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When you're dead, you're dead. That's it. That's the finality of your life.

Ironically enough, when Sayuri was still a member of the 'living' populace, that was her motto, the code she allowed to guide her every day. Though, as it is quite evident by her current state of being, that mantra only proved to be false.

Within the earlier stages of her childhood, Yuri was noted to be the happiest and most cheerful individual one could ever hope to meet. Filled with an internal light that made her whole person glow, as well as beaming smiles that pulled others in, it shouldn't come as a surprise that her classmates flocked to her. After all, human beings are creatures that crave warmth. Drawing from this inner 'flame', Sayuri was always quite the confident and outgoing child, one that was highly athletic and one that always possessed the right answers. Considering such, this girl was always within the 'it' group of her school.. in fact, some may even argue she was the ringleader of this particular crowd. Adding onto her irresistible aura was the well-known reality that the 'Yoshida' name held fortune beyond imagination.. Though, with a world-renowned doctor for a father and a 3-Michelin starred chef for a mother, what else could you expect?

However, around the age of 12, Sayuri's life was inverted. During the month of December, both of her parents were called away for business within Europe. Undoubtedly, her mother was going to receive yet another glowing review and her father was going to hold yet another conference about his breakthroughs. A part of her routine in life, Yuri didn't question the circumstances in which her parents were to leave the house empty for 3 weeks.. it was simply normal. And, like normal, they would return soon enough with gifts and complaints about having to leave their precious treasure behind. Unfortunately... this trip wasn't to be normal. There wasn't to be an exchanging of presents, nor breath-taking squeezes. In fact, there would be two funerals to replace that once-joyous celebration. Near the French border, the commercial line carrying Mr. and Mrs. Yoshida experienced an engine malfunction before bursting into flames and plunging into the sea. As an attempt to provide comfort for the suffering families, the company released a press note declaring that, with a 96% certainty, most passengers aboard died in the explosion, that none of them suffered. Within Sayuri's case, it did little to put her aching heart at ease.

Not so surprisingly, the poor girl, not even old enough to be considered a 'teenager', grew into a reclusive hermit, the loss of her only family dimming the light everyone so loved about her. In fact, her depression cultivated with such intensity that it was almost a full school year before she even dared to make a reappearance within the tiled halls. Despite making vain attempts to reconnect with her old life, Yuri still found that newly-darkened portion of her soul yearning to be separated from the constant thrumming of others. Of course, it didn't help that those who held such prominent roles within her old self kept urging her to revert back, that she was only experiencing a 'phase'.

As the years passed, that depression spiraled even further out of control. Coupled with struggling to remain cheerful and optimistic, should it really be a shock that her mental state was extremely fragile? With those introverted tendencies peaking, Sayuri took to executing small measures to cut connections with others. First, it wasn't answering emails or texts after a certain time...then it wasn't hanging out with others as often when school was let out. Finally, it reached the point in which she took to eating lunch by herself under a staircase. And that was where she first met him; a transfer student that her "friends" often liked to whisper distasteful things about. To be honest, she was extremely apprehensive in having another person discover her hideaway..but, as the days went on and he kept returning, Sayuri accepted his presence. Slowly, bit by bit, her inner flame grew as friendship blossomed. In fact, she even begun to actively seek him out during the school day, each time eager to experience that fleeting happiness. However, when their time would end, that emptiness inside her would only intensify. Recognizing that the growing loneliness inside her was outweighing her happiness with Ezio, Yuri grew distant once more, their conversations reduced to greetings. "Why am I like this..? Did I do something so horrible in my past that I don't deserve to be happy?" were her thoughts on the matter, her ability to focus on others, noticeably, declining. And then, one day, Ezio did the unexpected; he cornered her and demanded she told him her story.

Oddly enough, despite reopening her wounds from the past, Sayuri didn't spill tears in reminiscing. Maybe because she had already spent them all..? Or, maybe, it was because she just grew calloused to the idea of death? Whatever the reason, Ezio became the only person in the world to know her true pain.. but, like everyone else, he ended up leaving afterwards. Making a pinky promise that, within her eyes, held no weight, the transfer student left the country and her blackness grew.

