Author's Note: Hi everyone! I got bored so I felt like making another chapter of Snow Princess. Yeah, I'm still working on my other stories, though school's been keeping me less motivated. Other than some strange person I never even met before harassing me on the bus 2 days ago, I managed to survive the first 2 weeks of school, even though I had a few nervous wrecks in animation due to my forgetfulness. Enough of my rambling, I present to you all...chapter 5 of The Princess of the Land of Snow!! Read and review nicely please! NO FLAMES!!! Happy reading!

PAGE 5: Summer Chapter I

There is a strange little world confined within the eternally large world on the outside. Inside this world, the sky is eternally ash grey, and there's pure, pristine white snow on the ground. Only very small details would change during the 4 seasons, but other than those, the sky and the ground didn't change at all, no matter what. Nobody knew why because they ignored this world and didn't care about it because it was none of their business. Nobody bothered to even go inside and see if there was a small spec of life inside of it, blatantly assuming that there is no life existing in the world.

They were wrong. There is life inside this hidden world.

The only humanoid life form living in this strange, wintery world was a very young girl, as young as 9-10 years old. She has short, wavy light brown hair and light blue eyes matching the majestic blue sky that was outside of her world. She wore a sleeveless, pristine white satin dress that was very long and went beyond her own feet, as if it made her actually a part of the snow itself. Her skin was as white, but she was absolutely nowhere in the description of albino. She also has two, large white ribbons on both sides of her head tucked in her hair. She also wore a matching white shawl on her shoulders, some parts of it being wrapped around her arms. The girl stared up at the ash grey sky above with a wistful look on her face, as if she were longing for someone to return. As she stared up at the sky, a ray of golden light finally broke through the gloomy barrier and onto the girl, making her look more majestic and beautifully pristine than she ever was.

Soon, the blackened trees that had no leaves on them began to grow emerald green leaves. Small birds of varying color and species flew around the newly growing trees and began picking the small fruits growing from them. Soon, all kinds of animals began to appear out of nowhere and greet the angelic girl with glee. There were squirrels, rabbits, three deer (a buck, doe, and a young fawn), birds, turtles, cats, sheep, chipmunks, and even dogs as well. The girl seemed like a white, angelic personification of Snow White, only she didn't have hair as black as the windowpane, lips as red as blood, and she is certainly much younger. The girl seemed to enjoy the company of the animals around her, but she still seemed wistful for something else. But as she and the animals turned around to face the north, a black silhouette with a gold button on it's chest was approaching her. It apparently has a matching black cape.

There is a young, angelic girl
Dressed entirely in the whitest silver,
With her apricot skin and blue eyes
Being the only exception.
She changes her world a little bit,
To make it more lively and bright.
The animals surrounded her with glee,
Feeling no malice or hate.
This was a world of love,
Yet it is so unknown to the outside.

The girl is waiting for her "prince" to come.
She wants to see the black shadow,
Who saved her in her time of need.
She simply wants to play with him.
She waits under the light,
Waiting for her prince to come,
In the manner of Snow White.
The white snow below her,
Glistened beautifully under the golden light,
Making her small world just a bit happier.

Animals surrounded the girl.
Deer, rabbits, squirrels, birds,
Animals of all kinds.
The girl loved animals,
So she brought them into her world,
So she won't feel as lonely.
The grey barrier in the sky,
Was broken by the golden ray of light,
Which shone on her, making her shine,
And her heart shine.

As she stared into the horizon,
Waiting for her prince to come,
A black shadow began to appear.
The white angel knew the shadow well.
Her blue eyes glistened with happiness,
As she saw the black shadow's features.
His piercing, emerald green eyes,
His skin as white as snow,
His raven black hair,
His flowing black cape,
His gold button holding the cape,
His gentle smile, bright as a sunflower,
His heart of gold,
His warm, gentle hands.

Friday, June 9, 2009

There was not a single white fluffy cloud in the eternally blue sky as far as the eye can see. There was not even the smallest spec of white cloud in the majestic blue sky. The sky was stainless and pure, being blessed with golden light and effulgence with the sun in it's peak while it also shines on a small little town in Hokkaido of Japan. The sun was emitting more pure light than ever before. This is because it is almost summer time, when the air increases in humidity, the plants in the green grass below begin to grow, the sky becomes more blue and stainless, and more animals begin to appear. But there are some small, unwanted things that summers tend to bring, such as small bugs such as mosquitoes, fruit flies, and bees, wanting to sting innocent civilians and suck a small, satisfying amount of blood in order to survive.

The incessant bugs were one thing that one girl hated about summer.

This young girl had round, yellow hair with some big streaks going over her ears, matching the color of the bright sun above. Her eyes were a dazzling light violet, the color of violets. Her skin was a peachy apricot color and she is living in a large, meadowy green house. Her room is very large and has a bed, two large bookshelves, a night stand, a big mahogany bureau containing all her clothes, and a closet containing more clothes. The girl is also wearing a white tee with a purple flower checked applique on the chest part along with faded blue shorts with navy checked accents. She also has a little black ribbon in her hair. As she put some books into an orange backpack, she turned her head to look at a picture frame sitting on her night stand. The clock next to it read 8:00 AM.

The frame contained a picture of a young boy. He looked to be about 13-14 years old in age. He has slightly curly, light brown hair along with greyish blue eyes. In the picture he's wearing a white shirt with buttons and black pants. The girl stared at the picture with a rather wistful look on her face. Her violet eyes looked as if they were going to produce tears at any moment. The girl clung to her orange backpack as she stared at the picture with a crestfallen expression plastered all over her face. She was also staring at the black writing that was on the bottom of the frame. There are names written on it. One of them was "Cain Raymond Samuel Linwood" and the other writing read "Alaizabel Tierney May Willis aka Alisa". The girl read the names written on the frame and continued to look wistful...until a voice echoed.

"Alisaaa! Time to go to school!"

A woman's voice called out to the girl, whose name is Alisa, which is one of the names written on the frame. Alisa stood up from the bed and proceeded to walk away, but she stopped and looked at the picture again.

"I'll be back soon...Cain" Alisa whispered to the picture, which she referred to as Cain. Cain is the second name written on the picture. Could Cain be the name of the boy in the picture? Alisa left the room shortly after she said a little prayer.

About a few minutes later...

Alisa arrived at school with the help of her mother, who dropped her off in front of Eien Middle School. Alisa stood in front of the large blacktop while clinging to the straps of her orange backpack. She was also pacing around as if she were looking for someone. She then saw a small group of girls just about 5 meters away from where she is. One girl looked to be about 9-10 years old and has short, chin-length, light brown hair with curly ends and eyes as blue as the pristine blue ocean. She is wearing a sleeveless, pristine white top printed with many small, blue snowflake-like designs. She is also wearing blue shorts and white sneakers.

Another girl looked to be about 11 years of age. She has semi-long, straight, light brown hair tied up into two straight pigtails with tiny, yellow ribbons along with matching light brown eyes. She is wearing a short-sleeved, light yellow shirt under a pair of denim overalls with shorts along with dark brown shoes and knee-high white socks. The final girl has short black hair in a short bob-cut style and has golden eyes as gold as jewelery. This girl is wearing a swirley purple and aqua dress that ties at the shoulders with embroidery in the center and a long, layered skirt. She is also wearing small light purple socks and red shoes. Alisa quickly noticed them and decided to run up to them.

"Towa-chaaaaan! Karin-chaaaaaan! Hotaru-chaaaaan!"

She referred to the curly-haired girl as Towa, the girl in overalls as Karin, and the purple-aqua dressed girl as Hotaru. Everyone except for Hotaru smiled brightly when Alisa appeared before their eyes.

"Good morning...Alisa-chan" Towa said in a quiet, gentle but shy voice.

"How are you today? Can you believe it's summer already?" Karin asked politely and bowed before her.

"Yeah, it's probably gonna be a hot one" Alisa exclaimed. When Towa turned her head to the right a little, she noticed Hotaru spraying some stuff on her arms and legs.

"What are you doing?" Towa asked innocently.

"Spraying myself with bug repelent. Mosquitoes are a nuisance this season and I dislike them very much, so I am taking protective measures" Hotaru replied in a quiet and calm tone. Alisa and Karin chuckled a little in confusion.

"She sure does love to come prepared, doesn't she?" Karin asked Alisa, who was standing next to her.

"I guess so...even though I've only been here for a month" Alisa said.

