Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Haven't been that active recently, sorry about that! I know I've got other stories to tend to, if I do end up tending to them, but I just had to write this. I've really come to like this pairing, and thought I could expand on it, make it something likeable and cute. Not that it isn't either of those things, but character development is everything! So, if you guys like it, feel free to tell me to make another chapter! And constructive criticism is very much appreciated!

Sonohara Anri didn't have very much to lose in this life. Her parents, both gone, and with Saika as her only savior, she considered herself devoid of a certain emotion of which others threw around as if it was nothing. It angered her, in the very least, to see simple humans complaining about life —and of course, about that certain emotion.

She refused to say it. Even as Saika, her Saika, lived for it she would have none of it. Not a single scrap.

For days after her friend Masaomi Kida left, she felt more alone than before, despite the fact that she didn't previously think of herself as such. Who would have guessed someone as innocent yet well-built as her could be lonely? Surely, boys would be knocking on her door every other night, wanting to make her their's.

Right?

If any boy who acted like that existed, he wasn't in Ikebukuro.

Other than love, Sonohara Anri lived for several things. For the memory of her mother, and for her friends. Though so-called friends of her's were scarce, Ryugamine Mikado and Masaomi Kida were the best she could ask for. She thought, if I could learn to appreciate them, maybe I'd be able to appreciate anyone. There were several things that had kept her from doing such, however.

Saika.

Masaomi.

Her Father.

Would this cycle never end? Remembering her father's abuse, remembering her Mother as the "great being" detaching her from that abuse, remembering the leave of Masaomi that left her feeling hollow?

No.

Because of memories like that which she kept bottled inside, Sonohara Anri had built up a fair amount of barriers in this life.

Because of her knowledge that she would never be able to fully love someone, she made sure that she could not be tempted by such a pitiful fate. To be at the hands of that empty emotion.

To be sure that she would thus not be hurt by any actions of others, she didn't allow herself to bond with others to a great extent, even if it meant hurting those others in the process.

Lastly, while she could not fully find herself to love, she lived off of the love of others —Saika enabled her to do such a thing. As a Mother, with countless children, Sonohara Anri took advantage of the atmosphere, keeping the loving emotions that she ripped from her victims all to herself. So as to not feel guilty, she beat into her mind that she was a parasite, and accepted her fate.

If there was a God, he gave her this fate willingly. And so she could do nothing but accept it. Sonohara Anri was a Monster.

Heiwajima Shizuo was walking alone with a cigarette in his mouth, enjoying the night. It was quiet, and an Ikebukuro without the Flea was one that he could come to enjoy. After all, so much of his hate, rage, and violence went into fights with that damnable man —Heiwajima Shizuo hated violence.

And so Heiwajima Shizuo hated him.

This man was choosing to live in the present from that point on. He had suppressed memories before, and he could do it this time. He would do everything he could to get the Flea out of his head. At this point, he refused to even think of the Flea's name. Anything about the Flea he refused to acknowledge; wiping him from the slate of memory and fact.

Heiwajima Shizuo knew several facts in life. One, that he was not like everyone else, and he was bound to receive a few stray glances here and there. Two, that there weren't many people who had the same issues as him, and so he shouldn't trust many others. Three, his anger was bound to get out of control sometime, and if anything, he should aim that vending machine straight at the wall rather than straight at that white van passing by.

This man knew that he was powerful. That people feared him. Yet still, he had a hope that just one person would look past that unavoidable aspect of him. No one had stepped up to the plate, however, and he was convinced that no one ever would.

Heiwajima wouldn't give up hope. He could love. He knew he could.

Sonohara Anri has a feeling that Ikebukuro would be quiet, and so she stole away from her solitary abode, deciding to make her way to Ikebukuro Park. No one would be there because of the late hour, but she felt that maybe it would be a bit less lonely.

Meanwhile, Heiwajima Shizuo walked along the rim of the park, not sure if he should stay or not. No one was there, and he was off work until early the next day, but he felt restless —maybe he just needed to keep walking.

He looked out towards the fountain, near a streetlight, and saw a womanly figure sitting there, seemingly patient for no reason. It was curious; Heiwajima Shizuo thought that no one else was there.

Yet there she was.

He stood not ten feet from her, simply staring. Not out of anger or sadness —simply of curiosity. She stared back, and recognized him as Saika's failed target. The same failed target who had saved her from the Yellow Scarves. The same failed target who she had seen shot in the stomach and leg, yet could still walk freely to Kishitani Shinra and be treated without complaint.

