Two Hours Later:
"Hello?" Reina answered the phone.
"Hello, Reina?" The voice on the other end questioned.
"Yeah, it's me. Who is this?" Reina answered before asking. All she could hear was background noise.
"It's Satoshi; I'm looking for Mamoru. And how is the girl?" Satoshi spoke.
"Last I knew, Mamoru was outside, smoking or something. Serenity: she's eating chicken dumplings with noodles in steamed broth made by Haku." Reina calmly answered.
"Is she eating well?" Satoshi inquired.
"She's eating slowly." Reina answered.
"Ok. Please find Mamoru for me. Tell him that if he wants Suichi and my help, he needs to come to the phone." Satoshi instructed.
"Please, hold." Reina instructed before walking away.
"Mamoru!" Reina yelled once away from the phone.
"Yeah? What's going on?" Mamoru questioned, watching Reina.
"Satoshi's on the phone for you." Reina answered.
"Ok." Mamoru replied, rushing to the phone.
"Mamoru." Satoshi spoke before Mamoru could say anything.
"I hate when you freaking do that." Mamoru grumbled.
"Sucks to be you. How do you believe the girl is doing?" Satoshi replied before inquiring.
"She's slowly eating, but she's still depressed." Mamoru answered.
"Ok. Suichi and I will be around between ten and eleven. Please make sure she's asleep." Satoshi instructed.
"Can do." Mamoru replied.
"Ok. See you then." Satoshi informed Mamoru before hanging up.
"Is everything ok?" Reina questioned Mamoru once she, Haku, and he entered the kitchen.
"Everything is fine." Mamoru calmly answered.
"What's going on?" Haku questioned, demanding an answer.
"Nothing." Mamoru answered when he heard movement in the living room.
"It will help me feel better?" Serenity softly asked, walking in with her empty bowl.
"What was that, Dear?" Mamoru questioned, watching Serenity.
"Your friend who will make me forget. It will help me feel better if I forget Sota and the rest of my family?" Serenity softly questioned.
"You're going to erase her memories?" Haku snapped, frustrated.
"Just certain ones." Mamoru sighed.
"You should've known with who Serenity is, that it wouldn't be that easy." Reina noted, annoyed.
"Yes, I know. Serenity, at this point, the choice is up to you. But I'm not going to lie to you and say that doing nothing will help you. I'm also not going to push you into doing this because it will help you feel better after a few days to a week or so. I'm not going to stand here and lie to you, saying I wanted you to know about this. Because the truth is, I did want this to be a secret. But I believe that deep down, I knew we couldn't keep this from you. I will tell you that yes, by letting our cousin alter your memories, you will feel better after some time. But we're not going to force you." Mamoru thoughtfully told Serenity.
"Can I take a bath?" Serenity requested.
"Of course. Please don't do anything to harm yourself. If you're not out in within an hour, we'll send Reina in for you." Mamoru firmly told Serenity.
"Yes, of course." Serenity softly replied before heading to her room to get her clothes.
"That poor girl." Marmou sighed, concerned.
"How could you ask for her memories to be erased or altered?" Haku demanded.
"How could I not? She's not well, Haku. I believe if left how she is, Serenity will attempt suicide. That is why I contacted Satoshi and asked for Suichi. I don't like having to alter someone's memories unless it's absolutely necessary, and you know that. You also know I'm right concerning Serenity." Mamoru answered Haku before heading outside.
"He's right, you know." Reina told Haku.
"I know. It just doesn't seem fair." Haku replied, walking away.
"No, it doesn't. But if it's to help Serenity feel better, then it must be done." Renia sighed, speaking to herself.
"Do you want to play Checkers?" Serenity softly requested, holding the board game.
"I'd love to." Reina accepted Serenity's request.
Outside:
"How long are you going to hide in the trees?" Mamoru questioned, smoking his cigarette.
"You're oddly perspective tonight." A man with neat, nape-length jet-black hair and violet eyes spoke, walking over with another man with neat dark, almost black, purple hair a little past his neck and dark violet eyes.
"I can hear the leaves crunching under your feet, and I can smell the pungent scent of cigar smoke. Plus, I saw you out the kitchen window earlier." Mamoru replied, taking a drag of his cigarette.
"So, she really is that bad off, huh? I honestly wasn't sure if I believed Serenity was as bad as you claimed; I thought you were just fucking around again. But very seldom smoke. As far as I remember, you only smoke when you're under a lot of stress to keep from coming under a great amount of stress to keep yourself from transforming. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the girl to judge for myself, but seeing you now confirms it." The man spoke, watching Mamoru closely.
"Thanks. I may be a lot of things, but when it comes to Serenity—there's just something about her. Other than pure innocence, I don't know what it is. She's a sweet girl who didn't deserve what happened to her. So, how long were you planning on lurking in the trees outside the house like creepers?" Mamoru replied before inquiring.
