Chapter 1: Fairy Tale Girl

The alleyway was no more than ten feet wide, and the buildings were tall enough to prevent any sunlight from filtering down into it. The shadows were sufficient to hide the girl from the view of any passersby, though she could see them.

The day had brought with it warmth, and for that Yami was grateful. Still with no answers and no clothes, she drew comfort from the fact that she was no longer cold. She sat with her back against the wall not five feet away from the mouth of the alley, listening and sometimes watching people go by, oblivious to her presence. While the darkness cloaked her, she could see everything outside the alley clearly in the sunlight.

People on the sidewalks completely ignored the darkened alleyway. Yami did not blame them. Had it not been her haven, her isolation from them, she would have avoided it too. But she found that the prospect of emerging into the light terrified her. Whether it was completely out of personal modesty, obviously shying away from the idea of walking the streets without the smallest scrap of clothing, or if it was something else that made her fear the utterly unthreatening citizens of Tokyo, she did not know, nor did she particularly care. She knew that she did not want to leave the safety of the cloak of shadow, so she simply did not. She did nothing but sit and listen to the life going on only feet away from her.

Yami jumped as two people suddenly collided just beyond the mouth of her alley. Had it not been for her surprise, she would have found the sight incredibly funny. One of the people now on the ground was a young man with ebony black hair. He looked to be about twenty or so. The other was a teenage girl. The girl seemed to be slower in recovering her senses, rubbing her head and muttering to herself. Yami found the teenager's hairstyle highly amusing — her long blond hair was pulled up into two pigtails long enough to trail the ground, both flowing from two little balls on top of her head.

"Hey, Meatball Head. You oughta learn to watch where you're going," the young man said with a smirk.

Meatball Head — it seemed an accurate assessment. Yami could not help but grin.

The girl looked up quickly. "Oh no! I'm going to be late for school again and get detention! Just what I need to make this day worse… I've got a math test today, and we're running laps in P.E. I have to bring clothes to dress out! I hate having to carry an extra bag just so I can participate in stupid gym class, when I'd just as soon not…."

The girl kept rambling, and the young man listened with a small smile, not saying a word throughout the entire little episode. It was then that Yami noticed the bag that the blond girl had dropped just at the edge of the alleyway. Judging by the heavy look of the bookbag on the girl's back, Yami assumed that her schoolwork and books were in that. Which meant that the clothes she was complaining about having to carry to dress out for gym must be in the bag she had dropped. The teenager inched forward, reaching out slowly to close her fingers around the edge of the bag and drag it into the shadows with her. The girl, still going on and on without drawing a single breath, and the young man, seemingly totally absorbed in watching his "Meatball Head," did not notice the mysterious disappearance of the bag.

Yami withdrew deeper into the alleyway, moving back until she could no longer make out the words the rambling blonde was saying. She watched patiently as the girl suddenly realized how much time she was wasting and that she was going to be even later to school. She quickly said goodbye to the dark-haired man and scurried off. He also continued on his way. Neither seemed to miss the bag that had disappeared into thin air.

Sitting down on the pavement, Yami unzipped the bag and found a pair of gym shorts, a T-shirt, a pair of socks, and tennis shoes. She quickly pulled on the clothes. The shoes were too small, but she did not really mind that — just being clothed made her happy for the time being. Working up the courage to finally leave her hiding place, Yami made her way out into the street, leaving the bag at the mouth of the dark alley. Meatball Head might come back later looking for it.

Not knowing where to go, Yami wandered the streets aimlessly. She knew her home address, but she had no idea which way to go, not knowing where she was. She saw a small child walking down the street, her tiny hand linked with her mother's. The child was licking at a dripping ice cream cone. It was then that the lost teenager realized how hungry she was. Of course, she had no money with her, so with a sigh, she tried to ignore the insistent growling of her stomach.

