Remember

Chapter 1
“Come on guys! We’re almost there!” Kyarri called out to her friends. One of the girls instantly perked up. “ OK Ne-san! (Japanese for big sister)”. Kyarri could only just shake her head and smile at her sister Sora. All four of them returning to America from a Japanese exchange student program and already some of the things they have learned stuck with them such as their names. Ryoko smiled as well and started to encourage Kana to hurry up as well. “What’s the big deal? What’s so special about this ship?” Kana grudged as she pulled her duffle bag. The girls have been traveling for days to get a ride home. Japan would not permit them a ride back to the states. Some ex-convict was able to find a way to smuggle out the girls so that they could go home. The most peculiar thing about him was that he had tickets for the Titanic, but only for third class. Must have smuggled these as well, she said clutching her vouchers. “Come on Kana!” she heard her Ryoko say. “We can already see the ship! Just a few more steps and we’ll be on board the most luxurious ship in the world”. That was what made Kyarri befriend Ryoko. Kyarri loved her cheery spirit. When she heard what had happened to both her and Kana, she instantly took them in, although she was tight on money and still healing from her wounds from when she left her gang. Although they were given third class tickets, all four girls were ecstatic about going on a cruise. As they got closer, Sora became more and more excited. “ Ne-chan! We made it”.
Chapter 2
The girls relieved themselves of their bags. The Mistress of the sea now floated before them in all of her ironclad glory, just like Sora said. Surrounding them were the richest and the most famous people known to mankind. Kyarri took her ticket out and started to inspect it. “Are you sure this is the right place?” Ryoko her companion who was now as unsure as she was. “If you are looking for the ferry, it is on the other side: came a proud English voice from behind them. There stood a girl who seem to be their age and had an idiotic looking smirk on her face. “This line is for only the finest people in the world. Peasants like you must wait”. That must have been when Kyarri started to burst out laughing. “ I’m so sorry for laughing, for I must have horrible hearing. I could have sworn you said that only the finest people must stand here. So far, I only see people who are just like me; tired and wanting to get on bored,” stated Kyarri as she slowly started to catch her breath. The girl’s smirk quickly disappeared as her anger rose higher. “HOW DARE YOU!? I am Miss Sara Dodge! You low life’s need to learn your place”. With that, she turn on her heals and walked away with her fat nose in the air. Kyarri mimicked her while Sora, Ryoko, and Kana laughed. Kyarri was never one to be very fond of preps and let them get to her.
Chapter 3
As they stood in line, the girls over heard an argument between one of the crewmen and two couples in line for the first class. “What do you mean we can’t return these?!” the bigger man boomed. “I’m sorry sir, but you cannot return first class tickets!” The woman next to him looked down in disgust. “Pish-Posh. I have never heard of such nonsense”. A younger woman looked up and noticed the two girls. “Alexander, look over there!” she said as she pointed to the girls. Kana turned to Kyarri. Kyarri was the eldest of the four and was always looking after them. If they needed help, they would go to her. “They’re pointing at us! What do we do?”. The group of first class people started to walk over to them. “Hello!” the young woman cooed sweetly. “Uh h-hi!” were the only words that both Kyarri and Ryoko could muster up while Sora hid behind her older sister. The young man in the group looked at the girl’s outfits. Kyarri wore her Japanese school uniform, same as Ryoko. Sora and Kana were a little different. Before they left Japan, the girls were given traditional Kimonos. Sora loved hers so much that she insisted on wearing it on the trip to the Titanic. Kana wore her skirt and blouse. “Say Gracia! These girls are from the orient!” the man said to his wife Gracia in excitement. “Oh Maes! Why don’t we give our tickets to these poor girls! Look how tired they are! I think it would be wonderful if they had people to take care of them!”.
“Now Gracia”
“Come man! Where is that kind heart of yours?” asked Alexander. Maes look at the girls again. Japan was a long way too travel, and they looked so tired. “What are your names?” Maes asked. This question made Sora cling to Kyarri even more. Unsure of what would happen next, Kyarri spoke. “ I’m Kyarri. This is my little sister Sora, and my two best friends, Ryoko and Kana”.
