Chapter 2 - Time

After Hinata had waved off her thanks, telling her that there was no need to thank her for her kindness as it was something she gave out caused she loved to see people smile which simply caused Anzu to just stare at the sunny girl before Hinata excused her self. Saying that she should go find Sara and that Anzu could take this time to get settled into her new room.

Anzu sat down onto the bed after Hinata left. She could feel the eyes of the ghost boy, who she assumed to be Riku. Anzu looked up at the ghost boy. Who had short hair that covered his ears and was thin as a rail and his ghost form were all sorts shades of the colors, black, gray white along the his ghost form giving him a blue tint, making it impossible to know his hair color or the color of his clothes, or even his eye color. "I'm assuming your Riku, right?" Anzu asked as she stared up at the boy causing his eyes to widen and he opens his mouth but nothing comes out as it moves.

"I can't hear you unless I'm touching, or I'm in whatever place your spiritually connected to," Anzu stated causing the boy to close their mouth. "It's my quirk you see. It allows me to interact with ghosts. The people at my old foster home though called me a liar, a fake, a monster when I would try to tell them that I wasn't quirkless. But I rather be seen as broken then as a monster which is why I'm allowing the people here to think I'm quirkless."

The boy stared at her with a frown and arms across his chest as he lends forward while floating in mid-air. "Can you show me what you think you might be spiritually attached to?" Anzu asked, hoping that the boy may have some sort of idea of what he is connected to.

Riku shrugs before turning in midair and a hand on to his chin to stare at the bookshelf that was beside Anzu's bed as his eyes scanned the shelf before they stopped at something that sat on the shelf.

The boy then pointed at a jar that was filled with marbles.

This causes Anzu to scrunch up her face in thought.

Marbles? Why marbles?

But Anzu simply pushed herself off of the bed and walks over to the jar of marbles and twist the lid off. Opening it and lifts up a marble.

"So, why exactly are you connected to marbles?" Anzu asked the boy as she turned away from the bookshelf to face him.

"Because it's the only thing I have that connects me to my grandmother before she passed away when I was four. I was young when she passed but I still remember her. Maybe not as clearly as before but she was always there for me after my parents decided they didn't want to take care of me. I got adopted by this family though shortly after she passed due to old age and when they realized how much I liked collecting marbles. They started helping to collect them. Hinata, Sara, and the twins would even sometimes play with them with me."

This causes Anzu to nod as sits back down onto the bed. "I see, what's this about you losing your battle against cancer?"

This causes Riku to lose his smile. "Oh, that. Well, I'm eight years old right now. I'll be turning nine in January. How old are you?"

"Ten. I turn eleven in May." Anzu answers simply as she waits for Riku to explain his death.

"Okay, well when I was six going on seven. I started getting really sick. After I turned seven. I was taken to the hospital and they found out that I had brain cancer. The doctors did what they could but in the end, it was fruitless. There was nothing they could do to stop it and so I had to live with it until the age of eight. It's been almost a year since I passed. I've just been floating and haunting this place as I couldn't bring myself to leave I wanted to stay with this family for a just a little bit longer. Is that okay?"

Anzu smiles a little. "Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. You can stay with them as long as you need before you move onto your next life."

"Next life?" Riku asked as he floats down to float beside Anzu.

Anzu nodded as a smile appeared on her face. "Yes, when a person dies. Their soul passes on to take the form of a new life. There next life. But they forget all of their previous life. Except for the unconsciousness. The unconscious always knows. It's a shame that people don't listen to it more." Anzu tells him with a smile.

Riku asks with wide eyes full of curiosity while floating in front of Anzu. "How do you know that?"

Anzu smiles sadly. "My grandmother taught me everything I know. She waited to teach me about my quirk even after she passed away a few years before I was born since my mother didn't inherit the ghost-seeing ability from her and our quirk is one that is in our blood. So people outside of our family wouldn't have our quirk so my dad, of course, didn't have it."

"Oh, so she taught you as a spirit herself?" Riku asked causing Anzu to nod.

"Yes, but she left when I was eight. Saying that she has taught me everything that I needed to know and that it was time for her to move on. That's about it. She was pretty blunt and sharp about it and didn't give me much time to protest." Anzu states before giving off a slight shrug. Trying to play off the hurt she still felt at her grandmother's sudden departure. "My old foster home felt extremely empty after that but oh well. What happened, happened and that's all there is to it."

