Rider: Konichiwa Minna-san! How's everyone been?

Wraiths: (shrugs) I'm alright I guess.

Star: Meh, ok.

Rider: (sweat drops) I know who you two are. I was talking to the readers

Star: Well you didn't say that. Now did you?

Wraiths: Yeah, what she said.

Rider: Never mind. (rubs at his temples) Anyway, a few people have asked for this, (glances at Star) and threatened me with death if I didn't write this, so I figured I'd write a sequel while there were a few people that still remember the original. So, I hope you all enjoy the story. And please bear with me as I try to establish all the new characters, it may take a little while to get this running smoothly.

Star: Wait a minute! Is this…?

Rider: Didn't you read the summery?

Star: No.

Wraiths: Dumbass.

Rider: (sweat drops as another fight breaks out) Only six more weeks until winter break. Only six more weeks until winter break. Only six more…

ooooooo

Change of Hearts

Chapter One: An Unexpected Reunion

She threw open the door to her room and stomped inside. Her book bag was sent through the air and crashed against the far wall with a dull thud. As the bag slid to the floor one of the clasps broke free of the bag and textbooks, papers, and a few make up items spilled out on to the floor. She didn't seem to notice any of this, except for one small white envelope that mocked her by landing at the top of the messy pile.

Still fuming the young woman stripped out of the restrictive sailor fuku her school required the students to wear and changed in to more comfortable clothing. After a few moments of deliberation, she selected a black, spaghetti-strap shirt with a small red emblem of a devil that rested right above her chest. Next she slipped into a short, black skirt that was held in place with an oversized, metal-studded leather belt. Much as she hated to admit it, the skirt was getting tight, she would have to go back on a diet soon if she wasn't careful. She then put on a pair of black, leather boots that reached almost all the way up to her skirt hem and secured the large metal buckles to lock her foot wear into place. Her outfit assembled she modeled her out fit before her full-length mirror.

Collecting a few of the make-up items on the floor she set about her next task. In moments her lips were adorned with midnight-black lipstick. Matching eye shadow also made it's way upon her pale face. She placed the make up down on her dresser and picked up a few hair-ties. With a few quick motions she had tied her just longer than shoulder length black hair up into two messy fountain-style pony-tails. She quickly removed the ties and bushed the hair our straight so that it fell around her face. She opened the secret compartment in her closet and pulled out a spray can that she then used to dye in a few purple streaks of color into her already dark hair. She pulled back and posed before the mirror again. She smiled. "Oba-san has nothing on me." With one last hateful look at the white envelope still on the floor, she turned for the door.

"Where do you thing your going?"

The young woman turned to the sound of her little brother's voice. "I'm going out. What do you care Kam?"

The boy was at least four years junior to his sister. His brown hair was close cut, but seemed to be unable to keep the longer bangs from obstructing his view. Unlike his more out going sister, he was still dressed in his blue slacks and blazer of his school uniform. "Do you realize that mom and dad will kill you if you leave now?"

"Mom and dad won't find out about what happened for months." The girl replied as she pushed past the smaller boy.

Kam pushed into his sister's room.

"Get out of my room you little brat!"

Kam ignored her, snatched up the white envelope, and ripped it open to read the contents. "Dear Mr. And Mrs. Urashima, we regretfully wish to inform you that your daughter, one Urashima Aijou, has been disciplined with a two week suspension for conduct unbecoming a student. As this is the third suspension this semester, any further infractions of the school's disciplinary codes will result in full expulsion." Kam threw the letter in Aijou's direction. "I don't understand you. You busted your ass to get into that academy. Mom picked up a second job tutoring, and Dad has done back to back excavations to pay for the tuition for that place."

Aijou turned and began to walk away. "Well, because of those stupid excavations Mom and Dad are away for months at a time. If I had know that would happen I wouldn't have studied all that stuff and just gone to a public school."

Kam pulled a small, silver, cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. "You walk out that door and Dad's speed dial number goes off. Your months of them not know about this evaporates into minutes and they come home to deal with you."

"You're bluffing." Aijou searched her brother's eyes, and knew that he wasn't. With a frustrated grunt, she caved. She forced Kam from her room and slammed the door. "And don't even think about using the onsen until I'm done with it!"

