Future Diary (Mirai Nikki)

The Unlucky Thirteenth

Eleventh- Deadly Memory

Summary: The First and Second join the school, and the gang goes for a little stroll that might not end all too well.

The universe was against her.

Amaya knew the First was going to come to school eventually, but she had expected a bit of a heads up, whether from Kurusu or Nishijima. He sat diagonally behind her, directly next to Akise (who she unfortunately sat in front of now).

The days of him poking her with pencils if he ever came to school were already threatening to invade her one peace at school life. Amaya would never be able to stand his constant chatter, when the two of them were supposed to be paying attention and watching Hinata and/or Mao laugh at us silently. The request (order, really) from the teacher was a death sentence. Her life would be living hell.

Why was there a smile tugging at her lips, when she cradled her hand in her palm and gazed out the window like she was sure he did in class, her face turned to the sky? Amaya didn't have a clue why the corners of her lips began to tug up, over the cacophony of the rest of the class's chatter.

Wisps of white clouds streaked the sky, a frosted window for the blue expanse of marble above. There were murmured voices behind, in front of, and beside her, but looking at the eerie calm of the city, she could care less about petty conversation.

"Hey, are you listening to me? Turn around!" Amaya assumed this annoying guy was talking to her, so she slowly fixed a glare on her face as she faced the person who sounded like they were expecting someone to wash their feet. As his face flashed to recognition in her eyes, she could feel herself paling.

Dark hair, a shirt much like the one on that day. A self-assured, somehow familiar smirk written across his duck-like features. The same rush of intense dislike tempered by a bit of morality. The same idiotic posture, lounging in his chair like a throne.

Ouji Kousaka.

Amaya's life was over.

"Can I help you?" Amaya snapped sarcastically, arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. He smirked again, and Amaya began to turn back to the window before he spoke.

"I'm new here. The name's Kousaka." He stopped for a moment as if he was waiting for a response, but Amaya remained devoid of emotion. "Ouji Kousaka."

"Should I care?" The girl asked quickly, casting her gaze almost curiously toward the boy behind him. Bright blue eyes met her own, almost startling her with the intensity behind the look. His hand held his Diary, and her eyes struggled to keep from glancing at the contraption which marked the boy a candidate for death.

Just like her.

They looked similar, the two of them, with dark hair and blue eyes just a few shades different, phones clutched close and startled expressions on their faces. It was like looking through a mirror which was twisted and distorted, and the view bothered Amaya.

The first and the last, the beginning and the end. Had Deus known that he was coming today; had he known that this would startle her so much? Yes, she had seen the First before, but not in a place where she had no cause to be afraid.

If he was here, then the Second was too.

"What's your name?" The words startled Amaya out of her trance and her blueblueblue eyes snapped back up to Kousaka's face. Her foggy mind took a second to connect what he had said to the meaning of the sentence, and then a few more seconds to process that he was talking to her and to respond.

"Why?" She challenged. At his splutter at her obvious hostility, Amaya forced herself to laugh like it was nothing and hold out her hand to shake, mimicking what Akise would have done (albeit in a slightly less creepy way) when he talked to people. Amaya had seen him do it enough times with random strangers that the pattern was eased into her mind.

As things went, that probably should have hinted that she spent way too much time with the kid detective, but she couldn't bring herself to worry about it. They were friends after all, friends spent time together. Their interactions were spent in a social setting with at least one other, nothing strange about it. Amaya sort of forced herself to believe it since, she was still uncomfortable talking to people in normal society other than the trio she spent time with now.

"Kiyano Amaya," Amaya stated while laughing, keeping a practiced and glazed smile on her face. "Welcome to Umesato Middle." The boy in front of her grasped her hand and shook firmly, looking a bit confused as she turned to the first.

"I'm Kiyano Amaya," Amaya reintroduced, holding out her hand with uncanny precision. He took her hand and shook, a small smile of wonder creeping over his baby-like features. What was the look for, she wondered. There remained an expression of awe about his features, enough so that she became curious.

Just who was this boy, if Amaya the murderer was already feeling eased around him?

