I N N O C E N C E (Shu Sakamaki)

Chapter 1

"Humans make mistakes. Some admit their guilt - yeah, that was my bad. Some partially admit their faults - I guess that's on me, but he could have reminded me. Some deny them all together - he didn't tell me so how would I know. These characteristics are bound to humans, as some are willing to accept and grow from them, while others are stuck on being stubborn and arrogant. It's a two way street where one must chose the way they want to go."

"On the other hand, there are big mistakes. Mistakes you make that change the course of your whole life, and the lives of others around you. Those mistakes, open up a third path, the one you weren't willing to choose. You are forced to take that path, as your mistake can neither be forgiven or fixed. You cannot grow from it, but you can only live with it for the rest of your life, remembering how it forever changed you and the people around you."

Manami thought about this quite a lot, especially now, as she sat in the back seat of the taxi, staring at the raindrops prickling down the window. She watched as the bigger raindrop curved its path, combining itself with its brother, making an even fuller drop of water. In that instant, it slid down to the base of the window and disappeared into a puddle. It was like a race, except instead of cars, it was Adam's ale.

She watched as the taxi drove through the empty road on the side of which, recached a delicate river. The trees covered her view from seeing the details, but she could clearly recognize a mansion that stood on the opposite side of it.

With a single press of the button, she pulled down the window of the car, only for her face to be hit with the fresh air of the wind. A single leaf fell on top of her forehead, just above her slightly furrowed eyebrows. She reached out her hand to remove it out of her blunt bangs, only for the car to bounce up, causing her to hit her head against the ceiling.

She winced at the sharp pain, rubbing the back of her head and glaring at the taxi driver, who chuckled nervously.

"Sorry 'bout that." He smiled at her, as she looked away from him without saying anything in return. "Coming back home, hah?"

"Mm." She nodded her head, deciding that it would be rather troublesome for her to tell the truth, since it would lead to him questioning her even further.

"Some rich folks you got there!" He pointed at the mansion which she previously saw across the river, except this time, it was closer.

Her eyes widened slightly in shock, as she turned to look at the taxi driver through the rear-view mirror. "You mean, that's where the address leads to?"

"Of course, don't you live there?" He asks, a bit confused by her statement.

"Right." She leaned back into the seat, placing her chin at the palm of her hand and resting her elbow against the car door. "It... has been a long time."

"Clearly, since you don't seem to remember how your home looks like!" He laughed, hoping for a sweet response but instead, he got nothing in return.

Deciding his attempts at starting small talk with the girl were fruitless, the driver gruntled and brought his focus back on the road. On the other hand, Manami was getting more and more intrigued the closer they got to the mansion.

It was as big as the one she and her father lived in, except it looked much older. The tanned bricks leaned closely against each other, holding up like a fort. The windows were all closed, which was peculiar to her, since it was at least 35 degrees Celsius outside. The closer the car got, the more clearer the gates of the mansion became. Its metal coiled into shapes of circles and triangles. Manami felt uncomfortable by the atmosphere the mansion was giving off, before getting snapped out of it as the car came to a halt.