Well, I'm finally updating. It's been a while but I've finally finished the chapter. I'm working on getting updates faster.

This chapter kick starts the flashbacks and the jumping around. So I just thought I would give you a forewarning. It kind of makes the story sound choppy, but that's because it's supposed to. Later chapters will hopefully connect different events in a smoother fashion.

Well, whatever the opinion, please let me know what you think. Reviews help me write and I know you guys probably read this line a lot, but reviews are great motivation. So with that being said, please read, review, and enjoy.

Chapter 2

Sakaki watched as Chiyo sifted through the papers that had poured out of the manila folder. She appeared only half interested in them as Chiyo would glance at maybe the first few lines of one page, before she moved to the next.

As Sakaki waited, she thought of the shoebox full of papers, pictures, and notebooks that she had gone through. The news article about the school fire, the memorial page for Ayumu, but what struck Sakaki most was the journal. The first entry was dated only months after the school fire. And though Sakaki couldn't put a finger on it, something about that journal seemed to call out to her; begging to be read.

A shuffle of papers pulled Sakaki out of her thoughts as Chiyo finished signing a few things and placed them all back into the folder. Handing it to Sakaki, Chiyo asked, "Could you hand this to the nurse at the front desk for me?"

Sakaki glanced at Chiyo's unsteady hand. With the wrinkling of the pale skin, and the bulging of the veins, Sakaki's eyes moved over the rest of Chiyo's body as she took the folder. She's younger than me. Yet, she looks almost ninety. When it had become apparent that Chiyo had noticed her stares, Sakaki looked away in embarrassment and quickly answered, "I'll make sure the nurse gets these."

"Thanks Sakaki." At those words, Chiyo turned to Sakaki and forced a smile, obviously attempting a show of gratitude. But the trembling lips only bothered Sakaki. Her friend hadn't worn a real smile in years.

The smile quickly faded and suddenly Chiyo had lifted the covers over most of her body. With evening settling in, Sakaki realized how tired Chiyo must be. Beginning to let herself out, she stopped when a sudden question entered her mind. Turning back, she said, "Say Chiyo, I was just wondering. When I was getting your will, I found a shoebox full of papers. Ayumu was mentioned on some and there were even some journals. What were they . . ."

But Sakaki never got a chance to finish as Chiyo slowly sat up and faced Sakaki, an intense look in her eyes. Startled, Sakaki watched as Chiyo's face slowly calmed and in a soft voice, Chiyo said, "Sorry Sakaki. But, I'd appreciate it if you got rid of those papers."

"Why? I don't understand . . ."

"Please," Chiyo begged as she briefly looked up at Sakaki, before letting her eyes fall back to the bed, "It's too painful. You wouldn't understand."

"Alright," Sakaki said, not wanting to upset Chiyo. With her answer, Chiyo seemed satisfied and slowly laid back down, her head facing the window. "Get some sleep," Sakaki gently instructed as she exited the room.

Leaving the hospital, Sakaki's head filled with questions. What was in the journals that were so painful? Why did Chiyo keep them for so long? Could the journals explain why Chiyo has been acting strange? And, do they have anything to do with Chiyo's trip to America? Though Sakaki doubted the last question, her curiosity wouldn't let go of the journals that lay back in the mansion. Maybe they could help her understand why Chiyo has been so distant. And then, she'd be able to help Chiyo with whatever it was that hurt her.

Only a moment passed in which Sakaki needed to think. She wasn't fond of invading her best friend's privacy, but she could no longer stand to see Chiyo in that state. Making a quick stop at the supermarket, Sakaki stocked up on battery powered lamps along with plenty of battery back-ups. With a quick phone call to work, requesting a few days off, Sakaki sped towards the Mihama mansion for the second time that day.

Arriving at the mansion, Sakaki flicked on her reloaded flashlight. Supplies in hand, she approached the darkened house and stepped onto the creaking floorboards. With the sun's disappearance, not only was everything much darker, but the house seemed to come alive with the sounds of rodents, bugs, and a dozen extra creaks in the floor. Sakaki even swore she heard a cat; but from the sounds of its hoarse whine, she feared only the worst if the thing dared to bite her.

