Well, it's been a long time since I've done a chapter fic, so I better do a good job on this one. Based off a book I read in college, you certainly don't need to know anything about the book to enjoy this story. Which , by the way, the name of the book is: Melmoth the Wanderer. I highly recommend it to anyone who is up for a challenging read.

Anyway, with this story, there will be a lot of jumping around; tons and tons of flashbacks. I'm attempting to do this in a fashion similar to Melmoth the Wanderer, and I will try to prevent confusion. You will see a bit of story nesting (not too much), and almost all of the gang will eventually appear.

Finally, this story is rated M for future chapters. Expect Osaka to be out of character for most of this story. I will try to keep certain aspects about her in mind, but we'll see what happens. So, without further delay; read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 1

Sakaki stood. She stood in shock that the house had fallen into such disrepair; stood in amazement that the house was even standing; stood in horror knowing that she had to somehow traverse its empty corridors. The Mihama mansion, which once stood in the presence of perfectly trimmed grass and shrubbery, now loomed over a jungle of dead grass and overgrown thistle patches. The mansion itself, had paint flaking off, numerous windows shattered, shingles scattered across cracked cement, and the front door appeared to whistle open and shut of its own accord.

The house, sadly reminded Sakaki of Chiyo. The way she laid in that hospital bed, day after day, gazing out that window, as if she were expecting someone. Something had changed in Chiyo the day she returned from America. Sakaki didn't know what, and because Chiyo refused to talk about it, Sakaki could only guess at what might have happened. And since her placement in assisted care, Chiyo's health has deteriorated; much like her home, over the past nine years. And she's only sixty-four. Sakaki thought helplessly to herself. Still, Sakaki couldn't help but think back to her conversation earlier in the day with Chiyo, when Chiyo asked her to go to the mansion . . .

Sakaki stepped into the hospital that she had become so familiar with. She had gotten off early from the Ishihara Animal Hospital due to a phone call concerning Chiyo. Sakaki walked past the front desk and politely greeted the secretary as she passed. Navigating her way through numerous hallways, Sakaki soon reached her friend's room where Misagi-sensei waited outside. The nurse had become good friends with Sakaki as she regularly updated Sakaki on Chiyo's condition. It was her, in fact, that had called Sakaki at work.

Turning, Misagi-sensei's face brightened as she said, "Sakaki-san, how are you doing?"

Giving a brief nod in reply, Sakaki asked, "How's Chiyo?"

Sighing, the nurse briefly glanced into Chiyo's room and then back at Sakaki. "Not good. She hasn't been eating or drinking much. The doctors don't know what to do with her anymore."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Just visit with her. She's always in a better mood after she's seen you. How's your knee?"

Sakaki blushed slightly at the nurse's concern. "Fine thanks." Sakaki had had surgery on her knee after falling down some stairs only a month ago. Though stiff, she could move around easily enough.

"Well I won't keep you. Chiyo should be awake. I was just in there, but she wouldn't say much to me."

"Okay thanks," Sakaki said and watched Misagi-sensei walk off down the hall. Once out of sight, Sakaki lightly knocked on the door and entered; finding Chiyo in bed, staring out the window. Sakaki took her seat in a folding chair alongside the bed and just watched the back of Chiyo's head for a moment. Finally poking a finger on Chiyo's shoulder, Sakaki gently called her friend's name.

It took a minute, but Chiyo did eventually take her eyes off the window and relaxed into her bed a bit as she looked up at Sakaki. "Hey Sakaki. Sorry to get you out of work, but this couldn't wait."

"That's okay. How're you feeling?"

"Tired." Her voice seemed to drop with her head, and for a second, Sakaki half expected Chiyo to fall asleep. Every time Sakaki would visit, Chiyo always felt tired. Sometimes she was tired of the food, other times she was tired of the television and how nothing was on. And just last week, she had told Sakaki that she was tired of the doctors scolding her for walking without assistance. "I can walk just fine on my own. I don't know what's the big deal." Chiyo had said, and Sakaki had chuckled at the sixty-four year old's spunk. But today was like many of the others. Chiyo, in her "normal," distant state, wouldn't look Sakaki in the eye as she continued, "My lawyers must've gotten in touch with the doctors. From what I've heard, they don't expect me to live much longer . . ."

"What can I do?" Sakaki had heard the news already from the doctors and though upsetting, she didn't want Chiyo to worry, and so Sakaki held her composure.

Finally meeting Sakaki's gaze, Chiyo's expression softened, "I need my last will and testament, along with a few other papers. They should all be in a brown manila folder in a safe on the second floor."

Then slowly sitting up, Chiyo swung her body to the side and gently slid her toes down to the floor. Sakaki moved to help, but Chiyo released a quick, "I can do this," before applying weight to her feet as the heels touched down. Holding on to the bed for support, Chiyo steadied herself, and slowly walked to a nearby dresser. Opening the second drawer, she pulled out a silver key and chain. In the same, slow motion, she returned to her bed, and got back under the covers. Handing the key to Sakaki, she said, "This will open the safe . . . Sorry for causing so much trouble."

Tucking the key away in a pocket, Sakaki nodded in understanding. Before Sakaki could say anything, Chiyo's attention shifted. "How was work?"

The question surprised Sakaki, though it shouldn't have. Whenever she visited, she always talked about work. One of the few things that Chiyo never tired from was hearing about all the animals that Sakaki cared for. It relaxed them both, and allowed Sakaki to unwind. It raised Chiyo's mood considerably, but Sakaki did notice that her friend's eyes would crawl back over to the window on occasion. But Chiyo would always turn her head back, and listen.

