Well, this is my first story in a long long while. If you want to show up in the story later on, you can email me or leave a review. Thanks!
I do not own anything used in this story except for a few of the characters. Bishiworld was created by Songwind, and the PD bishiball idea is from Lady Demoonica Darkmoon. Go read their stories too!
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Sera yawned as she stretched, settling her laptop more firmly on her lap. She still had two weeks of winter vacation left and there was no one around to talk to. One of her friends was in Las Vegas, one was in Utah, and the other was in Louisiana. Leaving her home alone with her parents. Oh, joy.
Giving her precious laptop a minute to start up, she grabbed her backpack and pulled it over towards her. There wasn't much in it that she needed, but she wanted to clean it out so it would be ready for hiking the next day. Hooking the strap over one knee, she rifled through it absently, dropping textbooks and papers to the floor as she got into her e-mail. Her hands grabbed the water bottles, a map, her iPod, her travel emergency kit, a few pens and a pad of paper, and her favorite extra jacket while she read through her emails. Nothing very interesting, yet.
Not until the last email did she actually pause and read it through, her backpack still balanced on her knee. Her eyebrows rose of their own accord as she read the description, her eyes scanning the words quickly. After several moments of contemplation, she shrugged and clicked the link. 'What the hell? Might turn out to be fun.'
The screen slowly went black and Sera blinked before her world went the way of the computer, fading to black.
When she woke, there was a strange girl with short blonde hair was bending over her. "Hey. Hey! You awake?"
"Yea," Sera said with a little groan. "Where am I?"
"Oh, a newbie huh? Well, that'll all be explained to you soon enough." The girl offered her a hand up, which Sera took gratefully. She grabbed her backpack and laptop, putting the laptop in the backpack before slinging that over her shoulder. "Come on, let's get you the rest of the way into town."
"So where exactly is 'here'?" Sera asked, looking around curiously. It was nearly dark outside, and several people were wandering around. Her eyes widened as she saw what looked like Duo, followed closely by what looked like Eclipse.
"Bishiworld. That link you clicked on? Well, it's real. In this world, all the bishonen you can think of exist. You can catch them and befriend them, like I have." The girl reached out and snagged a passing Hiei, chasing after the other two. "Hiei, play nicely."
Sera stopped, her eyes wide. "Are you serious?"
"Yup, completely. I'm Shadow, by the way." She held out her hand, grinning at Sera's staggered expression. "You get used to it, girlie. Don't worry."
"Uh… huh…" Sera took her hand and followed her after a moment. "I'm Sera. So where are we going now?"
"Have to get you to orientation. And I have to meet up with my friends, so here ya go." Shadow stopped in front of a building. "Just go inside, someone will explain everything and get you started off. If you want, my friends and I are staying right in this area, so just look around for us or ask for me. Most everyone knows me by now." She grinned and waved. "See ya 'round!"
Sera shook her head incredulously but turned and went inside after a moment's hesitation. The receptionist was just shooing people into a room.
"Are you new too?" she asked, looking flustered.
"Um… Yea," Sera said with a nervous smile.
"Alright, in you go," she said, going back to the desk and tucking her hair back into place.
Sera shook her head slightly as she went into the room, taking a seat quickly. A professor stood in the front of the room, which looked like a small classroom, wearing jeans, a dark blue t-shirt, and a white lab coat over that. His hair was brown streaked with gray.
"Welcome. I am Professor Ashton." There were murmured greetings from the others, but Sera tuned them all out as she discreetly glanced in her backpack to make sure everything was still there. Amazingly, it all was. Bemused, Sera half-listened to the professor explain everything, spending more time taking in the sights and examining the others. She seemed to be one of the youngest of the group, not that she minded. The other youngest person was a boy with short, very messy brown hair and blue eyes hidden behind glasses.
When everyone else stood up, Sera was quick to follow. Blinking, she watched the others receive their Bishiballs after having some blood drawn. When it was her turn, she didn't even blink, just watched him draw the blood in silence before she took the things he handed to her.
"Alright, you all have two weeks to catch your first bishi. If you don't, you'll automatically be sent home. Remember, just tells the shops that you're new and you can get free stuff!" The professor shooed them all out and shut the door behind them.
"Well, why don't we trade numbers?" the boy she'd noticed said. The others muttered their agreements and they all traded numbers, though Sera hung back. The boy turned to her with a smile. "What about you?"
Sera shrugged. "My name's Sera. Yours?"
"Richi." The boy grinned. "Come on, let's go get our free stuff! Although you look like you're already off to a good start." He eyed her backpack with a grin.
Sera chuckled and nodded, taking the lead and going to the nearest store. She and Richi both got new stuff, including several capsules, water bottles, and other necessities. The two had just left when Sera saw Shadow with two other trainers, a small group of bishies around them. The trainer in the middle was laughing, familiar green-gold eyes glinting in the dim light, auburn hair the same shade as Sera's falling over her shoulders, except the ends were dyed black. A green t-shirt and knee-length black shorts with Converse completed the ensemble.
"Sera? What's up?" Richi asked, peering over at her in concern. Sera ignored him, wide eyes fixed on the older girl.
"Belle," she breathed before she took off at a run, jumping on the middle trainer and catching her around the neck, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Immediately two people above her growled and yelled things at her, which she ignored. "My god, Belle, it's really you!!"
"Sera?" the older trainer asked, her eyes wide. At the younger's nod, she hugged the younger tightly. "I thought I'd never see you again! How long have you been here?! Where have you been? How are you?!"
"Enough mystery," a man growled, picking up both girls and setting them on their feet. "Belle, what the Hell is going on?"
"Sorry Nyx," Belle said, though she didn't look at her companion. "Everyone, this is my little sister, Sera. Sera, these are my friends; Shadow, Nyx, and Anna."
