Yuki sat indian style in her room, back pressed against the cool wood of the door. The lights were off. She had always thought them to bright. Only the soft light of dusk crept through her window. She was trying to get her head around everything. There were some things that she just couldn't change, and some things she was afraid to accept. She laid her head in her hands, thinking to herself. I'm asking for it. How stupid can I get? My 'parents'… I guess I could call them parents, apart from the fact they hate me because of my personality. Boy did they get a shock. A nasty one. They were expecting Ms. Princess, a prim and proper daughter who listened to elegant music and wore dresses everyday. Instead they got me. A punk rocker that listens to Eminem and wears hip-hugger leather skirts, black buckles, flared jeans, and black shirts. Heh. What if I were to say… run away? They wouldn't care…

Knock knock knock. She ignored whoever was rapping on her door. Her headache was already bad enough; she didn't feel like dealing with some one right now.

The knocking stopped.

"I just wanted to say thanks for putting out the fire and getting my notebook back." Yuki heard Matt's footsteps as he began to walk away. She bolted up and unlocked the door, walking after him.

"Welcome." She replied. She wasn't sure if he heard her, but she assumed he did.

"I'm glad you ditched that freak. Why were you going out with him at all?" he turned to face her.

"Parents." Yuki scowled. "They think they own me. His parents, my parents, all good friends, and they want Ryo and I to get together. Until now I actually wanted to make them happy. I realize it's not worth it. Ryo's a jerk."

"Mm hm."

"What was in that notebook anyways?"

"Some old pictures, songs, music, and poems I wrote."

"You write songs?"

"Yeah."

"Whaddya play?"

"Guitar and I can play… I can play piano." He looked down, as if it was embarrassing to play a piano.

"Cool. I can play drums, and I'm pretty good with vocals, most of the time. Can you play 'Coldplay', 'The Scientist' on piano?"

"Yeah…"

"I'd love to hear it sometime."

"Uh… Um… I got a keyboard set up in my room. Maybe you'd like to hear it now?"

"Alright." Yuki glanced at her watch. There was probably enough time to hear Matt play, do her homework, and then drop by the computer lab to check up on a few things.

"By the way," she added as an afterthought, "I'm sorry I lied to you."

Matt nodded cheerfully. Yuki was surprised he accepted so easily, but she quickly remembered the first time she had apologized. She shook her head. How can anyone be so trusting? No way I'd come anywhere close to being like that…

"No problem. Was it cause Ryo?"

"Yup."

"Alright. Ready?"

"Sure…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yuki smiled and sighed, walking swiftly down the hall toward her dorm. She had to admit, Matt was one of the few people who put their hearts into the music. She had even persuaded him to show and play her one of his own songs. It had been great, but he couldn't think up lyrics or a title. With a promise to help him if he would like that, Yuki had left.

She hummed the tune to herself. Matt seemed to loose himself in the music… Like he was a part of it. She had already started to mentally begin the first draft of the lyrics. The tune and tempo of the composition sounded like it came straight out of a romance movie… The title was already set, but she wasn't sure why she liked the song so much. Briefly Yuki wondered who he had written it for, who had inspired him to write such beautiful music. Her hand closed on the doorknob, and she was wracked with chills. Her vision faded. She knew this feeling all to well; she was once again pulling remembrance out of someone else's memories.

            The memory seemed to pick up right where it left off. It was the little boy who had watched his mother die. Tears clouded his vision, so it was kind of hard for Yuki to see, but she got the just of things. Sirens blared, lights flashed, and everything was in chaos.

"Sh. Be quiet." The man instructed in no more than a whisper.

"Why do you have a boy with you?!" yelled a drunken voice over the noise.

"He's just a kid. Can't you spare him?"

"Somethin' fishy's goin' on round here! We shot that lady, and the kid was with her, so he knows what happened! So we shouldn't show him mercy either, right?"

"Listen! He's so young I doubt he'll remember. Can't we just let him go?"

"Send off the little brat to an orphanage, and I'll spare him."

"…As long as you swear never to hurt him."

"Whatever." The drunk laughed mercilessly.

Rough arms grabbed the boy by the shoulders, pulling him screaming and fighting away from the man. Yuki was disgusted. How could that man even call himself that poor boy's father? He deserved a black eye, and maybe a few drop-kicks.

The boy fought hard, but someone hit him hard on the head, knocking him from consciousness, and everything went black.

            Yuki quaked with rage. How dare that man do that to that young little kid?! She shook her head, a burning wish for righteousness in her heart. Who could this poor child be? Whoever it was had a rough past. Judging from the time of the event, the little kid should be about my age now.  I wonder if I could find out who it is, or at least who that man is. He was wearing a Galbadian Soldier's uniform, and he had black hair and blue eyes. He was about six foot three… She searched her mind for more details. He looked like he was about twenty six, which would mean he would be in his mid-to-late thirties. It's been about 11 to 13 years. The boy would be maybe 17, 18, or 19. Both his parents had black hair, so I presume he did. She changed her plans, going directly to her laptop to do some research.