PROLOGUE!
'Cold…'
The rain was raining cats and dogs. It won't stop anytime soon.
'Lonely…'
A poor little girl with long black hair and lifeless light blue eyes was walking beside a river in Tokyo, Japan with ripped clothes.
'Hurt…'
The girl's body was covered with bruises and blood. She has no energy to continue walking but she had to, she must. If not, those evil guys would catch her again and torture her.
'Can't escape…'
Even though she had a long blade in her right hand, she was still weak because of her injured body. "There she is!" a man's voice shouted. He wasn't far from her. Then, suddenly, men with black suits surrounded her. "You can't escape anymore, brat. Now, be a good girl and come back with us." The man demanded. The poor girl shook her head. "You!" then, they lunged at her as she closed her eyes.
'Saved…'
She waited for the pain to come but it didn't. She opened her eyes and saw a tall woman with short black hair standing in front of her with a katana in her right hand meanwhile she was holding some plastic bags with her left hand. The girl also noticed that an umbrella was lying not far from them.
"It's unfair to fight a little girl who was injured all over." The beautiful woman said. In a split of second, the men were on the ground, injured. Then, the woman kneeled in front of her and said, "Are you alright, little girl?" The girl nodded dumbly. "Good. Now, do you want to go home with me?" the girl stared at the woman. After a few seconds, she nodded. "I wanted to…" the woman smiled.
Time passed~!
They arrived at an apartment a few blocks from the river. When they entered, the first thing that the woman do was she gave her some food and clothes. After they all cleaned, they sat in the living room to talk.
"Now, introduce yourself."
"My name was Saki Mio. I'm 5 years old."
"Where are your parents?"
"I don't know. After they sold me to those men, they disappeared."
"They sold you?"
"Yeah, I ran from those men though."
"Let me guess, you ran away from those men to search for freedom. Those men chased you and you fought back."
"That's true. Now, I've told you my name and history. What about you?" the woman laughed.
"Right, my name is Yamamoto Kazuko. I'm not from here but another town called Namimori. I have a lovely husband and a cheerful son. Their names were Yamamoto Tsuyoshi and Yamamoto Takeshi. My husband runs a sushi shop. My son was 5 years old too and I came here to polish my katana."
"May I know why did you help me back then?"
"How can I leave a defenseless little girl surrounded by dangerous looking guys alone? It will be heartless."
"…Thank you…"
"No problem."
"But you shouldn't stay with me too long or you and your family will be in danger."
"Yeah, I know, but I want you to stay with me for a few days."
"Huh? Why?"
"I'm going to die soon."
"What are you…"
"There are some bad guys were after me and my family. That's why I wanted you to stay here to be trained by me and protected my family after I died. After all,you had potentials."
"But-"
"It'll be okay, the time will come."
Two years later,
It's had been a year since his wife, Kazuko died. She was killed by some bad guy right after she left the house. Tsuyoshi managed to get over the sadness that filled his heart and so was his son, Takeshi.
Then, he heard footsteps coming down from the stairs. 'Takeshi was up.'
A 7 year old boy with brown eyes and black hair stepped out and greeted his father. "Good morning, dad!" the boy, Takeshi flashed a cheerful grin at his father. "Oh, morning! You're early." "Yeah, I will be out for the day to hang out with my friends." "Oh, I see." "Then, I'll be going now!" "Have a safe trip!"
Unaware to them, some people were watching the little boy walking out from the store. They smirked evilly.
Time passed~!
The cheerful Takeshi was walking back home after hanging out with his friends. Then, he realized that the sky was black. 'Ah! It's going to rain soon, but I didn't bring any umbrella! Better hurry up!'then, he ran but stop when some scary people in black surrounded him.'W-who are these people?'
"You're Yamamoto Kazuko's son, right?" one of the men asked him. "So, what-" Takeshi stopped as he saw the badge on the left of the men's suits. "That badge! You're the people who killed mom!" he shouted. Of course he recognized the badge because he was there when his mom fought the scary men. He was hiding though.
The rain started to pour down.
Then, guns were pointed to him. He was trembling in fear. Is this his end? "I suggest that you put the guns away, Mafioso." A sweet and gentle voice spoke up behind the group. There stood a little girl with slightly curled long hair and hidden light blue eyes with a long blade. "Who are you?" the man spat out. "The last person that you see before your death, "YOU!" the men lunged at the girl but she avoided easily.
