Tashiro raised his beloved daughter Maylea as best as he could without Maiko. She was already six years old and she would still not smile. No matter what Tashiro did, she would not smile. It was as though her heart was gone. No emotions were across her face except that blank look. She was there but her expressions disappeared. Many times, Tashiro wished Maiko was here and that maybe she knew how to make their little girl smile somehow. Her beauty was already showing. People complimented his daughter on how beautiful she was. She would not play with the others very much. She would just keep to herself. Only one girl made an attempt to be her friend. Her name was Haru. She had light blue eyes and short blonde hair. She always had smile on her face and enjoyed being around others. She always took the time to tlk with Maylea. No matter how much Maylea complained, she didn't care because she would drag Maylea to play with others. Eventually Maylea joined in on her own but only if Haru was with them. She still had no smile on her face but it did look like she was enjoying herself. Tashiro was always grateful to Haru. They would always play together and he even let them sleep together. Haru was the person Maylea believe would always be there for her. They spent weeks together no matter what. At school, Maylea would always find Haru in a small crowd. People were always drawn to her. It was like she had a certain radiance that made everyone want to be around her. Maylea learned how to smile a little more each day. Maylea went to school one morning and didn't see Haru.

Maylea~ "Uhh...Hey. Do you know where Haru is today?" She walked up to one of the boys in a small group. He was a little chubby, brown eyes and dark brown hair. His name was Zack.

Zack~ "Haru. I heard from my parents that she was in the hospital. I think she might have a bad flu. My mom said that kids that had bad flu's were ending up in the hospital...and some never came back out." He looked at the other two boys as they nodded in agreement.

Maylea~ "Bad flu? What happened to them? Do you know?" She almost looked as worried as she felt. For a six year old that is.

Zack~ "I heard they are so bad that they cant ever come out and play again."

Boy1~ "I hear that they experiment on them and when they turn 20, they let them go to blend in with us."

Boy2~ "I heard that if you have the bad flu, they turn into zombies and that's why they keep them in hiding"

The boys were thinking of odd ways to explain why she was there. Maylea didn't believe any of it. She scoffed at them and walked off mad. She knew they didn't know anything because boys were stupid. She giggled slightly at the thought. As she played by herself on the swing set. Three girls came up to her. It was Samantha, Miku and Cherry. Samantha had beautiful wavy blonde hair that was longer than Haru's. Her eyes were a darker blue. She sneered at Maylea. Miku who was next to her on her right side had green eyes and dirty blonde hair. Cherry had unusual pink eyes and light red hair that looked like a cherry. They stood in front of Maylea sneering at her.

Maylea~ "What is it Samantha?" she looked down at her feet not bothering to look at her.

Samantha~ "All alone i see. seems Haru is in the hospital and you have no protector." She scoffed and laughed

Miku~ "I hear she has an illness so bad that it may ruin her pretty skin forever. That's any girls worst nightmare." She sneered evilly and covered her mouth as though she was just whispering.

Cherry~ "Will she ever want to come out of her house again?" She spoke sarcastically hoping it would annoy Maylea.

Samantha~ "Of course not. She'll be so jealous of us pretty girls that she'll never be able to face us. Maylea, how are you ever going to get by without your precious Haru?" She laughed and flipped her hair.

Maylea~ "Why try to make fun. Your skin will eventually have wrinkles and you'll never be pretty again." She stood up and grabbed Samantha's chin forcing her to look into her silver eyes. "You know, This pretty face of yours will only last for so long, and this hair will eventually fall out. Those eyes you so dearly love will dull and you may never know beauty is again. Your little jealousy rage that you have going only shows that once your all grown up, you'll never have people who love you because you'll bloom like a pretty flower early then wither away just as quickly." She let go of Samantha's chin who was terrified and walked off.

Maylea waited near the gate for her father. she was leaning against the wall when water was poured onto her head. Then she heard Samantha laughing as she walked past Maylea holding her mother hand. She glanced at Maylea and sneered at her and laughed happily hand in hand with her mother. There was almost a tug in Maylea's heart. Her father told her what happened to her mother. She died. He never explained what was the cause of her death. all he told her was that after she was born, she eventually died. Maylea sighed as she could see her father running down the sidewalk knowing he was a little late.

