Chapter 1-Eight Friendships, Childhood Sorrows
	Aino Minako ran gaily through the park, laughing and trying to elude "It," in
the game of tag she and her friends were playing. Laughing harder than ever and
clutching her little six-year-old stomach, she wasn't looking where she was
going and crashed into someone. When she gazed up, clear crystal blue met
annoyed silver eyes. An older boy around ten years old, she guessed, was glaring
down at her.
	"Hey, little girl," he said, with all the superiority of his ten years that he
could muster, "why don't you watch where you're going?"
	Blushing, she looked down at her muddy, sandy shoes and mumbled, "Gomen." After
a moment, Minako looked up once more and asked, "How come you were playing all
alone? Do you want to play tag with me and my friends?"
	Slouching, slightly embarrassed, the older boy muttered, "Iie, arigato. I was
alone, because I don't have many friends. Actually, I don't have any friends at
all."
	Just then, one of Minako's many friends ran over and said, "Mina-chan, you're
it!"
	She grinned at the person she'd bumped into before and said, "Maybe it's ‘cause
you're a little snobby. Now, come on and play! You can meet my friends!" The
blue-eyed girl, hair caught in a high ponytail, asked him, "What's your name?"
	"Kouseinou Seishou."
	"I'm Minako. Is your name Seishou?"
	"No, gomen nasai. My father was a gaijin, and we only came here a few years
ago. My first name is Kouseinou. Nice to meet you, Minako-san."
	She regarded him imperiously for a moment, then proclaimed, "You speak good
Japanese then. And call me Mina-chan. We'll be friends." Minako lightly tagged
the silver-haired boy and ran away, calling back, "You're It, Kousei-kun! Come
on!"
	Shaking heavy silver bangs out of wide eyes of the same hue, the boy shrugged
for a moment, forgot his older "authority", and ran after the little blonde and
her friends.
~		*		~		*		~
	Hino Rei looked up, frightened, when her father called her. She hoped she
wasn't in for another beating, like the last time she tripped had down the
stairs and broken a vase. Wincing, the tiny dark-haired one rubbed her old scars
and bruises, proceeding fearfully down the stairs. Her mother was trying to hold
back a furious, drunken husband. It was a familiar picture to her, one that
haunted her nightmares and during every waking moment of her life.
	"You filthy little brat, I've had enough of you in this house. Your mother and
I have no more money to keep you, and you're going to your grandfather's temple
to stay. Go pack your things." When the child just stared at her mother, who was
sobbing, her father hit her hard across the face.
	Silently clutching the reddish-purple palm print inflicted upon her delicate,
ivory skin, Rei fled upstairs to get a battered suitcase. She stuffed her one
stuffed animal inside, which was a grimy and battered old crow, clothes,
toothpaste and toothbrush (her mother had watched ardently over her child,
making sure she brushed every night), hair brush, and one special item that she
stuffed quickly inside among her clothes. A few moments later, the five-year old
stuffed herself into a too-small coat and went downstairs, lugging her suitcase.
Her father snatched it up, because it light for him but heavy for his small
daughter. Rei's mother kissed her and said goodbye, trying not to look into her
daughter's large purple eyes. She brushed away shiny, dark bangs and fled
upstairs in tears. Shaking her head in wonderment, Rei still said nothing and
followed her father out to the car. During the silent ride, she stared out the
window, never saying a thing. The hand print, now purplish-blue, didn't seem to
affect her. How her father managed to drive in his inebriated state, she would
never know.
	Once they reached the shrine, Mr. Hino hollered, "FATHER-IN-LAW!"
	The head priest hurried out to see who called him with such importance in his
tone, then glared in disgust at his son-in-law. He had taken his only daughter
away and abused her everyday, but there was nothing he could do. "What is it?"
	"Your daughter failed to produce any sons. This is the product of our miserable
marriage, and I can't afford to feed her."
	Coolly, the little, brown-skinned man stated, "You mean you drank your pay.
Spent it on yourself, prostitutes, petty extravagances."
	"Shut up. Have some respect. She's your's now. Take care of her or throw her to
the wolves, your choice. Knowing you, she'll grow up to be some idiot priestess
with no knowledge of anything but fire rituals."
	"The young are supposed to show respect for their elders. At least my
granddaughter isn't beyond saving. I lost my daughter to your appetite. You
never deserved her. Get off my grounds."
	When a red-faced, furious senator Hino was thrown unceremoniously off the
grounds and had driven away, he knelt and turned to the petite child.