"Ohh! Alisa-chan, guess what! I brought Kobato(1) with me today!" Towa exclaimed innocently while showing Alisa a manga she pulled out from her small purse.

"Is that CLAMP's newest manga? I'm still reading Tsubasa Chronicle(2), and they haven't finished it yet!" Alisa proclaimed as she stared at the dazzling book that Towa is holding in her hands.

"They sure are popular..." Hotaru whispered when suddenly...

Riiiiiiiiiing

The bell rang, which means it's time to go inside. Towa, Alisa, Karin, and Hotaru are in room 16, which is their homeroom. Their homeroom teacher is Maeda Kawako, a lady who is usually seen by the kids as very stern and somewhat irritable on a majority of occassions. There are about 20 kids in the homeroom. While many of the other kids were talking and gossiping and minding their own business, Towa, Alisa, Karin, and Hotaru are sitting at their desks facing each other and talking amongst themselves.

"So...what are we going to do about this project for history class today?" Karin asked.

"We can go over someone's house and work on it after school or something" Hotaru said. Towa immediately perked up with excitement.

"Yeah! That's a great idea! So...which of your houses should we go?" Towa asked.

"Mine's out of the question. My grandmother's coming over and she's her aristocratic self as usual. I don't want her giving you or Alisa-chan a hard time..." Karin told her with a crestfallen expression. Karin actually comes from a wealthy, previously aristocratic family, but her family wishes to take it easy and live a simple middle class life despite their wealth, though Karin's grandmother has a reputation for criticizing literally EVERYONE who doesn't act refined and classy. There was an incident where the grandmother caught Karin inviting Towa at her house and she gave Towa a hard time for no reason. Karin knows Towa's a good girl, but her grandmother cares a lot about the family name.

"Oh...I see. What about you Hotaru-chan?" Towa asked Hotaru.

"Sorry, but my house is being occupied tonight. My father is inviting professors from his university at my house to discuss their newest lesson" Hotaru replied.

"What!? Is your dad a professor at a university!?" Alisa yelped in shock.

"Yes. A science and astronomy professor at that. Why is that such a shock to you?" Hotaru asked quietly.

"Sorry, it's just...I've never met anyone whose fathers are professors at a university" Alisa replied as she was waving her hands around to clear the misunderstanding.

"How about you, Towa-chan? Is your house free?" Karin asked politely.

"Ummm...I don't know. Mama doesn't want me drawing on the new dining room table since our old one is in the basement, which I still use. Plus my papa was a bad mood because of an incident at work, so...I don't want to bother him in case he's still angry" Towa explained. Everyone except Hotaru felt rather crestfallen by everything. They need to work on their project for homework, but their houses are too occupied right now...or are they? Alisa decided to speak up.

"Uh...how about my house?" Alisa asked. Everyone became a little confused.

"My...my house is free! Both my parents are home, and we all don't have anything planned. Plus we can work on our project in my room. My room is quite big and there's a decent amount of space, and if that's not good enough, I have this big drawing table down in my basement we can use! Is...that okay?" Alisa explained. After a short, pregnant pause, Towa, Karin, and Hotaru smiled.

"That's a great idea! So it's settled! We can work on our project at Alisa-chan's house tonight!" Karin exclaimed.

"But...we don't know your address. Plus I think my parents would want to meet your parents first. They're cautious people, especially mama" Towa explained. Alisa continued to smile as she pulled out some small, ripped pieces of paper and began writing on them with a pencil.

"I understand. I can wait a bit...here! Here's my address!" Alisa exclaimed as she handed each of her friends three pieces of paper with her home address written on them.

"Okay! So it's settled! We can all go to Alisa-chan's house to work on our proje--" Towa was about to exclaim in delight when suddenly an unknown person stood behind Towa. Towa turned around, but her face immediately became fearful when she saw the person looking down at her with scorn and disgust. The girl has dark brown, semi-long hair that goes to her shoulders and has lighter brown eyes. She is wearing a short-sleeved, pink shirt that has the words "Don't mess with the Princess!" printed in black along with a crown on the bottom of it. She is also wearing dark blue jean shorts, brown shoes, knee-high white socks, and she has a flower hair clip holding up part of her bangs.

"Hey freak! Shouldn't you be in the sewers? That's where all you filthy rats belong!" The girl exclaimed proudly with a touch of arrogance. Karin, Alisa, and Hotaru immediately stand up, but Towa doesn't do anything.

"I...I don't need to go! And I'm not a rat!" Towa exclaimed and tried to leave the seat, but the girl immediately grabbed her and prevented her from leaving.

"You tried to make me, the all bright and beautiful Nawa Kaori-sama, into a bad girl when I'm clearly the most popular girl in this school! You're worthless and retarded! You're a stupid and filthy rat! And besides, who in their right mind would want to be friends with a stupid, incompetent, worthless, retarded, filthy, and abnormal freak like you!?" The girl, introducing herself as Nawa Kaori, began verbally abusing Towa and tried to put her down. Alisa immediately jumped from her seat and tried to free Towa from Kaori's clutches.

"That's not true! Towa-chan's not retarded or a freak! You're the one acting all high-and-mighty and thinking you're the best girl in this school when clearly you're not! Nobody likes people who tries to harass people to make themselves feel good!" Alisa rebuked angrily. But this made Kaori extremely choleric.

"You're the ones trying to make people think I'm a bad girl! If I was the head of the family house I would make that freak into my servant and make her do everything from cleaning up garbage to cooking all my meals to tying my shoes! At least I don't smell like cat poop or toilet water or eat off of the floor like she does! She's filthy and low-class, I'm beautiful and popular! There's nothing you can do to make me into a filthy roach like you all are!" Kaori yelled with a high amount of rancor in her voice. She was becoming quite choleric as she was calling Towa and her friends low-class as if they were plebian people. Then, Mrs. Maeda appeared in front of Kaori with a perturbed look on her own face,

"That's enough, Nawa! Do you want to have a detention again!?" Mrs. Maeda rebuked sternly. Then, suddenly, Kaori sat in front of Mrs. Maeda on her knees and looked up at her while feigning innocence.

"M-Maeda-sensei! I'm so glad you came! That mean girl Izumi-san began calling me names! She called me stupid and stinky and everything! You should do something about that big fat bully!" Kaori begged for mercy while framing Towa for what Kaori was actually doing. Alisa got mad and spoke out.

"YOU'RE the big fat bully!!" Alisa screamed. This made Kaori snap. She became even more choleric and angry.

"You dare call me fat!? You DARE call ME, the beautiful princess of the Nawa household, FAT?!? You'll pay for this you cockroach!!" Kaori screamed when Mrs. Maeda grabbed her arm with great strength.

"Enough!! You're coming with me to the principal's office, young lady! And don't you dare use any foul language in his presence!" Mrs. Maeda yelled as she dragged Kaori out of the room. Kaori began flailing and whining like a child.

"Why are you doing this to me!? It's Izumi you should be punishing, not me! She's bullying me! Why would you frame a nobility like me for a crime I didn't commit!?" Kaori whined incessantly as she was being dragged out of the room. Towa was now next to Karin, Alisa, and Hotaru. Hotaru had a very scary look on her face.

"What a big brat she is" Hotaru whispered. Towa suddenly began sobbing a little. Karin and Alisa noticed this and tried to console her.

"I-It's alright, Towa-chan! You didn't do anything wrong!" Karin tried to console her, but Towa was already beginning to cry, and they just started homeroom, too! As Karin and Alisa were trying to console Towa, some boys about a few feet away from them began talking.

"Peh! She's such a big baby! Always cryin'!" A boy with messy, dirty brown hair and brown eyes exclaimed.

"She's crampin' our style, yo!" Another boy told him.

"What a nut-job she is. Wanna mess her up later, aniki?" The third boy told him. Soon, they began laughing and pointing at Towa as she's crying in Karin's arms, but Alisa heard them and got angry.

"Why don't you three just shut your mouths and quit being a bunch of narcissists!!" Alisa screamed at them angrily.

Soon, all four children decided to go through the school day like they normally do. Unfortunately, Alisa, Towa, Karin, and Hotaru don't have many classes together. They only have art, lunch, and history together. But during art class, as they are working on their artwork, they began discussing the material for their history project beforehand. The four are assigned to create a diagram for an imaginary school that they create which is supposed to be named after a famous historical figure. They all decided to name their imaginary school after the famous British nurse and writer Florence Nightingale, even though she wasn't Japanese. Their teacher approved of their decision yesterday.

