By The Roadside
By Cassandra B. Smith

	Mackie talked happily to herself as she walked
home. “This is wonderful! He’s taking me to the dance,
he’s taking me to the dance... What should I wear? 
Where should I -”
	She was cut off, suddenly, by the sound of 
yelling behind her. She turned around, to see an
obviously out-of-control car coming straight at her, 
the driver shouting frantically.
	It’s going to hit me, she realized calmly. I’m
going to die.
	The driver, in a last desperate attempt to get 
her to dodge, honked his horn. Her last thought as he
did this was, I hope my Weiss Artbook will be okay.
	SCREEEEEEEEEE!!!!
	Everything went white.

	Let me tell ya ‘bout a story long time ago...
	Mackie heard strains of music, and voices.
	“Doctor, are you sure?”
	“Positive. She has no identification. No name, 
no age. The only thing we can safely assume is that
she’s school age and she’s female.”
	A high, boyish soprano. “Wow... That’s kinda
bad...”
	A sweet, lilting tenor. “I hope she’ll be 
okay...”
	A deep, vibrant bass. “So are we supposed to pay
for this?”
	A rich, sultry baritone. “Oh, come on, Aya. 
Don’t be such a miser.”
	“Well, setting her arm and treating her head 
won’t cost much, but I’m afraid we have nowhere to put
her when she’s healed, especially if she doesn’t know
who she is, which is highly possible.”
	White.

	Mackie woke up some time later, and instantly 
sat up to look around. And instantly regretted it.
	“OWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!” She fell back against her
pillow, closing her eyes against her pounding 
headache.
	“Hello, are you okay?”
	She cracked one eye open and peered at the young
man in front of her. His voice matched that of the
soprano from earlier. “Who’re you?”
	“Me? I’m Omi! Nice to meet you!”
	“Nice to meet you too...”
	“Oh, I’ll be right back!” He disappeared from 
her range of vision, and she closed her eyes again.
	“Hello.” The baritone. She opened her eyes 
again.
	“Hello.”
	“I’m Youji. Omi told me you just woke up.”
	“Yeah... Where am I? What happened? Why can’t I 
sit up?”
	“You’re at the Magic Bus Hospital, you were hit 
by a car, and you have a concussion and a broken 
arm.”
	“I... Whoa! I remember the car coming, but...”
	“Me and my co-workers found you on our way home
from a club. The driver must have been too scared to
stay.”
	“Yeah...”
	“What’s your name?”
	“My name is... My name...” Mackie grew panicked.
“My name is...! It’s...!”
	“Yes...?” Youji prompted gently.
	“I... I don’t remember my name... It started 
with an ‘M’, I think...”
	“Okay... Well...”
	Omi bounced into vision again. “I know! Let’s 
call her Maki!”
	Youji glared at him sternly. “She’s not a pet,
Omi.”
	Omi looked sufficiently chastised. “But, you 
said she was gonna stay with us...”
	Another young man entered her vision, albeit
backwards (or so it seemed). He had red hair, and his
stance seemed very... angry. He turned slightly to 
the side, so she could see his profile. He opened his
mouth, revealing himself as the bass. “And I’m still
wondering exactly how you were planning to arrange 
that, Youji. It’s not like we have room for her.”
	The newly christened Maki shrunk into herself.
Every single atom in this guy’s body seemed to hate 
her!
	He turned to look at her, and she almost cried. 
His face bore an expression of such bitterness, such
resentment, such... such hatred.
	Youji noticed his expression. “Aya, don’t be 
mean. She doesn’t even remember her own name. You 
can’t seriously be thinking of throwing her out on the
street! Besides, she’s going to be here for at least
another week, so maybe she’ll remember by then.”
	Aya snorted, but it was clear he wasn’t going to
argue anymore.
	Maki opened her other eye, and noticed that 
there was a fourth young man, standing in the far
corner, watching her shyly. He had an expression of
longing, but also of fear. When he noticed her 
looking at him, he blushed and mumbled something, 
then abruptly left.
	Youji stared after him, then looked back to 
Maki, then back to where the young man had just stood.
He smiled and turned to Maki again. “Don’t mind Ken.
You’d think he’d never seen an actual girl before.”
	Maki blushed. “Oh... Well...”
	Youji shook his head. “You’d better get your 
rest. Besides, we have to open the flower shop 
today.”
	She instantly looked interested. “Flower shop?”
	“Yup. We run a flower shop.”
	“Oh, I love flowers! Especially roses...”
	Youji glanced at Aya, then back at Maki. “We’ll
bring you some when we visit tonight. See you!”
	Maki waved with her good arm, then settled back,
and was almost instantly asleep.

