Hi, guys! How have you been? Things have been soooo boring recently. Really, the only exciting thing that happened was taking a day off work to sign for some furniture to be delivered. And they didn't even deliver all the things we ordered! Plus, I kept getting toe worst writers blocks! ARGH! But, it's done now, so enjoy this chapter, where Katelyn and Toshiro start to see just what Ren's past was like.

Chapter 31

Into The Past

"There's got to be a mistake." Toshiro said for the thousandth time. At this point, Toshiro and Katelyn were in the library of the school six years ago, and sitting at a table near where they stood was a year seven girl in dark blonde plaits, reading a manga book. Right now, Toshiro was still having a hard time grasping the fact that this girl is, or was, Ren.

"There's no mistake. That is Ren." Katelyn insisted for the thousandth time.

"That couldn't possibly be her. She looks like Ren, she sounds like Ren, but that…" Toshiro pointed at the girl. "…is not Ren. The Ren I know Doesn't wear glasses, she doesn't have asthma, and she certainly isn't a pushover. There's nothing that can convince me otherwise."

"Uuuu…" The girl whined, looking at her watch and standing up.

"Never mind." Toshiro said flatly, finally convinced that this was Ren. After all, Ren was the only one who had a quirk like that. The girl, now officially Ren, pocketed her book and left the library, grabbing her green rucksack from the bag racks outside. She walked through the corridor with Toshiro not too far behind her and Katelyn trying to keep up with his fast pace. She dodged left and right to avoid the students, but she remembered that she wasn't real here, so she just walked straight through the students with an almost gleeful expression on her face and she was soon walking next to Toshiro. Toshiro didn't even notice Katelyn was there, since he was too focused on following Ren. Toshiro couldn't help but notice that the past Ren even walked differently then the present Ren (or in this case, future Ren). Ren walked with a spring in her step and a confidence to match, letting everyone know that she was in the room with her presence alone. But this Ren was walking slowly with her shoulders hunched and trying everything in her power to avoid looking at anyone. Likewise, nobody seemed to notice that Ren was even there, and several times, Ren found herself knocked around by students as they walked past her, and whenever a student would snicker, Toshiro would know that it was on purpose. But, not all of the students who bumped Ren snickered. They actually apologised to Ren, saying something along the lines of "I didn't see you there". Ren may as well be invisible like Toshiro and Katelyn. It seemed that the longer he stayed in the past, the more differences Toshiro found between both Ren's.

If this is the first day of the Blank Fortnight, then something significant must have happened today that led up to the destruction of Redwood. Toshiro thought. He watched Ren as she looked at her watch and quickened her pace. I don't want to believe Ren destroyed the village, but I guess I'll believe it when I see it. And while Katelyn being here is unexpected, she could actually help me out. She is a survivor, after all, and she befriended Ren during the Blank Fortnight.

"So, what's the plan?" Katelyn, not liking how long Toshiro was silent for.

"I'm going to find out what led to Redwood's destruction." Toshiro answered. "And I'll need you to fill me in on anything I don't know."

"Um, okay." Katelyn said, uncertain. "But, are you sure we're completely invisible? Like, is there a chance we'll become real?"

"Not at my level, no. I know that I can make us visible, but I don't have the strength for that. And in the unlikely event we do become solid…"

I'll communicate with you like this. Toshiro finished mentally.

"Whoa." Katelyn stopped walking, a hand on her head. "Did I just hear your voice in my head?"

"Yes." Toshiro stopped walking to answer her question. "It's part of my telepathy. If I want to mentally communicate with someone who doesn't have this power, I can simply project my thoughts into their mind. If you think what you want to say, I'll hear it."

"So…" Katelyn started.

Like this? She thought.

"Exactly."

"That's pretty cool."

"So, are we clear?"

"We're invisible, I need to tell you about the past and we can communicate mentally, got it." Katelyn listed quickly.

"Good, now let's go." Toshiro quickly disappeared in the crowd again.

"Hey, wait for me!" Katelyn literally ran through the crowd to Toshiro. Ren stopped in front of a row of lockers and stared intently at one of the doors. Toshiro noticed this, wondering why Ren was acting in such a strange manner.

Is that her locker? Toshiro thought. He couldn't help but see how Ren's hands were shaking.

"Brace yourself, Toshiro." Katelyn said, noticing Ren's behaviour. "You're about to see a taste of what Ren had to endure for almost her whole life."