“My name is Maes, and this is my wife Gracia. Our companions here are Alexander and Nina. Unfortunatly, something came up and we don’t want to waste tickets. Here you go!” Maes said and walked away with the others before any of the girls could think of protesting. Once they were gone, Sora came out of hiding. Kyarri smiled as she watched Sora’s eyes widen. All four of them were now in the first class.
Chapter 4
Sara Dodge could not speak as she saw the four girls walk around the first class compartment. Surely there was some mistake. How could third-rate people be admitted into a first class section? “I see you made it to the first class. Just remember that you are still the level of peasants and will never be anything but that.” Sara remarked. Kyarri smiled. Two can play at this game! “Hey girls look who it is! It’s our friend from the dock!” Kyarri said in a cheerfully sarcastic loud voice. “How are you doing Sara? Isn’t great that we, the not so finest people made it into the first class?” she said with a look that only a fool would not be able to get. Kyarri walked up to her and whispered in her ear. “Remember this day Sara. Remember what had happened when you were so stupid enough to belittle people who were not so fortunate as you, but were able to get in to the best area on the Titanic”. Sara knew she had just been had. “Hi Sara!” Sora said with a smile and gave Sara a big hug. Sora remembered what had happened the last time Kyarri whispered into someone’s ear like that. That was when Kyarri was still the leader of a gang. “I thought you said you hated peasants!” a girl from behind wailed. “I can’t believe I actually befriended you!” With that, the girl left. Sara just stood there, in shock. “Remember today Sara. The only lowlifes in this group right now are you and I. Me for an idiotic mistake I made long ago, and you for being too prideful.” Were the only words Kyarri spoke to Sara. Through her tears, Sara looked up and responded. “I never have been so humiliated in my life! How dare you udder such words!” Kyarri just shook her head as she watched the girl leave. Sora looked at Kyarri and smiled. She understood what her sister was doing. As the four of them laughed together, they watched Sara run, knowing that the girl would never judge them, or anyone else again.
Chapter 5
Yawn! This is kind of boring. Scratch that. This is extremely boring. It was after dinner, the first class passengers were on the dance floor, and Kyarri wished to be somewhere else. Ryoko and Kana were at the upper deck doing what ever, and Sora was socializing with a boy with brown spiky hair. I’m glad that immoto (Japanese for little sister) found a friend. At least is gives her something to do. As she turned around, she bumped into a rather large man who was drunk out of his mind. “Hey there! Do you like shopping?” the fool asked. “Uhh…”. Kyarri looked for a response and a way out of this mess, but was suddenly arm-linked with the drunkard. “Let’s go shopping!”. “Let go of me!” Kyarri screamed, but failed to escape or get a response as she was dragged away. She kicked and screamed as her captor started to take her to the first shop. “Hey! She said to let her go. I suggest you do as she said.” Came a male voice from behind her. The drunk turned around with an annoyed look on his face, allowing her to catch a glimpse at him. To her surprise, he was about her age. His hair was a dark brown to black and was tied back. His most interesting feature was his eyes. His eyes were so pure white that you couldn’t see his pupils. It was so unrealistic. Dang! This guy has guts to go against a fat drunk fool like him. Nice knowing you! Kyarri turned away so that she didn’t have to see her soon to be dead rescuer get killed. “And what are you going to do about that?” the drunk asked while dropping his hostage. Before he could bring his fists up to a fighting position, the boy knock him to the ground. Whoo Hoo! My turn! With that, Kyarri kicked him in the nether regions, making him double over in pain, regretting that he ever picked her up. After a few security officers came over, the boy and Kyarri walked off. “Are you okay?” the boy asked. “My throat hurts, my legs are tired from kicking and my arm feels like it’s about to fall off, but I’m ok. Now, I am asking you the same question. Are you okay?” was the only reply that Kyarri could come up with, but it was enough for him to laugh about. “Hmm…let me see. My hand hurts from punching the idiot, I already have a headache, and the smell of alcohol is making me sick, but everything else is fine”. Both of them chuckled at each other’s comments. It made Kyarri feel a little better that she and her friends were not the only