-1I can imagine that my readers must be really ticked off at me for not writing more often, but I do have my reasons. My family moved to a new house and everything was disconnected including my internet. Soon we got cable, but thanks to how bad the economy is my family thought it was unnecessary to have internet, so what do you know no internet. Then for a while I was going to use the school's internet, but they blocked and since I can't find my library card that plan is out the window too.

The only good thing out of all this is that I could concentrate more on my studies and got exceptionally good grades. My mother in return got me a laptop and more writing is now possible. Also, my creative writing class helped my writing tons and I think I can write better than before- your opinion might be different though. So I have internet back and am back to updating my stories and for now I think I'll only update two at a time- Soul's Redemption and my new Twilight fanfic. As for the rest I am going to work on them and update them after one of the first two are done. Of course I could change my mind later and update some anyway, depending on whether or not I get inspired.

I also feel really good about my Twilight fanfic, but still have to think of a name for it. Basically the main character is Euphemia Rose who after a series of mysterious events is adopted by a wealthy family consisting of her new mother Sarah Haze, new father Daniel Haze, and her new twin siblings Scarlet and Nicolas Haze. Eventually I plan to include the Cullen Family, but that's after people find out more about Euphemia's past. Seriously can't wait to get Edward and Bella involved, but sadly I must wait to get the story in the right position to introduce them.

Well I hope you will all forgive me and here is A Soul's Redemption's new chapter!

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Chapter 2: Memories

At first it seemed like he couldn't move at all, but only stare at the marvel before him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt like this was what he was so anxious about. That somehow he already knew this was going to occur. Why or how didn't seem to matter at the moment, all that matter was what was happening right in front of him.

He remembered how a little over a year now he would unknowingly wander this forest. He had questioned his motives, but nothing really came to him. It was the first time he came here that he discovered this same meadow. But to him it felt familiar, like he had sometime in his life had come here. This meadow was special, but he never knew why. Eventually he passed it off as nothing and didn't' return again. Not until today. As he stood there motionless it struck him, this place was special after all. He knew that even if he didn't know it consciously, his heart knew it.

Suddenly his body began to respond to him and he slowly began to move forward. The meadow had changed very much since he last saw it, but whether it was naturally or by the work of this phenomenon he didn't know. The tree was emitting a strange glow that moved around every part of the tree in multiple colors. The creek that ran near the tree had turned now into a large pond filled with glowing water lilies that left the tree at its center on a small island. Beautiful was one way of thinking of it, but strange. The closer he came to the water the more he noticed that somewhere in its depths there was something shining brightly. He kneeled on the overgrown grass and reached his hand into the water.

He fell back when the earth began to shake violently once more. He watched as the light beneath the water's surface rose to reveal something egg shaped. When the shaking stopped he rose and looked closely at the object. It was just within arm's reach and he felt tempted to touch it. When his fingers grazed the object's carved surface of some sort of writing he hadn't seen before, the layers began to open up like a blooming, white flower.

"What is this?" When it was fully opened he could see the figure of a person floating inside it. He instinctively reached for the person's shimmering hand. The person's hand felt warm and familiar in his and as he began to pull the person out the light dimmed enough for him to realize that the person was in fact a girl. She floated right in front of him in a flowing snow-white dress with her eyes closed and her hair swirling gently around them. Before he could speak the light abruptly disappeared and she felt into his arms. He cradled her in his arms as he witnessed the object disappear in simmering lights and the tree and water lilies return to normal.

"Hey, can you hear me?" He shook the girl in his arms, but she didn't respond. He stared at her face hoping for some sort of indication she was okay, but nothing happened and he thought he could try talking to her again.

"Hey, can you tell me your name? My name is Kazune Kujyou…" Her eyes twitched when he said his name and they open slightly. He noticed that her eyes weren't normal, they were blank.

It was like she was not even alive.

Her hand reached up to touch his cheek, but just as it touched him she fell unconscious again. The touch somewhat stung, but in a way that wasn't unpleasant. For a moment he wonder what that was, but she could feel her body's temperature slowly decrease.

