Monday, December 19th.

The sun has started to set behind the Tokyo Tower, giving the sky this amazing shading from cerulean to vermilion. Way down below the streets are now buzzing with car lights, the whole city is lighting up for another round of exiting nightlife. Even after a week this view still takes my breath away. Jeez, what kind of high school student gets to live in such an awesome loft?! I turn my back to the window. The studious kind who doesn't give a damn about all that. The guy is still glued in front of his three computer screens, typing and clicking and typing some more. He did mention that the private high school he's enrolled in is renowned for its computer science curriculum. I bet he didn't even need Daddy's money to get in. Good for him.

"Ken, are you done yet? I'm bored, let's go out." I say and watch him have no reaction whatsoever. I sneak up on him and lace my arms around his shoulders. His body jerks.

"M-Mimi?"

"You know I don't like to be ignored sweetie." I whisper into his ear and watch his pale skin instantly blush.

"Sorry … You said something?"

"Yeah, are you done soon? I want to go out." I say and land a kiss on his neck.

"Almost, could you wait another hour? Sorry, it's just … This assignment is due tomorrow and the program still doesn't execute prop—" My mouth moves up, kissing his jaw line, then I gently bite his ear. "Please?" He begs with his cute flustered voice.

"Sure, I guess I can wait another hour, mister genius." I say as I release him.

"I'm not a genius, my brother is." He mumbles, leaning back over his keyboard. Eh, classic younger brother complex.

I take a stroll around the room. The shelves are all filled with books except for one full of soccer trophies collecting dust, the boy's entire life is most likely summed up right there. Apparently only a single photo deserved the honor of being put on display, I pick it up. It's the traditional family portrait with the folks standing behind the eldest, old man's hand proudly resting on his shoulder while Ken is standing on the side. Typical. I take a good look at the graying man. One of the real estate scumbags who used the crisis to build their fortune, callously profiting other people's misfortune. The wooden frame makes a small cracking sound. I take a deep breath and soften my grip.

"So this is your genius brother. He's my age, huh. Mmm, yeah. Say, are you going to introduce us soon?" I look up in time to catch his quick troubled glance in my direction. His issue seems to be running deep. "Just kidding. You're way cuter and I can tell that you're a hundred time nicer. Who would want to go out with a know-it-all anyway. I have a friend like that and he can be such a pain in the ass sometimes." I don't even need to lie, Ken is every con artist's wet dream.

"My brother isn't that bad …" Ken seems to want to add something, but changes his mind. "You two will probably get along just fine." Are you already giving me up to your brother? Jeez, that's too kind of you.

"Oh, does that mean I'll meet your family?"

The boy's hands stop typing. He turns his chair and faces me with a shy smile. "Well … my parents are hosting a Christmas party this Thursday and they asked me to be there. I don't really like going back home so I was planning on not going, but finding excuses is getting hard, my mother might start worrying about my health if I keep being sick." Ken lets out a nervous laugh. "That's why I was thinking … if you accompany me it wouldn't be so bad, it could even be fun. But I don't promise you anything, the guests will be mostly my father's business relations so expect a lot of boring money talk."

Bingo. "I'd love to! So, is it the kind of party that calls for leopard thighs or a chic little dress?" I ask and smile at Ken's lighthearted giggle.

"Definitely the dress. If you don't have one I'll buy it for you." He says.

"That'd be so sweet of you. I packed the leopard thighs but completely forgot to bring a nice dress. I don't know what I was thinking, I guess I was just too exited to be visiting Japan after so many years. Anyway, I'll go choose your outfit for tonight's night out while you finish up your work."

"Okay, but you know I have school tomorrow, right?" Jeez, how old are you, thirty? I flash him a smile and walk to his wardrobe.

No matter how many times I look through his clothes, the boy's total lack of fashion sense continues to amaze me. I run my hand through the depressing muddy cascade polluted with awful sweaters and lots and lots of turtlenecks. Oh god I wanna puke. That's it, tomorrow after school I'm dragging him to the malls for a makeover. He'll thank me later, or at least he'll hate me a little less. I pull out a white shirt, a plain gray pullover and some relatively thigh pants. He won't have a problem getting in the clubs, that's for sure.