By the time Sayuri entered her freshman year in high school, the poor girl refused entirely to communicate and socialize with others. Interactions with crowds resulted in headaches from the noise and brief conversations left her feeling exhausted and winded. Those "friends" from her younger years recognized that, at this point, their "leader" was beyond saving.. so they did one thing they were expected to do. Calling her a 'freak' and a 'disappointment', they cut any ties they once had to the shut-in, casting her out and leaving her even more so alone. Branded as a scourge of her class, the student body followed the main crowd's example and refused to even acknowledge her existence within their mass.

Approaching her senior year of high school, Sayuri Yoshida had 6 attempted plans to steal her own life. From sleeping pills to drowning to slitting her wrists, nothing seem to work for the wretched girl. Death, simply, refused to accept her. With gloom, Yuri submitted herself to being a failure within her mind and gave up on her studies all together. However, her life was to be turned around for the millionth time when a new transfer student made an appearance in her class. A greek student with blonde hair and crimson eyes, complete with a cocky smile and carefree attitude... no one could have denied he was beyond handsome. Almost immediately, Kleos found a niche within the elite group..but even then, Yuri knew he was different from those monsters. Seeing her as another classmate and despite the warnings of her peers, Kleos approached Sayuri and the two became quick friends. In secret, they laughed and joked with each other until their feelings blossom far beyond friendship.

Of course, happiness doesn't last forever. While the two started dating, it was only a matter of time before word reached the ears of one student..and only a few seconds before it spread like wildfire. Wanting to confront their ex-leader about her betrayal, Sayuri's old friends ended up dragging her behind the gardening club, claiming they just wanted to "talk". Foolishly, Yuri obliged to their request..and ended up paying the price for it.

An ambush was awaiting the raven-haired girl in the form 5 unknown guys, teenage boys really, that the elite group had paid off to terrorize her. Making an attempt to remove her clothes, their intentions quite clear, it was only natural that Yuri resisted. Even then, it was all still viewed as a game in their eyes. "Don't be shy!" "Heh....you're even cute when you're playing hard to get!" "This will go a lot easier if you just shut up and enjoy it." With panic welling in her chest, the poor girl ended up lashing out a tad bit too harshly, kicking one in the nose and causing it to bleed profusely. With their playful nature quick to turn to rage, the offenders turned their assault to become violent through throwing punches and lashing out with swift kicks. Following her instincts, Yuri curled her torso into a fetal position to prevent any damage to her internal system... like that helped at all. 10 minutes had passed before one man, the one the victim had assumed was the leader, put far too much force behind his kick. A sickening snap, followed by Yuri's wailing, filled the air, confirming everyone's suspicions; one of the ribs had been splintered. Backing off immediately from her, Sayuri made this a time to move, to get up..but she was stopped by a racking cough. Blood splattered the ground, a sign that the rib had punctured her right lung.

Not wanting to get blamed for the mess they caused, the pathetic entourage of delinquents fled the scene to leave Yuri alone. Futilely attempting to expel the increasing fluid from her body, each second causing her to wheeze in smaller and smaller amounts of air, the girl knew she had to receive medical attention immediately. Making a plan to crawl to the main building, any effort involved in doing so was halted by her silent screams. With internal bleeding and a possible concussion, it was clear to anyone she wasn't going to be able to move. Deciding on the easy route, Yuri ended up collapsing on the her back, those magenta orbs trained to stare at the sky. After all, someone would have had to notice she was missing..right? Yet, despite that hopeful inner voice, the girl knew the truth all too well; no one would. Sayuri ended up laying there a total of 3 hours, her body struggling to remain alive and conscious, until a returning student, one who had left his phone as the greenhouse, spotted her. Within a few minutes, the whir of sirens filled the air and she was loaded onto the stretcher. For the first time in several years, Yuri felt optimistic about the how Death didn't want her, how the doctors would be able to fix her and how she would finally be able to see Kleos once more.


When you're dead, you're dead. That's it. That's the finality of your life.