8 The New Life

In the Wind country, a small civilian town, there was a woman coming out from the hospital. The woman looked really pretty, earning her an extra look from whomever she passes by. She looked rather grim.

When she reached her house, she instantly locked the door and made way to her room. She took out a file and read it. She then drops it down to the floor. The file contained her report confirming her pregnancy.

She closed her eyes and let a single tear rolled from her face. When she opened her eyes again, there was a staunch determination. Without any hesitance, she started preparing to move from here.

After a few days, the same woman appeared in the capital of Wind country. She was calmly sipping her tea, while the old man sitting in front appears to be vexed by her unruffled attitude. Ultimately, he chose to end the contest of staring.

"Kotori-chan, it seems like you are done with the travelling."

"Yes, Koizumi-sama."

The man flinched at her form of addressing. The woman, Kotori still remains as blunt as ever, thought old man Koizumi.

"It is good then. You can go back to your old residence."

"Many thanks, Koizumi-sama. I shall take my then." Kotori was a doer. She swiftly stood up and was ready to go back.

"You know, you can call me Uncle Hiro, Kotori-chan."

"I wouldn't dare Koizumi-sama." She didn't halt her steps once before answering back. Koizumi Hiro could only stay silent. He still cannot comprehend how the sweet young lady became the stoic woman she is now.

"Kanesake, old friend, are you watching this? I don't know where I made a mistake. I failed you my friend, I didn't look after your daughter well." Hiro thinks to himself. He seems to be lost in thoughts, reminiscing about old times.

Kotori stood in front of the huge residence. A sight rare and reserved exclusively for the nobility. It seemed to be the same as it was in her memories. She took the keys from her bag and opened the gates. She went inside to the place she left three years ago. All the memories tied to this place come back.

She never wanted to come back to this place ever again. The place where her family were killed in cold blood. But here she is, all because of the new life growing inside her.

"We will help each other, my little baby. Mom will always be there for you."

*Time skip, after a few months.*

"I have never seen such a beautiful baby girl all my life, madam. She is born very healthy too."

"But she is so tiny and quiet." Said Kotori to the wet nurse, exhaustion evident in her voice yet she couldn't take her eyes off from the tiny bundle in her arms.

"You don't have to worry about it, madam. She is just born, so she would be very tired and sleepy. You must take some rest too. I will take care of the baby. Oh, have you thought about what to name her?"

"It would be Emily. My sweet child, Emily."

"Emiri, it's a nice name."

"No, it's not Emiri, its Emily Chika baa-san." Kotori said tiredly.

"Okay, Emily it is then. But madam, do you think it is alright to hide this news from everyone? Lord Koizumi cares very much about you. If-"

"Baa-san, he has very important matters to deal with. His daughter went missing and just came back. It is not the right time to tell him."

"Alright, as you say, madam."

"Baa-san, tell me what's on your mind."

"I never asked you this before because I thought you didn't tell me. I waited for you to say on your own, but I guess you will never say it. So I shall ask you, madam, who is little miss' father?" Chika asked, before she regrets.

"He is not there anymore, Baa-san." Kotori said calmly, but Chika noticed the sadness hidden underneath. Thankfully, she chose not to pursue it.

"I am sorry for troubling you, madam. Please have some rest. I will be taking care of Emily-sama."

"Thank you, baa-san." And Kotori did sleep immediately.

After a few days.

Kotori was struggling to feed her baby. The child just refuses to drink milk.

"Baa-san, why doesn't she drink milk, she is already so tiny how would she grow up?"

"Madam, how about us try something else?" Then Chika brought the new milk bottle and tried to feed Emily. She drank it without any resistance.

"She used to make so much fuss, wailing and what not when she had to drink from me but look at her now!" Kotori said sourly and feeling incredulous at the same time.

"It happens with few babies. There's nothing to worry about it. But what amuses me the most is she somehow was okay with being hungry all the time and not cry about it. She only cried when you tried feeding her."

"She doesn't when she's asleep. She drinks pretty normally like any child should when she is asleep. But she makes a lot of fuss when I try to do the same when she is awake." Kotori pouted.

