Author's note: This is my first fanfic story I've ever written, so comments and feed back are greatly appreciated. I'd also like to thank my two betas for helping me with this story. So thank you Apocalypse Angel Laiceica and La Vie Musicale. Here goes nothing! ^_^)/

Chapter 1: The Move to Inaba 4/11-4/12

So many trains! Stupid giant bag! God! How could I lose my iPod before this ridiculous move to the sticks? Mika raged at herself as she continued her journey to Inaba. The whole of her winter break had been spent desperately trying to convince her parents to let her stay home while they went off to work overseas. But to no avail. Her mom wasn't comfortable with idea of her being unsupervised for that long, her dad was more open to the idea, but sided with his wife to make his life easier. And at some point during Mika's rather rushed packing, she lost her beloved iPod and headphones. They were her favorite color, too, a lavender iPod and matching pair of lavender and lilac headphones. With nothing to keep her occupied while traveling, she drifted off to sleep.

-Foggily Mika opens her eyes to find herself sitting in a moving limousine. There are two people sitting across from her; one is an elegant looking blonde and the other…Nose…is all Mika can think when she looks at him. He's talking about something happening to her, something important to her, she's not really paying attention, it's just some crazy dream, right?-

"Yaso Inaba Station" blares over the overhead speakers and jolts Mika awake. Weird dream…this is what happens when I don't have my music to occupy my brain…maybe I should have brought a magazine or something. Oh well, too late now anyway. Mika gets off the train, lugging her overstuffed duffle bag with her, and goes to wait for her uncle to show up. This place is so small, even the station isn't very big. I guess nobody really comes out here to the sticks… Mika sets herself down on the stairs to wait.

"There you are! How was your trip down?" A middle aged man asks as he approaches. She looks up and sees a familiar face.

"Uncle Dojima?"

"Yup, that's me. Wow! It's been awhile. The last time I saw you, you were still in diapers." He nervously laughs, suddenly wondering if it's ok to say something like that to a teenage girl. He thinks to himself that maybe he's bitten off more than he can chew. Looking after a teenage girl, this is a really big favor for his big sis…

"I remember you, so I don't think it was when I was still in diapers…but yeah, it has been awhile. It's nice to see you again." Mika trys to pacify his obvious embarrassment at the diaper comment.

*Awkward laugh from both*

"Oh! By the way, this is Nanako. My daughter. Say hello Nanako,"

Mika looks behind Dojima and spots her younger cousin. She's so much bigger than in the picture we have. It must be a few years old now that I think of it. She's so cute. Mika puts on a big smile, hoping to win her over, and it works. Nanako perks up at the smile and blushes slightly.

"H-hello." Nanako looks away quickly and steals glances back at her big cousin from behind her dad. Before Mika can grab her bag, Dojima grabs it for her and smiles awkwardly. Mika watches them start to head off. Before she starts to walk off, another girl walks by and drops a piece of paper.

"Hey! I think you dropped this!" Mika calls out to the girl.

"No I didn't….Oh, ok, whatever….thanks…." She says back to Mika.

Weirdo…Nice boots though…She doesn't look like a local... Maybe she's another city girl, forsaken to this boring place. Oh who am I kidding? She's probably just visiting family and is now heading back to civilization…lucky…

Dojima stops by the gas station on the way to the house. Nanako goes off to the bathroom while the strange attendant starts talking to Mika. She doesn't really pay any attention to …is this a guy or a girl? It's all the generic questions people ask her when she moves somewhere new, so she figures it's just polite chit-chat and brushes it off with mostly monosyllabic responses. Dojima suggests Mika stretch her legs and take a look at the shopping district.

She wanders off and sees some cute little shops and some locals roaming the quiet street. Hey, it's that girl from the station. How did she get here so fast? Mika approaches her, hoping to at least commiserate about this country town with another city kid.

"Hey, I saw you at the station just now. You live out here?" Mika asks smiling warmly as she walks up to her.

"Where? Oh that…place…" The strange girl seems at a loss for words. Mika smiles, hoping to prompt her to answer the question, but the girl just sort of turns away nervously.

"Ok, well then I guess I'll see you around. Bye." Mika says cautiously with a smile.

