A/N: So little thing about this story, if you're familiar with my Strawberry panic stories, I had originally made this a year after I finished "The Minx and The Vixen" however, this was going to be a remake of Love's abyss cause I wanted to try to write and present it better but around half way through doing that I decided I didn't want too cause that first story means a lot to me, it was how I started. So instead, I decided to do a "What If" story with Loves Abyss, if you're familiar with my stories then you know the main character for them was Eleanor and she had a best friend named Scarlet and so I decided to make it, a what if she came to Astraea Hill instead of Eleanor, how different would it have been. So anyway, I never planned on posting this story but in the end i wanted too for a few reasons. So anyway, enjoy the what if story I had done long ago.

Chapter 1: The New Arrival

"Mum are you serious!?"

"Yes, we won't be coming back home for at least three years and what better place to send you then that school."

"But why Japan?"

"Scarlet, we've been over this before. It'll be a good experience for you, you get to meet new friends and the school we enrolled you in has everything you love doing." Her mother explained.

"Well what else is there to do besides sports? I mean I can't even bloody do that anymore since they wrecked my leg, as for cooking and other stuff well I suppose it's not like I'm good at anything else, I'm rubbish at everything else!"

Her mother sighed, "Come on baby, don't talk about yourself like that besides they have a pool and you love it don't you?"

"Yeah I do. Not like I got much going for me." Scarlet sat on her bed as her mother Carla stood by the door telling her about her school as all her luggage was already packed in the car and her flight was only a few hours away.

"What did you say the name of the school was? Spica?"

Carla shook her head, "Lulim, it's on a place called Astraea Hill. I was surprised it had two other schools next to it, Miator and Spica."

"Huh, don't think I've heard of something like that."

Carla opened the door, "neither have I, now come on sweetie we got to go." Scarlet stood up with a sigh as she followed her mother to the car where her father Rick was waiting for them.

"Wait don't I need a uniform or something?"

"I believe they told me that they'll have your uniform ready by the time you get there." Carla brushed her own neck length red hair away from her face.

"I guess." Scarlet sat quietly in the car as she read a book on how to speak Japanese as she was doing her best to be ready for when she got there.

Shortly after they made it to the airport and walked inside the terminal as they looked for Scarlet's plane.

"Sooo am I just gonna bloody run to the school when I get there? I mean it's not like you two are coming with me."

Rick chuckled, "Well you're old enough to travel on your own. Seventeen is a reasonable age don't you think?" Scarlet rolled her eyes, "But no, you're not walking. I believe the head sister will be waiting for you and take you to the school which has a dormitory.

"Head sister? Like a nun?"

Carla nodded, "Yeah, I assume she's like a principle equivalent."

"Weird."

"Well get going sweetie or the plane will leave without you."

Scarlet looked at the plane then back at her parents as she embraced them and they all held her lovingly as they would not see her for a while.

"Be careful sweetie, if anything happens call us okay and we'll go right for you to pick you up."

"Yeah…" Scarlet spun on her heel and walked down the hall as her ankle length crimson hair flowed behind her but her parents quickly ran to her and hugged again.

"Aaaw my little girl," Carla hugged her, "We're going to miss you a lot princess." Rick said as he embraced her.

"Me too mum." Scarlet tried to smile but the idea she was going to be away for a few years away from home and her parents was just… strange to her, it frightened her in a way. Though she did try her best to hide it but her eyes gave her away and slowly spun on her heel then walked through the tunnel to board her plane.

As she sat on her seat inside the plane she looked out the window seeing nothing but clouds and with nothing else to do she continued to read her language book and quietly mouthed some of the words as she tried her best to learn Japanese but struggling horribly.

Shortly after Scarlet nodded off as she finally lulled her head to the side and fell asleep as the plane traveled smoothly to Japan.

She didn't even know how many hours had gone by as she was gently woken up by a flight attendant and was told that they would be landing in a few minutes.

