Chapter 2

"Chidori?"

I forced open my eyes, they seemed swollen shut. Light came bursting through, stinging my eyes. It took some time for my eyes to adjust, blurry images came looming out in front of me. Then slowly Kohana, Aki, Tooya and my mother's face appeared clearly.

"Mom, brothers, Kohana? What happened?" I queried trying to stretch out my stiff neck. A piercing pain ran through my back.

"Don't move so much, you'll hurt yourself more!" Spat Aki. I looked over their shocked faces, but my mother was pale and distant.

"You had us worried, what happened!" queried Tooya. I glanced down at Aki and Kohana's clasped hands and smiled. "What are you smiling at? And who is Chidori?"

"I think I can answer that," I looked towards the edge of the room, my uncle Yuuhi was standing half in shadow. Everyone looked towards him. Ever since my father died, Yuuhi had watched over us with grim determination. Today his face was deep in shadow, it looked like he suffered from long nights of restlessness.

My mother stared at him for some time, unmoving. Her eyes were wet, and tears were spilling over her lashes. The past couple of months my mother was becoming sick and weak. Every time we would bring her to the doctors, they would say the same thing, stress.

"You know Shota, his sister is Chidori. She died about 16 years ago…"

"I love him." A girl's voice rang through my ears.

"What do you mean?"

"I love him…he has my heart. Once long ago, I gave up my life to save him. I gave my heart and my power to him, just like I lent my power to your mother. We all gave her our power, she was the one hope we had left. She had to live, she went through so much. We all did and she did it. She taught us so many things. She taught Ceres that there is good in the world, and that it sometimes hurt to love."

Suddenly a young girl appeared before me. She had blonde hair and brown eyes. She looked a lot like Shota.

"Are you Shota's sister?"

The girl nodded and smiled a cheerful grin. Her whole face brightened, but then shadowed by sorrow.

"We thought it would end if Mikagi and Ceres went to sleep, but it didn't. I shouldn't be here. If it ended then, then why are we here. Why!" The girl started to weep.

"What do you mean by end, and what do you mean by you shouldn't be here. Where is here?"

"I'm in you…let me take over…let me…live…"