"…" Toshiro stayed silent, watching Ren as she kept staring at her locker. She clenched her hand into her face, and Ren's face became determined, steeling herself up for opening the locker. She rummaged in her blazer pocket and pulled out a silver key. She placed it in the door of the locker and hesitated for a few seconds, which Toshiro took as an opportunity to notice how some of the students were cautiously backing away from Ren and her locker. Ren took a deep breath, twisted the key ninety degrees to the right and flung the door open. Suddenly, a waterfall of black fell out of her locker and onto the floor. Ren and several other students backed away from it with a squeal, and Toshiro and Katelyn did the same, forgetting for a moment that they didn't exist here. Toshiro took a look at what had fallen on the floor. It was hundreds upon hundreds of little plastic spiders.

"These are just toys." Toshiro said.

"Ren wouldn't know that at first glance." Katelyn said, getting Toshiro's attention. "Rosalie knew that Ren was afraid of spiders, so she would fill Ren's locker with spiders. She'd only use plastic ones if she was feeling especially cruel."

"Hold on. Ren had real spiders in her locker on a regular basis?" Toshiro almost exclaimed. Katelyn nodded gravely. "So that's why Ren was so afraid of that spider type Feather."

"…" Ren said nothing, staring at the plastic spiders. She kicked the pile a little with her foot, ignoring the mutters of "Thank God they're plastic this time" and "Poor girl".

So it was plastic this time. Ren thought, and Toshiro heard every word. Ren reached into her locker and took out a book, brushing off some more plastic spiders and cobwebs. I must have missed a few cobwebs from the last time Rosalie did this. Ren slung her backpack onto the ground, knelt down and unzipped it to place the book inside it. She started to zip it back up again, but stopped halfway. It's gone quiet. Don't tell me she's already here.

She? Toshiro thought. Toshiro noticed how some of the students started to shuffle to the walls, barely speaking above a mutter, and it was so quiet, Toshiro heard footsteps that sounded like heels approaching.

"Toshiro." Katelyn got Toshiro's attention. She was standing against a wall in the corridor, and Toshiro joined her side, watching the source of the footsteps. The students had grown quiet and still, only moving to clear a path for the person approaching as their footsteps got louder and louder. "You're about to meet Rosalie." Right after Katelyn said this, the footsteps stopped. Standing in the empty space cleared for them in the corridor was a girl with curly blonde hair and looking around sixteen years old. Toshiro recognised her outfit right away, since she was the only student not wearing the uniform. The ghost in the tunnel. The body by the statue. It was Rosalie. Rosalie flicked her hair over her shoulder and stared around at the scene. The students did everything they could to avoid looking at her. Ren, meanwhile, was still kneeling on the ground, refusing to turn around.

She's right there. Ren thought. I know she's there. Please don't see me, please don't see me. Ren slowly zipped up her bag without making a sound, stood up and started to creep away.

"Well, if it isn't Ren."

"!" Ren stopped moving and stayed rooted to the spot. Toshiro just silently watched what was happening, while Katelyn turned away, knowing what was coming.

"Oh, my. What happened here?" Rosalie asked, faking sympathy. "Spiders? That's awful. And you with your phobia. Who could have done such a thing?"

You did it, stupid! Ren thought angrily, and Toshiro couldn't help but smirk a little. This Ren may be a wimp, but at least she had a little of the present Ren's spunk, even if she didn't dare say it out loud.

"It's going to be hell for the cleaner. But, if you know what's good for you, and if you really are a kind hearted person, you'll save him the trouble. Look." Rosalie reached into the locker and pulled out a few plastic carrier bags, letting them go so that they floated gracefully to the ground, while Ren cursed herself for forgetting to close her locker. "There are even some bags for you to put them in. You're halfway done." Throughout her talking, Rosalie never lost the sickeningly sweet smile that dripped with poison. And throughout her talking, Ren never turned around. All she did was go back to her locker, shut the door and lock it, pocketing the key. She started to move away, but Rosalie's face quickly went from sweet to sour.

"You know I hate it when people ignore me!" She yelled, touching Ren's back. Ren stopped moving with a gasp. She spun around, swatting Rosalie's hand away and clutching her arms afterwards, dropping her rucksack on the ground.