	Several days later, when her IV had been 
removed, and the nurse said she was well enough to 
eat and take short walks, she decided that she would
test herself out and go by a walk alone. She got up 
out of bed with only a little difficulty (aside from 
the nearly fainting from standing up part), and set 
off. She didn’t know the hospital very well, so she
wasn’t exactly sure where to go. She picked a random
hallway and walked down it, slowly. Occasionally, a
nurse or doctor would pass her, but none seemed to 
think that her being out of bed was unusual, so she 
just kept going. The farther she went, however, the 
less doctors and nurses she saw, until there weren’t 
any more. She kept going anyway, thinking that at 
least now she didn’t run the risk of being scolded.
	Suddenly, Maki heard a voice coming from a room
farther down the hall. It sounded vaguely familiar, 
but she had no clue whose it was. She decided to
investigate anyway, and slowly made her way towards 
the voice.
	“... Don’t you agree, sis, that this rose is
beautiful? I’ve been taking care of it for over a 
year, and it’s blooming wonderfully...”
	Maki peered into the room slowly, and almost 
gasped in surprise. It was the red-headed bass from
before! What was HE doing there?! She noticed a girl
lying in the hospital bed. Who was she...?
	Aya turned to smile at the girl, and saw Maki in
the doorway. His face instantly transformed into a
scowl. “What are you doing here?! Get out! Get out 
NOW!”
	Maki gasped in fear, and turned to run, but 
almost before she’d started, he was at her side,
grasping her wrist in his hand and preventing her 
from running. She closed her eyes in pain. “I’m 
sorry... I didn’t know...”
	He squeezed her wrist tighter, causing her to 
cry out. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll 
keep this to yourself.”
	“I- I will! I p- promise!”
	“Good.” He let go of her, then walked back into 
the room, slamming the door behind him.
	For a few minutes, she just sat where she’d
collapsed when he let her go, then she got up and 
began to slowly make her way back to her own room.

	A few days later, Ken hummed to himself as he
arranged flower pots in the window. “Maki’s coming 
to stay with us today, right Youji?”
	Youji rolled his eyes as he swept the floor of 
the shop. “Yes, Ken. That’s only been the fifteenth 
time you’ve asked. I could almost swear you liked 
her.”
	Ken turned bright red. “I do not! I just think 
it’s great that she’s coming to live with us!”
	Youji winked. “Sure, sure. Anyway, Aya should be
coming back any minute now.” He paused and sighed. “I
thought she might remember who was by now... But the
doctor says nothing’s jogged her memory yet...”
	Ken shrugged. “Well, until she does, we’re 
keeping her here. Couldn’t risk her being out on the
streets. Not with all those perverts who roam around
here...”
	Youji stowed the broom in one of the back rooms,
then opened the front door and looked outside, 
squinting in the sunlight. “They’re not here just
yet...”