"Good evening, Heiwajima Shizuo-san." the young woman greeted him.

"Ah, who are you, again?" he asked.

"Sonohara Anri." was all she answered, remembering that this was the third time he asked for her name.

"What are you doing all by yourself out here? It's dangerous."

"It's quiet."

Heiwajima Shizuo couldn't find himself to argue with her, and as a gentleman, he took a seat beside her. It wouldn't be so dangerous with him near her, after all. "I guess so."

A long silence swept between the two, but it wasn't so bad. It somehow filled the atmosphere, from loneliness to a tidal wave.

Just about at the same time, Sonohara Anri and Heiwajima Shizuo looked to the sky, seeing no stars —only the color of the midnight sky and the bright moon.

She let out a smile, for the memories she could still feel in her heart, and he took a smile of his own —for the memories he yearned to lose.

Hope for them both, it would seem, hidden in the night sky.

"Heiwajima Shizuo-san, have you ever felt happy and sad at the same time?" the question slipped out of her mouth before she knew it. "Ah, I'm sorry, nevermind!"

He took a long look at her, blinking once, then looked back at the sky. "Yeah, a few times."

Another silence.

"Heiwajima Shizuo-san—"

"Call me Shizuo." he interrupted, and she was rendered speechless for a moment, before she nodded.

"Shizuo-san, do you think it's possible for a Monster to feel anything but loneliness?"

Sonohara Anri needed to know, from anyone, that "normal" life was possible for her. Even if they didn't know she was such a thing, it would give her relief. Perhaps, though, she was hoping he wouldn't answer that question. Some things she needed to know for herself. If she could work something out, maybe—

"Even a Monster can suffer from far worse than being lonely."

Sonohara Anri sat at the fountain like stone, gripping the edge of her seat with white knuckles. So selfish. How could she have overlooked a sensitive topic such as this? She knew what this man could do, and though she had the possibility of insulting him by apologizing, she did so anyway.

"I'm sorry, Shizuo-san."

He raised an eyebrow, not expecting it from a girl like her. She seemed so innocent, and so he told himself not to take her question to heart, but there she went. He thought to himself, does she think of me as a monster? Is that why she apologized?

"I..I wasn't asking about you, I'm sorry if I confused you."

"Stop apologizing." he told her, and he gave a sigh. Her grip on the edge of the fountain seat lessened, and her posture slacked a bit. It was when he took a second look at her that he realized that the question wasn't meant for him.

"You honestly don't think of yourself as a Monster, do you?" he asked.

Her hair fell in front of her face, which became hidden. As she stared at the ground, not knowing what he would say next, she felt a heavy hand placed on her shoulder.

"Leave that to me, Anri-san. I'm already there."

"You're not a Monster, Shizuo-san." she protested, her face staying hidden. If he were to brush it back, or if she were to, he'd find her face filled with disagreement. He could hear it in her voice, even. Sonohara Anri was many things, and stubborn in her beliefs was one of them.

"Neither are you."

She did not speak, or even let out a bitter laugh. It was not in her Persona to do so; her only response to a statement such as his would be silence. As she always was.

The atmosphere lightened as the prevailing silence continued, and the two turned their attention to the sky, which was blank except for the moon. As the sky began to lighten from dark blue to a lighter gray-blue, Shizuo Heiwajima realized that they had been there all night.

"You should be getting home." he told her, looking to the girl who had slumped against his shoulder. "Hey, Anri-san."

She was still silent, and when he brushed the hair out of her face, he saw that she was asleep. Giving a sigh, he stood, lifting her into his arms. "You're gonna have to tell me which way to go, I don't know where you live."

Still, she didn't answer him (as she couldn't), and he decided to bring her to the one place he knew she had stayed before. After around twenty minutes of walking, he rang the doorbell of Kishitani Shinra's apartment that he shared with Sturluson Celty, and waited for either of them to answer.

The doctor came to the door, and after a minute of speaking, Shizuo left Sonohara Anri in the Doctor's and the Dullahan's care, knowing she'd be safe there. As he left the area, his phone began to ring, and he saw that it was Tanaka Tom, his employer.

"Shizuo, where have you been? I told you that work would start early today, we've got a lot to do."

"Sorry, I'll be there soon."

He hung up the phone, walking down the lightening streets of Ikebukuro, the topic of Monsters on his mind. Why would she think of herself like that…?

Author's Note: Here to bother you one more time~ Feel free to review, and stay tuned for more possible chapters!