"Konnichiwa, Rei-chan."
	Seriously, her large purple eyes gazed into his. Then, Rei spoke the first
words she had spoken for a month, besides answering to her abusive father.
"Konnichiwa, ojii-san."
	A week later, the middle-aged man introduced his taciturn granddaughter to a
brunette child, instructing, "Rei-chan, please show Makoto-chan around.
Makoto-chan, this is my granddaughter, Rei. She's one year younger than you,
five. Rei-chan, Makoto-chan is here from an...orphanage, and she'll be staying
with us for awhile. However, she is not expected to take part in temple rites,
just to train under the masters here."
	Nodding, the dark-haired child bowed to Makoto and welcomed, "Konnichiwa,
Makoto-san. My name is Hino Rei. This temple, Hikawa Shrine, is my home. She led
her around the halls, taking note that the older girl's green eyes were drawn to
old swords and other weaponry on the wall-especially a picture of five men with
black belts. "That picture is my grandfather, with four of his friends."
	Impressed, Makoto replied, "You can call me Mako-chan."
	"You can call me Rei-chan, then," Rei returned quietly. For a moment, the two
smiled at each other, and an ancient magic went to work as they bonded. For the
first time, one raven-haired girl softened another tough girl, used to the
streets.
~		* 		~		*		~
	 Kousei Kyosei stared at the blond haired boy opposite him and decided to make
his acquaintance. After all, they were in this karate class together.
"Konnichiwa."
	Sunnily, the boy peered up through thick bangs and chirped, "Konnichiwa. Call
me Kasen-kun, will you? I've got a brother, who's younger than me, but he's got
a different name ‘cause I've got a stepfather. How old are you?"
	Amazed, Kyosei wondered how anyone could be so open with a stranger. And also
how he could talk so fast and say so much in such short bit of time. "I'm
Kyosei, I guess you can call me Kyo-kun. I'm nine. How about you?"
	"I'm nine too! Want to sit down?"
	Taking the offered seat, navy blue stared into bright blue for a moment.
"Kasen-kun, where's your brother? What does he look like, is he around here?"
	Kasen grinned and said, "You're curious, like me. If you ever come over my
house, we'll tear everything apart, and okaa-san will sigh and wonder why I'm
not like my brother. Yosouya's got a long name, and I can't pronounce his last
name. Anyway, my stepfather's nice, so I don't mind what his name is anyway.
Souya-kun's got blond hair like me, from okaa-san. But he has green eyes, like
my new father. He's very quiet and always reading, but he's only seven. He talks
like us, though."
	Thoughtfully, the brown-haired one mentioned, "I haven't got any siblings."
	Bright sapphires widening, the blonde offered, "Then you've got to come over
sometime and meet Souya-kun. He's fun to fight with if you can get him angry,
too. But other times he'll just agree to almost anything I want to play. But
right now Yosouya's at the swimming pool, he loves swimming."
	"And what do you like to do?"
	Laughing, Kasen responded, "I like fighting, as long as it's not
street-fighting! That's dishonorable in real life, because they use all these
dirty tricks, but it's fun in video games. Why do you think I'm here, Kyo-kun?"
	He grinned back and said, "I don't know, you wanna have a match?" The
bright-haired one leapt up with interest and agreed immediately.
	 Meanwhile, his half-brother was indeed at the swimming pool. Plunging through
the deep end and swimming laps, a flash of blue that would have matched true
water, not chlorinated water, caught his eye. Treading water for a minute,
Kouseki Yosouya stared at a small, blue-haired girl, sitting on the edge of the
pool, who was dipping her wrinkled toes in the isolated shallow-end. Judging by
her appearance, he thought she looked about five. Curious about the book she was
reading, as most five year old children he knew didn't read thick books, he swam
and then walked over.
	Mizuno Ami looked up, startled, when a few drops of water splattered on the
page. She saw another child, a boy with short, curly blond hair tied back into a
ponytail with serious green eyes. Right away, Ami decided she liked his eyes.
	"Konnichiwa. Gomen nasai if I got your book wet, I was just wondering what you
were reading."
	She blushed and said, "Konnichiwa." After a split-second, she showed him the
book, and he was surprised at the thickness and context. He jumped up onto the
rough edge and read with her for a few moments, and both became so engrossed
that they didn't notice each other's company.
	After another few page-turns, Yosouya asked, "Excuse me, but what's your name?
I'm Kouseki Yosouya, but almost everyone calls me Souya-kun."
