A/N: Yeah... this idea has been bugging me so I'm giving it a shot! This may be a bit rushed. (I hate starting stories)
Prologue: Another Time
Yui stared at the picture she had found. She found it by mistake. Whilst cleaning her room, she found a metal box at the back of her dresser. Inside the cold box, were pictures and small trinkets. Yet despite looking like a hundred years old, the items seemed to belong to the twenty first century.
She took out a photo that caught her attention the most. The Sakamaki brothers were in the photo. They were very young, toddlers.
She was surprised just like the time she saw the brothers as children. But it was far different. In that dream, she was able to see the mistreatment that the boys were receiving. Yet in the photo, they looked pure and innocent.
The young Shu and Reiji sat close to each other, animosity far from the two. The triplets created a dog pile and Subaru sat in the middle.
There was an unfamiliar face. The woman sat cross-legged with Subaru on her lap. Her brown eyes looked straight at the camera, her metal-rimmed glasses rested on her nose. Her blonde hair was pulled into a long wavy ponytail.
If Yui hadn't known any better, she would have thought they were a happy family. Who was that woman?
"Breastless…"
She flinched and turned to see a certain redhead. "Ayato-kun…" She stuttered.
He smirked as he grabbed her shoulders. "I'm thirsty." He said, causing her heart to stop.
"Ayato-kun, n-not now…!" She tried to push him away but he held her tight.
Ayato stopped as he noticed the photo in her hand. Before Yui realized, the photo was snatched out of her hand. She gasped but hesitated to take it back.
"What is this?" He asked. He blinked in surprised at the woman in the picture.
"Ayato, don't run too far!" She called out. He stopped and turned to the woman, smiling at her. She frowned at him as she finally reached him. The frown soon disappeared as she snatched the boy off his feet, creating bursts of laughter.
He narrowed his eyes at the memory. He turned to glare at Yui who took a step back. "Where did you get this?" He asked.
"I… found it." Yui answered. Ayato didn't say anything before he grabbed her wrist. She winced at the pain. She didn't have time to react as he dragged her to follow him.
"Reiji!" He yelled out as he went to find his older brother. Yui almost tripped after him.
"What's with all the noise?"
Yui looked to see Laito staring at the two with an amused expression. Kanato stood beside his brother, a bit annoyed as he held his Teddy.
"Bitch-chan, what did you do this time?" Laito teased.
"I didn't do anything!" Yui exclaimed, albeit weakly. The redhead gave a small chuckle.
"Where's Reiji?" Ayato asked.
"Why are you looking for him?" Kanato asked.
"I need answers." Ayato snapped as he showed them the photo.
Laito raised an eyebrow at the picture.
"Laito, you forgot your hat."
Laito turned around to her direction. The woman adjusted the hat on top of his red hair. "Take care of your brothers, okay?" She reminded. Laito watched as she walked away. The woman took few glances making sure the boys were alright.
Kanato clutched tightly around Teddy as strange nostalgia filled his mind.
Despite his crying, the woman remained patient as she looked through the pile of toys. "It's okay, Kanato. I'll find your Teddy. Don't cry." She comforted as she rested him on her lap. "Found it!" She exclaimed. She showed him the teddy as his cries turned into tiny sniffles.
"What is that?" Kanato asked. He hated feeling confused.
Yui looked at the brothers. They were quiet as the group went to find Reiji.
"Reiji!" Ayato called when they found the last three brothers.
"What is it?" Reiji said as he looked at the redhead in annoyance.
"What is this?" Ayato demanded. Subaru glanced at the picture. He noticed his young self in the stranger's lap.
Subaru closed his eyes as he turned away.
She clapped her hands along to the beat as she smiled at Subaru. She gently pulled him to her lap as they listened to the music. She held him close, causing him to laugh.
"It's just a picture." Subaru said despite, his early reaction.
Reiji examined the picture of the familiar woman.
Reiji listened as she narrated the story to him.
"The end. Time to sleep now." She whispered. She touched the boy's cheek before leaving him to sleep.
"This was when we were just toddlers." He looked at Ayato. "Thus I have no theory on what it means or implies."
He flipped the picture around and noticed a writing at the right bottom corner.
Shu tried to ignore the picture.
"Emma..." Reiji read out loud. Shu slowly opened his eyes at the sound of the name.
She cheered as he went down the slide. She caught him. "Wanna go again?" She asked. He nodded, causing her to laugh.
"Emma Millers." Shu answered. Reiji gave a sideways glance at his elder brother.
"Do you know her?" Reiji asked.
"No." Shu answered. "It was just a name I heard that guy mention a long time ago."
Reiji made a small sound of slight acknowledgement. "In any case, this picture doesn't seem to be that important." He turned to Yui. Holding the picture out to her, his red eyes stared into her pink eyes. "Put it back where you found it."
Yui nodded, worried that if she refused, the vampire might be infuriated. She took the photo and quickly left before one of the brothers, especially Ayato could stop her.
Finally reached her room, Yui looked back at the photo and couldn't help but think that there was more to the picture.
A/N: That's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed it. Stay for more baby adventures! Please review, follow and favorite! See ya!