She then went in front of Takeshi. "Put these on. What you'll see from now on won't be pleasant." The girl shoved an umbrella, a MP3 with headphones and a blindfold. He nodded and put them on. The girl leaded him to a pole and hid him there. After she was sure that the boy's MP3 and blindfold were on, she attacked the men.
"Let's hunting some preys, shall we?"
After an hour, Takeshi had had enough. He waited and waited but the girl didn't signal him. So, he took off his headphones and blindfold and came out from his hideout. He was shocked that there were so many bloods splattered everywhere but he only saw the girl who was sitting and leaning at the wall and panted with closed eyes.
Takeshi rushed to the girl's side. "Oi! You're okay? Hang in there!" he panicked. Without hesitation, he piggy-backed the girl and rush to the hospital.
Tsuyoshi was cleaning the counter in the shop. "Takeshi's late."
RING! RING!
The telephone rang. He picked it up and surprised that the caller was his son.
"Where are you, Takeshi? I was worried!"
"I-I'm at the h-hospital."
…
"WHAT! What happened, you're alright, Takeshi?"
"I'm fine but she… Anyway, Dad, can you come here?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Okay."
Tsuyoshi hung up. 'What happened?'
A few minutes later, Tsuyoshi arrived at the hospital and quickly went to his son who was waiting at a door. He hugged Takeshi tightly.
"What happened?" he asked as he broke the hug.
"The bad guys who attacked okaa-san appeared. They wanted to kill me but there is a girl that came out of nowhere and saved me. But she was kind of hurt so I brought her here."
"I see. I'm glad you're safe. By the way, where is the girl?"
"Inside this room, the doctor was checking her though."
Then, they went inside. They were shocked by the scene in front of them. The doctor was urging a girl who sat up to lay back but the girl didn't budge. The doctor sighed. "What's wrong here, doctor?" Tsuyoshi asked. He realized that the girl's wounds were serious. "As you can see, she was still injured badly, so she needs to rest. But with her being so stubborn, she won't budge. I was worried that her injuries would be worse." The doctor replied.
"Leave it to me."
"Alright, I'll be back in few hours."
When he returned his eyes to the girl, Takeshi was already there, sitting on the chair nearby. "Hey, thanks for saving me back then, and sorry that you got hurt." He started.
"Huh? Ma, it's a request from an old friend." She said. Her voice was soft and a little cracked but still, it was beautiful.
"So, what is your name?"
Tsuyoshi went near the kids while hearing the conversation.
"Saki Mio"
"Hahaha, what a beautiful name! My name is-"
"Yamamoto Takeshi, right?"
"How did you know?"
She went silent for a while and spoke up after a few minutes.
"Your mother, Yamamoto Kazuko-san told me."
This caught Takeshi's and Tsuyoshi's attentions. "You knew her?"
"Hai, Kazuko-san told me that someone was targeting her and her family. So, she asked me to protect them after she died. Oh, she left a letter for you." She hopped off from the bed and went to her blade which lay not far from her bed. She unsheathed the blade and a piece of paper fell down. She picked it up and gave it to Tsuyoshi who opened it and read it slowly.
The letter,
Dear my dear husband, Tsuyoshi,
When you received this letter, it seems like I'm dead. I'm so sorry. I have some secrets and I didn't tell you about it. I'm a former hit woman back in Italy. I retired and came to Japan. But that doesn't mean that there will be no one after me. I'm weakening and I can't protect you anymore. But those weren't the only reason why. My childhood was destroyed. My father and mother kept on abusing me from time to time, until that time where I…killed them… I was unwanted and lonely.
No one ever wants me. And it led me to become a hit woman. After years of killing, I've had enough and retired. I came to Japan and met you. Upon seeing you, my heart felt warm. I felt a light in my heart. It beats so fast that I couldn't control it. That was when I found my aim to live. It was for you, Tsuyoshi…
I found this girl in Tokyo and asked her to protect you Takeshi from now on. So, please take care of this girl for me. This girl reminds me of my younger self. I can't help but feel sad. It created a scar in my heart. Also, she was lonely. Her parents sold her and she was abused. I can't stand it so please will you take care of her for me? You don't have to force yourself.
I know that I wasn't a good wife but…I'm glad. Please don't be sad when I'm gone. Takeshi will always be there for you, as well as that girl.
