kay so i know that i have another story up here (waiting for a star to fall) and i will update it for those of you who actually like it, but i want to see how this goes =) anyway as you can see, i am an AU writer and i tend to make my characters ooc! sorry for the oocness!!

I don't need no m o n e y
fortune or fame. I've got all
the riches, baby, one man
can claim

Chapter One: Ghost Girl and The Knight

Today was the day that Namine Utada would be moving back to the one place she once called home. She would be moving back to Twilight Town, where everyone was always busy and where the skies seemed to always be filled with splashes of oranges and yellows. When she was seven years old, she was forced to move out of her home once her parents got new jobs in Radiant Garden.

Namine didn't want to leave Twilight Town. Not because she would miss the colors of the skies or even the clock tower, her favorite place to be when she wanted to think, but because of a certain someone. That person happened to be a boy the same age as her, who she met at a party her parents had thrown once. Apparently, the boy lived in their neighborhood. He was also new to the place and didn't have any friends.

Miss Hikari dragged her son along with her as they entered the party. They were new to the neighborhood and had been invited by the owners of the mansion, Mr and Mrs. Utada, to the party. Miss Hikari, being a single mother, thought that it would be a good opportunity to meet a man. A rich man. Also, she knew it would be nice for her son to find and meet new friends.

"C'mon, have some fun! You'll meet new friends here." She encouraged her son, who was dressed in a knight's costume. Apparently, it was a costume party and she too was forced to wear a costume. Miss Hikari was dressed up as a vampire and not a very convincing one. She looked like a cross between a beggar and a pirate with fangs.

"Okay, but do I have to wear this stupid costume?" He whined. Miss Hikari simply smiled at him and dragged him towards a group of other women, conversing. She began to introduce herself to them, telling them that they were new here and that they didn't know anyone except for the Utada's yet.

Once they were starting to make conversation, her son found his chance to sneak out. He decided to explore the place a bit more, taking in all the fancy furniture and paintings that were all around the place. He didn't know much about the lives of the rich but one thing was for sure, they liked to live over the top. At least, that was the impression he got from looking at the place.

He had somehow managed to find himself out in the backyard. Just like the mansion, it was gigantic. It was so spacious, you could practically have a whole school of kids run around and still have room for a pool somewhere. As he studied the place, his eyes fell on a figure wearing a ghost costume, with the eye sockets cut out and a little slit for the mouth. "Hey!" He called, walking over to the figure who had jumped back a little in surprise.

"Do you know if there are any other kids here?" He asked the ghost, who he wasn't so sure whether it was a girl or a boy.

"I don't really know...I kind of snuck into the party." The ghost was a girl, judging from the voice.

"Well, that's okay. We can play together....I'm new here and I don't really know anyone here." The boy said, sitting down on the grass. The ghost sat down too, crossing her legs like a pretzel.

"I was born here and I don't know anyone my age." The ghost admitted.

"How old are you?" He asked.

"Seven." She replied.

The boy gave her a wide grin, "Now you know someone you're age." He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw her smiling back at him. "Um..why did you choose a ghost as a costume?"

The ghost paused to think about if before answering. "No one's supposed to know that I'm here. I've never been to a party so I thought dressing up as a ghost would be a good idea, since no one can see that it's me."

He nodded. "That's smart. I wish I was a ghost instead of a stupid knight. This costume's heavy!" He laughed.

She giggled with him too and then stopped to say, "Well, at least you can breathe in it!"

"You have a point." He smiled. The two sat there in silence, listening to what the adults were talking about. They laughed once in awhile when they heard something that sounded funny, but mostly it was quiet. Oddly, they were both okay with it. It was like they had this secret connection between them. Like they didn't have to say a word to each other to enjoy each other's company. But finally the boy decided to end the silence by saying, "What do you look like without the costume?"

The girl just stared at him and then down at her shoes. "I wish I could show you but I can't."

He raised a brow at her, "Why? I'm sure you're really pretty. I mean, you make a pretty ghost so I bet you make an even prettier human."

She giggled a little. "Thanks, you make a handsome knight and human. But I can't show you what I look like because people will see me and then I'll get sent back to my room." She ended with a sad tone.

"Well don't worry," The boy said, standing up and brushing the dirt from his costume. "I won't let anyone lock you up!"

She laughed at that and took his hand as he helped her up. "I wish we could be friends."

"What do you mean? I thought we already were." He said.

"I don't know. My parents don't let me out of the house much and they don't like it when I talk to other people that aren't...." She didn't have to finish the sentence for him to know what she meant. She meant that her parents didn't like her hanging out with kids that weren't equal in money. In other words, rich.