	Aya glared at the girl sitting in the front 
seat. She was looking out the window in a melancholy
fashion, with her broken arm resting in her lap. What
right does she have to survive a car accident in this
shape, while my sister remains in a coma after an 
entire year?!
	Maki sighed to herself. I don’t know what I did
wrong, but whatever it was, this guy hates me for it. 
I didn’t know he had some friend in the hospital. And
it’s certainly not my fault that I happened to see 
him with her.
	Aya pulled up the the flower shop, opened his 
door, then slammed it and walked inside. After a 
minute, Maki realized they were there, and opened her
own door.
	Youji smiled at her from the doorway. “Hi, Maki!
How are you?”
	She smiled back wanly. “I’m fine. My head still
aches a little, but that’s about it.”
	“Come on inside and see our flower shop, then 
I’ll show you where you’re sleeping.”
	“Okay.”

	Maki sat behind the counter in the shop, 
watching Ken sweep the floor in preparation for 
opening. So far, he hadn’t said a word to her, but
always made some excuse when she entered the room. 
Now, however, Youji had told her he’d be sweeping, 
and there he was.
	Maki tapped her fingers on the counter. “So, 
Ken... Why do you work in a flower shop?”
	Ken stopped. “Uhm... I dunno... I just... like
flowers, I guess...”
	Maki smiled, knowing she was making him
uncomfortable. “What kind of flowers? I like roses, 
but I don’t know a whole lot about flowers in general.
Do you have any of your favorites right out here?”
	Ken stopped again. “Uhm... Well... I like
gentians...”
	“What’s a gentian look like?”
	He pointed very slowly with the handle of his
broom. “Like that.”
	She got up and went over to where he pointed. 
"Oh, these are beautiful!”
	Ken glanced over at her quickly, then back 
again. “I... I grew them myself...”
	“Really? Wow, they’re gorgeous.”
	“Thanks...”
	“Oh, and Youji told me it’s just you and me 
until 9:00. He taught me how to work the register, so
that I’d have something to do, you know.”
	“O-Oh...”
	Maki went back over to the register and sat back
down again. “Yeah. So... Yeah.”
	“My, what a large vocabulary you have.”
	Maki laughed. “Why, you do have a personality!”
	Ken smiled at her shyly. “Sometimes it just 
takes me a while.”
	Maki noticed the crush of girls outside, and
straightened up. “Looks like we’d better stop 
fooling around and open up.”
	“Oh, yeah.”

	Aya watched Maki flit around the flower shop
sullenly. She’d been going around with Ken and Youji
(and sometimes Omi), learning about the flowers and 
how to take care of them all. She’d begun to act like
the place was her home or something. Aya’s lip curled 
in disgust, and yet, he couldn’t help but wonder... 
What would have happened if my sister hadn’t been
hit...? Would she have been like this...? He shook 
those thoughts out of his head and got up to go to 
his room.
	Maki watched Aya leave out of the corner of her
eye. I hope this works...

	Aya flipped on the light to his room, intending 
to get out his sword and polish it, when he suddenly
noticed something sitting on his bed. He raised his
eyebrow and picked up the small envelope. It was
unmarked, but there was an audio tape sitting 
underneath it. “What the...?”

	Maki hummed to herself as she smelled a 
beautiful hybrid “Red Splash” rose.
	“Hey, you look happy today.”
	She looked up into Youji’s smiling face and
giggled. “Oh, it’s nothing.”
	“Well, if you say so. Has Aya been bothering you
much today?”
	“Nope, not really. Other than glaring at me a 
lot.”
	“He does that to everyone.”

	Aya slowly opened the envelope.

	Maki moved over to the broom closet and took 
out the broom. She continued to hum as she swept,
thinking about the letter she’d written.

		“Dear Aya,
	I know you don’t like me. I don’t know why. But
what I do know is that you are in pain. Yes, I said
pain, and I meant it. I don’t know who that girl was 
in the hospital. All I know is she is incredibly
important to you, in a way that not even your three
coworkers can know about. If I did something to you, 
or something that offended you, I’m sorry. But if 
you’re angry at me for some stupid reason that isn’t 
my fault anyway, well, how could I know? All I know 
is, I’ve written this song for you. For you, for me, 
and for that girl in the hospital. Please, take it as 
my gift. And please don’t hate me anymore.
						-Maki

	As soon as he was done reading the letter, Aya
looked at the tape, then put it into his tape player. 
As the first strains of music started, Aya looked 
back at the letter and began to cry.

