The morning of departure was like any other: calm, bright, serene' Perfect, in a word, but then every morning in that mystical place could have easily been described as such.  A certain excitement hung heavy in the clean air as ladies dressed in the purest white dashed about, preparing for a considerable event that had been long awaited by many to finally arrive.  A strange, but inspiring language was spoken by a group as they walked through a white hall that seemed to capture the essence of superior wealth.
    In the next moment, the group split up as two of its members entered into a craft of some sort.  Those left behind watched with pride and sadness, knowing that it would be a long time before they'd see their loved ones again.  The two who had entered were secured inside of special transparent pods and were quickly induced into a deep sleep.  Soon after, the craft began to ascend from the ground and to rise higher and higher into the air.  It rose above the enormous city and soon appeared to vanish as it become invisible to anyone's eyes.  With the light from the near binary system shining through the craft, it rose higher and higher until it burst through the atmosphere and out into silent interstellar space.
    The craft certainly had a long, lonely journey ahead of itself.  Its first destination was the galactic nucleus, some thousands of light years away.  But, some technologies have a way of cheating the speed of light, though incomprehensibly fast as it is' Some technologies can make an astronomically long trip greatly shortened'
    The craft was soon to reach its final destination.  The two inside were awakened and met by the smiling faces of those most eager to help them on their missions.  They were given a few final instructions and guidelines before being fully ready to go where they had journeyed so long to go.  But, due to some minor complications, one of the journeyers needed to stay behind for a bit, leaving the one to go on before.  Lonesome and scared to be apart, it was agreed upon and the two were separated, the one to go ahead was given more instructions and led to a smaller, sleeker craft than the one they had arrived in.
    It would be but a short journey now, the final destination was in sight.  As the ship thrust off from the rocky, dusty surface of that strange wandering moon, a truly amazing sight came to the journeyer's eye.  A bright, blue world laid out against the cold void of space, an oasis of life and beauty that was similar, and yet so much different from what was already common knowledge.  As the ship moved closer, a smile broke upon the journeyer's lips and a tear on her cheek collected the planet's reflection.  Before she was sent into another temporary sleep, she recalled the thankfulness that dwelt in her heart at the opportunity she had to be able to come to this particularly special jewel in the vast universe.

    It all began on a regular day.  The sun was shining, birds were singing, bees were buzzing... cherry blossoms were drifting.  It was April and everything was painfully ordinary, as every other April morning had been.  Just like every morning of every other month too, for that matter.  My life, as I knew it, was in a continuous rut day after day, week after week, even year after year.  Nothing new or exciting would ever happen, especially not to me, it seemed.  Things liked to stay pretty much the same for me in my position as a typical second year high school student living in the bustling city of Tokyo.  Even though I lived in such a 'lively' place, I was bored and found myself desperately wishing for something, anything out of the ordinary to happen!  Well, I guess now I fully understand the meaning of the phrase "be careful what you wish for," because little did I know that by the end of the day something new, exciting, and definitely out of the ordinary would happen.  Indeed, the stuff that happened to me that seemingly boring day were shining examples of that and would permanently change my life forever.
    I awakened abruptly to the demanding tone of my alarm clock, a sound I had not gotten totally used to hearing, especially that early in the morning.  The stupid thing had delivered me from a wonderfully realistic dream about finally seeing my mother and father together after ten traumatic years.  They were out on a boat on a lake, surrounded by flowers and mist from the early morning sunrise.  It was kind of a weird dream too, because they were just kissing the whole time.  Of course, I knew that it was only my subconscious playing tricks on me again because I didn't know where the heck my mother was.  You see, my parents "broke up" when I was six because my dad didn't get along with my mom too well.  They didn't divorce or anything.  One day, my mom just got up and left, leaving me with my father.  I think that was the most crushing thing that's ever happened in my life.  Like I said, I was only six at the time, and no kid should have to go through the pain of seeing their own parents fall out of love and leave!  I remember vividly how I wondered where and why my mom was going.  I also remember crying and begging her to stay with me, but she would just kneel down, hug me and whisper in my ear that it was better this way, and she even promised to come back someday.  Back then, it was easy for me to believe that, but here it is ten long years later and I haven't seen or heard from her at all since.  I'm not even sure if my dad knows anything about her these days, even if he did, he probably wouldn't tell me.  And so, that promise was forgotten'
    Don't get me wrong.  It's not like I'm purposely slamming my parents or anything like that.  My mother was a wonderful woman and I still love her very much, wherever she may be.  I guess it wouldn't be wrong to say that I am just a bit bitter, though' I mean, how could she just leave like that and shut me out of her life?  And how come she hasn't bothered to contact me at all or come home after she promised?  She promised me she would!!  'Sorry' I just get worked up thinking about it'
My memories of her are still vivid, she was the light of my young life.  She taught me about music and art and would often take me for long walks, telling me about the birds and the plants, and then sing me a lullaby at night as I fell asleep to one of her many stories.  Everything about her seemed to symbolize love and happiness, it tore me up after she left and still does, in ways, today.  I miss her so much and long for a day when I can see her again'
    My father, on the other hand, has always been someone almost completely opposite of my mother.  He's a very respectable man who believes in obedience, sternness, and discipline.  That, I think, is one of the biggest reasons their marriage didn't work out the best it could have.  The two just grew apart as the years went on, finally to go their separate ways' seeming to leave their son'forgotten, withdrawn'on the sidelines.
    While reflecting all the angst I had built up inside, I then heard my father pulling out of the driveway to go off and spend another possibly three weeks at work.  During that time I'd most likely never see him until he'd come home for probably only a weekend or something, just long enough to get prepared to go off again a few days later.  He works for this big time company which requires him to be there for extended periods of time like that.  It's been that way ever since I was about 9.  That's when he started the new job and basically left me alone all day long.  I had to learn to fend for myself on long summer days and cold winter nights, along with everything in between.  If there was a problem, I dealt with it myself.  I learned right off to cook, clean, get the mail regularly and lock all the doors at night.  But, despite my early experiences with self-reliance, there were still things I hated dealing with on my own.  If I had a bad dream, there was no one there to comfort me so I'd lie on my bed, stare at the ceiling, and think of how vulnerable I was in that empty dark house, all alone.  If I had a cold, there was no one around to make me hot soup and read me stories. Things were difficult then, but I always found a way of pulling through.  I guess I have my friends to thank for that.
    Anyway, my father did actually stay the past weekend with me.  He was his usual, stern unapproachable self, but did agree to go out and do a couple things, mainly just things that needed to be done to keep the house in order, such as shop and stuff like that.  Nothing too exciting, but it's just so rare that I ever get to see him that I can't help but treasure the moment, even if it's just boring everyday stuff we do.  On a somewhat lighter note, during his short visit, I joked to myself about how much of a blessing it was to have conveniences like cars and the fathers who drive them.  (It's a lot easier to shop when you have a car to stash all the stuff you buy in and to have a dad with a full wallet!).  Joking like that didn't make me feel much better though.  As you've noticed by now, I'm alone pretty much all the time.  I've even come to expect it, isn't that weird?  Funny' my parents, the people who were supposed to nurture and rejoice in my life have made me become like a shadow who expects solitude and often receives it.  How ironic is that?
    I just wish that I'd said goodbye to him, because who knows the next time I'll see him again'
    After all those rather depressing thoughts, I decided to get ready for another meaningless day at school, where I would more than likely sleep to try and ward off learning anything.  It's horrible, I know, but it's the truth.  I dragged my dead carcass for a body out of my bed (which had all of its covers kicked off of it) I have a tendency to do that for some reason.  It's kinda weird, like I'm kick boxing in my sleep.  Anyway, I did all that stuff you have to do when you first wake up in the morning (I'd really rather not describe it, if you get my drift') and threw on my school uniform that consisted of dark gray slacks, a white dress shirt, dark gray suit jacket and red tie.  I prepared a quick bento for myself and ate a small breakfast, which consisted of a semi-burnt piece of toast that I ate while watching some phony report about UFOs over Tokyo Tower, or something like that.  Gimme a break.  After gathering my books and other supplies I might need for the day, I was ready to go and temporarily leave my lonely home where so many dark memories lie.
    My heart sank as I walked to school.  That dream I had sent my mind in a whirl.  It was just so... realistic.  My parents seemed so happy with each other, I just couldn't understand it.  Maybe they really were meant for each other and just needed some time apart to improve themselves and to both become better people.  But ten years?  I just didn't know how to conclude that other than maybe it was a vision into the future when my mother finally comes home with renewed love for both my dad and me.  Well, most likely I didn't have the power to see into the future, but it was nice to tell myself that.  Since I was thinking about all this stuff, I really wasn't as aware as I probably should have been.  I could have sworn I walked right in front of a moving car, completely unaware, and that some girls cried to me from a distance saying "Good morning, darling!" and other lovey-dovey stuff.  It was like I was a zombie or something.
    Oh, that's something I think is worth mentioning.  For some reason, nearly all the girls at my school absolutely adore me.  Just to let you know, I'm definitely not bragging about this.  They think I'm an incredible 'bishounen' and the coolest guy in the whole world for reasons that still seem beyond me.  It's a daily routine for them to wait for me in the morning so they can shower me with their painful amounts of giddiness and try to persuade me to go out with them and stuff.  Worst of all, they've been doing it ever since junior high!  And I thought, looking back, that my junior high years were the darkest of my life!  Maybe they thought I was some sort of sexy 'bad boy' and became attracted to me because of that, since I was pretty quiet and, I guess to them, mysterious.  That was only because I was withdrawn and had a terribly cracky voice as it started to change my second year of junior high.  But their spirits haven't been dampened to this day, even though I do nothing, that I'm aware of, to lead them to thinking I'm interested in any one of them.  It's strange how girls think and act, I don't think I'll ever get used to it.