After carefully climbing the stairs, Sakaki entered her friend's former room. Setting up the lamps in various locations, she managed to light the room as well as any sixty watt bulb could.

Ignoring the faceless mirror, Sakaki sat on the bed and once again, began shuffling through the papers, pictures, and whatnot. Many of the pictures were of Ayumu. Whether they had been taken at school or at Chiyo's summer home, Ayumu could be seen in every one of them. The newspaper articles ranged from topics like: the fire at Kiyohiko High to strange ghostly appearances (some of these articles only being twelve to fifteen years old). Sakaki stopped when she reached an article titled, "Kasuga Couple Found Dead". Sakaki read:

"Mr. and Mrs. Kasuga were discovered dead late yesterday afternoon. According to an anonymous witness, the couple had had an argument only a few days prior. According to local authorities, the case has been labeled as a murder/suicide. Apparently some time after the argument, Mrs. Kasuga approached her husband with a kitchen knife and stabbed him several times. Turning the blade on herself, Mrs. Kasuga ended her life. No other details are known at this time. These are of course, the very same parents of Kasuga Ayumu; the high school graduate who died in the Kiyohiko fire two years ago."

No date could be found on the article. Sakaki scanned through other articles, but found little else that was readable. Much of the print on the articles had faded. Sakaki had barely been able to read the article on Ayumu's parents. Eventually picking up one of the journals, Sakaki opened it up. Finding paper in about the same condition as the newspaper clippings, Sakaki leafed through the pages, coming across several dates in June of 2002 and a few in July. But with the pages worn and the ink smeared, she couldn't make out much. The first full entry which Sakaki could read was dated, September 2, 2002. Sakaki read:

"I'm only a few days into classes here at Stanton University and I already miss Japan. But, the more I think about Japan, the more I miss Osaka. I know, I'm still calling her Osaka even though she's dead. I want to see her so bad, but my parents tell me I need to try and move on. That's why they sent me here. And I'm fortunate enough to have a place to stay near campus. Still, something doesn't seem right. Sometimes it happens at night, and other times during the day while I'm on campus, but I feel as though . . ."

". . . I'm being watched," Chiyo explained to Kristina, the daughter of her parents' American friend; of whom she stayed with. Kristina just so happened to be attending Stanton, and was entering as a sophomore. When Chiyo had arrived in America, she had worried that no one would talk to her because of age difference, but was relieved when she met Kristina. Kristina was different. She had Tomo's energy, but in a more mature manner, like Yomi. Maybe it was the glasses. Still, Chiyo enjoyed hanging out with her, and Kristina did know her way around the city.

"You're being watched?" Kristina repeated, sliding past a professor as they entered Lewis Hall, "You mean like aliens?"

Feigning a smile, Chiyo said, "No, not quite like that." Locating their classroom, Chiyo followed Kristina in and took a seat next to her in the back. Along with living at Kristina's house, Chiyo also had her as a Campus Aide. This meant sharing certain classes, including Chiyo's CIC (College Introductory Course), Gothic Literature. Receiving a questioning stare from her new friend, Chiyo continued, "More like, someone's following me."

Chiyo waited, wondering how Kristina would respond. However, the more Chiyo thought about her problem, the dumber it sounded. Hundreds of people attended Stanton. At any given time, at least twenty people could be heading in the exact same direction as her just because of classes. "Don't worry abou . . ." Chiyo started when a door from the front of classroom swung open and in stepped a middle aged man in a suit, with a brief case tucked under one arm.

"The name's Professor Zake. This is Gothic Literature and I'd like to get started right away by passing out your first book, Immalee. Written by a woman named Isidora, this book . . ."

Chiyo froze. There it was again; this unshakable feeling that someone was watching her. Glancing around the room, Chiyo searched for the pair of eyes that had to be stalking her. She found none. Chiyo turned to Kristina, but only found the side of her friend's head. Goosebumps crawling over her skin, she attempted to follow along with the class's discussion. But she couldn't ignore the feeling. Turning around in her chair, Chiyo saw something move into the wall. She only saw it for a second; but whatever it was, it was fast. A blur of transparent white mist, and then it was gone.