The plane landed safely and next to the tube which allowed the passengers to get off and Scarlet followed behind a few people towards a different place to pick up her luggage which was only one suitcase. She walked along the room till approaching a flight stairs and walked downstairs trying to find the Head Sister her mother told her about.

She could see a lot of people waiting for what she assumed were friends or loved ones as they held up signs for them. Scarlet scanned the room until she saw a tall old woman, dressed in black with a crucifix around her neck and holding a sign that had her name and that was enough to tell her that this woman was the Head Sister her mother told her, Scarlet then walked up to her.

"Hi, um… are you the sister for Astraea."

"Yes, Scarlet Ashfield I presume?" Scarlet nodded, "Pleased to meet you." She shook her hand, "How was the flight, any trouble?"

"Nope, none what so ever."

"That's great to hear, well come along with me." she said sternly, Scarlet could already tell she was a straight to the point kind of person.

She followed the head sister into a car where another woman was waiting for them to drive them to the school.

Scarlet sat quietly in the backseat as she resumed reading her Japanese language book.

"There are rules for you to follow Ms. Ashfield while you stay in the dormitories," The sister spoke which startled Scarlet, "Firstly, no cell phones allowed. If you need to call your family then you may use a phone in my office or at the main desk. Second there is a strict curfew you must follow, you must be inside the dormitory by six-thirty in the afternoon or the gate will shut and you'll stay outside."

"Really? Do students actually stay outside?"

The sister shook her head, "No, there's a button on the side that calls me or anyone near and opens the gate for them but will be punished for breaking curfew. Lastly, everyone is to be in bed by ten and there's three other Sister's that monitor the hall to ensure that everyone is asleep. Follow those rules and everything will be fine Ms. Ashfield, everything else is the usual rules, don't start a fight, and so on and so forth."

"Bloody'ell." Scarlet said under her breath as the rules already annoyed her and was beginning to hate this school she was going too.

"Now then, I don't normally tell students this but regarding school activities and such, the school's president or assistants will inform you about them just in case you want to know, you can ask them."

"Alright." The rest of the drive was nothing but pure silence, though Scarlet didn't mind as she kept reading. She even got a few chapters in her book till the car came to a stop.

"Here's where we get off." The two women stepped out of the car as Scarlet followed behind them and grabbed her luggage from the trunk. She then followed behind them up the long flight of steps on a grassy hill surrounded by beautiful lush green trees.

They neared the top of the steps and Scarlet's heart began to beat faster as she was finally going to see the Strawberry Dorms that was on the pamphlet her mother had shown her. she finally made it up and was amazed to see what was there.

A beautiful surrounding, as trees and grass laid on the sides while the pearl white stone steps lead to the dorms but what had actually caught Scarlet's eyes were all the girls walking around, all dressed in what she knew where their respective uniforms. The white Spica uniform, the black Miator dress to the pink and checkered skirts of Lulim, it was all a sight to behold for her.

As she walked along the stone steps, some of the girls all stopped to look at the new girl. Their eyes were all drawn to Scarlet as she followed behind the sister, though most of them were entranced by her hair and her beauty as many girls had not even seen hair as long as Scarlet's as it gently flowed behind her.

Scarlet felt unnerved having so many eyes on her as she was never the type to like attention. She could already hear the murmurs amongst them, no doubt they were already talking about her and her curiosity made her wonder, what exactly were they talking about?

Finally they made it to the main desk inside the dorms and the head sister talked to one of the younger girls there, she looked like a student who Scarlet could only assume that it was a small job there.

"Your uniform should be in your room Ms. Ashfield, Sister Leliana will show you to your room." The head sister left the other direction as another younger woman walked towards her, just by first glance this woman looked to be too young to be a Sister in this school as her black hair fell nicely down to her back and her face was like it was carved by the gods themselves.