    Today was the start of the third week of the new school term.  The last of the cherry blossoms were drifting all around, almost in a magical way.  This made me wonder how they could possibly make us go to school on such a beautiful day, thus setting my mind off the thought of my dream, and my embarrassing cracky voice in junior high.
    I approached the tall black gates of my high school and was about to enter the campus when I saw a gigantic mob of girls closing in on me.  "Daisuke-chan!  Good morning!"  They seemed to say in unison as they clustered around me.  Oh geez, here we go again' Day after day, this is how it went.  There was no chance at all of avoiding my fate.  The girls clustered all around me, trapping me from every direction.
    "Umm...  Hi, girls," I muttered plainly, trying to escape, although I knew resistance was futile.
    "Oh, Daisuke-chan!  You're so cute when you try to run away!"  One squeaked as she drew me in closer.
    Though the girls were undeniably cute, they were also undeniably annoying and I had had enough.  "Hey, girls.  As much as I'd love to stay here with all you lovely young ladies, I really can't because... I need to get to class."  Hey, it was a dumb excuse, but I was rather low on energy that morning.
    "Did you hear that?!  He thinks I'm a lovely young lady!"  One girl said extremely excitedly.  "He really does love me!!"
    "WHAT?!?!"  My mouth nearly hit the ground.  I was definitely NOT intending on any of them believing a word I said.
    Then, it happened.  The biggest squabble you ever saw erupted between the girls, each believing I had addressed each one with that lame comment individually.  "What are you talking about?!  He loves me, not a little brat like you!"
    "No, he loves me!"
    "No, me!"
    "Me!"
    I was stuck in the middle of the catfight and tried desperately to dodge the fury of the girls and escape.  Finally, with all my might, I crawled out and started to class, making sure they wouldn't notice I had fled (they were still in battle with each other, of course.)
    For some stupid reason, I was a little later than usual that day, so I was racing to class faster than I normally would have, trying as best I could to stay out of view.  I was late enough as it was, and I didn't need everyone else to suddenly notice me and swoon over the fact that I was in their presence, or repeat the scene that just happened outside.  Yeah, for some reason I don't even know about, I just happen to be the most popular guy in school, ALONG with the 'coolest' according to the girls, and believe me, it's not all it's cracked up to be.  I have girls following me everywhere, closely observing my every action as if it were as dear as life itself.  The guys are always on my case too about certain things like sports and especially dating, which I really haven't found that big of an interest in.  There's also stories that get started up involving me, most of which I don't even want to mention, and I get so mad when I hear about them because I know none of it's true.  Oh, I guess being popular has its good sides too, but lately I've just seemed to be experiencing the bad parts of it.
    Exhausted, I arrived at class, surprisingly a bit early.  The room was almost empty when I got there.  I walked through the room and sighed from concerns about my own well-being and why all the girls immediately swarmed to me, even though they probably knew that I could care less about them.  It's not that I don't like girls or anything, it's just that they make me really nervous sometimes, you know?  The way they squeal and get all emotional whenever you seem to open your mouth.  It's just so nerve-wracking sometimes!
    I was just one desk away from a window, which had a very good view of the front area campus and the students who were still frantically zooming to get to class on time.  For some reason, that desk by the window always stayed empty.  I was surprised the girls from my class didn't automatically flock to it, but hey, I wasn't complaining!  It was nice to have some space from them all.  Besides that, there was a strict seating order, so that was also to thank.  I sat down and pulled out my books and stuff.  One by one, the other students arrived in the class.  The girls came over to me and squealed a quick, excitable 'Hi!'  I smiled, just to be decent and said hi back.  They got all excited and nearly let out a decibel-raising squeal as they scurried to their seats.  I quietly sighed and shook my head.  Yep, girls are pretty weird'
    'Hey, man!!'  I heard a familiar excitable voice say to me.  I looked up and saw Shiozawa Hiroshi (or just Hiro, as I call him), my best friend since primary school, smiling down at me.  If you were just passing by and saw him, you'd probably instantly fall on your backside and laugh hysterically while screaming, 'Nerd!' repeatedly.  Ok, so maybe you wouldn't quite have that reaction, but I'm sure at first glance you'd think of good ol' Hiro as a nerd.  He's about my height, just a little shorter, thin, and has got the deepest blue eyes I have ever seen.  They're always covered by a pair of glasses which Hiroshi claims he doesn't really need to wear, he just needs them for 'close up purposes with his laptop.'  More on that later.  Anyway, he also has very brilliantly blonde hair that almost glows in the dark, it's so blonde!  It's always in a pretty nerdy style (no offence Hiroshi) that's parted nicely and combed well.  His hair is also very thin and soft and it always seems to be perfect!  To my knowledge, Hiro's only ¼ Japanese; basically the only Japanese thing about him is his name and where he grew up and lives!  I think his dad's half Dutch or something like that and his mom's fully Irish, so he does have strikingly European features with his blonde hair and blue eyes.  That makes him stand out as a real individual among a sea of other kids with darker hair and eyes, like myself.  Anyway, the guy seems to be the total embodiment of a nerd, but when he takes his glasses off and fluffs up his hair a bit, he turns into a completely different person!  He actually doesn't look... nerdy!  I'm sure he'd get girls if he went around like that, but I'm not gonna say anything, considering a few things'
    'Oh, what's up?'  It was cool to see him, after seeing those jumpy girls.  He sat down and looked quite cheery and bubbly, as always.
    'Oh' not much' not anything you'd probably want to hear about.  Hey, did you still need help with the math?'
    I looked down at my math book I pulled out on my desk.  'Oh, uh' I eventually figured it out.  Dad helped me.  He was home this weekend.'
    Hiroshi nodded.  'Ok.  Oh, baby, I had a freakin' good weekend!  My dad took me to the mall because he wanted me to find out about job opportunities and the career orientation place or whatever.  Whoopee'  Anyway, so I went there and it was totally boring, but my dad gave me some money and I went to the music store and got 2 CDs.  They rock!'
    'Are they CDs I already have?'
    He paused.  'Probably' but who cares?!'  I rolled my eyes and watched as more kids came in the room.  It was almost time to start class.  Hiroshi's a deprived child, either that or his parents are just really weird.  They don't like him to even listen to rock music!  They think It's like, chaos in music, or something, which is just stupid if you ask me.  He must have secretly gotten those CDs, because I know if his dad knew, he would have started a small fire in the music store and burned them to send them 'back to hell.'  Yikes.  Anyway, soon the room was full and class began.
    "All rise!"  The class toban had requested formally as Mr. Shizumo, my rather delirious and forgetful homeroom teacher, had entered the room.  "...  Good morning!"  We all recited with a courteous bow to one another.
    After taking attendance, the balding man stepped into the hall for a moment.  Hiro made it his duty to come up with a rather perverse hypothesis as to why he did so.  I smacked him on the head, making his glasses fly off.  He yelled at me and I just laughed, feeling incredibly tired.  I yawned and laid my head on my desk.  Let the napping begin!
    Half awake, I saw him return with a stupid-looking grin on his face.  Seeing that made Hiro crack up, but I didn't have the energy to hit him again.  "Class," he started in a hoarse voice, "I would like to introduce you to a new student."
    'Big deal,' I muttered and closed my eyes completely.  You seen one new student you seen them all, right? '
    "Class, this is-" I didn't hear the name because someone sneezed and I was well on my way to dreaming, "-our new student."  Immediately after he had said that, I heard soft gasps and strange muttering from Hiro, and soon all the male students also, so I decided to partially open my eyes at least.  I was very tired.
    I didn't get a good look at the new student.  I didn't even care.  Tiredness had overcome me again and I let myself slip into a light sleep, only to be awakened by violent shaking.
    "Hey, what are you doing?"  I insisted to Hiro.  He's a pretty cool guy, but a completely girl-crazed hentai!  I'm not kidding either!  The poor guy's so incredibly desperate for a girl that he thinks that if he hangs around with me, he'll get a date, but I know that won't happen anytime soon.  For some reason, the girls can't stand him.  Maybe it's because when we were in junior high, he would always peek in the girl's locker room and one day he was caught.  From that point on, every girl at school hated him more than PMS, or so I was told, and funny enough, that was about the same time they all started going for me, even with my cracky voice!  Maybe there's a connection in there somewhere, because before that, the girls really didn't mind Hiro too much, in fact, they just might have liked him as much as me!  He basically screwed himself, as far as girls go, at the age of 13.
    Disturbing, isn't it?  Well, thankfully doing the locker room peep thing has kind of left his mind these days (probably because the locker rooms are at opposite ends from each other, which makes it kind of difficult).  Now he's moved on to different things, mostly thanks to that birthday present of a laptop with Internet access he received from his parents last year.  And we all know some of the shady things that can be found on the Internet' Hiroshi was quick to discover that world and usually tries to tell me about it in normal conversation, and when he does, I usually either walk away or jab him in the ribs.  Maybe he'll learn someday that I really don't care for that garbage.  Anyway, he was the culprit of the shaking.
    "She's comin' your way, man!!"  He was nearly leaping out of his seat.
    "What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.  I didn't care about his weirdness right then, I just wanted sleep!  I was about to yell at him to leave me alone when I heard a soft, beautiful voice above me.
