Chapter Seventeen: The Truth about Sakura-hime:

After breakfast, Akemi took hold of my shoulder and took me to the backyard.

�Akemi?� I asked. �Where are you taking me?� My sister didn�t answer me until we went out the door. The gray clouds in the sky indicated that it might rain later. I looked around puzzled.

�Why are we out here?� I asked.

�Close the door,� she told me. I slid the glass door open.

�Come over here,� Akemi ordered me. I tilted my head at her.

�What is this?� I asked.

�Come over here,� my sister repeated. I lowered my shoulders and walked over beside her.

�Now what�s this about?� I asked.

�What do you think of Sakura-hime?� Akemi asked without looking at me. A puzzled look came over my face.

�What?� I asked.

�Answer the question,� she said in a sharp tone. I dug in my mind for the right answer.

�Well�� I began. �She�s kind of like Hitomi in a way.� I tried to see where this was going. �Why?� I asked.

�She�s a sick woman,� my sister answered abruptly. I still didn�t seem to get it.

�Sick? What do you mean? Is she dying?� I asked. Akemi shook her head.

�Not sick in that way,� she said. �Kind of not right in the head, do you know what I mean?�

�I guess�� I said. �Where is this going?� She rested her hand on my shoulder.

�Do you really like her?� she asked. I shook my head, still confused.

�Not really,� I answered. �Why are you asking me this?�

�This is going to take a little bit,� Akemi said. �Can you handle it?�

�Where are you going with this?� I asked.

�Can you handle it?!� my sister demanded. I put up my hands at the sound of her tone.

�Okay, okay, yes,� I answered. Akemi took in a deep breath.

�Good,� she said. She pulled me in closer. �Sakura-hime is� rather fragile.�

�What do you mean?�

�Do you know why she�s here?�

�No��

�She ran away from home.�

I gave her a strange look. �What?�

�Her father� he was such a lowlife creep. He didn�t see Sakura-hime so much as a daughter as he did with any other whore he paraded through the house.�

�Oh, awful.�

�Yeah. She couldn�t take it anymore so she ran away here.�

I made a face at my sister. �I don�t get it. Why are you telling me this?�

�Because she�s fragile,� Akemi answered.

�Okay, so?� I asked.

�You� how do I put this? You�re�� she began to say. I raised an eyebrow at her.

�What?� I asked.

�You�re kind of a damaged chick magnet,� she said.

�Damaged chick magnet?� I asked. Akemi gave me a small shrug.

�Face it,� she said. �Hitomi was a perfect example of damaged. When I saw her, I thought, �Yeah, she�s going to be suicidal in a few years.�� I frowned at her. Akemi waved me off when she noticed my face.

�Hey, that�s just what I thought,� she said. �Anyway, Sakura-hime just wants someone stable to latch onto. You are the type to be a shoulder to cry on.� I blinked at my sister.

�What are you saying?� I asked. Akemi turned around to face me with a serious look on her face.

�I�m saying, be careful around Sakura-hime,� she said. I watched as my sister turned and walked back into the house. I came away more confused than when we first came outside.

Okay then� I followed after Akemi back into the house.