A/N: So I'm in trouble. I've been trying to write this chapter for MONTHS I'm so sorry it took so long! Thank you all those who posted lovely reviews you're really who keep me motivated to write! The next update should be much sooner now that I've got my inspiration back!

Lying on her bed, Kat gazed at her ceiling idly. Thoughts from the previous evening were still swimming about her mind. That morning she had found a calendar with all her work and university dates on it. She was free today but had no idea what to do. Having read over her notes on memories several times she found her mind inevitably drifting back to Malachi.

"Ah, young love~" Laxes smirked as she floated mischievously above her.

"Stop looking in there!" Kat put her hands over her head with a light blush. "Technically I only met him yesterday… Unless I'm reacting to some blocked experience or something…"

"So you haven't remembered anything yet?" Laxes looked a little disappointed. "You were around that lot for ages yesterday."

"No…" Kat sighed and sat up. "Well anyway, I should probably do something, this isn't helping anything."

She gazed down at the pile of books she had brought home from the shop yesterday. Picking the top one up slowly, she leaned back against her wall and opened it. Might as well get a start on these. She had picked up the romance novel. As she concentrated on the story the words began to blur and weave each other into a vivid picture in her imagination. The girl and her troubles, in the very city Kat lived in, in an apartment block perhaps not so far from her own. And the boy, a newcomer, mysterious and with one unknown purpose, as of yet… Oh no, she was stuck in an alleyway, those thugs who had been following her had trapped her there. They were going to hurt her, one reached and grabbed her arm roughly and Kat could feel his grip as if it was happening to her herself. And then, suddenly it was.

She was in a backstreet, the noise and bustle of the city left far behind her. Even if there was a small whisper of it floating on the wind she doubted she would be able to hear it over the scene unfolding in front of her. Someone was standing in front of her, blocking her view of the situation but she could just see the glares of a group of roughnecks over their shoulder. They were yelling and snarling abuse at each other, fists clenched or reaching to various places she assumed for weapons. Kat wanted to run and get away from the imminent danger but she was frozen to the spot. A spot of light reflected in her eye told her that at least one knife had been drawn. The stranger was very tall with long hair that she could not quite make out the colour of because of the sun shining directly in front of him. Before she could register what was happening he was no longer in front of her. Instead there was the scuffle of bodies shoved into each other, grunts and roars and groans of pain. To her horror they had begun to brawl.

"No! Stop!" She called out, but they did not seem to hear her, just as she could not quite make out their words.

The fight did not last long, only a few minutes but by the time it was over all four of the brutes was slumped on the floor, bruised and bloodied. The boy who had blocked her view lay on his back panting, the knife he had taken lay in his open palm. Curious and a little worried, Kat walked over to investigate. Now that she could see him more clearly the colour of his hair seemed familiar and his build, as well as the tone of his tone. Hearing her approach, he turned his head to face her and her heart stopped.

"Kat… Were you there the whole time?" Malachi asked roughly. "It's dangerous to hang around here."

Kat was frozen again. He had beaten those boys up, with their own knife. She swallowed in terror. He could have just intimidated them or warned them off but no. She glanced around at the other boys. They were not moving, unconscious or too much in pain to do anything but lay on the ground. He had saved her from them it was true but in this state she could not help but feel sorry for them. Malachi himself had a few cuts on his bare arms and face but other than that he was unharmed. His cool blue eyes watched her reaction with a tired resignation. He truly did not care what she thought any more, this was the real him, an animal unleashed. Scared, confused and at a loss for words Kat finally gained the courage to look away and woke up in her room.

The book had fallen onto her chest, face down on the page she had been at. Laxes was up in her face again, staring curiously like she had been when they had first met yesterday. She was breathing heavily as if she had just woken up from a bad dream but it did not feel like she had been gone for long.

"I… think I just remembered something…" She finally managed to croak out.

"Are you alright?" Laxes asked with a frown. "You went pale suddenly and dropped the book."

"I don't know…" Kat sighed, hugging her knees.

"What did you remember?" Laxes asked, hovering cross-legged in front of her.

"It was about Malachi… I was in an alley and he was fighting this gang of guys…" She hunched. "He took it too far, those guys were out cold, some of them had head injuries and none of them could even move to get away. He didn't even spot me until the end, it was like he did it all the time or something."

