"Oniisan!" Both Tohru and Kyou repeated the blonde's words. On one hand, Tohru sounded delighted, if not a little shocked. She knew Yuki had an older brother, Ayame, but she'd never heard of him having a younger sister. On the other hand, Kyou was in disbelief. Yuki didn't have a sister, he was sure of it, but the look on the blonde's face suggested that she believed the opposite.
"Um...Usagi-san, right? I don't have a sister." Yuki replied softly, ignoring the two's outbursts. Though he'd tried to be as gentle as possible, he could tell the girl was getting more distraught by the second.
"You really don't remember me..." Usagi trailed. Her eyes trembled with sadness, threatening to spill tears down her flushed cheeks. She slowly lifted herself to the ground, standing at eye-level with the person she knew, she just knew was her brother. Her knowing, however, was simply not proof, so she bowed like Tohru had to her and smiled shakily. "I'm sorry, Yuki-san, I must be mistaken."
"Usagi," Rei called, frowning as the blonde turned away and walked back into the shrine. The priestess-in-training looked at the trio, less than pleased, before she announced, "I'm sorry, but we really are closed today. Come back during the week if you wish to do business."
"Yes, Hino-san, sorry for intruding," Tohru bowed once more before turning and leading the two Sohmas down the temple stairs. As soon as they were out of sight, Rei spun and ran back towards the shrine. When she entered the room, she found no traces of Usagi anywhere.
Her legs were wobbling beneath her like Jell-O. The stabs at her overworked lungs felt like needles, constantly prodding. Every muscle in her cried out for immediate rest. No matter how much her body protested, however, she would not stop running. Even if the tears in her eyes prevented her from seeing wherever she was going, she couldn't stop moving.
She knew, no matter how much physical discomfort she felt, it couldn't compare to the way her heart tore in two when she heard Yuki's words. As the word fell from his lips, so innocently, she felt her world spin off its axis. 'I don't have a sister.'
Why? That's what she wanted to know most of all; why did it have to happen this way? Were Ayame's memories of her erased as well? Had all the Sohmas chosen to forget her, like she never even existed? She didn't care. The only person she wanted to remember, the only one she loved completely didn't remember her at all. Her legs finally gave out, half way into the park, so she flung her arms around the nearest tree and slumped to her knees.
'It's all Akito's fault. No, it's mine, for being foolish enough to think I could change anything.' Usagi thought bitterly, letting the sobs rise from her throat freely. A layer of snow still coated the ground from the previous night's storm. The thick, gray clouds covered the sky, and the sun hadn't shone all day. The whole world was cold, but Usagi felt colder, knowing that her only real family barely knew her name.
Picking herself up off the frigid ground, she decided to head home before pneumonia became an issue. With luck, she could get past her Okaasan and Shingo without any conversation, and sleep her grief off before tomorrow. As soon as she pulled the front door closed quietly behind her, though, her Okaasan appeared from the kitchen looking quite happy.
"Usagi! Look what I found today," Ikuko held her hand out, where a silver snowflake rested, a chain winding behind it and dangling freely. "I found it today, out in the flowerbed beneath your window."
Usagi had been looking at the floor this whole time, but she finally raised her vision enough to see the necklace. It brought on a whole new wave of emotion as it glittered in the dim light of the Tsukino home.
"I remember, the first time I tried to give you a bath you refused to take this off. After that I realized you wore it everywhere, even to bed. One day, I asked you why you never took the necklace off. You stared at me, almost like you were scared, and ran up to your room. You wouldn't come out of your room for a whole day. I was about to call a locksmith when you came out, and you were smiling so big. I didn't see it anymore after that."
"I was scared." Ikuko looked at her daughter's flushed face, surprised. "I was scared because I knew there was someone important who gave me that, but I couldn't remember them, and I was so confused. I tried and tried to remember, but gave up he next day and threw the necklace out my window. I figured if I couldn't remember, then maybe I wasn't supposed to."
'But I was supposed to remember you, Yuki, no matter what Akito wanted. '
Yuki unraveled his scarf from around him, before pulling off the heavy coat that had been weighing him down all day. It was necessary of course, due to his medical condition, but since he'd met the girl at the shrine it seemed to be the lesser of things weighing him down. He knew for a fact he'd never had a sister, but something about the girl seemed familiar. The only way to be sure, was to do a thing he simply would not submit to: calling Ayame.
Then again, he reasoned, Shigure might be just as well to ask, but he wasn't anxious to talk to the hyperactive dog either. Neither Tohru nor Kyou had said a word about the girl after they left the Cherry Hill Temple. Of course, he never expected Kyou to, but he could tell Tohru was worried. The last thing he wanted to do was burden her with his unimportant problems. Still, something was tugging at his brain, telling him that this was quite important.