"She did that on purpose." Toshiro said angrily, knowing full well that Ren never liked being touched there. She still froze up sometimes whenever he did it, despite knowing that Ren trusted him.

"Oh, I'm ever so sorry." Rosalie reverted back to her sweet yet deadly voice. "But that was the only way you would stop ignoring me. It's very rude." Ren said nothing, still recovering from the shock of having her back touched. "Now, I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"…" Without a word, Ren knelt down to her rucksack and pulled out some sheets of paper, producing them for Rosalie.

"What's that?" Toshiro asked Katelyn.

"Rosalie's homework." Katelyn answered. "She knew that Ren got better grades then her, so she would make Ren do her homework to avoid studying. She would even make sure Ren didn't get better marks than her. Probably for the sake of appearances. Her family was the strongest, after all."

"That's why nobody is doing anything." Toshiro said, looking around at all the students who had shame written all over their faces.

"Well, I'd best be on my way." Rosalie said. Ren stood up and placed her rucksack back on her back, but before she could move, Rosalie placed a hand on her shoulder. "You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?"

"…" Ren looked away from Rosalie's face.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." Rosalie said forcefully, grabbing Ren's chin and forcing her to look into her eyes.

"!" Toshiro felt his fists clench at this act. He knew that Ren hated looking into people's eyes. And clearly, Rosalie knew all of Ren's weakness. She was taking advantage of them to intimidate and scare Ren. If he was solid, Toshiro knew that he would give Rosalie a piece of his mind, and maybe a bruise or two.

"I don't like your silence, Ren. Actually, there are a lot of things I don't like." Rosalie let go of Ren's chin to loop a curl behind her ear. "Just look at you. You don't laugh. You don't cry. You don't get angry. You don't do anything normal. It's just creepy!"

"!" Ren's eyes widened after hearing the word 'creepy' come out of Rosalie's mouth, but that was the only reaction she gave.

I'm not creepy. Toshiro heard Ren think. I'm just different.

"See what I mean? I called you creepy, and nothing."

Is it still going on? Come on, leave already. Ren thought.

"So, come on. Say goodbye. And say it properly this time. We wouldn't want a repeat of last time. I might have to put you in that place even longer."

"…" Toshiro noticed Ren gripping the strap of her rucksack tightly to the point of almost shaking.

"Goodbye, Miss Thornton." Ren finally spoke up in a quiet voice that still sounded calm, despite what she just went through. "Have a pleasant day."

"Now, that's more like it." Rosalie kicked the pile of plastic spiders so that they spread all over the floor. "Clean this up." Rosalie turned around and walked with confidence towards the students, who parted like the Red Sea to let her through, quickly closing behind her. When they were sure that Rosalie was gone, the students went about their business like that had never happened. Nobody asked Ren if she needed help clearing away the spiders, and they didn't pass her a second or even a first glance. Ren was back to being invisible again.

"Now you know what Rosalie was like." Katelyn said. "Ren was subject to her torment and humiliation on a regular basis, and we could do nothing to stop her. It was the way the villages worked."

"Katelyn, I don't know a lot about village politics, but I'm pretty sure they don't involve making a little girl miserable."

"You think we liked it?" Katelyn said defensively, folding her arms.

"Of course not." Toshiro insisted quickly. "I just…" Toshiro looked at Ren, who was still picking up the plastic spiders.

"I know this is hard, but there's nothing we could have done to stop Rosalie, just there is nothing you and I can do now." Katelyn closed her eyes sadly. "And you know it."

"…" Toshiro said nothing, knowing that Katelyn was right. Instead, he got the diary out of his pocket and flicked to the page that had the current date on it. There was writing on it now, and Toshiro knew it was about what just happened at the lockers. "Let's skip ahead." Toshiro turned the page to a blank one, and the scene before him and Katelyn changed to white, which was quickly replaced by something else. It was a village, and Toshiro and Katelyn were standing in front of a small newsagent. Toshiro recognised the buildings, and knew that they were in Hazelford, Ren's home village.

"We're in Hazelford now? How did that happen?" Katelyn asked, looking around at her surroundings.

"I turned the page." Toshiro answered, showing Katelyn the diary.

"How did you know that would work?"

"Lucky guess."

"You guessed?! Geez, I think Ren's rubbing off on you."

"Speaking of Ren, here she comes." Sure enough, approaching the duo was the twelve year old Ren.