Kam shook his head and walked down the hall to his own room. Once the door was closed he smirked slightly. "Good thing she didn't know that my cell battery was almost dead." He sat down at his desk and pulled out his homework, not even bothering to change out of his uniform. "I just wish I knew why Aijou's been so moody lately." He pulled a CD player from his backpack and placed the headphones over his ears before getting to work.

oooooo

Aijou slid the door to the bath and removed her towel. After rinsing her self off with a bucket from the sink, she watched the black and purple dye from her hair swirl down the drain. She made a face at the draining water and pulled a strand of her auburn hair into view. "It's not fair, I wish I had hair like aunt Kanako's."

She sank into the hot water of the bath hoping that the heat would ease her mind as well as her body. "Maybe I should have let Kam call our parents…at least then we'd have a few more people home." She pulled her knees to her chest. "This place has been so lonely since everyone moved away." She ground her teeth together and splashed the water angrily. "They all left at the same time!" She hung her head. "They all abandoned me." Her head snapped up as she heard the door slid open and shut. "Who could that be?" Aijou whispered.

"No one answered the door." A voice stated. "I should take advantage of that small window while I can. I look like trash, and if I'm going to try to beg a favor of Uncle Kei and Aunt Naru, I should try to clean myself up a bit."

"Why was bad eye sight the one thing that I inherited from both my stupid parents?" Aijou squinted her eyes to try to focus on the new figure. Her first thought was that it was Kam just being a jerk again, but this new boy was much darker skinned. "Who is that?"

The boy set his large back pack down on the ground with a groan and rubbed at his shoulders and back. "Damn that thing is heavy." He posed in front of the mirror over the sinks and flexed his muscles. "Sensei was right though…" He struck a different pose. "I have gotten bigger."

Aijou sweat dropped and nearly burst out laughing. "If that's bigger, I would hate to see what he was like before." Her eyes went big and round as she saw what happened next though. "Oh my…"

The boy disrobed and slipped into the water without rinsing. "Oh, that feels good. Even if I get turned away, just being able to soak in the springs again is worth the trip."

Aijou blinked in confusion. "He talks like he's been here before, but…" She shook her head. "Why can't I think of who it could be?" She sighed and reached for her towel, only to find that it wasn't there. She panicked as she remembered leaving her towel by the sinks. "No problem, no problem. He doesn't know I'm here, so I'll just wait until he leaves and then I'll sneak out completely unnoticed." She nodded to herself in agreement to try and reassure herself.

There she sat waiting for this strange boy to leave the bath. The only problem was, he didn't leave. He just sat there. After almost a half-hour Aijou groaned. "What's this guy's damage? I'm turning into a prune over here." She stopped as the answer presented itself. "He's snoring…snoring!" She quickly clapped her hand over her mouth in fear of waking the man up. She jumped up excitedly. "Now's my chance to go." She had made it half-way across the bath when her luck ran out. Her face paled as she saw Kam's silhouette behind the rice-paper door that lead to the bath.

"Hey Aijou!" Kam called from the hall way. "I don't feel like leftovers for dinner tonight. You want to order something in?"

Aijou turned as she heard something splash behind her.

The tan boy's eyes went wide. "Ai-chan?" His eyes roamed over her body.

Kam opened the door as he heard the unfamiliar voice. "Aijou?" His attention turned between his sister and the naked boy. "Whoa, ok…"

The tan boy still stood wide-eyed. "You've really grown…"

"What the hell are you two staring at!" Aijou turned and kicked the tan boy in the nose, collapsing him back into the pool. She then spun and punched Kam in the face. She glared down at the two unconscious males. "How dare they look at me like that!" She stormed through the old dorm and into her room. After a quick selection and change into an old pair of red sweatpants and an orange sweater, picking up her glasses and cell phone, she went back downstairs. She started to dial the police to arrest the trespasser when she entered the bath again. "I don't believe it…" She readjusted her glasses and hung up the phone in mid-call. "Shinichi?"

oooooo

Kam watched in confusion as Shinichi shoveled another plate of lo-mein into his mouth. "You're Shinichi?"

The tan skinned boy nodded and slurped up some more noodles. "Yep, that's me." He looked over at Kam's plate. "You going to eat that?"

Kam looked down at the food that remained on his plate and handed it over to his friend. "I just can't believe it's you, I mean the last time we saw you was…"

"Was when you and Aunt Shinobu and Uncle Ken moved to the States." Aijou glared at Shinichi. "You didn't even say good bye jerk."