    "Is it alright if I sit here?"
    "Huh?"  I looked up to meet the eyes of the figure standing before me.  It was the most incredible girl I have ever laid eyes on in my entire life!  My eyes wandered all over her, taking in everything I could see!  Deep green eyes, flowing cerulean hair pulled back in one long braid, quite an astonishingly attractive body, and when she spoke, the image of an ocean tide on a midsummer's dawn came to my thoughts.  My mind went blank as I stared, almost like in a trance, at the angel that had been sent for me.  I didn't know what to do or say, I was so taken by her vast perfection!  Little to my knowledge at the time, this girl just stared at me a long time, smiling as sweetly as the word can be defined.  She was patiently waiting for me to answer her, which I finally understood as Hiro nudged me again (the whole time he had his eyes on her also). After a while, I was finally able to squeak "sure" in an unsteady voice and the girl sat in the desk right by me'the one by the window that was always empty!
    Needless to say, I was feeling a whole plethora of different things.  A horde of emotions had flooded me with thoughts and feelings I had never experienced before.  My heart pounded in my chest, never in my whole life had I ever felt quite that way about anything before!  All of my attention was focused on her for some strange reason I tried to figure out to no avail.  And the girl, she just sat there next to me, smiling and emitting a perfectly peaceful spirit.  And then suddenly, she gently brushed her long, shiny braid over her shoulder and turned towards me, her eyes sparkling like a summer's night sky.
    "May I borrow a pencil?"  She asked in the sweetest of sweet tones I had ever heard.
    At that moment, every fiber of my soul froze.  The most extraordinary girl I had ever seen was asking me, out of all people, if she could borrow a pencil!  Not completely aware of what I was doing, I fumbled around in my school bag and handed her the only pencil I had with me that morning.  She reached over and gently took it with me still ahold of it.  Wow!  Her hands were so soft!
    I was at that moment away in a fantasyland when my teacher came over to me.  He was talking but, I was totally zoned out as the pictures of this girl and the sensations she emitted overflowed my being.  The only thing I made out was that the new student and I should eat lunch together and I should tell her all about the school and stuff.
    Returning to reality, I let go of the new girl's hand (although not wanting to) and tried as hard as possible to settle my emotions.  I accepted my teacher's request and he happily trotted back to his desk to teach the lesson.  He was a strange old guy.  Finally fully realizing what I had agreed to do, Mr. Shizumo's words running wildly in my mind, my heart went into my throat.  I couldn't believe that I was going to be the lucky one to tell the most gorgeous babe, about this school!  I could hardly contain myself!  I decided that lunch would be the time to make a good impression on the new girl, since I felt I had failed in doing so thus far.
    She still sat pleasantly, her eyes sparkling, her hair flowing like the finest silk strands.  She looked absolutely incredible in that school uniform, I found myself staring at her and could feel my face growing hot.  I marveled as she wrote (with my pencil!).  She had the best penmanship, each thing she wrote was in its most perfect form.  I gotta admit, sometimes I don't follow stroke orders exactly the way they're supposed to be, but she did, every single time!  Every stroke was delicately pronounced with an even tone throughout.  Seeing her work my pencil so professionally sent adrenaline rushing through me and I, for some reason, wished with all my might that she would write my name and make it as lovely as everything else she wrote.  I could just see it: DA I SU KE.  That would be wonderful!
    Right then, she must have noticed I was giving her the eye or something, because she turned to me and looked me straight on.  She was smiling, but it wasn't a normal smile that you'd expect from a girl when she knows you're looking at her.  It was more of a "sentimental" type of smile, like she was smiling at an old friend she'd been away from for a long time.  But that was impossible, I'd never seen this girl before in my life!  And yet, she had this way of making me feel as if I had met her once before, somehow, some time ago'  Then, she dropped the pencil and raised her hand slightly, and gracefully brought it up to my face.  I was very nervous because I didn't know what to expect!  She then slowly placed her hand right under my chin, without even touching it.
    This got the attention of the whole class.  The ones that weren't looking at the new girl in the first place turned and looked in eager curiosity, completely blocking Mr. Shizumo out of mind (who was still rambling on about the lesson and did notice a single thing about what was going on).  The new girl, her hand still under my chin, began to do something at that moment that I will never forget.  She turned her whole body towards me and sat on my lap!  And it didn't stop there, she moved her other hand and placed it gently on my left cheek.  Her hand felt marvelous against my now completely flustered skin, just the touch seemed to calm me a little.  Then, she slowly moved her face up to mine.  My heart felt like it would explode!  I broke into a terrible sweat, and I clenched the side of my desk so hard that it really could've crumbled in my shaky hand.  The class was going wild!
    The new girl looked up into my eyes and at that moment, my breath was taken away.  This may sound strange to anyone other than myself, but this is exactly what I felt happened to me at that very moment when her eyes gazed into mine.  Everything in the room, the students, the desks, the teacher, and even the sound momentarily disappeared.  All that existed was this girl and me.  For that impressionable split second, I felt a wave of calm and majesty wash over me.  I could see through the corners of my eyes that I was in a very different place, a place that revealed what I knew deep space must have looked like.  It was beautiful beyond all description, bright clouds of pink and deep blue dust surrounded me as I floated softly and silently.  I could also see innumerable points of bright gleaming light in every direction that, to all my knowledge, must have been stars.  The girl drew my eyes back to meet hers in a soft whispering voice I could hear in my mind.  It's difficult for me to describe the voice, it was exquisite beyond imagination and in some language impossible for me to recognize.  I seemed to understand it though and stared down at her again and for but a short moment thought I could see the entire universe unveiled in her eyes.  She smiled warmly and we were both then engulfed in a brilliant blue light.
    In the next instant, I found myself back in the classroom.  My eyes were wide, my heart was pounding, I was panting and felt a bead of sweat run along my face.  The room was completely silent, I soon consciously began to feel everyone's eyes burning into me as I sat in a daze, staring forward and wondering what had just happened to me.  The new girl, who had been leaning against my chest, sat up straight and caught my eyes.  As I stared at her, both terrorized and confounded at what I had just witnessed, she smiled again in an unmistakably compassionate way, and returned back to her own desk.
    I stared at her in shock, my mouth wide open.  She was completely normal, just as before, like not a thing had happened.  When my thoughts could freely flow again, I asked myself over and over again what had just happened.  This girl, whom I felt was the catalyst for that vision, looked like she would at any normal point in time, making me think that maybe what I had seen was a figment of my own overactive imagination.  Perhaps I had momentarily slipped into a dream as she sat on my lap (remember, I was feeling extremely tired that morning) because there's no way anything like that could ever possibly happen in the real world!  How could someone control someone else to see a grand vision of the universe?  It's impossible!  It must have been a strange, extremely vivid dream' there's no other explanation'
    I could then hear that the classroom was getting life pumped back into it.  I heard whispers from people and caught glimpses of them giving the new girl and I strange looks.  If it was all just a weird dream, which I believed strongly, then they were all just snickering about how the new girl had sat on my lap for no apparent reason.  Come to think of it, that seemed a little strange to me too!  Why would she do that?  Why did she sit on my lap and stare into my eyes so deeply'?  The more I pondered it, the more the concept of that extraordinary vision being merely a dream seemed to fade away.  Perhaps, I thought as I watched her sit calmly with her eyes focused on a textbook, she really had made me see the marvelous things I saw'  Maybe' there was something extraordinarily special about her that spanned beyond my wildest dreams'
    Then, all of the sudden a roaring tone filled the classroom and ended my deep thoughts.  It was the fire alarm.  'Ok class, let's evacuate the building in an orderly fashion,' cackled Mr. Shizumo whom I could tell was blissfully unaware that anything had happened at all.  Rubbing my eyes, I stood and calmly walked toward the door.  The strange thing was, none of the girls would come near me.  I guess they were shallow enough to be disgusted with me for letting the new girl sit on my lap after just minutes of being in school.  That was probably it, I sighed and didn't feel like dampening my thoughts with their snobby looks and attitudes.  Besides, it would be one of the first times I could actually enjoy not having them drool all over me!  A rare thing, indeed.
    I looked back over my shoulder before walking out and saw the new girl daintily rising from her seat.  The guys all stared at her and gathered near her desk.  They all looked pretty' well, like most guys look when they see a pretty face.  She smiled at them sweetly and headed toward me at the door.  As she came, she smiled at me too.  I blushed a little and turned to avoid eye contact.  As she walked past me, I felt the same calm and majestic feeling come over me as I had felt during that dream, or vision, or whatever it was.  Not knowing what to think about it anymore, followed a ways behind her as more and more students plunged into the halls.
    Once outside, my class met up together and casually laid out on the grassy field by the track.  It turned out there really was a fire, supposedly in one of the science classes.  Fortunately it was small and not too damaging, but it would prove to take a few minutes to get under control.  Meanwhile, the girls from my class went off to their own little group and most likely talked about what a jerk I was and how much they hated the new girl.  They were just like that, mostly rich snobs who had gotten everything they've ever wanted in life, except for me.  Their ringleader was a girl by the name of Hitomi, and man oh man was she a brat!  But then again, I don't like to judge people, so I mostly tried to ignore them, even though I could tell they were ticked off at me at the moment along with the new girl.  Speaking of the new girl, she was all alone, like me, sitting at the trunk of the Sakura tree, catching the blossoms as they dropped to her hand.  She seemed so carefree and content, almost ethereal'
    "Hey man, that was awesome!"  I heard Hiro's excitable voice say.