	Maki hummed the song to herself, hearing the 
lyrics in her head.

Wind weaves through my hair...
Whistling sweetly, in my ear...
Cars go by so fast...
Will my melancholy feeling last?

Someday, I’ll meet you... By the roadside.
Someday, I’ll see you... By the roadside.
Someday, we’ll pledge ourselves... By the roadside.
Someday, I’ll meet you by the roadside.

Love is such a sudden thing...
Who knows what it can or can’t bring...
Will you guide me through my life...
Will you help me through this strife?

Someday, I’ll meet you... By the roadside.
Someday, I’ll see you... By the roadside.
Someday, we’ll pledge ourselves... By the roadside.
Someday, I’ll meet you by the roadside.

You have lost, I have found...
But does this mean I’m a villain...
I can help you find your ground...
But only if you are willing.

Seasons pass...
Flowers fade...
The young turn old...
That’s how it’s made.
But you and I...
We’ll find a way...
We’ll find a brighter, better day.

Someday, I’ll meet you... By the roadside.
Someday, I’ll see you... By the roadside.
Someday, we’ll pledge ourselves... By the roadside.
Someday, I’ll meet you by the roadside.
Someday, I’ll meet you by the roadside.


	Youji watched Maki hum to herself as she swept,
some tune he didn’t recognize. She seemed incredibly
happy, for some reason. Usually, whenever Aya glared 
at her, she’d get very stiff and slink around, like 
she had no right to be there. But now...? What had 
come over her? He shook his head and went back to
calculating their earnings for the day.
	As he heard the door to the upper story swing 
open, Youji glanced up in surprise. Omi, at the other
end of the shop and behind a flowering bush, stuck 
his head into view, to see what was the matter. Aya
stood in the doorway, his eyes wide, staring at Maki,
panting like he’d just run a marathon. Maki stood not
too far away, clutching the broom, seemingly 
transfixed in one place, though from terror or 
surprise, Youji couldn’t guess.
	In three quick strides, Aya crossed the space
between himself and Maki. Almost before anyone could
even blink, he swept Maki up into a tight hug. Omi 
and Youji’s mouths fell open, for they could swear 
there were tears in Aya’s eyes.
	For Maki’s ears only, as he hugged her, Aya
whispered, over and over, “Thank you.”
	The next day, after Aya’s unexplainable display 
in the middle of the store, Ken, Omi, and Youji were
almost afraid to go near him, but Maki stuck to him 
like a little sister. For the first time since they’d
known him, his three coworkers saw Aya smile, talk
pleasantly, and yes, even laugh. Something had 
happened between him and Maki, but no one but they 
two knew what.
	Youji came up to Maki in a lull in the shop’s
activity, while Aya was in the back room getting some
seeds. “Uhm... Maki?”
	She looked up and smiled. “Hi, Youji. What’s up?”
	“Well, I was wondering... What did you do?”
	“Do?”
	“To Aya? Why did he suddenly change like that?”
	“Oh, that. I just wrote him a song, that’s all.”
	“Wrote him a song?”
	“Yes. That’s all.” Even though her tone was
pleasant and conversational as she swept, the way 
Maki said the comment made all other questions
unaskable.
	Youji shrugged. “Well, whatever it was, keep it 
up. He’s never been so pleasant before.”
	Maki smiled. “Of course.”

