Apathy's Achilles

Greed Pt. 1

 3rd Person POV

It was early morning. The sun was barely beginning to poke over the horizon as a sleeping cat wakes up. The cat had felt an ominous presence and raised it's head to look out the window. A man stood outside looking grimly and the house, that belonged to the owners the okonomiyaki shop. He sneered and jumped away and the cat stared intently out the window narrowing its eyes, waiting.

Miharu's POV

We had arrived back from the Fuuma village late last night in order to go to school in the morning. It certainly was an eventful trip, and Monique and I were able to remove the bandages around our eyes. To anyone in the outside world we appeared healthy and normal, but not all the damage had been undone. I could not see out of my right eye where I had been hit by the Kira, and, while Monique can see out of hers, her memories have yet to come back. Her friendships with Koichi and Raimei have been replaced with the feelings of a body guard and new friendship. Nothing like the casual family bond that had been there only days earlier.

I am not sure how exactly it happened, but her memories of me remain untouched. She still remembers confessing outside of the shop and that we had begun dating, but everything else pertaining to the Nabari would was gone. Her memories of the past had also been altered, besides ones of me. When we first got back I was surprised when she hid behind me when walking through the door and finding grandmother. It was just people in general that she couldn't exactly place and it got pretty difficult to hide at home. I would pull her to the side and briefly explain to her different things and she would smile and accept the information.

Last night as we got ready for bed she broke down in tears apologizing that she was being a burden. It was extremely painful to see her break down like that.

~*Flashback Start*~

We hadn't been home long, but since it was so late Monique and I just decided to take showers and head off to bed. She took one first and then I took my turn. Putting on a baggy white t-shirt and black shorts I opened the door while rubbing my head with a towel. My eyes widened as I saw Monique curled up in a ball crying next to our bathroom door. She was sitting with her knees pulled tightly to her chest. Her forehead was pressed to the tops of her knees and I could tell she was crying. I was confused, but I picked up the crying girl and carried her over to the bed setting her down carefully. I took a seat next to her.

“Monique? Hey, what is with the tears? What's wrong?”

She just continued to silently cry and I was beginning to get worried. I started reaching a hand out towards her when she suddenly started talking.

“Why are they sad?”

My eyes widened and my whole body froze.

“I am here right? I never went anywhere? So why do Koichi and Raimei look at me  like I'm lost. Miharu-kun too. Your eyes are sad when we talk, but if they are suppose to protect us why do I feel like something's missing? Mr. Kumohira is a teacher at school so why is he acting like our father. Things are just so confusing and I know that I am in the middle of them, but no one will explain what I did. I am sorry. I never meant for people to get hurt.”

I was stunned and then she lifted her head and looked in my direction. Her eyes were swimming with confusion and pain, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything.

“How am I hurting people I have never met? I don't understand. These memories, these voices they are not mine. I see death and pain, family killing family, with a little blonde girl crying clutching onto a sword for deal life. There is an owl, lonely and scared. He doesn't want to activate the power, but he wants freedom, the freedom to die and escape the curse of eternal life. My head is filled with so many memories.”