"What day is it?" Katelyn asked. Toshiro checked the diary.

"We're still on the twenty second of February. The school day must have finished."

"Uh…yep. The time on the church says it's four in the afternoon."

"So what happened at this time?"

"I'm not sure." Katelyn said with a shrug. "I was in Redwood when it happened."

"We're about to find out." Toshiro noticed how Ren entered the newsagents, and he quickly followed her with Katelyn trailing behind. There was nobody but Ren and the owner of the newsagents inside the shop, and the owner himself was emptying a box of cigarettes onto another shelf behind the counter. The shop itself had a few shelves of basic groceries, along with a rack for magazines and newspapers and another shelf for assorted candy and crisps. Ren herself was heading towards some fridges, opened the door and took out a pint of milk and a can of cola. She picked up a newspaper on her way to the till and placed her items on the counter.

"Excuse me." Ren said politely. The man behind the counter didn't acknowledge Ren, and he carried on unloading the box. "Excuse me." Ren said in a louder voice. Again, she wasn't acknowledged.

This again? Really? Ren thought, drumming her fingers on the counter.

Again? Toshiro thought.

"What do you want?" The man said, finally facing Ren.

Try being more polite. I'm a paying customer! Ren thought.

"I would like to purchase these please." Ren said, pushing the newspaper, the milk and soda towards the man.

"…" With a grumble, the man pressed some buttons on the till. Ren handed him a five pound note to pay for the things and the man took it without a word, placing the items in a white plastic carrier bag. "Here's your change."

"Thank you." Ren said, reaching out a hand to take the money. But, the man ignored her outstretched hand and placed it on the counter. "Eh?"

"If that's all you came for then get outta here, already." The man said rudely, sitting down on a chair behind the counter, picking up a magazine about cars and reading it. Ren stared at the man silently, until she picked up the change and the bag of groceries, resignation on her face.

"This was a regular occurrence for Ren, too." Katelyn said. "The Thornton family had every village resident treat Ren as though she weren't there, since she was nothing more than an insect to them. Any residents who owned a business had no choice but to treat Ren as a customer, but that was as far as it went. Some did it by choice, like this man, but others were not that willing. But, like I said, they had no choice." Katelyn finished explaining, waiting for a response from Toshiro, but heard nothing. "Huh?" Katelyn looked at Toshiro. He was looking at the ground with a vacant yet sad look in his eyes. "Toshiro?"

"Hn?" Toshiro snapped out of his daze, looking at Katelyn.

"What's wrong?" Katelyn asked.

"Uh…nothing." Toshiro shook his head. "I just got lost in my thoughts." "Toshiro hastily left the shop. "Let's go. Ren's on the move."

"R-Right." Katelyn followed Toshiro out, who was keeping a close eye on Ren as she walked. She got the can of soda out of the bag and opened it, taking a quick swig of the drink.

Well, I got through today somehow. Ren thought. Why does everyone have to treat me like that? Why are they pretending I don't exist? Why are they afraid of me? Is it because of what I did to Katelyn? Is it because I'm a member of the head families? I wish I knew. But, they have no reason to hate me, right? I never did anything to them.

"Uuuu…" Ren whined just before taking another drink from the can for a good few seconds, almost emptying it. As soon as she drew it away from her lips, she let out a loud belch. "Oops." Ren covered her mouth as a blush appeared on her face out of embarrassment.

"…" After hearing Ren's thoughts, Toshiro stopped walking in his tracks, and since Katelyn was right behind him, she noticed this behaviour right away.

"Toshiro, what's going on? Is something happening?"

"Nothing's happening. I just heard Ren's thoughts, and I…" Toshiro hesitated before he could finish his sentence. "It doesn't matter."

"Well, it has to matter if you're acting like this."

"I'm fine." Toshiro insisted as he carried on walking.

"You can't be fine if you keep spacing out like this." Katelyn said, walking by his side.

"If you must know, Ren's thoughts sounded familiar to me."

"Familiar? How?" Katelyn asked, confused.

"That doesn't concern you." Toshiro quickened his pace.

"Hey, wait up." Katelyn almost jogged after Toshiro, he was walking so quickly.

"Ah." Ren stopped walking, noticing a group of about three people, two girls and a boy, up ahead, and she recognised on of them anywhere. It was Rosalie. Ren quickly ducked behind a building before Rosalie had a chance to turn around and see her.