	A week later, Aya drove Maki back to the 
hospital for a checkup on her arm. As she looked out 
the window, he thought seriously about exactly what 
had happened during the last week. Finally, he 
touched her arm. “Maki?”
	She turned, smiling gently. “Yes, Aya?”
	“Why did you write that song for me, and for my
sister?”
	Maki’s eyes widened momentarily. “Your sister?”
	Aya nodded. “Yes.”
	“Well, I could tell you were so sad, because of
her, and... Well, I don’t like it when people are
sad...” She paused for a moment, then... “Aya, what
happened to her?”
	“I’ve never told anyone this, but...”
	“Yes?”
	“Well, to begin with... Aya isn’t my name.”
	“What?”
	“My name is Ran. Ran Fujimiya. My sister’s name 
is Aya.”
	Maki’s eyes widened again. “Really? But -"
	“She was hit by a car. Like you.”
	Realization dawned on Maki, and she couldn’t 
stop herself from crying out. “Oh, A- Ran! I’m so
sorry!” She buried her head in his shoulder as tears
started to leak out of her eyes. “It must have been
awful! After I just got a broken arm, and she... I’m 
so sorry!”
	He gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look 
up. “It’s not your fault. Your letter made me realize
that. Don’t be sorry.”
	Maki sniffled as she looked up at him, tears 
drying on her cheeks. “But... Okay... I trust you, 
A- Ran.”  She paused a minute, then said decisively,
“Ran.”
	He glanced at her and winked. “It’s our secret.
When you’re around the others, it’s still Aya.”
	She smiled. “Our secret, Aya.”
	At the hospital, the doctor carefully examined
Maki’s arm. “It looks okay, but I think an X-ray 
should be done. It looks slightly off.”
	Aya nodded. “Sure.”
	The doctor looked at him funny. “It’s kind of
expensive.”
	“I don’t care.”
	“Alright, then. I’ll call the X-ray department.”

	Aya sat outside as Maki’s arm was X-rayed, so 
he didn’t see the face of the technician running the 
X-ray. Maki did, however, and instantly knew something
was wrong. “Aya...? Aya...!”

	Aya held Maki’s hand and glared at the doctor.
“What happened.”
	The doctor sighed. “It’s nothing big. I promise
you, it happens sometimes.”
	Aya gritted his teeth and held Maki’s hand 
tighter, sensing her fear. “Just tell us.”
	“The bone has slipped out of it’s setting. If 
she stays overnight, in the morning she can go back
home.”
	Aya sighed with relief, and a second later, he 
felt Maki relax. “So it’s really nothing bad?”
	The doctor nodded. “We just need to reset it,
that’s all.”
	“Then do it. I don’t care how much it costs.”
	“Of course. If you’ll please come with me, miss?”

	After they reset her arm, they put Maki in a 
room not too far away from Aya’s sister. He sat next 
to her bed, worried. “You’re not in pain, are you?”
	Maki winced as she shifted, feeling weak and not
liking it. “Not much...”
	“Well, visiting hours are almost over... I’ll 
come and get you tomorrow.”
	“Okay. Tell Aya hi for me.” Maki smiled 
slightly, then winced again.
	“Good night.” Unexpectedly, Aya leaned down and
kissed her on the cheek. Almost uncertain why he did
that, he turned and left, before Maki could register
what had just happened.

	That night, as Maki slept, and as Aya worried,
unbeknownst to both, enemies planned.
	Brad Crawford leaned casually against the wall,
surveying his three teammates. “Listen up. Tonight,
we’re going to go on a very ‘special’ mission.”
	Smirking, Schuldig continued. “We found out a 
long time ago that our dearest Aya had a baby sister.
And we just recently found out where she is.”
	Brad picked up his cue once again. “We owe Weiss
for the last time they crossed us. So tonight, we are
going to go and pick up his little sister, who lies in 
a comatose state in the Magic Bus Hospital.”
	Schuldig finished up. “We’re going to make Weiss
pay for what they’ve done. Any questions?”
	Nagi frowned sullenly. “Why tonight? I had a 
date.”
	Farfarello licked one of his knives, his eyes
glittering. “Because tonight, we know Weiss is going 
to be... preoccupied.”
	Nagi sighed. “Alright, fine. Let’s go.”
	Maki sighed and turned over in her bed, then 
opened her eyes. Whispering filled her ears.
	“Are you sure this is right? She doesn’t look
comatose...”
	“She must have woke up recently. It doesn’t 
matter. She’s no match for all four of us anyway.”
	Someone sighing. “I skipped a date for this?”
	The sound of licking. “Ssh, Nagi. You’ll wake 
the precious child up.”
	Maki’s eyes widened. Who’s there? What’s going 
on?
	The sound of chuckling. “You’re about to find 
out, liebchen, what it is to have a waking 
nightmare.”
	Someone screamed.

