Chapter Two
I was alone once more in the room. I wandered to the pictures that were sitting on my desk. I picked one up. It was a blurred picture of a young dark haired boy who looked familiar to Azusa. I picked up another. It was of all the faces, all dressed up, all smiling. I set it down with a slight smile. They all looked so happy. There was one more picture. I picked it up, and brushed the dust off of it and saw… myself, with a man, who looked older than me, and I could see the lines cutting through his face. He looked so happy, and his arm was around my neck. I suddenly felt a type of emptiness in my heart. Why did it hurt so much to look at this picture? I set it down, so the picture faced the desk. The squirrel, Juli, as Louis called him, eyes looked saddened. I picked him up, and instinctively placed him on my shoulder. I looked down, and suddenly realized what I was wearing: a faded blue dress, ending a bit above my knees. My hair was down, tickling my face, so I left it there. I found a pair of shoes by the door and slipped into them. Leaving the room, I found the redhaired boy, Yusuke, sitting out in the hall by my door. He looked liked he had fallen asleep.
"Yusuke-kun…?" I crouched down beside him. I heard his gentle breathing and soon realized he was sleeping. I tapped his shoulder lightly. His eyes fluttered open, and his head swiveled around to look straight at me. Surprised, I fell backwards onto my bum.
"Ema! You scared me!" He gasped, but sounded almost relieved. I sat up and suddenly felt bad.
"Did I wake you, Yusuke-kun?"
His face turned red, and he shook his head vigorously. He stood up, and offered me his hand. I gladly accepted it and he pulled me to my feet. I looked around, and then realized I had no idea where to go, or where I was.
"You're in the Asahina residence," He suddenly muttered, almost as if reading my mind. He rubbed the back of his head, then offered to show me to the dining room. I shyly shook my head. All these people who I just met, all being so kind to me, despite being the first time I've ever met any of them. Yusuke led me to an elevator. I was too busy looking around to notice when we reached a floor. He offered to take my hand, so I gladly accepted. He walked me out and onto a patio overlooking a beautiful living room with a couch surrounding a large television. To the side was a large table, with one, two, three, four, five... Fourteen chairs. And in the middle of the table was a large vase overflowing with gorgeous pink and yellow flowers... Yusuke led me down a staircase, and to the table. I got a closer look at flowers- the yellow ones were speckled with orange dots. A tag beneath it read, "To Ema~ Life's better that you're back". I looked down and saw a red tulip at one chair. I turned around to ask who they were from, only to find Yusuke had disappeared.
"Ah, my angel."
A soft voice drifted down the stairs and sent shivers down my spine. I recognized the silk voice. Kaname. He waltzed over to me and pulled me up from the place I was sitting on the couch. He hummed a soft melody and waltzed around the room, pulling me after. He stopped, then looked down into my eyes, and muttered, "Oh, you're eyes sparkle more brilliantly than before."
He pulled me closer.
"You're even prettier than before.
So close I could feel his breath tickle my cheek and the pulse of his heart beat.
"Kaname, you should stop bothering Ema."
Kaname's eyes turned hard and his gaze snapped up to the stairs. I twisted my head in order to see who it was, and saw Iori. Relieved, Kaname stepped away from me. He smirked and then blew me a kiss as he whispered, "We'll continue this later."
I sat back down, and Iori joined me on the couch.
"What's with all of you?" I couldn't help but ask. "Everyone's been so… affectionate lately. Who was I before that- that accident? What caused me be like this?"
Iori brushed a bit of hair back behind my ear. He sighed and said, "You were in an accident. You and your father were going out to see the grave of your birth mother. Th-There was a man with a car, shooting at some police, and your father…"
His voice drifted off. When he spoke again, his voice was harsh and had a sour tone, "He hit the shooter's car and it resulted in his death and you to lose your memory."
I looked down at my lap and saw my hands were gripping the edge of my dress. My father. My father. Suddenly, the picture in my room made sense. The man was him, the empty hole in my heart. I felt my eyes water up. The one who probably meant the world to me, yet I was unable to remember who was. I couldn't hold the tears in anymore.
As I sobbed, I felt an arm wrap around me. I didn't bother to look up. I turned into Iori's protective arms and continued crying as I understood that the world I knew was stolen away from me because of a man with a gun and a hero with a daughter he'll never see again.
