Chapter One-- Usagi 

	The light shone through the thin lace curtains of her bedroom window, 
reminding her it was morning.* It was a dream…if only it were reality. I 
really have to stop having dreams like that. It only makes my real life seem 
more depressing.* With a sigh, she stood up and walked to the bathroom to 
shower. The bright yellow of the bathroom tiles and only seemed brighter due 
to the small window to her right. Walking to the sink, she stared at her 
reflection sadly.* Why me? Why can’t I have friends, and lead a normal 
life?* Her normally bright blue eyes seemed duller than normal, her shiny 
silver blonde hair limp. Grabbing a fistful of the ankle length strands, she 
glared at it. This was one of the reasons she was ostracized at school, that 
and her clumsiness. * Why can’t I be more graceful? Why am I even asking 
that question? I can’t be something I’m not, I guess, and what I am doesn’t 
seem to be all that fantastic. * 
	Sighing resignedly, she stepped into the shower, wishing the hot water 
pounding on her skin could rid her of the hurt she would have to go through 
once more this day. After stepping out of the shower she washed her face 
quickly, hastily putting on blush and lip-gloss. Once she had her school 
uniform in order, she walked across the plush blue-gray carpeting, passing 
her cherry oak dresser and looked once again into the mirror, checking her 
odangos.* Perfect…the only one in school with this long hair and the only 
one with odangos...might as well remain original.* With a cynical laugh, 
she walked swiftly to the door of her bedroom, glancing down the hallway, 
stood in the doorway and took a deep breath. * Show time. * 
	She walked quickly down the hallway, over the wooden floors, which felt 
cold against her stockinged feet. Approaching the stairs she pasted a false 
smile on her face, pinched her cheeks and ran down the stairs lightly 
grasping the wood banister. The instant her feet touched the ground floor, 
she launched herself into the sunny kitchen. The single window above the 
sink was open and the transparent white silk curtains rustled in the breeze. 
She entered the kitchen at a run and saw her mother, father, and brother all 
sitting at the table eating peacefully. Her father had a newspaper in front 
of his face and was sipping contentedly from a mug full of coffee. Her 
mother was trying to get her younger brother, Shingo, to eat some decent 
food. She looked up with a smile at her only daughter, and gave her a glass 
of orange juice. 
	“Is all your homework done, Usagi?” She asked as she handed her son a 
bright red apple, fresh from the orchard down the road. 
	“Yes, Mama! I have it here.” Usagi replied, pointing to her schoolbag. She 
watched amused as her brother finally gave in and ate the apple. 
Shingo munched on his apple, his face mutinous and looked at Usagi. She 
looked tired this morning, he thought. Must have been up studying all hours 
again. Who would have thought that HIS sister would have brains? He 
continued to munch, contemplating his sister. 
	Usagi never noticed her brother looking in her direction as she drank her 
glass of orange juice quickly. Gathering her book bag from the floor where 
she placed it when she had sat down at the table, Usagi stood up, kissed her 
mother and father goodbye and took off for school, moving quickly and 
happily out the door. * If only they knew the act I go through every 
morning, making my parents think I am so happy and content with the way my 
life is going. It would be unfair to tell them my problems, they work SO 
hard! * Usagi was concentrating hard on her thoughts, and was walking slowly 
towards school. 
	It never occurred to her to look up as she turned the corner toward school, 
her right arm lightly brushing the cold cement of the building to her side. 
She was oblivious to all the happily chatting students heading toward the 
same cold, institutional building she had been subjected to for the last 3 
years. The students looked so happy. All of the students were in groups, 
and the individual students were heading towards the group that they 
belonged to. The smiles on their faces and the animated way they moved their 
hands as they spoke to each other proved they were comfortable showing their 
emotions to each other, and had made a connection with they person they 
spoke with.* I only wish that I had someone I could really talk to. Naru is 
busy with many other things, and can’t be stuck dealing with a leech like 
me. I look like I’m only hanging around to get some attention from ANYONE. 
It’s too bad that’s actually what I am doing.* Taking a deep breath, Usagi 
walked confidently through the thick iron-wrought gates that seemed to close 
ominously behind her. 
	Usagi walked down the hallways that were full of laughter from the many 
students that inhabited the relatively small school. She caught sight of 
Naru and waved a greeting. Naru smiled and walked up to Usagi, looking very 
happy. 
	“Guess what, Usagi? You will never guess!!” Naru cried excitedly, “Umino 
asked me to meet his family tonight at a dinner they are having with a 
couple of other people that they know! Isn’t that great??!” Naru practically 
squealed with excitement. 
	“Naru, did you forget? Tonight we were going to see the new movie!” Usagi 
cried with dismay, her plans for the evening were dismissed like they were 
never planned. Her eyes clouded with tears she refused to shed, knowing in 
her heart that Umino was far more important in Naru’s life than she was. 
	“Oh, Usagi! I’m soo sorry! It completely slipped my mind when Umino asked. 
Will you forgive me just this once? We can go tomorrow, ok?” Naru’s green 
eyes shone with an emerald glow from the mist of tears in her eyes. “I 
really want to go to this party! I need to meet his family, and gain their 
acceptance of me. I can prove that I will make a good wife to Umino!” she 
continued fervently. 