The girls soon sat together at lunch, even though they sat on different sides of the table. They further discussed random things such as anime, manga, games, their project, and other things. But they didn't get through it unscathed. The boy from earlier, whose name is revealed to be Hiroaki, threw food at Towa and it got caught in her hair. Alisa and Karin got angry and scolded him for it. Then, Kaori returned again and continued to belittle Towa and condemn her as nothing but a filthy rat, which is not true. Alisa and Karin were very angry at her, but as Towa looked at Alisa's choleric expression, Towa seemed to see a spark in her violet eyes that said: "You think you're so normal, belittling someone who's different! Nobody's perfect you blockhead!!" Towa moved away a little and continued to eat her lunch, but she just could not stop thinking about the look in Alisa's eyes as she stood up to Kaori.

'Alisa-chan...her eyes looked so fiery and determined...full of anger. I wonder if she's stood up to bullies before? She looks like she's angry at someone for something they did to her...I wonder what it could be?' thought the innocent Towa as she nonchalantly proceeded to consume what's left of her last rice ball which was packed in her lunchbox. As lunch ended and the final classes went on, Towa continued to notice that Alisa still had the piercing look in her light violet eyes. It was about to be this way until school finally ended about a few hours later.

All the children proceeded to leave the school. Karin and Hotaru immediately decided to follow Alisa to her parents' car and drive to her house. But Towa had some things to do before she could go, so she quickly hopped into her mother's car and was driven back home. She had a small snack as she arrived in her yellow house, being greeted by her father, who Towa mentioned was in a bad mood because of an incident at work. But it seems her father has become calmer and more cheery now. Towa and her parents are in the dining room talking.

"Papa? Mama? Um...my new friend Alisa-chan wants me and Karin-chan to come over her house so that we can work on a little bit of our history project together. You haven't met her yet, so she gave me her home address and phone number. Would it be okay if...?" Towa innocently asked them if she could go to Alisa's house to work on the project. Towa's parents looked at the little paper with curiosity, but after a short, pregnant pause, the father was the first to smile.

"Sure! We would love to meet your new friend!" The father told her with a calm smile on his face.

"But...Yukihiro, we need to meet her parents first" The mother told her husband, Yukihiro, with a bit of worry in her voice.

"Sasami, it'll be alright. Besides, when was the last time Towa-chan here made a new friend aside from that boy?" Yukihiro reassured his wife, named Sasami, that things will be okay.

"Ohhh yeah! What was his name again? I never got his name..." Sasami exclaimed with a sudden smile on her face. Yukihiro then turned back to Towa.

"Would you like to get ready?" Yukihiro asked Towa. Towa immediately smiled with glee.

"Alrighty! Be right back!" Towa exclaimed happily and dashed for her room. Yukihiro and Sasami remained in the dining room. It's true, Towa is friends with a boy she met earlier.

"What was his name again? I can't remember" Sasami asked.

"His name's Hikaru" Yukihiro told her calmly.

"Ohhhhh! Hikaruuuu! So that's what it is!...but it sounds...familiar...I think I've heard that name somewhere before, but I just can't seem to put my finger on it..." Sasami exclaimed happily, but she suddenly began thinking she heard that very same name someplace else once before. Yukihiro was a bit confused, but Towa suddenly came in out of nowhere.

"Before I forget, would you mind if I went to see Hikaru-kun real quick?" Towa asked innocently. Yukihiro and Sasami looked at each other for a short second, then they nodded at each other. They decided to agree.

It seems Towa isn't the only one going to Alisa's house on her own. She wanted to bring someone else with her.

"Whaaaaat!? You want to invite me to a friend's house!?"

That person was none other than a 16-year old androgynous male teenager named Ikuma Hikaru, whom Towa met on a snow-filled day in the mall a week before Christmas. Hikaru is quite tall and has short, raven black hair part down the middle so his pure, emerald green eyes can be seen. His skin is quite white, but not white enough for him to be considered albino. He was NOWHERE in that description. He is currently wearing a maroon, sleeveless shirt over another sleeveless shirt, which is white, along with light tan khaki shorts and brown shoes. He is very tall and slender and not like most boys. His voice is strangely high-pitched, but is considered having the voice of a young boy with a low-pitched voice (strange, huh?).

"Yeah! You'll love Alisa-chan! We're working on a history project and we were wondering if you'd like to come to her house and help out a little! Plus she likes anime and manga like me and she's from America!" Towa exclaimed with a joyous expression on her face. But on the contrary, Hikaru's expression seemed rather distraught.

"I...I don't think it's such a good idea..." Hikaru whispered nonchalantly, but Towa wasn't done yet.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to mention! Alisa-chan's autistic too!" Towa exclaimed loudly.

This is what finally caught Hikaru's attention. He stared at Towa for a short while, began thinking a little, then he finally responded by letting out a gentle smile on his face.

"Alright then...I'll go, if it's not too much trouble" Hikaru whispered gently. Towa leaped on him and hugged him in response.

Soon, the two of them walked into the Izumi family car and drove off to Alisa's house. It didn't really take more than 5 minutes to arrive at the house, which seemed exceptionally big. The house was painted a bright greyish blue color and the roof was pointy and white. The porch had only 2 stairs on it and there was a big window on the front of the house. A set of small wind chimes hung from the ceiling of part of the roof, creating a gentle melody as it was being blown and carried by the calm but turbulent wind. There were some small orange pots on the porch containing some flowers. Towa, Hikaru, Sasami, and Yukihiro immediately leave the car and decide to slowly walk on the porch. Towa noticed a small doorbell and gently pressed her finger on it.

riiiiing

The doorbell made a buzz sound that sounded like static. About a few minutes later, Alisa finally opened the door and greeted Towa with a smile on her face.

"Oh! Hi there!...who's this?" Alisa exclaimed when she noticed Hikaru behind Towa.

"Alisa-chan, this is Hikaru-kun, my friend. Hikaru-kun, this is Alisa Willis, my new friend" Towa explained. Alisa blushed a little bit and Hikaru shrugged a little.

"Uh...he-hello..." Hikaru murmured shyly.

"You must be Alisa-chan. I'm Izumi Yukihiro, Towa-chan's father" Yukihiro introduced himself to Alisa politely.

"I'm Izumi Sasami, her mother" Sasami introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you all. Come inside! My parents are home" Alisa exclaimed.

Towa and Hikaru were shocked by what was inside the house, though they weren't as nearly in shock as they were when they were invited to Karin's house back on a cold, January day. The walls of the living room were painted a bright shade of grey and blue. The roof even had a small chandelier on it, though it wasn't very big. There are two puce-colored couches with yellow, green, and pink stripes on them. One big one and a little one. There is also a silver TV on the other side of the room. There are two windows, one really big one behind the big couch on the left side of the room, and a smaller one on the other side. Both have purely white, flower-printed satin curtains on them. The dining room is just up ahead.

It wasn't very big, the table sure was big. It was a clean mahogany color and it looks like there are darker brown swirls and stripes all around. It's shaped like a long rectangle and there are 8 chairs in all, all of which have dark green soft seats on them. There's a big light bulb inside a fan on the ceiling with the switch having a glass angel hanging from it. The windows behind the table also have curtains, but these aren't made of satin and are dark yellow instead of white. There were some plates placed out on the table too. All of them are printed with sunflowers and leaves on them. Hikaru and Towa are surprised. Then, all of a sudden, a series of voices echoed into the room.

"Alisa! Have the rest of your guests arrived?"

The first voice came from a middle-aged man, but it spoke in English instead of Japanese. Soon, two people arrived from the kitchen. One is a middle-aged man. He has a small amount of wrinkles on his face, but his hair is a bright shade of brown, though his hair is thinning a little. He also has dark blue eyes like sapphires. He looks quite tall and sophisticated, considering he's wearing a tan talored suit with a white shirt tucked under it along with a maroon vest and a grey tie with black stripes. He is also wearing brown shoes. His face looked very stern, like a strict schoolmaster. He is also wearing partially round, bottle-thick glasses on his face. Towa shrugged a little as she looked at him. Hikaru didn't make a sound at all.

Next to the man is a younger woman, looking to be in her mid-40's. She has long, blonde hair tied up in a sophisticated bun and has light violet eyes just like Alisa. Her pink lipstick makes her look like a very aristocratic and sophisticated woman. Her skin is bright like peach and she is wearing a short-sleeved, light pink shirt along with a long, white skirt that goes to her knees printed with some yellow and purple flowers. She is also wearing black sandals. Towa and Hikaru blushed a little bit at the sight of them.