foreigners in the first class. At that moment, Sora and her newfound friend bombarded the two of them. “Ne-San! Look! I found another person from Japan, and he has the same name as me!” Sora exclaimed. Oh fun! How am I going to call my sister without calling him now? “Hi. I am Sora as well. Your sister has been telling me all about you”. Oh crap! That was something I did not need to hear! I hope she didn’t tell him about the Blood Ravens, Kyarri thought with a panicked expression. “Yep! And I also told him how you used to be in the elite all girls gang in Japan, and why and how you got out.” Immoto Sora added to Sora’s comment. It seemed that instantly Immoto Sora noticed that there was a fourth person in the group and he seemed to have noticed that look as well. “My name is Neji. Coinsidently, Sora is one of my traveling companions as well”. Oh wonderful, Kyarri thought. He would have found out either way. “ I’m Kyarri, and like what immoto said, I am the ex-leader of an elite girls gang in Japan. This talkative girl here, who I love very much, is my immoto, Sora.” Kyarri said with regret. Neji just smiled. “You are not the only dysfunctional person on this ship. I’m going to the upper deck to meet my two other friends. If you would like, you can come withme to meet them. You will see that one of them is just like you”. With that, Neji and Sora disappeared into the crowd of dancing couples. After a few seconds, Kyarri turned to leave as well, and just like a puppy following its master, Immoto Sora followed. That was enough craziness for one night, and it was about time they had to find their companions as well. Hopefully they had a better night than she did.
Chapter 6
“Well, well. If this isn’t the ironies of ironies, then I don’t know what is”. Not only was Kyarri standing in front of Ryoko and Kana, but also so were Neji, Sora, and two other men who appeared to be the other two companions. Kyarri could do nothing but chuckle. Just like Sora and Neji, both men had long hair, but the one standing next to Ryoko had his standing up at a point. With his yellow scarf, Kyarri thought that he could pass as an English boy if it wasn’t for his blackish purple pointy hair, and his golden eyes. Kana’s new friend was just about as interesting as the other. He too had long black hair, but like Neji, his was tied back. His facial looks were what Kyarri found most intriguing, that it seemed to be as unrealistic as Neji’s. His eyes were crimson red with a black ring and three black dots surrounding his pupils. She began to wonder if he even existed or if she was just imagining it. He looked so much older than the others due to the fact that he had two lines on his face. But what got her most was the fact that she had seen him before, but could not place him anywhere. Could it be possible that he was in a gang when she was in Japan? Kyarri was soon brought back to reality by the sound of Neji’s voice. “Did you always stare at people when you were in you gang?” Was Neji’s only comment. Kana and Ryoko started to giggle at the cheeky comment. As the two girls laughed, the older looking man stepped forward. “I am Itatchi. Neji told me that you were in a gang as well”. Kyarri shot a cold glare at him. “Yes, I was. And what of it?” she snapped; only making him smirk more. The other man started to laugh. “Ha ha! Neji, you have found an interesting girl this time. Forgive me. I have never expected to meet a girl, a former leader of an elite gang, be so defensive.” Was the pointy hair boy’s only comment. Ryoko quickly turned her gaze to him, knowing that they were going to take it too far. “Ren! Be nice! At least she is not in one any more. And frankly, after listening to everyone’s story, no one has the right to talk”. Ren’s smile quickly faded. She was right. Each Person had their own little story. Kyarri was the leader of the elite girls gang, the Blood Ravens. These girls were feared by all gangs or at least acknowledge for their strength. It wasn’t always like this though. When she was three, a serial killer killed her parents. At age five, the Blood Ravens took her in and soon acknowledge her as their leader after she defeated their former leader. She planned to leave so that she could take care of her little sister. That was when her gang got into a war with another notorious gang. Both of the gangs were killed off, leaving Kyarri as the soul veteran and survivor of the war. Immoto Sora was from a foster home which also disowned her. She lived on the streets where the Blood Ravens would meet. Kyarri found her one-day, looking as helpless as she had when she was little. Sora was always with Kyarri at the gang meetings and was always scared of what they did. Kyarri