The boy frowns at that before forcing a wide determined smile onto his face. "Either way, you're going to love your stay here! I guarantee it! I heard your foster home was filled with bad people but you have nothing to fear here and don't take any of Sara comments to heart. I'm afraid she just really hurt by my death as we were really close." Riku tells her as floats upwards before lending back with his hands tucked behind his head and a leg lapped over the other leg.

"I'll keep you to your word then."

...

Anzu was silent as she at the dinner table. Slowly eating the big plate of food she was given while stuffing some of the bread in her pocket. To have for later, just in case if she needed it, a habit she had formed back at her old foster home but she was careful to make sure no one was looking at her when she snuck the bread into her pocket.

She didn't want to think of what had happened when she had once been caught back at her old foster home.

No one made mention of her doing so as they appeared to be too absorbed in there conversations to pay attention to Anzu.

Which she was perfectly fine with. No attention meant no trouble.

"So Anzu, what kind of things do you like?" Hinata asked curiosity filled her brown eyes as asked what one would think was an innocent question.

But in Anzu's mind, it was a landmine waiting to explode if she even thought of talking about them back at her old foster home.

Anzu simply stared at Hinata with a frown on her face before lowering her eyes onto her plate as she swallowed the mash potatoes she was eating.

Good thing I pocked some bread for later.

As speaking of such topics could get her banned from having a meal.

Anzu was silent as she thought of how to respond to Hinata's answer before realizing that this was a great way to figure out how her new family acts around certain things and see whether or not what Riku said will hold true, who was still hiding up in Anzu's room. Not wanting to be a distraction while Anzu tried to bond with her new family.

"I like reading up on serial killers or murder cases in general," Anzu stated as she scooped some more mash potatoes onto her spoon. Ignoring the shock looks that spread across everyone's face while Anzu continued talking. "I also like reading stuff on urban myths and legends. Is that okay? I know my old foster home said that it wasn't appropriate for my age but I find the age appropriated stuff to be boring and they also said that the stuff is for boys and not girls."

It was then silent. The silence caused a bit of sadness to cross her face as she ate another spoonful of her food.

Stupid. You ruined your chance at having a loving family.

But then there was a snort before a sigh rang out.

"You are the weirdest ten-year-old I have ever met," Sara tells her while Kanna, a young woman with bubble gum pink hair that curled all over the place and stopped at her shoulders and bounces as she doubles over in laughter causing Sara to roll her eyes.

Aoi, a serious looking woman who has red hair and bright blue eyes cracked a small smile smiled of amusement while Sana and Hinata were shocked with wide eyes while the twins had already been placed down for a nap.

"Kid," Kanna speaks up once had calmed down and ad wiped a tear from her eye. The woman was sitting close enough to her, to where she could place a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder which causes the smaller girl's muscles to tense a little, not quite sure if she was out of danger zone yet, despite there being no shed of anger or disgust. Instead, there was a wide cheerful smile spread across Kanna's face. "As long as you don't become a serial killer yourself, I don't have a problem with it."

Aoi wipes the smile off her face as she straightens herself out. "Just don't research anything too gory now. You are still only ten. But Kanna is right, for once." The backhanded comment causes Kanna to stick a tongue out at her friend while Aoi simply ignored her.

"And how about we don't talk about creepy stuff or about murders during dinner time," Sana tells them softly with a small smile. "Not everyone can stomach that stuff."

"I agree," Hinata says as she continues to eat her food but there was a hint of a smile on her face too. She didn't seem to regret her question.

Anzu smiles while Sara lends over the table as she was sitting across from Anzu. There was a sparkle of interest in her light green eyes as she focused them onto Anzu. A complete contrast to the look she had towards Anzu earlier that day. "What else do you like?"

Anzu was silent as she didn't think there anything else she liked that was worth noting. "Um...I like bright colors. I like all types of animals, especially the fluffy ones. I like...I like deserts or food in general. I don't know of any food I don't like. But I really like cookies and ice cream. I've always wanted to try-"

"Ugh, you lost me at bright colors," Sara says as she lends back in the seat and goes back to eating causing the others along with Anzu to laugh.

Maybe things are going to be different.

...

"Sana, I got a question."

The young woman smiles as she continued with reading what looked to be some worksheets while Anzu lays her head on the side armrest of Sana's lounge chair while standing on her knees. "And I may have an answer."