-"Ms. Ashfield right?"- she asked as Scarlet stared at her… having no idea what she just asked as her Japanese wasn't good, "Oh silly me, I forgot," she giggled, her voice was kind and as gentle as a mother, unlike the Head Sister that Scarlet was talking to, "You just came here so you're probably having trouble with the language, well anyway you're Ms. Ashfield right?"

"Yeah that's right."

"Oh don't mind that sour old bat, she's always in a grouchy mood." Leliana chuckled, "That's pretty much her way into scaring the girls into making sure they follow the rules."

"I see." Scarlet walked with her.

"I really don't know why she's the way she is, but I really just believe its because she's just that, a sour old bat."

"I've seen worse." Scarlet replied.

"Oh have you now?" she looked at her, "well you can't do any worse than her, even the other sisters for the Miator and Spica wings of the dorms are all uptight about everything. You can't even tell a joke without them invoking the wrath of the divine or some stuff like that."

Scarlet couldn't help but laugh gently, "Sounds like my grandpa."

"I'd hate to imagine greeting him, just be careful what you say around the old bat."

"Yeah, the ride over was already tense enough." Scarlet said as she sighed.

"Oh don't even get me started, if she even sees you doing something bad. Uuuugh the hour long lectures she gives you into why its wrong and why you shouldn't do it, I mean really, I can cut all that down to thirty seconds… but she just goes on and on, I swear they can turn a ten second warning into a novel if they wanted too." Leliana told her, Scarlet could guess that she must have been through a similar experience.

"I don't even want to picture it, let alone hear it." Scarlet could already imagine the torture that would cause to her.

"Trust me, you don't. well, here we are." They stood on the second floor of the dorms in front of Scarlet's room.

"You know, you're too nice to be a sister, I figured you would be meaner." Scarlet said with a smile.

"Well that's mostly because I know how it is to be nagged and nagged and the girls are stressed enough in school, I don't need to add to it. But I will help when I'm needed or when the girls need a good lecture… but you were complimenting me weren't you, thanks. If you need anything Ms. Ashfield or you just want to talk then don't hesitate to look for me okay." Leliana smiled at her, "Oh that whole dumb rule about cell phones, don't worry about it, just hide it in your room… I do the same with mine." Leliana showed her cellphone to her and slipped it back in her pocket, Scarlet shook her head slightly as she giggled while Leliana left back to her office which was also her room while Scarlet stepped inside her own room to relax for a moment.

Scarlet sat in her room for a while, laying back on the bed which she found to be very soft… which wasn't what she liked. Scarlet had always preferred firm mattresses over soft ones as she found them more comfortable then soft beds as it was easier for her to sleep.

She sighed as she then sat back up and looked around her room, she was in for a long stay here at Astraea as according to the pamphlet she still had another year to go as she was only a fifth year at the school. What would make this even more painful was that her parents would not be able to visit her as their career as doctors was now demanding them to travel all over to help around other hospitals as they were considered one of the bests in their fields.

But then again… she was always used to being alone, even when she lived in her apartment with her parents they were hardly ever around and spent most of her life alone besides one friend whom she considered a sister and a loving cousin.

She stood up and walked over to her window and took a glance, feeling the cool winds on her face after she lifted the window. She looked beyond the few trees seeing that the whole dorm was surrounded by a forest, and it even further amazed her knowing the whole place, all three schools and everything beyond it was surrounded by a beautiful forest… it was hard to comprehend how big this whole place was.

With a grin on her face, she left her room to go explore for a while seeing as how classes were over for the day or she assumed since they're plenty of girls wandering everywhere. As she walked through the hallways, she could see many girls looking at her, whispering… she assumed it was because of her hair.

She stepped outside as she took in a deep breath and began to walk through the forest, admiring all there was to see because back home she didn't have such a forest to explore.

How long has it been since she walked into the forest… a few minutes, an hour? Scarlet felt like she was walking forever now, and as embarrassing as it was but she was lost.