Finally, the wandering girl decided that she had no choice but to ask for directions. Still, she was nervous about speaking to the people who casually passed her by. She did not know why. It was as if she was completely unused to talking to other human beings at all. With a brief hesitation, she stopped a nice-looking man in a business suit, querying whether or not he knew the way to 4013 Falls Avenue. With a warm smile, he gave her simple but detailed directions. Thanking him, she stared off, her spirits considerably lifted.

Arriving at Falls Avenue, Yami could feel her knees become weak with relief as she saw her house before her. However, rushing up toward the front door, she slowed to a near stop as she realized that she did not recognize the car in the driveway. Someone must be visiting, she decided with uncertainty.

Continuing more slowly toward the doorstep, she knocked on the front door. Her unease increased as a strange woman answered it. With a knot her stomach, Yami looked into the smiling woman's face. "Uh, I'm looking for Mitchell and Lori Hikari. Are they at home?"

The woman frowned. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know either of them. Are you sure you have the right house?"

Yami did not answer for several seconds. This was her house. Who was this woman? "S… sorry," she stuttered. "I guess… I'm at the… the wrong place." Turning away, she made her way down the steps and back to the street. Once again wandering aimlessly, she wondered what to do next.

Sighing, the distraught teenager sat down on a curb to think. She felt more utterly lost than she had the night before. Moving back to lean against a wall, she drew up her knees and rested her elbows on them, burying her face in her folded arms. The sun bore down on her arms and neck. She was sure that her skin would be burned later on, but she could not force herself to care. She did not realize how long she'd been sitting there until she heard a familiar chattering.

Looking up in surprise, Yami saw none other than Meatball Head no more than a block down the street and coming her way. Standing up quickly, she watched the girl approach with three friends, all but one in identical school uniforms, walking along right next to her.

"I must've lost my gym bag when I ran into Darien this morning, so I didn't have to run! It's an upside, wouldn't you guys say so?"

Yami did not realize she was directly in the girl's path until it was too late. She tried to move out of the way, but the blonde meatball head tripped over her foot, and both teenagers went tumbling to the ground. Yami noticed that the girl's friends found the accident amusing. Apparently, she collided with people a lot.

Yami scrambled to her feet, backing away slowly. "Sorry, I didn't… mean to… I… I'm sorry," she stuttered.

"Don't worry about it," the brunette accompanying the blonde said. "Serena runs into everyone. It's definitely not your fault."

Standing up, Serena immediately beamed with energy and joy. Yami had never seen such a happy person in her life — at least not that she could recall. "Hi! I'm Serena. These are my friends, Lita, Amy, and Mina. Who are you?"

"Uh, Yami." The quiet teenager was taken a bit by surprise that Serena cared to talk to her. The girl did not seem to notice that Yami was wearing her clothes.

"We're going to the arcade. Wanna come?" the giddy blonde asked. With nothing else to do, Yami decided she might as well take the girl up on her offer. Serena immediately continued her jabbering, never pausing for a breath or to let someone else speak. Yami found this quirk slightly endearing.

Arriving at the arcade, Serena bounced up to the counter. "Hey, Andrew," she greeted the blond man in the apron as he smiled at the girls. "Has Darien been by today?"

"Not yet. But I'd bet he'll be in sometime soon."

"This is my new friend Yami," Serena introduced the quiet teenager trailing in back of the group.

Andrew smiled. "Pleased to meet you." Yami offered only a nod in response. It was then that the young man noticed her bare feet. "We're not allowed to serve people with no shoes," he said with an apologetic expression.

"I could only find one shoe this morning," Yami made up quickly. "I… I figured it'd be stupid to go… with just one." She was sure this was a flimsy excuse and that she would be thrown out in under a minute.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Andrew," Serena said, waving it off. "Can you imagine walking around all day in one shoe?" She giggled.

With a sigh, Andrew shook his head in submission. "All right, whatever."