"Oh, man. What do I do now?" The sun was close to setting and he was too far from the hospital. He decided it would be best to take her home to get examined by Q-chan since he has taken care of him when he was ill.

"I'm taking you to my house, okay?" He placed her over his shoulder, so they could get to his house quicker. It surprised him how long her hair was since it could almost reach the ground. He place her long hair over his other shoulder and felt how smooth it felt on his cheek and for a moment this made his cheeks flush bright red.

"I don't have time for this!" He sprinted into the forest as his mind tried to come up with reasons for this girl's abnormal entry into this world. How did the earthquake, cloud formations, and bright lights have to do with her. She seemed normal enough to him.

"Who are you?!" He tried his best to keep her body from being scratched by the thick forest branches, but having such close proximity to her was uncomfortable for him. For a moment it made him feel pathetic for not having anyone except Himeka as a girl to be close to, but he never thought it would matter. He could see the trees beginning to thin as he approached the road and just as he was going to exit the woods he slipped forward on damp moss on the ground. The girl fell from his shoulders and landed a few feet away from him on a small pile of leafs.

"Oh, crap!" He rushed off the ground to her side and turned her over to see if she was alright. He wiped the pieces of leafs off her face and examined her closely.

"Just a few scrapes. Sorry about that." He cradled her once again in his arms and just as he was about to run again she moved. She wrapped her arms around his neck and weakly pulled close to him. He nervously looked down and saw she was still unconscious as she did this.

"What a strange girl." He sighed- trying to ignore the way his cheeks burned. Once out of the forest he dashed down the road, ignoring the way people stared after them. Once through the gate he stomped on the door since he could reach his back pocket for his keys.

"Come on! Open up! Himeka!" The door hastily opened and Himeka rushed out.

"What's wrong Kazune-chan?! I…!" She gasped as she saw the girl's pale white face and both of their clothing covered in dirt and tattered, "Oh! What happened Kazune-chan? Who is this?" Kazune-kun passed by her and rushed up stairs into the empty room from this morning. Himeka had gone in search of Q-chan for help while Kazune-kun placed her gently on the bed. He could here Himeka's shaking voice as he tried to explain the situation to Q-chan as best she could.

"Kazune-Sama, what happened." Kazune explains the events from when the earthquake started to when they arrived here, both Himeka and Q-chan looked perplexed.

"Kazune-chan, there wasn't any earthquake. I'm sure there wasn't."

"What? I know what I felt and saw, so how come you didn't know?" Kazune-kun gazes at the girl's face and tries to come up with some sort of explanation for today.

"Let us worry about that later. We must see that the young miss is alright first." Q-chan begins to check her vital signs while Himeka escorts Kazune-kun out.

"You should get changed Kazune-chan while I get her some fresh clothes." Kazune-kun nods and goes into his room without another word. While he finished putting on some clothes the phone by his bed side rings and he reluctantly answers.

"Hello?" The voice yells his name so loudly it felt like church bells were ringing in his ears, "Cripes! Can you be any louder Nishikiori!"

"Sorry about that chap. I was just so happy you answered your phone. Is your cell phone is not working?"

"No, I must have left it with my stuff at the forest…wait! How did you get my cell phone number?!" Micchi laughs into the telephone.

"You didn't think that I wouldn't get your number now did you chap?" Kazune-kun rubs his temple as he tried to control the anger that comes with having contact with Micchi.

"What do you want? I don't have time to play around." It's silent for a moment and Kazune-kun wonders if Micchi hung up.

"Oh, I see. I am coming right over." Before Kazune-kun could object he hangs up the phone. Kazune-kun sighs and rushes to see how that girl is doing. He knocks on th door and sees Himeka and Q-chan hovering over the girl with anxious expressions. As he approaches he notices the girl had been changed into one of Himeka's nightgowns and he thanked the heavens that there was a girl around to change the girl's clothes.

"Hey, Himeka. How's she doing?" Himeka closes her eyes and a quick sob escapes her. Q-chan is the first to speak.