"You're the real creeper here. We'll be back in a few hours." The man spoke, annoyed.
"Suichi, wait. You may as well come in now and meet her. Serenity already knows what's going on." Mamoru stopped the men from leaving.
"You dumbass! You told her about this?" The first man, Suichi, demanded, pissed off.
"Not until after she asked if it would help her feel better. Not much gets past her. I'm going in; come in whenever you decide to be done being creepy lurkers." Mamoru answered, snuffing out his cigarette.
"How you can be friends with that impossible, immature imbecile, is beyond me." Suichi grumbled, watching the other man.
"Of course, you wouldn't; you're not cursed as one of the members Zodiac. You may have gotten our ancestor's ability to alter memories, but you're not the dragon like me. You're not the dog like Mamoru. You may think you understand, but you don't. And I envy you for that. Thank God you're not cursed with our burdens; I do every day and every night. I wouldn't wish this on even my greatest enemy. Come on, let's go inside. Be mad at me all you want, but don't take any of this out on Serenity; she knows virtually nothing of our suffering. Despite being part of this curse, she's still innocent in everything; she doesn't deserve to suffer." The other man spoke before heading inside.
"Is Suichi coming in?" Mamoru questioned the second man.
"Yeah, he'll be in shortly. So, that's Serenity, huh?" The man answered before noticing Serenity and Reina playing Checkers.
"Yep. Cute, isn't she?" Mamoru questioned with a smile.
"Sure. But when you say it, you make it sound almost criminal." The man stoically replied.
"I told he was a pervert, Satoshi." Suichi grumbled, walking over.
"It wasn't something I already didn't know. I've learned to take Mamoru for who he is. As long he doesn't do something criminal—or just stupid, he's fine." The second man, Satoshi, calmly replied.
"You two are just cruel." Mamoru pouted.
"Uh-huh." Satoshi and Suichi responded by rolling their eyes.
"Well, let's go meet her." Suichi insisted, heading to the living room first.
"The man who changes memories and his dragon brother have arrived." Serenity dully spoke, moving a red piece, not bothering to look up.
*Deep Breath…* "Yes, I know why you're here. You're here to meet me, and make sure Mamoru's claims are valid before you change my memories." Suichi was going to speak; Serenity, however, beat him to it.
"Yes. Are you going to be doing that every time I try to speak?" Suichi questioned, watching her.
"Be nice." Satoshi jabbed Suichi in the side.
"I'm not the reading people's minds." Suichi retorted, narrowing his eyes at Satoshi.
"I'm not reading anybody's mind. I only know why you're here, and I could see on your face what you were going to ask." Serenity spoke, moving another red piece.
"Serenity, these are brothers Suichi and Satoshi. As you know, one is here to alter your memories, should you want that, and the other is the dragon of the Zodiac. Boys, this is Serenity." Mamoru introduced everyone.
"Our family's psychic." Suchi spoke.
"We don't give titles." Haku spoke, walking downstairs.
"Since when? My younger brother is the Zodiac Dragon of the Sohma family just as you're the Zodiac Cat, Reina's the Zodiac Rat, and Mamoru is the Zodiac Dog. That's how it's been for years, and how it will continue to be." Suichi snapped.
"Since Serenity arrived. Despite what she's been through—and how they treated her, Serenity still grew up elsewhere with her family; we're strangers to her. So, yes, while she may be family, we agreed not to push or force her. And we agreed with Kenichi, Tomoe, and Kotaro. We would rather have her comfortable than to push her away." Mamoru firmly answered Suichi, shocking him and Satoshi with his seriousness.
"Do you know which brother is which?" Reina questioned, moving a black piece from one square to another.
"Satoshi is the dragon and Suichi is the one who changes memories." Serenity softly answered, holding her fingers still on a red piece.
"She is definitely the real deal." Satoshi spoke, stunned.
"Indeed." Suichi sighed.
"What do you want, Serenity?" Satoshi calmly questioned, watching Serenity.
"What do I want? I want to feel better. I don't want to worry or burden the others." Serenity softly answered, hiding her eyes under her bangs.
"Well, yes, we're worried about and for you, but we don't believe you're a burden." Mamoru calmly spoke.
"So, is forgetting something you want, or no?" Suichi questioned, trying to calm down. He could see the pain in her eyes as she held her stomach.
"…Y-yes." Serenity slowly and softly answered, hiding her eyes again.
"Ok. *Sigh…* Let us know when you're ready to go to bed. I'll give you something to help you sleep." Suichi instructed, running his hand through his hair.
"Ok. I would like to finish playing Checkers." Serenity softly spoke.
