Chapter 2: Do I know you?

The next day everyone seemed to have slept in, except for Tammy. She woke up early to check on the girl we brought home last night. Trey, Ryu and I were still fast asleep in the dining room, while Yoh, Anna and that mysterious girl slept in different rooms upstairs. As Tammy was checking up on her… She wasn't expecting her to wake up 'til later and as she moved the girls arm to look at her wounds her eyes shot open, and when she saw Tammy sitting beside her, she pushed her and jumped out of bed taking a defensive stance.

"Eek!" Tammy tumbled and fell on her back

The loud thud was enough to wake the three of us… Make that the five of us up. "What was that?" Trey sat up in alert "It seems to be coming from the second floor." Ryu pointed out and immediately dashed upstairs. Trey and I exchanged glances before following him. When we reached the room, Yoh and Anna were already inside and Ryu was standing near the door.

"Take it easy… We're not your enemies." Yoh tried to calm her down, but she was stubborn and wouldn't listen.

"Who are you!? And where am I!?" she growled.

"You're intruding in my house." Anna glared at her with her arms crossed and Tammy was hiding behind her.

"A-anna… I don't think that's going to help." Yoh scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.

"Tch…" the girl scoffed.

When she was about to say something, her guardian ghost ran into the room and jumped on her. Her eyes widened in surprise but the softened as she wrapped her arms around the cub.

"Fenris…!" She cuddled it and in return it licked her cheek "I'm glad you're okay…"

Just as when I thought what I saw was cute, she glared at all of us again. But before she could do anything rash, her guardian wolf… Fenris? If I heard correctly, whined. It was as if it was talking to her and she understood every word it said.

"Really…?" the girl blinked "You mean to tell me that these people saved me?" Fenris nodded in response.

"See?" Yoh grinned "Now, come on. Take it easy." Yoh sat on the floor and gently patted the futon. "You need to get as much rest as you can."

"Yeah, dude." Trey walked into the room and stood a few steps away from Yoh "You got really beaten up back there."

She still wasn't convinced and her brows were still furrowed. Fenris whined in her arms and if I wasn't mistaken, it was telling her to give us a chance.

"You know…" I walked towards her and extended my hand "If we were your enemies, we would have killed you by now and not take care of you." I smiled at her hoping that it was enough to convince her.

"Morty is right." Ryu walked a little closer and was now standing beside Anna and Tammy "We would have destroyed you in your sleep if we were your enemies which we are not."

Her brows slanted a bit as she looked at each and every one of us and with a big sigh… She relaxed and sat on the floor with Fenris still in her arms; we all sighed in relief.

"My name's Yoh." Yoh grinned and pointed at himself with his thumb. He then turned his head to look at Trey "That blue haired guy's Trey… That's Ryu… That's Tammy hiding behind Anna and that little guy over there is Morty." He then stood up and as he walked towards me he continued to introduce everyone else. "That's Tokageroh Ryu's Guardian Ghost… That's Corry, Treys Guardian Ghost… That's Ponchi and Conchi…" And when Yoh was finally standing beside me he finished off the introduction with his guardian ghost. "And this is Amidamaru, my partner." He then gave a chuckle.

"…" She didn't say a word as she continued to just stare at Yoh—cautiously.

Ryu then suddenly pushed both Yoh and I aside and knelt in front of her, she jerked back a little and her face was filled with disgust.

"It's a pleasure to meet you-…" Before Ryu could even finish his 'introduction' she immediately responded with…

"Get away from me." She glared at Ryu which sent him crying into a corner.

We all laughed awkwardly, 'cept for Anna who didn't look pleased and Tammy who looked worried.

"So… Are you going to tell us your name, or are you going to make us guess?" Yoh asked with a smile on his face.

She was hesitant at first but she finally came to…

"… Aya." She brought Fenris closer to her chest "My name's Aya."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Aya!" Yoh beamed

"Well that's settles it." Anna suddenly interrupted and started to walk out of the room "It's almost lunch time. Morty, Ryu, cook some lunch." She ordered with no hesitation.

"Yes, Anna…" I sighed and shortly after gave a nervous chuckle "Well, I'll see you guys in a bit." I waved at them and walked over to Ryu's side tugging on his sleeve "Come on, Ryu…" I urged. He obediently followed as he continued to sulk and Trey, Yoh and Tammy were left in the room with Aya.

Aya was about to stand up when she staggered and almost fell to the floor. Fortunately, her back was able to lean on the wooden wall as she stood up with her knees bent. Tammy rushed too her side and offered to help her.

"… Hey…" Aya spoke as Tammy helped her walk towards the futon. Tammy tilted her head without saying a word and as soon as Aya sat on the futon, her softened eyes look up at Tammy. "I'm… Sorry…" she then averted her gaze and looked down on the floor. Tammy was confused at first but the she understood why she apologized.

"I-it's okay…" Tammy smiled at her and sat beside her "I would panic too if I saw a stranger sitting beside me when I wake up…"

Aya didn't say anything but you could tell from the look on her face that she was feeling guilty. She sat there quietly letting Tammy treat her wounds. She would occasionally wince when Tammy would apply medicine.

"So uh…" Trey scratched his head as he spoke "Why were those Zombie dolls after you?"