"Amano Yukiteru," he replied, smiling a bit. Amaya resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He hadn't noticed, his Diary hadn't gone off and alerted him that one of these people in this room had plans to kill him at some point in time for the future. Obviously, Deus had kept his promise, and Amaya was safe.

For now.

"That's cool. Obviously, you know Kousaka-kun, so you two can interact. That girl over there is Hinata, and the girl next to her is her best friend, Mao. And the guy who sits behind me is Akise Aru, and he's too lazy to come to school right now."

Why was she talking to them so much? She hated interacting, especially with people she didn't know or had a reason to despise. Okay, so maybe that was everyone. Almost.

"Yeah, I already met Hinata and Mao," Amano said. Amaya raised her eyebrows; he had an almost painful look painting his features. Had something happened?

After he finished his sentence, Amaya shot a look at the purple haired girl glancing her way and turned back to window, just in time to see a flock of geese take off from the roof of a building a story below the school.

Birds may have not been her favorite animal, but Amaya loved the elegance and grace of their flight. The perfection of the shoulder of the wing connecting to the slender body of the bird, the scoop of the neck and the elegant glide of the plane of the back. Such a free creature, and yet—

The harsh ringing of the bell cut from her thoughts, the admiration like words imprinted in her brain. Like someone had said them sometime long ago, while she was left with nothing but an echo of the voice.

Amaya smiled, but the expression was so bittersweet as she caught her reflection in the shining glass of the window that she nearly gasped aloud. Who was this girl, with dark shadows under her eyes and a permanent scowl, a blank expression like a void?

Who was this unfamiliar girl with dark hair and small streaks of emerging blonde, looking like some girl who would get into fights and drugs and have shady dealings? Who was she, to look back at Amaya and look so incredibly smug, with her punk rock look and her devil-may-care smirk which Amaya could see creeping up like a forgotten shadow on her face?

When had she become this person? Amaya had never seen her before, not when she was the girl crying in the rain over the loss of her family, not when she was the desperate girl who was watching her friend's corpse be taken away to the morgue.

Expression after expression, until Amaya finally looked at everything she was seeing and merely saw herself, the girl with wide eyes who looked sleep deprived and young, so incredibly young. This girl was a murderer, a menace in the hearts of many, while her own secrets were a menace in her own heart.

This was who Amaya had become.

***

The hand closed over her shoulder, clammy skin on the bare part of her flesh through the tank top and the thin sweater she was currently tugging on although it was too hot for that outside the school building. The dark haired teen jumped, grabbing her own arm to keep herself from landing a perfectly timed and placed punch to Hinata's nose. The brunette stepped back quickly, hands held up in a joking motion.

"I surrender," the playful girl teased. The blue eyed teen barely refrained from rolling her eyes, a muscle twitching at the corner of her mouth into a nearly unrecognizable smile. Mao's camera flashed suddenly, the light going off directly in Amaya's eyes. Her expression captured perfectly, the picture pristine in its quality. Mao smiled, noting Hinata's joking expression in the corner, a candid photograph of her  newest friend's hidden soft and girly side.

Mao had been the first to notice the change, faster even than Akise, who for some reason was even more oblivious than ever. What was the cause for that? The girl had noticed a smile on Amaya's face when she was arguing with him, a faint slip in her usual actions and words that made her think of someone much younger, as if the girl was a mature thirteen year old frozen in time. There seemed an air of mystery around her, and Mao knew how Akise was drawn to mystery. It was one reason why she smiled every time he asked if they knew anything about her, because he was nearly as blind to his own emotions as Amaya was. Mao had already confronted him about it, but the kid detective stayed merely contemplative, although Mao thought she saw a hint of blushing on his pale, pale face.

He seemed not to notice when Amaya pushed him away like she did everyone, tried to pretend he wasn't as affected as he should have been. Mao had caught the hint of curiosity and hurt in his expression. The thought made her laugh, because although the two were currently her OTP, it was unlikely that they would ever get together. None of this was Akise's fault. Amaya was just too free spirited, too willful to be tied down. Mao had the suspicion that one day, if given the chance, she would leave them all behind to roam free and unbeatable.