Again, Yami was surprised, but she said nothing. Serena smiled and moved over to the Sailor V game. Interested, Yami moved to watch over her shoulder. Serena was very good at the game. Apparently, she got a lot of practice. Yami had lost count of the levels the girl had beaten before "Game Over" began flashing on the screen. Serena turned to look at the teenager behind her. "Have you ever played before?"

Yami shook her head. "No."

"Well, why don't you try?" Serena popped in another coin and moved out of the way for Yami to play. "It's fun."

Deciding to try her luck, Yami stepped up to play, but she was little more than halfway through the first level before "Game Over" flashed across the screen. "I guess arcade games aren't my forte."

"That's okay. Try again." Serena put in another coin, and with a smile, Yami proceeded to play. She still did not do well, but she got further than the last time. This seemed to satisfy Serena, for she decided to sponsor another game.

Serena and Yami switched off, each taking turns with the Sailor V game. Both were laughing, oblivious to the rest of the world, when Darien came up behind Serena, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Serena yelped in surprise but quickly melted into his embrace.

Serena introduced Darien to Yami, who recognized him from the collision that morning, though she said nothing of that. He and Serena moved back to the counter, and Yami followed, sitting down between Serena and her blue-haired friend, Amy. When Darien offered to buy them all shakes, the quiet teenager accepted with a smile, though with less energy than Serena and her friends. The chocolate milkshake tasted wonderful, though it seemed only to remind Yami of how hungry she was. Once again ignoring her hunger, she listened silently as Serena, Darien, Andrew, Amy, Lita, and Mina chatted incessantly until she completely lost track of time.

After a while, Darien dismissed himself, having to go to some kind of dinner with some people he worked with, and it was then that the girls became aware of the time. As they all got up to head home, Yami felt a knot tighten in her stomach. She could not go home. She realized once again that she had nowhere to go. Questions began swimming through her mind again. Where were her parents? Who were the strange people in her house? Why was it she had woken up outside in the middle of a street last night?

"Where do you live?" Serena asked cheerily, breaking into Yami's thoughts.

"Uh, Falls Avenue."

"Good. That's the same direction as my place. We can walk together." With a small smile, Yami accompanied the giddy blonde out of the arcade and in the direction of her home. She listened to Serena's constant chattering with half an ear while she wondered what she would do that night once she and her new friend parted ways.

"Isn't this where you turn to get to Falls Avenue?" Serena asked suddenly, once again jolting Yami from her thoughts.

"Uh, y… yeah. You know, why don't I just walk with you to your place? I don't mind going a little farther, and I have nothing else to do."

"Don't you have to be home by a certain time?" the girl asked, continuing on.

"No," Yami replied noncommittally.

"Your parents don't give you a curfew?"

Quickly trying to think up a lie, she found herself saying, "My parents are out of town."

"So you're staying home alone?"

"Something… like that."

"Are you staying at a friend's?"

Yami hesitated. "I don't… have… any friends."

Serena stopped. "No friends at all?"

No faces came to mind, no memory of any acquaintances, though this seemed slightly odd even to her. She shook her head. "No."

"Well, now you have me," Serena said with a grin. "Why don't you stay at my house? My parents won't mind."

Yami paused. "Are you sure?"

"Yup, of course I'm sure."

With a slight smile, she said, "Yeah, I guess that'd be cool."

"I wouldn't want you to go home all alone with no friends to keep you company."

"I… guess not."

Serena paused. Yami realized it was the first time she'd seen the girl look thoughtful since they'd met. "Did you want to stop by your house and get some of your things first?"

"Nah."

"Oh, but don't you at least want to get some pajamas and a change of clothes?"

"Well, uh, you see," — Yami's mind quickly ran through things she could say — "my parents… kind of… forgot to give me the h… house key… before they left. So I can't get into my house."

Serena blinked. "So where were you planning on staying?"

Yami shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, now you're definitely staying with me! I mean, you can't just sleep out on the street all night, can you?"

"I guess not."

"Do you even have any money?"

"No."

"What were you going to do about food?"