realized this and promised that she would never let anything happened to her, using a burnt cigarette bud to prove it. Ryoko and Kana had the same story. Both of them were best of friends since they were in preschool. They had the most perfect life that any girl could dream of. One day, a shot from a serial killer took all of that away. A foster family in America took them in and sent them on a foreign exchange student program in Japan. Kyarri and Sora were in the same school as they were and that was when they became fast friends. Neji was the most prideful in his family. He hated his younger sister and soon left his family to start a life of robbery. His father caught him one day and sat and talked with his son. They came to an understanding. Neji left his family to start a new life, this time not as a thief. Sora was an orphan who lived on a deserted island. His friends ditched him to pursue some fantasy world. When he was rescued, he met Neji on the ship. The two of them have been best friends since. Ren’s father had very high expectations for his son, that it got to the point that Ren hated him and left his home. Why traveling, he met both Sora and Neji. Out of all these past stories, Itachi’s must have been the most delinquent and most morbid. Itachi was a member of a secret police force in Japan that his father commanded. For reasons that the other seven could not understand, Itachi killed his best friend, and most of his family. After the brutal kill, he joined an elite gang in Japan that even the Blood Ravens could not stand. He joined the Akatsuki. “So that’s who that jerk is”. Kyarri felt like an idiot for not recognizing him. She had fought with him before, and earned respect from his leader that a position in their gang was offered to her. All eight stood in silence, with made Immoto Sora even more irritated. “I know what we can do! Come on everyone!” With that, everyone left to see what Kyarri’s little sister were up to.
Chapter 7
Sara Dodge could not be anymore angered. Some drunk man told the security that she hit him in the head, another drunk man vomited in her cabin, moving her into the third class rooms until they cleaned it up. Now she had to hike all the way down to the bottom of the ship and share a room with someone else for the night. “Could this day get any worse?’ she cried. Little did she know that it would
“Ha! Beat that white eyes!” Kyarri smirked as she made her move on the chessboard. Neji could only laugh. “Will d-”. His comment was cut short as the side of the Titanic skid acrossed an iceberg. “What was that?” Ryoko asked. Kyarri looked up and saw one of the crewmen looked distressed. “…the ship is not going to last.” Was the sad remark he made. Panic rose inside of Kyarri. “Kana, Ryoko, where is my sister?” Kyarri asked as calmly as she could, even though they knew she was frightened. Neither they, nor Sora knew. No sooner after she asked, a mob of people came up. Kana and Ryoko were instantly mobbed. The men tried to help, only to find them being pulled away. “Kyarri!” Neji cried out to his friend. “Go find you sister. Don’t worry about us!”. That was the last time Kyarri saw him, or any of his friends on the ship.
Chapter 8
Kyarri looked frantically fro her sister, but with no luck. The cut on her left eye made her unable to see. Kyarri could care less about that now. I almost lost her before in the gang wars. I refuse to lose her to this ship! Was the only thought racing through her head. She looked through every single spot that she could think that her sister would go to in the first class. Just to be on the safe side, I’ll check through the lower levels as well. “Someone help!” was the cry that stopped her dead in her tracks. She ran through the entrance of the third class and was shocked at her discovery. There stood a man, badly injured holding a body wrapped in a blanket. Kyarri knew who it was and fought back her tears. She ran to help the man. “Are you her sister Miss?” was the first thing he asked her. Kyarri was too choked up to answer. “Y-yes! Is she okay!?”. “She is still alive, but has a nasty bump on her head. Take her and yourself to the life boats and hurry!”. With that, the man disappeared into the darkness to help anyone else in need. As he left, Kyarri checked her sibling. Just like the man said, Immoto Sora was still alive, but was unconscious. The bump on her head had started to swell. “Stick with me Immoto. A promise is a promise, and I intend to keep mine. We are not going to die yet”. With that, Kyarri used the blanket and tied her sister to her back and ran. As she did so, she noticed that her boots were rather cold and wet. Water was already coming in. Crap! Time’s running out!