	Turning a pale shade of crimson again, she replied, "It's nice to meet you,
Yosouya-san. My name is Mizuno Ami. I don't have many friends, but if I did,
they would call me Ami-chan."
	Regarding her for a moment with the somber emeralds she had admired so, the
blonde asked, "How come you talk like you haven't got friends?"
	She down looked at the tranquil pool and whispered, "‘Cause I haven't got any."
	Deciding to leave the obviously sensitive matter alone for a moment, he asked,
"Why aren't you swimming? Don't you like water?" He then blushed at his
openness, usually shy around newcomers and all people, in fact.
	Wistfully, she shook her short blue tresses for a minute then said, "I love
water. But even though it's wonderful, flowing.....I'm afraid of it."
	"Do you know how to swim?" She turned scarlet again and shook her head.
Considering for a moment, Yosouya then proposed, "Maybe that's the missing
piece. If you want, I can teach you."
	Looking at him eagerly with shining blue eyes, she asked, "Would you really?
And you wouldn't mind, even though you're older?" When he shook his head, Ami
asked, "How come?"
	"Well, for someone who loves water as much as you do, you should be able to
enjoy it. And I think you need a friend." Thoughtfully, he asked, "Ami-chan,
would you like to be friends?"
	"Hai, Souya-san."
~		*		~		*		~
	Seishou Kouseinou wandered through the crowded park, looking for one special
little girl. Frowning, he noticed that Minako was nowhere in sight. One of her
friends, a little girl with two brown pigtails and darker blue eyes came up to
him. "Excuse me, aren't you Kouseinou-kun?" When he nodded, inquiringly, she
went on, "Mina-chan's parents took her away to London. They're going to live
there now; her father got a new job. But she wanted to tell you she was sorry
that she wouldn't be able to come here again and for you to make more friends."
	"Arigato." With the short dismissal, she left. Kouseinou sat down on a bench,
even though it was already occupied by two boys, he tried not to cry. Although
he'd only seen Aino Minako twice, she had brightened his life and made it more
fun. Her spirit and energy had been infectious, and he had played with kids
younger than him and enjoyed it. But now she was gone, and the hot sun beating
on his neck before now felt cold. Shivering, he looked at the sandy grass
emotionlessly and waited for when his parents would come take him home. They'd
been so proud to hear he'd made a friend instead of isolating himself, and now
she was gone. Suddenly, a hand reached over and tugged his sleeve. Eagerly, he
looked up, hoping Minako had come back, and that it had all been a short, bad
daydream.
	Instead, a small boy about a year younger than him said cheerily, "Konnichiwa.
I'm Kasen. Do you want to play with me and Kyo-kun? He's my new friend from a
few days ago."
	The other boy beside him grinned and said, "I'm Kousei Kyosei, by the way. He's
Tabiki Kasen, and he's got no manners. What's your name?"
	Vaguely remembering how he had forgotten the Japanese way of pronouncing names,
he quietly replied, "Konnichiwa, nice to meet you two. I'm Seishou Kouseinou."
And then the two animated nine year old boys pulled their new friend off to
play, on the swings, the see-saw, monkey bars, slides, tunnels, and many other
things, all openly discussing their family and lives. He, however, remained
stoic yet friendly. Although he was stony...and slightly crabby, they had to
admit, both Kasen and Kyosei liked him and "adopted" him, and their group became
a threesome.
~		*		~		*		~
	"KINO MAKOTO! You come back here with my broom!" shrieked Hino Rei, stamping
her tiny foot, stepping on her long robes, and falling flat on her face.
"Ow...."
	Makoto instantly ran back and hefted her up, saying, "Gomen nasai, Rei-chan.
Dajibou?"
	Patting her nose gingerly for a moment, she said, "Dajibou. Arigato, Mako-chan.
My broom ‘gain. See if you can catch me!"The brunette wondered how the
raven-haired child could bounce back so quickly after her fall and ran after
her. Grandpa Hino, otherwise known as ojii-san to both of them now, watched with
an approving smile, knowing his granddaughter's new friendship would benefit
both. Rei had finally learned to trust first himself, then Makoto, and the
brunette girl was helping her to see that other people weren't all that bad,
either.
	Thinking about the next day, start of a new school season, he sighed and
wondered how he would get them to school. The next morning, he went into Rei's
room and said, "Rei-chan, wake up. You've got kindergarten today, so get dressed
in the clothes I left on your chair." Both girls, moderately good-natured about
waking up, had gotten into their clothes and were downstairs in a flash. He set
before them heaping plates and bowls of toast, cereal, and pancakes.
