The sun shines through all the earth, giving warmth and security to all. In a window closed to all, the lights tries to reach in, as if wanting to comfort a lonely soul.
A room was dim, as if night was already upon it, the only light it recieved was through the curtains. A man sits in a chair with his eyes closed, his hair looks gray until the light shines on it, revealing the aegea blue like the ocean. His eyes are upturned and would sharpen his look when glaring, but now it was closed and gives off a softness. His nose was straight-edged and his lips surprisingly rosy and full.
The girl that was supposedly sleeping in his arms woke up, just a few minutes ago. She was staring at him, her expression bare of reaction, contrary to what's going through her mind.
'I lost it.... and I had full control too.'
She grimaced at the memory of what happened a few hours ago.
'I ended up crying like a weakling again. I could have stopped it but didn't. What the hell is wrong with me.'
She gently moved and clenched her chest, feeling a small sting when she thought about the incident.
'Calm yourself. What you felt was just a strong sense of empathy for Sakura because you are right now her. You just ended up placing yourself in her shoes too well so you felt more than ever.'
Sakura took a few deep breaths, telling herself that again and again till she felt the stinging go away.
Taking one more deep breath and releasing it, she looks up and understood more of Raphaels meaning in her life.
'He was always there for her. Right by her side in each capture targets routes. He always promised and swears to stay beside her, even if she lost herself he didn't think twice to abandon everything to be beside her.'
Sakura looks sadly at the man and felt the strong love he has for her.
'He raised Sakura as if she was his own, he watched how the baby grew to be a toddler, then a child, a teen and watched how it ended with the young age of 19. The devastation he must have went through when he watched her lose herself more and more, and all that he has done to save her was for naught. He must have blamed himself the most because he was beside her and watched her, he must have thought he could have done something to stop it.'
Sakura looks at the man in a daze and thinks feels like the other Sakura's may not be the only one who suffered all those repetitive endings. She starts to wonder.
'Someone or something brought me here. In that room I saw in my dream, there was many who attempted to change Sakura's fate, yet all failed. What happened to those who lived after her death? Are they living life in another timeline? Or are they made to repeat their lives with the next Sakura? Would they have glimpsed and recollections of those times?'
She squints in irritation and from a headache that is starting to form. She closes her eyes and sighs.
'Forget it. All this thinking won't get me to escape from my predicament. What is important right now is that I let myself be controlled by those scenes. The passed Sakura's didn't really had anything to do with it this time. Man.... it seems that each time I recollect something more than what I usually know from the "game". Bit by bit, I start to fuse with those memories, memories that aren't from the game, but the passed Sakura's lives. Hah, looks like I won't have much peace even if I take control.'
Sakura smiles in self deprecation and wonders when she can get a moment of true peace. While thinking that, Sakura remembers the other kids that were in that room. There was three other boys and a girl.
'Gabriel's daughter and the oldest son of Seraph were the ones who caught my attention more after.... Adonis.'
She scrunched her eyes but quickly calmed herself.
'The second son of Gabriel and the youngest son of Seraph were the other capture targets in that room. I bet a lot thought of it being inappropriate that Sakura and one of her "cousins" were engaged. But truth be told, they are not really blood related. Sakura's mother, Aurora was the daughter of Seraph's adopted brother, he was the heir that her father adopted and became the master of the marques home but because of an accident, both of Aurora's parents died and so Seraph's parents decided to adopt Aurora. Seraph's father didn't find a problem with it because he watched Aurora grow up and cared for her as his own.'
She laughs at the big twist in this family situation and finds it hilarious how the twists make it easier for the fiancee thing to occur with no real gross incest. But then she stops smiling when she thinks about the first son of Seraph.
'Nolan... He was a kind guy. He wasn't one of the choices for capture target, which surprises me. But at the same time it doesn't. He died a few years after the introduction of Rose. In each route he wouldn't live passed the age of 24. If he hadn't died.... maybe Sakura would have another person by her side.'
Sakura remembers a scene of the game, where Nolan defended Sakura when everyone suspected her of pushing Rose down a flight of stairs.
"Everyone! I fell because I tripped, not because anyone pushed me!"
Rose tried to stop everyone from confronting Sakura, who was standing on top of the stairs looking down at them. Her eyes held many emotions while watching them quickly help Rose up and fretting over her.