Lastly, I'm so sorry for not being a good wife and mother…
P.S Thank you and I love you.
'You aren't a good wife, but a wonderful wife.' He smiled and returned his gaze towards the girl, Saki Mio who was sitting on the bed.
"Looks like my job is done, so I'm leaving" Mio said as she went to pack her things.
"Wait, you're going to live with us from now on." Tsuyoshi said with a smile.
"Huh?"
"Really, dad?"
"Yeah."
"B-but my job was over."
"She wanted me to take care of you."
"But, still-!"
"Maa maa, its fine! We can be friends too!"
"You heard Takeshi."
"I-I…"
"No need to be shy, I know how you feel. You were lonely all the time, right?"
"That's…"
"If you don't want to, you can refuse. But a chance like this came after 100 years you know!"
"I-Is it really o-okay?"
"Yeah."
"Then, please take care of me."
"Haha, a new friend!"
"Isn't it great Takeshi?"
"Yeah!"
A few hours later, Tsuyoshi checked out Mio who had been confirmed that she was fine and brought her to the house.
"Haha! Welcome to your new home, Mio-chan!"
"M-Mio-chan?"
"Yeah, that's what I'll be calling you from now on."
"K-kawaii…" she muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing. Eto, Ta.. Takishi?"
"Haha! It's Takeshi!"
"Takshi?"
"TA-KE-SHI. Try it."
"TA-KE-S-SHI."
"Haha!"
She looked at the store's name. "Ta…ke…" she narrowed her eyes. "Takezushi?"
"Mio-chan, do you have bad eyesight?" Tsuyoshi asked.
"I don't know but my eyes are blurring no matter what I do."
"Haha! Looks like Mio-chan had to wear glasses!"
"Glasses?"
"It's a tool that will help your bad eyesight."
"Can I look better with it?"
"Yes."
"But I have no money…"
"Hahaha! Mio-chan, you're going to stay with us now so don't worry about the money. You can ask from me. I have a lot of money!"
"H-hai…"
"Since the shop had been closed for the day, let's get you some clothes and needs, shall we, Takeshi?"
"Haha~! You're right."
"T-thank you."
After some shopping,
Now, they were sitting in a café while talking to know about each other more. Then, Tsuyoshi spotted a familiar figure at the entrance. "Nana-san!" he shouted.
The woman, Sawada Nana who had a long brown hair and bright smile looked around, "Ah, Tsuyoshi-san! It had been a while!" she went near them with a 7 years old boy with gravity-defying brown hair whose was hiding behind the woman's leg.
"So, who is this?" she asked.
"Ah, she's Saki Mio. She will be going to live with us for a while."
"Ah, I see. Well, hello, Mio-chan, I'm Sawada Nana and this is my son, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Now, Tsu-kun, say hello."
"H-Hello." The cute boy said. Glad that Mio had an image to maintain. If not, she would hug the boy too tightly because he was so DAMN cute but not as cute as him. Guess who?
"Hello, Tsunayoshi-kun." Mio greeted. Tsuna hid further in his mother's legs.
"I'm sorry. He was quite shy with new people."
"It's alright."
"So, you were shopping too, Nana-san?" Tsuyoshi asked while Takeshi and Mio talked about school."
"Yes, since my husband will be home soon."
"Oh, he's going to be back, huh?"
"Yeah, for once in 2 years. Oh, look at the time. It's time to go home, Tsu-kun." And then, the two walked out while waved goodbye, they went home too.
Shina: So?
1598: It's fine by me.
Yuki: What happened to the "dialogue"?
Shina: Well, I kinda changed it since there are reviews saying that it ruined the mood.
Yuki: Heh...
Shina: Anyway! This is the replacement story of the Snow Arcobaleno. If its bad, please PM me and review! I really needs some inspiration and opinions regarding this story! And if the Snowy Rain turned out to be a failure, we will continue with the Snow Arcobaleno.
1598: By the way, since there are not many votes on our profile, we will focus on the Lost Soul as well as the Snowy Rain for now.
Yuki: And don't forget, the poll was still opened until the 1st May!
Shina: Thank you for favoriting this so-so story, those who reviewed and followed this story!
1598: Soon, the Lost Soul's next chapter will be out! Please look forward it!
We don't own the characters, just the plot and the OC!
Ciao Ciao, Minna.