    I caught myself staring at the new girl, so I quickly turned to see him standing next to me, looking as pervy as ever.  "Awesome?" I asked, my eyes glazed over, 'Hiro, I'm not even sure what happened!'
    We both sat down on the grass, several meters from the new girl, but that didn't stop Hiro from scanning her head to toe.  'What are you talking about, man?' he seemed exasperated with me, his blazing blonde hair lighting up almost fluorescent in the sunlight.  'She just totally came on to you in there!  Both literally and' unliterally'' he didn't have the gift of motivational speech.
    'Is that all that happened?  Did she just sit on my lap?' I asked quickly, my heart pounding again.  Even though I still told myself it was a dream, I wanted to know if other people saw the amazing things I saw too.
    'Did she just sit on your lap?!' Hiro asked me, appalled.  'Dai!  How dare you ask such a thing so calmly!!' he yelled, scolding me.
    'I'm serious!' I defended, 'What exactly happened?!'
    He paused and sighed, slumping his shoulders.  He seemed rather disappointed in me.  'The hottest chick I've ever seen just decided to come over and sit on your lap and stare into your eyes while touching your face, but no, that's not anything to get excited about!' he called in his usual over dramatic way.  I rolled my eyes, I'd seen Hiro act like that enough to last a lifetime.  'You just got a small part of every guy's fantasy come to life!  I mean, if that happened to me-'
    'I don't even want to know!'  I said before he could go into one of his stories.
    He gave me a deep, long sigh and looked at the new girl again.  'What's with you?' he asked, 'You don't seem to care about what happened one bit.'
    'All she did was sit on my lap' right?'
    His eyes glanced over to me again and seemed even more disappointed.  'Yeah, if that's the only way you wanna interpret it.'
    A side of my mouth raised in a crooked smile, but I quickly wiped it from my face and turned to look at the back of the school before Hiro could yell at me again.  So if no one else saw what I saw, it really must have been just a dream.  But then again, what if it really was something more?  Something only between her and me?  I wanted a full answer, but didn't exactly know how to go about finding it.  Should I ask the new girl?  But if it were just a dream, she'd probably think I was really demented for asking her something like that, so that idea didn't appeal to me.  On the other hand, if she really was behind it all, she could tell me what exactly it was all about.  But I was feeling so nervous just thinking about asking her that, I dug my fingers around some blades of grass and stayed put.  Maybe she'd come to me again, I liked that idea better and was content on sitting there, waiting for her to come to me.
    I then suddenly heard Hiro gasp from beside me and start to shake me violently again.  He's always shaking me violently and stuff.  'Dai!  Dai, look!'
    'Gah, what is it?!' I demanded, wishing he'd stop shaking me.
    'Just look, stupid!  Those guys are messing with the new chick!'
    'What?' I gasped, turning back to her direction.  When I saw what was happening, a short fuse inside of me began to blaze.  Two idiots were crowded around the new girl and it looked like they were harassing her and trying to get her to do 'stuff' with them, if you know what I mean.  Seeing that made the fuse burn away quicker and quicker.  I felt like breaking their necks, I was so angry and couldn't believe what I was seeing!  'How dare they,' my voice boomed through clenched teeth as an uncontrollable rage began to burst inside me.  With my fists clenched so hard my nails were driving themselves into my skin, I shot up from the ground as fast as lightning.  Hiro was still on the ground and watched in alarm as small trickles of blood ran through the spaces between my fingers.  I couldn't notice that happening though, all my focus was on the two as they continued make moves on that wonderful girl.  I could feel my blood boil as it ran through my veins.  Sweat streamed down my face and in my palms, mixing with my warm blood and falling to the ground.
    Hiro noticed me and must have gotten a bit concerned.  'Hey' are you ok?"  He asked as he stood up and put his hand on my shoulder.
    'Those slimy jerks!' I muttered as I jerked Hiro's hand from my shoulder.
    He gave me a bit of space.  'Uh, D-Dai' calm down, buddy'' I could tell he was getting scared.  He had good reason to be, I had never been so angry before!  The freaks were still messing with the new girl and I could see her desperately trying to get away, I could hear her helpless voice begging them to leave her alone.  My eyes narrowed and my fists tightened to the point that I actually could have crushed their necks.
    Finally, it happened.  The fuse ended and I exploded.  Yelling loudly, I began to run as fast as I could to the new girl's rescue.  Rage and fury overflowed in me as I increased speed, almost feeling like a homicidal maniac.  As I ran the distance, I saw one of the idiots glance back at me, but it didn't seem to phase him I was coming to rip his head off.  He and the other went back to harassing her and I could hear the tender cries from her sweet voice pleading for them to stop.  I couldn't stand that, and it made me even more angry.  Then, my eyes blurred slightly from rage, I saw the new girl become totally still.  The top of her uniform was torn a little all because of the jerks.  She was lying there, almost like in a state of living death.  The jerks obviously did not like this, and one of them shook her to try and make her awaken.  She opened her eyes slightly and sat up right, escaping his hands.  He was about to grab her again when she bowed her head and closed her eyes.
    I was almost there, more enraged than I had ever been at the sight I had beheld.  The jerks grabbed her very lightly when, all of the sudden, she looked up and a gigantic blue light filled her.  She was actually glowing with this magnificent blue light!  I stopped and gazed in amazement at this strange phenomenon.  Then, glowing so brightly it was hard to even look at her, the light shot from her in every direction and sent the guys flying back several meters.  I gasped in extreme shock as I tried to comprehend what just happened and at the sight of the mangled bodies of the jerks strung out along the field.  I then noticed the light growing bigger and coming towards me, so I turned and attempted to run the other way.  It was no use.  The force also struck me and I was sent helplessly flying through the air, pictures of the new girl and the vision running through my head.  Eventually, I landed harshly and my head thrust onto a rock.  In complete astonishment, I looked up to the clear blue spring sky and I felt my consciousness fading rapidly from me.  In my last moment of consciousness, I heard Hiro yelling frantically and rushing to me.  Then, it all went black.

    Next thing I knew, I was lying in the school infirmary.  I woke up to the sweet song of a robin that was standing on the open windowsill.  I had finally regained consciousness after being knocked out by a force I couldn't even begin to explain.  My head felt like a wrecking ball had pounded into it a few times and it was incredibly difficult for me to remember what had happened.  All I could recall was a bright blue light and flying through the air.  Gradually, more and more came back to my memory, including the new girl.  Staring out the open window, I could see the perfect image of her smiling back at me.  As I closed my eyes, I caught glimpses of the vision and heard the strange, beautiful chanting again, only this time it was more intense and I opened my eyes with a start.  As soon as I did, the voice ceased.
    Breathing deeply, I held my severely aching head and sat up in the bed.  There was a white bandage tied around it and as I glanced back to the pillow, I saw a small stain of blood where my head had been.  I swallowed nervously and noticed that the blood was dry.  'Whatever it was,' I said, reflecting on the blue light incident again, 'it sure left a mark.'
    'Oh?  You're awake.'
    I gasped and quickly turned to see the new girl standing at the foot of my bed!  I looked at her nervously and wondered what she was doing there.
    'How do you feel?' she asked so compassionately, it nearly melted my heart.
    'Uh, it's nothing time won't heal'' I said sheepishly.  I lied about that, of course.  I was still in great pain, but I didn't want her to worry about me.
    She gave me the best smile I had ever seen before and said softly, 'I'm glad.'  She then came to the side of my bed and looked down to me, still wearing that sweet, gentle smile. 'I hope you won't mind,' she said, 'I tried to help heal the gash on your head.  It was pretty bad.'  I didn't mind that at all and was about to tell her so when she turned her eyes to the side and suddenly looked very sad.  'I'm very sorry'' she whispered, a teary glint in her eye, 'None of that was supposed to happen.  I' didn't mean to hurt anyone, but'' That sad face she wore' it didn't suit her at all'
    I shook my head (even though it hurt like the devil to do so) and she looked back to me.  Smiling confidently, I then assured her by saying, 'It's alright.  Those jerks deserved it.'  A wonderful smile came back to her lips and it made me so happy to see it.  For some reason, seeing her even the least bit unhappy tore me up inside.
    Finally noticing that I had been staring at her again, I cleared my throat and moved the covers from off of me.  'Well, I guess I better head back to class then,' I said, still feeling the sting from my head.
    'You don't have to worry about that,' I then heard her say with a giggle.  I looked back up to her confusedly. 'School has already been dismissed.'
    I didn't speak for a moment, because of disbelief.  ''What?'
    She repeated herself with another giggle.  'School has already been dismissed.'
    'Y-you mean, I was out for that long?!'  She nodded with a smile.  I couldn't believe it!  Whatever that weird thing was, it was powerful enough to knock me out from basically the beginning of school to the end!  I sighed heavily and now more than ever wanted some answers.
    'You were out for a long time alright.  When you were brought in here, I tried my best to help.  You hit your head on a rock and it made a deep cut, it was bleeding everywhere.  Luckily, I' we were able to stop the bleeding and mend the wound.  There was also a small burn on your chest we treated right away.  I decided to stay and see if you'd be alright.'
    I glanced down to see my tie and the top buttons of my shirt undone.  I ran my fingers along my chest where the burn must have been and noticed that there was nothing left of it.  'You stayed with me the whole time?' I asked, looking up at her again.
    She nodded, 'Yes.'