"Of course. Take all the time you need." Mamoru insisted while Haku went upstairs.
"Do you know which of the two brothers is older?" Reina questioned, watching Serenity move a red piece.
"I think Suichi is the older brother." Serenity softly answered.
"She's good." Suichi and Satoshi spoke, stunned.
"No, I'm not. Suichi has that superior older brother attitude. I have—had two older brothers and one older sister; I know the signs." Serenity answered as tears slipped down her cheeks despite her best efforts to keep them from falling.
"Excuse me. I think I changed my mind; I want to go to bed now." Serenity stood up, ending her and Reina's game.
"Here. Take these. They will help you sleep. They'll take about ten to fifteen minutes to take effect, but I'll be sure to check and make sure after half an hour." Suichi instructed, handing Serenity two pills. At the same time, Mamoru brought her some water.
"Thank you." Serenity replied before taking the pills, followed by the water.
"Goodnight, Dear." Mamoru sadly told Serenity.
"Goodnight, Serentiy." Reina, Suichi, and Satoshi told Serenity, concerned.
"Goodnight, everyone." Serenity replied, heading upstairs.
"You know, had I known she was this bad off, I would've visited her in the hospital." Suichi told Mamoru once Serenity was upstairs.
"I wish we would have known as well." Mamoru spoke, going to sit down.
"If she could've lasted another two minutes or so, Serenity could've beaten Reina in six moves between the two of them." Satoshi insisted, sitting across from Reina.
"That's because Reina sucks at Checkers." Haku spoke, walking to the kitchen.
"What are you doing down here? I thought you were going to bed or something." Reina questioned, annoyed.
"I'm going for a walk. I do not wish to be here when he does what he has to do." Haku answered, heading out.
"What is his issue? This will help Serentiy, won't it?" Reina questioned, annoyed.
"It will eventually help Serenity so long as she's out cold when I alter her memories. This bothers Haku because his dad beat his mother and him, and then chose to forget about them—in front of Haku. His father demanded he have his memories of Haku completely erased in front of him. He even went so far as to tie Haku to a chair and staple and tape his eyes open to force him to watch. Kotaro, of course, allowed this. And after that, his mother had her memories of the abuse altered while Haku suffers with the memories, saying he had to remember for the both of them." Suichi explained, shocking Reina.
"I didn't know any of that." Reina replied, unable to move.
"Haku didn't want anyone to know. Only a few did." Mamoru answered, watching where Haku was once standing.
"So, what now?" Reina questioned, looking around.
"Do you want to play a game of Checkers? That will pass the time." Satoshi suggested, rearranging the Checkers board.
"Sure. But I'm red." Reina accepted Satoshi's offer, turning the board around.
"How is Yuko?" Mamoru questioned.
"She's fine. She can explain it until she's blue in the face, but I will never understand why she's so upset that whenever we decide to have children, that none of them will be cursed by a Zodiac spirit. I watch how it affects Satoshi every day, and I've watched how it affects all the others. She's seen how it affects them—and she feels bad, but she wants a child of the Zodiac curse." Suichi explained, watching Satoshi and Reina play Checkers.
"Money?" Mamoru questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Because I can erase and alter memories, I make plenty of money. But that doesn't matter to Yuko; she could care less about the money. She just wants a child of the Zodiac curse." Suichi explained.
"Well, you could always adopt some of the younger ones who have a bad homelife currently. There are a few. And you know two of them very well." Mamoru suggested.
"Like their parents would just let us take their meal tickets." Suichi retorted, frustrated.
"Maybe it doesn't have to be up to them. You could go to Kotaro and get him to officiate it in a heartbeat. They don't care about those kids worth a penny; they only care about the money. Kotaro can be mean sometimes, but he's no Akito—or how she used to be." Mamoru insisted.
"I'll think about it and then I'll speak with Yuko later. I guess it's time to check on Serenity now. Satoshi, come on." Suichi replied before heading to the stairs.
"Follow me: I'll show you which room is hers." Mamoru instructed, rushing to get ahead of Suichi and Satoshi.
"Is it done yet?" Haku questioned, walking in.
"They just went upstairs to check on Serenity—to make sure she's out cold." Reina answered with a sigh.
"Oh." Haku replied, sitting across from Reina.
"You like her, don't you?" Reina probed Haku.
"What are you talking about now?" Haku demanded, honestly not caring too much.
"Serenity: you like her, as in you love her." Reina interrogated Haku now.
"W-what? What on Earth gives you that idea?" Haku questioned, caught off guard.
