I'm taking a very very short break from a phoenix's voice to right this love story for Misoka…no offence but he's got like 2 story's that are really based or even concerned on what he'll do after the teardrops. So here is a beginning to a three shot ficlet. By the way the italic sections are flashbacks of when Misoka is younger.

Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent moon

Misoka's POV

I was running apparently being as short as I am, I can run pretty fast. These kids were chasing me down the street, they were always picking on me, whenever I came here.

Earth was definitely a different place than the moon palace. I wasn't even supposed to be there, after all I was only 5 or so. But back then I was adventurous and wanted to explore, so I would sneak out of the palace and come here for a few hours. After all, if I was going to help find the teardrops when I was older it was probably a good thing I was exploring right?

Secretly I think mother knew, but she would never say anything. Maybe she agreed with me, anyways she apparently wouldn't tell anyone else I was there either.

However, I am short for my age. I guess some people don't like different, because ever since I had come they started picking on me and beating me up for no reason. I wasn't as strong as I am now back then. I didn't really become strong until she showed up…

I was laying on a patch of grass near a river side on the outskirts of town. It was fairly near the mirror I had used to get to this world so if the boys came back I could sneak away quickly. I closed my eyes tiredly, they really laid a number on me that day, but I was too young to understand that a short boy with green hair wasn't exactly normal. And I was also quieter than I even am now, after all growing up in a palace meant you had to be polite even if you were young.

"What cha doin?"

My eyes snapped open and I looked up at the face of a little girl. She had chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked down over my head curiously but not cruelly. Her hands where behind her back and she leaned over me smiling.

I squirmed to get out of her way and stood up quickly, after all I hadn't really meant to talk to anyone, that's why I wouldn't say anything when the other boys beat me up.

The girl cocked her head to the side confused, "Huh? What's wrong?"

I started backing away shaking, no one was supposed to find me here. Bu as I backed up the girl stepped forward, her hands still flooded behind her back. It showed that I was afraid because the girl paused for a second and I stopped backing up curiously, next thing I know, she grinning and taps my shoulder.

"Don't be scared. See? Tag your it!" She said laughing. Of course I didn't know what tag was back then so I just looked at my shoulder then her, and back to my shoulder.

The girl cocked her head to the side again. "You don't know how to play?"

I gulped, afraid she'd get mad and shook my head looking at the ground.

The girl giggled and grabbed my hand, "I'll teach you!"

Suddenly I found myself running around laughing my brains out while trying to catch the girl. Tag was definitely my new favorite game.

Finally I caught her, than she caught me, and so on. Finally we were both exhausted , we collapsed onto the soft grass and stared up at the clouds.

The girl turned to me, "Your really good at tag, It took me a while to catch you member?"

"I remember." I replied smiling.

"Ya know what? You're the first kid who would play with me. The other kids think I'm…weird."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Cause I like to come out here by myself and paint the bugs, I'm the only one who will get close enough to do that cause the girls are all afraid of them and all the boys wanna do is squash them."

"…."

"Oh, yeah, wouldja like to come see them?"

I blinked then nodded. Grabbing my hand as she got up, she started to run to a small clearing in the far side of the park. There was a crystal clear pond with three large stones in the middle, just close enough to the edge and each other so that you could hop on them.

"Here! Please don't laugh!" she thrust three pieces of canvas in front of me and I blinked. I flipped through three gorgeous pictures of butterflies and dragonflies and one of a praying mantis.

"these are beautiful!" I exclaimed, admiring the dragonfly piece.

"R-really?!" she asked her eyes widened adorably. Without giving any warning the girl hugged me,

I blinked a little confused.

"That's the first time someone ever said something like that about my paintings!"

She hugged tighter, "thank you so much!"

"y-your welcome." I stuttered.

She let go and smiled at me, "you can keep the dragonfly one, cause I think it would be the safest with you."

"Safest?" I asked.

She pouted cutely, "Those mean kids that were chasing you try t rip them up every time I paint one. So I try and get them a home as soon as I can."

"Oh…" I thought to myself, If I brought this back then mother would know I'm sneaking out. I glanced at the girl, I knew I couldn't say no,

"okay!" I said smiling

The girl smiled and took my hand, "Did you know that a hand is just like a personality?"

"Huh?" I asked setting down the painting,

"It never changes, you could look at your hand print when your fifty gazillion years old and it would still be the same. Like a person never changes personalities."

"How do they not change?"

"the cracks!" she replied tracing my lifeline gently.

"from when your born they're always permanent. Even if someone gets a bad attitude they still have the same personality, they just hide it more often."

"Oooooh." I stared at my hands.

"What's your name boy?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

I knew I shouldn't have ,but that smile could keep me blabbing for hours,

"Misoka.."

"Misoka-kun huh? Can I call you Miso-kun?" She seemed like she was thinking hard.

"Like the soup?"

"no! It just sounds cuter." she pouted and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay!"

We walked back to the portal together, her calling me Miso-kun every chance she got. I was ready to step into the portal when I called back to the girl.

"WAIT! WHATS YOUR NAME!" I shouted so she could hear.

She turned back and smiled,

"CRYSTAL! IT'S CRYSTAL!"

"Misoka!"

I jumped and nearly dropped the wine glass I was cleaning. Akira was staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"I said that we'll be going out for a while and did you want to come?" He gestured to the others and I shook my head.

"no…that's okay you go ahead."

