A/N: Here's part two of my "Before They Remembered" series, staring my favorite CCS couple. I want to thank again all of those who reviewed Cherry Blossom and Little Wolf. The sequel is being written by lilhopeful89, and you can find it under my favorite stories.

I. Am. Exhausted. If keeping up with school isn't bad enough, I'm not feeling well. Being under the weather is slowing me down, so my chapters won't be up until Fridays for now on.

Foreword: For those who don't know, Freesias and Manju Shages (or Red Spider lilies) are Chiharu and Takashi's favorite flowers, and that's where I got the title.

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Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP.

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"Talking"

'Thoughts'

~*~(Next scene)~*~

* Flashbacks *

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Freesia and Manju Shage

By: Amethyst Beloved

Chapter 1: Freesia

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"Why can't you ever tell the truth?" a voice yelled loudly enough to echo through the entire house.

"What are you talking about?" someone screamed back. "I said I was at work, so I was at work!"

Chiharu Mihara couldn't stand the fighting between her parents any longer as she ran in her room and hid in the closet. She hated the way they were always angry at each other. Even though she was only four years old, she felt as if it was all her fault. Maybe it was a mistake to tell her mother what she saw at the park.

* Yesterday *

To celebrate the first day of summer, Chiharu's baby-sitter decided to take her to the park. Although the little girl adored Mina, she wished that her parents could spend more time with her. Still, she respected the fact that they had jobs, and their time went to working.

Chiharu skipped to the penguin slide and started to climb. When she got to the top, she looked at her surroundings and gazed at the beautiful Freesia flowers, which were next to the Manju Shages. She was going to have to go there next since it was her most favorite place in the park. Just as she was going to slide down, she noticed a familiar face in the distance. Chiharu was overjoyed to see that it was no one other than her father.

'Yeah! Daddy came to see me!' she thought to herself as she slid down in a hurry. 'But how did he know I was at the park?'

The answer was simple: he didn't. But Chiharu didn't know that. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that he had a woman in his company...who wasn't her mother. Her hair was yellow like the sun, her eyes were blue like the sky, and her skin seemed as white as snow. She definitely didn't seem to belong in Tomoeda. Chiharu's stomach began to churn as she watch the man who was her father caress and kiss the unfamiliar woman. Tears started to stream down her little cheeks as she realized what he was doing was wrong. She turned around to run towards Mina, and she asked if they could go home. The sooner she was away from the horrible scene, the better.

Chiharu didn't run for long before she crashed into a little boy, causing her to tumble on the ground.

"Oh man! I'm so sorry!" he apologized as he helped her up. "Oh no! I made you cry! Are you going to be all right? Can I make you feel better?"

Chiharu looked at the concerned boy in front of her. He was quite tall, but he looked as if he was around her age. His hair was black, and it was cut very short. But his most distinguishable feature was the way he presented his eyes. They looked closed, and they hardly even seemed to be opened enough. How was he able to see?

"Don't worry, you weren't the one who made me cry," she sobbed through her tears. "Thank you for helping me up."

Before the boy could ask any more questions, Chiharu ran away. Even though he seemed like a nice person, she didn't want to stay at the park longer than she had to.

* End of Flashback *

"You will not be having an affair with some American transferred worker while you're under this roof!"

"Fine! Then I'm leaving this house for god!"

That was the last time Chiharu ever heard from her father again.

~*~(The Park)~*~

"Darn, she's not here again," the little boy said to himself. He knew it would be hard to find the girl with the brown pigtails. His heart ached to know if she was all right.

~*~(Chiharu's House)~*~

It's been a couple of weeks since the incident with her father leaving. Chiharu actually enjoyed the time she spent with her mother, and she started noticing changes around the household. With her father gone, there were no daily screaming sessions, and there was no more tension hovering in the air.

"That's what happens when you pursue a summer romance," her mother would always say. "We should have gone our separate way in the fall, but we had an unexpected surprise."

Chiharu couldn't help but feel guilty because she knew that she was the "unexpected surprise" her mother was referring to. The question was, did her mother regret having her?

"Do you wish I was never born?" Chiharu heard herself ask one day in the kitchen.

Her mother stopped chopping the vegetables so she could swiftly pick her daughter up to give her a loving hug.

"Chiharu Mihara," she began. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Don't you ever forget that, young lady."

Chiharu giggled as her mother ticked her stomach playfully.

"I won't!" she squealed between her giggles. "I promise!"

~*~(One month later)~*~

The summer was winding down to an end, and little Chiharu started noticing even more changes. Her mother seemed to be in a brighter mood, and Mina was taking care of her for longer periods of time because her mother went out during the night and didn't come back home until after Chiharu's bedtime.

One night, while Chiharu's mother was tucking her daughter into bed, she had a few announcements to make.

"Since the summer is coming to an end, Mina can't take care of you as much as before," she started. "So I'm enlisting you to a pre-school."

"That's nice, Mommy," Chiharu said slowly with mixed feelings. Part of her was excited to meet new people while the other part was scared. "What else do you have to tell me?"

"I met someone new, and after a couple of dates with him, I think it's time we moved into a more serious relationship," her mother informed her with a far a way look in her eyes. "I think it's about time you two should meet each other. I hope you like Tai as much as I do."

Chiharu ceased her eyebrows as the lights turned off, allowing the soft glow of the night light brighten the room. Her mother was already hurt by a man once before. How was she able to trust another person again?

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To be continued...

A/N: The next chapter will be titled Manju Shage, and it will be posted next Friday. Thanks to Peacewish's fanfics (which are incredible so everyone should read them!) I've experienced a crash course in child psychology. Based on what I learnt, I can conclude that Chiharu gained a close friendship with Takashi because she didn't have a solid male figure in her life. I could be wrong. Does this make sense, or am I totally out of the ballpark? Pease review, and let me know!