	Aya sat up suddenly in his bed, sweating. He put 
a hand over his eyes, panting. What a nightmare... 
Aya and Maki were both in danger... And I couldn’t do
anything...
	He looked over at his bedside table as the phone
started ringing. He shrugged, then laid back down and
turned over onto his side. Youji’ll get it.
	He heard the low murmur of talking, then a 
frantic slam and someone running down the hall. He 
sat up again just as Ken threw open his door. “Aya!
Maki’s been kidnapped!”

	Minutes later, Ken, Youji, Omi and Aya sat in 
their secret basement, beneath the flower shop. They
were dressed in their assassin’s clothing, bristling
with weapons. Ken, having been the one to answer the
phone, began to tell them what had happened.
	“One of their overnight nurses was sitting at 
the front desk, working on some paperwork, when, as 
she reported, a man swooped behind her and held her in 
a choke hold, with a large knife next to her cheek. 
She said he had white hair, and eyepatch, and several
scars, and his voice was very low and soft when he 
asked her where Aya Fujimiya was.”
	Aya stiffened. “Farfarello.”
	Ken nodded. “After that, no one knows what
happened, except...”
	Aya narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Except 
what?”
	“Except, they found a note... They don’t know 
what it said, but... But they think it was in German.”
	“Schwartz.”
	Youji growled. “They kidnapped her to punish us,
I’ll bet.”
	Omi looked grim. “This isn’t funny. We have to 
get her back. Even if it means having her find out 
about who we are.”
	Ken turned to Aya. “Aya, why would they think 
you were in the hospital?”
	Aya blinked, feigning innocence. “I don’t know.”
	Youji shook his head impatiently. “It doesn’t
matter anymore. Let’s move.”

	When Maki woke up later, she could hardly see
anything. She almost panicked, then realized she 
wasn’t blind, the room was just dark. She moved her 
head around, but when she tried to move her arms and
legs, she found that they were bound tightly.
	A mocking laugh filled her ears. No, not her 
ears, her mind. It filled her head, and she began to
shake her head, over and over, despairingly, knowing
that if the laughing didn’t stop soon, she’d go 
insane.
	The laughter stopped suddenly, and the room 
filled with light, blinding her for a brief moment. 
When her eyes cleared slightly, she saw four figures
standing a few feet away from her. One was tall, with
red hair. Another only slightly shorter, with black
hair. The third was much shorter, with white hair, 
and an eyepatch. The last was even shorter, suggesting 
a younger age, and with light brown hair.
	Maki blinked a few times, and the four came into
focus. The red-haired one smiled and came over to 
where she was sitting on the floor. “Hello, Liebchen.
I’m Schuldig. And I’m going to be your new best 
friend, if you do what I say.”
	Maki looked at him fearfully. “Where’s Aya? Who 
are you? Where am I?”
	Another of the the four came over to her, the
white-haired one. He had a large knife in one hand.
“Don’t worry, precious. If you do what we say, you 
won’t get hurt, and neither will your dear Aya.”
	Maki shook her head, almost crying. “Please, 
just let me go! Aya will do whatever you want, I 
swear he will! Just let me go!”
	Schuldig smacked her, hard enough to send her
flying back, and she silenced. “Wrong answer, 
Liebchen. Now, be quiet.”
	Maki stayed where she had landed, silent, 
fighting to keep back her tears.
	Nagi watched as Brad moved out the door with
Farfarello. He really didn’t like this part, but 
since he was the one keeping the girl in one place, 
he didn’t have a choice but to stay. He turned away, 
at least, as the girl began to scream.