Chiyo stared long and hard at the spot where the mist had been. Several seconds passed before she realized Kristina was whispering her name. Turning, she saw Kristina mouthing the words "Is something wrong?" About to answer, Chiyo hushed herself up as she caught the glare of her professor. Kristina must've noticed it as well, for she quickly shifted in her seat too.

The remainder of the class passed smoothly enough. Chiyo occasionally looked back over her shoulder to see if maybe the mist would reappear. But it never did, nor did Chiyo experience that strange feeling for the rest of class. However, a small throbbing in her head now distracted her. She suddenly felt dizzy from the oncoming headache, and almost nauseous. Her vision briefly blurred and it felt as though she might pass out. Maybe some fresh air would help. Standing up, Chiyo clutched her desk for balance and at hearing muffled words from Professor Zake, Chiyo weakly replied, "I'm sorry . . . Don't feel so good . . . Just need some air."

Stepping outside, Chiyo felt an immediate change. She was no longer nauseous; and her dizziness started clearing up. Chiyo knew she needed to return to class, but something kept her from going back. What that something was, Chiyo couldn't put a finger on.

"Hey Chiyo," a sudden voice from behind exclaimed, "Are you alright?" Kristina hurried up to Chiyo, looking worried. "Did you want to stop at the health center? You didn't look too good back there."

"No, I'm fine." Chiyo replied as she resumed walking. Checking her watch, she found that class was only halfway through, but Kristina and everyone else were now exiting the building. Confused, Chiyo also noticed that her friend seemed startled. She looked as if someone had jumped her from behind. "What about you? And how come everyone else is leaving class?"

Kristina fumbled over her words, her eyes puzzled about something. "I'm fine. The . . . The power suddenly went out. So we got dismissed. I guess it just scared me. The whole crackling sound and everything . . ." Chiyo just looked at Kristina. Something didn't sound right, but she wasn't sure she should ask. Kristina obviously wanted to let the topic go when she quickly added, "Wanna get something to eat? We've got a couple hours."

Chiyo reluctantly agreed and allowed Kristina to lead the way. For the most part, Chiyo walked in silence; probably from the awkwardness of Kristina's behavior and her own. But that didn't bother Chiyo. She had kind of hoped for some quiet time as she wanted to think about what had occurred inside the classroom. Though she'd had the feeling of being watched many times, this was the first instance where she had actually seen something. That's if you call a mist, something. Still, it bothered her and Chiyo continued her attempts at explaining the mist until she suddenly heard Kristina saying her name.

"Jeez Chiyo. You sure do space out easily."

"Sorry Kristina. I was just . . ." but Chiyo stopped when she read the welcoming sign for the restaurant Kristina had brought her to.

Feeling her arm being tugged, Chiyo followed Kristina inside where a bored teenager greeted them at the cash register. "Welcome to Magnetron Burger. What can I get for you today?"

While Kristina contemplated her choices, Chiyo surveyed the restaurant. Very similar to the one back in Japan, only a few minor differences existed. The kitchen appeared to be arranged differently, and the drive through was on the wrong side. Still, tears formed in Chiyo's eyes as memories of Osaka filled her head. All the days she spent with Osaka at the Magnetron Burger in Japan, and how they were going to work there again before heading off to college. And before she knew it, Chiyo started crying . . .

Sakaki flipped the page to continue, but discovered it unreadable because of fading and smearing ink. The next few pages chewed up, Sakaki flipped past a few shorter entries which only appeared to be days where Chiyo had nothing to write about. The next entry that caught Sakaki's attention took place only a couple of weeks after the first entry she read. What separated this entry from the others was it had not only a date, but a time as well. Though a short entry, Sakaki read the date: "September 17, 2002." And the time, quite surprising, read as, "3:05AM." Curiosity flaring, Sakaki read,

"I had that dream again. I don't know what to do. The dream gets scarier and scarier every time I have it. The dream starts with me waking up outside of school . . .