She's here already. Ren thought, a panicked look on her face. Why can't she just leave me alone? No, it's okay. It's okay. I expected this. Ren took off her school bag, unzipped it and rifled through the contents. She pulled out a knitted rainbow beanie hat and black glasses with a think frame. Ren placed her hat on her head, tucking the plaits inside it, and she then took off her pink glasses and replaced them with the black ones. Ren placed her glasses in a glasses case and pocketed them. They won't recognise me this way. Ren drank the rest of the soda as a way of steeling herself for this walk, throwing the empty can in a nearby bin. She stood up and placed the bag on her back. Hopefully they won't look at my backpack. Okay…I can do this. I can do this. Ren took a deep breath just before she turned the corner and walked forward, trying to look confident, even though Katelyn and Toshiro could clearly see how her hands were shaking as they followed her.

She's shaking. Toshiro thought. I've never seen Ren this terrified before.

"…" Ren stayed silent as she approached Rosalie and the two people she was talking to.

"Well, she would say that, wouldn't she?"

"It must have been so embarrassing."

"You know what they say; when the righteous fall, they fall hard." Rosalie said, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. She heard footsteps, and after looking stealthily over her shoulder, she saw a girl in a rainbow beanie walk past her. Rosalie smirked.

Did she figure it out? Toshiro thought.

"Hello again, Ren." Rosalie said, but Ren didn't stop.

No Ren here. Ren thought. I'm just a stranger with a weird hat.

"Honestly…"

"!" Ren heard footsteps approach her. Had she been caught?

"How many times do I have to tell you to be polite?!" Rosalie almost demanded, ripping the hat off of Ren's head, and watched as her plaits tumbled around her shoulders. Ren stopped walking with a gasp after feeling her hat get ripped off her head.

"Give that back!" Ren tried to reach for the hat, but Rosalie pulled it out of reach.

"Manners, Ren. You really are undisciplined."

"What do you want with me? I did your work." Ren asked, hatred visible in her eyes.

"Yes, you did. You've always been an obedient little girl." Rosalie leaned down to Ren's level. "I guess you're worthless parents are good for something after all."

"…" Ren's fists clenched at that insult.

Don't you dare insult my family, you stupid cow! Ren thought, and she was so angry, her thoughts sounded like she was yelling. They're ten times better than you and your family could ever be!

And there's another difference. Toshiro thought. The present Ren, the Ren I know, doesn't hesitate in speaking her mind. But this one? She thinks more than she talks.

"But you should know better than anybody. You know that my family is far more powerful than yours. I am your superior. I expect you to treat me as such. I know that that you're afraid of me. Then again, who isn't? Or maybe they're just jealous of me. After all…" Rosalie straightened up, placing a hand on her hip. "I am quite the catch."

Yeah, if they're trying to find manatees. Ren thought.

"Pfft!" Toshiro couldn't help but snicker at that comeback, even if Ren was too afraid to say it out loud.

"Toshiro?" Katelyn said, confused at Toshiro's laughter for a number of reasons.

"Nothing, nothing." Toshiro said, quickly calming down.

"You're not saying anything. Yet another thing that makes you creepy. And yet…" Rosalie reached out and touched the side of Ren's face. "You have so many things that you shouldn't have. Brains. Beauty. Happiness. A person like you doesn't deserve these things. But I do. You don't deserve them, or even need them. I have already taken your happiness. So…" Rosalie drew her hand away from Ren's face. "Allow me to take the rest from you!" Without warning, Rosalie suddenly smacked Ren so hard, she fell on the pavement. Her black glasses fell off her face, and Rosalie took that opportunity to step on them so that the lenses cracked.

"Search her pockets." Rosalie ordered the girl standing next to her. "She has another pair. As for you, hold her down." The boy and girl immediately obeyed Rosalie. The girl searched through Ren's pockets while the boy held her wrists down on the ground. While this was happening, Toshiro and Katelyn could only watch, helpless. But, that didn't stop Toshiro from noticing the vacant look in the eyes of the people obeying Rosalie. They were clearly doing this against their will.

"Found them." The girl held up a glasses case, and Rosalie immediately took them. She opened it and took out the glasses, before dropping the case and placing the glasses on Ren's face.

"I want you to have a good view of the show." Rosalie said with her sickeningly sweet smile.

