Chapter One:

The Red String Burns

Part One

It has been eight years since Aoi Aki had been forced to be separated from her family and the only man that she would love by the strange man that had called himself their "father." She had attempted to create a new life for herself through all of this time and had failed in forming any true romantic relationships as her heart and spirit had not been able to heal.

Though, she had remained as popular, beautiful, athletic, and intelligent since her old life had ended. Even as a model student and an exceptional intern, she had maintained a circle of various friends and co-workers. It was quite the opposite within her apartment as she had continued to have absolutely have no ability as a homemaker. All of these had allowed the invisible "red string" that was tied upon her finger to become frayed and worn, but to not have broken entirely as she could feel a tug upon it every so often.

"Aki, how about we celebrate tonight at the OSU Shopping District? Since we're about to end our internships here at Aichi Medical University Hospital. All of us girls want to go out, party, and get some guys for the night. Please, say you'll come! Our chances are, always, better with you by our side." Kuro-Mochi Saika asked as she came rushing into the women's locker room. She was one of the oldest friends and had been trusted with the truth about the special relationship between Aki and Sora. "This may be one of the last nights that we see each other and I don't want us to have any regrets. Like you do about Sora..."

Saika was cut off by the slam of Aki's locker door. It was not hard to see that the other woman was trembling and attempting to hold back the tears that she desperately wanted to cry. It was, then that her eyes grew large in realization. "Do you, even, remember what today is? And that you had promised to never speak of him?"

Saika had covered her mouth with her hands and she looked as though she was about to cry herself.

"You're right and I am sorry that I had not realized it. How about we go out and celebrate by ourselves? It'll be my treat and we can do karaoke. I know that that helps to comfort you at these times."

"It's fine, but can we just spend the night at your home? I cannot be around anyone tonight, except for you." Aki replied with a soft smile returning to her face as she forced herself to calm down. The other woman nodded quietly and left to tell the other female interns that she and Aki would not be celebrating with them.

It was during this time and before she had stepped into the shower that her phone rang. She dug it out of her lab coat and peered at the caller id screen. She forced herself to have a bright smile upon herself as she tapped the green answer button. "Konichiwa Nami-chan! How's everything with the three of you? Is Paris still being good to you?"

Her younger sister and the identical twin of Sora sounded as though she was crying and worrying about something. Her words brought confusion to the other woman and forced her to slide down against the wall of the shower. "He... He... He... He won't wake up and was sent back home. Please, return home."

Aki could not say anything through the tears and grief that this news brought to her. Nami was still calling out her name when Saika returned. Her best friend had no idea of what had been said, but knew that there was a single answer. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

She had hung the phone up and helped her friend to get dressed and to get to her apartment. The two of them had said nothing in the taxi, but held each other tightly. The taxi driver would have made a comment about how cute that they are together, but had sensed that this was not the time for jokes. It was not until Saiki had helped he into her own bed that they were apart. She got the chair from her desk and sat down with her hands holding Aki's hand in sympathy. "Please, rest and tell me what happened tomorrow."

Part Two

Aoi Nami had left her most beloved and prized person, Sumiya Kana, with her sleeping fraternal twin brother, Aoi Sora, to check on when her elder sister, Aoi Aki, and her friend, Kuro-Mochi Saika, would be arriving in Tokyo. She knew that it would be up to her to explain everything to Aki-Chan about what has happened within the last eight years. She had thought about going even further back from that point. She knew that her sister deserved to know about all of the times that she and Kana had been with him. And yet at this point, she knew that she did not have the right to do that to the two of them.

She was tearing up after she had hung up from speaking with Saika-chan. It had been nearly impossible for her to believe that her once beautiful and cheerful sister had become such a diligent and somber adult woman. The fact that she had completely broken down was unexpected, especially after all of this time. "Kana, I'm leaving to pick them up from the train station. Watch over him and don't do anything perverted with him."

Unlike their time during their first year of upper secondary school, she could use her true emotions for both of them rather than those that she had hidden behind. She ran to the open elevator as she laughed, but could hear Kana's irritated rebuttal from the door to Sora's hospital room. "Like I could think of doing THAT anymore! You know that we ARE siblings after all!"

Just before the elevator doors' closed on her, Nami snapped back her reply. "Like that's ever stopped our family before! Be careful!" Then, she was gone and heading towards the Tokyo train station to collect Aki and Saika.