"We now know she prefers bottled milk, so let's just give her that. She is sure stubborn."

"Alright." Kotori admitted defeat if it could help her child.

Unknown to both of them, the baby they were discussing about nearly threw a party in her mind.

Emily's POV:

"Did you see that Anna, we can win if we persist!"

"Hai, Emily-sama, but how long would you continue not drinking milk? You must know there is nothing wrong in it."

"You don't grasp it. You are not the one forced to suc…drink milk in that way."

"I still do not understand what loss is in doing so."

"It's the loss of dignity, Anna. Dignity, I need to save it, even if I don't have any of it left in me, though."

"Why is it so important, Emily-sama?"

"It is quality or trait of good and decent people, Anna."

"…Okay. Then we must have dignity all the times."

"Not all the times Anna, only few times is necessary." I see a headache waving at me like a phoney thing it is, as I need to deal with the chibi, Anna and the endless questions which come along with it.

After dealing with Anna, I try to know more about my surroundings and the situation.

I was reborn again as a baby and that sucks like hell.

For the first few days, I don't even know what happened around me, all because of the stupid drowsiness. My drowsiness is omnipresent. It hugs me all the time. I barely manage to stay awake for a few hours. My max record is 8 hours, with intervals of course.

I know, my mind development happens a lot in this stage. After figuring out the situation, I'm in, I sleep plenty, though I don't manage to sleep very well because I find myself in the HQ.

It suggests I'm unable to sleep properly, only 30-45 minutes if I be frank to myself. The only good thing is, I don't have to suffer from the problems caused by insomnia. My body would sleep, but mind would always be awake. Hence, my consciousness automatically travels to my HQ.

I discovered it very quickly and decided to make full use of this situation. So here I am, analyzing everything since I was 'born' again. There wasn't much I could do. All I knew were:

One, I'm named as Emily again.

Two, everyone speaks Japanese. By everyone, I mean my mom and the old lady. I don't know if it's a coincidence or what, my mom is called Kotori in this life too, and they both look so alike.

Three, their financial situation is very stable. When the old lady, Chika took me out to play to the garden, I can say that my new house is fairly 'huge' and 'well off.' I have nothing to worry about my survival.

Four, I have yet to meet my father if he there at all. Not that I care about it, though. My mom thinks the same two, at least she pretends to. The longing in her eyes when she looks at me says otherwise. I noted it by chance.

Whenever she looks at me, she searches for someone else too. I guess that would be my father. As a child, I ought to bear some resemblance to him. I wonder where I look like him.

I hear Chika baa-san say all the time how I look exactly like my mother. I feel a bit curious about my father now. When I was first born, I tried really hard to sense my surroundings. I was able to hear my mom's labour shouts, Chika's encouragement and finally the little conversation they had after that.

My mom said, "He is not there anymore." That was a nice and effective way to make Chika stop and never ask once again. I have to say, mommy is really sly.

It could mean two things. My father is either dead or he is simply not in the same place and she didn't want to talk about him. Guess they both had a 'history' which I by no means am interested in (=not completely uninterested).

Five, I love both of them. They both would never replace the ones I lost but have a new place of their own in my heart. They are too nice to stay cold. And I admit the fact that I long for some affection.

They care a lot about me and give in to my wishes and tantrums which I threw just to test them (Because I was utterly bored). I tried to be very annoying, crying all the time, puking, etc. yet they still strike it off with a smile. I stopped it and they were just amused at first but later started to get worried about me being 'dull'. I was under no circumstances the active kid. More like calm and quite. They accepted this as well and chilled with me.

I can never bring myself to be indifferent towards any of those two. They both mean a lot to me even if they just came into my life only for one or two weeks. How was the other me able to stay apathetic to them? To know the reason, I searched the journals written by the 'other me.' I found the answer. It left me quite horrified. They both would die, because a scuffle. It would happen by the time I would be three.

Six, the most important thing is I need to be able to protect them at all costs. If not, I would never be able to forgive myself. I would be irredeemable.

Once again, I vow to myself. I will not stand by and watch the people I care for die right in front of me. I will do anything for the people I love to be safe. I will not lose myself in pursuit of revenge and answers.