"I don't… know."

"And it gets cold at night. How were you going to keep warm in just shorts and a T-shirt when you don't even have any shoes?"

Yami grinned. "Do you ever run out of questions?"

Serena cocked her head. Now it was her turn to say, "I guess not."

Shaking her head with a laugh, Yami continued with: "I don't think you ever run out of things to say."

"Do you think I talk too much?"

"No, not at all. I do better listening. I don't really have much to say."

"Everyone has something to say."

"I guess."

"You just need to learn how to say it."

Yami spared a glance in Serena's direction. "I guess so."

"Here it is!" Her attention abruptly diverted again, Serena bounded up to her front door and waved for her friend to follow. Yami felt that she would never get used to the girl's changing moods. Simple psychology — she knew that the human mind often moved from one thing to another, the thoughts barely connected. But Serena's thoughts seemed to have no connection at all. It was very interesting to her.

As soon as Yami hit the doorstep, Serena was inside, the door hanging open behind her. Yami followed slowly, her eyes nervously flitting around to take in the interior of the house.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" A middle-aged couple emerged from a doorway a few seconds later, and Yami could not help but freeze in fear. But Serena merely smiled. "This is my new friend Yami. Her parents are out of town and forgot to give her a key, so she needs to stay with us, okay?"

Yami was surprised they could keep up with the girl's speech. She was surely having a hard time with it. It seemed that every time Serena opened her mouth, Yami's head was left spinning just trying to sort through the river of words that came spilling out.

After a short pause, Serena's mother nodded. "That's all right, Serena. We're pleased to have you here, Yami."

"Um, thank you, Mrs.…" She glanced nervously at Serena.

The blond meatball head seemed to snap into the realization that she had never told Yami her last name. "Oh! Tsukino. It's Tsukino."

"Uh, thanks, Mrs. Tsukino."

"You're more than welcome. Serena, try not to stay up late tonight. It's a school night. Tomorrow's Friday, and you girls can stay awake as late as you want then."

"Okay, Mom. Don't worry." With a grin, the girl bounced off toward the kitchen for a snack. With a last smile in the direction of Serena's parents, Yami quickly followed, trying to stay close to her new friend — her only friend, it seemed.

"Hungry?" Serena asked, her head hidden by the refrigerator door. "How much have you eaten today?"

"Uh, a chocolate shake."

Serena's head suddenly appeared again, a stunned expression on her face. "You mean that shake that Darien bought you is all you've had? All day long?" Yami nodded, and after several long seconds, the cheerful blonde's face once again broke into a grin. "Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we?"

The girl proceeded to list out all the things they had to snack on. While it all sounded delicious, and Yami was ravenous, she only listened with half an ear, another thing nagging at her mind. "Serena, why… are you so nice to me?"

Serena stopped, looking up at her friend. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you hardly even… know me. We just met… it couldn't have been more than… a few hours ago… and you invited me to stay at your house. You don't even know m… my last name."

"What's your last name?"

"Well… uh, Hikari."

Serena grinned again. "Well, now I do!"

"Yeah, but… I just don't get you. I've never met anyone this nice."

"Never?"

"Usually… when people are that trusting… they just get hurt. Has no one ever betrayed your trust?"

"Oh, sure, Darien, hundreds of times."

Yami could not hide her shock. "Darien?"

"Yeah, he can be really mean sometimes. I used to always hate when he called me Meatball Head…."

"No, I mean really. The world isn't that nice, you know."

Serena cocked her head. "Who told you the world is a bad place?"

"Well, I… I don't know. It… just seems that way to me."

"Why?"

Yami was a bit taken aback. "I don't… know why. Don't you ever run out of questions?"

Serena grinned yet again. "Nope! Now what do you want to eat?" Her head once again disappeared into the fridge, and Yami was once again surprised by the abrupt change in their course of conversation.

"Uh, I don't care. You pick."

Serena mumbled to herself, trying to decide what she wanted to eat.