The clothes chosen, I let my body drop on the couch and turn on the seventy inch TV. I zap some channels and watch the end of the weather forecast. Good, the guys won't have it too hard this week. I zap some more.

"…found this morning had the same marks on the skin." The reporter is standing in front of a park closed off by yellow stripes. "An autopsy has been requested, but we can already safely assume that this is the fifteenth case the Tokyo police department is facing this year, the sixth only during the past two months. Still, chief investigator Sakamoto is reminding the population that there isn't any reason to be alarmed, the cause of these deaths is most likely related to…" Aaaand zap again.

"…return with two specials guests! None other than the singer and the the guitarist of… You guessed it, The New Wolfgang! They will talk about their Christmas concert coming up this Saturday! But that's not all!" The glittering, over exited show host approaches the camera. "Be ready for a very special announcement!" Oh, this might be interesting. Which one is his Takashi again? I hope it's the guitarist.

After a bunch of advertisements, the jingle for the Odaiba talk show finally plays, then the host appears along with two good looking guys. The long haired one seems a bit arrogant, but the other one … Wow, he has to be Takashi. I remember that night, way back when it was still just him and us girls, a very drunk Yamato got surprisingly talkative and wouldn't shut up about how gaaargeous the guy was.

The host introduces his guests, yup! Yoshioka Takashi, Yamato's first looove. Sora really needs to step up her game if she wants … Why did I think that? The last thing I want is for her to repeat the same mistake all over again. Not that I don't like Yama, but even he must realizes that he's not boyfriend material. At least not the way he is now. I grab the remote and bring up the volume.

Of course the host is all over the singer, that Ren asshole. Sorry dude, but friends have to stick together. They talk about the show, how happy they are to be home. Blah blah. Then, finally! The host switches to Takashi for the special announcement.

"We wanted to give our longtime fans here in our hometown a very special Christmas present. That's why this Saturday you'll be the very first to hear us play some of the songs for our new album coming up next spring." Meh. Of course it's a new album, what else could it have been? "We're very exited about this new album. I'm saying new because it will be for most of the fans, but for us not exactly. This album is a return to the root of our passion for music. The songs are very special to us, because we wrote them a couple years ago, back when we started under a different name." … Eh?

Takashi continues to talk about their past as a local band. He's clearly talking about the band Yamato was a part of, but he's making it sound like there never was a different singer. He's clever. He's not lying, he's just wording his story so that most people will assume we is the whole band. I suppose only a handful of longtime die-hard fans still know about Yamato, but I doubt even them know that by we wrote, Takashi means Yamato wrote.

"This Saturday, we will reveal the true power of The New Wolfgang's music." Takashi says with a proud smile. I turn off the TV. Can they even do this? Doesn't Yamato have rights over these songs? Oh god, what if he learns about it? He'll be crushed for sure. Will the others be able to notice? Jeez, I wish I could go back soon.

Ken sighs loud enough for me to hear him from the other side of the room. Poor guy, having a hard time, huh? I get up, time to work.

"The program still isn't working?" I ask, walking up to him. Two screens have been shut and Ken is now browsing the Internet.

"No. I must have messed up the code somewhere." He types something and some sort of blog appears. "I'm done trying to fix it though. I'll ask for an extension tomorrow." He sighs again. "Like they'll give me one." He says, scrolling down the page.

"What are you looking for?" I ask.

"Nothing. I'm just trying to get my mind off that stupid assignment." He says. I lean closer to the screen, the entries are all about ten years ago.

"The attacks?"

"Yeah. It's amazing how little we know about those creatures even after ten years, don't you think?"

"There's nothing amazing about these monsters." I let out and Ken glances at me. Fuck, I slipped. I force my lips to curl up. "They destroyed my favorite mall while I was on a shopping spree for my summer camp."

Ken's mouth falls. "Did you get hurt?"

"No, but it was close. The store I had just left was the first one to explode."

"Oh, you mean the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza? You were still living in Japan back then?"

