Chapter One

"Train 429 now leaving for Windbloom!"

A young, brunette female sat quietly in her seat as she gazed out at the semi-busy station. Although she hated the idea of living at the orphanage, she wasn't very thrilled about being shipped off to a new foster home either. She had already been to five different others since she was born and was not up for a sixth. It only meant more trouble for her.

"At least it's only for the summer…" she thought to herself.

She had known from the beginning that it was only going to be for a short time, but that did not stop her from fighting with Ms. Fumiko, the headmistress of the orphanage. For almost a week the child argued about being sent away, claiming that she had no interest in staying with another stupid family. The monster of a woman, however, did not care. For some bizarre reason, Ms. Fumiko hated her, sometimes even siding with the other female orphans when she got teased. So, the more the girl fought, the more pleasure the owner got out of sending her away. She finally quieted down about the situation when the headmistress smacked it out of her a few times.

"That's something I won't miss," she grimaced while rubbing her right arm, the area still bruised from yesterday's beating.

Fights were not supposed to happen in the household, but no one really paid attention to that rule when it came to her. Just yesterday, one of her old roommates decided to punch her just for fun, so she fought back. In the end, however, her roommate walked away without a scolding while she got hit by Ms. Fumiko.

Trying to shake the thought from her mind, her baby browns looked down at the paper tag she had been wearing around her neck.

Aishu Hinamori

Age: 10

Destination: Windbloom

To be picked up by Natsuki Kruger and Shizuru Viola

Wearing this, she felt like more of a package than an actual human being.

"Glorious."

With a slight jolt, the train began to slowly move forward. This would be her first time leaving Aries for a foster home. That there unnerved her slightly, but she shook it off, and with one last look at the city, the train began to pull away.

"Why do I get the feeling that this isn't going to end well?"

The giant knot in Aishu's stomach grew. Unfortunately, new foster homes never turned out okay. In the beginning she always tried to find the positive side to change, but after so many bad experiences, she didn't see a point in doing so anymore. Thinking negatively upon entering a new situation would only make the heartbreak of an ending so much easier to deal with. It was the best way to go about things.

When the train station was out of sight, she let out a small sigh and sat back in her seat. Pulling over a black messenger bag that was beside her, she dug through it and pulled out a letter that was sent from her soon-to-be guardians. Glancing down, she read over the neatly inked words for what was probably the hundredth time.

"Dearest Aishu,

My name is Shizuru Viola, and my wife, Natsuki Kruger, is beside me as I write

this. We're both very glad that you're coming up for the summer. Although we have never had a child stay with us before, I'm sure our time together will be lots of fun. I have a summer home out on the beach, which is where we'll be staying, so a mix of activities and relaxation will be available. We hope to make this a very enjoyable summer for you and look forward to your arrival in two weeks. See you soon.

Shizuru and Natsuki."

After reading, she pulled out the picture that had come with it, the back telling her who was who. Shizuru, a light brunette woman who was wearing a purple dress, stood on the left. Beside her was Natsuki, a dark-haired female wearing a blue jacket and simple black pants. The two of them were standing in what looked like an office. Apparently, from what one of the orphan girls had told her, they were both very famous Otome, Shizuru being what they called the "Graceful Amethyst" while Natsuki was known as the "Ice Silver Crystal." She learned Natsuki was also the principal of a school called Garderobe, which was where Otome were trained.

"Otome, huh?"

Quite honestly, Aishu didn't know much about Otome at all except from what some of the older girls at the orphanage had told her. They were completely knowledgeable about the subject. Upon hearing that she would be living with two such famous ones, the girls got jealous. She was picked on and bullied for weeks, all of them wondering why she, an outcast, was chosen. Aishu really didn't get it either and dreaded the whole affair.

"What's so great about Otome anyways?"

She didn't quite understand this. Up until a month and a half ago, she had never even seen one in her life.

"And I kind of wish I hadn't."

After placing the items back in her pocket, Aishu leaned her head against the window, her mind travelling back to that infamous day. She had been told that Otome were supposed to be graceful, smart, and strong, but her experience showed otherwise.

"Oi! You!"

Aishu paid no mind to the voice that had entered the room. When she heard that the President of Aries, Yukino Chrysant, and her Otome, Haruka Armitage, were visiting, she had come down from her bedroom out of curiosity. She had never seen an Otome or the president before. However, she was completely disappointed. While Yukino seemed normal, Haruka was loud, sarcastic, and annoying, and Aishu was in no mood to deal with that this morning.

"Ooooii! Girl in the window, I'm talking to you!"

Aishu still made no reply, her eyes focused on the words in front of her. That Otome had followed her in here. She was hoping that ignoring the calls would cause the woman to go away, but Haruka would not give up. Instead, she walked right over to the child and tore the book from her hands."

"Can't you hear me calling you?"

Now this ticked Aishu off.

"You idiot!"

She hated being disturbed and didn't appreciate this woman barging in on her alone time.

"What did you just call me?" Haruka asked.

"Did I stutter?" Aishu asked in turn as she stood up. "I called you an idiot. Couldn't you see I was busy?"

"Couldn't you see I was talking to you?"

Aishu scowled and reached for her book, but Haruka held it up high so she couldn't reach it.

"What is your problem?" Aishu asked angrily. "Give it back!"

"I want your attention first!"

"Why? You have every other girl out there fawning over your stupid presence. Go talk to one of them and leave me be you old hag."

Haruka's left eye twitched at this comment.

"Old hag? I am not an old hag!"

"You look it to me," Aishu said back.

Haruka was fuming.

"Don't you know who I am? I could snap you like a twig if I wanted to!"

"Oh please, I'm sure that's all talk. I bet I could take you down any time."

"Why you rude little-"

"Haruka!"

Yukino had now joined the room, followed by a few of the other orphans.

"What's going on?" Yukino asked.

"Isn't she yours?" Aishu asked in return as she pointed to Haruka. "You should put a leash on her until she learns how to control herself. You should also teach her to leave people alone when they don't want to be bothered."

That had been when she decided to run to her room. It wasn't her intention to get as snappy as she did, but she had woken up in a particularly bad mood that day after a night of pillows being tossed at her.

"And even after that, she still didn't get the message," Aishu thought to herself.

She thought she would be left alone after that outburst, but Yukino and Haruka had followed instead. They wasted no time in asking her questions when they found her. Some queries involved her name and age while others were a bit more personal, a few of them prying at her experiences in past homes. A few Aishu had answered, but most she ignored. When they had finished, Yukino simply thanked her and apologized for any trouble caused before leaving. Aishu could have sworn she heard Haruka mumbling something about guts, but her mind had blocked them out too quickly to remember.

As the train continued on, she could feel her eyelids closing. Why those two had visited that day and questioned her the way they did was beyond her, but at that moment, she was too tired to really think about it. With having little to no sleep the night before, she figured now would be a good time to nap. In her mind, that would just make the trip go by faster. She just wanted to get where she needed to go, get it over with, and leave when the Summer was up. So, with that, she curled up a little more and fell into an uncomfortable sleep.