"Towa-chan, Hikaru-san, these are my parents. This is my mom, Marilla Louise Willis, though everyone seems to call her Marilou. She's a talented florist and works at the flower shop nearby. That's my dad, Gilbert Jeremy Willis. He's a famous defense attorney" Alisa explained as she introduced her parents to Towa, Hikaru, and Towa's parents.

"Mom, Dad, these two are my other new friends. Izumi Towa and Hikaru-san. These two are Towa's parents, Yukihiro and Sasami" Alisa then introduced her parents to Towa's parents. Her father, Gilbert, is the first to walk up to Yukihiro and Sasami.

"Umm...Good afternoon. I am Mr. Gilbert Willis. Umm...a pleasure to meet you" Gilbert calmly introduced himself in Japanese, though he seemed to be struggling with it a little.

"My name is Marilla, but you can call me Marilou if you want" Marilla Willis, aka Marilou, told Yukihiro and Sasami politely.

"We're...not good at Japanese...just yet. We're...still learning" Gilbert stuttered a little bit. As they decided to talk to each other, Alisa, Towa, and Hikaru decided to skedaddle off to Alisa's room.

Towa and Hikaru are surprised. Alisa's room was quite big and has a voluminous amount of space. Her bed has bright green covers and matching green and white pillows. There are two bookshelves, one for manga and one for anime DVDs. Some boxes on the other side of the room contain stuffed animals. Alisa's bureau was a great shade of mahogany and it contains all her clothes, while many other trinkets such as a dark blue Nintendo DS, many games, a small light, some small bags, and other trinkets are on top of it. There's even a little table in the middle of the room, which contains the big diagram of their make-believe school. Next to Alisa's bed is a nightstand containing some other trinkets such as anime figures, a picture frame, a small photo album, two clocks, and a small glass statue of a dragon.

"Woooow! Alisa-chan, your room is sooo cool!" Towa exclaimed.

"It's quite big" Hotaru added.

"Alisa-chan's room is very cute...and anime-filled" Karin remarked innocently.

"So! Shall we get started! After we finish some parts, we can play around a bit" Alisa explained to them.

And so, Alisa, Towa, Hikaru, Karin, and Hikaru decided to start on their project. They drew a big diagram of their made-up school on a big roll of cream-colored paper and used a black marker to draw squares and other shapes. Hotaru made a little list of all the courses their made-up classes will have, including important classes such as math, English, social studies, history, science, culinary, etc. It would also contain foreign language courses such as Japanese, English, French, Spanish, German, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese, and even Finnish. Towa smiled the whole time as she was enjoying being in a group of children, including her much older friend Hikaru.

The angelic white girl
The raven black shadow
Was suddenly accepted by the outside
By three young girls,
All dressed in different colors.
One girl was in a mango-colored dress,
Like the Bengal orange sunset.
One girl was in a violet purple dress,
Like the delicate, violet flower.
One girl was in a yellow dress,
Bright as the yellow sun above.
Her bright, purple eyes
Were as delicate and fragile
As the petals of a lilac flower.

The angelic white girl
The raven black shadow
Found smiles on their faces
So bright and so warm
They didn't know what to do.
They could only enjoy
Being in the warm circle
Of the kind outsiders
Who accepted them with open arms.
The snow was falling heavily,
The ash grey sky basked upon them,
And yet...this circle felt
As warm as the yellow sun.

"Oh snap! I forgot to get the stapler from the kitchen!" Alisa exclaimed loudly. Her violet eyes became a little crestfallen when she realized the stapler was missing. Then, Alisa stood up.

"I'll be right back. You guys stay here" Alisa told everyone. But then Towa and Hikaru stood up.

"Can we come with you? In case you can't find it?" Towa asked. Hikaru blushed a little. Alisa smiled a bit.

"Alright then!" Alisa exclaimed with a smile.

Alisa, Towa, and Hikaru decide to help Alisa look for the stapler needed for their project. To Alisa's surprise, the stapler was not in the kitchen where it was supposed to be. So, they decided to look in other places. But as they were about to leave the dining room to look somewhere else, someone else came into the room. It was a teenager, but she looked about a year younger than Hikaru. She has shaggy light brown hair that goes to her chin along with dark blue eyes like sapphires, the same eyes as Alisa's father's. The girl is wearing a sleeveless black shirt with lace straps and a short, light blue jean skirt. She was also wearing a white choker necklace, maroon-colored shoes, white socks, and she was also holding a dark pink bag with a shoulder strap on it. The look in her eyes seemed rather scornful.

"Oh! Bindy's home!" Alisa exclaimed. Apparently the teenager's name is Bindy. Bindy Willis, possibly Alisa's sister.

"Bindy! Have you seen the stapler anywhere?" Alisa asked in English, but the look in Bindy's sapphire blue eyes seemed to be full of anger and anxiety.

"Shut your mouth! I just got here and you expect me to know where something is!? Why do you have to be so good at languages!? I can't even speak Spanish or Japanese like you!! Don't you ever stop being a spoiled snob!?" Bindy screamed at Alisa in English, and even cursed in English. It was quite likely that she doesn't speak or understand Japanese. As she was about to turn away, she ran into Hikaru. The look in her eyes became more scornful.

"What are you looking at, you emo freak!?" Bindy yelled angrily and left the dining room. Hikaru's emerald green eyes were suddenly stricken with pain and fear, but Towa was clinging to him in fear herself.

"Does...she hate us?" Towa asked.

"It's not you. She hates everybody. She hates being in Japan and doesn't understand the language as well as I do. She's always cursing at anyone she comes into contact with because of the move. It's not your fault. She's the one being an arrogant snob...OH! Here's the stapler!" Alisa told them about Bindy and how she hates Japan and is unable to speak the language, but then she saw the stapler on top of the shelf in the kitchen. The three decide to go back to Alisa's room to work on the project.

But Hikaru's emerald green eyes were still fear-stricken and were trembling violently. Apparently he understood that Bindy recently called him an emo freak, but Hikaru is in no way emo or pessimistic. But just being called that made him overcome with fear and pain. He followed the young girls and tried to participate in the circle, but his willingness to participate with a smile on his face was destroyed with what Bindy just called him. He was in pain as if an archer's arrow burning with fire pierced through his armor and hit his heart, piercing it and burning it horribly, leaving terrible marks.

Thankfully, progress with the project was going great. Everyone participated in voicing their opinions about what their made-up school should have and obtain, and Hotaru jotted down notes about what the school's purpose will be. But Towa was the only one whose mind was focusing on just the project. She couldn't help but continue to glance at the small book on Alisa's bed. The book had a lock on it and it was a dark green color with a small, gold rectangle on it reading "Alisa's Memory Album". It was likely to be a photo album. Towa couldn't help but take a few glances at the album. She was beginning to get curious. As the rest of the children were busily discussing the project, Towa stood up and decided to walk up to the bed and hold the album in her hands. She then turned to Alisa.

"Alisa-chan. What's this?" Towa asked. She somehow managed to get the attention of everyone. Alisa was the first to stand up.

"Oh! This is my photo album. Wanna look at it?" Alisa told her. Alisa managed to open the small lock and everyone gathered around to look in the photo album.

The album contained a lot of pictures. One picture in particular contained Alisa surrounded by 5 different people. Three of them being girls, two of them being boys. One girl was small and has shoulder-length, light brown hair and light blue eyes and was wearing a white sleeveless dress with big flowers on it in varying colors along with a small, yellow ribbon in her hair. One of the boys was very tall and has short but extremely curly red hair along with pale hazel eyes, like acorns. He is wearing a long-sleeved, dark green shirt along with dark blue jeans and brown boots. The boy next to him is a little younger and has slightly curly light brown hair along with greyish blue eyes. He is wearing a long-sleeved, plain white shirt that has ruffles on the chest part along with black pants and brown shoes. The girl behind Alisa has long, wavy light blond hair and eyes that look like they're a mixture of brown and dark red. The final girl has semi-long dark red hair tied up in a ponytail along with blue eyes. The photo also had some writing written on the bottom.

Alaizabel Tierney May Willis, aka Alisa
Cain Raymond Samuel Linwood
Pearl Maria Shirley
Blythe Caroline Owens
Walter Alexander Chase
Annabeth Nicole Jackson, aka Anna/Annie

"Alisa-chan? Who are all these people? And are these names written under the picture?" Towa asked. Alisa decided to explain.