"What did you step in this time Scar…" Scarlet said quietly, "This sucks…" she would have to find her way out before the moon hits the sky, as she was terrified of the dark… not just because it was dark but because Scarlet actually has a phobia about being in darkness.

She walked past a few bushes and trees, and over a small rock… which she could've sworn she had passed by again, "Oh for the love of… have I been making a circle, twice!?" Scarlet looked around, "I mean how does that even happen?" Scarlet asked to no one but herself.

Scarlet finally just picked a direction and followed it, she was bound to hit something that would show her how to get out.

When she crossed a few trees that's when saw it, a small clearing with a single tree in the middle which was slightly bent while the rest of the trees surrounded it.

"Finally… making some progress." She walked towards it and leaned her back against it as she exhaled… that's when she heard it.

Crunch crunch

The sounds of shoes crunching grass, she quickly spun around as she her eyes locked with a girl she'd never seen before. Her enchanting golden eyes bore into her's and Scarlet was entranced as she looked upon her, the girl was beautiful and her silver hair flowed behind her. Upon further glance Scarlet could see that she was a student of Miator, just by seeing her charcoal black dress and the green tie around her neck.

Scarlet quickly shook her thoughts about her and decided to ask her how to get out before the forest was enveloped by the darkness of the night.

"Excuse me, how the bloody hell do I get out of here? I've been lost for while now." She chuckled, but the other girl didn't respond as she kept looking her over.

"You must be the new student we heard about." The silver haired girl finally spoke.

"Yup, how did you know?"

The other girl gave a small smile, "News travels fast in this school." She stepped closer to her, "Your hair is very beautiful, I've never seen hair this long." She gently ran her fingers through Scarlet's crimson red hair, "I don't think my hair even matches your own."

"I uh… thank you." Scarlet felt her cheeks feel hot, and she wasn't even sure why, she just met this woman, she didn't even know her name.

"What's your name?" she asked her.

"Scarlet…" Scarlet took a while to think, "Well I guess it would be Ashfield Scarlet… right?"

The silver haired girl kept her smile, "Yes, don't worry too much about formalities Scarlet. It's easy to learn the language, I'd be happy to help you learn if you want." She stepped a little closer.

"Thanks, but I think I'll do fine." Scarlet didn't know why she couldn't back off as she got closer to her, it was like this woman had her under a spell, "Um… what' s your name?"

"Hanazono Shizuma." She said elegantly, "To answer your other question," she pointed behind her, "Just walk this way and you'll make it back to the dorms."

"Oh thanks, you're a life saver." Scarlet was about to turn around and leave.

"But I mean I wouldn't mind getting to know you, you're new here after all. I'm sure you could use a friend." She heard Shizuma and when Scarlet turned around she felt Shizuma's hands on her shoulders, "I'm sure they'd be no harm in that right?"

Scarlet was frozen, she had no idea how to react to this, she felt Shizuma's soft fingers glide down her face gently, "You are very beautiful Scarlet."

Scarlet was able to snap out of it however when she saw orange glow in the sky which meant the sun was setting and then she gently grabbed Shizuma's hands and gently pushed her off her, "Oi easy there Shizuma, I hardly know you but friends is a good place to start. But thank you for the directions, well I gotta go." She took off in a small jog as she hurried to get out of the forest before the moon would begin to rise.

Shizuma crossed her arms as she watched her leave, and a smirk appeared on her face, "Interesting, no one has actually done something like that before. You appear to be an interesting girl Scarlet, like a beautiful red rose with thorns that no one may touch. This will be fun."

End Chapter 1

A/N: so I hope you awesome readers enjoyed it, however, on the sad news I have not completed this story, I have only 11 chapters done on it and I will post them all soon. If you all do enjoy this story, then I may go back and try and finish it, but until then I will continue working on my other Sailor Moon story I'm working on, and those following my stories, I do apologize for not updating my Sailor Nova story, I've been dealing with problems and lack of motivation.