	Usagi took a deep breath to calm her. “It will be alright Naru, honest. But 
I can’t meet with you tomorrow night because my family and I are…really 
busy. I’m sorry! You go and have a good time with Umino. I will forgive you, 
of course. How could I not? You are my best friend. Always remember that.” 
Usagi stated calmly before saying goodbye and headed to her homeroom, 
sighing sadly. 
	Usagi entered the homeroom and discovered that nothing had changed since 
the day before. Still ignored by her fellow students. Most looked up 
expectantly when the door was opened, expecting Ms. Haruna, and upon seeing 
only her in the doorway, steadying her emotions, they turned back to their 
own conversations. Being used to getting the cold shoulder due to her high 
academic scores and unique hair color, she headed toward her desk. Usagi 
waded through the different groups standing around, or sitting in their 
desks, talking enthusiastically to each other on her way to her normal desk. 
Her desk was in the center of the classroom, its scratched wood surface, 
with many messages left on the desk after all its years of use. One message 
was a remnant of the class that she was in. “Usagi is a freak”. Written in 
bold black letters on her desk. 
	She tried not to be affected by the harsh words, as she had to look at them 
day after day, refusing to tell Ms. Haruna about her problems with her 
fellow students.* It's something that I need to just ignore. The more 
emotion I show, the meaner they will be to me, I’ve learned that already.* 
She unloaded her school bag, extracting all the documents needed for class. 
All the papers had neat handwriting and were all done carefully. The more 
important documents, like her term paper were on the very top. She decided 
to waste some time by reading over the page again as she waited for Ms. 
Haruna to enter the classroom. 
	She didn’t have long to wait for Ms. Haruna to enter the room. Her teacher 
walked into the room, commanding attention with her appearance. Long auburn 
wavy hair ended at the small of her back, lying softly against her soft gray 
wool blazer. Her white blouse under the blazer had small pink and purple 
flowers at the collar, and the gray skirt reached her knees. Straight, white 
teeth showed when she flashed a smile at the classroom, waiting patiently 
for everyone to return to their seats. 
	Once everyone was seated, Usagi kept her gaze averted from everyone in 
class, not wishing to see their looks of disdain because she was prepared to 
hand in her term paper several days early. Ms. Haruna began her lecture for 
the day, writing several notes on the chalkboard. As she spoke, Usagi leaned 
her chin on her hand and listened attentively, occasionally hearing people 
whisper around her, and wondered what they were talking about.* It’s so 
lonely sometimes…why doesn’t anyone wish to speak to me? I just sit here in 
class and take notes, and try not to cry…* With a quiet sigh, she began to 
pay attention in class, the morning passing quickly. 
	Lunch break was announced with a discreet bell, and Ms. Haruna excused her 
students. Usagi took this moment to talk to her and hand in her paper early. 
	“Haruna-sensei, I have finished my term paper, and would like to hand it in 
early, if its not an inconvenience.” Usagi stated softly, her husky voice 
sounding almost breathless. 
	“Oh! Usagi-chan, you are finished already? Well, I’d be more than happy to 
take it off your hands. Here… let me find my folder.” She said as she 
searched through her somewhat cluttered desk to find a blue folder with the 
words TERM PAPERS written in black marker with her own bold script. “Thank 
you Usagi-chan! Maybe your example will prompt other students to hand theirs 
in early as well. Makes it easier to grade, only getting a few at a time!” 
She laughed, and it sounded musical to Usagi, who herself hadn’t laughed in 
what seemed like… forever. 
	Usagi smiled and bowed before leaving to try to eat some food for lunch 
before classes began once again. She headed immediately toward the usual 
secluded spot that she liked to sit at. It was a under a large tree, that 
had to have been on the school grounds since it had been built. The grass 
seemed greener there, its lushness a perfect spot for her to sit and read 
her English translations. She never looked up once to admire the clear 
azure sky, or looked around to see the blooming flowers. However, once a 
shadow passes in front of her, she looked up with a sigh, expecting it to be 
one of her classmates going out of their way to ridicule her. 
	She was unprepared for what she did see. Looking up at her would be 
perpetrator, she saw a pair of eyes surrounded by long full lashes, and the 
eyes were so perfectly blue it almost hurt to look at them. As she 
continued her appraisal, she saw hair a raven black, and he flashed a smile 
at her. 
	“Uh… hi. My name is Chiba Mamoru, and I noticed that you were sitting out 
here and was curious as to what you are reading.” 
Her eyes widened in surprise…* Is this a cruel joke?! What is going on 
here? I… I don’t understand. Why is the talking to me? Who is making him do 
this??* 
	“Hi! I’m Tsukino Usagi. I’m just reading the assigned chapters for History. 
I’m surprised anyone saw me out here! Usually no one comes over here.” She 
smiled sweetly, her soft rose lips parting in a sincere smile. 
	“Oh! I’m sorry! Did I disturb you? I’ll leave.” Mamoru said in a rush, 
blushing a little, and already turning to leave. 
	“No! Wait! That’s not what I meant. I just meant that people just don’t 
come over here. I’d enjoy some company. Please have a seat.” She swept her 
arm out pointing to the general area. 
	Mamoru looked around for someplace to sit, uncertain of how close or far 
away he should sit. He finally decided on a tree stump not six feet away 
from her. As he leaned in he smelled a light scent of roses that seemed to 
surround her. * Who is this girl, and why is she sitting alone out here?*