Remembering the conversation with Chiyo brought a tear to Sakaki's eye. And how Chiyo had somehow known how upset she was by the news. Sakaki could just tell by the way Chiyo hugged her before she left. The tight squeeze, and the warm embrace; No matter what, still the same caring Chiyo. Sakaki thought as she climbed the cracked stairs and pulled the front door open.

Once inside, Sakaki pulled out a flashlight that she had brought from the car and began looking around. The once red carpet had faded into an almost rusty brown. Walls were covered in graffiti. Obviously, the lack of a caretaker had taken its toll on the house. Sakaki remembered how all the servants had left shortly after Chiyo's admittance to assisted care; taking off with anything of value in the process. Even with the graffiti, Sakaki could still see the outlines of where some of the Mihama's paints used to hang.

Climbing up the stairs, Sakaki noticed shards of glass spread across the worn steps. Glancing up, she noticed how the dust infested chandelier swayed with only a few crystals remaining. Upon reaching the top, Sakaki located the room which the safe had to be in. Chiyo's bedroom. Different from the bedroom she had as a kid, this room included a balcony that Sakaki was certain it would kill her if she attempted to walk on it. But gazing out the glass doors, she could see an expanse of land; all belonging to Chiyo, but just barely. And not too far from the house, sat a lone, lemon tree. She'd never seen it before, and maybe for good reason. Only a handful of lemons hung off the tree and the branches gave the tree an eerie, skeletal look; like a shriveled hand.

Aside from the bed, Sakaki also found Chiyo's old desk; which she'd been using since high school. And on the desk, sat a lonely calendar for 2043; the year Chiyo traveled to America. The nine year old calendar reminded Sakaki of the phone call she had received from one of Chiyo's college friends. When Chiyo returned from Japan, Sakaki was to take her straight to the hospital. And for the next nine years, Chiyo went in and out of surgery, saw various doctors and specialists; but no one could figure out what had happened to make her heart so weak.

Sakaki's flashlight finally falling onto the walk-in closet, she opened it to reveal among other things, a small, gray safe. Noting extravagant, the safe took up no more room than the toolbox Sakaki had at home. Pulling the key out of her pocket, she unlocked the safe and pulled out a manila folder (the safe's only contents). Checking to see that everything Chiyo needed was there, Sakaki, intending to make a quick exit, stopped when her eyes fell onto a small shoebox. For some strange reason, the box had peaked Sakaki's curiosity. Picking it up, she walked it over to the desk and before she could set it down, the bottom of the box gave out. Papers, notebooks, and pictures spread all across the floor. Bending down to pick them up, Sakaki noticed a full body mirror next to the desk. Reflecting the doorway from which she had entered; Sakaki froze at the sight of a shadowed figure, standing behind her in the doorway. She could tell it was a girl by the hair and delicate build, yet the shadow girl appeared to be no older than a high school student. Though frightened, Sakaki whirled around to face the intruder, but no one was there. A chill ran down Sakaki's spine as she looked back at the mirror, which reflected an empty doorway.

Hurriedly grabbing at papers, Sakaki felt ready to leave. But unable to leave the mess, she snatched papers up and threw them onto the bed. Pulling an envelope off the ground, Sakaki accidently spilled out a series of newspaper articles onto the floor. Many of them appeared to be years old, were yellow in color, and unreadable. Along with the articles, a folded up piece of paper also fell out. Picking the paper up, Sakaki stared at a memorial page for Kasuga Ayumu. It had been torn out from their high school yearbook.

Forgetting all about the shadowy figure, Sakaki leafed through some of the newspaper articles that she had picked up. One that was legible had the title, "Tradgey befalls high school graduation celebration." The date on the article was June 5, 2002. Sakaki read:

"Yesterday, Kiyohiko High's class of 2002 suffered a tragic loss when the forty-five year old building caught fire. The class of 2002 had been celebrating their joyous graduation with friends and family when a fire reportedly broke out somewhere on the second floor. While the cause is under investigation, the building is considered a total loss. Fire crews arrived at the scene at 2:00 to extinguish the blaze. A total of eighteen people were hospitalized for burns and other nonlife threatening injuries. Only one graduate failed to make it out of the fire, Kasuga Ayumu. Crews worked tirelessly for hours, but no body could found. Funeral arrangements have yet to be made for the girl. At this time, no foul play is suspected."

Sakaki sat for a moment in silence. She remembered that day quite well. It was the last day that the gang had been together. While Sakaki had been one of the first ones out and because of how the fire crews were ushering people, she had gotten separated from the gang. But Sakaki did remember hearing that Chiyo was very lucky because it must have taken a while to find her. Sakaki heard that Chiyo had gotten trapped in one of the rooms and was unconscious.

The funeral had been a mess. Tomo had to be escorted out, and Chiyo had been just so overwhelmed with grief that she was silent for days afterwards. After the funeral, everyone went their separate ways, everyone just kind of lost contact with each other.

Searching around for other articles, Sakaki noticed that some of the notebooks that had fallen out were journals. The dates on some of them traced back to right after the fire. Picking one up to read, she opened it to the first page, but before she could begin, the light on her flashlight started to blink. Afraid she'd lose light, Sakaki quickly scooped up the remaining papers and shoved them onto the bed. Grabbing the brown manila folder, Sakaki hurried to the door, took one quick, questioning glance at her reflection, and left.