Opening her eyes, Chiyo felt her lungs releasing short, raspy breaths. What had happened? How'd she get outside? Chiyo attempted to sit up, but various arms reached out, and pushed her back down. Now that Chiyo thought about it, her vision had been blurry since waking. From what she could tell, she was on the ground. Figures loomed over her; a blazing orange light raging behind them. "What's going on?"

"Just stay still," answered one of the figures. His voice wasn't familiar. A strong, husky voice; Chiyo attempted to focus in on the figure she thought had spoken. Slowly, the figure cleared out into a more definable person. He was a firefighter, and still in gear. "Just take it easy. You've had a small concussion."

Chiyo slowly felt around her head and winced when her hand brushed over a golf ball size lump. Groaning at her own touch, Chiyo returned to identifying the other figures which stood over her. Vision improving, she recognized them to be Kagura, Tomo, Yomi, and Nyamo-sensei. All were quite worried. The orange light behind them sharpened into a fire, and Chiyo's memory suddenly returned. An explosion had rocked the whole school with fire swiftly engulfing the building. Panic swept over Chiyo as she hadn't seen anyone beside the four above her. Again trying to sit up, the small crowd limited her movement. "But what about Sakaki-san, an – and Osaka-san? Where are they?"

"Oh I saw Sakaki! She was somewhere near the softball field!" Tomo chirped, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

The group fell silent as the firefighter left Chiyo's side, apparently satisfied with her improving condition. But turning back to her friends, no one clarified Osaka's whereabouts. Everyone suddenly stood up, and backed away. Confused, she got up as well and started towards her friends, but they vanished in a puff of smoke. The air clearing, Chiyo's heart lifted as she saw Osaka in the distance, calmly watching the clouds. Rushing up to her friend, Chiyo was about to embrace Osaka when the girl burst into flames.

Screaming, Chiyo needed to look away but couldn't take her eyes off the grisly sight of melting flesh. Even more so, Osaka's jaw moved and she spoke, in a soft despairing voice (completely ignoring her scorching flesh), "Chiyo-chan . . . please help me. I do w a go t e l. Chiyo, don die . . ."

The entry got worse as Sakaki worked to decipher the rest, but too much of it had been damaged and Sakaki could no longer read that particular section. Flipping through the pages, Sakaki searched for the next readable entry. She finally came across a short entry dated: November 5, 2002.

"Something has happened. I don't know if my mind is playing tricks on me or if I'm going crazy. I saw something I couldn't possibly have seen. I don't know if I should tell anyone or not. I was in Gothic Literature with Kristina and we were working on an assignment together . . ."

"Alright, so next we need, a scene which references the imprisonment of Lady Cathcart," Kristina read from their worksheet.

Chiyo flipped open her copy of Castle Rackrent and leafed through their latest reading. She vaguely recalled a scene described by Thady, but couldn't remember the exact page. They had just started reading the book so Chiyo had only a handful of pages to flip through when she found it. Excitedly, Chiyo replied, "Right here, on page 79 where it talks about never seeing or hearing Sir Kit's wife speak for seven years . . . Sorry I can't find the name."

Chiyo glanced up to see if Kristina had caught all that, but the confused, awed, expression forced Chiyo to repeat the line slowly. She smiled. With as smart as Kristina was, the girl was also known to be quite slow. The answer finally recorded, Chiyo asked, "Is that the last one?"

"That's it! Let me just hand this in and we'll leave," Kristina said as she stood up and grabbed the worksheet.

Chiyo watched Kristina head for the professor's desk with the worksheet in hand. A slight brushing against her hair caused Chiyo to turn around and discover someone trying to get through. Apologizing, Chiyo scooted her chair in and watched a girl sneak through. For some reason, the girl looked awfully familiar. How strange, Chiyo thought. Just seeing her back reminds me of someone. But when the girl turned and gave Chiyo a brief glance, it stopped her heart. Short brown hair, brown eyes, and that drifting gaze; Chiyo's lips mouthed the name, "Osaka," as the girl left the building.