"Yup! Me and my parents moved to America the year after." At least that was the plan. When you lie always stick closest to the truth … even if it hurts. "What about you? Were you attacked?"

"No. We were out of the city, visiting relatives in a village I suppose was too small for them to waste their time attacking. We were supposed to come back that day, but our holiday instead got extended." Ken shuts down his computer. "Anyway. I'll go get ready for tonight."

He starts getting up, but my hands on his shoulders push him back down. "You're tired, let's stay here." I say, giving him a massage. He moans as my thumbs draw circles on his neck.

"But you said…" My arms slide down his chest.

"Staying here, just the two of us, can be fun too." I whisper into his ear.

"Are you sure you have enough money?" Ken asks me, ready to pull out his wallet. Students are glancing in our direction as they walk through the gate. I wave my hair to help him score a couple more popularity points.

"I'll be fine. I feel so bad for making you support me. I swear I'm paying you back as soon as this mess is sorted out." I say, pulling a strand of my hair off his school uniform. "But every time I ask how long it will take, the people at the embassy always give me the same answer. They don't know, it could take weeks just to receive one document. This is a nightmare, I honestly don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met you. To think that this is the country I was born in, yet I don't know a single person here anymore."

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad to be able to help." He says, his voice overflowing with affection.

"Thank you so much Ken." I get up on my toes and kiss his cheek. "I'll meet you here after school and we'll go shopping, okay?" Ken agrees and takes off after wishing me a good day.

I watch him walk away. After I fake to have my lost passport and cards sorted out, I'll simply fly back to America and forget my promise to reimburse him. I won't have stolen enough for him to really care, and it's not like I'm stealing his money, so no harm's done. At least that's what I thought, but I didn't expect Ken to be such a … Jeez, it's too late to turn back now. Oh well, at least he'll come out of this more popular, fashionable, and experienced. Plus I'm providing him with a very important life lesson that otherwise he could have learned a much harder way. Yeah, right. I'm just trying to ease my mind. Swindling scums is one thing, but this … I'm about to crush his sweet, innocent trust in humanity. It's sickening. I turn around and head for the subway station.

"… She didn't seem hurt but, just to be safe, we sent her to the hospital where she was thoroughly examined. The hospital cost and other fees have been added to this month's bill." The nurse slides a piece of paper in front of me on the desk. I stare at the new total at the bottom. "Is everything all right Honey?"

I look up to the lady in front of me. I could request to see the hospital bill, I'm sure there isn't any. These people can invent any excuse they want to extort more money from me, they know she can't tell me anything. I flash her with my brightest smile. "No problem! I'm so glad my mother is in such good care." They're holding me by the throat and they know it. I bet they've been laughing their heads off ever since grandma died and I had to take over.

I thank the bitch again and walk down the corridor toward Mom's room. I'll manage, somehow. As long as I keep my mouth shut they'll at least continue to take good care of her. What else can I do? She can't live out there with me, even if I had an apartment. She needs daily care and can't be left by herself. I push the door and enter the small, but clean and brightly lit bedroom.

"Good morning Mom." She's sitting by the window, her long curly hair tied back with a white ribbon matching her white dress. She turns to me with a gentle smile, her pretty face disfigured by the large scar running through it.

"Oh! Hello." She watches me with curiosity as I come in and sit in front of her on the bed.

"How are you feeling today?" I ask.

"Good, I'm very exited. Keisuke is bringing me to the park. The sakura trees are in full bloom."

"He's such a romantic." I say. Mom laughs.

"Oh, but I hope he'll like the cake I made. I've added a lot of spinach and car… no olives and rice… and…" Mom's gaze drifts down to her hands, then outside. "Keisuke is coming to visit me today, for my birthday. He said he'll bring me flowers and a cake."

"Happy birthday Mom."

"Thank you! Have you met Keisuke? He's a nice boy I think."

"Yes Mom. He's the real prince charming. Dad would give his life to protect you." Mom's gaze grows uncertain again. She flattens her white dress over her legs.

"Oh, I'm so nervous. What if Keisuke changes his mind and doesn't come?"

