Chapter 1 Childhood Memories

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Yoko's POV:

When I was younger, I thought the world was full of magic. Life felt like one endless celebration, a party that would never end.

I remember standing on the balcony, watching the guests below, all of them laughing and dancing at the party my parents had thrown. Everything seemed perfect, like a dream that would never fade.

"Yoko, come see," my mom called out, her voice full of warmth.

I turned and rushed towards her. "Mom, Dad! This is so beautiful!" I exclaimed as my dad fastened the necklace they'd just bought me around my neck. It was a melba gold necklace, adorned with an emerald gemstone at the center, surrounded by pink sapphires and diamonds. It sparkled like something fit for royalty—like a treasure only a princess would own.

My parents gave me everything.

"Anything for you, my dear! You know how much your mom and I love you," my dad said with a smile that made me feel like the most important person in the world.

I adored them. I couldn't imagine life without their constant love, attention, and gifts. They showered me with so much that I never saw what lay beneath their smiles. I was too blind to see who they really were—until it was too late.

And then, everything changed.

We were suddenly interrupted by chaos. A fire blazed in the distance, pulling all of our attention away from that tender moment.

My parents had enemies. Or maybe... they were someone else's enemies.

"Brown, get her out of here!" my dad shouted at our head housekeeper. In an instant, Ms. Brown grabbed me, pulling me away as the world around us crumbled into panic.

"No! Wait! Mom! Dad!" I screamed, trying to break free, but I was just a child—too small, too weak to escape her grip. The harder I struggled, the tighter she held me, dragging me further and further away from the only safety I had ever known.

I didn't understand then, but in that moment, my perfect world shattered. And nothing would ever be the same again.

We had just made it out the door, and we were running far from the mansion when, suddenly, a deafening explosion tore through the air.

I instinctively turned around, my heart pounding in my chest, only to see the house I had grown up in—the house that held all my memories—now engulfed in flames. The fire raged, devouring everything I had ever known.

And my parents... they had left me behind.

"Come with me!" Mrs. Brown urged, helping me to my feet as I stumbled, still in shock from everything that had just happened.

"My parents..." was all I could whisper through the tears streaming down my face. I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me, leaving me floating in a sea of confusion and despair. Why was this happening? Why now? How could everything be gone in an instant?

Mrs. Brown turned me towards her, forcing me to meet her eyes. Her gaze was fierce, determined. "Yoko, we must make you strong. Stronger than they were."

Her words cut through my sorrow, but I couldn't fully grasp what she meant. "Strong... like you?" I asked, my voice shaky, barely a whisper.

Mrs. Brown's expression softened, a glimmer of something almost maternal flickering in her eyes. "I am strong to protect the children in my care," she explained, her voice calm but firm. "And I can teach you how to protect others—children like you."

Her words hung in the air, and I repeated them, unsure of their full meaning. "To protect others... like me."

I glanced back at the house, now a crumbling, burning shell of my former life. My heart ached, but something inside me began to harden—a small spark of resolve in the face of overwhelming loss. I began to understand, though not fully, what Mrs. Brown meant. To protect meant more than just surviving—it meant becoming someone who could face whatever came next.

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