"Why are you so lost?"

The words rang in Shiko's mind over and over and over again. She was silenced. Locking eyes with Key, she could see nothing but sincerity in his question. 

He wasn't making fun of her nor did he ask that just to get a conversation going. He was asking because he was really curious. He was genuinely seeking for the answer. 

"W-what do you mean?" she managed to croak. "I mean ... when I look at you, I see loneliness and sadness ... I know that your cold and stone-like exterior is not really who you are. There's something else. I want to know that 'something else'. I want to see the real you. I want to know the real you."

Hearing words such as 'cold’ and ‘stone-like' and 'not really who you are' angered Shiko a little bit. Why was this guy poking into her business? Who does he think he is? What does he know? "Why do you want to do that? I'm not someone who's usually worth your time, right? You're just a kingka that everyone loves unconditionally no matter what you do or what you say. You get everything you want. You can do anything you desire without anything or anyone to stop you" the words just mindlessly came out of . Apparently, her envy caught up with her and caused her to voice out her thoughts on the normal people who have it WAAAAAY easier than her.

“There you go again” Key mumbled, stopping her from her endless ranting “What?”

“Whenever this topic comes up, you either avoid it by changing the subject or become super defensive about it. Either way, it doesn’t make me change my mind … AT ALL. Won’t you tell me, Shiko-ah? You trust me enough, right? I really want to know” he half-pleaded now. Shiko was taken aback.

Why was this guy so persistent? Why does he talk so much? And why does his words, which carry a whole lot of truth than she can deny, hurt?

…

“H-how?” she mumbled.

“What?”

“… H-how do you know if you ‘trust someone enough’? … Why do you keep saying that word?”

Key deflated. This had been the umpteenth time that Shiko has asked him about these kinds of things; friendship, care, trust … It had always seemed so foreign to her. And looking into the girl’s innocent round eyes like this, he finally understood.

It was because she knew nothing of those. She had not been given or shown those. Basically, she was never loved. As to why that is, Key was determined, more than ever now, to find out.

Giving her a gentle smile, Key explained “Let’s do it this way. Do you think that I’d ever betray you in anyway at all? Do you think I would do you harm? Do you think I would hurt you?”

“ … I-I don’t know you that well to answer something like that. I need to observe you a bit more.”

Key sighed “No, No. Don’t answer like that, Shiko-ah. I’m not asking what’s inside here” he pointed to his head “ … but here” he put a palm on his heart “do you FEEL that I could be someone who could hurt you? Or lie to you?”

Shiko needed a moment again. All her life, she was taught and trained to think and act according to her LOGIC and not with her emotions. In fact, emotions are considered taboo in Black Death and all agents were asked (or forced) to throw them away. Therefore, Shiko couldn’t even begin to understand what Key had just said.

“You’re silent again. You’re thinking again.” Key spoke “That’s not how you do it. Just let go, Shiko. Don’t hinder yourself; just let your heart speak for once.”

As if on cue, Shiko’s lips uttered “N-no …”. No, she didn’t think that Key would be someone who could harm her; Physically, no duh. But emotionally, mentally and all that, she didn’t think