It had been five years since the trip to the art gallery. Ib was sitting at the over sized dining table with her mother and her father. Her rose red eyes stared blankly at the cake that sat in front of her. Today was her fourteenth birthday. Ever since that fateful encounter in the gallery Ib had been waiting for her promised reunion. A small smile broke out on Ib's face. In any other situation she would have never approached an older man, yet being faced with living paintings and walking mannequins had persuaded her to help him. Ib brought herself out of her thoughts and back to reality. Ib looked up at her parents. Her mother was holding a small wooden box. It was decorated with paintings of red rose petals and vines.

"Here Ib," her mother handed over the pretty wooden box, "we got it custom made just for you. The song is one you like too; it's the song you always humming while you are studying."

"Thank you..." Ib took the small box from her mothers hands and opened the lid. A soft tune played from the music box. Ib recognized the tune. It was true she liked the tune but listening to it reminded her of an old friend. Mary. The little blonde girl she met in the gallery along with Garry. Unlike Ib and Garry, Mary was a painting. At first Ib thought she was lost in the gallery just like her but she turned out to be one of the paintings come to life. In the end Mary tried to kill Ib and Garry but they managed to burn her painting and Mary along with it. Although the song was a calming one Ib couldn't stand listening to it. Quickly, she shut the box ceasing the song from being played. Ib stood and turned away from the table.

"Ib," her father called out to her, "aren't you going to eat any cake?"

Ib stopped at the door to the hall. "I don't want any." Without saying anything else she left the dining room and headed towards her room.

Sunlight streamed into Ib's room. Slowly, Ib slid her eyes open and sat up. Today was another day like any other. She walked over to her closet and pulled out her uniform. It was a common sailor uniform with a pale grey skirt and a vivid red ribbon. Ib sleepily buttoned up her blouse and zipped up her skirt. She pulled on black knee high socks and pinned up her fringe with a small red pin. Ib paused before walking over to her dresser to grab her bag. She took a second to admire the blue rose sitting in an expensive looking vase. Of course it wasn't a real blue rose simply because such a flower doesn't exists. The rose in the vase was a white rose dyed blue. After admiring the rose for a few seconds longer Ib left her room and headed straight for the front door. The sun blazed against Ib's pale skin and she blinked. Pulling her bag closer to her she started walking to school.

Silently, she took her seat at the very back of her class next to the window. She felt the stares of other students baring into her. Its not as if she was a subject of bullying, most of the other students were to afraid to approach her. Ib came from a fairly wealthy family and most of the other students preferred not to talk or converse with her. All but one, her friend Sumiko. Sumiko had been Ib's friend ever since she was in elementary school. Ib looked out the window onto the school track. Once again her long brown hair falling into her eyes.

"Hey!Ib-chan!"

Ib lifted her head and her eyes met with a girl with short curly blonde hair and pretty green eyes. "What is it Sumiko?"

"Tomorrow after school I was gonna go on a mixer with a couple of friends from class one. They asked me to invite you."

"Mixer?" Ib looked at her bubbly blonde.

"I know it's not really your thing but I promise it'll be a lot of fun."

"I don't really want to."

"Ib-chan. You're no fun all you ever do is go to fancy cafes and eat macaroons."

Ib pouted. "There is no point in me going. It's not like I like any of the boys in this school."

Sumiko sat opposite Ib. "No way. Don't tell me you still like that Garry guy."

"I didn't say I liked him." Ib blushed slightly. There was no way that a guy like Garry would be interested in a kid like her. She hasn't even seen him for five years.

"You say that but you're blushing." Sumiko giggled.

Ib looked away, embarrassed. "I'm not.."

Sumiko reached forward and grabbed Ib's hands. "I know you said you didn't want to go but please come to the mixer with me. I don't wanna go without you. I'll treat you to something sweet later."

Ib hesitated. Sumiko had done many things for her and didn't even ask for an apology and now she was asking a favor from her. She couldn't be so cruel to such a good friend. "Fine..."

"Yay! You're awesome Ib-chan. Thank you so much."

Ib smiled. "Don't worry about it. It's the least I could do."

"Eh?" Sumiko tilted her head to one side.

Ib patted her friends head. "Nothing."

Ib put on the pale pink skirt Sumiko had given her. She said she had to dress cutely for the mixer but Ib was unsure. The skirt was super short and exposed a lot of skin. The shirt was at least half decent. It was a loose light blue top with short sleeves. Ib pulled a jumper on over her to cover the rest of her arms. She did like wearing cute clothes but this was a little to much. As a final touch she put her favorite pin in her hair. It was a pretty pin with a small red rose on it and it had a small red jewel in the center of the rose. Ib stood in front of her mirror. She usually didn't care much about her appearance but she didn't want to disappoint Sumiko. She grabbed a small purse and left her room. Sumiko was waiting for her by the entrance of her house.

"Wow! Ib-chan you look super cute." Sumiko said her green eyes sparkling.

"So do you."Sumiko was wearing a cute white dress with a lace pink jumper. Her short hair was tied back into a pony tail by a cute hot pink ribbon. Sumiko grabbed Ib's arm and began to walk dragging Ib along. "Where are we going anyway?"

Sumiko smirked. "Karaoke!"

Ib's eyes widened. "Eh?! Sumiko you know I don't like singing in front of other people."

"You'll be fine don't worry about it."

Ib frowned. She wasn't so sure.

The two girls arrived at the place and met up with the others. Ib didn't know any of them but they clearly knew her. The other girls seemed nervous however the boys looked a little to confident for their own good. A boy with short brown hair approached her. Ib glared at him as a warning to keep his distance but either he didn't see her or was ignoring her. He walked up to her and placed his arm around her neck.

"Oi! Let go of me." Ib pushed him away and the other boys laughed. Ib looked at Sumiko and her friend smiled as if telling her to please endure it. She sighed as the others talked to each other. She followed the others into the shop and they stopped by the desk. Ib lowered her head hiding her vivid red eyes. The karaoke bar was full of high school and middle school students as well as the smell of sweets. Ib didn't like the crowded atmosphere and wanted nothing more than to go back home and relax in a hot bath and drink tea.

"Hey. Nagi-kun that guy has been staring at us for a while now." One of the girls spoke.

"Huh. He's probably just a stalker. If you're scared you can hold my hand."

"Yeah right!" She giggled stupidly.

Ib rolled her eyes and turned her head to take a look at that 'guy'. She froze as a shiver ran down her spine and her heart beat quickened. Her eyes met with him and a shock of nostalgia hit her. It was him. It was Garry, and he was staring right at her with the same shocked expression. Tears formed in her eyes and a warm smile stretched across her face. He still looked the same. The odd purple hair and cute purple eyes. He was even still wearing that worn down coat.

Sumiko looked at Ib "Ib-chan? What is it?"

Ib spoke without letting her gaze stray from Garry. "Sumiko, it's Garry."

"Eh! No way!" Sumiko followed Ib's gaze and her eyes set on him. "Hmm...he's pretty good looking."

Ib wasn't listening. Her heart was beating fast and she couldn't control the smile on her face. Without hesitating she quickly walked over to him and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. She heard shocked expressions from the other people from her school and heard Sumiko calling her but she didn't care. She felt Garry pat her head and heard him speak softly to her.

"I'm glad to see you too but doing this kinda thing here is a bit..."

Ib stepped back to face Garry and saw the kind smile on his face.

Ib smiled "I've finally found you."