"Kazune-sama, the girl is rapidly losing her strength. If we do not find a way to help her, I am afraid she will not…" He wouldn't finish the sentence, but continue to stare at the girl with pity. Himeka was beginning to cry, even if she didn't know who she was Himeka still grieved for her.

"There has to be something! Can't we take her to the hospital?!" Q-chan shook his head and turned to the IV that stood beside the bed.

"No, the girl's condition is like nothing I have ever seen. We had connected the IV to her, but the liquid didn't enter her body. It was like something was pushing it back." Himeka kept the girl's icy hand in between hers as if to try to get the girl to hang on to the life that was slowly slipping away from her.

"How is that possible?" He didn't doubt what he said, he knew first hand that Q-chan was a skilled physician, "How long does she have?"

"Seeing how her heartbeat is slowing down at a steady pace and her temperature as well…I would estimate only a couple of hours." Himeka sobbed into the girl's hand and spoke words to her that Kazune-kun couldn't hear.

"No, she is not going to die on us! Kazusa!" The white bird flew in from the door and shifted into her human form.

"What is it brother?" When she saw the girl's pale figure and their distressed appearance she quickly moved to her brother's side, "What can I do?"
"Examine her. There must be something you can find out about her." Kazusa asks Q-chan and Himeka to move aside while she kneels at the girl's side. She presses two fingers on the girl's forehead and a small, dazzling light shines around the place of contact. Kazusa furrows her brow and sweat begins to trickle down her forehead. She gasps and falls back in surprise.

"Oh my!" Kazune-kun helps her up and Kazusa wipes the sweat from her face.

"What happened!?" Kazusa shakes her head and walks around the bed as she gazes at the girl.

"I am not sure how to explain it, but this girl seems different. When I tried to look through her memories to find the cause of her illness there seemed to be some sort of barrier around them. I did get a glimpse, but I could only find very few, which were too unfocused for me to make sense of them. It was if someone has taken them, but left these within her. Before I could try to dig farther into the reasons why this had happened I was pushed out." Kazune-kun met the questioned looks on the others' faces and turned back to his sister.

"Somehow most her memories have been stolen, but how does that have to do with why she's so sick?" Kazune-kun said.

"Though I have never actually met anyone like her, I assume that without all of her memories-an essential part of her soul- this girl's body cannot sustain her life."

"How can we get the rest of her memories back in such little time?" The way he said it didn't need answering, Kazune-kun already was losing hope in helping this unfortunate girl.

"Himeka go with Kazusa and drink some tea to calm yourself." Himeka bows and exits with Kazusa trailing behind her with a look of frustration as she tries to solve this girl's mysterious circumstance. Once they left he grabs a chair and sits beside the girl and looks at Q-chan for a moment before turning back to her.

"Do you mind leaving us alone for awhile?" Q-chan excuses himself and closes the door behind him. Kazune-kun drops his head into his hands and quietly speaks a curse word that he didn't want Himeka or his sister to hear.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you…I wish I could." He found it strange to worry so much about this new person. He had no hand in her inevitable death, he had just met her.

"It's not fair. I mean, you just got here and now you're gonna die. Talk about a crappy day." He laughed without humor. He knew that she couldn't hear him, but he felt it might comfort her somehow if he spoke with her.

"Did you know that I'm going to start high school tomorrow? Time sure flies, huh?" Kazune-kun looks at her calm face and smiles.

"Strange, I don't even get to know your name. Well, you can't blame me. You just showed up out of nowhere and ended up here with us…I wonder why?" Kazune-kun sits up and wonders about that for a minute.

"Hey, how about I just call you freak. You have to admit you are." Kazune-kun is shocked to here someone responding to his little insult:

"Jerk!" He first turns to the girl to see if she had regained consciousness and heard what he had said, but the girl still lay unmoving.

"What was that?!" Kazune-kun jumps up when the door slams violently against the wall and Micchi slams it shut as soon as he comes in.

"What was that for you idiot?!" Micchi ignores him and walks to the other side of the girl and examines her pulse.