Tashiro~ "Maylea...sorry I'm late..." He smiled down at her trying to catch his breath.

Maylea~ "It's ok. You work hard so being late isn't bad." She sneezed and wiped her nose.

Tashiro~ "Maylea...your soaked? What happened?" He kneeled down covering her with his jacket and picking her up on his back.

Maylea~ "I just fell and tipped over a bucket with water. Im ok." She laid her head on her fathers shoulder. She love her father because he was always funny. he made so much effort in to raising her. She feel asleep on his back on their way home.

Tashiro smiled at his daughter as he put her to bed, bathed and clothes changed. She looked so much like Maiko. Tashiro missed Maiko dearly. His heart yearned for her once again. Tashiro had only seen his daughter smile once, and it reminded him of how Maiko smiled. He hoped that Maylea will always smile and prayed she would. Tashiro tucked her into bed and shut the door. He laid down in his own bed looking up at the ceiling. He dozed off imagining his beloved next to him.

Tashiro woke up in a panic. He could smell smoke. He shot up out of bed as he heard his daughter screaming. He went to open the door, when he touched the handle, it was hot. His panic was even more severe. A blazing fire separated him from his daughter down the hall who was in her room. He went into his bathroom watering down two wash clothes and putting a blanket over him. He opened the door with the wash cloth and followed the door against the wall. The fire rushed into the room wanting to consume everything. He held the washcloth over his mouth and ran into the fire. He rushed into his daughter's room and yelled out her name. She called out to him from the closet. He rushed over there as tears were in her eyes and her face showed how terrified she was. Maylea jumped into her fathers arms coughing and held onto him tightly. He turned to go out the door but the blazing fire had collasped the hallway. He then went to the window and opened it. They lived in an appartment building on the second floor. He didn't care whats happened now. all he cared about was getting his daughter to saftey. He climbed onto the window ceil with Maylea tightly holding onto him. as the celing begin to colaspe, he was nearly pushed to jump out the window. He fell and rolled protecting his beloved daughter. He dropped the blanket that was now on fire. They were in the alleyway as they ran to get away from the building. The ambulance and firefighters had just arrived and most of the tennants made it out. Some were still coming out from the first floor. Maylea kept coughing since she had inhaled a lot of smoke. He took her to one of the paramedics as he gave her a mask to breath in oxygen. He sighed in relief as he knew his daughter was safe. He stayed by her side even when they got to the hospital to make sure she was alright. He had some burns on his arms and back but they would heal. They stayed at the hospital until moring and he called in work and the school they wouldn be coming in today. They went to the shops so that they could get some new clothes. Maylea was looking around confused as she begin to see spirits. She held onto her fathers hand tighter as they shopped. They bought some more clothes for the week. and they got onto the train to go to his mothers house. Maylea leaned on her father falling asleep since she was extreamly exausted. As they arrived, Tashiro picked up Maylea, letting her sleep and headed towards his parents house. As they arrived, his mother was happy to see him and she looked at the girl who was her grandaughter. She slightly smiled knowing she was the daughter of Maiko. The woman who made Tashiro do crazy things because of her. She didn't dislike the child, she just disliked that she resembled Maiko.

Grandmother~ "Tashiro. What happened? You look worn out?" She examined him paying no mind or worry for the child.

Tashiro~ "There was fire. Our place was burned with all of our belongings in it. Would it be alright if we stay a while until i can get another place?" He held his daughter close.

Grandmother` "Oh, of course you can Tashiro. Please make yourself at home. But make sure she is not loud and rambouncious." She pointed at th sleeping child he was hoolding as they walked inside the house with some bags.

Tashiro~ "i appreciate this. Thank you mother." He smiled

They walked into the house as she showed him the two room that were next to eachother. They could sleep in. He went into one of the room and set Maylea down to sleep. He thanked his mother once again and went into the other room to get some sleep. Tashiro's mother wasnt pleased with the child. She went into the room examining her. She was a very pretty child and that made her a bit angry. She wanted to make sure she didn't end up like her son. Even if she disliked the child, She will teach Maylea right from wrong. The grandmother smiled at the thought and left the room as she made supper for them both.