Mirror Images
Chapter one: housework
It was dark. She was alone. That's okay, she thought. It's better to be alone. No one can hurt you if you're alone. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a messy room. Clothes strewed everywhere, bed un-made, drawers open. Ugh. I really need to clean this place up before Kohaku gets back with Lexi.
She stood up and stretched her tired muscles. She walked over to the mirror and looked up at her messy hair. She picked up a brush and started to tidy the black and silver locks. Well at least I can still look half-way descent, she thought with remorse. Shower, breakfast, clean I think. Maybe if I still have time after that, I'll go outside and practice.
She opened the door and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Once there, she shut the door, turned the hot water all the way up and twisted the handle for the shower. Once satisfied with the temperature, she pulled off her t-shirt and un-wound the bandages around her ample chest and abdomen. She let the bloody cloth fall to the floor and climbed into the shower.
After half an hour of blissful heat, she shut off the water and climbed out. Grabbing for her towel, she wrapped it around herself before stepping in front of the mirror. As she wiped away the mist with a hand towel, she looked at her reflection. Who are you? She thought looking at the beautiful blue-gray eyes and black and silver shoulder-length hair.
She opened the door and headed back to her room. She shut and locked the door in one swift motion. She dropped the towel at the door and walked over to her dresser. Once she put on her tight light blue jeans and a black tank-top, she dried her hair and applied her makeup. Nothing fancy. Just simple eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss, the usual. She stepped away from the mirror to look at herself. Something's missing, she thought reaching for her jewelry box.
She grabbed four spiked bracelets, a spiked collar, and seven pairs of earrings and put them in. One last thing. She reached for her single black gem necklace.
"For you, koishii."
"Why are you giving it to me?" She spoke along with her memory.
"So you'll never forget me."
It seemed every time she touched that necklace, memories of a different life came back to her. She never saw anything, just heard the words in her mind. I just wish I knew who gave them to me and Lexi. Maybe then I would know who her father is. She thought distractedly, watching how the sunlight reflected unnaturally off the onyx tear gem.
After a nice breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and toast with juice and the paper, she brushed her teeth and started cleaning. First came the laundry. It always took the longest. While she was washing those, she could clean the rest of the house. The living room came first. Then came the kitchen and the bathroom. After the "easy" rooms were done, she stepped back into her room. It took and hour and a half to clean her room all the while listening to "My Chemical Romance" and "Simple Plan."
She plopped down on the couch and threw her feet up on the table and let out an exhausted sigh. She closed her eyes for a moment and the door was thrown open. In came an ecstatic little five-year-old with a tired looking Kohaku in check.
"Kaa-san, Kaa-san! Guess what we did in school today!" Lexi was jumping on the couch, smiling at her mother. "What did you do, sweetie?" She smiled back. "We made colorings and learned the times tables, too. It was really fun. Mrs.Kashino said I was really good at coloring inside the lines and I told her my Kaa-san taught me how." Lexi managed to say in one breath.
Her smile was really big then. Kohaku sat down next to her best friend/roommate. "Wow, Sai. The place looks really nice. You must be exhausted. Let me guess, you cleaned everywhere but mine and Lexi's rooms?" Kohaku gave Sai a sly smile.
"You always could read me like a book, Kohaku. Am I that obvious or was it your guardian, Mr. Grumpmeister who taught you to read people?" Sai asked with a smile on her face. They both burst out laughing, and Lexi, not catching the joke, turned her head to the side and asked innocently, "What's so funny?"
This caused the teens to laugh even harder. "I'll have you know Master Eclipse is not grumpy… all the time," Kohaku said in-between laughs at the look on her friend's face.
"Yeah and I'm not a fox-demon-gone-vampire-who-lost-her-memory either, am I?" Sai said with a laugh.