"Yep! These are all my friends, plus my cousin. This was taken when we went on a picnic in a reservoir in my original hometown. The little girl in the flowery dress and brown hair, that's my best and youngest friend, Pearl Shirley. She's a very cute and sweet girl. She's my best friend. The red-headed guy is Walter, my older cousin. He has ADHD but he's very reliable and kind and strong. The boy next to him is Cain Linwood, my other best friend! The dark red-headed girl is Blythe Owens, my friend and ex-rival. The wavy-haired girl is Annabeth Jackson, but we call her Annie. And yeah, my full name is Alaizabel Tierney May Willis" Alisa explained. It turns out all the people in the one picture are all her friends, including herself and her older cousin, and that her full name is Alaizabel Tierney May Willis. Everyone was awestruck but curious. They continued to look through the photo album.

One picture contained Cain and Alisa sitting next to each other by a river and talking. Another one contained Blythe and Annabeth squirting each other with toy water guns. Another one contained Alisa and Pearl being hugged by Walter. Another picture contained Walter climbing up a large tree but looking like he's about to fall off. Another one contained Cain hugging Alisa gently. Many more were in the album, but they contained pictures that weren't in the wild. One notable picture contained Alisa and all her friends, including her cousin, at what appears to be a birthday party. There were many pictures of kids eating slices of cake, cookies, vegetables such as carrots, corn, broccoli, and eating other foods such as pizza, spaghetti with meatballs, and sandwiches. Some of the kids were drinking glasses of milk, orange juice, iced tea. Another picture contained Cain giving Alisa what appears to be a brooch. The brooch was in the form of a dazzling blue teardrop surrounded by silver swirls to make it more appealing. Alisa in the picture has a very surprised yet joyous look in her face.

"Cain-san gave you that brooch? How sweet!" Karin exclaimed happily. But as Towa and Hotaru looked, Alisa seems to have a crestfallen look in her violet eyes.

"Is the brooch still around?" Hotaru asked. Alisa stood up, handed the photo album to Hikaru, and ran to her bureau. She picked out a small red box from one of the small bags on her bureau. She returned to the group, opened the box, and everyone saw that it contained the very same brooch in the picture. The blue teardrop shaped jewel shone luminously in the light coming from the light luminating Alisa's room. The blueness was as blue as the vast ocean and the silver swirls surrounding it shone just like it beautifully. Everyone was awestruck with delight.

"Woooow! That's sooooo pretty!" Towa exclaimed happily.

"It looks much more dazzling in real life than in the picture" Hikaru proclaimed.

"Yes. My friend Cain gave this to me as a present for my 11th birthday. It's the first birthday gift I ever got from him and I cherish it with all my heart. I wear it on a near-regular basis, but sometimes I don't because I hear brooches sometimes fall off your shirt if you don't secure it properly. I...I love this present very much" Alisa explained, still having the crestfallen look on her face.

"I'm sure all your friends must miss you, in America" Hotaru told her.

"Hey! Speaking of America, where in America did you live before you came to Japan?" Karin asked.

"I lived in New Jersey, in a little suburb called Egg Harbor City. It wasn't a very big town, and there is only one elementary and one middle school. Both of which I went before I moved here. I went to Rittenberg middle school for the 5th grade before we moved here. I...I have mixed memories of that school" Alisa explained and told everyone in the room about her home life in America.

"Did bad things happen at school?" Hikaru asked.

"Not always, but some did. Even though I had good friends like Pearl and Blythe and Annie along with great teachers like Mrs. Baldwin and Miss Thomas and Mr. Hawthorne and stuff, I often got bullied by various kids. I was mostly picked on by a group of boys led by this mean kid named Jamal Barry and another girl named Kiana Emerson along with her clique. I hated them both and they terrorized my whenever they got the chance. In fact, I remember the first time I met Cain" Alisa explained. Soon, the black bottomless abyss in her head called her mind began to take a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

(flashback)

A 10-year old Alisa Willis is just simply ambling around the park in her little hometown, simply minding her own business and not having a care in the world. She is wearing a short-sleeved, tie dyed pink T-shirt along with long, denim cargo jeans with a matching hat on her head. She is also wearing white sneakers and has a black ribbon in her short yellow hair. She wandered around, looking at all the little flowers, which were ranging from colors such as light blue, pink, orange, purple, and white. Alisa smiled whenever she would see something the little flowers. But as she was about to walk away, she saw a small, brown ball of fluff about a few feet away. She looked up and saw that it was a bunny rabbit, perfectly brown with shining black eyes with it's ears perked up and it's small, white and fluffy tail wiggling around. Alisa is immediately smitten and she tries to run after it.

"Ooooh! A bunny!" Alisa exclaims as she runs after it, but the rabbit quickly notices her and hops away. Alisa is crestfallen.

"Awww, the bunny went away" Alisa murmurs to herself in sadness. But right as she was about to turn and amble away, a familiar but feared voice calls out to her.

"Hey you! Lemon head!"

The voice of another girl echoed in the sky. Alisa became scared as she saw the source of the voice. A girl was standing a few feet away from her. She looked to be about Alisa's age, but her skin color was brown instead of white, so she is blatantly an African-American. She has semi-long black hair tied into little curly pigtails with orange beads and accessories along with light brown eyes. She is wearing a dark blue, short-sleeved top that has the words "Talk to the hand" written on it along with a dark red mini-skirt. She is also wearing white socks and black shoes. She is also wearing a silver bracelet on her left wrist. Behind her were three other girls. Both of them have light skin, but different hair colors. All of them have scornful and scary looks in her faces.

"Where do you think yer goin'!? We have some business to take care of!" The girl exclaimed with rancor in her voice. Her language is very crude and vulgar.

"Go away, Kiana. I don't like you" Alisa told them bluntly, but this made the girl, apparently named Kiana, angry. Kiana dashed toward her and ripped off Alisa's hat and grabbed her by the hair.

"Owww! Ow! Ow! L-Let me go!!" Alisa pleaded, but Kiana was showing no mercy. Her clique surrounded Alisa as well.

"I just remembered I ain't finished beatin' you up for gettin' me in trouble last week!" Kiana proclaimed.

"Yeah! Don't be such a tattletale!" The long haired girl in Kiana's clique added.

"That's right! Tattletales like you are filthy and retarded!" The second girl with short curly hair in Kiana's clique said. They raised their fists into the air, getting ready to hurt Alisa while Kiana was still clinging to Alisa's hair. Then, out of nowhere...

"Hey! Leave that girl alone!!"

The voice of a teenaged boy echoed onto the scene. Then, a black silhouette swooped onto the scene and removed Alisa from the clutches of the clique. The boy looked to be no more than 13-14 years old in age. He has slightly curly, light brown hair along with greyish blue eyes. He is wearing a white shirt with ruffles on the chest part along with black pants and brown shoes. Alisa hid behind him as she clung to her blue hat and watched as the boy was scolding the clique for attempting to physically assault her.

"Young ladies like yourselves shouldn't be ganging up and attempting to hurt an innocent girl. It's not lady-like. I'd expect you all to know better and act more civilized than this. But you certainly don't give off a good impression, now do you?" The boy rebuked calmly as he criticized the clique for picking on Alisa. Unfortunately, this made Kiana more choleric than she was earlier.

"Whaddo you know!? What are ya, this kid's bodyguard!? You shouldn't be friends with a retard like her!" Kiana screamed angrily. But the boy then grabbed Kiana's arm and quickly pushed her away.

"Retard? That's a very awful word. Ladies like you should know better than to refer to a cute maiden like this girl as something abominable as that. Why don't you all run along now and get on with your own business?" The boy told them calmly. Kiana had enough and decided to leave the park along with her clique. The boy then turned behind himself to find Alisa standing there, trembling with her violet eyes shaking a little. She was clinging to her hat. The boy smiled gently and kneeled down to her level.

"Are you alright, little girl?" The boy asked in a quiet, soothing and gentle voice. Alisa's eyes stopped trembling and she decided to speak.

"Y-Yes...thanks for saving me, sir" Alisa whispered shyly. The boy smiled at her.

"I dislike it when cute girls like you get targeted over something so minor as that. Do you know those girls?" The boy told her but then asked her if she knew them. She obviously did, so she decided to tell him about them.

