The Unlucky Thirteenth (Akise Aru Fanfiction)

Ninth

Future Diary (Mirai Nikki)

The Unlucky Thirteenth

Ninth–Elementary, My Dear Watson

Summary:

"Okay, so where are we going after school?"

"I'm going home." It had been two weeks since Amaya had met the trio. Surprisingly, she wasn't regretting every second. She still kept up the pretense of being exasperated with their every move, but in reality Amaya was glad they included her. They made the hell of school a bit easier to bear.

"Amaya, come with us!" Hinata begged.

Absolutely not.

Since the call from that man a week ago, Amaya had gone straight home, often running at a full sprint when no one was around. She couldn't help the feeling that someone was watching her. The same feeling she got a week before her thirteenth birthday...not that that had turned out well. In truth, she was terrified. Of what was unclear. But there was something out there, even if she couldn't see it. She could feel the presence.

Amaya wasn't ready to die. She had never been, and the same fear crept up in her mind even when she thought about it. If there was another Diary Owner on her tail, she was screwed. She could protect herself, and she probably should, leaving Minene out of the entire conflict. Her suspicions had been narrowed down to the Tenth, the Seventh, and the Eleventh. She didn't know much about them, but she was determined to find out.

Deus had said all of the owners lived in the Sakurami City area. Amaya didn't know why, since there could be even better candidates spread throughout the world. Perhaps he had tweaked some strings so that all the candidates were present in Sakurami City. Perhaps he just didn't have the time for such widespread action. Or perhaps he just didn't care.

"Absolutely not. I have homework I need to finish, and my mom had something important to tell me. I'm supposed to call her right away," Amaya fibbed. With a nod, the two waited for her to move.

"I'll walk you home," Akise said. Amaya's jaw dropped. No he wouldn't! Minene was at the 'house'.

"No, you won't," she said firmly.

"Amaya-chan, did you hear about those murders that have been going on? The police say it's best to travel in groups. I heard someone screaming by my house a week ago. The police never found the body. The girl sounded terrified, like someone was closing in..." Amaya shivered. Even though Akise wasn't speaking creepily, the words sent an odd shiver up her spine. There was a possibility that she had been that girl. She didn't know, but...

How was he speaking so nonchalantly? Like someone hadn't died, like he hadn't heard what could have been the sounds of murder? Was he really that cold hearted? Amaya almost refused to believe it. He was certainly capable of acting that way,

"You're not walking me to my house. It's dumb. I'll be fine. Besides, I can take care of myself." Part of her was....touched? that he was so concerned. He was probably just being courteous.

Hinata quickly sensed an argument was brewing, and took control of the conversation. "Hey Mao, did you hear about that beauty pageant/contest thing at the festival in a few days?" Mao nodded.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to join! It sounded like fun. Remember, we went last year! It was pretty boring...maybe we can make it a bit more fun!"

"I wonder where sign ups are," the brunette mused. "Amaya, do you want to do it?"

In response, the girl shook her head violently. "Absolutely not! It'd be dumb and stupid and boring. Besides, the only people who would show up are perverted guys like him!" She pointed to Akise. "Leave me out of this. When you guys stand up there and look dumb, I'm gonna be laughing and throwing popcorn, so don't even bother trying to get me to do it. I'm not going to!" Amaya stormed off, or attempted to.