"Don't worry Mom, Dad loves you more than anything in the world." Mom giggles. She's doing great today. I'm glad.

"Is something wrong sweetie?" She asks, looking at me… Really looking at me. I open my mouth, but her gaze is already drifting away.

"Keisuke is working so hard everyday. I wonder if there's something I could do for him. Oh! I know, I'll make a cake for diner. Do you think he'll like that?"

I clench my fists and smile. "Yes Mom, Dad loves your cakes." It's fine, I'm not the little brat that I was anymore. I'm twenty now.

"I think being an angel would suit you better." Ken says from behind, making me jump and drop the reindeer antlers headband. "Here." He places the aureole held by a stick on my head. "Yes, definitely an angel." He says, stepping back.

"Are you sure? Maybe I'm a fallen angel." I remove the headband and put on the flashing devil horns. Why are these even with the Christmas accessories? Ken tilts his head.

"No, I can't imagine you being able to be mean." He says, painfully sincere. "Which one am I?"

"That's easy." I pick the gingerbread men head bopper. "You're so sweet that you'll end up eaten." I say seriously, making him laugh. He pushes one of the cookies and watches it swing back and forth.

"My mother baked these once when I was three, complete with clothes and cute smiling faces. When she placed a plate full of them in front of us, Sam picked the first one on top and without a second thought chew its head off. I started to cry and threw myself on the table to protect the gingerbread men. They tried to reason with me, but Mom finally gave in and baked another batch of round, non-human cookies."

"What happened to the cookies you saved?"

"The poor guys spent years frozen until my father threw them away, figuring that I was old enough to understand." Ken takes the headband from my hands and puts it on. "You'll think that I'm crazy, but I kind of feel bad about what I did. If I'm a gingerbread man, I think I'd prefer to live fully as a cookie and get eaten."

Thursday, December 22nd.

Ken takes my hand and helps me get out of the taxi. I can't help but stare in awe at the mansion in front of us.

"You're beautiful." He says. I detach my eyes from the house and smile.

"You're quite handsome yourself, and I'm not just saying that because I chose your suit." I adjust his tie. "Purple looks good on you."

"Hm… I still feel it's too flashy for a guy like me."

"Not at all. It looks even better on a guy like you." I say with a wink. "So, was this dress a good investment or what?" I do a twirl, flaring out the skirt of my pink dress trimmed with a black ribbon tied around the waist.

"Perfect." Ken says with a dreamy smile. He approaches and starts kissing me, but then breaks off rather abruptly. I hold in a giggle, he probably realized that we're in front of his parents' home. "You must be cold, let's go inside." He takes my hand and I follow him to the entrance.

We've barely walked through the door that his mother is already rushing to us. She jumps on her dear Kenny and gives the embarrassed boy pecks on both cheeks. His father joins us and briefly shakes his son's hand. I watch Ken equally struggle to handle each of them. He reminds me of Taichi a little bit. I hope the kid is doing alright. I'm presented and receive a very, let's just say, polite greeting. Figures. To them I'm just a random girl their boy barely knows. I plaster a smile on my face and follow Ken to the crowded reception room where we're quickly presented before the couple leaves us to attend their guests.

"So … Here we are." Ken says with the look of a fish in the middle of a desert wondering why the heck they thought coming there was a good idea. I grab two champagne flutes from some waiter passing by and give one to Ken.

"How about you show me around?" I propose. With a grateful smile, Ken takes my hand and lead me toward the hallway.

"Oh, brother! I almost didn't recognize you." We stop and turn around. Sam excuses himself from a group of people and joins us. "Since when did you stop having no fashion taste?" He says, looking his brother up and down approvingly.

"Come on, I'm not that bad." Ken tries and I share an amused glance with the older brother. "Okay, forget it. Mimi refused to let me wear my suit and forced me to buy this one instead. Mimi, my brother Sam."

"So it's you, the pretty damsel in distress my brother rescued a week ago. Nice to meet you Mimi." Sam says, his eyes studying me with interest. I give him my best smile that he returns before turning his attention back to Ken. "You might want to stay away from Mom tonight. The Kurosaki are coming with their daughter."