Chapter 9
As she flew up the stairs, Kyarri saw Sara sitting on her bed. “What the heck are you doing?! The ship is sinking and you are just going to sit there?!”. Sara looked up with a smirk. With one look at Kyarri, she started to laugh. “Kyarri, your Yankee jokes have never ceased to amuse me.” she cackled. “Really, you must think I am an idiot. The Titanic can never sink”. Ok that’s it! Kyarri stomped in and slapped her in the face, making Sara feel stunned that someone would do such a thing. “You are right Sara. I do think that you are an idiot. Usually I can handle little preps like you with patience. But now, you have hit my last nerve. Obviously, you have never seen through the eyes of people less fortunate as you and now you are being treated as such. For once, stop wallowing in your self pity and get your sorry butt up there and save yourself”. Kyarri turned around and left. As she walked, her gut was telling her that Sara would not make it out. You heard my warning Sara. That was the last time that anyone heard of Miss Sara Dodge.
Chapter 10
After thirty minutes of being mobbed, Kana and Ryoko were forced into a boat. Ryoko fought against the sailor. “Please Miss! Be reasonable!” was the sailor’s argument. “There is absolutely no way I will go into that boat until my friends get here!” retorted Ryoko. “Come on lass!” said a burly looking man. “I bet your friend is already on another life boat. Now be a good little girl and get in”. “WHO ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE FATTY!?” Kana screamed. Oh boy! The word little is a big no-no with Kana-chan was the only thought Ryoko could think of while the fat man picked both of them up and put them in the boat. After there was no more room left, Kana and Ryoko were lowered into the pitch-black icy water.
“Finally! I made it out”. It took an hour for Kyarri to get through the hoard of people pushing to get to the deck. Now that she made it out alive, Kyarri immediately looked for a boat. That was a mission impossible in and of itself. Everyone was running and screaming as if they were chickens getting their heads cut off. S.O.S. rockets were shot. As she pushed her way through, she over heard a bit of information that enraged her. “The ship ten miles away from us have just turned off their radio, and the Carpathia will be here in two hours.” said the timid operator. “Do we have any more life boats?” The captain asked. “No sir. And all the rockets have been launched as well”. What?! No more lifeboats!? Then that means… Kyarri’s mind raced as death started to play with her mind. That was when it came to her. Hold tight immoto. I still have one more stunt up my sleeve and one more lifeline.
Chapter 11
From their lifeboat, Kana and Ryoko huddled together in solemn prayer as they watched the last lifeboat lower into the ocean. Tears rolled down Ryoko’s eyes as searched each boat, hoping to find the guys, Immoto Sora, and Kyarri. Tonight would mark another memory. Tonight, she would remember the night her friends went below the sea, never to return. Next to them a man, who was holding a bottle of vodka, cried with them, not knowing what they were crying about. He started to hold a memory service for some girl and guy who had knocked some sense into him and in honor of them, he vowed to never drink again. With that, he threw the vodka bottle into Davy Jones Locker. At that moment, Kana looked up and stopped crying. “Ryoko,” Kana asked. “Exactly how crazy is Kyarri”. Ryoko, not understanding what her friend was saying looked up. Kana pointed back to the ship where a figure with something tied to it’s back was standing on it’s stern.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” cried a frightened old lady..
“Oh no. She is not really going to do it is she?” was Ryoko’s only comment.
Kyarri only smiled at the timid woman.
“She is” Kana said.
“I’m not doing anything extreme! I’m am just going to do one quick…”
“KYARRI! IF YOU JUMP I SWEAR I WILL HIT YOU WITH MY SKETCH PAD!” threatened Ryoko.
