Hi!! Long time no update! I sat myself down on the couch today with music and wrote away for this chapter so I won't keep procrastinating! (I'm pretty good at doing it too, so might as well not turn it into a habit!) And I think its rather long, compared to the previous chapter (Just for you, Hedgi!) haha.

Anyhow, here it is! Enjoy! (And as always, please R&R!)

Timeless

Chapter 4: Reminisce

By: Koumiko

10 years later...

.: Hikari's POV :.

I was dreaming again. A small boy, probably around five or six years old was holding my hand. His hair was blonde and it shone in the light that filtered through a blooming sakura tree. His blue eyes looked at me sorrowfully, as if something was going to separate us, and in my mind, I didn't want it to happen. This boy is important to me, but I just can't explain the sadness I feel too when he starts to walk away from me into a bright light.

"Wait!" I cried, tears were falling from my eyes onto the unfamiliar ground I stood on. "Don't go!" I begged.

BEEPITYBEEP! BEEPITYBEEP!

I woke up startled by my alarm clock, my cheeks wet from tears. Why do I keep dreaming about that boy? The framed sakura on my wall probably has something to do with it.

I wiped my face on my blanket and got up. Today is my first day in high school, I might as well get a good breakfast and have a good start.

"Alright, here are your seating assignments. I will start from the front of the class and move back, and we are all going to be paired up, boys with girls, and if you are wondering why, its because we will be doing some experiments with each other based on gender differences and your genetic make-up." Mr. Tran, our Biology teacher explained as all of us nervous freshmen stood at the door near the front of the class.

"Brendan Smith, and Alison Ransom, here." He pointed at the two desks in front of him, and two students went up to sit in their places.

"Cody Chu and Amanda Brown here."

I dazed off to the sound of his voice. That boy in my dreams sure had an effect on me. What does it all mean? That was the first time that I have ever cried in my sleep.

As each of my classmates sat in their respective seats, I thought I was dreaming again as a boy walked into the classroom, his wide blue eyes showing fear that he might be late. As he realized he was safe, he let out a sigh of relief, and he caught my stare, with a bewildered look on his face.

"Hikari Kamiya, and Takeru Tyler," Mr. Tran pointed to the desk in the middle of the room. I snapped out of our staring contest and headed towards my assigned seat. I turned around after placing my books on my desk to face my partner, and I jumped as I saw the same blue eyes again.

"Whoa, I'm sorry, did I scare you?" Takeru said.

"Kind of, actually," I said. Even his hair had the same color. What is going on? "I'm Hikari. Have we met before? You look really familiar."

"No, I don't think we have. I'm Takeru. Just call me TK." He smiled.

"Oh, okay. TK. I guess we're partners starting today!" I said, trying to cover up the confusion I felt. Even his smile resembled someone. I couldn't point it out, but he reminded me of a boy that I think I should know of. I shook my head.

"What's the matter?" TK asked, concerned as I rubbed my forehead.

"Nothing. Today is just... really interesting."

"Yeah, first day of high school! Everyone I know tells me its the best years of their lives, but I think that's a lot of pressure for a first day. Just relax!" he smiled. I realized he was trying to make me feel better. I just gave a sheepish smile in return.

"Now that we're all settled, lets begin." Mr. Tran clapped his hands together, and everyone stopped talking. TK and I haven't been able to talk at all until the bell rang for our next class.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Hika." TK said, winking, then laughing. I looked at him in shock. No one calls me 'Hika.'

"Hey! Don't call me that!" I shouted almost instinctively as he turned around to leave. TK turned back to face me, clearly hurt.

"I'm sorry, I won't call you that again. I just thought that it sounded nice, I didn't know you hated the name so much," He looked at me with those sorrowful eyes.

"It's not that I hate it," I whispered. I felt that same unexplained sadness as I looked into his eyes, and my eyes began watering. "I've got to go, see you." I grabbed my things hastily.

"See you, Hikari."

He sounded so sad.

"Well if you really want to shorten my name, call me Kari. My friends call me Kari. Bye, TK." I said, forcing a smile. TK smiled again.

"Bye, Kari!"

I waved as I left the room. He must think I'm weird now. I rubbed my eyes and headed to my next class.

"Mom, who calls me by the name 'Hika?'" I asked as I entered the house.

"Well," My mom started, but hesitated. I raised my eyebrows, eager for her answer. "You had a best friend back in Japan."

"And she called me Hika?"

"Actually, its a he. He called you Hika, and he was the only one allowed to do that. You won't let anyone else call you Hika. You'd get mad at me," my mom chuckled.

"He? Where is he now? Why don't I remember him?"

"Takeru is... I don't know what has happened to him--"

"Wait. What is his name?" My heart beat faster, and I pinched myself. Nope, I'm not dreaming.

"Takeru."

My eyes widened with shock.

"Why, what's wrong Kari?"

"Pictures."

"What?"

"Do we have any pictures of us? With this friend of mine? Takeru? Why don't I remember?"

My mom went upstairs and brought back down a dusty box. She opened it and showed me some of my childhood pictures in Japan. She pointed at a small, blonde haired boy with blue eyes hugging me. We both looked so happy.

"That is Takeru." My mom said with conviction. "You two were inseparable."

I took the picture and looked at the boy closer. His smile and TK's smile were exactly the same.

"Here are our families. Takeru with his parents, and us. We were all quite close."

"I can't believe I didn't remember this," I whispered, looking at Takeru's parents.

"You were still young, and after we left, we never saw each other again. Of course you will forget. But the flower in your room. That is from Takeru."

I can't explain the shock and relief I felt at the same time. So the boy I was dreaming about was Takeru.

"Can I keep these photos, mom?" I asked.

"Of course, go ahead."

