Disclaimer: This will cover all of my chapters and I hope that you all understand that I do not own YYH, just my character and the idea. Have fun and review if you feel the urge to do so.

6/1/11 this has been edited, rewritten and revamped. Enjoy.

"Hey Maria! Check this out!"

A small brown haired girl jumped up and down enthusiastically, pointing at the gecko sitting on the porch at her best friend's house. Maria brushed back her long black hair and gazed in that general direction, too hot to get excited. Getting all worked up over a lizard….. She thought shaking her head.

"I see it Grace, I see it. Let's go inside, I am going to burn up out here."

"You look like a porcelain doll; some sun will be good for you Maria!"

"Hardy-har"

After a short round of good natured bickering, they entered the large house. Maria's dog, Fiddo barreled around the corner and knocked over some chairs in his eagerness to greet them. Grace adored the dog and since her parents refused to let her get one, she played with Marias dog any time she could. Her face lit up as she ran to the dog laughing her head off.

"Who's a good doggy? YOU are!" Grace cooed.

Maria watched them wrestle around calling out to them from time to time to bring them to their sense as there were a lot of breakable objects around. As she watched them, she wondered once again how they had become friends. She liked Grace, but they where polar opposites. Maria was a student first and foremost and nothing got in her way of study time. Grace on the other hand, just liked to goof off and was nominated class clown. The girls had known each other since junior high and had bonded rather quickly. Maria was going to miss the silly girl.

"How long until you leave for Japan?" Maria asked. Grace looked up from petting Fiddo and a sad look passed over her face.

"We leave tomorrow night. Dad was able to get us early tickets."

The girls looked at each other in silence for a few minutes before Maria suggested that they go to her room. There the girls spent all day putting together a scrap book of memories it was late in the evening when Grace left the house, with a promise to write as often as possible. At age sixteen, it was hard to think of the possibility that you would never see your best friend face to face again, but their bond was strong and they would make it work.

That night, Grace stared out the plane window her mind as blank as her expression. She couldn't hear the passengers in the background and was not aware of her surroundings until the stewardess came with her dinner. Grace blinked at the lady and managed a lopsided smile before rejecting the dinner. For the first time since she got on the plane, she took a look around. She was in the back of the plane near the restrooms seated in what she suspected was the most uncomfortable seat in the plane. Her parents, of course, were in first class. At least she had the row to herself.

Her mind wandered to Maria. She couldn't imagine not seeing her every day, or hearing her laughter, or playing with Fiddo. Once again, she would be alone in a country she didn't know, with a language she didn't speak and customs she didn't understand in a house occupied by the coldest most remote people she had ever met. Her mind drifted to the first day she met Maria, and a small smile played on her lips as she remembered.

Flash Back.

Why in the world did I go down this ally? What was I thinking? Her mind screamed as she was cornered by a bunch of thugs.

"Hey pretty girl, you want something?" a tall idiot in the front of the group asked.

"…."

"Talk to me damn it…oh I get it, you're one of those girls. Good, I like 'em quiet."

He lunged at her and grabbed her around the waist, throwing her to the ground. The rest of the group cheered him on a she ripped her blouse. Tears leaked out of her eyes and she turned her head away, just then a voice called out to the group, startling everyone present.

"What the hell do you think you are doing ass hole?"

Grace saw a short girl with short black hair and glasses addressing the man on top of her.

"Oh look, she wants to play too." He jeered and the rest of the group laughed.

Before anyone knew what was happing, the girl walked past the men and grabbed the guy on top of the girl by the back of the neck. She then spun him around and delivered a hard punch to the jaw. Speechless, the man looked up at her in wonder, then got angry. They watched the girl and the guy exchange blows and neither of them backed down. It was clear the girl had won when she delivered a round house kick that sent the assailant flying into the wall with a loud crunch.

"Get the hell out of here or I will fuck all of you up for life." She hissed.

The men retreated and Grace stared at her rescuer in wonder and awe. Grace took the offered hand and stood up.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked.

"I am alright. Thank you for saving me."

"Sure, no problem. I hate people like him."

"What is your name?"

"Maria, and yours?"

"Grace."

End flashback.

The captains voice over the intercom startled her out of her revere.

"We will be landing in five minutes. Welcome to Japan"

"Yeah," she muttered. "Right."

Once off the plane, her father rushed her through the airport to the taxi cab. Luckily their possessions had been relocated to the house in Japan about a week ago. Their minimal luggage was already in the taxi. That was one of the perks when you paid ahead of time. Their travel in the taxi was a long, silent, tense one and Grace found that she just wanted to disappear. Finally they pulled into the long drive way in front of the house. As Grace examined the drive way, yard and the actual "house" she thought the word mansion would describe it better. It was painted a dull white, even the massive front door was white. She cringed as she hated white. Her life had to have some sort of color in it. Hopefully the inside wouldn't be as bland as the outside.

Well, crud she thought as they entered the mansion. The inside was white as well. Tall towering white walls that led to a 40ft vaulted ceiling were complimented by a white marble floor, white stair case and white furniture. She shook her head in disgust.

"Grace!" her father barked, "Go upstairs and find your room. Do not; I repeat do not get anything dirty!"

"Yes dad."

A few hours later, Grace was in bed looked up at the white ceiling. She was going to go mad with all this white surrounding her. She shook her head and rolled over. Outside her window the trees swayed in the night air and her eyes followed them back and forth. As the sleepiness finally settled in, she closed her eyes and her breathing grew even as she fell into the unconsciousness of sleep.

A few days went by and she found herself bored out of her mind. She had already glanced through her textbooks and done a few of the assignments her private teacher had set out for her, but she wasn't interested in any of them. Grace was a bright student, she just preferred to play rather than work. She sighed again and looked out the window. I hate just sitting around! I am going to go check this place out! She thought leaping off her bed and heading down the stairs. She walked from the entry way to the front door. Her parents would not miss her; the hardly even remembered that they had a daughter most days.

Grace had once been used to the solitude, of course that was before she met Maria. Don't go there. She thought. After a few hours of exploring she came to a beautiful park with a large cherry blossom nestled in the center. Not knowing that her best friend would, a year and a half later, sit under the same tree, she walked over to it and gazed up at the branches. They don't have trees like this in Texas. She thought. She spent the better part of the day sitting under the tree, blandly gazing around. Her eyes closed as she took in the sounds around her and after a few minutes, she fell asleep.

The wind picked up slightly and the air around the sleeping girl was saturated with magic. The tree she was leaning against began to glow dimly, and then it brightened to a point that even a deep sleeper like Grace covered her eyes. Mumbling something incoherent, she lay down on the ground, face down and continued to sleep. Her surroundings began to blur and change and still she slept on. Gone was the peaceful sounds and the babbling man made river, she was now surrounded by a dense thicket of trees. The call of the strange birds in this new environment is what caused her to wake up in a hurry.

"Huh?" she rubbed her eyes. "Huh?"

How ? What? She thought as her eyes gazed around in wonder. She stood up cautiously and took a few unsteady steps forward. Where the hell am I? A dream, it must be a dream. She sat back down heavily. A few minutes passed as she just sat there in stunned silence. The darkness of the forest deepened and she drew her knees up to her chest contemplating. It all seemed too vivid to be a dream. She could feel, smell, and hear with too much clarity. As the reality of her situation settled in, she felt her stomach knot up. What in the world am I supposed to do now?