Abandoning her things, Chiyo jumped out of her seat and ran for the door. It couldn't have been. That's just impossible. Chiyo thought as she burst out of the classroom, ignoring Kristina's calls. Catching a glimpse of someone rounding a corner at the other end of the hall, Chiyo sprinted the twenty feet and skidded to a stop at the intersection. Empty.

How could've it been her? Chiyo reasoned. But the likeness was stunning. As she gasped for breath from the run, Chiyo couldn't get the girl's expression out of her head. Osaka or not, the girl had appeared depressed; like she was in pain.

Footsteps sounded the arrival of Kristina, who had apparently grabbed Chiyo's things before exiting the classroom. Almost tackling Chiyo, Kristina asked, "What's wrong? Why'd you leave like that?"

Momentarily speechless, Chiyo closed her mouth upon realizing it was hanging open. "I was . . . I just . . . Nothing. Don't worry about it." Chiyo didn't see the point in telling Kristina; it's not like the story was believable. Instead, Chiyo used a different approach. "Kristina, did you see anyone walk behind me when you took the papers up?"

Raising a suspicious eyebrow, Kristina replied, "No."

"Well, was there anyone sitting next to you?"

"Just Katy, why?"

Giving up, Chiyo said, "Nothing," and started walking for the door. She knew it wasn't Katy because Katy has blonde hair. And Chiyo knew the rest of the row had been boys and empty chairs. So who had she seen? And while she knew better, she couldn't help but think of the resemblances the girl had with Osaka. Same height, hair, expression, weight; everything about the girl screamed Osaka.

Exiting the building, Kristina asked, "Say, I was gonna head over to Cannon Hall and practice piano. Wanna come?"

"Sure," Chiyo nodded. She needed something to get her mind off the mysterious girl. And Kristina's piano playing was the perfect way to do it. She followed Kristina and listened to her friend talk about ten or fifteen different topics over the course of the block and a half walk.

Arriving at the hall, Chiyo followed Kristina into the music room. She had been there a couple of times before to hear Kristina play. The large open room was organized by instruments. Strings in one corner, percussion in another; and then towards the middle, for whatever reason, sat a lone piano. It was an old baby grand that looked as if it'd seen better days.

Kristina sat down and began playing. Her fingers brushed over the keys with delicacy. A soft melody rose out of the piano as Chiyo took a seat across from Kristina near some flutes. Chiyo relaxed in her chair and watched her friend's back. For some strange reason, the tune reminded her of Japan. Maybe it was the similarity to the music often played at festivals.

Resting her head on the back of her chair, Chiyo closed her eyes while Kristina's fingers tiptoed through the melody. Another sound soon drifted in, and began weaving in and out of the notes Kristina played. It almost sounded like a violin; though this didn't surprise Chiyo in the least. The music room was always open to students who wanted to practice and on a number of occasions; Kristina and Chiyo had been joined by other classmates. Tilting her head over, Chiyo opened her eyes to see who had joined them this time.

"Osaka," Chiyo whispered as she stared at the same girl who she'd seen earlier that day. Halfway across the room, standing in the violin section, was the girl. She just stood there watching; her sorrowful gaze landing heavily on Chiyo. Chiyo studied the girl's face, and stood up to approach her. She knew it couldn't be Osaka; and even in her head, Chiyo could hear a voice saying, you're just imagining things. She's just another college student. However, when the piano suddenly fell silent, the violin music stopped and the girl vanished.

"Say Chiyo," Kristina said, "Was there someone playing a violin?"

"Um . . . I think so but . . ." Chiyo said, not taking her eyes off the violin section. But she wasn't holding a violin; was she?

January 28, 2003

Closing the door behind her, Chiyo stepped into her room. For being the first week after winter vacation, Chiyo could've collapsed onto the bed. She'd gotten lazy over break and hadn't been able to do much. Of course mom and dad had wanted her to come home, but dad apparently got called out to business at the last minute. Chiyo could even remember what mom had said over the phone, "You know how your father gets on these trips of his. All the running he has to do, you're better off staying where you are."

