Author: BebePanda401
Story Title: Nobody's Home
Rating: 'T'
A/N: So after a while of not writing any ZeXal stories, I've read around on the Internet. And I am surprised at all the Kotori hate. Yes, she is a bit useless, yes, she is mainly for fanservice. But the poor girl doesn't deserve this much hate. If anything, she's the character I relate to most in the show- only being able to watch whilst the people you hold most dear get hurt, and agonizing that all you can do is cheer them on. So, I decided to write this story. Not as Yuma's love interest, or the 'eye-candy'. But as Kotori Mizuki, a thirteen year old girl who just wants everything to be happy, and not suffer anymore.

~Nobody's Home~

It was a cold night, in the quiet city of Heartland.

Her usually neat green hair didn't reflect the light of the barely visible moon, which had been cruelly hidden from view by an army of thundering storm clouds, threatening to disturb the peace that lay over the park where she sat. The fountain, on which she sat on the brim of had once been glistening with an aquatic measure of splendour. However, the wondrous spouts of water had been turned off, giving it a dull, almost sombre appearance.

It was like man could control any kind of beauty- be it natural or created by their own hands. The adolescent female was not the kind of person to normally look down on life in such a depressive manner, but that night- she couldn't help but think that way about the world. When she was a child, she was naïve enough to think everything and everyone was happy, content with their lives. That they were happy enough to live in the 'free' world she had been taught existed.

It was now, at the difficult age of thirteen, the truth began to dawn on her.

She did not live in a free world, she lived in a structured bubble, where suffering was allowed to roam free, if not discretely. Bullying wasn't illegal, it passed the law- but only if done subtly, so subtly that only silent tears may be shed. And what was worse- the higher-ups, the people who were in charge, who were supposed to protect her people, were in fact the ones damaging her world. The world she wanted to love, but could only hate.

Small tears began to flow from her eyes, and disturb the still waters of the fountain. She wasn't sure why she was crying- Droite getting hurt for loving someone so dearly, Yuma constantly putting himself in danger for everyone else's sake, her friends being hurt by someone she felt empathy in recent times, or the fact she learned all these things from being a bystander.

Kotori knew for a long time that she didn't duel. She didn't understand how the card game worked. Unlike Yuma, who didn't have a clue from the start but still kept going, she was terrified of the game.

For she had learned, the game that brought so much happiness to young children and adults, the game that could unite so many ethnic groups- could also divide, ruin, and twist the universe. And the recent duels she saw were only proof to solidify her theory. The honey-eyed girl made a selfish pact- she didn't want to get hurt that way, and so avoided those engraved cards as much as she could.

But even Kotori had times where she wished she wielded them as a weapon.

She had her reasons, of course. So that she could stop being so useless, such a damsel-in-distress. So she could stop being the cheerleader- the emotional support, and be the defender of her friends offence. But she found that, every time she went near a D-pad, that fear overwhelmed her, and had to step outside for fresh air to circulate her lungs.

Her fists trembled, as she tried to hold back more tears threatening to spill from her eyes again. She didn't want to be the cry-baby! She wanted to be the strong example that someone, even if they didn't duel, could still hold it together in the face of dismay! Watching the non-existence water spouts, she failed to notice footsteps approaching her.

"K-Kotori?" Turning her head slightly, the aforementioned female was, for lack of better term, genuinely surprised at the sight she saw. There, before her eyes, was Cathy. In her usual gothic-lolita outfit with customised cat accessories, and a concerned look on her face- not holding any undertones of bitterness.

Truthfully, Kotori wasn't exactly fond of Cathy (her affections for Yuma were obvious, not to mention the fact she had teased her about it in the past as well) but still held a respect for her as a duelist- as a person. She admired her on many traits- her athletic abilities, her determination, her strength at dueling and not letting un-requited love get her down.

"Cathy...wh-what are you doing here?" It was awkward talking to her, but it wasn't like she had a choice. Her mother had taught her to always reply to someone, even if you barely tolerated their fibre of being. Still, this could be a good opportunity to be on better terms with the female, so that she didn't always shoot glares at her.

She raised a dismissive hand at her, "Kotori, never mind about that. Are you...are you okay?" Shaking her head, Cathy gave her a side-long glance.