Shinichi finished off Kam's dinner and began to reach for the carry out containers. "I was, like, six at the time we moved. Besides, it wasn't my idea to move so suddenly." His face fell as Aijou moved the food containers out of his reach. "Hey! My food!"

"No noodles for you!" Aijou yelled at him. "Not until you tell me why you really left. And what you're doing back here now."

"That's all?" Shinichi smiled. "Ok, like I said, it wasn't my choice to leave before. And if I had known, I would have come to see you first and say goodbye." He reached over and took back the noodles. "As for why I'm here now, I missed you guys."

Aijou's expressions softened. "Really?"

"Hai, I was forced to leave my best buds behind. I didn't want to go in the first place." Shinichi began digging into the remained food. "Plus, I kind of need some help from Uncle Kei and Aunt Naru too."

"Mom and Dad?" Kam asked. "What kind of help do you need?"

"I knew you had an ulterior motive." Aijou continued to glare as Shinichi ate. "Yeah, I can't wait to hear this."

"Whas dat supposed to mean?" Shinichi asked as he swallowed another mouthful of lo-mein. "I need Aunt Naru's help cause I want to transfer to a school here in Japan, but my grades are terrible. I need her to tutor me."

Kam nodded. "I can understand that, but…"

"And what do you need from our father?" Aijou cut her brother off. "You want him to take you around the world on his excavations?"

Shinichi shook his head. "I've been around the world enough as it is with my dad's touring. No, I want Uncle Kei to train me."

"Train you?" Aijou shook her head in confusion. "What do you mean 'train'?"

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "You do know how great a fighter you dad is don't you?"

Kam blinked. "You sure we're talking about the same guy? Dad knows how to take a hit from Mom pretty well, but he's never been in a fight in his whole life I think."

Shinichi shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Dad said Uncle Kei was a great fighter."

"As I remember, Uncle Ken was a champion Kendo artist." Aijou recalled. "Why not have him train you?"

"I tried." Shinichi sounded sad at this. "But he won't train me. He says there is no need for his arts to be passed down. He says that isn't the legacy he wants to leave to me." He shrugged and finished the last of the meal. "I don't know the full story, but Mom said I should let it go, so I did."

"Then what were you talking about before with your sensei being right?" Aijou paused as she saw Shinichi eyeing her unfinished meal hungrily and pushed the plate toward him. "I hope you get a stomach ache from all this food."

Shinichi smiled. "Not likely, but thanks for the meal anyway." He paused to wolf-down the meal. "I've been training with Kokuei-sensei for a few years, but he's kind of a purist when it comes to martial arts. Old school training techniques, isolated wilderness training grounds, have to catch your own dinner, the works. You know?" He lay down his chopsticks and patted his belly. "It's been a while since I had a meal like that."

"And you want to subject yourself to more torture like that?" Kam shook his head. "You're as crazy as ever."

"You never complained when we went on adventure as kids." Shinichi pointed out. "So, when do your parents come home so I can ask for their help."

Aijou glanced at the clock. "Well, it's just about nine o'clock now. You should only have to wait another six months."

"Oh ok, that's not…six months!" Shinichi slumped in his chair. "I can't wait that long…"

Aijou leaned back in her chair. "Where are you staying?"

Shinichi blinked. "I only just arrived here today, I was hoping I could stay here."

Aijou nodded. "That's what I thought. Technically, I'm in charge with my parents gone…"

"For all the good it does." Kam teased.

"Shut up dork!" Aijou shot back. "Anyway, I could let you stay here, but…"

Shinichi leaned forward expectantly. "But…"

"But you'll have to help out with the chores and stuff around here." Aijou paused a moment. "Kam and I will even help tutor you for your entrance exams as an added bonus. How's that sound?"

Kam blinked. "If I'm being volunteered for tutoring lessons, you think you can teach me some fighting moves in exchange?"

Shinichi nodded. "Sure, but start training really early most days."

"I can deal with that." Kam grinned excitedly.

"It's settled then." Aijou kicked her feet up on the table. "Now get started on the dishes you two."

"Nani?" Kam stared at his sister. "Why do we have to do the dishes?"

Aijou glared at him. "I paid for the take out. You expect me to wash dishes too?"

"You only paid for dinner to make sure that I didn't report your suspension to Mom and Dad!" Kam countered.