Yami jumped as she felt something brush up against her leg. She looked down to see a black cat at her feet. "Uh, this your cat?"

Serena peeked over the refrigerator door to look down at Yami's feet. "That's Luna." The cat meowed as it looked up with big red eyes. It was then that Yami noticed the crescent moon on the cat's forehead.

"That's strange…."

"What?"

"Luna… she has a moon-shaped bald spot on her forehead. But I guess that fits her name, doesn't it? I've just never seen a cat with any markings like that."

"Yes! Double Fudge Cookie Dough ice cream!" The blonde quickly emerged from the refrigerator with a box of ice cream in her hands. Yami could not help but grin at the sight of the girl's nose, turned pink from the cold.

Serena ran to get bowls and spoons before sitting down at the table. Yami joined her as she began scooping out ice cream. Pushing the first bowl across the table and handing her friend a spoon, Serena quickly fixed a bowl for herself and started digging in.

Yami rapidly decided that this had to be the best ice cream she had ever eaten if not the best on the face of the planet. She did not realize how fast she was eating until she felt a sharp pain in her head. It faded quickly enough, and she was left rubbing her temple. Serena had stopped eating her ice cream and was staring over at her friend, who was still rubbing her head. Yami offered her a smile. "I guess I was eating a little too fast. Must've gotten brain freeze there."

Serena looked thoughtful — a funny look for her. "Hmm. I never get brain freeze that quickly."

Yami laughed. "Maybe you're immune."

With a shrug, Serena finished cleaning out her bowl. Smacking happily, she smiled at her friend. "You still hungry?"

"Well, um… yeah."

"No problem!" The blonde was up before Yami could blink, digging through her pantry. "Everyone always tells me I'm a bottomless pit. Darien asks me where I put it all."

"You burn it off in ten minutes, the way you run around like the Energizer Bunny."

Serena's face immediately lit up. "I love bunnies! I think they're the best animals in the world. They're so cute and fuzzy!" Yami laughed again. "What?"

Wiping tears from her eyes, the sandy-haired teenager looked up at the confused blonde. "You know, if I had the brain of a supercomputer, I don't think I could keep up with you."

At first, Serena did not know what to make of that comment. After a moment, she shrugged it off, turning back to the idea of food. "What kind of sandwich do you like?"

"Gee, uh, I don't know. I like pretty much everything. Uh, my favorite is probably peanut butter and banana."

"Gotcha! Hey, have you ever tried peanut butter and banana with honey?"

Yami shook her head. "No."

"Well, it's great. You have to try it." Serena quickly fixed up the sandwiches and scurried back to the table. She beamed at her new friend. "You'll love these!"

* * * * *

An hour and a half and a lot of food later, the two girls were upstairs in Serena's room. Luna was curled up at the foot of the bed, watching the pair. "So, what's up with you and Darien? Are you two going out?"

Serena blushed a bit, and her eyes became much more distant. Yami could have sworn she saw the cat smirk, but she forgot about it as Serena began to speak. The blonde sighed in a way that made it seem as if she'd been floating up in the clouds somewhere. "Yami, have you ever been in love?"

The other girl shook her head. "No. What's it like?" She noticed that Luna seemed to become much more attentive, watching Serena with what looked like a small smile, but it was probably just her imagination.

"It's like the feeling you have for your best friend, only a million times better. When I look into his eyes, it's like all the world just disappears, and there's nothing but us. When he's around, everything seems to be okay, no matter how bad my day has been or what's happened." She closed her eyes. "And when he kisses me… I feel like I'm flying. I can't tell whether my heart has stopped or if it's beating a billion times faster. Sometimes I think both… at the same time, even though I know that's impossible. Time disappears completely — I could stay inside his kiss for eternity, and it would feel the same as just one millisecond."

Yami sighed, a sense of longing evident in the sound. "I wonder what it's like to love… or to be loved. It must be absolutely wonderful. Like a dream… or a fairy tale."