"That mean girl...that's Kiana Emerson and her clique. She hates me. She's a bad girl and last week I caught her texting with her cell phone during class, so I told the teacher and she got in trouble. Cell phones aren't allowed to be used in school. I was just trying to...help" Alisa explained innocently. The boy smiled and gently patted his hand onto her yellow head of hair.

"You did a good thing, and I can certainly see you're a kind girl who takes rules very seriously. Oh! How rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself. Hello there, my name is Cain. Cain Linwood" The boy, introducing himself as Cain Linwood, explained.

"A-Alaizabel Willis, but everyone calls me Alisa" Alisa whispered innocently, still being a little shy about being in his prescence.

"A pleasure to meet you, Alisa. You're quite cute, y'know?" Cain told her kindly. Alisa blushed instantly and turned around.

"N-No I'm not! Kiana's the most popular girl in school. Nobody would want to be friends with a stupid girl like me!" Alisa exclaimed as she turned her back toward Cain.

"I don't think that's true at all...Oh! It seems I have to leave. Here, my home address and phone number. I hope we can hang out together some time" Cain explained but decided to give Alisa a small piece of paper containing his home address and phone number in case Alisa wanted to contact him. As Cain waved goodbye to her and left, Alisa suddenly found herself with a large smile on her face, her violet eyes becoming voluminous with joy.

(end flashback)

"...and that's how I met Cain!" Alisa explained. Everyone was awestruck with joy and delight after hearing the bittersweet story of how Alisa met her best friend Cain. Karin was gushing with glee.

"How romantic! Cain must be quite the magnificently kind person!" Karin exclaimed happily as she was stuck in her own little world.

"I've never had anyone do that for me before other than my parents. You sure are lucky, Alisa-san" Hikaru told her. But Hikaru and Towa then notice Alisa's violet eyes appear to have a wistful expression within them. But Alisa closed her eyes and talked again.

"He is! I got most of my friends and later my cousin to meet him and they immediately came to like him!" Alisa exclaimed happily.

"By the way, you said that your friend Blythe was also your ex-rival. What did you mean by that?" Hotaru asked nonchalantly.

"Oh! When we met in the 3rd grade, she used to be real mean to me before. She was all egoistical and arrogant toward me because I was smarter than her, but when I saved her from drowning in a river and when I helped her pass an important test, she and I made up and became friends! She's been real nice to me ever since" Alisa explained.

"By the way, Alisa-chan, when's your birthday?" Towa asked innocently.

"February 8. It's already passed this year" Alisa replied.

"Did you have a birthday party when you turned 11?" Karin asked.

"Yep! That was when Cain gave me the best present in the world! I remember it was though it were yesterday! In fact..." Alisa explained. She triggered another nostalgia moment for herself as she took another trip down memory lane.

(flashback 2)

POP! CRACKLE! POP! BANG!

Streamers and confetti fluttered everywhere in the dining room. Party crackers popped and cracked everywhere as far as the eye can see. In the dining room, there were a lot of people, mainly children. Alisa and her friends Cain, Pearl, Blythe, and Annabeth, along with her parents Marilla and Gilbert, and her cousin Walter, gathered around the large table. Streamers were caught in Alisa's hair but she didn't seem to mind at all. There was a big cake presented in front of her. It was wide but short, and has "Happy 11th Birthday Alisa!" written in light pink frosting. There's a blue flower candy on the cake along with blue frosting around the chocolate cake. There were only 6 multi colored candles on the cake, all of which were lit with luminous vermilion red flames. One little girl was scattering around those who were pulling the party crackers.

"Heeey! Don't pull the crackers so much! They're noisy!" 8-year old Pearl Shirley pleaded in front of Blythe and Annabeth, who were pulling the crackers.

"Come on! Don't be such a scrooge, Pearly!" 11-year old Annabeth "Annie" Jackson told her.

"I think she's concerned about Alisa's sensitivity to noise, Annie" 14-year old Cain Linwood told her. Annie felt a little crestfallen and decided to stop pulling the party crackers.

"Come on, Alisa! Make a wish! Blow the candles!" 16-year old Walter Chase sat next to Alisa as he proceeded to importune in front of her regarding blowing out the candles.

"Yeah yeah! Make a wish! Blow the fire out!" Pearl exclaimed cheerfully. Alisa took a small but deep breath, then slowly exhaled and the fire on the candles disappeared into the air without a trace. Everyone clapped and cheered out of joy.

"Alright everyone! Time for presents!" Marilla announced. All of the children cheered happily and leaped again. Pearl was the one who quickly pulled out her own present from her pocket.

"Open mine Alisa! I got this last week!" Pearl commented as she presented Alisa a small box shaped like a rectangle with blue wrapping paper with a cloud, star, and moon print along with having a small red bow on the top. Alisa gracefully accepted it and proceeded to open the box. As she did, she was shocked to see that Pearl had given her a copy of her favorite book, The Little Prince(3). Alisa's violet eyes grew big as the small book lay in her hands, but then became overcome with a voluminous amount of joy. She squealed happily and hugged Pearl.

"Thanks sooooooo much, Pearly! I've been wanting to get this book!" Alisa exclaimed as she hugged Pearl.

"Calm down now, Alisa. You don't want to suffocate the poor child" Alisa's father, Gilbert told her sternly.

"I know, I know. Thanks a lot Pearl! I'll keep it forever!" Alisa told her.

"Anyone want some cake?" 11-year old Blythe Owens asked curiously as she held up a plastic knife in her hands and proceeded to cut the cake. Then, Cain was the one who approached Alisa with his small gift, which wasn't wrapped in wrapping paper at all. He stood in front of Alisa's chair and then kneeled down in front of her, only standing on one leg.

"Alisa, you are such a great girl and a kind person. I have never met any girl as gentle and kind as you are. I have searched unsuccessfully for a girl I will grow to love and cherish. That's why, Alaizabel Tierney May Willis, I asketh you..." Cain explained as he looked at Alisa straight in the eyes. He then opened the small box in his hand.

Much to Alisa's surprise and ecstasy, the box contained a brooch. A beautiful, pristine blue brooch in the shape of a tear drop while surrounded by silver metal swirls. The pin behind it was a perfect sterling silver. Alisa was speechless. She could not believe her very eyes what was presented to her.

"...will you become my girlfriend?" Cain asked.

Alisa simply could not believe what she just heard coming out of Cain's own mouth. She was speechless and in shock for a few minutes. All the other people in the room couldn't help following suit. Then, tears of joy began spewing from Alisa's eyes.

"B-But Cain! Wh-What about him? Don't you still--" Alisa asked, confused and somewhat full of doubt.

"I decided to give up on that and him, now that I have found you. By the way, I thought this brooch would suit you very well, which is why I bought this for you, my pure-hearted angel" Cain told her calmly and directly. Alisa was so touched that she began to cry tears of joy.

"Oh Caiiiiiiin!!" Alisa squealed happily and wrapped her arms around him.

"HEY! No smoochin' my cousin, fluffy! She's still underage!!" Walter yelped at Cain for having a "moment" with Alisa. Not only that, he referred to Cain as fluffy, possibly referring to his hair. Cain, Alisa, and everyone else laughed in response. Walter at first blushed a bit as they were laughing, but he himself decided to laugh with them. They decided to continue on with Alisa's birthday party.

(end flashback 2)

After Alisa was done reminiscing about her boyfriend and memories in America, all of a sudden Karin was gushing and squealing with joy.

"Kyaaaaaaa! How maginificently romantic! You are so lucky to have met such a wonderful young prince as Cain!" Karin squealed happily as she got lost in her own little world regarding Alisa and Cain. But as Towa looked at Alisa, she saw that Alisa's light violet eyes succumbed to that wistful expression again.

"...I'm not lucky at all. My luck only lasted for a short time" Alisa murmured when Hotaru decided to speak.

"That reminds me. You said when Cain proposed to you, you asked him about "him". What did you mean?" Hotaru asked with a touch of curiosity in her gold eyes, something which is considered rare for a quiet and apathetic girl like her. Alisa had an expression on her face that showed signs of hesitation.

"...If I tell you all, will you promise not to freak out or hate me?" Alisa asked. Everyone looked at each other with confused faces, then nodded in advance.

"...Before my birthday, I went over Cain's house one day. I...learned his secret" Alisa whispered.