Complimenting the yummy breakfast, the pots and dishes of jam, sugar, and syrup
caught their eyes and rose it even higher in their child-like esteem. "Calm down
and don't choke or rush, you'll get lunch at kindergarten too." He went and
packed their obentos, which were full of rice, vegetables, and meat.
	When the time came, Rei clung closely to Makoto's larger hand, gazing at the
noisy schoolyard askance. "Mako-chan, I don't know if I'll like a lot of the
people here."
	"It's okay, Rei-chan," her friend replied comfortingly. "I'll be here to take
care of you."
	Most unfortunately, the two little girls had been put into separate classes.
Rei got through the morning okay, enjoying the tasks. Makoto was fairly
reasonable and didn't put up a fuss about anything. Her class dismissed first
for lunch, and she took her obento and went outside to wait under a giant oak
tree, setting out her meal on the mossy growth. Her sharp green eyes roved for
the raven-haired child until she found her cornered by the gate.
	"Little priestess, is it true everyone at your temple is crazy and under
spells?"
	"Why don't you show us your amazing powers?"
	"Witch!"
	"Everyone says you're cursed."
	The brunette was filled with indignance and anger at the animosity towards her
friend, who hadn't done anything to antagonize her fellow peers. Swiftly and
quietly, she beat them easily with the moves her teachers at the temple had
taught her.
	Wide-eyed, Rei whispered, "Mako-chan, arigato gozaimisu. But you're going to
get in trouble now, you shouldn't have done that."
	Already, an annoyed teacher marched towards Makoto, having been informed by the
cowardly little tattletales. "Young lady, you come with me and see the
principal. Your guardian is going to be called, and we'll discuss proper
behavior."
	Blinking and not understanding a word the woman was saying, she waved to Rei
and said, "Ja ne, Rei-chan. I'll see you later. Eat lunch and have fun." She was
then promptly dragged off. Disconsolately, Rei plopped down and ate, thinking
how nice Makoto was to look after her. If only she didn't get into fights and
cause trouble for herself.....
~		*		~		*		~
	Yosouya smiled proudly as the tiny blue-haired one swam the entire length of
the large pool-twice. Clapping, he grinned encouragingly at her. Ami stopped
about a foot away from him, peering at him through her wet and dripping bangs.
Her large sapphire eyes shone, and she squeaked, "Arigato gozaimisu, Souya-kun!
Swimming is so much fun, I don't understand why it was scary before."
	He smiled and shrugged, saying, "Sometimes it's better to confront fears
directly." His green eyes grew concerned when her joy faded a few moments later,
and she wasn't very cheerful anymore. Ami had always been quiet but had warmed
up to him after a while. His proof? The Souya-kun she had finally called him.
Something was casting a shadow in the corner of her unhappy blue eyes, and he
asked, "Ami-chan, what's wrong?"
	Her pretense of smiling and being happy faded, and she dove under water for a
moment. When she resurfaced, glimmering with beads of water, Ami said sadly,
"I'm not going to be here tomorrow."
	Not understanding, he said, "That's too bad, but you can always come back
Monday." The pool was closed on Saturdays and Sundays to the public, used for
swim-meets, and tomorrow would be Friday.
	Sadly, she insisted, "Iie, I mean, never again. Okaa-san has been transferred
to the hospital in Juuban, and she and otou-san divorced a few years ago. I'm
not going to be able to come here anymore, maybe never again."
	Feeling panicked and extremely upset, Yosouya bowed his head and wrung out his
soaked blond hair, now a light brown. "Ami-chan......I'm going to miss you" he
said awkwardly.
	"Me too," she whispered for a moment. For a moment, they stood, staring at each
other, she a head shorter than him.
	Then a petite blue-haired woman called, "Ami-chan! Come on, we've got to go and
catch the three o'clock train to Juuban."
	"Souya-kun, my okaa san's here now."
	"I know," he said dismally. "Ja ne, Ami-chan."
	Just as depressed, she pulled on her clothes over a wet swimsuit and said
discouragingly, "Arigato again, Souya-kun. Sayonara." She trotted off with a
forlorn, backwards glance at her only friend before reaching the gate, clutching
her mother's hand, and walking off. Meanwhile, Yosouya was left to sit on the
edge of the pool and wait for HIS parents, not in the mood to swim anymore
without his water nymph as a student.
~		*		~		*		~