Ami left the thugs and Sano behind bewildered because they hadn’t expected her to act like that. When she finally arrived home without any more distractions she saw a guy with auburn hair sitting outside by the pillar covered with injuries. Considering Kyoko wasn’t home Ami decided it would be best to carry him into one of the guest rooms. On the visible injuries without taking off his clothes Ami placed bandages and then rested her hands on his hands and concentrated. Using her magic she healed his internal injuries and worked her way out until she was exhausted and ran out of magical energy. Shakily she stood up and made her way to her room that was just down the hall.

First she took a relaxing milk bath with scented candles to help ease her muscles. Not wanting to fall asleep in the bath Ami set a timer to go off every five minutes. The third time it rang she got out of the bath and out of her room to see if Kyoko was home yet. Kyoko was in one of the misc. room reading so Ami knocked lightly on the door. Looking up Kyoko smiled, “There you are! I figured you might be in the bath when the front desk said you had arrived. Congratulations on your wonderful performance!”

“Thank you,” Ami said blushing lightly. “Um…by the way I have something to tell you…” Ami trailed off before telling Kyoko about the boy she had found injured outside.

“Oh my god is he okay?” Kyoko asked worriedly.

“He should be fine…” Ami replied. “So what will we do with him?”

“We’ll let him stay here until he can go home,” Kyoko told her. Ami nodded her head and then yawned. “You must be tired sweetie. Go to bed I’ll make breakfast tomorrow, okay?” Nodding her head okay Ami left to go to her room. Ami collapsed on her bed and fell into a heavy sleep. Luckily the next day was Saturday so she was allowed to sleep in late and not worry about getting ready for school. It was noon when she finally woke up feeling slightly refreshed. Lazily Ami got up and began to put on a pair of sweat pants and a tank top, and trudged her way to the kitchen. Kyoko was in the kitchen burning lunch.

“Morning,” Ami said yawning behind her hand. She went over and gave Kyoko a hug.

“Good Afternoon,” Kyoko said smiling down. “Will you please bring the boy his lunch? Then I’ll hand you yours.”

“Sure,” Ami replied taking the plate. Looking at it she saw it was a sandwich with three carrot sticks and chips set to the side. In other words something Kyoko couldn’t burn. When she arrived at the boy’s room he was up and intently gazing around the room. Ami knocked on the boy’s door. He looked over at her with a bland expression, and Ami noticed he looked to be about a few years younger than her.

“Where am I…?” he asked monotonously.

“You are in the living quarters part of Sousei Industries. You were pretty badly injured so I got some people to help me get you up here,” Ami replied cheerfully. “Would you like a tour when you’re feeling better? Kyoko, my mother, said you could stay here until you get better.” The boy was silent for the most part and it surprised her when he whispered something.

“Shin…” whispered.

“Shin?” Ami questioned.

“My name,” he replied. Ami stared into his teal eyes. Completely forgetting about her own lunch Ami gave Shin his and sat with him.

“Are you okay enough to walk?” she asked.

“I haven’t tried to walk yet…” Shin replied. Once he finished Ami was right next to his side as he got up and tried to walk. After he had made it across the room without any incidents Ami clapped her hands.

“Do you want a tour now?” she asked. He nodded his head yes. “Okay, first we’ll start on the seventh floor and go up.” Leading him to the elevator she pressed the down button and waited until the elevator doors opened before ushering him onto the elevator. The doors closed behind them and they descended. “Mostly the seventh floor is made of those who work here but there is a training center and some of the people on this floor are extremely nice….” She started saying leading him through the hallways pointing out who lived in which room and where the training room was. Shin walked closely behind her listening to her and memorizing each place. Every now and then they had to stop and let Shin rest since he was still injured. The eight floor tour went by in a similar manor and they used the stairs to get to the ninth floor which was the top floor. Hiroshi was coming down the stairs reading a book. “Morning Hiroshi!” Ami greeted giving him a smile. He ignored her and accidentally bumped into her on the stairway causing her to fall back along with himself.

“Watch where you’re going next time. You are so clumsy it’s your fault you fell,” Hiroshi said annoyed brushing dust off himself.

“Yeah sorry…” Ami apologized with Shin raising an eyebrow at her. Ami then smiled and stood up and continued to lead Shin to the ninth floor.

“You’re injured,” Shin said looking at Ami.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your leg’s injured,” Shin told her. Ami stopped smiling and glanced at her leg.

“I know…” Bending down she concentrated and allowed her magic to heal her leg. “There all better,” Ami said smiling once again. They began to walk again as Ami showed him the indoor gym, library, which rooms belonged to who, and some of the other rooms. Eventually Shin grabbed the bottom of her shirt.

“You were the one who healed me yesterday, weren’t you?” he stated. Ami looked at him before sighing lightly.

“There’s no point lying to you…yes I healed you yesterday, but I didn’t tell Kyoko are anyone else that,” Ami replied.

“You mean your mom,” Shin replied.