    A warm feeling came over me.  This girl seemed to care for me so much, it made me feel wonderful to know that she was so sincerely worried about me.  The other girls at my school of course would get worried about me, constantly in fact, but none of them were like this girl.  She seemed truly genuine and I really admired that quality in her.  Oh, speaking of the others girls, they were probably still mad at me' otherwise, the infirmary would have been packed full of squirmy girls, nearly dying from worrying about me.  I bet word spread around the whole school about the little incident this morning, which just made me even more fed up about it.  Ridding that from my mind, I smiled at the new girl and was so grateful for what she had done for me.  'Thank you.' I said.
    'You're welcome.' She replied almost in a whisper.
    There was a pause for a while as neither of us knew what to say next.  I got up from the bed and was suddenly feeling much better than before.  My head wasn't hurting as badly and I unwrapped the bandage from around it.  'Well, I guess since school's over for the day I'll start heading home.' I looked down at the new girl after smoothing out the covers, she was a little shorter than me by about a decimeter.
    'You're leaving?'
    'Yeah.  School's out, so why not?'
    "But...' It appeared that she didn't like what I was saying at all.  Now I was starting to feel really guilty and I felt that I needed to repay her for being so kind to me.  It was the least I could do!
    'I'm so sorry,' I started out, wanting to hit myself, 'sometimes I can be a real idiot.'  I then took a deep breath and gathered up all my courage to ask her a question I sincerely hoped she wouldn't deny.  'Hey, um...' my voice cracked slightly, 'thank you so much for all your help.  My head is feeling better and better.' I paused and was suddenly feeling REALLY nervous, 'And I guess, if you wanted I could uh...walk ya home.'
    She gasped and looked up at me.  There was a beautiful smile on her lips.  'Thanks,' she said as a small tear formed in her glistening green eye.
    'Great!' I said, actually feeling pretty glad that she had agreed.  My stuff had been brought into the infirmary and was beside the bed, so I went over and got it.  'Shall we go?' I asked as I picked it up.
    'Sure!'
    We walked out of the school and headed down the road, having an excellent view of the ocean and the clouds overhead painted yellow and pink by the setting sun.  It was quite late when we left and there weren't many people left at the school or out on the streets.  The new girl gazed out at the surpassing view and remarked on how beautiful it was.  I was silent, though, and could not get the things that happened that day out of my head.  I kept thinking about the vision thing and wanted to ask her about it, but was so nervous to, so I kept that question to myself.
    We both decided to stop and get something at the vending machines, since there wasn't a big line or anything and I had some change to blow anyway.  I bought some soda for both of us and sat down on a bench under the shade of some very large Sakura trees.
    After that, it was total silence, except for the sound of an occasional car driving past or children playing in the distance and us sipping at our soda.  I couldn't stand the silence and wanted to say something, but I didn't know what!  Then I again thought about all the stuff that went on that day with the new girl and that was when I finally realized that I had no clue what the heck her name was!  I supposed that would be a reasonable thing to start out with.  'Y' know,' I started, getting her attention, 'I never did hear your name.'
    She seemed confused and looked up from her previous stare out onto the street.  'Really?  But the teacher introduced me in class.  Didn't you hear him?'
    'Uh, someone sneezed or something, and I was a bit out of it anyway, so...' I hated admitting to be nearly asleep in class, but it was the truth.
    She smiled and bowed her head.  'My name is Yoshiko.  Nakayama Yoshiko.  I'm pleased to meet you.'  Wow, even her name was awesome!  And I had to admit, I wasn't expecting on her having a Japanese name.  I seriously thought she was an exchange student from France or America or something!  Then, she looked up at me, as sweetly as ever.  'I never heard your name either.'
    That's right!  I guess she hadn't.  'Well, my name is Mizuno Daisuke, and I sure feel a lot better about knowing your name.'  I looked out onto the sea.  'Yoshiko.  That's a really pretty name.'
    'Thank you, Mizuno-san."  Wow, she was so incredibly formal addressing me like that!
    'Oh, no,' I said laughing a little, 'You can just call me Daisuke.  I don't mind.'
    'Alright, Daisuke-san.  I'm sorry.  I'm not really used to things around here yet.'
    Her saying that got me even more curious about her.  'Where are you from anyway?  You don't look like you're from Japan.'  I started out casually while taking a sip of the soda.
    'I'm not, but'' she looked away.  'I'd rather not say where I'm from'' her words drifted off into the afternoon air.
    After a while I smiled and looked on out to the street.  'That's fine.  I understand what it's like not to want to remember about where you come from,' I said, thinking about my own lonely past.
    She sighed and lowered her head.  'It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that''
    Right then, I felt a cold wet droplet hit my head.  Curious, I looked up and saw dark thick gray clouds.  'Rain?  I didn't think it would rain today.  The sky was totally clear just a few minutes ago.  Oh, well,' I said as I stood up from the bench.  Yoshiko was still sitting, her head down as if in shame.  'Hey,' I walked toward her as the rain got stronger, 'Yoshiko,' I leaned over and placed my hand on her soaked shoulder, 'I think we should get going before we get stuck in the middle of the storm.'
    She looked up at me, her face shining with water, and nodded.  I helped her up and we started down the street again, the rain pouring down in buckets.  'I'm sorry,' I said to Yoshiko, who was dragging behind, 'I don't have an umbrella or anything with me today.'
    She looked at me and smiled very cutely.  'It's ok.  I love the feel of cool rain hitting my face.'
    That made me smile.  Yoshiko was such a free spirit, I thought, it was so refreshing to be around her.  Suddenly I remembered another thing that would be nice to know about Yoshiko and turned back to her.  'Hey, by the way, I probably should have asked this sooner, but where exactly is it that you live?  I just realized I have no clue where I'm going.'  Yeah, so I can be an idiot every once in a while'
    She looked a bit disappointed when I asked that.  'Oh, well'' she paused and stopped walking, 'I don't have any place to stay yet because I just go here.  I hope to find a place soon, but everywhere I've looked into is too expensive.  My family isn't here to support me, so it's been difficult to fend for myself.'
    'Man, that sucks'' I thought aloud.  Naturally, I wondered why she was away from her family, but I didn't feel it right to ask.  I just felt worried for that poor girl and felt I needed to do something to help her out, especially after all that she'd done for me that day.  I thought about one thing that could help, but felt uncomfortable bringing it up. But then, as I watched Yoshiko stand there looking so lost and alone, my heart went out for her and I made myself ask it.  'You know,' I took a deep breath, 'I've got a huge house that's practically empty.  You're more then welcome to stay if you like.'  That was the hardest question I think I have ever asked.
    ''Really?' she cried sweetly as tears of joy filled her gleaming eyes.  'Oh, thank you so much, Daisuke-san!'
    It warmed my heart to see her so overjoyed.  'Sure thing.  It's the least I can do after what you've done for me.' I quickly looked around the neighborhood we were in through the pouring rain and turned in a different direction, the one leading to my home.  'Come on, we're getting soaked.  I'll show you to the house.'
    I led the way down the open streets through the spring rain to my house.  It was a nice old house, nothing too fancy, but it had had a lot of renovations done to it over the years.  Parts of it looked traditionally Japanese, especially the shoji screen genkan that stretched along the side and back behind, leading out to a small garden that used to be my father's pride and joy.  Since he works so much, it isn't quite as impressive as it once was.  Anyway, the house also had white walls and a black shingle roof that needed to be replaced once when I was little.  It was only one story tall, but had four bedrooms and a dark, cold basement I always hating going down to.  But we didn't exactly have time to admire the house as torrents of rain continued to fall on us, so we flew up the walkway and made it under the protection of the eaves as I tried desperately to unlock the door.  Right next to the solid door was my family nameplate, 'Mizuno,' written boldly in black ink.  I saw Yoshiko looking at it as I got the door open, but she seemed more than happy to tear her eyes away and come inside.  We piled into the house, dripping head to toe.  We both gave a big sigh of relief and sunk to the ground.
    I turned my soaking face to her.  'Well, this is it.'

    'Here.'  I tossed a towel to Yoshiko, who was sitting all curled up on the couch in the living room next to the dining room.  She sat up tall and straight and took it and began to douse her fair skin with it.
    'Thank you,' she sweetly said after she had begun drying off.  After that, she started looking all around in curiosity at the things she could see from the couch in my house.  She seemed totally amazed, kind of like a kid in a really huge toy or candy store.  That's what she reminded me of.  'Your house is so amazing!' she remarked, looking all around.
    'Oh, thanks.'  I was yet again beginning to worry about that poor girl, because, by the looks of it, I'd say that she hadn't ever seen a house before, and I never thought mine was anything too special.  My dad was just totally rich and into color coordinating and stuff.  My whole house had a decorating theme of black and white.  For example, in the kitchen, the tiles for the floor were black and white marble and the sideboards were too.  The cupboards, sinks, toilets, and bathtubs were also steel. Come to think of it, all the blacks, whites, and grays in my house really did look pretty good together.  We also had a modest amount of decorations on the walls, mostly they were old scrolls and a few paintings my parents had acquired over the years.  My father, being as loaded as he is, always makes it his habit to invest in the latest and best entertainment equipment money can buy, which is sort of strange considering he's hardly around to enjoy it.  For example, last Saturday when he was actually home, he went out and bought a brand new HDTV and DVD player.  He also has gotten all the newest video game systems and a computer that's down in the scary basement.  I guess you could say I'm pretty spoiled by the stuff my dad buys, but I'd much rather just have him around instead of the great stuff he buys.
    Right then, Yoshiko sneezed.  'Are you cold or anything?'  I was freezing my tush off.