"Let me go!" Ren yelled, struggling against the boy holding her down.

"Keep still!" Rosalie punched Ren in the face hard enough to make the lenses of her glasses crack, but not to break, and there was a clear red mark around her eye from the punch. Ren promptly stopped struggling, not wanting another punch like that.

"Ren!" Toshiro yelled.

"There. That's not so hard, is it?" Rosalie walked over Ren so that she was between her legs and kneeled down, making sure that she was held down. She picked up one of Ren's plaits and almost caressed it, smiling. "You've always had such beautiful hair. But if you ask me, you have no need for hair like that."

"!" Ren's' eyes widened, knowing full well what Rosalie intended to do as she reached for the pocket of her shorts. The girl who had found Ren's glasses turned away, and the boy just shut his eyes.

"I don't wanna see this." Katelyn closed her eyes, turning around to face Toshiro. "Toshiro, turn the page, please!"

"Way ahead of you." Toshiro had already got the dairy out, and turned the page as soon as Katelyn told him to do so. Within seconds, the duo could no longer see the scene of Ren being held down by her tormentor. Instead, they were inside the hallway of a house. Toshiro recognised it, and knew it was Ren's house. Sure enough, Ren opened the front door and entered the house, wearing the rainbow beanie from before. But, Ren was clearly worse for wear, since her right eye was still red from when Rosalie hit her, and the right lens of her glasses was cracked. Ren took off her rucksack and dumped it on the floor. She sighed, looking straight at Toshiro and Katelyn.

"Not again." She almost groaned.

"?" Toshiro and Katelyn looked behind them. There, on the wall behind them, was a series of words written in red, with "freak" and "creepy" being among the many hateful things written on there. Ren approached the wall and touched one of the red letters. Some red came off on her finger.

"Well, I'd best clean this up before it dries." Ren said, wandering into the kitchen. She picked up a bucket near the door, placed it in the sink and turned the hot tap on, squirting some washing up liquid into the bucket at the same time. Clearly, she had done this before.

"Has life always been like this for Ren?" Toshiro asked Katelyn as Ren searched for a sponge.

"It has. Although, things didn't get this bad until after she attacked me. That was when Rosalie really started to make Ren's life miserable. I don't know why Rosalie was so fascinated with her. I just thought it was a head family rivalry."

"It's not much of a rivalry if Ren's family is the weakest."

"Nonetheless, a rivalry is a rivalry. It affected everyone, even those who weren't head families."

"Because they had no choice, right?"

"Exactly."

"Right." Ren picked up the bucket out of the sink, almost staggering due to the weight, and carried it to the graffiti in the hall. She placed the bucket heavily on the ground sighing with relief afterwards. Then, she got the sponge out of the hot, soapy water and got to scrubbing. The red writing went away with one stroke, and Ren carried on scrubbing and scrubbing for a good few minutes while a puddle built up underneath the graffiti. After twenty minutes of hard scrubbing, all the graffiti was gone, and the only evidence of it being there was a damp wall, a bucket full of red water and a puddle on the floor.

"I still can't believe Ren put up with this for all those years." Toshiro said after staying silent for too long. "Didn't she tell anybody outside of the villages?"

"Who would she tell? The police? They hardly broke any laws, and even if they did, Rosalie was smart enough to not leave any evidence that they were there. If not…" Ren picked up the bucket and carried it back to the kitchen to empty it. "Then Ren got rid of the evidence herself. Besides, many of the villagers have high positions in the emergency services. They couldn't do anything even if they wanted to. Ren was powerless to do anything."

"Huh?" Just as Ren placed the bucket back where she found it, her mobile started to ring, and Toshiro recognised the ringtone as the same one the present Ren had. Ren took out her phone and answered. "Hello?" Ren said. "Mom? Is something wrong…No, no, I got home a while ago." As Ren spoke, Ren went up the stairs, with Katelyn and Toshiro close behind. Ren followed the hallway to her bedroom and entered it. She stopped when she was in front of a head to foot mirror attached to the wall. "Well I er…I got distracted with schoolwork. You know how it is…Huh? I'm not tired…Did something happen?" Ren looked at herself in the mirror, a sad look on her face. With her right hand holding the phone, she reached her left hand up to the beanie on her head, grasping it and slowly pulling it off her head, letting her arm hang loose afterwards, just as Toshiro and Katelyn came into the room. "No…"

"!" Katelyn gasped with horror, and Toshiro had a hand over his mouth with wide eyes. Ren no longer had her long dark blonde plaits. Instead, her hair had been cut to a boyish length, with a few clumps of hair hanging to shoulder length, and some parts of her hair were cut off with such force, the duo could see bald patches of scalp through what was left of her locks.

