Starting from the Beginning...

Yukihime stood outside amidst speeding taxi's and unruly perverts who passed by, holding a heavy suitcase in each hand in her minisirt, sweater and boots, shivering as the cold winds blew threw her hair at the curb in busy-bodied Nagoya, outside her fathers home.

"Takanishi-chan," The taxi driver said kindly, opening the trunk for her. She put her bags in and slammed it shut with all she had, as the taxi driver waited for her to enter the car. She looked up once more into her fathers window as the car sped off, not seeing him. She turned her focus back in to the new-car smelling taxi and wrapped her legs and pulled her sweater down. Yukihime then laid down on her side, waiting to get to her new home.

In a moments time the car was stopped. A fretful looking woman- maybe 40- stood there in pants and a sweater as her red bandanna practically flew off her head.

"Wake up," The driver said, turning around. She sat up and ran her hands through her long hair to assure its neatness and got out.

"Oh Yukihime!" The woman yelled, running up to her and giving her a violent hug.

"Mother," she answered, putting her face in her shoulder as the driver kindly took out her baggage and handed it to the woman, who took it and without a struggle walked to the door.

"Can you- get the door honey?" Yuki's mother kindly asked, giving her the key from her pocket.

She stepped back as Yuki opened it and her mother walked in.

"Welcome home," she said.

Yuki forced a smile.

"I know it doesn't feel like home and it's a bit uncomfortable but, I hope you give it a chance."

"I will," Yuki kindly replied, sitting down.

"I guess- I'll unpack for you. Or-" she said, trying to be friendly,"We forget this and hang out a while."

"I guess we can hang out," Yuki answered, smiling.

Her mother then took advantage of the opportunity to once again hug Yuki.

"I missed you- so much." She said, near tears. "All those years I never could get close to you. Now we have all the time in the world," she added, snuggling against Yukihime harder.

Yukihime grunted a bit, still smiling.

"Yeah."

Hours later Yukihime fell asleep, laying on the cot, barefooted, snoring. Her mother laughed and unfolded the throw and put it over Yukihime.

"Goodnight," she said, and kissed her forehead.

There was no other dream that plagued Yukihime more- the nightmare of having to choose which parent she wanted to live with. She'd lived with her father all her life- it was homeostasis. To live with her mother, after all this time just wouldn't work- period. She chose her father, and yet, after the divorce was settled and properties were split, she was signed over to her mother- as if she was some newbie basketball player noone wanted and kept drafting. Worst of all was that she had no say. Sure, she wasn't an adult and thus didn't have the rights as one, but all her life she had a say. If they served fettucine for dinner but she wanted yakitori, she got yakitori. If they said her allowance was twenty dollars but she needed fifty, she got fifty. It wasn't that Yukihimi didn't deserve these choices, because she did. It would seem that her intelligence was an anomoly- her parents weren't nearly as insightful as she was. And yet she was forced to live with one of these idiots she was doomed to know as mom and dad. But the seventeen years she spent with her father would overpower the three she would spend living with her mom. She couldn't much complain; she'd had it her way her entire life. A few years wouldn't kill her. Would it?