Serena laughed. "Actually, the fairy tale would have been my last life."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. So, are you dating a guy?"

"No, I never… had a date in my life. For some reason, it doesn't seem like it was… ever an issue."

"Well, you're pretty enough for any guy. I bet I could get you a date before the week is out!"

Yami looked at Serena incredulously. "Serena, it's Thursday. You'd have two days. I don't think that's gonna happen. Besides, I'm not that good at m… meeting people… as you probably noticed."

"You seemed fine meeting me."

"You're different. You see a person, and you just start talking to them, a big smile on your face, so people just can't help befriending you. I never know what to say."

"Well, you're talking fine now. Apparently you do know what to say."

Yami sighed, shaking her head with a smile. "It's easier to talk once you've made a friend. Now stop asking me questions."

Serena cocked her head, a mischievous smirk on her face. "I never asked you any questions."

Yami opened her mouth to speak but realized that Serena hadn't been asking her questions for once. "Well, stop contradicting everything I say and making me defend myself."

The mischievous grin widened. "Why do you have to defend yourself to a friend?"

"Grr… Stop that!" Serena giggled. Yami sighed and shook her head. "Tell me more about Darien."

"What do you want me to tell you about?"

"I don't know. Just talk."

Serena paused, thinking about what to say to her friend. "Even before I met him, I used to dream about him. In my dream, I'm a princess, and he's a prince."

"The fairy tale," Yami whispered.

"Yeah. When I first met him, I didn't know he was the prince from my dream. But now I know he is — I love him. You know what? He told me that he used to dream about a princess, ever since he was a child, and he knew that the princess was meant to be his true love."

Yami laughed. "You never told me you're a princess. Your Majesty, Meatball Head!"

Serena rolled her eyes. "Darien came up with that stupid nickname. Now it's like a wildfire — it just keeps spreading!"

"I like it. It suits you. Besides, you wouldn't want to be normal, would you? Princesses shouldn't be like everyone else."

"Well, you know all girls dream about being a princess," Serena said, blushing. "I mean, didn't you?"

Yami paused for a moment, thinking back on her childhood dreams. "No… I never did."

"What did you dream about?"

Yami looked away from Serena, thus missing the concerned expression the action drew. "Whenever I went to sleep, I remember feeling as if I were fully conscious somewhere else. I didn't know where I was — it was dark. And I was cold. No matter how warm it was in my house, no matter how many quilts I slept under, I was always cold when I went to sleep. And I… remember pain in my head. There was always a constant throbbing, and then sometimes I would feel a sharp spike right behind my forehead… as if someone had jammed a knife through my skull." Looking up, she forced a small smile. "Not exactly princess dreams."

Luna tilted her head, as if she'd been listening the entire time. Yami gave her another strange look. "That's terrible," Serena whispered. "I mean… you dreamed that every night?"

Yami nodded her head. "Yeah." It was Serena's turn to receive the strange look. What did she care about what Yami had dreamed as a child?

Serena sighed sadly. "It must've been awful."

"It's not… that big a deal. They were just dreams."

"Did they feel like dreams when you were dreaming them?"

Yami swallowed. "No."

"See?" There was a brief pause. "When was the last time you dreamt that?"

The sandy-haired teen froze, thinking back to the previous night. "Last night I… I woke up to a pain in my head — like in my dreams. And I… I remember it was cold… it was so cold. I thought maybe I was having the nightmare, but it was real." She stopped, her mind twisting in confusion.

"It was just like your dream?" The question was barely loud enough to hear. Yami shook her head.

"No. There was no constant, dull pain inside of my head like before — just the one spike for a few seconds. And the setting was different. I knew I was lost, but I also knew it… wasn't the same place as in the nightmare. It's almost as if that place — wherever I am when I'm in the dream — is intangible… or maybe it doesn't exist. Like there is no way to get there from our world." She paused. "Why are you asking me these things?"