    'A little,' she replied, sounding rather modest.
    'I'll go get you something dry to change into, just wait here a sec,' I told her and zoomed down to my bedroom.  I threw open my closet door and frantically searched inside for something, anything Yoshiko could wear!  There were a lot of clothes inside, a lot of guy clothes, and I couldn't see anything that would work for her!  'Dang it, I don't think there's any girl's clothes in this entire house!' I said aloud with a sigh.  Continuing my search, I reached to the very edge of the closet and pulled on a modestly decorated piece of fabric until I could see it clearly.  Looking at it again seemed to send me back in time.  I was rendered speechless for a moment as I looked at it and remembered a time in my life long ago when I was happy' After a while, I smiled and knew this would be the best thing I could give her to wear for the time being.  Hardly able to utter a word, I handed it to her and changed out of my own wet clothes.
    When I was done, I went to sit at the table (a traditional chabu-dai which was 30 centimeters high) and waited, nervously, for Yoshiko to come out.  Yeah, let me put the emphasis on 'nervously.'  I was feeling very much that way at that moment, and there were several reasons why that was so.  First of all, yes, she was gorgeous.  I had never been too comfortable around pretty girls before, and despite how wonderful Yoshiko was, that initial discomfort and anxiety still hung around with her.  Also, I had never had a female houseguest before and didn't quite know how to behave.  The only person who ever stayed at my house regularly was Hiro, and he was nothing like Yoshiko!  And then there was also that vision thing that still hung on my mind and the thought of trying to ask her about it.  I also wondered about where she came from and why her family wasn't with her.  Man, there were so many things I wanted to know!
    'How is it?' I then heard and thrust my eyes over by the hallway as Yoshiko came out after she had changed in the bathroom.  When I saw her I was speechless.  The piece of clothing I had given her was an old yukata that hadn't been worn for over a decade.  And now, seeing it on Yoshiko' it brought back even more memories and feelings to me.  'Daisuke-san, are you alright?  You keep' staring''
    'I'm sorry!' I bowed my head, feeling my face turn red.  I hadn't even realized I had been staring, yet again!
    'Would you rather I not wear this?' she asked softly.
    'No!' I shot my head up, 'It's just that'' I paused as the memories flowed endlessly inside me, '' seeing you in that reminds me of' my mother''
    'Oh'' she stepped closer to me and must have known there was something troubling on my mind concerning the subject of my mother.
    I invited her to sit down across from me and thought I should explain.  It would probably prove to be difficult, but I felt that Yoshiko deserved to know since she would be staying with me and since I felt I could easily trust her (which was a rare thing).  'It was ten years ago when I was six years old,' I began, recalling the painful memories, 'I remember seeing my parents in this very same room, talking quietly.  My mother was holding suitcases and had her coat on, I rushed out to ask where she was going. When I ran up to her and saw her face'' I could remember this part so vividly.  It ripped my heart out even to this day, '' I noticed tears in her beautiful dark eyes'' Yoshiko was looking at me and I could tell she was very concerned by my words.  Grasping my hands uneasily together, I went on, 'She then told me that she would be going away for a while to be by herself.  I remember crying and begging her to stay with me, but she would just dry my eyes and tell me that it was better that way and she promised to come back someday''  A terrible pain then shot through my heart and I felt a lump grow in my throat and my eyebrows narrow in resentment.  'And even with that promise'' I said slowly, '' I haven't heard from her since''
    There was a long pause.  Yoshiko appeared so worried, she held a hand over her heart and looked to me with watery eyes.  'I'm so sorry'' she whispered.
    'Yeah,' I said, leaning on one hand, 'but I've learned to live with the lies of my parents, them not being there for me when I needed them.  At first it was really terrible for me, but I've learned to deal with it.  It's not so bad anymore.' I couldn't help if I had a bitter tone in my voice, I said exactly what I meant to say exactly how I meant to say it.  I really didn't care about offending anyone with the truth of how I felt about them.
    'Daisuke-san,' Yoshiko's voice floated to me and pulled at the strings of my heart, 'you mustn't loose faith.  I have a strong feeling that someday you will see her again.  I just know it.'
    I sighed and looked down to the tabletop.  So many feelings were bombarding me at once, I buried my head in my hands and tried my hardest to keep from breaking down.  'I sure hope you're right,' I said weakly, 'I really need someone, since my dad is always off working.  I only see him once in a while, and when I do' well, let's just say he's not the most pleasant guy to be around.' I peeked at her through my hands and could see she was still very concerned for me.  I heard her whisper my name and thought she was about to say something else to try and comfort me when suddenly Hiro burst into the room!  'Hiro?!' I yelled, completely NOT expecting on seeing him so suddenly!  Yoshiko looked behind herself to see the blonde, who appeared overly happy as she did so.  'What are you doing here?!'
    'Geez, nice to see you too, buddy!  What's with the harsh greeting??' he glared at me, stepping closer to us.
    I sighed, 'Er, sorry, but you could have called or at least knocked on the door before entering!'
    'Didn't cross my mind,' he said, trying to be smooth and cool.  Running his hand through his perfect hair, he suavely looked down to Yoshiko (who was just staring up at him like she didn't know what to think) and I could tell he was trying to 'seduce' her, if you could even call it that.  'You've never cared about me just walking into your house-' his hentai eyes zoomed back to me, '-before.'
    'And what is that supposed to mean?' I demanded, trying to keep my calm.  I wasn't in the mood to deal with Hiro, I had just finished thinking about some pretty depressing things!
    He didn't answer, just smirked and came over to sit next to me and across from Yoshiko.  The whole time, I could see his eyes glued to her and I could also see that he was scribbling little notes down into a small notebook he's had for several years (which he lovingly refers to as his Special Little Notebook), I was actually thinking about smacking him lightly to get him to stop, but that probably wouldn't have done any good.  His Special Little Notebook was the one place where he could freely express his deepest hentai thoughts and feelings.  If I had the chance, I'd probably burn it.  'Well, Dai, it looks like you've made a new friend,' he sounded so proud of me when he said that.
    I sat back a little and looked the situation over.  Here I was sitting in my house with the gorgeous new girl from school across from me, knowing Hiro, I could tell he had already come to some sort of demented conclusion about everything, especially about the fact that we were both wearing different clothes.  Blushing slightly, I cleared my throat and hit him lightly in the shoulder.  'I can explain this perfectly well.'
    He scowled at me, rubbing where I had hit him.  'Oh, there's no need,' he then said, smirking again and looking back to Yoshiko, 'I know perfectly well what's been going on here, you sly dog, you!'
    Yep, I had been right about him.  I leaned forward again, folding my arms on the table.  'The heck you do'' I grumbled.
    Then, turning on all of his charm, he swept his hair back with his hand and looked to Yoshiko in, according to him, the most irresistible way.  'Hello, precious.  My name is Shiozawa Hiroshi and let me just say that it absolutely took my breath away to see you for the first time today.  Please, I hope you will grant me the extreme pleasure of sharing with me the name that I may call you by.'  After he said that, I nearly fell over and died.  I mean, gimme a break!!
    But Yoshiko, in all her kindness, didn't seem to sense the cheesyness of Hiro's performance and was glad to share her name with him.  'I am Nakayama Yoshiko, it's so very nice to meet you, Shiozawa-san!'
    Glancing back to Hiro, I thought I saw tears sprouting in his eyes!  'Ah Yoshiko-chan' what a lovely name!'
    'Really'?' she asked modestly.
    I sighed loudly and really would have rather not seen any more of this pathetic act than I already had.  'Ok, Hiro, I think you can run on home now,' I said, nudging him to get up.
    'Go home?!' the tears were gone now, he actually looked very serious.  'I can't go home, not now that Yoshiko is here!'
    Actually, that was exactly the reason I wanted him to go home!  Any other time I wouldn't have minded him hanging around at all, but now there was a girl in the situation!  And frankly, I know better than to trust Hiro alone with a girl, especially one as sweet and innocent as Yoshiko!  Who knows what he might try!  'Come on,' I pleaded, 'you can come back some other time, but please leave for now!'
    He stuck out his lower lip sadly, but then another of his hentai smirks came to replace it.  'Oh, I get it.  You just want me to leave so you can have all the fun by yourself.'
    'That's not it!!' I yelled, blushing deeper.  I couldn't believe he'd say something like that, I thought he knew me better!
    He turned his head away, I could tell he didn't believe me.  'Sorry, man, but I wanna stay right here where the action is.  You know I've waited my whole life for this, don't you?'
    'Hiro!' I clenched my teeth together, glancing back to see Yoshiko watching us confusedly.  'I don't think now is the best time to bring that up!'  He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.  I could tell he was mad at me, so I just decided to change subjects on my own.  'Anyway, if you'd like, Yoshiko, I can give you the tour of the house now.'
    'Why would you want to do that?' Hiro interrupted, sulking again.
    Before I could prepare myself for the shock he was sure to have when hearing the news, Yoshiko came right out and said it.  'Because Daisuke-san has so generously offered me to stay with him here in his home since I don't have anywhere else to live.'
    There was silence.  I bit my lower lip and anxiously awaited the reaction that was sure to come from Hiro in 3, 2, 1'
    'SAY WHAT?!?!  YOU'RE GOING TO BE STAYING HERE WITH THIS BOZO?!'
    'B-bozo?!' he didn't need to call me that!