(flashback 3)

Alisa is currently standing in front of a tall, beige-colored house with a white roof and some wind chimes hanging from the ceiling. She is wearing a long-sleeved, dark green sweater with a triangle on the chest part along with long, black jeans and white shoes. She also has with her a light blue shoulder bag containing some items. She is also wearing a maroon winter hat along with her typical black ribbon in her hair. The car behind her drove away as she proceeded to knock on the door. As she did, someone answered it. It was a lady. She is tall and looks to be in her late 30's. She has long, light brown hair along with greyish blue eyes. She is wearing a long-sleeved white shirt along with a long dark blue skirt, white socks, black shoes, and a light green scarf around her neck.

"Um...is this the Linwood residence?" Alisa asked shyly.

"Yes, it is. Who might you be?" The lady asked politely.

"Ummm...I'm...Alisa Willis, one of Cain's friends" Alisa replied shyly and innocently. But right when she said her own name, the lady's expression showed great joy.

"Ohhh! I remember you! You're that cute girl Cain always talks about! Please, come on in!" The lady exclaimed with a bright smile on her face. She invited Alisa inside. Then, Alisa looked around and wanted to find Cain. She was certainly becoming rather impatient. She walked to the stairs and ran up the stairs. She looked around the dark, maroon hallways and found a brown door with a light green sign on it reading "Cain's Room" Alisa was overcome with a voluminous amount of joy as she proceeded to open the door.

"Caaaaiiiin!! Here I am--huh?" As Alisa burst through the door, succumbing to the voluminous amount of joy and glee resulting from finally getting to see her wonderful friend Cain, she came across a rather...aberrant and unwonted sight. The rare sight of her best friend Cain...hugging another male person and exchanging genuine and lucid lip-to-lip contact!

A boy kissing another boy? This was something Alisa never knew was possible. Two boys having crushes on each other and kissing? This was something that began to make her feel slightly perturbed. Unfortunately, Cain and his "lover" saw Alisa and the door and his expression showed a lucid harbinger that he was in shock and panicking. Alisa did not react at all. She was at a loss for words. She couldn't consume what was going on before her very violet eyes.

"Ummm...I guess I interrupted something. Sorry! I'll be back!" Alisa could only say this line and exit the room. Then, she grimaced with fear and shock, fell to her knees on the ground and felt a very heavy pressure fall onto her, like a cinderblock.

'Wha...what the flip was that!? A boy kissing another boy!? I never thought this was possible!! What did I just see!?' thought Alisa grimly, but as she tried to calm herself from the shock, she remembered the fond and lucid memories she made with Cain, along with all her other friends and her cousin. She remembered Cain consoling her when she was bullied by the cruel Kiana and her clique. When Cain did many munificent and magnanimous things for her. She loved every minute of it. She was already indigenous to his kind, gentle, munificent nature. She couldn't bear to reject him for what she saw just now.

"No...I won't hate him. Cain is the nicest boy I ever met. I can't hate him! He's my friend and I like him a lot! He's been so nice to me...I won't hate him! I don't hate him for what he's doing! He's been too nice to me to be hated!!" Alisa finally proclaimed her strong edict to herself.

(end flashback 3, begin flashback 4)

"Caaaaaiiiiin!! Where are you!?" The day after she witnessed the bizarre thing Cain did, she decided to try and peacefully confront him and ask him about it. But when she caught sight of him, he ran away from her. But Alisa refused to give up. She chased after Cain for the entire time and didn't even bother to take a little time to rest when she became tired from running. Alisa finally caught up to Cain and finally leaped on him in order to prevent him from running away.

"Cain! I'm not trying to hurt you. I just wanna ask you about yesterday! Please? I won't hate you!" Alisa proclaimed loudly. This time, Cain was not giving in. In fact, Alisa saw tears streaming down his face and spilling onto the withering light brown grass. The sky above them was a violent shade of grey, looking like it was about to snow. Alisa was confused and slightly perturbed by this.

"...Yes you will..." Cain murmured as he sobbed.

"No I won't!" Alisa told him. As they finally decided to talk, they first decided to move to a gazebo that was in the park, where they would not be seen by anyone.

"It's going to snow soon. Good thing I brought my new jacket, scarf and hat!" Alisa said to herself. But as she turned around, she saw Cain crying as he was sitting on one of the chairs. Alisa felt bad and decided to walk up to him, with a worried look on her face. Cain finally spoke, even though his whimpering interfered with his speaking.

"I...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I-I didn't want you to know! I...I don't dream of falling in love with girls like all other boys...like myself do! It's...complicated! I don't...know why, but...I...I...I dream about guys!" Cain explained as lucid drops of water streamed down his greyish blue eyes that almost matched the color of the ash grey sky above.

"You fall in love with guys? I never knew that" Alisa murmured.

"I'm GAY, that's what! I'm gay! I'm flipping gay! I-I didn't want you to find out! I feared that if you found out, you would hate me and think I'm a freak, just like everyone else does! I...I didn't want this to...ruin our friendship...!!" Cain screamed as he cried openly and faced the sky with his tears pouring quickly down his rosy cheeks. Alisa was perturbed by the sight of Cain's crying face, she simply wanted to console him. She finally mustered the mettle to walk up to him and wrap her arms around him.

"I don't hate you or think you're a freak. You've been so kind to me, I can't hate you. Besides, if you're happy with making love with other guys, then you should do that. After all, we friends have to support our decisions, right? Also, I don't think it's wrong to love someone who's the same gender as you" Cain was at a loss for words with what Alisa just told him. He finally obtained the mettle to hug her back. He cried on her shoulders, but he whimpered and tried to restrain himself from screaming in fear of scaring her.

"I-I'm so sorry. Everyone else hates me for what I am. My parents don't know...I'm scared they might hate me too...please, Alisa. Please, don't get yourself involved with me. If people find out I'm homosexual, they'll hate you and call you terrible names!" Cain explained as he whimpered through his tears. He importuned Alisa to not hate him or discriminate against him.

"Let them say what they want! They don't understand. Heck, I'd like to see them be friends with someone then find out that they're a homosexual. Besides, you're the nicest boy I ever met. Nobody's ever been kind to me like you have...Cain" Alisa explained. But then she saw small dots fall from the sky. Small white dots began to flutter down to the ground gently from the ash grey sky. A gentle, white snowfall began to befall the two.

(end flashback 4)

"What's a homosexual?" Towa asked innocently to Karin.

"A homosexual is when you love someone who's the same gender as you" Karin replied directly.

"Ohmigosh! Those exist!?" Towa yelped.

"B-But-!! Cain's NOT a bad person! He may be that way, but he's the nicest best friend I've ever had!!" Alisa yelped loudly.

"I can understand. In fact, I used to be friends with those people...until my family and I had to move here" Hikaru replied nonchalantly but gently. His raven-black hair hung over his evergreen eyes as he titled his head in response to Alisa's sudden outburst.

"I hope you get to see him again soon" Towa told her innocently. But right as she said that, Alisa grew quite laconic and quiet. Then...tears came streaming down her face again. Everyone was in shock.

"I...I'll never see him again..." Alisa murmured, with her violet eyes trembling and becoming tenuous.

"Why?" Hotaru asked. Alisa was perturbed when she finally decided to reveal the dark secret of why she made that comment just now. A lucid stream of tears flew down her cheeks as she finally talked again.

"He...died. He was murdered!!"

Everyone was in shock. Everyone gasped violently, but it was Hikaru who was the most fearful as his evergreen eyes became really large and he was white in the face.

"He...he was hated by everyone he knew! Street gangs and bullies from his school loved to beat him up and hurt him and call him atrocious names like homo and maggot (actually starts with F, but Alisa replaces it with M for safety reasons) and freak-job and girly and prissy and other things! You couldn't believe how angry I was when I saw him get beat up by those people! But one day...before we moved here, when he and I were walking to the park, the bullies from his school confronted us and they started to beat him up. Cain told me to go get help, but I was scared to. I didn't want to leave him. But he yelled at me to find a policeman...and I did. I pulled them from their post and tried to get them to the scene...but I was too late. I saw his corpse on the asphalt...in a puddle of crimson blood...I...I was shattered, broken, frozen, and appalled by the sight. A silver machete was sticking out of his chest. The bullies were laughing it up, like his death was some sort of funny joke! I wanted to hurt them so badly!! My best friend was taken away from me!! They ripped him right out of my life!!"

Everyone was heartbroken and almost on the verge of tears except for Hotaru who didn't cry. She simply looked down at her knees. Towa immediately burst into tears and hugged Alisa.

