Alright, for those of you nosy little buggers that like to read through private roleplays, you need to first know that this isn't the beginning of this roleplay. The beginning exists in a fiction that was the original roleplay. You can find that fiction here.

Now, if you're going to read this, read the original first. Why? Because you can't handle the insanity!

Also, no one but Ryuu and I can post here. Do you got that? Anyone posts here that isn't supposed to, and we'll beat you to death with the report button. Got it? Good. Now read the original and get lost.

If you can survive the original, then feel free to read this one.

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Amani laid on his back on a park bench with his eyes closed, enjoying the cool breeze blowing over him. Several ravens surrounded the bench, pretending to ignore him.

His purple messenger bag was behind his head, and he seemed to be rather enjoying himself. He had gotten out of classes about an hour before, and was spending his time lazing about in the warm sunlight.

It was a mild summer, though it had its hot days, too. Today was in the lower eighties with a cool, soft breeze that was almost constant throughout the day. Amani was greatly enjoying this weather.

Kayla was in the park, having fallen asleep under a tree in the warmth of summer. Chirping of birds in the branches above her brought her back to consciousness, slowly turning her head to look up at them. She stretched and sat up, brushing her blonde hair out of her face as she looked around.

Her green eyes were pulled to a flock of ravens a few yards away, widening a bit as she stared at the man that lay on the bench. Any other day she would have just gotten up and left the park, but today was different. Today there was someone who looked incredibly familiar, just laying there on a bench. She couldn’t get herself to move, memories from the past forcing their way to the tip of her mind and mentally paralyzing her.

His eyes slowly opened as his cellphone went off, and he reached into his pocket to pull it out. "Hello?" After a moment or two, he sat up, blinking tiredly. "Yeah, no problem Shozii. I'll be there in a bit," he said, hanging up his phone and stuffing it back into his pocket.

He grabbed the strap to his bag and slung it over his shoulder, then stood and stretched, the flock of ravens taking flight as he started walking towards the street.

“Shozii?!” Kayla questioned as she snapped back to reality, her voice probably a little louder than needed. Shozii… no one could ever forget him. Finally getting herself to her feet, she headed towards the street, deciding on following the man.

He walked all the way downtown, only for a momentary visit with the dark-skinned Egyptian man. He left carrying a wrapped package, heading back towards the park and past it, to the house where he grew up; the house belonging to Zaitsu - now Julian - Marez.

Pulling out his house keys he unlocked the door and let himself inside.

Kayla continued to follow him, stopping on the other side of the street when he got to the house. The house struck up more memories, though plenty weren’t very pleasant ones. But still… she could feel a sense of safety in the house, like always.

She stood there wondering what she should do next, then decided to continue walking; past the house and back to her own place. Locking the door behind her, she went to her room and flopped down on the bed, though didn’t fall asleep. ‘Zaitsu… and the others… are they all still around?’

Several days had passed and it was in the early morning hours, with still plenty of time before the early summer dawn. The streets were empty, all the street lights green or flashing red or yellow.

The sound of screeching tires and revving engines filled the night air, a blue, 2004 Dodge Neon with a spoiler went drifting wildly around a sharp corner, spinning around entirely and speeding away, the driver never once losing control. The windows were tinted black, but if they hadn't been a pale man with black hair and red eyes would've been seen in the driver's seat.

A Yamaha motorcycle followed closely behind the car, a long ginger tail of hair trailing behind the rider. He lost control a little bit, but quickly corrected it and raced after the car, barely managing to stay in its quarter panel.

Kayla had been out doing some midnight shopping, then simply wandering the streets without wanting to go home. She readjusted the black messenger bag that slung across her shoulder, making it more comfortable. The sound of engines caught her ears, causing her to stop and look over as the car and motorcycle raced around the corner.

Having recognized the man on the bike,---and the car, for that matter---she decided to follow them, picking up her pace to keep up. She occasionally jumped up on street lamps or signs to get a better look, just to make sure she didn’t loose sight of them.

The two vehicles raced throughout the streets, pulling stunts in an obvious attempt to outdo each other. It also seemed that the car was trying to teach a few things to the motorcycle. They made their way back towards the park, slowing down as they drew closer to the street with that all-too familiar house. The garage door was open, and they booth pulled calmly into the garage, the door closing behind them.