She is unsure how to end this strange conversation and not seem rude. Best not be rude before I've even had the chance to meet people at school. I bet rumors spread really quickly out here and I don't need to be the 'snobby new girl'. Mika walks back to the car and is suddenly struck by a wave of nausea, Nanako notices the sick look on Mika's face and asks if she's ok. Nodding weakly, she smiles and gets back into the car and closes her eyes.

Back at the house Nanako hurries inside where she's a little excited to show her cousin her home. Dojima gives Nanako a look to calm her down as Mika walks in. Nanako smiles at her and says, "I'm gonna get dinner ready!" and she dashes into the kitchen. Dojima lets Mika know which room is hers and where the bathroom is. Oooooo, a hot bath and food sounds sooooo good right now. Kinda glad I shoved all my bathroom essentials into this ridiculous bag. I really don't feel like unpacking my shipping crates today….Why am I so tried? Mika wonders as she trudges towards the bathroom, dragging her bag the whole way.

The bath was relaxing and just what she needed. She towels off quickly as she stands in front of the sink and wipes away the steam on the mirror. Grey blue eyes stare back at her, scrutinizing her refection. Waves of soft silver grey hair cascade down the sides of her slender face. She leans forward and pouts at her reflection, Mika never really liked her upturned nose, "cute button nose" according to her mother. But she did appreciate the full lips she inherited from her mother. They were expressive and accentuated her exaggerated facial expressions. Looking down to thoroughly examine herself, she pushes her breasts together and then releases them, dismayed at just how large and ungainly they often feel to her.*Glares* Nothing I can really do about those… She lets her hands slide down her sides, taking note of the size of her waist and hips. Still nice. All that swimming and dance club at my old schools certainly helps keep this in check. Wonder if this new school will have a dance club, or even a swim team. I hope so, I'm really not all that hand eye coordinated, so regular sports clubs are definitely out…Oh, I've been in here awhile, wonder if dinner is ready…

Mika quickly throws on her PJ's and heads down the stairs to sit down to the store bought dinner Nanako has laid out. Mika tries to keep up friendly conversation, but the effort is making her head hurt. Dojima notices her discomfort and suggests she head to bed early. She nods and heads upstairs. Her room is rather stark, nothing really in there but basic furniture and a small TV. And her boxes. Several very large ones. *Grumble and glare* I'll deal with you later…too tired now. No wait! Laptop! Need to dig that out and listen to my music on that till I can get a new iPod…still so mad about that…. So she grumpily rummages through her electronics box and sets up her music, flops onto the futon, and drifts off to sleep.

-Fog. More fog. Really dense fog and a….road…yeah. She walks forward, not really sure why, she just feels like she needs to. Like it's very important that she does. Fighting. What is this thing? I can't hit it. And it's laughing at me even trying. Why is it so infuriating? Damn shadow, face me! She rages at this dream figure-

*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*

The alarm pulls her from the fog and back to the reality of the day. Weird, crazy dreams…what's with me lately? This whole move is messing with my head and still no portable music to drown it out with. The first day of school as once again being the "new girl" has officially started. She gets dressed and heads down stairs. Nanako has a nice little breakfast laid out on the table, set for two. Aww. She's so cute! She looks around,

"Where's Uncle Dojima?"

"He left already, he got a call,"

"Oh, did you make all this, Nanako?"

"Yes. I'm allowed to make sunny side up eggs and toast." She smiles proudly as she sits down. "I buy dinner though,"

"Well it looks delicious! Thanks Nana-chan!"

The nickname comes out automatically, but Nanako beams at Mika in response. I guess she's ok with the pet name. Good. Aaaaa! She's so freaking cute! …Wait, buys dinner? I'm gonna get pudgy if I eat store bought food constantly, and it can't be good for Nanako or Dojima to eat like that. Note to self, pick up stuff to make dinner and surprise Nanako and Dojima with real food for dinner tonight! Yes! Genius plan!

Nanako shows her the way to school then heads off in the other direction. Mika looks around her at all the uniformed kids going to school. I guess I can just follow the stream of people to get to the school. I hope I can blend in and not get noticed before I even get there. Ok self, blend in…. But it was too late, Mika could already hear hushed whispers around her about 'who's that?', 'she must be new,' and so forth. The same chatter that surrounds her every time she starts a new school. She should be used to it by now, but all it does is remind her of how very alone she is here, everywhere really. Here goes nothing…