“Adoptive…” Ami said stopping in front of the room Shin had been using. “Here’s your room. I have to go out…” Ami told him a little distracted. Shin nodded and went into his room to rest having had enough activity for the day. Going to the kitchen to find Kyoko still trying to make lunch Ami told her where she was going. Leaning on the table Ami saw what Kyoko was making and gave her a little help while telling her.

“Thank you so much! Go have fun,” Kyoko told her cheerfully. “Maybe next time we can go out to town together!” Ami gave her a small smile and was about to read when Kyoko remembered something. “Hey Ami an envelope came in for you today.” Curiously Ami turned around as Kyoko held out a small envelope. Gingerly Ami took the envelope from Kyoko and examined it.

“Must be from one of my friends at the orphanage,” Ami said after awhile.

“Do you want to eat first before you head out?” Kyoko asked. Ami shrugged her shoulders and Kyoko served the lunch she had been making consisting of hotdogs, fried rice with vegetables, and some orange soda. Hiroshi and Kyou briefly came into the kitchen to get their food and go to their rooms to eat by themselves. Around two o’clock Ami headed out waving goodbye to Kyoko saying she would call if anything happened. It was snowing lightly which surprised Ami since it was December 3rd and she hadn’t expected snow until closer to Christmas. As she looked around she saw a surprising amount of couples. She just walked around looking in shops and ignoring all the couples. Every shop was packed with Christmas displays and the streets were crowded. Noticing a candy shop Ami decided to get some for Kyoko, and the others with her allowance.

Peppermint, vanilla, chocolate, and cinnamon filled the room with fragrance. Ami looked around for awhile before deciding to get Kyoko some cotton candy, Hiroshi a couple candy canes, Kyou some popcorn balls, and Shin a box of chocolates. As for her friends she decided some lollipops would be fitting so she grabbed them all and headed to the counter to pay. Unfortunately the owner was having difficulties ringing up all the purchases. When she got to the counter she asked what was wrong. “Oh my part timer isn’t here yet probably due to the traffic and I’m swamped.”

“Maybe I could fill in for them until they get here?” Ami offered.

“Thank you!” the owner said. He told her the basics and after packaging her stuff let her behind the counter to help him. Many people were crowded into the shops warmth either to get candy or just to escape from the cold. Either way it was busy. Ami was busy giving recommendations to those who asked, wrapping up a few packages for people, and ringing people up when Sano walked in.

“Welcome!” Ami said as happily as ever. It took a minute for Sano to say something.

“You work here? You’re not the usual clerk…” Ami looked at him.

“Just until the usual clerk comes.” Ami told him. Pausing she tilted her head. “I didn’t know you were a regular here.” Sano went silent and began to browse the shops inventory. About ten minutes later he came back to the register with a small basket of candy. “Okay so it’s two dollars for the licorice, three fifty for the bag of chocolate, and seventy-five cents for the popcorn ball. That makes your total six twenty-five, have a good day” He nodded his head and handed her the money.

“You know for someone who doesn’t care at all you sure can act like you do,” Sano said when Ami handed him his bag of candy. Ami stopped smiling at him and went silent but luckily the part timer came soon after so she grabbed her bag of candy and left. Walking out of the candy shop she let her mood show as she walked down the street.

Deciding it was too early to go home she made her way towards the mall which wasn’t that far away. Hana, Mine, and Sakura were there shopping when they ran into her. As soon as she saw them Ami put on a smile and ran over to greet them as she started to walk around with them. They were on their way into the bookstore Barnes and Noble where they immediately went into the manga section at the back of the store. “Which is your favorite manga Ami?” Mine asked looking through the shelves.

“Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross,” Ami replied happily. “I just love all the drama and Haine is so awesome!”

“Personally I think Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne and Full Moon Wo Sagashite are awesome,” Sakura piped in.

“Aren’t they all done my Arina Tanemura?” Hana asked.

“Yes it is,” Mine said proudly. “Personally I love her works and can see the connection in characters between her works.” Out of all of them Mine was the most knowledgeable when it came to manga. You could say any title and she had most likely read it. They bought a few mangas and left the store.

Next they decided to go to a new store called Hayari which had all the latest fashions but at affordable prices. Browsing through the racks Sakura suggested they play a game, and said they should each get a few different types of outfits and pretend to be fashion models. Each of them grabbed one bathing suit, one casual wear outfit, and two dresses. Sakura went first since it was her idea and came out first in her bathing suit. She was wearing a green bikini which the girls cheered her on until she changed into her casual outfit. For casual she wore a blue sweater and a black frilly medium length skirt and as for her dresses one was white noodle strap that came to the knees. “You look awesome in that!” Mine told her which the other girls had to agree. Sakura bowed and let Hana go instead of trying on the other dress saying it didn’t look right. Hana came out in a pink with black polka dotted bikini. Sakura gave a wolf whistle causing Hana to blush and quickly change into a blue jean skirt and dark purple top for casual. Both of her dresses were blue but one was a no strap that went to her ankles and the other was a noodle strap that poofed at the bottom and came a little past the knees. Mine was to next to go and came out in a white tikini with a pink flower design on the left side. After that she tried on blue jean caprees and a yellow tank top. Her next outfit was extremely cute as it was a frilly white dress that had silk gloves, and ribbons. After a few cheers from Ami, Hana, and Sakura she changed into a red dress.