Everyone looked up at Sakura and glared at her and quickly put the blame on her.
"What do you think your doing!? She could have died if she feel in a different angle!"
The one who screamed at her was Axel, her fiance.
"I did not push her."
Sakura furrowed her brows and just looked down at them, she didn't know how to react. Just moments ago she saw Rose walking and turn to the right to walk down the stairs while holding her books.
The moment Sakura saw Rose, Rose as well saw her and seemed to have gotten distracted, causing her to end up taking a misstep. Sakura quickly noticed and swiftly stretched out to try and grab Rose, only to miss by a few inches and watched how Rose tumble down the stairs. At that time Sakura didn't notice that everyone else were down the stairs and how from their angle, it looked like she ran toward Rose amd pushed her.
So now Sakura is standing awkwardly on the top while watching her fiance hold Rose in his arm while the other hand is holding her hand to keep her steady.
"What do you mean "you didn't push her"!? We all saw it happen, are you going to say we all saw wrong!?"
Axel looks up at Sakura in disbelief, even more so when she nodded.
"Are you treating us as fools? Do you think we will let this go?"
He looked up at Sakura dissaprovaly and wanted to say more but Rose stopped him.
"Axel. It's true, Sakura wouldn't push me. I got distracted and didn't see my step, so I fell."
She held his hand and looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"You-"
"I think it is best if you do not hold another persons fiance in such an intimate manner. It will do you no good if people see this and spread it around."
Sakura stares at the hands that's holding Rose's waist in such an intimate way. She said those things to warn them of what others might say, but to him it sounds as if she was threatening Rose.
"Do you have no sense of being grateful that Rose is defending you right now!? Just because of a bit of jealousy you are threatening her while she was helping you!?!"
Sakura just frowned and looked at her fiance.
"I was not threatening her, I was just giving her advice that people may misunderstand the situation and believe she is trying to steal her sisters fiance."
Sakura felt a bit irked, especially because everyone else that she grew up with are siding with Rose as well, and are looking up at her in judgemental manner.
But then a voice calls out right next to her.
"I would advise you to cool your head Axel. I find it quite an embarrassment that you are still speaking in such a way to your future wife."
The one who appeared beside Sakura was Nolan, the oldest son of Seraph. He inherited the ash grey hair of his father, and the grey eyes of his father, but he as well inherited the rose pink color of his mother that seems to fuse with the grey in his eyes.
He was smiling, but those eyes that look to be lighting flashing in grey clouds seem to rumble with anger and coldness. He glances at Sakura and can see that she didn't know what to do with this situation, so he smiled to her in reassurance and lightly patted her in the head.
"Nolan, you weren't here to see what happened, sh-"
"Who said I wasn't? From the moment she fell and till now, I was here."
He glares at Axel, which made him quickly shut his mouth.
"Axel, I would advise you to know your standing, what you are doing right now brings shame to our family name. First you accuse an innocent person, not just anyone, but your fiancee as a villain just because you let your imagination run wild and allowed your hot headedness to get the best of you. Then you hold another women in such a loving way, people would believe she is your fiancee rather that Sakura! And last but not least, you are acting as if Sakura, who is your fiancee, was some type of wicked women, while in fact she is just stating facts."
Nolan sneered at his brother and looked at the hands that were still holding Rose.
"How long are you still planning to hold her in such a way? After hearing all this you still aren't handing her to someone else to take care of her?"
Axel face was flushed in shame and embarrassment, he turn to see Adonis and reluctantly gave Rose to him so he can take care of her.
"Axel you really bring shame to our family name."
Nolan's sneer deepen when he saw his brothers hesitated actions and wanted to say more but was interrupted.
"Um! Axel didn't mean anything bad by all this! He just wanted to help me and everything just got out of ha-"
"Appolagise miss Rose, but I was not speaking to you, so I would advise you to not interrupt me when I'm disciplining my brother."
"Nolan! She was just trying to help me, you shouldn't be so harsh with her!"
Axel stood in front of Rose and looked at his brother in defiance, which angered Nolan even more.
"You!!"
However Nolan stopped whatever he was going to say because Sakura lightly patted his shoulder. He looked at her and she just shook her head.