"We've met," Shadow said with a grin. "Wow, she does look like you, only shorter and tanner."
"Just because I'm unnaturally pale even with all my hiking doesn't mean you can pick on me," Belle said with an indignant huff.
"Sister, huh?" the man, Nyx, said, looking Sera over. Sera found herself blushing as she looked at him. He was tall, reaching just over 6 feet, with crimson colored eyes, skin as pale as Belle's, and black hair that fell down to his shoulders. A black trench coat draped his frame nicely, his tight black shirt and black leather pants leaving very little to the imagination. "She sort of smells like you."
Belle beamed. "I haven't seen her since I arrived here. So be nice." Her grin fell away as she turned slightly to glare at the other three, a protective arm around Sera. "I'm giving you fair warning now."
"Yea, yea," the other girl, Anna, said. She was a little shorter than Sera's 5'5", looking over at Shadow. "We'll play nicely." Her black hair was long and kept in a ponytail, brown eyes sparkling with humor and mischief. She, too, was wearing black, only she wore skinny jeans, a black tank top with red writing on it in Latin, and black combat boots. "Good luck getting the guys to listen to you, though."
Belle grumbled something before she noticed Richi staring at them. "You can come over, boy, I don't bite." She paused as Richi made his way over. "Well, not you, at any rate."
Sera managed to escape from Belle's grip. "Richi, this is my sister Belle and her friends."
Richi's eyes were wide. "Wow. Did you know she was here?"
Sera shook her head. "No, I didn't. It's… complicated." She glanced at her sister, who smiled and nodded.
"Well, I guess I'll give you a call later," Richi said. "Be sure to call when you get your first bishi. Maybe we can meet up sometime later."
Sera nodded. "You too."
"Alright. See ya." Richi turned and walked away, looking rather confused.
Belle laughed. "Hey, you wanna stay the night with us?" she asked. "We've got hotel rooms already set up, and we can help you get your first bishi, at least."
"Sure," Sera said, eyeing the others carefully. Especially Nyx. He was standing too close to her sister, and she wasn't sure she liked it.
"Come on." Belle took her hand with a smile and led her over to a nice hotel farther into town, going to their rooms. She sat down on one bed while Nyx immediately flopped down on the other. "Ok, so I'm going to help you out a bit."
"With what?" Sera asked, confused. She understood the basic concept of things and how it all worked, so what was her sister getting at?
"The bishiballs that they gave you are normal," Belle explained. "However, you can get them upgraded to PD bishiballs. I'll show you." She set down one of her bishiballs and pressed a button. A door appeared, not attached to anything. Sera got up and walked around it, curious. "You see, what happens is each bishiball becomes it's own room, a pocket dimension, thus the name. When you attach the ball to the belt, it's like attaching it to a hotel, so all your bishies can frolic without disturbing you." She grinned and opened the door. "Oi, Duo. Come meet my sister."
A very familiar hyperactive brunette with a braid longer than hers stepped out of the room. "Sister? You never told me you had a sister."
"Yes I did, you baka. She just got here." Belle grinned. "Oh, Sera, aim for the neck. That's easiest."
Sera grinned and nodded enthusiastically before she tackled Duo the same way she'd tackled her sister, an insanely happy grin on her face. She ignored the others laughing around her and released him when she heard the poor Duo gasping for breath. "Sorry."
"It's fine," he said. "Happens all the time." He grinned cheerily at her and helped her up. "What's your name?"
"Sera," she replied, looking him over with interest. She grabbed the braid swinging behind him, grinning. He blinked before he saw her own auburn braid swinging down almost as long as his.
"Excellent! Now I have someone to play with!" He shot a glare at Belle, who merely smiled.
"He's been pissed at me since I chopped off all my hair," Belle explained.
Sera nodded, remembering when Belle's hair used to be longer than her own. "Hey, wait a second… How come Mom and Dad never talked about you in the ten months you were gone?"
Belle sighed and steered her over to the bed, sitting her down. "Well, you see, once we're here, we don't exist back home. We can only exist in one place at one time. So we can either exist here and stay here for the rest of our lives or we can go back home. But it's a one-way trip back. You don't get second chances. Once you go, you're stuck."
Sera nodded slowly. "So what happens if I don't catch a bishi in two weeks?"
"One way trip." Belle smiled grimly. "Same thing happens if you release all your bishis."
Sera nodded, glad she was already sitting down. "So what's around here?"
"Rurouni Kenshin to the east and north, Gundam Wing a few miles west of here, and lots of forest." Belle grinned.
"Wow. This is still… crazy." Sera shook her head, staring at Duo as he plopped down behind Belle, starting to play with her hair.
"Oh, just wait until you're more used to it," Belle said with a laugh. "Then you'll realize just how crazy the people are in comparison. Take Shadow and Anna for example. They're both completely nuts, but you're still so shocked you haven't realized yet."
Sera nodded absently, watching as her sister relaxed, her eyes closing half-way as Duo played with her hair, braiding parts of it before brushing it all out with his fingers. "You haven't changed much, have you?"
Duo froze and Belle tensed again before she stood, a dark smile playing at the corners of her lips. Sera instinctively moved back. "I've changed more than you'll ever know," Belle said, her voice cool, before she left the room, leaving her belt with the bishiballs on the bed.
Sera looked after her sister and frowned, now concerned. "What happened?" she asked no one in particular.
"She doesn't like to talk about it," Duo said softly, getting up to go after his trainer. "None of us do." He left just as quietly, leaving Sera with Nyx.
"This world isn't always kind," Nyx said, his voice very soft. "Especially not to innocents." That said, he vanished. Didn't even get up from the bed, simply vanished. Sera stared at where he had been before she shook her head.
"Belle, what have you gotten yourself—and me—into?"