She was deep within her memories and had not noticed how crowded that the train was or what time of fay that it was. It was, only when she felt multiple rough hands across her athletic and slender body. She cursed to herself as she felt the mixed feelings of pleasure, anger, and disgust rise within her. It was not until the hands had been quickly removed from the bare skin beneath clothes and that she heard a bunch of barks. She looked to see who had brought a dog upon the train. However, it had been one of her brother's childhood friends and the one that he called his younger brother, Mihara Miharu, that had made the frightening noise.

However before she could thank him, he was the one to speak up with a tilt of his head as he remained on all four limbs. "Why'd you let them do that, Aoi-chan? I remember that you used to be more terrifying than this. And would have beaten all of them into a , why didn't you?"

"I... I don't know why. And will you stand up for the love of..." She blushed as she did not wish that she had been lost within her own memories to have noticed them. However, she had to giggle as she looked at his chibi dog cosplay. It was, of course, designed for a teenage woman as had been his costume he had, first, become Himekawa Alice's lover. "How are you and Alice doing? Have you learned to handle your E.D.( Erectile Dysfunction)?"

"Oh, we're terrific! We got married about three years ago at the same church that Sumiya-chan and Sora-kun were photographed at for that wedding magazine. It was so beautiful and I cried though mos of it. However, my blushing bride and wife was as stoic as ever." Mii-chan appeared to be very proud of himself. Then, he looked around sheepishly to see if anybody was paying attention to their discussion. They had been given a ride berth since he had frightened those molesters off of the train. "Yes, it is been handled with medicine by specialist in the field. He has me on Cialis and Testerone Hormones. They have worked wonders and she says that I am better than Aoi-kun ever had been."

"What was that? Alice-senpai and Sora-kun were having sex? Tell me all about it." Nami exclaimed as she grabbed Miharu and set him next her in shock. She had forgotten about her current problems and listened to his story with complete attention.

Part Three

Sora found himself trapped with his own younger self within the rundown shack of his childhood. It was the day that he and his sisters had been playing hide-and-seek within their hometown's junk yard. The old man and his four dobermans had turned out to be, really, nice and to enjoy children. It was often that they would them dinners that were made by their mother( true) in payment.

He had gone to the window as his younger self looked out at Nami and was laughing at how she could not find him. It was during this time that he caught the glimpse of the silhouette of a tall and slender man that were standing upon a hill that overlooked the junkyard. He could not recall ever noticing that man before.

Though the game was over with his younger self being the best hidden participant, Sora took a final glance out the small window and saw that the man had gone. He watched the rest of the of the memory play out as he knew that it would. However, the ending had become warped into a nightmare as his older sister had never come back to find him within the shed. A sense of depression and anger began to blossom within him as he watched the memory fade away and the next began.

He found himself that he was back in high school at the beginning of his and Aki-nee's forbidden relationship. This time he had become locked within the high school's gym supply storage building after having agreed to help replace the soccer equipment there. He watched as fell into a deep sleep with the doors open. It was just before the first downpour of the Rainy Season begun that he saw the dark shadow of the same tall and slender man from his childhood memory. This silhouette slid the doors closed and locked them tight. This meant that this memory would play out as it had, but like the one from his childhood it became a warped memory as well. He watched as the his younger self became more bitter and depressed.

He had no time to consider why these very emotional changes were happening as he had sensed them coming ever since their "Father" had taken Aki-nee away to the International School of the Sacred Heart. They had eased within the last eight years, but would always come ever stronger at the anniversary of when the two lovers had parted ways for the final time.

The second to last altered and dark recollection was when the two of them had become lost to one another within the crowd of that year's Azabu-Juban Noryo Festival. It was within a split second that his current version spotted the flash of a tall and slender man that was able to force his and Aki-nee's hands apart and forced him to grasp the hand of that unknown mother. He, again, waited for her to find him and yet she had not come. He saw that his younger self was feeling ever more isolated and depressed.

Though, the final image was of the time after "Father" was buried next to his own forbidden love. Again, the older Sora could see the smoky man standing between the two tombstones. He wanted to demand answers from this ghostly figure, but found that his voice was gone. And as he looked at the gathered family members, he once more found that his most beloved was gone from the scene.

As the final memory became dark, the sight of an engagement ring with a blood-red diamond set within its heart appeared in the center of his vision and began to glow with a life of its own that had faded within several moment. It was after the ring had gone that the dark memories replayed themselves. He had no concept of time passing as he relived these recollections, but just new that his heart ached for the woman that had become amiss from the memories.

His fists clenched the fabric of the hospital bed's sheets as he spoke her name. As he did this the glint of a red stone could be seen from the ring finger of his left hand. "Aki-nee..."