"She wouldn't …" Ken glances at me.

"Oh, believe me, she will. It has nothing to do with you Mimi, our mother just has this fixation on controlling my younger brother's entire life." Sam explains.

"Is that so? How did you manage to convince her to let you move away?" I ask. Ken giggles.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I didn't. I kind of ran away." The brothers share a knowing smile. "When I started high school, Sam helped me organize my escape to where I live now." So that's what rich kids call running away…

"Kenny, dear!" Both guys jump. Ken steps back, but it's too late, Ms Ichijouji grip his arm and drags her protesting son away while giving me some generic excuse and urging Sam to take care of me. In other words, she wants him to keep me away. I take a sip of champagne.

"Sorry about that, I'll go free him in a moment." Sam says.

"You two seem close." I point out. It's surprising, considering Ken's obvious inferiority complex.

"He's my younger brother, I feel very protective of him." He says, his gaze fixed on me. He brings his flute to his mouth and drinks some champagne. It might be just me, but their mother does not seem to be the only one wishing to control Ken's life. "Is the issue with your lost passport going to be cleared soon?"

"I hope so." I say with a smile that he returns right away.

I put on some lipstick, then step back from the mirror, adjusting the ribbon on my waist. I look down at the sparkling new shoes Ken bought for me along with the dress. With these and the rest of the stuff and money I'm collecting, soon I'll be able to cover Mom's bills for a few months.

I leave the restroom and start wandering around. If I stumble upon an employee I'll just fake being lost. I stop in front of a room where a group of men are discussing real estate stuff, standing around a desk and looking at, is it a map? Ken's father is with them, talking about a new mall. Another man spots me standing in the doorway. Crap, if I leave now I'll look suspicious. I walk in.

"A new mall?" I ask, casually strolling toward the group of men.

"Oh, you're the young lady accompanying my son. Are you lost?" Mr Ichijouji asks. He didn't even try to learn my name.

"I'm looking for the ladies' room. Are you building a new mall? I love malls!" The men laugh and let me approach the desk. Yup, it's a detailed map of the city.

"More than just a mall, we're developing a new shopping district." Ken's father places his finger on the map, crushing Yamato and the others. "Funding is finally going to be allocated to the restoration of that part of the city." He casually drops the bomb on me.

"When are you beginning?" I ask, my eyes glued to the wrinkled finger.

"As soon as possible. It's more than time that those disgraceful ruins disappear." What the fuck does as soon as possible means? A year from now? Months? Days? Come on, be more precise!

"Oh, but I heard there's people living there. What are you going to do about it?"

"People?" The man chuckles. "I wouldn't call these bums people. Personally I don't see a problem tearing down the buildings with them inside." The others laugh in agreement. My curved lips start to hurt. "Don't worry young lady, strict procedures will be followed to safely expel all the squatters on the day the demolition begins."

"And when are you planning to begin the demolition?" I ask. The man stares at me, hesitating. Dammit. "It's so exiting, I just can't wait!"

"No date has been fixed yet. You said you were looking for the restroom, right? It's the first door down the hall on your left."

I thank the scum and walk out of there. Shit. I need to know when they're sending the bulldozers before I warn everyone. The project hasn't been publicly announced yet, we might still have a lot of time left before … I stop and fall back against the wall of the deserted hallway. This can't be happening. That place is home, where else would we be able to all live together like this? Maybe if I get my hands on more money … No, Yamato was very clear when he learned what I was doing. He doesn't want them to have anything to do with any stolen money. I doubt he'll change his mind even now, that guy can be so freaking stubborn.

"Mimi, is something wrong?" I look up to Ken standing beside me. I didn't even hear him approach. "You're pale. Are you feeling sick?" He places his hand on my forehead.

"Sorry." I take his hand and lean my head on his shoulder. "I'm a little tired, is there a room where I could rest for a bit?"

Ken gently brushes my back. "Of course, I'll show you my old bedroom." He says and slides his arm around my waist.

Jeez, why couldn't you just have been a spoiled rich kid rotten to the core?