Amaya was too complicated, too mistrustful of the world around her to ever fall in love.

"Amaya-chan, we're going somewhere today," Hinata said while laughing at the girl's miffed expression once she noticed that Mao had taken her picture. "Come on!" The brunette grabbed Amaya's arm and dragged her off, Mao laughing in surprise as Amaya sighed and allowed herself to be led, leaving her bag behind in the classroom without a second thought. Mao followed the two, noticing Amano and Kousaka were waiting for them by the door. Kousaka had a stick in hand, heaven only knew where he had gotten it inside the building.

The dark haired, immature teen poked Hinata with the branch as she passed, before the brunette lifted her arm and sent her fist crashing down on his head. The two looked like such a funny pair, before Hinata once again grabbed Amaya's arm and continued dragging her down the hallway.

There was a girl waiting patiently and with a smile on her face which died as soon as she saw them. Amaya stopped short, feeling her blood run cold when she saw the girl. There she was, the second biggest threat to Amaya herself. To cover the motion, desperate to do anything, Amaya bent down to tie her shoe in order that the Second's gaze wouldn't fall upon the blue eyed girl and know that she knew, that Amaya herself was a Diary Owner and was another prospect to kill.

How had Amaya known that the Second was such a big threat? She had had only one encounter with the girl, and they had said nothing and done nothing to acknowledge that the other existed. In fact, she was certain that she had never seen the girl in action. Why was Amaya so terrified of this girl, with her heart already pounding and her barrier up? There was no cause for it, but she somehow knew how deadly the girl was, an unconscious feeling. The skin of her throat burned suddenly, and she clutched desperately there for a moment, sucking in a panicked breath before the pain cleared and she could breathe shakily again. She finished tying the knot and commanded her shaking legs to stand up and support her weight.

No one had noticed her terror, save Mao, who was looking at her curiously.

The girl's look turned murderous as she saw them, her eyes flashing when she took in their faces.

It's starting. I can feel the shift in the time, as Amano told me it would happen. He gave me a choice, a way out of this. A back door, to save myself and those I cared about. Hinata, it would be too late. She is already too involved, number two on Yuno's hate list. But they don't have to die. I think it's a way that Amano is rebelling against his very nature.

He gave me a chance: a chance to save Aru. No matter what, I have to find a way.

I may not be involved in this game, but I am involved in the life that i live, which has taken a crazy turn. I need to protect my family, for my sister. It's what she asked me to do, right before the unthinkable happened. I will protect the people I love, even if it means shutting that back door.

Sorry, Amano-kun. Offer your gift to someone else who will use it.

What was this? These memories weren't hers. She resisted the urge to grip her head from the splitting headache she was getting, breathing sharply before putting a normal scowl back on her face. Mao ushered her to the edge of their little group, slipping into her place beside Hinata. Amaya just then realized that Hinata and Mao must have included Amano and Kousaka, because the latter was leaning across his blue eyed companion to poke Hinata with the branch he still carried.

Amano broke out of the line of sorts and ran up to the pink haired girl, speaking with her, a broad smile across his face. She looked over at the group worriedly, saying something quickly and urgently. He shook his head and started to return, as she reluctantly followed.

"We're going to the site of those recent murders," Hinata said creepily when everyone had made their way out of the school area. Amaya instantly rolled her eyes, writing this off as another of Hinata's schemes. "C'mon, it'll be fun!" She began to walk off with Amano, Mao, and Kousaka, leaving Amaya and the Second behind.

"This is dumb," Amaya called after her. "I think this is stupid and I don't want to go," she shouted after a moment of silence. The pink haired girl started walking after the group, and Amaya rolled her eyes. That did it. She would have to protect the group from Yuno Gasai, one of the few names she could put to a face from back when the game first started (which felt like forever ago to Amaya). "Fine, but I'm just going to make sure you guys don't look stupid," Amaya shouted before jogging after them. She could hear Hinata's laughter, as well as Mao's and Kousaka's comment: "We don't look dumb, I'm here!"