Aya flinched a bit, but it wasn't from the medicine… Her black hair covered her eyes and she kept quiet. Tammy continued to apply medicine on her wounds but would take a glance every now and then at her face with eyes filled with worry. Trey waited for a response and after realizing that he wasn't going to get any he sighed in defeat.

"I'm going to see what's for lunch." Trey placed both of his hands behind his head as he walked out of the room, but before he was completely out of sight, he turned his head slightly to look at Yoh "You coming, Yoh?"

Yoh was standing a few steps away from the girls. His brows slanted a bit as he looked at Aya one last time before walking out of the room. In silence, Tammy continued to treat Aya and Fenris watched the both of them carefully.

A few hours have passed and it was finally lunch time. Aya didn't come down and if my hunch was correct, I guess she wanted to be alone for the time being. The six of us ate our lunch and the table was quiet… From the looks on everyone's faces I could figure out what they were thinking. Yoh and Trey were somehow worried about Aya but… They were more curious as to why the Tao's puppets were after her. Anna, was… unusually calm while Tammy looked worried. She would occasionally look up at the ceiling as if attempting to check on Aya. Ryu on the other hand was still sulking as he ate his lunch…

"Poor Guy…" I chuckled to myself.

Just then, Amidamaru appeared beside Yoh telling us that Len had just arrived.

"They're waiting outside." Amidamaru continued.

"Ah, thanks Amidamaru." Yoh gulped one last spoon of his food before standing up "I'll invite them in."

He then walked out of the dining room and out to the gate.

"Hehey, Len! Good to see you, buddy!" Yoh raised his hand as a greeting.

"This better be good, Yoh." Len responded, somehow a bit annoyed "What's so important that you just had to call me here?"

"We uh… Might have found someone who might be related to you in someway." Yoh explained.

"Related?" Len cocked his brow in curiosity.

"You'll see for yourself once we get inside." Yoh promised with a smile.

Both Len and Yoh walked to the dining room and greeted all of us before going upstairs. This time, the room to Aya's door was closed and now both Len and Yoh were standing outside.

"She's in here." Yoh placed his palm on the door without opening it.

"She?" Len looked at Yoh with a confused and frustrated expression on his face.

"The other night, we found her fighting of some of your family's dolls in the park and for some reason… They wanted to destroy her." Yoh's expression became serious for a brief moment before it turned into worry "Trey asked her a question a while ago… But she kinda… refused to give us an answer."

Len continued to listen.

"This morning while Tammy was treating her wounds… We found a mark on her arm. And it was the same Mark that was placed on your back, Len."

Len's eyes widened a bit in surprise but then shortly after narrowed "And what do you expect me to do?"

Yoh laughed and held on to the door "Well, we figured that if she was related to you… She might be more… Cooperative." He then slid the door open and found Aya sitting by the window looking out into the distance and Fenris was lying down near her feet. As soon as the door opened, Fenris looked up at Yoh and her tail wagged. She then trotted towards him and placed both paws on his leg, greeting him.

"Hey little guy…" Yoh bent down and gently patted Fenris on the head "This Is her guardian ghost, Fenris. She may be cute, but once she gets angry… She's a beast." He laughed and Fenris smiled in response as it continued to wag its tail.

"So you're telling me…" Len looked at Yoh before looking at the Black haired girl who seemed to not care that she was being watched "…To talk to her?"

"Well… Yeah." Yoh bluntly responded. He then ruffled Fenris' fur before walking away and leaving Len. "Well, I'll leave it to you then, Len! Tell us all about it when you're done!"

"Ah! Wait a second!" Len tried to stop Yoh, but it was too late. Len sighed in annoyance and before walking into the room, eyed the girl carefull.

"Hm… She seems… Harmless…" Len thought to himself as he cautiously walked into the room carefully observing her.

"Master Len…" Bason appeared as a red floating spirit ball beside him "…She somehow feels familiar."

"Familiar…?" Len looked at Bason without moving his head; he then closed the door behind them "What do you mean by… Familiar…?"

"I'm not quite sure, Master Len…" Bason shook his head "But if you talk to her, we might find some answers… That is if she is willing to give it to us."

"Hmm.. Quite." Len agreed.

Len continued to walk towards her and stopped a few steps away. Fenris was now beside Aya's feet and looked at Len cautiously.

The room was silent and as of the moment, no one was talking. Aya seemed to be lost in her own thoughts while Len was still looking at her with great care. The silence was then broken when Len finally decided to speak up.

"Yoh told me that you were fighting off my family's puppets last night…" he noticed the girl turned her head a bit as if she was going to look at him, he then kept his guard up "He told me that there was something peculiar about you…" he paused "…That there was a mark somewhere on your body that gave them the impression that we were related."

She still didn't respond. Len was starting to get impatient, his brows furrowed and his hands formed into fists. "Who are you, anyway?"

The girl turned her head to look at him and the strands of her hair which covered her arm fell down and revealed the mark. Len's eyes widened as he witnessed the familiar symbol on the girls arm.

"Master Len… Isn't that…?" Bason commented.

"Yes, Bason… It is." As Len took a closer look at the girls face, he then felt this strange familiarity with the girl.

"…?" The girl looked at him with nonchalant eyes as he spoke…

"Do I know… You?"