There were many similarities between this day and that one, but at the same time, they weren't similar at all. The little princess skipped down the sidewalk, her schoolshoes bouncing playfully against the concrete as her contented smile grew wider and wider. Six months ago, she'd been happily trotting down this exact same road, towards the exact same destination: a commonplace cafe near Ikebukuro station. The difference was that back then, her intention had been to kill someone.
Now, her intention was to make that same person smile.
Awakusu Akane was a strange individual, but in a way, she was also a normal ten-year-old. As she approached the cafe's large glass windows, her thoughts climbed inside her backpack to observe the drawings she'd colored. She couldn't wait to show them to Shizuo: she might make his day.
However, Shizuo wasn't sitting at his usual table, near the window. Instead, Akane spotted his partner in the back of the shop, noting him by his dreadlocks and glasses. Where Tom went, Shizuo was sure to follow. And so the little princess hurriedly entered the cafe, eager to please her supposed best friend.
She greeted him as soon as she was close enough. A woman stood from her seat just as Akane came galloping down the aisle, and there was nearly an accident. But Akane dodged out of the way and then swiftly apologized. Her attention was still solely on Tom, who'd acknowledged her by now.
When Akane reached his table, she noticed that not only was Shizuo's standard milkshake absent, but Vorona's pastry wrappers were also gone. It seemed neither of the debt collector's employees were here today. The Awakusu's princess considered this with an upset frown.
“Tom-san,” she asked him perplexedly, her fingers tightening around her backpack straps, “Where is Shizuo-onii-chan?”