“CANNONBALL!” Kyarri dove in the pitch-black darkness. “Oh good lord! This water is freezing, too black for me to see and… I just swam into someone’s vomit. Lovel- AHH! THE WATER IS BURNING MY CUT! SOMEBODY GET US OUT OF HERE!” Kyarri screamed. No sooner said than done, the lifeboat that held both Kana and Ryoko started to come toward her in attempt to rescue her. Almost there little sister! Hang on a little more. As they were pulled in, an off duty nurse immediately tended to the injured girls. After having her eye wrapped, Kyarri turned to meet up with her friends, which she realized that was a bad move on her part. As she turned, Ryoko slapped her in the face with her sketchbook. Shocked at her actions, Kyarri looked at her in a confused manner. “I told you that I would slap you with my sketch book if you jumped!” Ryoko scolded her as her eyes burned through her tear. “If I didn’t, then I would not be here right now!” Kyarri responded, not sure if she should have. “Kyarri, just out of curiosity. Were you on anything when you jumped?” Kana asked with a concerned look in her eyes. That comment earned Kyarri a few more evil glares from the other passengers. “No! These stunts I did happened without a drop of caffeine or sugar”. That comment didn’t help her much in her defense. “Miss! Can you come here please?” the nurse called. Kyarri tried the best she could to get over there fast without rocking the boat. “What you did tonight was very reckless, but help your sister at the same time. She has regained consciousness, but not enough to stay awake. She is fine, but should be checked by a real doctor when we reach New York” the nurse said with a smile. Thank the lord! As Kyarri sat with her sleeping sibling, she watched the queen of the ocean go down to her watery grave. Grave. Oh My Gosh! Kyarri just realized that she did not know if the guys made it to a lifeboat or not, and unfortunately the others had no clue either. This night Kyarri would remember. Not only did she watch her rival on the ship die, but she had possibly watched her new friends lose their lives too. For the first time in a long time, Kyarri cried.
Chapter 12
“Docking in New York!” a crewman shouted. The Carpathia rescued the survivors and had finally arrived to New York. It was a mournful departure. Kyarri, Sora, Kana, and Ryoko sadly took whatever belonging they had left and got off the ship. No one at the docks or on the ship smiled. Today was as dark as it was the night before. As the passengers departed, Kyarri bumped into a man who was bundled in not only a trench coat, but a blanket as well. The man seemed to have noticed her and tried to start some type of conversation.
“It looks pretty pitiful out her doesn’t it miss?”
“I guess.”
“Say! I recognize you! You were the girl who had another person strapped to her back and jumped into the Atlantic! That was an amazing feat!”
“Eh. I had to do something for my sister”.
“You know, for someone who was willing to scream cannonball and jump into freezing waters, you are really depressed”.
That does it! This guy is getting on my nerves! Kyarri turned around and snapped back.
“WELL WOULDN’T YOU BE IF YOU LOST YOUR FRIENDS AND ALMOST WATCHED YOUR LITTLE SISTER DIE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU! WHAT IS YOUR POINT YOU OLD FART?!” Kyarri screamed with tears once again blinding your vision. The man smiled. “Yes, I probably would, but I didn’t, and neither did you”. At that moment, the man took his cover off. Kyarri stood in shock and embarrassed as she realized who it was. Neji just smiled and laughed. “And one more thing, don’t call me an old fart! That was a little too cold for my liking”. As he said that, Ren, Itachi, and Sora walked up behind him. Ryoko, Immoto Sora, and Kana, who were walking with Kyarri stopped as well. Both groups just stood there in silence until Immoto Sora broke it. “Ren, why do you look like a girl?” Immoto Sora asked. Kyarri laughed as she watched Ren fumed at the thought of being called a girl. But it was true. All four of them looked like women with their hair undone and wet from the morning’s fog. That would explain how they were on the lifeboat, even though they were unwilling as well. Itachi walked up to Kyarri and smirked at her. “That was a crazy stunt you pulled last night,” he said almost with a sneer. Kyarri smirked as well. “ I had to, otherwise my plan would have never worked”. All of them laughed together as they walked to the train. As they walked, each one of them told their own story of how they survived. Listening to each story, Kyarri noted that all had in common, something to smile about, something to share with each other. All of them would remember their story of how they survived the Night of the Titanic.

End