"I don't know…" Serena shrugged slowly, averting her eyes. "It just seems… sad."

"They're just dreams."

"Not last night."

There was a pause. "T… tell me about your friends," Yami said after a moment, changing the subject.

"Well, you met most of them today. There's Darien, of course. You already know about him." Serena giggled. "Then there's Andrew. He's the blond guy who works at the arcade. You know, I used to have a crush on him, and then I found out he has a girlfriend. That was before I knew I was in love with Darien. Mina, Amy, and Lita all go to my school. Amy is way smart. She has like ninety-eight percent in all her classes. She's just like Velma in Scooby Doo. Mina is kinda like me — neither of us do too well in school. Darien always used to make fun of my grades. But Mina is really great at playing matchmaker. Lita is probably the best cook I've ever met in my life. Her parents died in a plane crash, so she lives alone now. She used to be in a gang but got out of that kind of thing when she met me and the others. Raye — you didn't meet Raye — helps her grandfather run the Hikawa Shrine. They live there with this guy named Chad. He's totally in love with Raye. And of course there's Molly and Melvin — we've been friends since elementary school." Serena paused for a moment, her expression thoughtful, making sure she had not left anyone out. "That pretty much sums it all up. Oh!" Yami jumped at her sudden outburst. Serena grinned. "And then there's you. You lose your shoes and have to walk around barefoot and get ice cream headaches and don't talk a lot until you're comfortable with people. And you don't date much, though we're going to fix that before Sunday. Maybe I can get Mina to help me with that…."

Yami laughed. "Don't worry about that. I don't really need a date right now. It'd probably just be a distraction, you know?"

"No. A distraction from what?"

After pausing, Yami replied slowly, "I need… to figure out a few things in my life right now, that's all. Don't really need a love life to make me more confused. Do you understand?"

Serena cocked her head. "I suppose so. Dating is kind of like a roller coaster. I remember being thrown all over the place before I finally figured out I'm madly in love with Darien — and let me tell you, figuring that out was very confusing."

Yami laughed. "I'll bet."

Serena sighed dreamily. "But it was worth it."

"Not everyone is that lucky, though, you know. There are people out there who never find their true love."

"But you don't know until you try."

"I guess. But you have to have the mental constitution to try, am I right?"

"Yes, I suppose so. But you do."

"Maybe not. Either way, I don't see any direction to dating right now. I don't know — maybe direction is all I'm looking for."

"That's kind of what Lita was saying when she stopped getting involved in street fights and stuff. Said she wasn't going to get anywhere hanging out in gangs all the time."

"I suppose that's a good point. But it doesn't always take bad choices to prevent you from getting anywhere. It just takes not knowing which way to go or even which way is up."

Serena sighed. "Yeah, I feel like that sometimes. I have no idea if my life has any direction."

"No way, Serena! You know exactly where you're going! You… you understand the beauty of life, a thing I can't even see most of the time. You know how to relate to people. You've got good friends you can always depend on, and you know they'll always point you the right way if you get lost for a second. You know who you are."

There was something heavy behind Serena's eyes, as if she carried a burden that Yami could not see. "What if sometimes I'm afraid of who I am?"

"Fear can be overcome. Whoever you are and will be, it is something great. You don't have any reason to fear, but I know that fear and reason have absolutely nothing to do with each other. You don't have to be devoid of fear, Serena. Just trust in yourself. Have faith; have courage. When destiny comes to face you down, you will stand up to it, and you will break through to the other side. Because I know you will pull through. I've never met anyone in my life who… who I knew would win against life and death. But you will."

Serena stared at her new friend. For a long time, neither said anything. Finally, the blonde whispered, "How do you know that?"

"I don't know how…. I just know."

"Well, that's not vague at all." Both girls erupted into a fit of laughter. Out of the corner of her eye, Yami thought she saw Luna roll her eyes. She did not know why she had such a funny feeling about that cat.