“Mine you so should get that red dress, and casual outfit,” Hana advised nodding her head sagely.

“I have to agree,” Sakura told her and Ami nodded her head in agreement.

“I might…” Mine said smiling. Finally it was Ami’s turn so she went into the changing room and got into her bathing suit. When she came out of the changing rooms she saw Akemi was there chatting with her friends, which embarrassed and pissed her off. She didn’t show it though since she didn’t want to cause a scene.

“Yo!” he greeted happily like nothing had happened at all. Ami was wearing a black two piece that thankfully wasn’t a bikini in her opinion. On the left breast it had a hot pink rose printed on it. The others girls didn’t seem to mind his presence Ami noticed as she raised a hand in greeting.

“Hi…”

“Can I watch this little fashion show?” he asked jokingly.

“Ami is the last person to go…” Mine told him.

“I don’t mind.” Turning around Ami tried on her casual outfit which was a red short sleeved shirt low enough to show the lacey black undershirt and black jeans. “You look cute in that,” Akemi told her smiling. Sakura noticed how uncomfortable Ami was.

“You look totally cute in that,” Sakura agreed easing Ami’s nerves. Ami smiled gratefully at her before she changed into her dress. Like Mine’s dress it was frilly, with ribbons, and gloves but hers was black and she placed some black ribbons in her hair.

“Ami you should so buy that dress!” Mine told her.

“It looks awesome on you,” Sakura agreed.

“Well it’s decided then. You must get that dress because you look amazing!” Hana said. Due to everyone saying that Ami blushed and took the dress to the counter to buy it. Her friends cheered and helped pay for part of it when Ami told them she didn’t have enough money.

Café Vanilla and Chocolate was their next stop and Ami decided they had the best cinnamon roll cappuccinos that she had ever tasted. “That was fun even if it was weird that Akemi had shown up and decided to watch,” Sakura said as she ate her hamburger. They had decided to get a quick bite to eat even if it was more like dinner since it was five o’clock but they didn’t care. Mine agreed as she ate a taco.

“Today’s been awesome.” Hana who was busy eating one of her two hotdogs and fries nodded her head in agreement. Ami stirred her curry before saying, “Yeah today was the best, too bad we can’t do this every day.”

“Now that would be great,” Hana said swallowing. When Ami finished her curry she stood up.

“I better go I have somewhere I have to go,” Ami told them.

“Okay see you Monday!” Hana yelled happily as Ami left. Ami gave her a smile and a wave and continued to smile until she was out of the mall. She didn’t really have anywhere to go so she headed toward the ice skating rink to practice a little. Many couples were skating together when she arrived which Ami thought was pointless. Even though she hadn’t skated much in the past she did really well having not fallen at all but she had run into a few people. The sun had not set yet but the lights for the rink were on already. As if on que it started to snow which caused the couples to snuggle up and act even more lovey dovey so Ami decided to leave. The snow fell harder as she left.

“Looks like a snowstorms coming,” Ami said more to herself than to anyone else. Still carrying the dress and candy Ami shifted them and called Kyoko to tell her how her day went and that she’d be home in awhile.

“Dinner will be waiting for you,” Kyoko told her. “See you in awhile!” Ami said bye and went to the park nearby as she remembered the envelope she had gotten earlier. Sitting on the swing she rocked back and forth as she got out the letter. The lighting in the park was poor so she pulled out her cell phone again deciding it was better than nothing. No one had ever sent her a letter before so she was slightly curious about what it could possibly say. Opening the letter she began to read and her eyes widened with each word. Sano, who was on his way home, stopped at the park when he noticed Ami on the swings. Out of boredom he was going to walk up and shake the swing she was on just to see her react. As he got closer though Sano noticed something was wrong with her so he spun her around to find that she was crying. She didn’t even notice him until he put his hand on her shoulder and said, “Ami.” When she finally noticed him she rubbed her eyes and pretended like she didn’t cry. “What’s wrong?”

Ami ignored him and began walking away pretending not to hear him. Sano jogged to catch up to her. “You could answer,” he told her as he walked next to her.

“I don’t have to,” she replied casually.

“You could also be nicer,” Sano said whistling a little. Before Ami could reply she heard a loud noise coming from behind him. Looking behind him she stared wide eyed at what she saw. Sano turned around curiously to see a lady in the middle of the road. Blood was all over the sidewalk. The lady had been hit by a truck. Ami began to feel dizzy as she stared at the scene and soon everything caught up with her: exhaustion, seeing the blood, and memories. She fainted from it all; it was all just too much.

TBC

Just so you know I’m changing Ami’s age to 16 in chapter 1. Also I didn’t mention this but Hiroshi and Kyou are fraternal twins. If you want the genetics and how that works send me a message. Well please R&R!