"Thank God I got here on time chap or else she would have been in some real trouble."

"Wait, how do you know about her?" Micchi smiles and flips the hair that fell over his eyes.

"Guess you haven't remembered yet. No matter, I will give you a hand with that."

"What do you mean remember? Remember what?!" Micchi smirks at him and leans over to him slightly.

"Oh, you will know soon enough chap. But are you completely sure you don't know who this is?" Kazune-kun stares back at the girl trying to match her face with that of other girls in his past, but nothing comes to mind. Micchi sighs and hovers closely over the girl's face.

"Sorry, love. He hasn't remember yet, but he will soon." He turns to Kazune-kun and grin mischievously, "Wait till she finds out you didn't remember her. She'll surly knock you right off you feet like she used to."

"Used to? I have no idea who…" A realization hits him as he continues to look at her. This girl looks exactly like the girl that he had been dreaming for all vacation except now he could see her face much more clearly.

"She's that girl." Micchi pats his shoulder and stares at the ceiling somewhat satisfied.

"Well, at least you remember somewhat." He pulls out something from his pocket and reveals it to Kazune-kun. It sparkles beneath the light coming from the window behind Kazune-kun.

"What is that for?" Micchi holds in his palm with a look of affection Kazune-kun couldn't understand. Sure, the object was nice and even mysterious now that he caught sight of some swirling blue mist inside, but other than that it was just a necklace with an orb handing from it.

"Just watch." Micchi dangles the object above the girl's chest and for a moment Kazune-kun wanted to question his sanity, but suddenly it began to glow. It unattached itself from the necklace and hovered over her. Shimmering little stars surrounded the blue orb in moving patterns. Kazune-kun looked to Micchi, but Micchi only gazed at the phenomenon before them. Kazune-kun watched as the orb descended until it merged with her body like when a raindrop falls into a surface of water. The girl's body radiated like when he had first met her and after a second it disappeared. But as the light disappeared a flash of another light blinded him for a moment, when he opened his eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The room was not as how it had been a few seconds ago. There were unfamiliar books covering the shelves of the bookcase opposite to the window behind him, photo frames hung on the walls, stuffed animals lay on one corner of the room. One in particular was an ugly looking bunny that appeared on the once empty desk beside a frame of a picture he could see from this point. He looked down at the girl and saw that the covers she was under were no longer white, but covered in a floral design he had never seen before.

"What is this Nishikiori?" Micchi smiled and retrieved a book that lay on the side dresser on his side. He passed it to him silently and Kazune-kun was surprised to see it was the blank photo album from this morning. When he opened it he didn't find the black pictures he expected, but now they were filled with pictures of himself and the rest of his friends. The only person he didn't recognize was the girl who stood beside the rest in most of the pictures. After closer observation he realized it was the same girl he had just met today, but a younger version. He stopped looking through the pictures as he caught sight of one which was at the center of one of the pages.

It was that girl again, but he was with her. He could tell that it must have been back in his early middle school years, but he couldn't remember ever having taken this picture with her. But by the way he was smiling with her beneath one of the cherry blossom trees he knew he must have been very close to her.

"Nishikiori, how…" He couldn't seem to be able to put anything that was going through his mind into words and Micchi continued to smile.

"What is her name?" With that said he didn't know how to explain what happened next.

It was like another life was being shown to him. All the memories he didn't know he had were revealing themselves to him in rapid sequence that he found he could follow easily. She was there in everyone of them and each time she appeared his heart surged with feelings he didn't recognize, but that made sense to him somehow.

Even the few memories his father left him with began to flood into his mind and he could somewhat remember the life he had in their past life. It amazed him that in the time he had forgotten all of this he never questioned the existence of Himeka's mother. It just never seemed to come up to him, but he knew whoever did this to him must have made it that way.

He froze as the last of the memories began to take place and with it all the pain and sadness that came from them. It was like he was reliving it all over again and it made it hurt more since he knew that all of this had happened and he couldn't do anything about it. When it all ended he fell to his knees and stared absently at the picture on his lap.

