Hey guys here is ch2. I would like to thank my friend Emily Schmidt for helping me with this chapter. Also I forgot to mention that in this story Aki has a brother as well.

Chapter 2

Meet Aki

Unfortunate things don't happen as we would like them to. Not to the people we hope anyway. They seem to draw back on us from time to time, and bring us to the ultimate realization that things aren't going to go as we would hope to those who deserve it. I remember when I was fourteen, Mira Keller had said "You're parents are going to get divorced. That's what my momma thinks." At the time I didn't give a damn what her "momma" thought. I punched her in the face for that, and as we sat in the principles office I remember praying to God that her parents would get the divorce instead. Needless to say it didn't work, and I figured that it was a bad thing to pray for anyway.

I think things started going down hill when I was about nine. I don't know how it got this bad, but the whole point was that life wasn't the same as it used to be. One big happy family. Isn't that all every kid wants? One big, happy, not so screwed up, family. Arguments became, yelling matches. Yelling matches became fights. Fights became violent boxing matches. I hid in my room from them. Ichiro (my older brother) always seemed to disappear more often with friends when they happened. I was left to deal with them on my own. Having very few friends because of how "weird" I was.

"Aki, where did you put that box with all the bowls and plates in it?" asked my mother as I was trying to carefully unload our fine china.

"I didn't bring that one in."

"Who did then? One of the movers?"

"No, Ichiro did... I think." I said uncertain.

What I was certain of was this: I didn't want to be here. I wanted to be back in our old house, where mom and dad still loved each other. I didn't want to be in this mess. I quietly kept my thoughts to myself. There was no point in bringing all this up after-the-fact, and certainly no point trying to make it all work out. My mother continued to seek out my older brother in hopes of finding the dishes she wanted. I stood looking at the boxes around me. A song lyric came into my head at that moment: "A broken home was not the place they intended this to end." "Daily Planet, 'Six String Rocketeer'." I whispered to myself.

"What was that?" asked Ichiro as he wandered his way into what was supposed to be our new dining room, but resembled more of a disaster zone.

"Band name and song title from a lyric that popped into my head." I said to him casually. I remembered it well. It was one of dad's favorite bands.

"You're so weird." He said as he walked through the threshold from our dining room to the living room.

"Take off your shoes when you're in the house Ichiro!" Yelled my mother as her petite frame scuttled behind him. She looked as though she had aged several days in a week's time.

"Oka-san? Which room is going to be mine?" I asked after her. She didn't hear me. The story of my life.

The next day was school. Another day of uncertainty. A new place, with new people, and none of which would understand who I was or where I came from. As we drove our beige Impala into the parking lot I knew it was going to be terrifying. Our whole trip was silent until that moment.

"Aki, you'll like this school. I know you aren't happy with the choice your Oto-san and I have made, but don't think of this as a punishment. Think of this as a new start for our family...a healing process" I looked out the window at the building. A horde of stairs lumbered their way up to a very sinister looking iron door, in the most ugly shade of forest green, which seemed to be the mouth of the old brick building. What she saw as a new start, I saw as a prison cell.

Once I got into the building things didn't seem so bad. The office was apparently redone recently. I assumed this because it had that "new" smell, and seemed far too clean. Sterile like a hospital clinic kind of clean. I wasn't sure what to do once my mother left. She mouthed "I love you" as she walked out. I sat in a chair waiting. I hated what was going on with my life. I was completely alone in a world I didn't understand or know. "Please God... get me through today...just today." I whispered quietly, hopping the fact that I said it out loud would help Him hear better.

"I'd show you around my dear, but unfortunately I have other business that I had forgotten about so I'll quickly arrange for a student to show you around." Said Mrs. Sagiri as she placed me in one of the seats in her office.

"Okay." I managed to mutter, before she quickly bustled her way out of the room. I hardly had a chance to see what she looked like, except for her green jacket and red shoes (which were glaringly bright), but she smelled slightly of sweet pea blossoms. For some reason it was comforting to know she wore the same scent as my mother. A moment later I was being introduced to a young man about my age.

"Yusei Fudo meet Aki Izayoi."

He was about 5'10" with Black spikey hair, with yellow stripes on them. He had kind eyes, yet at the same time they also looked empty, like there was no life in and there was a part of him seemed to stiffen up at the sight of me. Oh great he hates me.

"Hello." I managed as I stood bowed slightly.

He stood there.

"Hello?" I said again.

"Oh, um, h-hi." he stuttered.

"So you've been in this school long?" I asked as we walked down the hall. An attempt (once again) to break our awkward silence.

"Most of my life." He said as we passed door after door.

He seemed to have some kind of nervous tension about him. Hardly answering questions in more than bits and phrases. He showed me the pool, the library, the science lab, the green house, the court yard, and the cafeteria. Each time he introduced another room it was very simple "This is the..." fill in the blank...and nothing else. It was like he was trying to keep from looking at me and talking too much. It was becoming unnerving.

"You know, you don't have to be so stiff right?" I said. He stopped and looked at me.

"You think I'm stiff?" He said in sudden alarm.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you're not in general, but you seem to be right now and you don't have to be. I'm not going to bite you or anything. "

Perhaps I had said this a little too harshly because alarm increased on his face. I felt bad.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to be so abrasive. I do that when I'm nerved up. This past week has been really rough for me! My parents just got divorced, my mom just moved us here, I don't want to be in this school or in this town and I'm just..." I trailed off. We stopped walking simultaneously. I was at a loss for words, which rarely happens to a girl with a large vocabulary. "It's just so..." I couldn't think of anything else to describe it. Nothing seemed strong enough.

"Fucking retarded?" Suggested Yusei. I looked at him and smiled.

"Exactly!" I said.

"Story of my life." he replied with an exasperated half smile complimented by an eye roll.

"I know what you mean." I assured him wrinkling my nose with distaste, and so he continued the tour. Something told me that Yusei and I might have a lot in common. I was now looking forward to getting to know him.