"you sure?'

"positive."

He shrugged and walked away. Nozomu gave me a knowing look and left as well.

I went back to my cleaning and kept thinking.

Crystal…

We were inseparable after that…I started to go to the human world much more often…my mother found out eventually. Surprisingly, she didn't tell the empress, she told me that since my father was a human…I deserved to know what his kind was like. After that I told her all I had learned, how some humans were horrible, and some were terribly kind. I told her about my best friend crystal…I showed her the dragonfly painting. Through everything she seem calm and interested.

She never got to meet crystal.

She had died a few years later, that's also when Aunt Masumi started to hate humans even more. I knew I couldn't talk about Crystal anymore to anyone in my world. But that couldn't stop me from going to see her every chance I got.

"Miso-kun…"

After my mothers funeral I was allowed some time to myself…I was so grief stricken no one would dare bother me…I used the opportunity to seek crystals comfort.

"Miso-kun…don't cry…"

Crystal hugged me and I sobbed, I couldn't let such emotion escape when I was with my aunt…but in Crystal's welcoming arms I felt safe enough to do it.

We were sitting in front of the pond, it was drizzling slightly. Blinking the tears away I noticed that a bowl and candle were rested by her side.

"W-what are those f-for?" I managed to stutter out.

She smiled slightly and let go.

"When ever my family loses somebody important, we do this little ceremony to say goodbye."

I wiped my nose on my funeral kimono's sleeve. Crystal herself had a small black dress on. I can imagine what her parent thought, seeing their cheerful little girl in such bleak clothing. But she did it for my mother, an I was happy she had done it.

"Do you have something of your mothers with you?" She asked.

I searched through the pouches I had and found a piece of her kimono, I guess I was keeping it for comfort during the last few hours.

She gently took the scrap away from me and placed it in the small wooden bowl. Next she struck a match expertly on a nearby rock and lit the candle. Placing the candle on top of the kimono scrap in the middle of the bowl she set it in the water.

"The bowl stands for the boat that will take your mother to the next world….the candle stands for the light from heaven that will guide her there…and the kimono stands for part of your mothers soul."

She pushed the little makeshift boat onto the water, where the candle shimmered at the movement.

"now your mother will be able to go to heaven, because her soul can move on."

I watched the little boat float away, my mothers soul apparently in it. I knew that eventually the candle would burn out and the boat would sink. The ceremony gave me comfort though…so huddling together in the chilling rain, we watched the boat make its way to "Heaven"

"I guess it wouldn't be completely true now thinking about it…I mean mother was a demon."

I muttered to myself, "would she even be able to go to heaven?"

I pushed that thought a side as my mind wandered back to my lat memory with crytal.

This time she was crying, her head in her hands and sobbing in front of me. We were thirteen years old, and her family was moving to America.

"M-Miso-kun! I-I don't want to move!" she hugged me,

I hugged back, even if I didn't show it I was crushed, I hugged her small frame so hard I was afraid I'd break her spine I half.

"don't you think we're a little old to be calling me Miso-kun now?" I muttered quietly. I was a teenager what was I supposed to say?

She sobbed before looking at me, her eyes full of tears, " Misoka, N-no matter how old we get…you will always be Miso-kun."

She started to cry again and I sighed, "Listen to me crystal, I know America is really far away…but you're my best friend. I would never let you go if I wasn't completely sure we'd see each other again ."

She sniffed and looked up, I put my hands on her shoulders, "We might loose touch with each other from time to time. But we'll never forget about each other…I promise if I ever lose track of you I'll find you again someday."

She sniffed and nodded, "M-me too…I-I'll find you too!" She exclaimed.

We stood in silence for a while before she grabbed my hand, just like she did the first time we met.

"come on." She said before she dragged me off. Before I knew it we were standing in front of her easel. She thrust one of her new paintings of a cherry blossom tree to one side and ripped off a new piece of canvas. She ripped the piece in half again and got two plates of paint, one blue, one red.

"Miso-kun…do you remember when we first met? When I told you that our hand prints are permanent?"

I smiled, "Yes, I remember."

She looked up at me with those big brown eyes of hers, "Like you said, if we lose track of each other, we'll find each other again."

She dipped her hand so the palm was soaked with red paint. She let it drip a little back into the can then pressed her hand onto the canvas, she lifted it again to reveal a successful handprint. You could see every crack on her hand clear as a bell.

"Here's how we'll do it."

I understood and dipped my own hand in the blue paint, Having another successful hand print on the other canvas, we exchanged them.

"Now if we ever lose each other, we can tell who we are through our hands, because its permanent. Just like personalities, and nature…"

She paused and looked up at me, her eyes red and puff from crying, "And friendship…we'll find each other again Misoka…"

I nodded and smiled, "I'm sure of it."

I smiled slightly and looked down at my hand, it was the same as it was the day we made our hand prints, and when we first met, and last Wednesday. It was permanent just like friendship.

I set down the glass I was cleaning and walked up the stairs of the moonshine. Walking into my room I started rummaging through the closet until I pulled out a dictionary. I opened it to the C section and pulled out an aged paper. It was Crystal's hand print.

I smiled and traced her life line, holding it up to my hand I noticed how much larger mine must be now.

"but the imprints on them will never change...like you said crystal…"

I put it away and made my way back down,

"I'd better find you soon…because the moment you explained that to me I fell in love with you."

Just a three shot I've been wanting to do for a while now.