Her name…

"Karin… her name is Karin." It was at that moment when he said her name that her hand began to move and her eyes opened half-way. Micchi smiled and told Kazune-kun to look at her and when he did he felt his throat constrict as relief and shock washed over him. Micchi was the first to speak:

"Good morning love. You can't imagine how much I have waited for you to come back." Kazune-kun wanted to ask him what he meant, but he was to fixated with her face to ask. Karin turned her face lazily to Micchi and the corners of her lips tuned up with a bit of effort. She opened her mouth to speak, but she resisted the urge to say anything since at the moment she was completely bewildered as to what was happening.

"Look who's here to see you Hanozono-san." He motioned to Kazune-kun with his chin and Kazune-kun stiffened as she began to turn to him. He stared at him intently and tilted her head before she turned back to Micchi.

"Micchi, who is that?" Micchi's eyes turned to Kazune-kun who felt as if he had been kicked in the gut. Micchi didn't answer Karin's question, but spoke to Kazune-kun.

"Don't worry about it old chap. I will explain it all in due time, but for know let's focus on making sure Hanozono-san is alright." Kazune-kun regained his composure and without a word stood up beside the bed.

"Are you feeling alright Hanozono-san?" Karin moved her hand over her stomach and looked embarrassed.

"I'm starving. Can I have some eel bread?" Micchi barked a laugh and patted her other hand.

"Sure thing Hanozono-san. Do you have any here Kazune-kun?" Kazune-kun turned to him and shook his head before responding.

"No, but I could run to the store to get some." He headed toward the door before Micchi could agree, but he stopped when he heard Karin spoke.

"Thanks…um Micchi's friend." Kazune-kun smiled sadly and left without saying anything. He exited the house without speaking and while he walked to the store he decided to pick up the things he had left behind when he discovered Karin. When he reached the tree he hid his things behind he retrieved them quickly and walked until he found the closest convenience store. There he got Karin's eel bread and her favorite drink, rose tea. After paying and thanking the cashier he made his way home in slow strides.

Thousands of questions were rolling through his head. How had done this to them? How was Karin still alive? Why was all this happening after all this time had passed? But most importantly why was it now Karin who didn't remember him? Yet, as all these questions plagued his mind he still smiled. She was back and that was all that mattered now. All the events that lead to their reunion felt surreal to him, but he was glad it all happened even if they had been apart for two years. He knew there had to be a good reason for that was happening and all the questions would soon be answered.

Yet, he still couldn't help being quite annoyed by it all.

When he arrived to the front of his door it suddenly opened and Himeka greeted him with a hug.

"Oh, Kazune-chan! Can you believe it, Karin-chan is back. I'm so glad." Kazune-kun pushed her back with little force.

"You remember too Himeka?" Himeka nodded excitedly and led Kazune-kun inside.

"I don't know ho to explain it, but one minute I'm drinking tea with Kazusa-chan and the next all my memories of Karin-chan come back. Even Kazusa-chan remembers too." Himeka smiles and takes his things with the exception of the convenience store bag and nudges him toward the stairs. "I don't know how this had all happened Kazune-chan, but for now go and check how Karin-chan is doing. I will come as soon as I place your bags in your room."

"Thanks Himeka." They both walk up the stairs and part ways as she goes to his room and he goes into Karin's.

"Welcome back Kazune-kun. Did you get Hanozono-san's eel bread?" Kazune-kun approaches him and passes him the back while meeting Karin's curious gaze. She was sitting up now and fidgeting with her sheets while Kazune-kun takes a seat beside Micchi with a chair he got from the chair.

"How is she doing Nishikiori?" Micchi passes Karin the bread and tea while smiling cheerfully at her.

"She is healthy, but as expected she is confused and tired. Can't blame her though, she has been through quite a lot." Karin opens the bag and begins to take small bites of her bread.

"How is it that you know all this Nishikiori?" He smirks again and leans back on his chair.

"Well, chap. I had just found out on my trip to England. And let me say it was quite hard keeping all this from you, but I promised not to tell until the right time came."

