A/N-thank you so much for the review(s)! Yay! My style is pleasant! Whooohoooo! (Ahem) ok! Next chapter!

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I walked slowly out of Hatori's room, staring at the package. I heard footsteps behind me, and quickly tucked the package under my shirt, and out of sight. Before I could turn around, I felt an icy hand on my shoulder. Frozen to the spot, I felt Akito lean in close, pressing his lips next to my ear. "Is my little mouse feeling better? I hope so...its no fun to play with a broken toy....And the mouse is very important to me. I don't know what I would do if you were to leave me...I might have to teach you another lesson..." he started to trace the lacerations on my back, making me flinch away in terror. "And we all know how much you enjoy our little lessons...your father always did..." He broke into a quiet, cold laugh that sent shivers down my spine, as anger coursed through my veins.

'How DARE he talk about him like that! Like he was nothing!' As though he was a doll he had gotten tired of, and thrown out. I whirled around to meet his steely gray eyes, only to find him in front of me, continuing his walk down the hall. I stood in the middle of the hall, shaking in silent anger. Slowly regaining my sense, I took an unsteady step forward, and kept going. After what seemed like forever, I finally stopped outside my door, and slid it open. Plopping down on my bed, I stared at the package.

Steadying my trembling hands, I began to undo the hemp cord tying up the brown paper. I unfolded the paper, smoothing out the creases, and making sure that I didn't tear the paper, although it was not of any special value. I gently pressed back the final fold of paper, and stared puzzled at the contents.

It looked...like a manga volume.... Undaunted, I picked up the book, and flipped it open. It WAS a manga...but one like I had never seen before. The first page showed a girl of about 16, standing outside a tent, and smiling brightly up at the sky. Her long hair fell to about mid back, and was tied behind her ears with ribbons. She held an old-fashioned book bag, and was wearing a school uniform. The caption underneath the picture read- "Hello! Im Honda Tohru!"

I stopped. And clapped a hand to my mouth, as my mothers' picture stared up at me, her smile never faltering. I was about to flip the page, when the pages started turning themselves, as if a breeze was playing around the room. The pages rested on a picture of a high school. I squinted my eyes to see the name of it, and found it to be Kaibara...I go there...this was getting weirder by the second.

I was getting scared, my pulse quicken, but before I had a chance to get really terrified, a flash of white light burst from the seam of the manga, and emitted a loud whiplash noise. I felt my whole body go light, and the next thing I know, I was tumbling on the ground, outside of Kaibara high school. I stood up, and realized that I was wearing my school uniform. I stood up, and brushed the dirt off my cloths, realizing with a wave of pain that my injuries had carried over to the...past. I looked around.

Everything seemed more or less where it normally was. I looked at the clock on top of the school building, and realized that school would be ending in seconds. I walked over to a nearby bench, and sat down, waiting for the bell to ring. The hands ticked down the last few seconds. 15...14...13....I started to panic-what if he didn't recognize me? Well, that was impossible...he had never met me...but what if I couldn't recognize HIM? True, I had never seen him...but everyone always said how alike we were...and what about my mother? What if she was repulsed my me? 12...11...10... What if they didn't believe my story? 9...8...7....What if...I was a disappointment to them? 6...5...4....I wouldn't be able to live with myself. 3...2...1...What if...they hated me?

DING! The bell sounded, and students came pouring out. I searched the faces I could see, but none of them looked like mine. My heart started to sink, but I kept my mask of queenly superiority on. A voice caught my attention, and I turned, as I heard someone say, "What should I make for dinner, Kyo-kun? Yuki-kun had his student council duties today...so he will be hungry when he comes home. Ah, how about some leeks? Oops...Kyo-kun hates those..." I listened to her ramble on about dinner. I kept my eyes glued to the two people walking past...my Uncle Kyo, and...and my mother.

I felt other students walking by, some of them staring at me, others whispering. I didn't care...I just needed to talk to her. To him. Hatori had told me that they lived in Shigures' house while they were in school...so I supposed that was where they were headed. Although my father had a student council job, I didn't mind. It would be easier to see him in the morning anyway. First, I needed to find a place to stay temporarily.

I started walking, and decided that staying in a motel would be suspicious, since I didn't have any parents with me. I settled on the park. I climbed on a bench, and curled in to a ball. Unconsciously, I started humming the tune to a song. A song whose words were as fresh in my mind as the first time my mother had sung them. People could die, but words were immortal.