"Oh well, guess it can't be helped," Chiyo sighed as she dropped her things on the bed. Walking over to her desk, Chiyo sat down and flipped through a few letters that Kristina's parents must have dropped off for her. Nothing too special, just a few Stanton College reminders. But underneath the mail rested a package; with Japan as the return address. Curious about what her parents might've sent, Chiyo grabbed a scissors from one of the drawers and cut alongside one of the taped edges. Pulling out a wad of bubble wrap, Chiyo discovered two things: a letter, and a picture frame. Inside the picture frame rested a photo of Chiyo and her friends from high school. It had been taken at her summer home. Everyone was in the picture. Even Nyamo and Yukari-sensei had managed to squeeze in the back next to Sakaki and Kagura. Yomi, Tomo, and then there was Osaka. Arm in arm, her and Osaka posed happily for the camera. Setting the picture on her desk, Chiyo rested her chin in her hands and just studied everyone in the picture. It'd been so long since she'd seen them.

"I wonder what everyone's doing," Chiyo said to herself. The more Chiyo looked at the picture, the more she steered her eyes away from Osaka. Too many strange things had been happening. She'd seen that mysterious girl a number of times but had been unable to talk to her. Glancing down, Chiyo noticed the letter. Almost forgetting about the letter, she picked it up and read:

(original letter had been paper-clipped to journal entry)

"Dear Chiyo,

How was your first week of second semester? And don't worry about that "B". College was never meant to be easy and your father and I will be proud of you no matter what your grades are.

The trip went well for us. We're sorry you couldn't come home. Don't worry though. For summer, we're thinking of coming up and spending some time with you in America. We haven't been to America in years.

With the picture, I've been meaning to send it for some time. I thought maybe it would make the semester easier for you. Please take it easy and study hard.

Love,

Mom"

March 3, 2003

Homework, homework; that's all Chiyo ever seemed to see these days. Only a month into the second semester and she'd been loaded with readings, essays, and a number of different projects. Of course, Chiyo had been doing everything possible to prevent another "B" from occurring. And many of the larger assignments had due dates much farther down the road. Still, Chiyo wanted an early start, and so sitting in her room, she had opened up her textbook from her Human Anatomy & Physiology class to start noting out ideas for a term paper.

Pencil in hand, Chiyo noted down things like, "Cardiac veins – drain blood that's passed through myocardial capillaries," and the difference between systole and diastole.

Fortunately, with the house empty, Chiyo could easily relax and enjoy her studying. Not that Kristina or her parents bothered Chiyo, but things seemed more peaceful with everyone out. Kristina was attending some seminar while her parents were at work. Chiyo had had the pleasure of getting out of class early and now had plenty of time on her hands to get ahead.

The sound of a vehicle pulling into the drive interrupted Chiyo's chain of thought as she then heard the doorbell. Checking the time, Chiyo excitedly hoped out of her chair for the treat she'd ordered. "Pizza time," she cheered as she hurried out of the bedroom, grabbing the cash as she went.

Paying for the sausage pizza, Chiyo hurried back to her room with the box. She'd been given permission to order out like this, though she rarely did it for fear of making a mess or leaving too many leftovers. But like Kristina said, "What's the point of hospitality if you're not gonna take advantage of it?"

Setting the pizza next to her notebook on the bed, Chiyo routinely closed the door to her room and resumed studying (pizza in hand). It wasn't long before she had eaten her way through a fourth of the pizza. Flipping through her book, Chiyo pulled another piece out of the box and was about to take a bite when a knock on the door stopped her.

"Come in Kristina," Chiyo said. For a seminar, that was short. The knock only repeated, and softly at that. Maybe Kristina was holding something, but that didn't explain why she didn't say anything. Hesitating, Chiyo slid off the bed and slowly approached the door. Hand clutching the knob, she swung the door open.

Chiyo stood agape, the slice of pizza slipping out of her hand and hitting the floor. Staring at the girl, Chiyo uttered, "O-Osaka?"