Laxes floated about thoughtfully, taking in all that her human had said. Kat walked her flip in slow motion and felt a little better. There was nothing like a whimsical little sprite to make you smile when you felt down.

"Sounds like he might have some violence problems. Didn't he say he got into a lot of fights yesterday?" Laxes remarked. "And that argument with Jaden got pretty heated… Maybe you should keep your distance."

"But he was so nice to me…" Kat mumbled. "I'll be careful from now on."

She lay back and yawned. Despite the fact she had not done very much today at all, that flashback had made her rather tired. As she stared at her white ceiling she could feel her eyelids beginning to droop… A high-pitched ring jolted her back to alertness again. Her phone was buzzing and ringing from her bedside table again. Sitting up blearily, she picked it up, Laxes cowering behind her. Apparently she was still afraid of the loud noise the little electric device made.

"Hello..?" She asked lethargically.

"Oh dear, you do sound ill, was this a bad time to call?" A soft, impeccably clipped voice replied.

"No, no.. it's fine…" She mumbled without thinking, and then it struck her. "Who is this..?"

"Heh, apparently I've been away for far too long." The voice chuckled silkily. "It's Ienzo, your supervisor, upperclassman and designs tutor. Remember me? I've been away on a couple of trips and I know the others are mad at me for skipping work yesterday so I decided to call the person least likely to bite my head off…"

"Oh… yeah, sorry. It's been a while." She smiled despite herself, this person sounded more scatter-brained than she was at the moment.

"Malachi texted me saying that you might be ill a couple of days ago and it certainly sounds like it. Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Oh no, it's fine, I'm not ill. Just a little tired, I'm trying to get through all those books we were supposed to read for work." Kat explained.

"Not done your homework again." Ienzo tutted. "You're going to have to catch up quickly, I want to pick up on the quality of our reviews and recommendations for Ark. If you're free why don't you come over to mine and I'll give you the low down."

"Uh… yeah. I'll do that, are you busy at the moment?" She bit her lip.

"No I'm idling at the moment."

"…Do you still live in the same place…?" She asked weakly, hoping that no questions would be raised.

"Oh! How forgetful of me, no. I've upgraded to an apartment uptown, I'll text you some directions."

She breathed out in relief.

"Thanks Ienzo. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"See you soon then." He hung up.

"Apparently they're my tutor. But they sound pretty unorganised to me." Kat shrugged, pulling her boots on. "Now what did I forget yesterday?"

She thought for a moment. She had found a big bag to put all the books in and brought a pad since it sounded like Ienzo wanted to teach her something… Oh yes! Hat, Malachi had mentioned it yesterday. That morning she had rummaged around and found a top hat to the same style as her outfit, not only that but it had a nice warm lining that would keep her from getting cold in this weather. Donning it she strode out happily. Kat felt a bit happier now that she had something to do. She was still a little disorientated by her memory loss but she had found that if she preoccupied herself she felt more at ease.

As she left her own building a text bleeped on her phone and she opened it to find directions to Ienzo's new place. It was a chilly day and a thick layer of mist had covered the city. People hunched in their coats and scarves, walking with their heads down despite the fact it was already hard to see. Shivering, Kat pulled her hat down over her ears and read the directions thoroughly. It was quite a way up town from her own apartment, she had to walk almost all the way up the high street before turning into a rather modern looking residential area. The towering black skyscrapers did not make any improvement on the mist, only further disorientating her with their colourful lights that glowed through the fog from windows. She was beginning to get frustrated as she walked past yet another identical building when a hand reached out to grab her shoulder. Remembering her flash back Kat jumped and spun around sharply.

"Relax, it's just me." A familiar soft voice chuckled. "You're jumpy today."

The boy who had spoken was very short, barely a couple of inches taller than herself. His jet black hair had been bleached and dyed a bright electric purple at the front. He had an asymmetrical cut that meant a long fringe fell over the right side of his face while the left side was short around his ears. His skin was pale and sun starved, highlighting piercingly bright blue eyes that could almost be described as neon. A pair of square-lensed glasses sat jauntily on his nose. Due to his height and stature there was no way he looked any older than her, let alone her age.

"I-Ienzo?" She stammered quickly as Laxes circled him critically. "You've… changed?"

Yet another weak excuse that she did not expect to pass by.

"I've let my hair, after paying for this place I didn't really have the money to go and get it cut." He smiled. "Come on, I'll show you up to my place."