The blue eyed girl took her place at the end of the pack as she walked, unaware of the blissful smile on her face. Mao and Hinata both looked over at the same time, exchanging looks with each other when they saw her turn and smile at them, just a little bit. Amaya was finally getting used to having friends.

What a shame that it was all coming to an end.

When the group of six reached the place they were supposed to be, four of them immediately proceeded to act like absolute fools. Amano, Hinata, Kousaka, and Mao ran from one small thing to another, exploring the park (a different, quieter one than the main one Amaya visited all the time) and what it had to do. Hinata was obsessed with the swing, laughing as she swung quickly and shrieking in playacted fear. Amaya hung back as she watched the rest of them, eventually deciding that Yuno Gasai couldn't be too bad, and that Amaya herself was just overreacting.

As she walked over, the girl looked up with a wary expression. "Hi," Amaya murmured quietly, shuffling her foot in the dirt to draw a simple pattern she found herself repeating. "I'm Amaya. Kiyano Amaya." She offered a weak smile, hoping that it didn't look as weak as it seemed.

The girl remained silent, staring at Amano with a jealous look before shooting Hinata a deathly glare which the brunette didn't see. Amaya put together a piece of the puzzle that was nagging at her right then: the Second was seriously into the First. That couldn't bode well for the two of them, and Amaya felt a sudden rush of pity for the girl. Forced to either kill her lover or let herself be killed or commit suicide- caught between a rock and a hard place. But that would make it easier for Amaya herself to live, knowing that there would be two who she could count on to be vulnerable while protecting each other.

Unless...unless Amano didn't like her back.

It couldn't hurt to play it safe.

"What's your name?" Amaya asked again. The girl grudgingly rolled her eyes and turned to face Amaya, who was for some reason being friendly. Too friendly, but she had no other choice.

"Gasai Yuno," the girl said quite clearly, as if used to dealing with unwanted attention when she clearly craved another's.

"Ok," Amaya said, quite at a loss for how to begin her next sentence. "Are you and Amano-kun a thing?" She nearly gagged on the words, forcing herself to be cheery and polite, wanting nothing more than to slug the girl in the face and tell her that her situation was impossible so she should find a new interest.

Yuno looked like she didn't know whether to blush intensely or to ask Amaya why with a very scary look. Her face warred between the decisions before she chose the latter one. "Why?" She asked, her hand straying towards a pocket. Amaya noticed, and took steps to alleviate the situation.

"Cause you guys looked like a couple before." Amaya kept her tone light and she could have sworn she sounded like a shy fangirl. "I thought you two were cute together." Her throat felt tight as she said the words, and she prayed desperately that she didn't sound unnatural.

Much to her surprise, Yuno blushed violently. "D-do you really mean that?" she asked. Amaya nodded, sensing it was the right thing to say, practically envisioning the girl trusting her at least a little bit. "For real? Me and Yukki?" Amaya smiled slyly, as if letting the other girl in on a secret.

"I thought you were one, because he kept looking over here." Amaya heard the telltale static buzz, and her grin faded away as she looked towards her friends.

Gotcha, Second. You aren't safe anymore.

Hinata motioned for her to come over, and Yuno started tracing in the ground with her feet, like Amaya had been doing seconds before. "Yuno-chi, come and join us!" Hinata called. Yuno shook her head sweetly, finishing up what she had been writing in the dirt. Amaya struggled to keep her expression neutral as she saw what was written there, a sick sense of dread washing over her.

Die.

Amaya allowed Hinata to tug her forward, as the group approached a vending machine and Yuno reluctantly followed. The raven-haired girl detached herself from Hinata and walked over to Mao, who struck up a conversation. Kousaka was pretending not to listen, but Amaya could tell he was curious about what was going on.

Halfway through the conversation, Amaya felt a nagging question tug at her, something that she probably should have asked sooner. "Where was Akise today?" She asked, turning towards Mao with the question. It wasn't that she cared, more just like she wondered why the all perfect, intelligent detective was out, and seeing as Hinata and Mao were his closest friends, they might know. Amaya didn't care. She didn't care at all.

