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Kanna was crying.
Kanna always cried. She got laughed at for crying, but she couldn't stop. Kanna was scared. And lonely. Why did she have to be so lonely? It wasn't fair at all. Why were the other kids here so mean to her? Weren't they just like Kanna? Weren't they lonely too?
She wanted to curl up in a ball, smaller and smaller until she disappeared, just like Mommy and Daddy. They were together, right? So why wasn't Kanna? She wanted to be happy with them. Not have more people making her sad. Everyone wanted to make Kanna sad. No one thought Kanna should be happy. So she cried and cried and cried in her little ball until she couldn't cry anymore.
"Um… are you okay?"
A voice. Kanna jumped, surprised at the sudden presence. She didn't want to say anything. She didn't want someone else to talk to her. Not if it was gonna be like this.
Kanna didn't move.
"It's scary here, huh. Are you frightened?"
Kanna could hear her heart pounding in her ears. She was shaking. This was definitely a trap. This stranger was going to hurt Kanna too. She glanced up, seeing the shadowy figure looming above her.
She whimpered.
"Ah… sorry. Of course." The person knelt down, and Kanna could see the smile on his face. "Hey, don't worry. I won't come any closer if you don't want me to."
Kanna didn't know what to do. If she ran, he'd catch her. He was bigger than she was, and older too. Her throat was too closed up to speak, and Kanna couldn't find words. Kanna wasn't good at words. She couldn't fight either. She wanted to disappear more than ever.
The boy in front of her frowned.
"You don't trust me. Makes sense, people here are awful, especially to a little kid like you." He adjusted the scarf around his neck like he was uncomfortable. "Maybe I should tell you my name first. Would that help?"
Kanna was still scared. She still wanted to cry. But… but he hadn't tried to hurt her yet. Maybe he'd let her go. Kanna just barely managed to nod at him.
"Great!" He beamed again. His smile was bright. People didn't smile very much. Kanna liked seeing smiles. It almost made her happy. "I'm Shin. Shin Tsukimi. It's very nice to meet you. Hey, can you tell me your name? You don't have to if it's too hard, but it'd be nice to know"
Shin had a soft voice. He spoke almost kindly to Kanna. No one spoke kindly to Kanna. No one wanted Kanna. But Shin was being nice. Shin didn't need to be nice. It was probably still a trap. But he was the nicest trap she'd seen yet.
"...Kanna….." Her voice came out as a trembling whisper, but she managed to say it. A small sense of pride blossomed in her chest, almost fighting her anxiety.
"So you're Kanna. You have a very nice name." Shin moved a little closer to Kanna. She flinched, but didn't pull away. "Alright then, Kanna. You're all by yourself, right? I saw you earlier. Those other kids weren't very nice, were they?"
Kanna shook her head, trying to keep herself crying fresh tears. She didn't want to think about that. He really did just want to upset her. He was gonna do the same stuff. Stupid Kanna. No one would be nice to her.
"Ah, hey, no, don't cry!" Shin's voice was flustered as he tried to bring Kanna back to him. "Its okay! You see, I've just been here a very long time. And I didn't think they'd treat someone like you like that. It was awful, and you didn't deserve it.
"So... so I want to protect you, okay? I don't wanna see someone as small as you get hurt ever again. I'll keep you safe, no matter what it takes. That's a promise."
He held out his pinky finger. "I'll swear on it."
Kanna thought she was dreaming. Or definitely in a trap. She couldn't agree to that. Shin seemed nice, but he was going to hurt Kanna. Or maybe he wasn't even real. Maybe she could make a break for it now he wasn't standing up, or maybe she could hide.
Shin awkwardly lowered his hand.
"You wouldn't trust someone right now. Makes sense. But I mean it, Kanna. You don't deserve that, and you can't really stand up for yourself. I hate seeing the defenseless get hurt. So I won't let anything bad happen to you again, if I can help it."
Shin stood up, moving to pat Kanna's head before reconsidering. "If you ever wanna talk to me, just ask. We can be friends, okay? I'll wait for you." And with that he walked out of the room, making his way outside.
Kanna was trying not to cry.
What was happening? Who was he? Was he telling the truth? Probably not. Right?
But Kanna didn't think he sounded like a liar. Kanna wasn't very good at telling those sorts of things apart, but he didn't sound mean. Not yet, anyway.
Kanna wanted to try.
"Shin… my friend."
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Kanna was crying.
"Shin…"
Shin had come back. Shin had been keeping her safe. And now Shin was standing in her room.
But, he didn't look right.
"You forgot about me."
The strange Shin stared at her, his eyes black voids that drilled into her soul.
"K-Kanna didn't mean to forget! She was just so small and-"
Shin made a tch, his body dripping with blood that stained her carpet, bleeding into everything in the room. It was red. All red. Shin was no longer soft and blue, and Kanna was scared.
"You forgot. And then you let me die."
"No-! Kanna wanted to…"
"Shut up."
Kanna squeaked. The room was falling apart in front of her eyes, the furniture sucked into the dark vortex that was Shin, tearing apart piece by piece like every fragment of her shattered heart.
"I didn't forget you. Isn't that obvious? I didn't wanna give myself away, once I realised you wouldn't remember me. Thanks for letting me be Sou Hiyori. Why didn't you try saving me, for once."
Kanna couldn't breathe. The walls oozed black, and a thousand invisible needles jabbed at her.
"You were like my sister.. But that's what you are, right? A useless killer. Everyone who touches you dies." Ghostly hands crushed Kanna's windpipe, trying to gouge out her flesh. "How long is it until it's your precious Sara?"
Kanna barely managed to choke her words out. "Please... stop… I'm scared…."
Shin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? So was I. But you still let me die. Bet your sister was too. And you let her die."
The world was fading around her as the hands squeezed tighter, as her limbs were pulled from her body and her head cracked apart. All she could see was Shin's body, her Shin, the only person who protected her covered in the blood of her sins. Kanna's fault. It was all Kanna's fault. It was always Kanna's fault.
"I'm just returning the favour."
The pain overwhelmed her, and everything went black.
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Kanna wasn't crying. Kanna didn't have any right to cry. She couldn't make more people worried. She couldn't force them to take care of her.
Kanna would kill them too.
Everything was Kanna's fault.
It was always Kanna's fault.
No one should be nice to Kanna.
She locked the door to her room, and made herself at home with the ghosts she could never escape.
But at least she could disappear.