He looks like he wanted to say more bit just sighs and turns to his brother again.
"I will talk more about this with you later, just go and leave with the others. Take her to get checked."
He waves them away and looked away from them, he didn't want to look at them any longer.
Sakura looks at how Adonis carrys Rose in a princess carry and felt a pang of pain in her chest. She touches were she felt the pain and tilts her head in confusion.
"Don't worry to much of what just happened. They are just being kind to her because she just recently appeared and hasn't adapted to her environment, so they are just helping her a bit."
Nolan smiles wearily at her and knew how idiotic and unbelievable his words may sound but Sakura smiles and knew he was just doing his best for her.
"Don't worry big brother Nol. I can understand how it might have looked from their prospective, so I do not blame them."
"I'm glad my child is so smart and considerate. Only hope my idiotic brother opens his eyes sooner than later."
He smiles warmly at Sakura and pats her in the head like a proud father but frowns when he thinks about his brother.
"Don't worry brother Nol. Axel just spoke out of hand because of the situation, but I still trust that after he let's out some steam, he would see that I am not the type of person who would do such things."
"I hope your right. I'm actually glad I was helping you carry a few books and was here as testimony that you haven't done anything wrong."
Nolan was training to become a teacher. He was young, only 24 years old, but a protege who decided to work as a teacher till he inherited the position of his father. He was sent by his mentor to help Sakura with returning books that was used for the classes research.
"I'm glad for that too."
She smiles kindly at Nolan. Her eyes sparkle like jewels from the angle she looks at him, her hair almost glowing from the sunlight that passes though the window behind them.
They begin walking toward the library to leave the books and when they were going their separate ways, Nolan calls to Sakura. She turns around and sees a serious expression in his face.
"That women.... your sister Rose. I would advise you to watch out with her and her mother. I see the way they gaze at you to be a bit strange. Her mother I can tell is hostile. Yet Rose.... I can't seem to tell. But just watch out ok?"
Sakura looks surprised but knew he wouldn't say such things for no reason. So she nods and promises to watch out. But just a few weeks later, she was filled with grief when he died and couldn't think of anything else but mourn his death.
While feeling the pain Sakura felt from losing a friend. She thought maybe... she can change his fate? she after all has a lot of time to figure out a way to save him.
She sits up in a bit of excitement at the thought, but forgot where she was and ended up waking Raphael. He quickly opens his eyes and tighten his grip, thinking she was going to fall.
"Good mo- no. I mean good evening Raphael. Sorry I woke you up."
He heard the tiny childish voice and felt relief wash over him when he saw her look at him with a happy smile.
"Good evening my dear princess."
He ran his shaking hands through her hair and was truly happy to see her smiling, but his smile dimmed when he saw the tear stains and red puffy eyes in her face.
He knew he needed to ask her what happened a few hours ago, but he didn't want to ruin her smile.
"Raphael."
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry for crying. I didn't know why I did, but I don't wanna see you sad because of it. So don't be sad please?"
He saw her smile became down turned and her head lowered in guilt. He didn't like to see her this way so he lightly patted her in the head and then raised her chin with his hand.
"You have no reason to apologize my dear child. You have no reason to look guilty for what you feel. I just need you to be happy. If you have any issues deep inside that makes you sad, I just want you to remember that I'm here for you. Yet not just me, many others out there, for example Gabriel, Uriel. Your dad. And many many more."
He lightly pecks her forehead and smiles lovingly at her. Sakura felt like she was going to cry again but quickly shook the feeling away and nodded to Raphael's words.
She reaches out and hugs him tightly.
'Right now I'm Sakura. I already see the changes I've done and know that I'm not alone, but I as well know that I need to use whatever I can so I can live. So even if I can feel the love that I'm receiving from them all, I can never fully give them the same. Because fate always finds a way to stab a person in the back and I don't want to be that person.'
Her eyes that held warmth and joy grew cold and apathetic. Only a look of calculations can be seen.
'One of my main objectives is to keep Nolan alive till the full awakening of the corruption. He will be one of my most powerful chess piece when alive.'
A light smile reaches her lips.
'Well old friend. I'll make sure you live to be 25. So thank me by fighting on my behalf when I need you to.'
A small glint passed her eyes only to dissapear the next second.