"Oh, I don't know: the way you look at her, for one. The way you care more for her than I've ever seen you care for anybody in our fucked-up family—or anyone—ever. You've been so bent out of shape since we discovered what her brother did to her. I mean, none of us are happy about what that piece-of-shit asshat did to her, but you've taken it to a whole new level. You love her. I know it. You know it. And I'm pretty sure Mamoru knows it. And, of course, you know Kenichi, Tomoe, and Taiki know because they pick up on our wave links or whatever you want to call it. You love her." Reina answered Haku with a bored tone in her voice.
"Are you talking about Haku's affection for our dear, sweet Serenity?" Mamoru questioned in that tone that bothered just about anyone who knew Mamoru.
"Shut up!" Haku snapped, jumping to his feet.
"How is Serentiy?" Reina questioned, causing Haku to freeze where he stood. He, too, wanted to know how Serenity was.
"She's asleep. Suichi and Satoshi are doing what needs to be done." Mamoru answered.
"If Suichi is the one who alters someone's memories, why is Satoshi there as well?" Haku questioned, annoyed.
"Suichi is the one who can change a person's memories, but he can't control it on his own. Satoshi is there to pull Suichi back if needed. Basically, Satoshi is needed to keep Suichi from removing more than he's supposed to. And with Serenity being the family's psychic of the Zodiac curse, they're going to need both of them more than ever. It's as if that "gift" split from one person and went into two. Just like with the twins, it's a mystery." Mamoru answered, leaning against a wall.
"Is it done? Are you two ok?" Reina questioned, watching Suichi and Satoshi, concerned.
Suichi and Satoshi were using each other and the walls as support as they slowly made it downstairs.
"Hold on. You sit; I'll be back after I get Suichi to the couch." Mamoru instructed, having Satoshi sit on the stairs while taking Suichi's arm around his shoulders.
"Hold on." Haku sighed, going to help.
Five Minutes Later:
"What the hell happened?" Haku demanded as Reina brought everyone some tea.
"Thank you, Reina. Serentiy is most definitely the family's psychic." Suichi and Satoshi spoke, leaning back.
"Did it not work? Was she not in deep enough of sleep?" Reina questioned, taking a seat.
"No, it worked, and she was in a deep enough sleep. Still, her mind fought back. The hatred she had for herself was incredibly strong-willed; it did not want to die. It took a lot, but that hatred and her memories of ever being pregnant are gone. She may still have days where she randomly becomes depressed, but it won't be nearly as bad as it was. And as a precautionary, I erased all memories of Sota." Suichi explained, exhausted.
"What about the rape? I mean, you can't repair a hymen, can you?" Reina questioned, confused.
"No, it can't be replaced. That's part of why she'll have random bouts of depression. Instead of Sota raping her and telling her whatever it is he told her to make her think it was ok, I input false memories of her being attacked and raped by some random gang of men. Three men are dead and two are in prison." Suichi explained, drinking his tea.
"Why does that sound familiar?" Mamoru questioned, thinking a little.
"Do you remember that Naraku kid from when we were in school?" Satoshi inquired, watching Mamoru.
"Umm… Vaguely." Mamoru honestly answered.
"He came to school with his katana and attacked several teachers after they called his parents and police. I was in my final year of high school; you and Satoshi were in your first year, and Naraku was in his second year." Suichi reminded Mamoru.
"Oh, yeah. What about him?" Mamoru questioned, confused.
"Teachers found his step-by-step instructional manuscript of doing that to a young girl in your class that turned him a few of his buddies down. This was after he drew a very descriptive picture and painted it in art and put it on display for his class. He was killed in prison by a group of inmates. One of his pals committed suicide to avoid going to prison. The third friend was killed by police after holding up in a convenient store with three hostages under the age of thirteen. The other two are in protective custody in prison. One is being released in the next year after pleading guilty and making a plea deal: he admits to knowing about the manuscript, but thought it was just stupid talk." Satoshi explained, shocking Reina and Haku.
"Oh, right. I remember that. But that girl turned out to be one of the biggest sluts in the school, didn't she?" Mamoru questioned.
"That's why Naraku came up with that plan; she was giving it up to every other guy in the school, but not him or his friends. He was going to go after us as well because we turned her down when she asked us. We had our reasons—other than being cursed, but I knew how she was, and I personally didn't want an STD." Satoshi explained.
"I hear you." Suichi and Mamoru agreed with a sigh.
"So, why did you put that in Serenity's head? She's not a slut." Haku defensively questioned.
"Relax, lover boy. We know Serenity's not a slut. That's just the first thing that popped into my thoughts at the time. I needed something to replace Sota." Suichi firmly informed Haku.
"I'm going to bed." Haku grumbled, stomping upstairs.
"I'll find you two the spare futons; neither of you are in any condition to be driving home—let alone even walking anywhere." Mamoru insisted, going to find spare futons.
"Goodnight; I have some leftover homework to finish." Reina told Suichi and Satoshi before heading upstairs for the night…
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