Shinichi let out a laugh. "Prim and proper Ai-chan got suspended? I have to hear this story."

"It's like this…" Kam began before a plate came crashing down on his head.

Aijou fumed. "It wasn't that big of a deal!"

Shinichi laughed again. "This just keeps getting better."

The three old friends laughed and traded insults back and forth for awhile as they caught up on old times, the dishes momentarily forgotten.

oooooo

Aijou slipped out from the covers of her futon and slowly made her way up to the roof. She smoothed out her yellow pajamas with sunburst patterns and silently made her way through the halls. After dinner, and the ensuing play fighting, she and the others had decided to go to bed. The only problem was, she couldn't sleep. She stopped as she reached the roof and saw that someone else was already in her favorite spot. "Kam?"

The boy turned. "Nope, it's me."

Aijou almost glared at Shinichi as his face came into view, but instead she couldn't help but smile. Something in the way his emerald green eyes sparkled when he smiled, making them stand out even more against his tan face. Or, perhaps the way he spiked his hair, so deep a black it appeared almost blue, that he couldn't seem to manage to keep the bangs from falling into his eyes. Aijou studied the friend she hadn't seen in just short of a decade.

Shinichi had borrowed a pair of Kam's shorts and an old shirt to sleep in, but Aijou was surprised to see how tight the clothes were on him though. When last they had seen each other, the two boys had been nearly identical in size. Now, Shinichi was taller, and better muscled, and dare she say it, kind of cute. Aijou shook her head at the though. She was almost five years older than him. "Nice to meet you, me."

Shinichi blinked and raised a confused eyebrow. He then smiled. "Oh, I get it!"

Aijou laughed as she sat down on the roof. "I can never tell when you're kidding around and when you're not."

"You should probably just assume that I'm not then." Shinichi grinned as he sat beside Aijou and poked his own temple. "Not enough brain power to make jokes like those."

Aijou laughed. "Yeah, that is true I suppose."

Shinichi pouted. "You didn't have to agree quite that fast."

Aijou grabbed Shinichi around the neck and held him in a headlock as she gave him a noogie. "But you make it so easy!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Friction burn!" Shinichi playfully wailed as he tried to push away from her he stopped as he heard Aijou let out a startle squeal. "Oh, boy…" He looked down and found his hand had inadvertently landed on Aijou's pajama covered chest. "You didn't have those when I left…"

Aijou cut off his lame attempt at a joke with a quick punch that buried Shinichi's head into the roofing tiles. "What is wrong with you!?"

Shinichi pulled his head out of it's earthenware prison, along with a bump nearly as big his fist. He waved his hands franticly in a defensive motion. "It was an accident! I swear!"

Aijou huffed and moved away from Shinichi a little bit, but didn't leave the roof. "Yeah, I'll bet." She looked out over the distant sea. "How are Aunt Shinobu and Uncle Ken?"

Shinichi turned and also watched the water. "They're ok I guess. I mean when I actually get to see them."

Aijou blinked. "I thought you guys all live together."

"We do." Shinichi nodded. "But with my Dad always on tour with his band, it can be months at a time that I don't see him."

"I think I can understand that feeling." Aijou agreed bitterly. "My parents are never here either."

"Sounds like you're angry over that." Shinichi observed.

"Well, yeah, aren't you?" Aijou pulled her legs up to her chest and lay her head on her knees as she faced him.

Shinichi shrugged and lay on his back. "I don't know, sometimes, I guess…"

"See?" Aijou turned back.

"But other times, I'm kind of happy." Shinichi continued. "Because of what he does we live pretty well. He always takes care of Mom and Mai and I too, so I can't really complain. I just…"

Aijou was shocked, she had no idea there were so many similarities between her and Shinichi. "Just what?"

"Nothing." Shinichi quickly clamed up. "It's nothing really?"

Aijou looked at him worriedly. "You're still a terrible liar."

Shinichi nodded slowly, "Yeah, I suppose I am." He rolled over away from Aijou as the wind blew past.

Aijou shivered against the breeze. "I'm going to head in and try to get some rest."

Shinichi nodded and rolled back on to his back. "Ok, good night."

Aijou stood. "You may want to come inside too, you don't want to get sick."

Shinichi smiled. "Don't worry about me. I won't be long anyway. I just want to watch the stars for a while."