Anzu tilted her head to the side with a small smile. Usually when she says that at her old foster home. She was shut down immediately and was told to get lost by the adults or the older kids. Or just told that she was stupid by some of the kids that were her age or younger.

"Um...I was wondering, why do Hinata and the other girls call you, Aoi and Kanna as Mama?" Anzu asked softly, hoping that she wasn't treading on thin ice.

"Well, that's because Hinata was the first one we took in. She was a baby when we took her so that's how she sees us and we don't have any problem with it and she says our names with it as a way to show who she's speaking to. The other girls just followed along. Of course, except for Sara as she sometimes just calls us that when she wants something or she's in a good mood but that's her choice." Sana explained as she was writing down some notes with a small smile.

"Oh, okay," Anzu said but made no move to get up from her knees as her flicker from Sana and to the side before flickering back up at her.

"Do you have another question?" Sana asked.

"Yes...is that okay?"

"Of course. Asking questions helps expand your knowledge which in turn makes you smarter. The smartest people always ask the most questions." Sana says with a small smile as she looks up from her papers and places her pen down, giving Anzu her full attention.

"Can..." Anzu swallows as her nerves twist itself in her stomach. "Can I call you guys Mama too?" Anzu asked softly, nearly squeaking out the ending of her question as Anzu kept her eyes on Sana's face, waiting for her reaction.

But the woman eyes soften as her smile still stays warm. A complete contrast to her previous caretakers. "Of course you can Anzu, there's no need to ask. If that's what you want then me, Aoi and Kanna have nothing against that. It's your choice and yours alone." Sana explains as she sits up straight with on leg over the other. "Anzu, in this home, you are allowed to make your own choices and we, me, Aoi, and Kanna, are meant to guide you. What the caretakers at your old foster home did, in my opinion, wasn't right. But that's my opinion on parenting. Some may not agree with mine. But it was wrong of them to starve you. They aren't allowed to do that to a child and that's final. Alright?" Anzu nods in understanding as she tried to warp her mind around the light coldness that started gathering in Sana's voice towards the mention of Anzu's previous caretakers. Partly due to how much quieter and softer, Sana was compared to the other women.

"I...I see." Anzu says simply as she looks down at her fingers as she intertwines them. She looks up when she feels a hand softly placed on her head. Sana smiles down at her.

"Your okay Anzu. Do you have any more questions?"

Anzu blinks as she smiles softly, as a sense of comfort swirls in her chest before nodding. "Ya, um...back at my old foster home. Some of the caretakers expressed extreme dislikeness towards same-sex couples when one of the girls decided to announce one day that she finds that she's attracted to girls more then boys and Hinata said that you and Kanna are married. So I was just wondering if same-sex couples are okay." Anzu explained as she kept her eyes on her fingers, as despite the comforting presence of the hand on her head. She couldn't help the swirl of nerves she felt.

It would be so easy for her to just curl her fingers around my hair and pull at it if what I said happened to annoy her.

But that didn't happen, instead, Sana ruffled her hair causing Anzu to look up at Sana who was smiling while she was lending back into her chair.

"Well, that right there is really only a matter of opinion. What's your opinion on it?" Sana asked as she tilts her head to the side as she looks down at Anzu. A calm neutral expression on her face as she smiled at her.

Anzu blinks.

What's my opinion?

Anzu titled her head.

I don't think, I've ever been asked that by an adult.

"I...um...I don't know. I just, never really understood why people, in general, care so much about quirks and who is with who. I never really understood why some people are so obsessed with being in a relationship either..." Anzu trailed off, unsure of how to continue that thought.

"Anzu, what is that you want?" Sana asked as she moves the papers she had, off of her lap and places them onto the small table that was next to her chair.

Anzu blinks as a surprise expression took over her face.

What do I want?

"A brat like you doesn't deserve anything so stop asking for something you'll never gain!"

Anzu's hands grip tightens around the chair's arm as she looks down with a small frown. "All I've ever really wanted was to have a family."

And to be accepted for who I am, quirk and all.

Sana face softens as she holds her arms out. "Come here Anzu."

Anzu climbs up onto the chair, accepting the hug as she buries her face in Sana's shoulder while the woman wraps her arms around the young girl. "Then we'll be your family Anzu and we'll always love you unconditionally."

Anzu smiles. But it was a bittersweet smile that was hidden from view.

But will that stay true when they find out about my quirk?