Gomen, gomen! I was reading over my reviews yesterday then I looked at the first chapter of this story and I thought it sucked. I repeat … SUCKED!!!!! But now that I have some more better stories, like three others, I thought I could re-do this chapter (well the first chapter) but keep up the old version. It shows how much I've changed since I first started this thing.

Mental Note: I changed the names and re-did a lot of things.

Thank you again for taking a look at this.

"Come on! We're late," a girl yelled towards a closed door.

"Taka wait," a voice came out from behind the door, "I'm coming ok!?"

Two other girls stood next to an opened door giggling a bit as Taka rubbed her head a bit.

"You better hurry before Taka changes her mind," said the girl with the short hair with straight ends leaning on the door.

"Leiko! Taka said that we won't forget anyone even if we wanted to do so," the other girl with the short curly ends said looking at her.

Aiko rushed out of her bedroom and into the living room where her friends Leiko, Taka and Rui were waiting for her.

Taka was eagerly waiting for her friend to get out of bed and into her school uniform. It was their first day of school and they were waiting for Aiko to get up.

"What was taking you so long Aiko," Taka asked pointing to the wall clock.

Aiko slowly looked up at Taka as she tried to fix her knee length skirt, "the stupid bow on the shirt, that's why it took me so long."

Leiko and Rui looked at each other as they turned their backs heading towards the door, "hurry up then."

A few minutes before they were at their new school they talked a bit for some time.

"So what year is this considered over here for me?"

Rui was always ever so eager to do things before she even knew what they were.

Leiko, Taka and Aiko looked at each other in embarrassment.

"Well," began Leiko, Rui's older sister, "you would be considered a 9th grader of course."

Rui shook her head in disagreement, "but the years here differ than that of America."

Taka and Aiko nodded their heads in agreement as Leiko continued.

"Of course we know that, you know that, but they don't know that!"

Rui looked at her, "what do you mean by 'they don't know that'?"

The three began to do a nervous giggle while rubbing their heads and shuffling around a bit as they continued to walk.

They then told her that the girls begged the school board to make Rui a 10th grader by Japanese standards so that she could be with her sister. They also explained how they said that she had issues if Rui's sister wasn't around.

"How could you?"

Rui yelled at the threesome as they continued to walk towards the school grounds.

Leiko held her head a way so that both Taka and Aiko didn't recognize while she yelled back at Rui.

"We did it for you!"

"But you could have left me in middle school again."

"We didn't want too!"

Aiko and Taka waved their hands by their faces as they looked at each other while the two continued to fight.

After a while the four girls reached the high school just as a short limo pulled up in the front.

"Wow, how dumb is that," asked Aiko as she rolled her eyes and walked towards the entrance.

Taka gave a sly smile as she walked by her friend elbowing her in the side.

"But what if holds cute boys that could be your type?"

Aiko gave an annoyed look right at Taka as the two turned back to see, in fact, three boys with super long hair pulled back into a single ponytail with sunglasses on.

Both Leiko and Rui were walking behind Aiko and Taka as the foursome entered their new school and walked into to main office while the head master waited for them in his office.

"Good morning sensei," both Rui and Taka said entering the principal's office then Aiko and Leiko, "good morning!"

The principal looked up from his book and smiled with content as he spoke.

"Well, well, well, the four girls from America that are willing to risk their necks for an assignment."

The four smiled with happiness although they were slightly embarrassed about what they heard.

"Sensei, could I just say how we wanted to come here for many reasons," asked Taka then finished off by Aiko, "and have a wonderful time as transfer students above all?"

The principal rested his arms on his desk and he continued to smile, "well you four have guts, we admire guts. Such as, that you would come from America to Japan-just to understand how another country feels, respects, and admire schoolwork."

The four didn't know what to say so they continued to be silent as they looked at each other then back at him.

"Now," he said getting up from his chair to get a file from his file holder, "Rui?"

"Yes," she said in a calm quiet tone of voice.

"You will go to class 10-A, got it," he asked handing her a blueprint of the school and her schedule.

"Yes sensei," she said taking it and walking outside the door.

"As for you three," he said looking back in the folder, "you will go to 10-C."

"We understand sensei," they said in unison waiting for the blueprints of the school.

"Now that you are here, you have to understand that this is for school and school alone right," asked the principal before they went out of the office.

They nodded their heads, "yes sensei, we understand."

The principal walked up to them as he handed them their paperwork, "oh and call me Fujiyama-sensei."

They bowed their heads, turned out towards the door, and left the room.

Taka walked out first to see Rui waiting for them.

"10-C right," she asked to the three.

Leiko nodded her head, "yep, that's right."

Rui smiled then turned to the stairs, "both of our classes are in the same hall so let's walk together."

The foursome reached Rui's classroom first as Leiko took her sister's shoulders, Taka standing next to Aiko as she stood in front of the door to Rui's new classroom.

"This is it Rui …" Aiko said smiling right at her, "… are you ready?"

Rui nodded her head as both Taka and Leiko patted her back as she walked up next to Aiko. With one last short breath Rui nodded her head and put on a smile as Aiko knocked on the door and slid the door back.

Aiko - beloved

Leiko - arrogant

Rui - affectionate

Taka – honored

Sumi - elegant/refined

Shina - virtuous/wealthy

Sachi – blessed/lucky

Suke – mediate/come between

Fuji – light purple

Yama – mountain