Again, Kayla stopped on the other side of the street, standing on a lamppost and watching the house. After a minute she jumped down, landing softly on the pavement below and walking across to the house. She stood on the doorstep, simply staring at the door in front of her for a few minutes before slowly raising her hand, her knuckles softly tapping the door. Letting her arm fall back to her side, she waited for an answer.

It took a minute or two, but the redhead answered the door, his hair no longer pulled back. He blinked curious purple eyes at her several times. "Can I help you with anything?" he asked, a little confused as to why someone would be on their doorstep at this ungodly hour.

If their racing had bothered someone, they would've looked angry, but this girl didn't look angry at all.

Kayla took a breath, and then sighed, moving her green eyes up to make contact with the purple eyes of the redhead. She stammered a little, unsure of what to say. After a few moments, though, she finally got herself together.

“Shozii,” she began simply, “I overheard you say his name the other day at the park,” she told him. “I’ve kinda been stalking you, and… and you look like someone I once knew.” Her voice trailed off, memories and regrets flooding her mind.

His brows furrowed a bit. My, this was a strange girl, wasn't she? "The only person I look like is my father," he told her, blinking several times.

Kayla nodded slowly. “It was a long time ago,” she said. “But there’s no mistaking how much you look like him.”

"I think you have to be mistaken. You look younger than I am and my father has never spoken of a girl he might've known." He stepped a bit farther inside, moving the door a little in preparation to close it.

Again, she nodded. “I understand. He could have very well forgotten me, and I wouldn’t blame him,” she said, though it was more her thinking out loud. She shook her head a little, and then brought her attention to the redhead again. “Could you do me a small favor and tell your father that Kayla says hello? If he doesn’t seem to remember me, just forget about it.”

Amani sighed and nodded a little. "Alright... Give me a minute." He shut and locked the door, then headed back to his father's room.

Several minutes later, the door unlocked and opened again, red eyes looking out at Kayla. "It's been a log time," he said calmly. "You haven't aged at all." Julian had aged, appearing to be in his mid to late thirties, though his hair remained perfectly black.

Amani stood off in the background, a hard to read expression on his face. Who was this girl that his father had never told him about?

“It feels like it’s been forever,” Kayla said, smiling softly. Of course she was happy to see him again, yet her eyes showed regret and sadness. “Zaitsu… I know it’s probably too late, but I’m sorry for everything,” she said, bowing just enough that her eyes weren’t meeting his. “I know it probably doesn’t mean much now, but I’m truly sorry.”

"Zaitsu?" Amani asked, furrowing his brow.

"I changed my name to Julian long before you were born," he said, though continued to face Kayla instead of turning to look at his son. "Could you give us some privacy?"

Amani looked a little displeased, but turned to go to his room with a mutter of, "Yeah."

Zaitsu stepped aside, holding the door open. "You can come in if you want."

Kayla hesitated, but stepped inside anyway, her eyes glancing around the familiar house. “How’s Shozii and everyone else?” she asked. “I haven’t talked to any of you guys in so long, I have no idea if anything’s been going on or not.”

"Well," he said with a sigh. "Andrew's dead and Shozii's not doing so well. I don't know where the hell anyone else is. Every now and then I think I see Eirose or Matthew, but I can never get enough of a second glance to tell if it's really them. Iicha... Well, no one's seen her since Chiichii's AI was damaged beyond repair."

He closed the door and headed for the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?"

“I see,” she said quietly, before shaking her head in response to his question. “What about yourself? How have you been doing?” she asked, finally looking up at him again.

"I write, I do a little freelance photography," he said with a shrug. "I've been well. How have you been?"

“I’ve been alright,” she replied. “Not much has happened. I’ve just been… living, I guess. If you can call all these years of boredom living, anyway.”

"I just sleep when I'm bored," he said with an exaggerated shrug, going into the kitchen and filling a mug with water and a teabag. Carrying it over to the table, he flash heated it using his control over flames and sat down.

"Why are you here?" he asked, sitting down in one of the chairs.