    'Yoshiko-chan!' he cried, rushing to be right next to her.  He took hold of her hands and looked her straight in the eye, 'Why not come stay with me instead?  My house is much nicer than this old place!  We even have nice clothes that you could wear and good food to eat!  And if you like, you can even stay with me in my room''
    I was quick to smack him after that, freeing Yoshiko from his soft perverted passes.  'How about that house tour now?' I asked, a nervous twitch developing in my eye. She agreed, sensing what Hiro was trying to pull and followed me as I began to show her around her new home.  After a moment, Hiro picked himself up from the ground and followed.  No doubt he was mad at me again, but he deserved what he got.
    'This is the kitchen where I do all the cooking for me, myself, and I,' I explained, leading her into the closest room to where we had just been.  It was nothing special, just a tiny kitchen with refrigerator, oven, washing machine, sink, and lots of cupboards and drawers full of spices and recipe books and the likes.  I had grown to really love cooking and enjoyed coming up with new recipes and things; people had always told me I was a very excellent cook.  I guess that's probably because I was alone so much and had to learn to cook for myself since there was no one else around to do it, and so that skill just blossomed in me and I learned to love it.  Yoshiko looked around the kitchen with a smile on her face, it warmed me inside for some reason to see that.  'I'm so glad you're here so I can finally have someone else to cook for,' I had said before fully realizing it.
    'That will be wonderful,' she smiled at me, 'but are you sure it won't be a burden to have to worry about me being here also?'
    'Oh not at all!  Please don't feel that way, I know I'm going to really enjoy having you here!' I felt as if I was begging her to stay with me and I think she felt it also. Calming down a little, I looked straight into her deep, exquisite green eyes and hoped I could once and for all make her feel very welcomed into my home.  'With you here with me, I won't feel lonely anymore.  Please, Yoshiko, I need for you to stay.'
    I could barely see a slight rosiness on her cheeks, which made me embarrassed.  'Thank you, Daisuke-san,' she simply said with a single nod.  I was grateful she agreed and decided to continue the tour before Hiro became a fossil.
    Walking out of the kitchen, we came into the hall where a few doors stood on either side.  'Down this hall are bedrooms and a bathroom.  My room is the second on the left, the first door leads down to the basement, and the bathroom is the first on the right.  The other two doors down there are empty bedrooms,' I explained again, looking back to Yoshiko.  'I have the perfect room in mind for you.  Follow me,' I said and lead her down the hall.  I think Hiro got bored and went to watch TV for a while, which I was secretly grateful for.
    The room I was taking her to was at the very edge of the hallway at the right hand side.  We approached it and she gazed in amazement at the beautifully carved pictures of birds and flowers on the walnut door.  I hesitated to open the door because I really didn't know what all had accumulated in the room, since no one hardly ever went in there anymore.  After taking a deep breath, I grasped the doorknob and slowly turned it.  I slid the huge door open and it made a noisy creaking sound.  Yoshiko peered inside as the tiny bit of dust settled on everything like a thin white blanket.  My dad had stored some of his computer equipment in a corner of the room, but other than that, it was pretty roomy.  There was an antique rocking chair in the corner with a few cobwebs streaming off of it and a chest of drawers with little ornamental figurines of cats and little kids playing baseball or fishing and other stuff like that.  There was also a sliding shoji door that led out to the backyard.  Standing there in that room, I felt myself nearly crumble to pieces again and I turned my head away as my face pulled down into a very sad expression.
    'Oh, Daisuke-san, this room is perfect!' Yoshiko exclaimed as she looked all around.  I glanced up at her and forced a smile on my face.  As we both stood in the middle, she turned to me, 'Are you alright?'  She was concerned why I wasn't as excited as she was.
    I nodded and smiled for real, assuring her I was fine.  'So, uh,' I said, looking around a bit more at everything I could see in the moonlight, 'you like the room, huh?'
    'Yes.  It's so beautiful.  I especially like all the little antiques.'
    'Oh yeah'  Guess my mom kind of had a thing for that sort of stuff.'  I laughed a little, but then stopped as my own words came crashing back down upon me.
    'Your mom?' she asked faintly.
    My disposition quickly changed as thoughts of her again entered my mind.  I stared down at the dusty white floor and deeply thought of how much I missed her and resented her.  'Yeah, this was the room she'd always come to practice her violin or paint or just sit in that rocking chair and read a good book.  I remember a few times when I was really young coming in here and watching her paint a really great picture, or hear her practicing a piece for the orchestra she was in, or even when she'd rock me to sleep in the rocking chair as she sweetly sang a lullaby..." Pain stabbed my soul after I described that, and I could feel more words coming, only to choke together in my throat.
    'Daisuke-san'' I heard her say with total concern for me.  'Maybe... I shouldn't stay in this room.'
    I quickly came back to my senses and I swirled around to see her.  'No!  Go ahead!  This room is perfect for you.'  I stepped closer to her and looked at her beautiful hair.  'Yoshiko, don't worry about me.  I'm fine.  It'll just take me a little while to get used to having someone in this room again, that's all.'  She wasn't persuaded even after I said all that, so I gently brushed her bangs over to the side and lifted her chin up so her eyes could meet mine.  'Please believe me.  You can stay here as long as you like.'
    She looked away, blushed a little, and nodded.  'Alright then.  Thank you again.'
    I smiled and took my hand from her chin.  'Good.  So then, um...' I stepped back a few steps and looked her over; 'you don't by any chance have any belongings do you?'
    She shook her head and blushed a little more for some reason, 'No, I' wasn't able to bring many belongings with me.  Not besides that school uniform.'
    'Hmm' Well, that's ok.  We'll go shopping sometime soon, and you can buy the things you need.  My dad left me some money, so we can use that,' I said, making her feel a little less uneasy.
    She looked up at me and smiled a little sheepishly, a blush still lingering on her face.  'You're so kind, Daisuke-san.  I don't know how to ever repay you for all that you've done for me.'
    I smiled warmly.  'Don't worry about it.'  We gazed at each other, both a little unsure of what move to make next.  I was starting to feel some very strong emotions for her kindle inside of me, and I knew that I'd be willing to do anything for her just to see that incredible smile of hers.  'Well then,' I finally said, not too sure how to sort out the emotions I was feeling for her then, 'I guess I'll, uh, go make us something to eat.  Go ahead and get familiar with things in here.'
    She nodded and I turned to leave the room.  'Daisuke-san,' she called to me, so I turned back around to see her surpassing beauty.
    'Yeah?'
    '' Thank you,' she simply said and bowed respectfully.
    I blinked several times and when she stood up straight again, replied with a heartfelt, 'You're welcome.'
    When I got to the kitchen, Hiro was there to meet me.  There was a look of controlled dissent on his stern face, making me a little wary to talk to him.  'Geez, Dai'' he was the one to talk first as I started getting things ready to make a soup.
    'What is it?' I asked nonchalantly, gathering different vegetables on a cutting board.
    'You sure outdid yourself this time!'
    'Huh?' I looked back and was surprised to see a huge smile then on his face.  I thought he was supposed to be mad at me!
    'Way to go, bud, getting the hottest babe to stay with you!' he laughed, pounding my back several times.  'That's gonna be sooooo sweet!  Yet another reason for all the guys at school to envy you!'
    I stopped peeling a carrot and sharply turned my eyes to him.  'Hiro, your ideas about this whole thing are totally wrong!  The only reason she's here is because she's got no where else to live, and I couldn't just refuse her in her time of need!'
    'Well, that's all fine and dandy, but why not have a little fun with the situation along the way?' he laughed again, like some sort of perverted madman.
    'I'm not like that!' I screamed, but then realized I should probably keep my voice down.  'When are you gonna realize that I don't intend on doing anything like that when she's here?  Geez, why do you gotta be such a dang pervert all the time?' I asked, exasperated, and went back to chopping vegetables.
    He sighed again, I could tell that that comment was an insult to Hiro and his pride as a hentai.  'I'm just trying to persuade you to have a little fun once in a while.'
    'Your idea of fun is not the same as mine,' I said, sliding the vegetables into a pot.
    'Well even still, you could use some fun in your life.  All you do is mope around, thinking about how much your life sucks when really you've got it made and you don't even realize it!'
    I gasped and looked to him quickly.  'That's not true.'
    'Yes it is!  You've got everything any guy would ever want!  All the girls are crazy for you, you're good looking and popular and one of the best swimmers in the region.  But you seem bored with it all!  It really makes the rest of us sick!'
I glared forward, my fist starting to tighten.  'You don't realize just how bad my life has really been, do you?' I was trying to remain calm, but thinking about it always made me angry.
    Hiro was quiet for a moment, just thinking about what I meant by that.  'I'm sorry, man' I guess I just want to see you enjoy what you've got more.  Sure you've been cursed with a crappy family situation, but you've got plenty of other things to compensate for it.  Just try to realize that more often.  Take advantage of the fact that you're pretty and popular and stop feeling sorry for yourself.  That's all I want you to do.'
    Hiro was never able to realize this, but what he said at that moment really stirred up great meaning inside me and helped to alter my outlook on things from that day on.  I was actually getting a little emotional and was about to turn and thank him when Yoshiko came into the kitchen.  Seeing her, I quickly wiped my eyes and got my masculinity back in charge.  'Uh, soup's almost ready,' I said, clearing my throat.  'Hiro, why don't you get some dishes out.'
    'Sure thing, bro,' he set the table and I was soon able to serve us all the simple soup.

    After the meal, we sat around at the table in the same places as before.  I was feeling so grateful that Yoshiko actually enjoyed the soup I made!  I thought it had turned out ok, but I had certainly made better things before.  She commented on how she thought it was very delicious, making me blush stupidly again.  'Ah, it was nothing.  I can make a whole lot of better things!' I laughed awkwardly.