"Nothing happened." Ren finished. There was a silence, except for the faint voice of Ren's mother on the phone, and while she talked, Ren ran her hand through what was left of her hair. "I…I'm sorry, mom, I have to go. I've got a lot of work to do." Without waiting for a response, Ren hung up the phone and almost slammed it on her dressing table. Ren took several deep breaths, composing herself.

"I had no idea this happened." Katelyn said, still reeling from the shock of what she had just seen.

"How could she do something like this?" Toshiro said sadly, his voice on the verge of cracking from sadness.

"Ren, I'm home! What the…Why's there a puddle here?"

"Harley?" Ren said, turning her head towards the sound of the voice. Quickly, she picked up her hat again and shoved it on her head, tucking any hanging hair inside it just before the door to her room opened. Standing at the door was a boy of about fourteen years old with thick curly brown hair and the boy's lower school uniform of Ren's school. He looked very different from his present counterpart, but the time travelling duo recognised him as Harley from six years ago.

"Hey, sis. You okay?" Harley asked with a smile, which quickly fell when he saw the red mark around Ren's eye. "Your eye's red. And your glasses are cracked."

"Oh, this? Uh, I just tripped. No big deal."

"Well, alright. You have to be more careful, Ren. Do you want me to help with your homework?"

"Thanks." Ren said with a nod. She walked past Harley, and that was when he finally noticed how his sister was wearing a hat.

"What's with the hat?" Harley asked, grabbing it and taking it off her head.

"No!" Ren tried to grab the hat and put it back on her head before her older brother could see what she was trying to hide, but he was too quite.

"Oh, my…" Harley started, horrified at the state of Ren's hair. But, that horror quickly turned to anger. "Who did this to you?" He asked in a dangerously low voice. "Was it that harpy?"

"Harley, it doesn't matter who did this or why it happened." Ren said quickly. "So, let's just do our schoolwork. Okay?"

Please don't' make this any worse than it already is! Ren mentally pleaded.

"It doesn't matter? That's bullcrap!" Harley gripped Ren's shoulders. "That's like saying you don't matter!"

"I-It's true that our family doesn't have a lot of influence. We can't go against anybody right now."

"That doesn't give that harpy an excuse to be so horrid to you!" Harley started to shake Ren a little. "Why won't you stick up for yourself?!"

"You know why."

"…" Harley didn't say anything, knowing his little sister was right. "But…But…"

"I…" Ren shrugged off Harley's grip on her shoulders, snatching her hat out of his hand while he was distracted. "Gomenasai!" She yelled as she ran down the stairs.

"Ren! Wait!" Harley started to go down the stairs, but stopped after he heard the front door slam. "Damn…" Harley sighed.

"Let's go." Toshiro said.

"Right." Katelyn ran down the stairs and reached for the latch, but her hand went straight through, to her confusion. But, when Toshiro simply walked through the door, she immediately felt stupid. "Of course." She said, half smiling to herself, and then proceeded to walk through the door herself.

…

"Finally…" Ren sighed with relief. "I'm alone." Ren walked through the new location. It was a church yard, and it had been unattended for quite a while.

"Where is this place?" Toshiro asked Katelyn.

"This is an old church that seldom gets used. Ren told me about it six years ago. She'd come here whenever she wanted to get away from it all."

"…" Ren looked left and right, making sure there was nobody here. Upon being reassured that no-one was here, Ren sighed. She trudged over to a statue of an ornate cross with the symbol of her family etched in the centre and sitting on three stone steps surrounding it. Ren sat on the steps with her knees drawn up, and she stayed silent. But, Toshiro heard her thoughts all too well.

Why am I the only one going through this? Ren thought. Why am I the only one who has to suffer? There a four other head families to torment. Why mine? In that moment, Ren's sad expression suddenly turned angry.

