The Voice of You and Me

10

               "So, are you going to explain what happened?" Kusanagi said. You sat quietly on one of the couches and stared at the floor. The sound of tiny footsteps echoed off the floor as Anna came and stood next to you. Softly, she placed her hands over your folded ones. Out of everyone, Anna was the only person who understood what was happening. The reason was because she saw pieces of it when she first made eye contact with you. You wished the poor girl hadn't seen your past, but it didn't seem to bother her.

"You should tell them." she whispered so quietly that you almost didn't catch it. You lifted your head up and locked eyes with her. Taking her hands in yours, you gave them a gentle squeeze and smiled at the kind words. She faintly smiled back then sat down next to you. You let go of her hands then lifted your head to meet the gazes of the confused and concerned men of Homra. Gulping, you clenched your hands together trying to figure out how to explain everything. Slowly, you pulled out your PDA then opened the screen so everyone could see.

I'll type everything I say on here so you can understand. To start off, I guess I should say that I wasn't always mute. It was something that happened when I was much younger. Well, the beginning of my life wasn't that great. I was abandoned by my parents and left at an orphanage. One day, I was playing by myself in the large garden we had behind the house. I was singing out loud as I moved farther and farther away from the orphanage. Then he was there. Sitting on a wooden bench as if he knew I would come. I stopped singing and stared at him for a moment. We made light conversation with him asking if I wanted to play a game. I agreed like the foolish kid I was back then. Then I remember seeing that twisted smile as he snapped his fingers. I don't remember what kind of game we played, but I do know that I lost badly to him. The next words he said to me was, "Now what is precious to you will belong to me." With that, the rest of my life was set in stone. I lost my voice and my freedom all in one day because of him.

As you typed the last bit, you lightly touched your throat at the memory from long ago. Saruhiko noticed it then felt a surge of hatred towards this man. Mostly because the story reminded him of his own father.

"Why has he suddenly shown up now?" one of the Homra members asked.

I have strict rules to follow. One is that I'm supposed to stay in the house, but he's hardly ever home so I always sneak out. But, I broke it after I started sleeping over at the bar place.

This was actually true. You would come over often then spend the night for long periods of time. Saruhiko noticed that you seemed unwilling to go home, but he didn't pay much attention to it until now. He did something similar during his last year of middle school. Other things started to come to light as he thought harder about it. How you never mentioned anything dealing with your past, how you never invited them to your place, how you always seemed distant even though he had known you for years and even the reason why you didn't become a red clansman. It was all because of this man. A seemingly powerful Strain with unknown intentions.

"There's no need to worry about him, (y/n). He won't be bothering you anymore." Saruhiko said while standing up. You stared at him then noticed a determination in his eyes as he stood next to you.

"Yeah, he's right! That man won't even get a mile close to you!" Yata added as if the man was only just a regular alley thug. The rest of the members quickly agreed and it almost caused you to cry. You wanted to hug them all and say how grateful you were, but you knew that you couldn't hide behind them forever. Especially if they could get hurt. You rubbed your eyes so no tears would shed then stood up while shaking your head.

I'm sorry, but I can't allow you guys to put your lives in danger because of something I did. you told them using your PDA and also mouthing the words. The silence was your answer for a moment as they processed it.

"It's too late for that," Saruhiko said catching you off guard. You turned to him and waited to see if he would expand on his statement. It was quiet as he tried to correctly word out his thoughts.

"(y/n)......You've done a lot for me during these past few years. So much I don't know if I can repay it all. But, let me help you this one time. You've been there for me....now let me be there for you. Just this once." Saruhiko stated looking you dead in the eyes. You were frozen and unsure how to respond since you didn't expect anything like this.

"Ah, young love." Kusanagi faintly said with a smirk causing you two to turn and face him before realizing what he meant then turning away in embarrassment as some whistled or made shocking sounds of confusion. Your cheeks felt hot as you stared at your shoes. Saruhiko was the same way just not as red in the face as you were.

"Ok then. Just promise me you won't challenge him at all. Please?" you 'said' to him feeling the embarrassment wash off like water. He stared at you for a moment then nodded in reply.

"Hey, don't take all the glory! We're here for you too, (y/n)!" Yata shouted to try and break the awkward mood in the air. You smiled as everyone else agreed to wonder what you did to deserve knowing all these amazing people.