. Oh dear, she had an English Test to study for tomorrow and here she was just goofing around. She needed to go.

However as she stood up to leave she smacked right into a stranger's chest. When she looked up to apologize, she had to do a double take. Curly, brown hair brought back memories of smiles like sun and a boy that was the first to love her unconditionally. Still when she looked closer she wondered how she could mistake the two. This differences between the two outweighed any slight similarity.

"Oh are you ok!?" Concern painted his features. "I'm so sorry I wasn't looking where I was going! What's your name?"

Lisa started to panic, overwhelmed by his attention. She tried to so speak but the words evaded her.

"She's a friend." She turned to see her reading buddy had closed her book to speak to the boy.

"Oh she is, Ritsu?" Finally a name to go with the face. "I thought you were more of the loner type."

"I don't know her name, but we read together sometimes. It's nice."

"Lisa," The two were surprised by her interruption. "My name is Lisa."

"Lisa, huh?" The boy tilted his head as he furrowed his eyebrows. "I feel like I've seen your face and have heard your name before." Oh no. While thanks to Nine and Twelve's bomb, her face wasn't plastered across the entire web when it came out the Sphinx duo had taken a hostage. Still her name had been leaked a few weeks later. Things were bad enough in her class, having people outside a handful of classes know what happened would be horrible.

"Guess I've just seen you in the hallways. My name's Usa Kazunari, nice to meet ya!" He held a hand out.

Gingerly, Lisa took it and shook "I feel the same," She mumbled out.

"If she's a friend yours, we should invite her over some time."

"Are you two siblings?"

The duo both blushed furiously at that. "No, my grandmother runs a dormitory," Ritsu had buried her nose back into her book. "The Kawai Complex."

"Why don't you drop by?" Usa grinned.

Lisa was floored by their friendliness. She was at best a stranger to them. And here they were inviting her to visit their home. Did they not realize she only brought sadness and despair to those close to her?

"I don't want to bother..."

"You've been looking for a sequel to Shadows haven't you?" Ritsu glanced back at her. "I have a copy in my room if you want it."

"Really?"

"And don't worry about bothering us. Honestly, I'm more worried about you being scared off by an odd group like us." He added.

Lisa bit her lip as she stared at the duo. They thought she was normal? She had slept next to bombs and played ball with terrorists. And even crazier than that was the fact they wanted her? There's only been three people in her life that had wanted her, and they had all vanished in one way or another.

"I'd like that," Lisa whispered, afraid this might all be a dream. Even if it was, she swore to relish it as long as she could.

A.N. Happy Birthday Jesus! I had been promising them a crossover for ZNT's Lisa and Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou's Ritsu. Despite the very different genres and themes we agreed they'd be good friends