Seven

Rei never met her mother but she loved her nonetheless; she lived in the memories of her grandfather and his wonderful stories. When she couldn't sleep, he would grab his favorite photo album, the special leather-bound one with the weathered edges, sit on the bed with her and tell her stories from when her mother was young. They would both be too engrossed, her in listening and him in talking, that sleep would be forgotten and her grandfather would talk well into the night.

They visited during Obon and her birthday. She liked carnations, her grandfather said, so she would pick the prettiest red carnations in the shop and tell the florist to make the bouquet extra pretty because they were for a special lady. Her grandfather would light incense and they would offer a prayer. There were always flowers before they got there. She doesn't know who they're from and her grandfather doesn't speak of it.

Her grandfather would often tell her that even if her mother was gone she will always be in her heart. She wouldn't understand what he meant until a few years later.

She was seven when she got into her first fight in school. Her grandfather normally sent her to school with a handmade bento, always with a note, dessert and her favorite plum juice. He was feeling under the weather that week, staying in bed for the better part of the day, and only had the energy to haphazardly pack leftovers. This was not lost on her classmate who teased her about not having a mother to prepare a proper bento. She grabbed her classmate's hair and pulled until she cried.

Later that day, an unfamiliar man with an unsmiling face stood outside their principal's office. She remembers the cold look he gave her before he went inside the principal's office. Minutes later, the principal who had plastered on an apologetic smile and the unsmiling man came out and looked at her.

'Rei-chan, your father will be taking you home.'

She sat by the curb outside the place she was now forced to call home. It had been two months since she last stepped foot in her grandfather's house; two months of living with strangers. Her first week in her father's house, she was completely inconsolable- crying and screaming to be taken back home to her grandfather. Phobos, her father's housekeeper and now her nanny, would try to placate her if only to not agitate her father any further. When crying did not work, she tried running away- she would walk to her grandfather's house, walk far away from the strangers and back home to her family. Only, she did now know where she was and she would get so hopelessly lost. Deimos would be following behind her, ready to take her back to the unfamiliar home when she had tired of walking.

After another month, she had officially given up and accepted the fact that the big, empty house was now her new home and the stone-faced man was her new family.

Her eyes began to water as she thought about her new life. She did not understand why things had to change and she missed her grandfather terribly. Before her tears could fall, she furiously rubber her eyes until she was sure all they were gone.

'Are you okay?' She looked up and saw a boy about her age, trying to hold back a puppy that was determined to escape his grasp. 'Ah! Aki, no!' The puppy leapt from his arms and was licking her leg and jumped about excitedly.

'He likes you! I'm Jin and that's Aki!' He introduced enthusiastically. 'What's your name?'

'Rei.'

He picked up the puppy and titled his little blonde head, examining her. 'Why are you dressed like a witch?'

Phobos picked a black dress with an incredibly uncomfortable collar and long sleeves for her to wear that day. She was told it was customary to wear black and she had to wear the uncomfortable dress to pay respects to her grandfather. She perked up at the mention of her grandfather but Phobos, with her sad smile, said her grandfather was gone. She did not understand what that meant until she stood in front of a gravestone with her grandfather's framed picture at the base. It was the same kind of gone as her mother. Gone but always in your heart, the words echoed in her head. Only then did she understand what her grandfather meant.

'Hey, witch, are you okay?' The boy asked as the tears she was holding back suddenly streamed down her face.

'Who are you calling a witch?' She yelled before pushing him and running inside the house.

Ten

Kaidou helped his brother dig a grave for their beloved dog. He could tell he was trying so hard not to cry. It breaks his heart to see his younger brother so sad. He digs faster, the sooner they finish, the sooner he can move on and forget. He tells Jin to get Rei while he finishes the job; Aki was as much as their dog as he was hers. Nodding dejectedly, Jin walks out of their yard to the house across the street to fetch Aki's adoptive sister.

Rei breaks down at the sight of the fresh grave, he can tell his brother was doing everything in his power not to follow suit. Later, much later, when his brother and Rei had calmed down, he took them out for shabu-shabu.

They looked like they were in better spirits now and were arguing over how to make the perfect dipping sauce.

'Ah, Rei, that's too much togarashi.'

'No it's not.'

'That will totally overpower the taste of the sesame sauce!' Because Rei, even by herself, was a force of nature, Jin turned towards him for support. 'Tell her!'

She didn't say anything but raised an elegant eyebrow in his direction. How did she look so imposing at ten years old?

