"Oh! Akiza, darling. Come in! Come in!" Martha greeted happily, and the magenta haired woman walked into the orphanage, which had recently acquired some older residents. She smiled, and turned to the woman with kind eyes.

"Hello, Martha. The boys are doin good, if you wanted to know. Yusei's probably gonna swing by later this evening with Crow. Jack is... Well... I don't know. Him and I had a dispute this morning." Akiza said with a sad glance, walking down the maze of halls that led to the dining room. The woman gently sat down in the old chair, and looked to the older woman, who had a kind smile on her lips.

"Oh, that Jackie Boy. He used to get in fights with Crow all the time when they were younger. And it seems now that it had never gotten better! Oh, if I counted how many plates they had smashed in some of their fights..." she happily glanced off into the middle distance, and then realized that Yusei's 'friend' (She could tell in his eyes everytime he talked about her that he thought of her more than just a 'friend') was watching her.

"I know you didn't come here to see a old woman ramble. What do you need, dear?" she asked, and Akiza glanced down. She knew that Martha probably didn't know the answers, but she had to try.

"Well... That was kinda the issue I had with Jack this morning. You see, I... I asked him if he had any blood family left. I expected them all to say no, because they all probably died in Zero Reverse. But Jack and the guys acted strangely, and Jack didn't reply. I asked Jack directly, and, well... I made him mad. I know you probably don't know, but I had to try." Akiza sighed. "Do you know if Jack has any family still alive?"

Akiza expected the, 'No. Sorry dear, I don't.', but she didn't get it. Martha looked sadly to Akiza, the smile no longer on her worn face. Only sadness.

"Jack probably doesn't want you knowing this, but I can see it on your face that you want answers." Martha said, briskly walking into another room, and walking back with a black box. The box was old, but on the top, the cursive letters plated in silver still looked new. '~Always~' was what the silver writing said, and Aki looked confused at the older woman.

"Martha, what is this?" she asked the woman as she opened the box. Inside was covered in red velvet, and the song 'I left my heart in San Fransisco' played softly. Inside lay two silver rings on a silver chain, and beside it, a picture. Martha placed the open box infront of Akiza on the table. Aki looked from Martha to the box, and examined the contents.

She lifted the silver chain, and the two rings softly clinked as it met at the end with the other. Somehow, the sound didn't sound like plain rings clanking. It reminded her of chimes you would hear at a church. Engraved on one of the rings said 'Michael'. The other 'Alice'. She placed the rings back down, and glanced at the picture. There was a boy and a girl, about fifteen, looking into the lens and smiling at the bottom of the photo, sitting. The boy kind of looked like Jack, all except for the hair, cropped short, age, and hazel eyes. She went further up the picture, and saw a baby in each of the parents arms. Neither of the babies had smiles on their faces (In fact, one of them were sleeping).

Then Akiza ventured to the top of the portrait, and gasped. The mother was beautiful, her violet eyes peering through the picture like they were alive, the perfect smile on her face. Her blond hair cascaded down her shoulders, and stopped in curls near the middle of her back. Her slender figure was what any super model would die for, and she suddenly became envious of her beauty.

She unpried her eyes from the woman, blushing in how she reacted, and took her attention to her husband. His hazel eyes peered to the woman in such a loving matter it made Aki's heart hurt. He cradled the child in his left arm gently, and his right arm firmly planted around the womans waist. His chisled features reminded her of Jack, again, too. Something within Akiza felt that his blond hair was dyed, and actually black. She also felt as though she had met this man before, but quickly shook it off.

"Wow..." Akiza murmured, unaware that Martha was still there.

"Such a beautiful family. And they all wear the silver rings." Martha said, sighing. Akiza didn't notice the rings, but when she looked back, it was true. The parents had theirs on the hands they held their babies with. The teens had it on the hands they were making bunny ears behind the others head with.

"Kinda odd that they get both pairs of faternal twins." Akiza observed, realizing that the sleeping baby was a girl and the other a boy.

"Yes." Martha replied.

Akiza got so caught up in the moment, that she nearly forgot to get her question answered.

"So... Are any of them still living?" Akiza asked quietly, the question gnawing at the back of her mind.

"I'm not sure about the others, but Jack had a 'twin' sister. Had one until they were twelve..." Martha said, closing the box and taking it from the table. She started walking toward the other room, until Akiza asked the final question.

"Until?"

Martha sighed. "Until one day the two were jumped playing in the back yard. Yusei, Crow, Kalin, Jack, and Alice were playing ghosts in the graveyard on a foggy night. They didn't even see them coming. Jack was the seeker, and had gotten everyone out except his sister. The ones out had to go sit by the tree, and Jack went into the forest to look for his sister. By the time he got to her, she was knocked out. He tried to stop them, but a gang of twenty three year olds against a kid? What chance did he have? By the time the others realized something was wrong, and came running, they already took her. Jack was on the ground, poor thing... Past banged up and bruised. They brought him back, and he told me the whole thing. When he had tried to get her, he ripped off the silver necklace and chain that layed around her neck, and the thugs kicked him. in his little fist was the ring and chain. After that, he was different. Distant, cold towards outsiders, overly self-dependent, stubborn. It loosened over years, but he seemed to harden again when the Enforcers broke. But I'm glad to see he's better now though. All of these kids had had such rough lives..." Martha said, her voice caught several times through her dismal story. Though not facing her, Akiza could tell she was crying.

"As for her being alive, I don't know. I have always hoped... But everyday I keep loosing a little bit more." Martha said, and walked from the room, leaving Aki alone with her thoughts.

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~ILJA~