Yeah right.

"He skips school a lot," Mao said nonchalantly. "He usually can't be bothered to come, and then he shows up on the test days without ever learning the material and gets the highest score in the grade. It's unbelievable. It was his first day coming to school in a while when you walked in, and then he just now skipped again." Mao couldn't hide her smile when she said that. Amaya felt a frustrating surge of dizziness, and her hold on the railing tightened fractionally as she gazed at the great view of the city.

"Why, Amaya-chan, are you blushing?" Mao teased with a wide smile. Amaya growled under her breath in annoyance and scrubbed furiously at her face, unable to deny that her face was red. From what though, she wondered.

"I'm going up ahead," Hinata called. Amaya was about to protest when the girl took off, racing down the path while looking back over her shoulder as if to make sure no one followed her. Amaya was about to, taking a few steps forward when Mao grabbed her arm with a smile.

"Do you see those birds over there?" She asked, pointing with a closed-eye smile, her camera out. Amaya glanced over at that point, taking a moment to find the birds. They looked the same as the ones she had seen at the beginning of the school day, graceful in their flight. One of them couldn't keep up, and the other five continued on, casting glances at the small bird which spiraled to the ground with its wing slightly bent.

That one is me, Amaya thought. That's me, being left behind once again as my family continues on. I am unable to join them through these circumstances, because I don't want to die. There is so much I haven't seen, so much left to do. I will live out my time for them, since they have to leave me behind on this side.

A sudden feeling of revulsion crept over her, a shivering in the warm summer air which made her look behind the group, towards the woods from which they had come before. No one was there.

No one was there, and yet she could not shake the feeling that they were being watched.

In the trees, a boy in a blue jacket smiled to himself as his eyes locked on his quarry, slipping behind a tree trunk in the already dense fringe of the woods as his friend turned. There, his target. Black hair, blue eyes, and a hand holding a cellphone, gazing in his direction.

Amano Yukiteru. So nice to finally meet you.

Amaya shook her head. The boy who looked so similar to her was gazing in the same place, before his phone buzzed. That familiar static sound which hummed a warning. The boy glanced down at it before he began to run, Yuno following after him madly as Amaya, Kousaka, and Mao raced to keep up, the pack running in the direction Hinata had taken moments earlier.

What's happening? I should have gone with her, something is wrong! Amaya reached for her Diary to see what was going on, but her hand met an empty pocket. She switched to her jacket pocket in panic, searching for her phone.

Her Diary was gone. She had left it at the school in her bag. Amaya was stuck weaponless in a situation where she would need it the most.

After several minutes of frantic running, during which Amaya had made it to the front of her group, she skidded to a halt in the dim light of the forest, staring at the clearing in front of her.

A hand, several meters away, like an outstretched testament of how hard Hinata had fought. Amaya could feel the sinking horror creeping in as she took in the scene before her.

Hinata was facedown at the edge of the small clearing, facing the woods. Blood was spattered in an arc around her, and in a streak where it was obvious she had been dragged. Amaya clapped a hand over her mouth, resisting the urge to just lose it there in the grass. She felt her knees give way, but everything seemed fuzzy and indistinct as she shut down. She could hear Mao's quivering breath, Yuno's indifferent footsteps, and Amano's crying.

Amaya quickly realized through the fog that she had to remain alert no matter what, because she still had to protect her remaining friends. She blinked several times as the bushes behind them rustled, everyone swiveling to face the noise. Amaya stood.

This is all my fault.

Hinata was gone, but whatever had killed her was just around the corner.

Sorry for the cliffhanger, guys! *runs from the angry mob with pitchforks and torches* I know, I know, I'm evil. I've been working on this though and I realized it was really long. Like, a little too long. I usually make these action scenes several chapters, as you will see when I write the whole episode 20/21/22 spiel.

Did you guys like Mao being a secret shipper? That's honestly how I picture her in this scenario. She seems like she would understand Amaya more than Hinata would. But Hinata's still pretty chill.

Don't forget to vote and comment! I appreciate the effort!