    'I really do appreciate all your warm hospitality,' a tear glistened down her cheek.
    I shot straight up and nearly rushed over to her.  'Are you crying?!'
    'Relax, Dai, those are tears of joy!' Hiro reassured, picking at his teeth, 'She's so happy and grateful to be here with us, right?'
    Yoshiko nodded, 'It means more to me than anything.'
    'You see?' Hiro asked me, 'You really do need to learn how to read beautiful girls' expressions better.'  I think that was an insult, but I've always remained unsure. 'Anyway, so why don't you tell us a little about yourself, Yoshiko?  I must say, I've been dying to get to know more about you!'
    'Yes,' I then said, 'won't you please tell us something?' I was also dying to know more and was grateful that Hiro had brought up the very subject I'd been wondering about as well.
    'Something about myself'?' Yoshiko repeated, looking off to the side.  'I really' don't know what I'd say''
    'Tell us where you come from.  You must be a foreign exchange student, right?' pried Hiro.
    'Yes'' she answered slowly, 'I suppose one could say that''
    'Oh!  How exciting!  A foreign exchange student!' Hiro was nearly jumping out of his skin in excitement.  'So where do you come from?  And why do you have a Japanese name?  This is all so terribly interesting!'
    Yoshiko paused and lowered her head slightly.  I could tell she was feeling uncomfortable again.  'I'm feeling pretty tired now after today' I'd like to get some sleep now, if that's alright''
    Hiro and I looked to each other, confused why she had changed the subject so abruptly.  'Um, sure,' I said softly, 'I think you should sleep in my bed tonight.  Tomorrow I'll try and find one of the futons and put it in your room.'
    I could see a faint smile come back to her lips, 'Are you sure?  I wouldn't want to pry you from your own bed.'
    'Don't worry about it,' I assured her with a sincere smile, 'Just get some sleep.  I'll probably be out on the couch if you need me.  Hiro and I will be sure to stay out of your way the rest of the night, right Hiro?' I glared at him, smashing his plan of sneaking into my room and 'accidentally' finding Yoshiko in there instead.
    She gave me a weary smile.  'Thank you so much again.  You have been so kind to me today, I don't know how I could ever show you how grateful I am.'
    'Don't mention it,' my sincere smile remained.
    Yoshiko stood up from the table.  'Good night, Daisuke-san,' she said sweetly and bowed to me.  'Good night, Shiozawa-san,' she bowed to him also, nearly making him blast off into orbit.
    'Good night, precious!' he said back, floating to cloud nine.  We both smiled at each other one last time and watched as she walked away and disappeared into my bedroom to get some sleep.
    'What a perfect end to the perfect day,' Hiro commented.
    'Yeah'' I answered, still staring in the direction she had gone.
    'Earth to Dai!' Hiro waved his hand over my face, making me come back to reality.  'Wow, I think I know what's going on here'' he chuckled, making me blush again.
    'W-what are you babbling about?' I tried to hide my face from him, taking the dishes to the kitchen.
    'Aw, don't be that way!  You know just as well as I do, you're hot for her!'
    I nearly dropped the dishes onto the floor when he said that, but luckily was able to set them safely into the sink before severe damage could have been done.  'D-don't be silly,' I stammered, starting to rinse them off.  My face was blazing hotter than ever.
    Hiro just chuckled and leaned against the sideboard next to me.  I could feel his eyes burning into the side of my blushing face, making me even more uncomfortable.  'Dai,' he taunted with his usual smirk, 'do you realize your face is all red?'
    '' So what?  It's just a little hot in here, don't you think?' I opened the window above the sink slightly to let some cool air in from outside, where the rain was still falling.
    'You don't have to be embarrassed about it.  She's a freakin' attractive girl, you'd have to be really weird not to be hot for her!'
    What he said was true.  She was extremely attractive, but there was also so much more to her than just her looks.  'Ok,' I admitted, 'you know I think she's awesome. There's just something about her that's so' amazing, I don't know how to explain it.'
    He nodded, 'Yep, she's incredible alright.  I just can't help but wonder why she changed the subject when we asked about where she was from though.  It's like she's some sort of convict trying to forget her past or something!'
    'I don't think she's a convict,' I said, '' but it is weird how she keeps it a secret''
    He nodded and watched me scrub the dishes.  'Maybe she's from some really bad place and has a dark past she doesn't want anyone to know about.'
    I laughed, 'Yoshiko with a dark past?  Yeah, right' that's really funny, man.'
    'You never know!  Maybe she's an escapee from a mental ward and is going to cut our heads off in the night!!' there was a boom of thunder at that moment, making Hiro nearly faint from scaring himself.
    'Get real!' I said, throwing a dishrag at him, 'There's got to be a reasonable explanation as to why she's keeping it to herself.  Just chill, she's NOT going to cut our heads off in the night!'
    He sighed and didn't seem too convinced.  'Anyway, let's hope there's also a reasonable explanation to that other stuff that went on today.  Like when she just sat on your lap for no apparent reason and when that weird thing happened out on the field today and I saw you flying through the air like some toy doll!  And also just the fact that you don't have any serious injuries from that is a bit odd too!  I heard the other guys involved in that had serious concussions and are still in the hospital, but you're just fine!  Do you think maybe that has something to do with the fact that Yoshiko stayed in the infirmary with you the whole time you were knocked out?  There's something unnatural about her, Dai, and I think it has to do with her past!  So I think it's safe to say that all these things lead to one conclusion: she's an X-man.'
    I almost bent backwards and fell over when he said that ridiculous thing!  'An X-man?!' I tried to keep myself from cracking up when I saw the seriousness he displayed.
    'How else would you explain it?!'
    'Hiro!' I said, starting to laugh, 'She's NOT an X-man!  I agree, there has to be some sort of reasonable explanation for those things too, and saying she's an X-man just isn't reasonable!' I couldn't help myself and I started to laugh hysterically.
    Hiro just glared at me, 'Well fine, mister know it all, why don't you just ask her yourself and find out why all those things happened?!'
    I immediately stopped laughing and went back to the dishes.  'Easier said than done.  It's probably also a touchy subject for her.'
    'Then we'll never find out for sure!' he whined.
    I loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and stood, looming out the window as the land grew darker and darker.  'Maybe I can ask her someday.  Just not now' let her get more comfortable around us, and then I'll try and figure it all out.  Believe me'' I then thought about the vision I had seen that morning and nearly became entranced by its mysticism again, '' I'd like to know the answers as well''
    Hiro nodded and the two of us made our way to the living room.  I reflected once more on how deeply I had begun to feel for Yoshiko before Hiro destroyed my beautiful thoughts by turning up the TV.  It didn't matter though, I thought about her again and how wonderful she had made me feel that incredible day.  Hiro was soon thereafter to inform me of his newly created plans to stay the night, which seemed a little odd to me considering he hadn't brought anything with him but himself and it was a school night.  But since I was in such a good mood, I agreed to let him stay, but only if he promised to keep out of Yoshiko's way.  Even though he appeared to promise, I'd have to make it a point to keep a very close eye on him.
    Anyway, it was still too early for us to think about going to sleep, so I had Hiro get me caught up on the day's lessons since I'd been incapacitated for the greater part of the day.  Afterwards, Hiro begged to use my dad's computer in the basement so he could look at more porn and I hit him for it.  We decided to watch a movie instead (much to his disappointment and my relief) and during the first hour of it, Hiro became sound asleep next to me on the couch.  I thought that was a little funny because he swore he'd stay up all night from excitement.  I turned off the movie and stretched, watching Hiro drool.
    It was dark outside now and I decided to step out for a little fresh air and to be alone with my thoughts.  When I walked outside, I was amazed to see right above me a break in the clouds and the most beautiful stars twinkling through it.  As a white shooting star shot across the opening, I smiled and felt the same peace wash over me as when I was with Yoshiko.  Something about the stars called to me that night like they'd never before.  I began to feel some sort of connection to the cosmos as I thought of my place on Earth, I realized just how tiny and insignificant I was standing there, looking up to the grandeur.
    The vision replayed itself in my mind and I felt myself wanting to leave the ground to go and explore the heavens to see what I had seen in that dream.  I knew how impossible that was, especially for someone like me.  But still I wondered, and as I did, the clouds closed over the opening, swallowing my view of the stars and my curiosity.  Bringing my eyes back to Earth, I thought about Yoshiko again.  The rain started to fall lightly once more and I knew I'd better head inside.
    I got some blankets and pillows from the linen closet and threw one of each onto Hiro.  Actually feeling a little tired, I went to brush my teeth and stuff and then curled up on the other end of the couch and put a pillow near the armrest.  I slid under the thick blanket and stared up at the ceiling, still thinking about that entire day.  It was possibly the most amazing and definitely life changing day of my entire life to that point.  With those thoughts fresh in my mind, I eventually closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
    And thus ended my first day with the most incredible girl I had ever known.  I still had several questions eating on my mind about everything.  Who was Yoshiko really and where did she come from?  Why was she exactly the way she was?  What was the real story with that vision I had seen and how was she able to knock me out with a brilliant blue light?  And, a question I had secretly wondered before falling asleep, did she possibly feel anything special for me like I did for her?  After that day I would have many more days to come with Yoshiko, but for now, I was at the start of my brand new life with the girl of my dreams.

On to volume two...
Back to 'Original Stories'...