"To tell you the truth Cathy...not really..." Her voice began to break and trail off into her hidden despair, as Cathy sat down beside her, her eyes never once leaving her own- was she trying to transfer some of her strength to her? It was fair to say the tension in the atmosphere was thick with awkwardness, but neither of the girls paid a care in the world.

Kotori flinched as Cathy placed a hand on her shoulder, the unfamiliar gesture breaking her even more on the inside. The latter however, was not fazed in the slightest, almost emotionless if not for concern accompanying her facial features.

"I-I'm scared." It was almost a silent confession, only just reaching Cathy's ears. But those two words rung in her mind, like an alarm not turning off. Yet, it was crammed with sincerity, fear, and many other adjectives that the cat-girl couldn't be bothered to name. Because describing it wouldn't make the situation for Kotori any better- but being honest would.

"Of what?" Her words caught the green-haired girl off guard, but didn't show it.

"I...I..." She began to choke on her words, relinquishing control of her own body to her hormones, and simply coughing before she found herself bursting out into tears- startling Cathy to say the least. The latter had seen Kotori cry many times before- the death of Astral, her sadness for Yuma and Shark, but never personally in front of her- and never this amount.

Unsure of what to do, she just looked on at the sobbing figure, and lending her an understanding ear.

"I'm terrified! I always stay by the sidelines, all I can do is stand there and give emotional support in small numbers- and it does no good! I'm scared everyone will die, and I won't because I was too scared to duel for their sakes...that I was too scared to be up their on the battlefield! W-what do I do? All I am is a damsel in distress- I can't even be a good friend-"

She was cut off from monologuing, when she felt a sharp and sudden 'crack!' emit from her skin, leaving a painful red mark in it's place. Honey eyes wide, she saw Cathy, arm raised up and eyes glinting dangerously, her green orbs trembling with the warning of incoming tears.

"Don't you ever," she spat, "say you aren't a good friend to Yuma and everyone else. Kotori, I may have hated you from the start because I liked Yuma, but you know what? Being friends with everyone, seeing what you're like normally, has taught me that, despite you not duelling, you are strong in your own way."

"W-what...?"

"Don't you understand, baby bird? You're strong because you support everyone. Not many people can do that, believe you me."

Shock overcame Kotori, watching Cathy's eyes begin to water. To the girl she originally thought to be shy, unfocused and shamefully arrogant- she saw a clear-minded and confident girl, just wanting her friends to be happy and safe. Just like...just like her. Perhaps...perhaps the two of them were not so different as they originally thought they were.

"Cathy..."

"I won't blame you for crying, everyone cries at some point in their lives, even the most stoic of us. But you have to know, I-I may not exactly be on the best of terms with you, but I would like it if...if we could become better friends sometime. I know we both like Yuma, and I wasn't exactly friendly with you at the start, but-"

Again, one of the girls were cut off. But instead of a slap bringing a girl back to her senses, Cathy felt Kotori's head lean into her shoulder, sobbing. To say she was uncomfortable wasn't the word. However, this gave Cathy a reason to cry- was Kotori saying that she...that she trusted a strange person like her? Trusted her enough to cry into her shoulder- even with the normal proximity rules of friendship?

"I'm sorry...but I need a friendly shoulder to cry on right now."

Green eyes welled up, finally releasing the damn that had forcibly been held back from streaming the soft walls. Both girls were in the middle of a battlefield- one a warrior, one a side-liner and almost a psychiatrist to many. They were tired of fighting this war, this war that didn't even have to involve these children. But they had to fight. For everyone that had gotten involved.

Kotori felt lost inside- because of her friends becoming injured, because so many innocent souls of people were being sacrificed for the ideals of one crazy madman who she didn't even know. Cathy felt like she was loosing her mind because of loneliness, her parent...never home, never supporting her, never being there for her...

...but in that moment, Cathy embraced Kotori with warm hands, the latter doing the same. The blooming friendship between these two, if anyone bore witness, was so beautiful, it could have made them cry.

The night was cold. So damned cold, it felt like snow encased their bodies. Nobody was home for these two, no place to go to dry their eyes, for they felt abandoned, lost- useless to many others. Not even sure where they belonged, broken inside. The dreams almost lost, their minds all over the place, and the faith they placed in life fading away.

Yet, they found something in one another that night.

A home.

A/N: These two need to be better friends in the show. Please review!