"How did you find Luna?" Yami asked curiously, though she was sure the reply would not put an end to her wonders or answer any questions.

"I rescued her when some mean kids were picking on her."

"And you took her in?"

"Well, actually, I ran off to school, 'cause I was late, as usual. But then she came back and found me."

Yami eyed Luna carefully. "Smart cat," she said simply.

Serena grinned and stroked the cat's silky black fur. "Yes, very smart cat." Yami thought she heard something secretive behind Serena's tone, but she did not push the matter any further. After all, Luna was just a cat, no matter if there was something… peculiar about her.

"I guess we oughta go to sleep now," Serena said, looking at her clock. "I have school tomorrow. Where do you go to school?"

The question caught Yami off guard, though she knew it really should not have. The truth was she somehow could not think of where she went to school. All the flaws she had found in her memory in the past twenty-four hours were really starting to bother her. "I… I don't," she stuttered, though she knew that answer could not be right. She had to go to school, even if she could not remember going, not once in her lifetime. How could she have not gone to school? It was all very, very strange.

Serena cocked her head. "Does your mom home-school you or something?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Oh, then I guess you don't have to worry about getting up in the morning, do you?"

"I guess not." I'd rather get up early if it would help me figure out what the hell is going on.

"Well, time to get some sleep, anyway. You're probably tired, aren't you? Walking around all day… couldn't even get into your house!"

"Yup." Luna cocked her head, seeming to scrutinize Yami. The teen tried to ignore her, but it was becoming harder to shake the funny feeling that cat gave her.

"Come on. The bed's plenty big enough for both of us." Brushing off all thoughts of Serena's weird cat and her own screwed up life, Yami climbed into the comfortable bed next to her new friend. The girl had been right — she was exhausted, though she thought it was more from the mental stress and dread than any physical exertions. Falling quickly into a deep slumber, she found no dreams, for the one time she could remember in all her life, behind the wall of unconsciousness.

When she was absolutely positive that Yami was asleep, Luna padded over to Serena and sat down on the girl's pillow. "Serena? Serena, I know you're not asleep yet."

With a yawn, the girl looked irritably up at her cat. "What is it, Luna?"

"How exactly did you meet your new friend?" the cat asked, her tail swishing back and forth a bit tensely behind her. Her face showed worry of some sort, but Serena could not think what for.

"I ran into her on the sidewalk. That's not so strange for me."

"And you thought you'd invite a complete stranger to stay in your home? Serena, I thought I'd taught you better than this."

"Yami's not a complete stranger. She's my friend. Besides, her parents went out of town and forgot to give her a key. What was I supposed to do? Let her stay out on the street for however long they're gone? Just stay out there and starve or freeze?"

Luna sighed. She apparently understood Serena's point of view, but that did not erase her concern. "There's something strange about your friend, Serena. I can't quite put my paw on it, but I know something is out of place here."

Serena yawned, obviously not overly concerned. "Like what?"

"What do you mean 'like what?' For example, what kind of parents would go off on a trip and not leave their teenage daughter a key to the house?"

"The forgetful kind?"

"No, Serena. Parents don't forget things like that. You'll understand one day when you are one. And that's not all. Have you noticed how much the girl stutters when she speaks? Particularly when you ask her questions about herself?"

"She's just a little unsure, that's all. She told me she's never had any friends. She's probably not used to talking to people."

Luna sighed again. "Serena, you know I love what a caring person you are, but you can be far too trusting at times. There is more to your friend Yami than meets the eye. Just what that 'more' is, I'm not sure."

Serena yawned again. "Well, when you figure it out, let me know. Goodnight, Luna."

With a shake of her head, Luna dropped the matter. It was obvious that Serena was not listening to her, and she would get nowhere if she did not find something more solid to base her suspicions on. That would have to wait until tomorrow, she decided with one last sigh before curling up to go to sleep. "Goodnight, Serena," she whispered just before drifting off into her own dreamworld.