I brought them to my room and put them next to the sakura flower on the wall with tape. Why doesn't he remember, I wonder? But I guess its the same reason I don't remember. Still, I had an inexplicable memory of a boy. It may not have been very specific to which boy, but seeing TK's face confirmed it. He's the boy I've been dreaming about. I'm sure he saw something in me that would remind him of me. Besides, we were best friends!

"Hey, TK," I greeted my partner as he placed his books down next to mine.

"Good morning, Kari. How are you today?"

"I'm good,"

"I'll try to be nicer to you today, and no name calling, I promise." He said. I laughed.

"No, don't worry about it. I was just surprised. I had a best friend in Japan, and I only let him call me Hika." I was trying to see if he could somehow remember, maybe of our days together in Japan.

"Oh. Was this best friend your first love?"

I blushed. That wasn't the answer I wanted, and it was an odd question.

"To be honest, I don't remember much of him, but when I saw you, you reminded me of him. Don't you ever get that? When someone you don't remember appears in your life again one fateful day?"

"It's never happened to me," he said, baffled. "That's interesting. How do I resemble your friend?"

My heart sank. He was completely oblivious to all of my hints. Maybe he doesn't remember me at all.

"GOOD MORNING, CLASS!" Mr. Tran yelled over everyone's chatter. Most of us jumped at his booming voice.

"I'd like to introduce you to your project that must be finished by the end of this semester. It will be worth twenty percent of your overall marks, so work hard on this. You have to work with your partners to study a field in biology."

I looked at TK, who grinned as he listened intently to Mr. Tran. He handed out the instructions and we went through the grading system and what he wanted as a presentation.

"Let's do marine biology," TK whispered to me, smiling widely.

I shrugged.

"Sure. Why are you so excited?"

"My mom is a marine biologist."

"Alright, class. Now talk amongst your partners for the rest of the class about what your plans are for the project! I expect great things from you." Mr. Tran commanded. Our class immediately burst into talking and laughing.

"That's great! Your mom can help us with this project then!" I said.

"Yep! We're going to ace this!"

"Has your mom always been a marine biologist?" I decided to poke around some more.

"Yes, she has, all her life."

"I hear its hard to move into the same career you had if you came from Asia." I remarked.

"Hm? My mom lived here all the time," TK replied, confused.

The bell rang, and TK and I went our separate ways. I guess he didn't remember me at all. Maybe our past friendship wasn't as close as I thought.

After my last class, I headed outside.

"Kari!" I heard TK's voice behind me.

"TK? What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for my parents to pick me up, silly. Aren't you?" He asked.

"No, I walk home. I live nearby."

"Oh, do you want a ride? If its close, my parents won't mind," TK offered. This was my chance to show myself to his parents. If he doesn't remember me, maybe they will.

"Are you sure?" I asked, trying to hide my eagerness.

"Of course! If we're going to be partners, you might as well get used to being around my family. We are probably going to see each other often at each other's houses."

"That is a good point!" I laughed. "Thank you very much, TK."

"No problem," he replied. He then looked past me, and I turned around to see an expensive Lexus pull into the driveway. "Here they are, lets go!"

I followed behind him, shyly. I watched him as he opened the backdoor, talking to the people in the front seats. After getting his parents' permission, he signaled me to come closer.

"Come on in," he said, holding the door open for me. I boarded their car quietly, TK following closely behind.

"Thank you for the ride, Mister and Mrs. Tyler." I said quietly.

"Don't worry about it, Hikari, is it?" A woman's voice said. I looked up and faced TK's mom. I let out a small gasp.

"Ye—Yes. I'm Hikari."

"Well, you can call me Anna, and this is my husband, Vincent."

"Hi, Hikari. You have a very nice name," Vincent said, looking at me through the rear-view mirror.

"Thank you. And thank you for the ride," I added again. I felt so awkward.

All my hopes exploded in my face once I saw TK's mom and dad. They were not the same faces at all in the picture. Not even close. Finally, it hit melike a brick in the face. TK isn't the Takeru I once knew. He can't be that boy in my dreams...

.:TK's POV:.

"See you tomorrow, Kari! And we can always give you a ride home if you want!" I waved out the window as Kari headed to her front door.

"She seems like a nice girl, TK." Mom said.

"Yeah, she's.. great. It's strange.. but I thought she looked like someone I once knew."

"Perhaps. We did adopt you after that tragedy when you were six. She might have been your friend from Japan." Vincent guessed.

"Whoa, dad, that's just crazy if it were true," I looked back and saw a dark haired woman open the door for Hikari. Yuuko. Why does that name look like it belongs to her face? I shook my head, and sighed as I realized how much homework I already had on the second day of high school. Ugh.

.: Hikari's POV :.

"Hi mom," I gloomily said to my smiling mother.

"What's wrong, Kari?"

"What happened to Takeru? Are you sure he's not living in the same city as us?" I looked at my mom and I saw her eyes clouded with a memory. By her expression on her face, it looked like a bad memory.

"Mom? ... Is Takeru even alive?"

My mom finally looked at me, tears in her eyes.

"Hikari, Takeru is dead," she whispered. "He's been dead for ten years."

I don't know why, but even though I haven't seen that best friend for ten years, the fact that an old best friend of mine has died still shocked me.

"Dead?"

"They were supposed to come here and live with us, so we could all live as we did in Japan. But – their boat sank, they didn't survive to live their dreams here with Takeru," she sobbed. I hugged her tightly as a few tears fell from my eyes.

"He was only six, why did this happen to them? They did nothing to deserve it!" My mom continued. "He was only six!"

"Mom, its okay," I whispered. That boy in my dreams, he is the six year old Takeru that has haunted me for ten years.

And one thing I am sure of that I learned today, was that my best friend Takeru is dead.

Alrighty! See you next Chapter!

xoxo, Koumiko