"Is this what you like?! Ren yelled up at the sky. "Is this what you want?!" Ren stood up off the statue and ran out onto the grass, letting out all her anger and frustration at the heavens. "Am I your cosmic chew toy?! Is that it?! Well, look at me!" Ren yanked her hat off her head and threw it on the ground. "Look at me! Look at what you've done to me! Why am I the victim here?! I never did anything wrong! The only one who should be getting their hair hacked off is you!" Ren pointed at the sky. "Yeah, you heard me! I don't want this life! I have no need for it! So come on, then!" Ren outstretched her arms. "If this is what my future is going to be then kill me now and end it all!" Silence. Ren's arms dropped to her side. "This…This isn't what my life is going to be…right?" Again, there was silence. Ren dropped onto her knees, exhausted for more reasons than one. "I knew it. There's no hope for me. I should just give up. It's not fair." Ren's' hand clenched into a fist. "It's not fair!" Ren yelled, punching a nearby gravestone. "It's not fair!" Ren punched it again. "It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair! IT'S! NOT! FAIR!" With every sentence, Ren punched the gravestone over and over again. She stopped when her knuckles started to hurt. Panting, she looked at her fist. It was grazed with blood leaking out of the new wounds. "It's not fair…" Ren said again, but weakly. She hung her head. "There's got to be more to this. I refuse to accept this is what my life is meant to be. If only…" Ren looked up at the sky. "If only there was a way for me to take control. Can you do that?" Ren asked the sky. "If you can't change my fate…then grant me the power to do it myself." Silence. Several seconds later, there was a glint of light in the grass. "Huh?" Ren saw the light and crawled towards it. She rummaged around in the glass until her fingers touched something cool and metallic. She grasped it and pulled it out of the grass.

"…" Katelyn and Toshiro went in for a closer look. There, sitting in Ren's hand, was a thin, silver chain with a small charm looped onto it. Looking closer, it turned out to be an orange stone shaped like a teardrop.

"That's…" Toshiro started, recognising it. "That's Ren's necklace."

"So that's where she got it from." Katelyn said.

"A necklace?" Ren said. She looked at it from every angle. "It's kinda pretty. And also…" Ren stared at her reflection in the stone. "Familiar…"

DONG!

"Ah!" Ren jerked her head around to look at the church. It was currently chiming the time, and after looking at the clock on the tower, it read that it was six. "Better head back." Ren grabbed her hat and placed it back on her head again. She looked at the necklace she found again, and without hesitating, or even wondering what it was doing in an empty church yard, fastened it around her neck. With that, she ran off.

"Well, that was a Hell of a day for her." Katelyn said. "Toshiro, does the diary say anything"?

"Let's see…" Toshiro opened it up to the page they were currently in. "Um…Katelyn, can you read her writing?"

"Sure, let me have a look." Katelyn peered over to read the diary. "It says…I didn't know it at the time, but the day I found that necklace became the day that everything changed for me." Silence. "Everything changed?"

"Do you know what that means?" Toshiro asked.

"Not exactly." Katelyn answered. "But, I do know this."

"I'm listening."

"The twenty-third was the day I started talking to Ren. At the same time…" Katelyn looked Toshiro straight in the face. "A lot of strange things started to happen around her."

"Strange things? That means…" Toshiro wandered off into his thoughts, practically hearing the pieces click together in his mind. "The day Ren found that necklace was the day Zena's powers appeared to her!"

"Yes, yes!" Katelyn agreed. "That totally makes sense."

"You're taking this quite well. I thought you'd be a little more shocked."

"Well, I've known Ren a while now, and with this business about Feathers and White Raven, I'm willing to believe anything."

"This is great. I finally feel like I'm getting some questions answered." Toshiro looked into the diary again. "And this diary is the key."

"I'm here for you, Toshiro. What do you need?"

"I just need you to stay with me and answer any questions I have."

"And to read you Ren's diary entries." Katelyn quipped in.

"Yes, and that." Toshiro muttered, sweat dropping.

"So, shall we turn the page?" Katelyn asked with a smile.

"Right." With new determination, Toshiro turned the page, and the scene immediately turned white.

Ren…Toshiro thought. I'm going to find out why you did what you did. But this time, you won't be alone. I won't let you past overcome you. I will save you!

Aw, poor Ren! Who just wants to give her a hug?! So, how did that necklace change Ren's life? What happened to cause the destruction of Redwood? What else will Katelyn and Toshiro find out about Ren's past? Will Ren be saved from her own demons? Find out next time, only in Fate and Destiny!