	Aya’s head snapped up suddenly. Youji noticed, 
and signaled to him, asking what was wrong. Aya shook
his head, half to tell Youji it was nothing, and half 
to clear his head. He must have imagined it.
	Ken, several rooftops away and several stories
higher, whispered into the headset. “Are you guys in
position?” All of the other members of Weiss answered
affirmative. “I’m on the top floor of the building, 
on the skylight. I’m going to move in.”
	From his position a building away, Omi 
whispered. “Affirmative. You’re in plain sight. If
something goes wrong, I’ll be right there.”
	Aya nodded to Youji. They were on the ground,
waiting until Ken told them it was okay, then they’d
move into the building. It was an apartment building,
which Weiss had long since known to be Schwartz’s 
secret hideout. But Aya didn’t think about any of 
this right then. All he could think about, was the 
fact that right now, Maki was upstairs with those...
freaks.

	Brad’s face was twisted into a scowl of rage. 
“I can’t believe this happened.”
	Schuldig angrily slammed his fist down on the
table. “It wasn’t my fault. I searched her mind
thoroughly. She isn’t his sister. And she doesn’t 
know anything.”
	Farfarello leaned against the wall calmly. “How
about we kill her?” He licked his knife. “Slowly.”
	Nagi shifted uncomfortably. “Why don’t we let 
her go?” He shifted again as everyone turned to stare 
at him. “Schuldig could wipe her mind, and we could 
just let her go.”
	Farfarello laughed, a cold, hollow sound. Brad
glared at Nagi. “There’s no way we’re just going to 
‘let her go’. She obviously has some connection to 
Aya. We can still hurt him through her.”
	Schuldig smiled. “The entire idea of letting her 
go is stupid.”
	Nagi was frightened, but he didn’t let it show,
just looking sullen. “It was just a suggestion.”
	“A stupid one.”
	Nagi made a sound of disgust. “I’m going to bed. 
If you need me to hold her down, well, don’t bother 
to wake me up.”
	Brad watched Nagi get up and go with narrowed 
eyes. “Every time I talk to him, he gets more and 
more disobedient. I’ll have to discuss this with him
sometime. For now, however, I think we should see 
what condition our little patient is in.”

	Maki shivered on the cold ground of the room, 
her eyes wide open in the dark. Please, get out of my
head... Get out of my head... Stay away from me... 
Stay away from me... Suddenly, she threw her head 
back and screamed. “STAY AWAY FROM ME!”  She listened 
as her voice echoed across the room, then shivered
again.

	Ken moved along the corridor of the 6th floor, 
and stiffened as he heard the scream, although he
couldn’t tell what was being screamed. “I’ve found 
her!”

	Aya’s heart raced as he ran up the last flight 
of stairs, Youji just behind him. Don’t let it be 
too late... Please don’t let it be too late...

	Maki scrambled away as Farfarello opened the 
door, a predatory smile on his face. “No! Stay away!
Stay away from me! STAY AWAY!!!”
	Farfarello caught the wrist of her broken arm, 
and she screamed. He continued to smile, raising his
knife up to her face with his other hand. “The pain,
precious,” he whispered. “Starts now.”
	His maniacal laughter was drowned out by Maki’s
screams.

	Aya didn’t bother to pick the lock, instead 
opting to break the door down. Nagi looked up, 
startled, as Aya ran into the living room. Aya 
pointed his sword at the boy, not even caring that 
Nagi could bend the sword into a pretzel if he so 
chose. “Where is she.” Aya growled, more of a command
than a real question. Mutely, Nagi pointed to a door 
on the far right. Ignoring the boy, Aya ran to the 
door and kicked at it.