With a nod, Aijou turned and walked back to her room.

Shinichi watched her go until he couldn't see her anymore. He then watched the stars until his eyes grew heavy and he fell asleep on the roof.

oooooo

Kam woke to the feeling of a hand on his shoulder. "Leave me alone onee-chan, it's way to early in the morning." He rolled over and pulled his covers up over his head.

Shinichi's temple throbbed. "Dude, look at me. Do I look like your sister?"

Kam turned and glared at his friend. "What do you want?"

"You said you wanted me to give you some training in exchange for tutoring right?" Shinichi dropped a training uniform on top of Kam's covers. "I'm starting in ten by the back waterfall if you want to join me."

Kam looked over at his clock. The neon bulb blinked as it changed and Kam groaned. "It's four twenty in the morning. No one trains this early. Not even Aunt Motoko trained this early when she was still staying here!" He yelled after his friend. Despite his protests, he rose from his bed and dressed quickly into the uniform, a simple set of black pants and black shirt. "Must be crazy to do this." He muttered.

Kam ran from his room to the back door of the Hinata-sou and along the back path until he reached the waterfall. He smiled as he saw that Shinichi was just arriving at the clearing. "What's the matter slowpoke? I thought you be already to go by the time I got here." He stretched his legs. "Guess I'm just to fast for you."

Shinichi grinned at his friend's teasing. "You should save your energy when you can." He pulled his back pack from behind a large stone. "Normally I begin with meditation, but since you are so full of energy, we'll start with strength training." He tossed a second back pack to Kam.

Kam caught the bag, but just barely. "What's in here? Rocks?"

Shinichi nodded and opened his own bag, revealing an enormous boulder. "Like I said, strength training. Yours is a lot lighter than mine, but it should be a good start for you." He hoisted his bag up over his shoulder. "Now lets go, we have at least twenty miles to cover before first light."

Kam placed his bag on his back, and immediately fell backwards. "There's no way I'm going to be able to go twenty miles with this on!"

Shinichi blinked. "Really? You mean I have to reduce my normal route even more?"

Kam's brown eyes went wide. "You mean you made the route shorter already?"

Shinichi and started to walk. "Yeah, now let's go!" He started slow and then began to run."

Kam struggled to get to his feet. "Wait up!"

oooooo

Aijou scraped the burnt fish cakes into the trash can and placed the sludge that was supposed to be rice into the sink, hoping that the soapy water would loosen it from the pan enough to also throw away. "Mom's cooking looks terrible, but at least it's edible. I can't even manage that." She complained as she took some cereal and poured it into a bowl. "I wonder if Shinichi learned how to cook? Maybe I can get him to do the cooking in exchange for his staying here too." She giggled at the idea. "I'm going to turn that boy into my personal servant." She turned and nearly collided with a small girl. She screamed in surprise and sent her cereal bowl flying through the air.

The little girl's eyes widened in fear and she also screamed. She stared at the older girl until the clay bowl came crashing to the ground and shattered. "Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai!" She bowed to Aijou and bent to start cleaning up the mess. "Gomen nasai."

Aijou crouched down to help clean up the mess. "It's ok, you're not in trouble. Just don't sneak up on people like that, kay?"

The little girl nodded, her long blonde hair falling over her deep blue eyes leaving only the lower half of her pale face visible. "Hai." She swallowed hard to try and calm down, but the tears came anyway.

Aijou panicked. "Now what?" She thought silently. "Kuso! I don't know what do with kids! Especially when they're crying! What was it Mom used to do with Kam?"

The little girl looked up from the mess of the broken bowl as she felt a hand on her back. What she saw was Aijou with a reassuring smile, that she happily returned.

"That's better." Aijou, with the help of the girl, quickly swept up the remaining mess. "Now then, what can I do for you?" She watched as the little girl shifted nervously, her hands fiddling with the excess fabric of her dress anxiously. "Why don't we start with introducing ourselves? I'm Aijou."

The young girl nodded, but still shook like a leaf on a windy day. "N-nice to m-meet you." She bowed deeply again. "My name is…"

End Chapter One

Rider: I think everyone know the setup now, but I'll say it again just to make sure. I like hearing what you, the readers, have to say. If you have comments, criticisms, flames, or ideas to suggest, please drop me note. (waves the hands of the unconscious Star and Wraiths) Till the next, live well all.