'Just make a different sauce.'

His brother feigned a look of betrayal at his neutrality while Rei smiled smugly as she dumped all the togarashi in her sesame sauce. He was glad they both seemed to be back to normal.

Jin stared at the unblinking, beady eyes of the plush toy Rei gave him. It was a stuffed toy the size Aki was when Jin first got him and when Rei first met him. She has an identical one she says and points at the collar where Aki was written in impeccable kanji. 'I wrote it myself.'

'Cute.' The corner of his lips tugged upward just a bit. 'It even looks just as stupid as he did.' He comments as he brings the toy closer to his face.

'Hey!' She cried, indignant, and swatted his shoulder.

He could feel tears forming in his eyes; he took a deep breath and steeled himself. He did not want Rei to see him cry. 'Thank you.'

'Mm.'

They sat in silence for a while; Jin in his bed with the plush toy sitting in his lap and Rei in the high back chair he used when he studied.

A thought suddenly hit him. 'How am I going to get girls to like me now?'

Rei was looking at him strangely. 'What?'

'They say girls like guys with dogs.'

'Says who?'

'They.' He answered; frustrated that Rei didn't know who the collective 'they' was. 'You know… Them.'

'That's stupid.' She rolled her eyes. 'It will take more than a cute dog to get girls to like you.'

'It worked on you, didn't it?' He answered smugly.

'I don't like you.' Rei shot back with an unladylike snort.

'Sure you don't.' He goaded, amused at the flush that was slowly creeping on her cheeks. 'It's okay. I like you too. Just not like like.'

'I don't like you or like like you!' She got up from the chair and stood in front of him, trying, he supposed, to look intimidating. Her face was scary enough but seeing as she was barely 4'5, she looked adorable more than threatening.

'It's okay, Rei. I won't tell anyone!' She grabbed the plush toy in his lap and threw it in face before storming off.

Jin lay back in his bed, holding Rei's gift and laughed. She really was adorable, especially when she was mad. He would apologize tomorrow and buy her one of those panda charms she likes so much to make up for making her mad.

Fourteen

She started receiving messages and calls from unknown numbers, letters in her locker and flowers when she entered junior high. The letters and flowers she could easily deal with by throwing them out but the messages and calls were a special kind of annoying since she couldn't throw her cellphone because her father insisted she own one. She used to always accidentally forget to bring her phone; keeping it in a locked drawer in her room, out of sight and out of mind. Her father used to reprimand her when he realized what she was doing but he either stopped caring or got too tired of dealing with her that he stopped pestering her about it- it wasn't as if he contacted her anyway.

Jin would sometimes whine about her not having a phone and how troublesome it was for him to have to go to her house when he needed to talk to her. She reminded him he lived across the street.

'What if I can't walk?'

'But you can.'

'What if I can't?'

Sometimes she wished she didn't listen to Deimos' suggestion about asking Jin to ride with her to school because then she could spend a few minutes of peace before classes started. But there she was, with the annoying idiot seated beside her, bugging her about her cellphone yet again.

'You're so annoying.'

'It's not just for calling and texting, you know.' And to prove his point, Jin took out his phone and snapped a picture of her, much to her annoyance. 'This one has a nicer camera than my old phone.' He studied the picture he took with mock seriousness, 'See, this camera makes you look really pretty.'

'Delete that.'

He locked and pocketed his phone before she could try to pry it off his hands. 'I could sell it to those boys who like you so much.'

'I hate you.' She deadpanned. He smiled his annoying smug smile that all but said no you don't. And she didn't, not really, but still, he really was annoying.

'They're increasing in number.' She ignored him as she normally did when he teased her about her so-called admirers. 'I think someone might actually start a fan club.' He scooted closer and slung his arm around her shoulders, 'Or maybe I should start one and charge for admission? We'd meet weekly at our house and you'd grace us with your ever-scowling loveliness. What do you think? I'll split the money with you.'

'I'll have Deimos run you over if you don't shut up.' She doesn't mean it and they both know Deimos was way too fond of him to ever run him over. She too, admittedly, was fond of him even if he was annoying. He was the only one who wasn't intimidated by her- probably built up a tolerance since they've known each other for years. While she truly enjoyed their friendship, she wishes sometimes she could intimidate him enough to shut up.

AN I had a different account but i cant remember my login so here I am starting something new because we're still in quarantine and what else can I do with my time, you know?

**FORMATTING ISSUES. OMG. the formatting here hurts my eyes. LOL