"Who did you promise?" It was Karin who spoke this time:

"Hera-chan. She told Micchi to keep it a secret till I woke up." She continued to eat, but when she noticed what her drink was her eyes lit up, "My favorite! How did you know?"

"Don't worry about that and keep eating." Kazune-kun turns to Micchi, "Who is Hera?" Micchi looks up at the ceiling and smiles again.

"Well, she is the one who was looking after Hanozono-san all this time. If it wasn't for her Hanozono-san wouldn't be here with us right now."

"How is that even possible? Karin is suppose to have…" He didn't want to say anything more since Karin was in the room and he didn't want to alarm her, but he surprised her when she spoke again.

"Dead. Yeah, well I can't quite explain it. Hera just said she did it cause she owed me or something."

"How is that possible Nishikiori we saw when Karasuma killed her. There is no way that woman she was with could bring her to life." Karin looked at Micchi and nodded.

"Hera isn't any woman. She is a God or better yet the Queen of Gods." Karin looked to see Kazune-kun's reaction and was surprised to see how calm he was. Mostly because he was remembering all his studies on Gods when he was still able to transform into one.

"That would explain how she is still alive, but why would she help Karin?" Micchi shrugged and looked at Karin.

"I don't know that chap, but maybe Hanozono-san does." Karin takes the last bite of her bread and smiles in satisfaction.

"Well, I don't know too much about that either. I only got to meet Hera-chan a few times and she didn't say anything about that." Karin met Kazune-kun's gaze again and looked away shyly.

"What do you mean by meet her?" Kazune-kun question brought her gaze back to his and she fidgeted nervously with the sheets again.

"I'm not sure how to explain it. I remember begin somewhere really dark and being able to hear Hera-chan talk to me. She told me why I was here and how someday I was suppose to meet people who were special to me. So I just waited and Hera-chan would sometimes keep me company." Kazune-kun looked to Micchi.

"Well, from what I know Hanozono-san was asleep during the time she was away. Hera must have been able to talk to her through some sort of telepathy. Doesn't surprise me though."

"Then tell me about her memories. Why can't she only remember you, but not me." He finally asked the question he was dying to know and was relieved he had said it.

"That's a hard one to explain chap. See even I am short on details, when I was in England Hera herself went to me and explained what had happened. She restored my memories and gave me the necklace in exchange for my silence. At least until the right time." Karin was finishing the last of her drink and then she spoke:

"I know why, Hera explained it to me…wait, I don't remember." Kazune-kun couldn't help, but scoff at her.

"Geez, even after all this time your still an idiot. Memories or not." A instinct struck Karin and she raised her fist toward Kazune-kun, but before she could connect with his face she froze. Her vision became blurred and she tilted from side to side. Kazune-kun rushed to her side and caught her before she fell off the bed.

"Karin! Hey what wrong?!" Micchi placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him from shaking her.

"Don't make such a fuss chap. She's just tired, we should let her rest." Kazune-kun placed Karin down and placed the covers over her.

"Yeah, I guess." Kazune-kun kneeled beside her bed and stared at her peaceful expression.

"Since its late, I'll be taking a snooze here. Is that alright with you?" Kazune-kun nodded and Micchi left without a word while a smile was playing on his face. When he closed the door behind him Kazune-kun took Karin's hand in his.

"Thanks for coming back, Karin." He laid his face on the bed and there he stayed all night, guarding the person he cherished most.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Wow, this took forever, but I am happy that I finished though. I have decided to keep the name for this story, but my new twilight fanfic is still to be decided. I guess I'll go with what I got. Please write comments on this chapter, because I am dying to know what my readers think of it. Oh! While I have been offline I have been watching a lot of anime and so far I got, My-Hime, Hidden Mist Shrine(not too sure on the name), Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, xxx holic, Suzuka, ( the best so far) Black Cat, Full Metal Panic!, Wedding Peach, and UFO Valkyrie. I am having a great Junior Year, but it sure has been busy and writing isn't such a luxury anymore. So I apologize if I take too long.

Many Thanks,

Misha-San