"Yuki, I made you some soup to warm you up. It would be bad if you got a cold!" Tohru announced from the kitchen entry-way. Apparently, he'd been standing at the doorway in thought for much longer than he though. Tohru had already suited up in an apron and started preparing dinner.
"Thank you, Honda-san." Yuki said, smiling gently at the brunette girl before following her into the kitchen. Shigure was already present at the dinner table, humming to himself as he waited to be served. Kyou was absent, meaning the cat was probably up on the roof like always.
"Is something bothering you, Yuki?" Shigure asked, pausing mid-tune to look over at the rat. "You aren't getting sick, are you?"
"No, it's not that at all." Yuki assured. "It's just that...do you know a girl named Usagi?"
The dog's reaction to the question wasn't quite what Yuki had thought it might be. His eyes widened, just barely, as he looked the rat straight in the eyes. He drifted for a moment, as if remembering something, before he shook his head lightly.
"No, it doesn't ring a bell. Why do you ask?" Shigure pressed, giving Yuki an expression of curiosity. Normally, Yuki wouldn't go into detail, but Shigure's reaction made him certain that the dog knew something more, something he was purposely keeping from him.
"Well, you see, she said the strangest thing to me. She thought I was her older brother." Yuki answered coolly, watching closely for Shigure's reaction. He appeared to be shocked, more so than really necessary.
"What a strange thing to say indeed." Shigure agreed. He quickly changed the subject as Tohru served the soup, asking her if she bought anything at the shrine. Tohru shook her head, explaining that it had been closed, all the while setting out a bowl for Kyou. Moments later, the orange-haired teen appeared, looking rather hungry as he sat down at the table.
Yuki sipped at his soup lightly, mind wandering elsewhere. Shigure's reaction to his questions had him even more confused than before. The possibility of the strange blonde being his sister seemed a little higher now, but there was one thing he couldn't figure out. If what she said was true, and they are siblings, why couldn't he remember?
"Hatori!" he breathed, his hand stopping midway between his bowl of soup and his mouth. The other three at the table stared, wondering what had come over the normally composed rat. Yuki dropped his spoon back into the bowl, and wiped at his mouth with a napkin.
"That was delicious, Honda-san, thank you. I'm feeling a bit tired, I think I'll retire for the evening. Excuse me." The silver-haired youth rose from the table and disappeared from the dining room, ascending the stairs to the second floor. All the while, his mind reeled with the possibility that Hatori had tampered with his memories.
'If so, though, how was it possible for her to remember?' He thought, stopping at the top of the stairs. The image of Usagi collapsing in pain flashed through his mind, and he wondered if maybe her seeing him had sparked her memories. But, if that were the case, wouldn't it work the other way around?
The rat felt a headache coming on, so he quickly made it to his room and collapsed onto his bed. Without thinking to change, he began to drift into slumber. Before he lost consciousness, he vowed to speak with Hatori on the matter.
Shigure slid the door to his study closed, listening as the last sounds of feet climbing the stairs died away. Pacing over to his desk, he picked up the phone receiver and dialed the number to Hatori's office. He knew the doctor would still be there, even at this hour, working away. The ring ended abruptly, and his voice came clearly over the line, "Hatori, speaking."
"Hello, Hatori. I have a story about a high school girl--" A sweatdrop appeared over Shigure's head as he heard the definite click in his ear. He quickly redialed. "You're so mean, Hari!"
"I'm busy, Shigure, what do you want." Hatori answered calmly. Shigure stayed silent for a few moments, and Hatori sat up straight in his seat.
"Hatori, Ame-chan remembers."
Wai. -.-;; Someone pointed out that Yuki's hair is a more purple-ish black color, and it is in the anime, but I'm more fond of the manga. It leads me to believe that Yuki's hair is silver-ish gray, so that's why I'm going with that variation. I really think it can go either way.
Also, someone inquired on whether Usagi is a member of the zodiac, and the answer is yes! –cheers in the background- Eh? Who's cheering? Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering how that's possible since Usagi has hugged Mamoru countless times, and other situations blah, blah, blah. I'm not going to give everything away here, but it has to do with the weird phone message in the first chapter, and I quote, "The spell you used to free yourself will be broken."
And that's all I'm saying! –laughs as reviewers start going crazy-
Oh yeah, for those who aren't harboring three Japanese to English dictionaries like me, Ame means Rain in Japanese. It can also mean candy or sweet if it's used as a noun. :) Yuki means snow, and Ayame means Iris (the flower, not your eyeball color). What an odd combination of names. Anyway, yes Ame was Usagi's name before she became Usagi in this story. No, I'm not changing her name; she will continue to be Usagi.
One more thing! The pairing for Usagi will be between Kyou and Hatsuharu, even though I do like the Haru/Rin thing. I'm a little more towards Kyou anyway. Thank you, and please review! I'm working my tail off to make sure that this is updated regularly, unlike my other stories, and I need reviews. They are like candy...
SachiNyoko