The boy started digging through something that was stuffed somewhere in the wedges of his armor and pulled out a toy soldier. "That's okay, maybe when you're ready to be my friend you can give this back to me." He held out the toy for her to take. "I'll know it's you when you give this back to me." He said smiling.

She smiled, and took it from his hands. "Thanks.....what's you're name?" She couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Here she was talking to a boy that she shared some connection with and she didn't even know his name.

"It's-" He was interrupted by his mother before he could say his name. She took him by the forearm and pulled him away from the ghost. "Mom?"

"C'mon. Were leaving." She said in a rather irritable tone. He started to protest, telling her that he had not yet told the girl his name. It didn't seem to matter to his mother, as she just kept on walking.

He turned to look at the girl and shouted, "Will I see you again, ghost girl?"

It took her a moment to answer but when she finally did he was almost half way out of the yard. "YES!" She wasn't sure if he heard it, but with all her heart she hoped he did. She watched as her knight disappeared with his mother dragging him out of the house. Tears started welling up but she forced herself to stop. Be strong, she told herself. You will see him again. She was determined to keep this promise, no matter what.

After standing there for five minutes, she decided to head back to her room. After all, there was no use in staying at the party now that he was gone. When she got inside, everyone was too busy either getting food at the buffet table or conversing with other rich families to notice her. She made her way silently out of the room and was almost in the clear. But as she tried to ascend the steps, someone backed up and stepped on her costume, causing it to fall off of her even when it was just a small step.

She didn't think anyone saw, but she was wrong. Her parents had noticed. "Namine!" Mrs. Utada screetched. She and her husband rushed over to her and quickly carried her upstairs in her room, where she was meant to stay for the duration of the party.

"You went to the party?" She asked in a horrified manner. Namine nodded slowly. Mrs. Utada sighed, "We told you to stay up here. You were not allowed out of your room! You were supposed to stay up here and study. How else will you make mommy and daddy proud?"

"With my art." She replied.

Mr. Utada let out a groan, "Art will not get you into harvard, sweetie. Art's okay as a hobby, but not as a job. You're supposed to become a lawyer, like us."

Namine looked at her feet, "I'm sorry." She said in an almost inaudible voice. The expression on her mother's face softened when she walked over to hug her.

"It's okay. But next time, do as you're told?" Namine nodded and then both Mr and Mrs. Utada descended down the stairs to resume the party.

Now Sixteen, looking back, Namine realized that she didn't have much of a childhood growing up with her parents. The only time she had been with another person her age was when she was with him, whoever he was. It saddened her to think that she never knew his name or that she may never know his identity. All she had to remember him by was the old toy soldier he had given her.

She told him that she would see him again, and she intended to keep that promise. Even if he forgot about her. Namine couldn't blame him, it was a long time ago and it was probably time for her to move on. If only she would let herself, that is. That connection the two had, she wasn't sure whether it was love or even what it was, but she knew that that type of connection was something you got only once in a lifetime and Namine wasn't about to let it slip by.

She was moving back into her old home, which had been inhibited by an old family friend of theirs, who insisted that they move back in. The Traydors decided that they wanted to live somewhere in a more tropical area, like Destiny Islands. The Utada's gladly accepted but for different reasons. Mr. Utada missed his old job as a lawyer in Twilight Town, the whole Doctor thing didn't work out to well for him in Radiant Garden. Mrs. Utada missed her beautiful mansion, and Namine just missed her knight in shining armor.

ghost girl and the knight

It had been a long ride, but the Utada family were back home. Standing outside of the beige colored Mansion, seeing the place again brought Namine back some memories. Some good and some bad. She remembered the mural of a garden her parents had hired artists to paint, and how much she loved it. She remembered the spot where she had accidently spilled some kool-aid on the white sofa and how she tried covering it up by throwing a pillow over it.

All these memories flowed through her mind, like water running endlessly through a stream. It felt good to have remembered her childhood in this house. Namine stepped inside to find that nothing had been changed, just like they asked the Traydors to do when they gave them the house. The fancy paintings still hung on the same spots and the color of the room, white, was still painted the same.

Although everything about the house remained the same, she was sure that she wasn't going to go back to the way it was for her childhood. She wasn't going to let her parents run her whole life, the fact that she was going to be a lawyer when she grew up was already set but the people she wanted to be friends with this year weren't. This year was going to be different, she wasn't going to let her parents hold her back from finding true friends and her mystery knight.

ghost girl and the knight

OKAY THAT WAS IT FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER. LET ME KNOW HOW YOU GUYS LIKE IT OR DON'T LIKE IT! IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT I WILL DISCONTINUE THIS AND JUST WORK ON WFASTF AND ANOTHER STORY THAT I MUST THINK OF. ANYWAY, I HOPE YOU FOUND IT SOMEWHAT DECENT =P