	Brad and Schuldig looked on as Farfarello 
tortured Maki. Her screams were growing weaker and 
less spirited, as if she knew that soon she wouldn’t
care enough to scream.

	Aya kicked at the thick metal door again and 
again, just as Omi and Ken ran in behind him. Almost
crying out in frustration, Aya dropped to his knees 
and began to pick the lock, but was almost useless in
his haste. Finally, Youji shoved him aside and quickly
picked the lock. They looked at each other, 
straightened up, then kicked the door down.
	Maki slowly opened her eyes. She was lying on her
back in a white room. There were flowers in the 
window. Slowly, she turned her head. There was a 
figure slumped in the chair next to her. There was 
blood all over their chest, and they were white.
Suddenly, she realized it was her mother. She 
screamed.

	“MAKI!!!”
	Maki sat up suddenly, then fell back, coughing. 
“A- Aya...”
	Aya hugged her gently. “Maki... You weren’t
breathing...”
	“Aya... My mother...”
	He drew back. “Your mother? What?”
	“I... I remember my mother... Her name... Is
Louise... My name...”
	“Maki...”
	“My name’s Mackie, not Maki. Aya... What 
happened?”
	“We... We rescued you. You were... Being...
Tortured...”
	Mackie closed her eyes. “I remember. Then I 
blacked out.”
	“We basically grabbed you and got out. They 
tried to chase us, but the strangest thing 
happened... One of their own betrayed them, and helped
us. I don’t know what happened to him, but I 
definitely know that we have him to thank for being 
able to leave.”
	Mackie sighed. “Aya...”
	“Mackie...”
	She opened her eyes, and they filled with tears.
“It hurts to be tortured, Aya...”
	“Oh, Mackie...” He hugged her again, tightly.
	“I have to go, Aya...”
	He pulled back again. “What?”
	“I have to go home... My mother, she’s going to 
be worried...”
	“I know... But, you’re still hurt...”
	“I love you, Aya.”
	“What?”
	“I never had an older brother... But when I met
you... When I wrote that song... You were the brother 
I never had... The one I always wanted...”
	“Mackie...”
	“I’m tired, Aya. Stay with me, will you? While 
I sleep?”
	“Of course. I’ll never leave you.”

	A few weeks later, Mackie stood with Aya, 
looking down the road. “Down there’s my house. Down
there is where my parents are.”
	Aya sighed. “I don’t want you to go, Mackie. 
You remind me so much of my sister. She was like you, 
so happy, so innocent...”
	Mackie looked at the ground. “I’m not innocent
anymore, Aya.”
	“I know. But...”
	She turned to look at him. “I love you, Aya. I 
will always love you. I’ll come to visit you all the
time, I’ll be with you forever. And I’ll work in the
flower shop with you.”
	Aya shook his head. “Your parents won’t let you, 
I bet.”
	“I’ll make them let me! I’ll see you again, I
promise!”
	He pulled her into his arms, for the last time. 
“I love you too, Mackie. Stay like you are. Don’t 
ever change.”
	Mackie pulled away. “I promise I won’t, Aya. And
you know what?”
	Aya cocked his head to one side, smiling
halfheartedly. “What?”
	“Someday, I’ll meet you... By the roadside.” 
Then she turned and began walking.
	Aya watched her go silently.
	The car came out of nowhere, barreling towards 
her.
	“MACKIE!!!!!!!!!!!!”

	Mackie opened her eyes. She was lying in a white
room. There were roses on the windowsill. She looked
over, and started when she saw her mother slumped in 
the chair next to her. When she moved, her mother
stirred. “Mackie? Are you okay?”
	“Mama.” Mackie smiled at her mother, then 
paused, and whispered, “I love you, Aya.”
	On the bedside next to her, the pages of her 
now-tattered artbook fluttered in the sudden breeze.

The End