Freedom [Free! Haru x OC]

[1] Fresh Start

maybe it's not about fixing something that's broken. Maybe it's about starting over and creating something better. - unknown
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My parents had told me one week ago we would be moving out of America, but they didn't tell me why. My Mom kept muttering in her sleep about someone following her, and begging them to stop, and screaming my name. I can only assume the worst. My Dad, went nearly insane with something too, and comes home with cuts every night. We were going to move to Tokyo, where my Mom grew up... but one night... the worst happened.

*flashback*

We were walking in an alleyway, and my Mom was shaking. Dad was nervous too. It was a very contagious emotion, one that spread over to me. Mom and Dad hugged themselves around me, as if protecting me from the empty shadows of the alleyway. All of a sudden, my Dad drops.

"Dad what are you--" my words are interrupted by my scream, when I looked on my hand, there was blood. Slowly averting my gaze from my bloody hand, I look down at my Dad, who had blood seeping through his shirt, and a surprised expression on his face.

"K-Kohaku... Amber... my beautiful daughter... you must run... he's coming..." Dad breathed, and I tried to stop the bleeding. Mom let out a gut-wrenching scream, pushing me to the ground right as a bullet passed. Kohaku? Why is Dad calling me by my Japanese name? I'm usually known as Amber, he only says my Japanese name when--

"No no no no no no no Dad! Stay alive please!" I begged him, but once I pulled him into a tight embrace, his body was limp and cold. I hear my Mom screaming for me to run, and get out of here, when her pleas are suddenly silenced.

"He's here..." she murmurs, and falls to the ground, barely alive. I realize she had been fighting this mysterious man, and I crawl to her.

"Mom... please don't leave me--AH!" I get dragged off by my feet, and my Mom yells for me. I reach my hand out to her, only to be stabbed violently in the stomach. My vision blurs, when I hear his raspy voice whisper in my ear.

"My job here is done... this is my revenge." He tells me, and my eyes widen. Revenge?! For what?! While I was caught in my thoughts, I hadn't realized my Mom dragging herself to me. When I feel her cold fingertips on my cheek, I snap back into focus, ringing in my ears.

"Amber... Kohaku... I love you. Take my phone, and this amulet. It will keep you safe. I'm so sorry." She tells me, and her eyelids drop down, her body going cold like Dad's. Weakly, I rip up my jacket and attempt to stop the bleeding of my wound. I also click on the amulet Mom gave me. I tried to stand up, but I tripped on my Dad's body, and I cry harder. Using a rolling trash can, I get myself out of the alleyway, yelping at the pain in my abdomen. I see a convenience store across the street. Mom's phone is dead, I can't call an ambulance on my own. I look back and forth, searching for cars, before limping across the street. The streetlights flicker, but I keep moving.

Finally, I make it to the glass door, using the last of my strength to push it open, ringing the bell. My friend Layla is at the front desk, smiling with closed eyes.

"L-Layla..." I whisper, falling, but I help myself back up using the edge of the cashier counter. She opens her eyes and her gaze lands on me.

"Oh my god! Amber!" She cries, rushing over to me. I fall into her arms, and she takes out her phone, calling 911. "Yes! At the convenience store! My friend looks like she's been stabbed! Please come soon!"

A sigh of relief comes out of me, but I have trouble breathing in again. Layla realizes this, and breathes some air into me, performing a minor CPR. It helps, but Layla won't stop crying. "What happened?!"

"Man... killed Mom and Dad in alley...... revenge he said.... stabbed me.... didn't see his face... dead... they're dead...." I rambled, a crazy look filling my eyes. Layla stares in shock, then pulls me into a hug. Paramedics rush in and the sound the ambulance fills my ears.

"Ok Miss Layla, what exactly happened?" One asks. They were setting me up on a gurney.

Layla gulps. "She said a man attacked her, her Mom, and her Dad, she said she never saw the man's face, but when he stabbed her he said something about revenge, and the man had killed her parents in the alleyway across the street." Layla explains, and a small smile forms on my lips. She'll be okay without me. I can sleep.

*flashback ends*

Now here I am at the airport, being relocated by the government in order to keep me safe and maybe a fresh start. I thought I would be going to Tokyo, but they are instead moving me to where my Dad grew up. Iwatobi. A small town, right by the ocean. The ocean... water... reminds me of Mom. I'll be going under my Japanese name, Kohaku. I'm no longer Amber. That man killed her.

Pulling myself together, I walk into the tunnel leading into the airplane. I sit in the back near the exit. This plane was going straight to Tokyo, but a ride will be taking me to Iwatobi, hours away. I think they want that man that was following me and that killed the only family I had left to think that I'm living there, instead of an old fishing town.

The plane ride was long, and the car ride was even longer. I arrived in Iwatobi at 11:56 PM on Sunday. I don't have school tomorrow since tomorrow is the 17th of April, and the term begins on the 18th. So I start on Tuesday with the rest of the students. Hopefully they all leave me alone.

The driver drops me off at an old cottage by the ocean, and a single tear runs down my cheek. Mom would love this. So would Dad. This must have been his house before. Now the American government gave it to me, and a stack of cash for bills. But I'll eventually have to get a job of my own to stay alive, there is only enough for bills, no extra. The only extra money is the one they put in my lunch account.

Throwing my bags on the dusty floor, I cough as the layer of dust floats into the air, making the moonlight coming from the windows cloudy.

"Looks like I've got work to do..."

*time skip till done cleaning*

I huff out a breath, and plop myself down on the sheet-covered sofa. I had finally cleaned everything to perfection, not a single speck of dust to be found. There was only one bedroom in this place, which I guess is good, less things for me to clean. I haven't even touched the attic, and I don't plan to. It's probably empty. Still... I should clean it for a safe area to hide if he ever comes for me...

I take in another breath, and realize the sun is about to come up. It took 6 hours?! I walk out the front door and onto the porch, and stare out at the sea. It sparkled under the fading stars, and I watch as the sun slowly rises from the depths of the ocean, warming my pale skin as it stretches above the calm waves.

I decide to sit here for a while, letting the Monday morning flood away bad old memories, but keep the happy ones. This sunrise reminds me of when my Mom had taken me to the beach, and the sun and stars touched, and her blonde hair glowed like the sun as my raven hair shined like the stars. A hot tear runs down my face and I notice I'm crying. Slowly wiping the tears, I stare back at the water again. Boats from the pier are taking off, and the wake they make distributing the calm surface. Birds begin to chirp, and people start moving. Bright and early. I laugh, a sad laugh, and head back inside the quiet cottage. Maybe living alone will be good for me. Living with Layla, although I love the girl to death, it got annoying all the sympathy I got from her and her dad. Maybe living alone will fix me.

Oh who am I kidding. Being alone will just remind me that everyone I loved was taken away.

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Hi! So I took this story from my old account and unpublished it on there so I could continue writing it on this account. I hardly ever use OC's anymore, so I thought it'd be something cool and different that I could do for myself. I hope you enjoyed!