Aino Minako sat on the hill where she usually ate lunch, alone as usual. She looked around and then leaned back on the willow tree she was under. She looked in hidden envy at the popular girls, giggling and flirting with the popular guys. She surveyed the scene and saw that her crush, Tomei Ito, wasn't there. He was the most popular guy in the school...rebellious, but yet good in school and a wonderful athlete. She looked around at the scene down there once more and noted he definitely wasn't there. She heard footsteps on the soft, sweet grass and looked up. He stood there and smiled at her. "Nani?" She thought out loud.

"Konnichiwa, Minako." He said, sitting next to her.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be down with the popular people?"

"Minako, you think I care so much about popularity?" He said. Minako looked in his eyes and saw what she thought was hurt.

"Gomen nasai, Ito...I thought it mattered to you,"

"It doesn't." He smiled at her. "Am I allowed to be here, or should I go make myself claustrophobic down there?" he joked.

Minako blushed at looked at his hands. "You have no lunch." She stated.

"Neither do you."

"I never do."

"Nani? Naze?" he asked.

"My parents are dead," Minako said. "And I don't know how to cook. My neighbor feeds me for dinner sometimes, or I order pizza. Or get things that don't need preparing."

"Since when?"

"Since I was 3...they were killed in a car crash..." she trailed off, memories of the fateful crash in her mind--her mother's screaming, her father's frenzied tries to get the car to stop swerving...her own tears, knowing what was going to happen...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Minako, Tori? Would you like some juice?" her mother said, smiling and holding out a grape juice to the little child and her twin brother.

"JESSICA!" her father screamed. Her mother turned at her name and saw the cliff. She screamed and dropped the grape juice. Tori cried. Minako watched the dark purple stain spread and wondered what was going to happen...

***************************************************************************************

Minako woke up and looked at her arm, wondering what the hot, dark red liquid was that was coming from it. She sat up and looked at her car, now a piece of twisted, burning metal. She saw that somehow, her car seat had been propelled from the falling car. She looked up and saw how high the cliff was. She struggled to get out of her car seat, and when she couldn't, shrugged and went back to her sleep.

***************************************************************************************

"She's hurt." Muffled voices woke Minako out of her sleep.

"Her parents are mutilated. The girl is lucky."

"Tori?" She wondered out loud.

"Doctor Kuo! She's awake!" a woman said, running to a tall man.

"Tori?" she asked again.

"What, child?"

"Tori! Where's Tori?"

"Who is Tori?" he asked. He turned to the woman. "Search for a Tori." Then he turned back to Minako, who looked at him with questioning eyes. "What's your name, child?"

"Minako."

"Last name?"

"I donno." She said, scared.

"Minako, you're hurt...but you're the only one alive. Your parents died."

"Tori!" Minako cried out. "Tori...Tori..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minako realized Ito was shaking her. "Minako! Minako, wake up. What's wrong?"

She opened her eyes and looked at Ito. The last crystalline tear flowed down her cheek. "What did I do, Ito?"

"You were crying and saying `Tori, Tori...'"

"I guess you'd like an explanation?"

"We all have secrets, Minako. I know you haven't told anyone this, so I won't impose." Ito smiled at her caringly. The bells chimed. "Got to jet, Minako. See ya!" He got up and brushed the bits of grass from his gray slacks that all the boys wore.

"'Bye, Ito." Minako said. She got up and brushed off her short gray skirt that the girls at Satsugai Academy were forced to wear. She sighed and went to her dorm slowly, wishing she could stay out. But her next class was in a half-hour, and the professor already disliked her. He would just love to fail her and put her out of the Academy.

"MINAKO!" Ellie Silvermitte, Minako's one true friend in the academy, ran up to her. Ellie, or Elysia when she wanted to be called by her real name (which she usually didn't), was Minako's roommate. She was the daughter of a millionaire, who, despite loving his wife and having 3 other kids, hated Elysia and would beat her. Her stepmother was no better, and out of Elysia's 3 stepsiblings, only one liked her. Here at Satsugai, people loved her.

"Konnichiwa, Ellie."

"Hey. So, headed to the dorm? Don't you have Puramu now?"

"Hai."

"Talk in English!" Ellie whined. Minako laughed.

"Nani, anata suru nai konomu nihongo? (AN: Translation: what, you do not like Japanese?)" Minako taunted.

"Minako-channnnn!"

"Okay, okay, I'll try to speak in English. But you have to learn better Japanese, everyone here speaks Japanese."

"I know SOME Japanese..."

"And you need to know more."

"I can learn in English. Anyway, how was your day? I didn't see Ito down with us--you know, Karen, Heishi, Reika, and them. Is he sick?"

Minako smiled, but decided to tell Ellie where Ito was. "Well, I know where Ito-san was,"

"Oh? Where, Minako-chan?"

"With me."

Ellie laughed. "Stop fantasizing, Minako-chan!"

"No, I'm serious. He was with me, and we talked."

"About what?"

"He asked why I didn't have a lunch, which ended up leading us to talk about my parents."

Ellie stopped. "You're not kidding, are you."

"No, I'm not."

"Oh my god, Minako! ITO TOMEI LIKES YOU!"

Minako blushed. "Well, maybe not like that, maybe he just wants to be friends..."

"Minako, Ito isn't friendly. He only talks to people he really trusts, or likes."

"Really?" Minako said, hope picking up in her voice.

"Yeah, I know Ito!"

"Cool." Minako checked her watch. "Shimatta! Ja ne, Ellie." She ran into the building next to them and into what seemed like a wall.

"Minako?" A voice said. Minako looked up into the deep blue eyes of Ito Tomei.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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Konnichiwa! Well, this is my newest fanfic...well, one of my newest, I am currently making 3 new ones and still trying to work on my others, but I have a serious, serious case of writer's block on those stories, especially "An Offbeat Romance", if anyone has some ideas for me please IM me at pinkvirgo77. Thanks!
About this fanfic...it's new! I want to know if you like it, I want at least 10 reviews b4 I'll put out a new chapter, so please R&R. Thankies!

Love Always,

Magellan Princess