"Alisa-chaaaaaaaaan!! Those bad people took your best friend away!! That's not right!! I'm soooo sorry for asking!! I'm such a terrible girl to ask about such a terrible tragedy!!" Towa cried loudly as she hugged her equally autistic best friend. She remembered the look Alisa had in her eyes when she stood up for Towa against Kaori, and saw it in Alisa's eyes as she cried and talked about Cain.

"It's alright. I never told anyone this before. You all are the only ones I told this too" Alisa murmured. But what all the girls didn't know was that Hikaru was in the corner of the room holding onto his mouth, with his own evergreen eyes becoming larger and succumbing to more shock than ever, like he was going to erupt and throw up. Everyone was oblivious to Hikaru's dilemma.

"There was a trial for it, and I personally requested to testify, though my parents didn't want me to do so. I told them the whole truth of what happened and nothing but the truth. They were found guilty and were sentenced to life in prison without parole forever. But before the gang boys were locked away, I saw them walking around with handcuffs on them in the lobby. I ended up exploding and I threw a glass vase at them. It broke and pieces were everywhere. I even remember what I said that day" Alisa explained. Towa saw the look in her eyes again, the very same one. Towa could easily predict what Alisa said back then.

"WHAT KIND OF HEARTLESS ABOMINATIONS ARE YOU!!!? YOU TOOK MY ONLY BEST FRIEND AWAY FROM ME!!! You think you're so tough and normal, thinking you can bloodily discriminate and belittle anyone who's different!! Nobody in this flipping world is perfect!!! Even you should know that! You guys should rot in jail and die, you filthy skunkbags!! How would you feel if the only person who accepted you for who you are was killed before your very eyes?!? You shouldn't discriminate against people for simply being themselves!!"

The very choleric voice, full of hatred and rancor, was in the words she screamed at the convicted criminals back then.

"Nobody...nobody should be hated just for being who they are...I want to make it up to Cain and help others going through this as well..." Alisa murmured. Everyone was heartbroken and crestfallen. Then, suddenly...

The door slammed open! Someone broke in! It was Bindy.

"Won't you ever get over that homo already!? He's a freak!! He's gay for crying out loud!! He deserved to get murdered!! Loving someone else who's the same gender is disgusting and gross!! Don't you understand that gays and lesbians are appalling and freaking nasty?!?" Bindy screamed at the top of her lungs. This made Alisa REALLY choleric and full of rancor.

"Well if you think gays and lesbians are nasty, then how would you feel if the only friend who ever accepted you for who you are was a gay or lesbian!? HUH!?" Alisa rebuked angrily.

"I'd leave them to rot and die!! I'm not being friends with any freaking gay person!! They're disgusting and they make you puke!! Why don't you stop blubbering over that disgusting freak of a homo?!?" Bindy replied with a touch of rancor. But as Alisa was about to retaliate again, Hikaru's teeth gritted together and screeched as he leaped from the corner of the room, raised his arm up in the air and...

WHAM!

He slapped Bindy in the face with such strength, brunt and vigor that Bindy actually fell to the ground! Bindy now has a big red hand print on her face. She looked up at Hikaru, whose evergreen eyes have succumbed to the choleric flames of anger. He was supremely mad as he was looking down at her with disgust and rancor.

"You're...a cruel girl. How would you feel...if the only person who ever loved you and accepted you for who you are was killed before your very eyes JUST FOR BEING WHO THEY ARE?!? Everyone has flaws that make them unique in their own way! Nobody in the world is perfect!! Can't you understand that!?" Hikaru screeched at the top of his lungs. All the girls were speechless. Even Bindy herself was speechless and in a laconic state. But as Hikaru's anger finally withered away, he immediately clasped his mouth with his hands and dashed out of the room in a flash.

"Hi-Hikaru-kun!!" Towa cried out as she tried to call him, but he continued to run out of the house. Towa was crestfallen and Bindy stood herself up and walked away, barely being able to stand up or even walk.

And speaking of Hikaru, he is now standing in front of the Willis front yard...throwing up in a rusty old garbage can. Apparently Bindy's hatred for homosexuals was quite repulsive to the point of making Hikaru physically sick. He breathed heavily as he was trying to maintain his composure. His evergreen eyes were barely open. He was quite white in the face. He was sweating terribly, even though it wasn't very hot out and even though he was wearing the right clothes. But as he was about to stand away from the trash can, someone presented a glass of lucid water before him. He looked up and saw that it was Gilbert Willis, Alisa's father.

"You don't look so good. Want some?" Gilbert asked in Japanese, even though he said he wasn't fully grasping the language yet. Hikaru was confused for a bit, then decided to drink the water up. Gilbert smiled. Then, they decided to sit on the deck of the backyard. Hikaru and Gilbert were sitting on chairs next to a clear table with an umbrella hanging over it.

"So...I suppose my daughter told you..." Gilbert whispered nonchalantly, but then saw Hikaru's mouth move.

"I'm sorry, but...an innocent person, being killed just for being themselves...it's...it's wrong!! Terribly appalling!! Just not right!!" Hikaru exclaimed, even though his face was becoming more livid, even though he had already finished barfing earlier.

"Yeah, I agree it is wrong. Cain was the nicest friend Alisa ever had, and she hardly has any friends she could really hang out with. But I don't mind him being a homosexual. I have friends who are homosexual and I accept them as who they are. I guess Alisa get's her over-the-top justice policies from me. And yeah, I heard what Bindy said. I don't know why, but has an animus for people she deems are ugly and gross. I tried to tell her nobody in the world is perfect, but she just won't listen. I'm sorry for troubling you with this" Gilbert explained, in full-blown Japanese. Hikaru was a little surprised, but he didn't respond to it much.

"Oh, by the way, it seems to me you have a little thing for that cute little girl in the blue outfit. Towa, was it?" Gilbert asked. Hikaru's eyes shook a little, but they were small again.

"She's a lot like my Alisa in many ways. I...I want you to do her and her family a favor. I want you to make sure Towa does not feel lonely in the world. Alisa went through this as well, and it seems Towa is suffering too. You and her seem so close, I want you to be a good influence on her...Hikaru-san. Wait, did I get that right? I don't know..." Gilbert told him, but he began mumbling about whether he got the Japanese right or not. Hikaru was surprised, but he decided to smile a little.

"I'll try...she's a lot like my two parents" Hikaru whispered. He certainly isn't the type to be rather garrulous.

A few minutes later, Towa, Hikaru, Karin, and Hotaru decide to go home. Alisa gracefully said her goodbyes and thanked them for listening to her and helping with the project. Karin promised that they'll work together again. Karin and Hotaru went home their own ways while Hikaru walked Towa home along with Sasami and Yukihiro. Hikaru now decided to walk back to his own home. As he was walking, he looked up at the lucid blue sky with his pure, evergreen eyes.

'The sun is basking upon my skin, bringing warmth upon my persona, yet...why is this world so cruel and full of tainted blackness. I do not know...but...I want it to stop...Sorry, Gilbert-san. If Towa gets involved with me, she might pay the ultimate price. Then again, I have not received any of "those" lately. Has that person...given up? But this is not my house. It is abandoned and I just started living in it on a whim. It's not mine' thought Hikaru as he finally ambled slowly into the house he resides in.

The black shadow
Was suffering terribly.
Even though the yellow sun
Basked upon him,
Bringing him light,
He was still very sick.
What is wrong?
Why is the black prince so weak?
Can he defend his beloved angel
From the "outsiders" who threaten them?
Can he really be...
Someone who will be accepted by anyone?

Author's Note: Yay! It was a long delay, but I finally managed to complete this chapter! For those wondering, this IS a kid's story, but it also deals with serious issues. And do NOT worry, no violence or blood is seen in this chapter or in any chapter! Just discussed, that's it! And for those homosexuals out there, don't be offended by what happens in this chapter. The murder was just a silly way to develop Alisa's character!...sort of. I'm not trying to discriminate. In fact, I don't discriminate against anyone, even though I will admit I've never met a homosexual person before in real life and that the only homosexual anime I watched are Gravitation and Aoi Hana (VERY good show! Watch it) and that's it. Anyway, my math test anxiety is gone and I'm gonna indulge myself in anime for the whole weekend! I better go now, Pokemon starts in half an hour. Read and review please! NO FLAMES!!! Bye-bee!

Footnotes:

1. Kobato is a short manga created by CLAMP. There are only 3 volumes out and an anime is being made.

2. Tsubasa Chronicle is a popular manga created by CLAMP. It has ended in Japan recently and Del Rey is still publishing it in America.

3. The Little Prince is a small but popular book written by the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery.