Chapter 1: So It Begins, The First Day In A New School

The moment she walked into the train station, it seemed like she became the center of attention. Maybe she should have chosen another hair style, but regardless, things might have ended up being the same. Almost everyone seemed to be starring at her, some in amazement like she was so type of rare creature. There were even a few, no, a lot of girls and boys wearing the same uniform as her, glancing over and whispering things.

She couldn't quite catch what was being said, most of it being in Japanese, so she didn't know weather she should be offended or not.

From what she was told, most people in Mitakihara city could speak English to some degree. Even knowing that, Jessica still made it her mission to try learning Japanese as best she could; she didn't want to have to depend on some translator to talk for her. But it was going rather slowly, and all she really knew at the moment was the basic 'hello', 'goodbye', 'I'm sorry', and her favorite 'I don't speak good Japanese', among others.

Still, all the starring was starting to get to her.

Am I really that interesting? They don't need to stare at me so much, Jeez! Jessica thought. She did her best to keep her eyes on the ground, but couldn't help glancing up every so often. All the attention was as annoying as it was agitating.

It can't be helped, you know. Rubey thought to her, from her shoulder. You're something new, out of the ordinary, you could say. I was expecting the outcome to be much worse, of course.

Jessica glanced over at the magical, alien cat. Really ...how so?

They could be swarming you, asking tons of questions. Rubey stated.

The dark skinned girl sighed, knowing that the contractor was probably right. I guess ...but, all the same, this is still annoying!

Never said it wouldn't be, I simply stated a different situation. Rubey thought. You'll live, I can assure you. A little attention never hurt anyone.

Jessica frowned. Sometimes, I really hate you, Ruby.

I doubt that, you could never outright hate me. Rubey thought, his ever present grin seeming to widen ever so slightly. I'm too fluffy to hate.

Oh, haha. You'd like to think that, wouldn't you. Jessica replied back, feeling slightly amused by the statement.

Even not having any 'real' emotions, she found that Rubey could be quite comical in his retorts when he wanted to. There were a lot of things that she still didn't know about Rubey, like where he came from or how he ended up granting wishes for girls like her. And some things he simply refused to talk about. But, everyone had their secrets, so she never tried to force him to talk about anything he didn't want to.

If he brought something up suddenly that she didn't know before, it was usually because it was of some type of importance to her well being.

"Attention passengers: the next train for Mitakihara Middle School, Downtown, and Sagura Mall Plaza will be approaching momentary, please stand behind the yellow line." A calm woman's voice chimed over the intercom.

There was the blaring of a horn, and the train sped to a stop at the platform a few seconds later. Jessica followed the crowd as the train doors slid open, and got into the third car from the last. It was full, but thankfully it wasn't too packed to the point where people would be bumping up against her; unfortunately, all the seats were taken, so she had to stand and hold on to the rail.

There was a loud bing and the train doors slid closed once again, before it pulled off and sped away from the platform toward the next stop. Jessica could see most of Mitakihara from the window in front of her. The city was close to the ocean, and because she was facing the right direction, she could see how far the city spanned before ocean came into view.

Well, if anything, at least this city has a nice view. Rubey thought to her. Seeing building after building gets boring after a while. Not that your old town had that bad of a view, of course.

Yeah, the view is nice. That doesn't mean I don't miss my old city, though. Jessica replied.

Rubey gave a nod. Understandable. Homesickness is common during a sudden move, especially one as big as moving to another country. The alien cat thought to her. But, I have no doubt in my mind that you'll adopt to your new environment successfully.

Yeah. I just need to get used to it, that's all. She thought in agreement.

"Hey, dude, look at that chick over there." A voice spoke suddenly from her left, she glanced over and saw two boys, one with light brown hair, and the other with raven black hair. They were probably a grade lower then her, huddled up next to each other, looking over in her direction as they talked, not even trying to be least bit quiet about it.

"...Damn, she is huge. I don't even think my dad's that tall." The black haired boy replied in awe.

The brown haired boy, snickered. "That's just because your dad is short as hell," he teased. "I bet your mom could step on him."

"Shut up, my dad's not that short," the black haired boy frowned, playfully smacking the other on the arm. "Um, isn't that our school uniform she's wearing, though?"

"Oh, you're right!"

"It would be our school that gets the freakishly tall chick. First the otaku, and now this."

As the two continued chatting, Jessica felt her eye twitch on it's own, a sign that she was getting severally annoyed. It was one thing to have people talk and laugh at you when you're not around, but if it was one thing she couldn't stand, it was when someone talked crap about her without even trying to hid it.

I swear to God, if they keep talking, I'll kick both their ass! She thought, her lips pressed in a thin line.

You could do that, but I wouldn't recommend it. Rubey said. He hopped off her shoulder and began walking along the skinny pole she held with an unnatural amount of balance. I suggest you kindly ask them to stop. Good first impression, remember.

Right ...right. I'd hate to come off as violent. Jessica took a breath, and turned towards the two Mitakihara students, trying her best to put on a somewhat kind smile. Even though she felt like the complete opposite. "Um ...excuse me." They didn't seem to hear her over the sound of the train, so she talked a bit louder. "Excuse me, you two!" That got their attention pretty fast(and shut them up, thankfully), along with a few others in the train car. "Mind not talking about me like I'm not here, it's rude."

They glanced at each other, and after a moment, the black haired boy spoke. "Uh ...yeah, sorry about that," he apologized.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just that we've never met a girl as tall as you before, so," the brown haired boy added, with a nervous smile. " ...Yeah, sorry."

"It's no big deal. I just wanted you both to stop, that's all." She replied. The two gave a nod and turned their backs to her, and she went back to looking out the window. I guess that wasn't so bad. At least they listened.

"We are now approaching Sakuza station, for Mitakihara Middle School, and Raising Sun Park. Please stand away from the doors." An automated woman's voice spoke, as the train pulled to a stop at the next station. Rubey leaped back onto Jessica's shoulder and she, along with all the other students, got out of the car once the doors slid open. As they walked, the same two boys were a few feet in front of Jessica again amongst the crowd, only this time they didn't notice her.

"That was freaky, man."

"I know, right, I thought she was gonna step on us, for reals."

"She probably could have," the brown haired boy uttered. "Tsuri-san was really scary back there."

"Tsuri-san …?"

"Yeah, cause, ya know, that's what she reminds me of. I mean, the skin and hair color."

"...Oh my God, you're right, she does look like that!"

What the hell's a tsuri? Jessica thought, eyebrows raised. She really had to catch up on her Japanese, she hated not knowing. Ruby, what's a tsuri?

Rubey turned his head to her. If I told you, it would only make you angry.

"Just tell me, please," Jessica muttered.

Rubey tiredly shook his head at her. If you really want to know, then fine. He said, sighing. A tsuri can be many things, but with the way they used it, it could be a growth.

A growth?

Or, He continued. it can also be a tree.

"A tree ...really," Jessica frowned, her free hand that wasn't holding her bag balling up into a fist at her side. "I just got here, and they're already calling me a freakin' tree." The tall teen couldn't help but think back to all the times she had been teased in her old school. Out of all the names she had ever been called, there were two that annoyed her the most: Tree Girl and Oak Tree. Those two names reminded her of constant poking and teasing she had gone through in her younger years.

Maybe, you should take a breath. Count to ten. Rubey said. I'll count with you if you want.

"N-no, I'm good. I won't do anything rash-."

The black haired boy laughed out. "-A tall-ass tree, that's freakin' hilarious~!"

The other boy joined in the laughter with him. "If she had pink hair, we could call her 'Sakura'!"

Jessica's eye twitch. That's it, I'm soo gonna kick there ass! She thought. Rubey shook his head at her again in disapproval, as the teen marched up to the two boys. He knew that this was going to happen, and trying to stop her at this point was useless.

I warned you, Jessica.

"Shut it, Ruby," Jessica uttered. She walked up just behind the two boys, who were still in the middle of laughing, and placed her hand on the black haired student's shoulder. "So, what's so funny, you two?"

The two turned to her with a surprised yelp, but the black haired boy was the first one to say anything. "Uh ...n-nothing."

"Really, so I don't look like a tree?" Jessica said with a deep frown, causing them both to pale.

"Awe, crap."

"Dude, that was all you!"

"Me, you're the one who called her a tree in the first place!"

"But, you still laughed about it-."

"Five seconds," she uttered. The two looked at her confused, as she continued. "You've got five seconds to run, or I'll kick both your asses from here to the school."

"Look, we're really sorry-."

"One."

"We didn't mean anything by it. Really."

"Two ...three ...four."

The black haired boy was the first one to take off running, his friend following not even a moment later. Seeing how fast they were, Jessica had a feeling they were both on the track team. Either that, or they were just that scared. "Yeah, you both had better run!" She shouted, waving her fist, watching them get smaller and smaller in the distance. "...Assholes." It was at that moment, that she noticed some of the other students had stopped walking to watch the whole thing play out. She flushed a little, and continued on walking. "So much for a good first impression. They must think I'm some type of bully or something."

Or, they could just think it's your time of the month. Rubey thought. You're easily angered then, too.

"Shut it, Ruby. I was talking to myself, not you."

XxxxX

The rest of the walk lead her pass a small river that flowed from the direction of the school, the water was surprisingly clear, compared to the rivers she was used to seeing. Many of the students had already gone ahead of her, and the ones still around didn't come to close to her.

Probably afraid I'll lash out at them. She thought, sighing. She still had about ten minutes before the bell rang, thus signaling that she was late; Jessica was close enough to make it to the school building within that time, so there was really no need to rush. "So, Ruby," Jessica began, quiet enough so that only Rubey could hear her. "How have the girls been back in good ol' brotherly love city?" She asked, as she walked by a few students, who moved slightly away from her. Rubey was relaxing on her shoulder, seemingly enjoying the sunlight like any normal cat would, if he had been anything normal, anyway.

The abnormal black and blue cat scratched behind his ear with one of his hind-leg, letting out a cute 'kyu' sound before answering. "Same as always. Hunting witches, going to school, fighting against rival magical girl groups, the usual stuff." Rubey said. "They miss you a lot, or at least Aliyah does. She the only one who's actually outright said it. But I'm pretty sure the rest of them do, too."

"So their doing fine. That's good," Jessica said, with a sighing. "To tell the truth I thought they would be mad at me for just moving away out of nowhere. I mean, we were a squid, and I can't even be there to help them keep the witch population down, not to mention all the other magical girls who constantly want to take over."

"It can't be helped." Rubey said, tilting his head to her. "Philadelphia's a hot spot for witches, and with all the murders and violence happening there on a daily basis, that hatred and grief builds up. It's no wonder witches appear there so much. But, that is what makes it a great hunting grounds for other magical girls."

"Yeah, I know that. You said it before, magical girls show up where ever the witches are," Jessica said, looking down at her soul gem bracelet. "Witches can be so annoying."

"And, as you know, your home city is one of the top ten witch infested places in the States," Rubey replied, sounding a bit too happy.

"You make it seem like I should be proud of that," the green haired teen, muttered.

"That's because you should be," the blue cat said. "The more witches there are, the higher the chance is that you'll find a grief seed."

"But me and the girls had a hard enough time keeping up with the witches that kept popping up, and that was with the five of us. Now that I'm here things are only going to get even harder for the others."

"They were doing just fine last I checked," Rubey said. "Besides, there are other girls who have the qualifications to become magical girls; one such girl should be making a contract with me any day, now. So no need to worry, the group will have a new member very soon." He paused for a moment. "If they accept her into their ranks, anyway."

Jessica nodded. In a way, Rubey made it sound like she was being replaced. But, she was pretty sure that was just her homesickness talking; she missed all her friends dearly, and not being able to be there and help them fight witches made her worried. "This other girl, how strong do you think she'll be if she makes a contract?" The dark skinned teen asked.

Rubey put a paw to his chin in thought. "Well, it's hard to say. She has the potential to be at least average just starting out, even more so with training. But it really depends on the wish she makes that will make her soul gem shine." He answered, tilting his head back to her. "Is there anything else you'd like to know, Jessica?"

Jessica shook her head. "No, that's all I really wanted to know."

"Great, I should get going, then."

The magical cat turn and leaped off her shoulder, before she even had a chance register it. "W-wait," the teenager spun around, but by that time, Rubey was already gone. Just vanished into thin air. She groaned. "...Ruby."

Don't worry, I'll be back soon. I still have other charges to keep up on, after all. Rubey thought to her before going completely silent.

Jessica couldn't help but sigh, she had been hoping that Rubey would spend the day with her. Looks like I'm on my own, for now. She thought as she began to walking again. There was sound of laughter, then someone bumped into her, almost making her drop her bag. She turned around to see who it was, and found herself starring down at a salmon haired girl.

"Oh ...I-I'm sorry," the girl politely said, bowing to her.

Jessica waved her free hand in a dismissive manner. "It was an accident. No harm done, so don't worry about it." She said, with a smile. The girl nodded and was about to say something else, when someone called out from ahead of them.

"Madoka, come on, before we end up being late, again!"

"Coming! ...Um, excuse me," the girl ran past Jessica. Turning, she gave one last bow, before she ran off toward two other girls; one with curly, brownish green looking hair, and the one next to her with short blue hair.

"Pink hair, huh. You don't see many of those in America." Jessica uttered to herself, tossing her bag over her shoulder as she moved on. At least one person she met didn't seem scared or intimidated by her appearance. Hopefully she'd meet more people like that, even if it was just a few.

XxxxX

She had expected the school to be big, but she never expect this. You have got to be kidding me. Jessica shaded her eyes with the back of her hand, as she starred up at the stature in front of her. It was all glass. Almost the entire school was made out of glass. She had to admit that, yes, it was a pretty sight. But along with thinking that, the young, destructive five-year-old inside wondered if the whole thing would come crashing down if she through a nice sized rock at it.

Not that she wanted to hurt anyone, of course, that was the last thing she wanted.

"Seriously, is this even safe?" Sighing, Jessica shook her head and made her way through the front doors; who's ever bright idea it was to build a place made to teach children out of almost seventy percent glass, had better have a check ready, because it was a law suit waiting to happen. Really, Mom, out of all the places to send me.

When Jessica got inside the building. There was a large lobby area, and in it were rows of cubby-holes for holding shoes. Her mom had told her about this, that schools in Japan required you to change your 'outdoor shoes' with the indoor shoes' they supplied for you, or expected you to buy.

The dark skinned teen walked through the different rows of cubbies, looking up and down each one, until she found the one with her name written above it. She took out the pair of shoes sitting in them and looked them over; they were a pair of brown, slip in shoes with a rubber grip at the bottom. It was kind of strange to her to have to change shoes in school, rather then just walking in with whatever ones you had on, but this was a different country with a different culture, so she didn't mind it.

And in a way, it made scene. If someone were to step in mud or something, at least they'd have a change of shoes instead of tracking it through the building.

The school had assigned her these shoes after all, since she didn't have a pair to bring. Of course, this also raised the question as to how the school even knew her school size to begin with. Mom must have told them at some point, when she was enrolling me. She thought, as she bent down and switched out of her blue sneakers into her brown 'indoor' shoes. Not that it really matters. Free shoes are free shoes.

Once she was finished, and her sneakers were put away in her assigned cubby, the first thing she did was head to the main office. At that moment, the school bell chime played loudly, signaling the start of class.

The principle was a rather nice woman, and had a very experienced air about her, even though she looked younger then Jessica expected she'd be. Nice, smart, and well spoken in both Japanese and English. Jessica could barely tell she had an accent. The woman gave her her class schedule, and a few other papers for her mother, then sent her on her way to homeroom.

Walking through the halls was uncomfortable, to say the least. Jessica thought that just the outside of the school had been made out of whatever glass they used, but she had been wrong, the inside was made out of glass too. Someone really went overboard when they designed this place.

The eyes of all the students in the other classrooms followed her as she passed. The walls that separated them being made of glass, as well. Who's smart idea was this? The outside being made from glass, I can handle, but this ...come on! Jessica sighed, and looked at the paper in her hand. Her classroom was class 1-3, on the forth floor. She made her way up the flight or stairs to the next floor, and kept her eyes on the different class numbers as she passed, until she spotted the one she was suppose to be in.

There was no time to take a breath, or even calm her heart. Meeting new people had always made Jessica kinda nervous, and she did her best not to show it by putting on the best smile she could manage. Just get it over with, you'll be fine. She told herself.

The teenager walked in through the open classroom door, her classmates had already seen her standing outside the doorway thanks to the see through walls, so there was really no use in being out in the hallway.

"Ah~ hello there," the man at the front of the class greeted her with a smile. "You must be the new student, right? I was just about to tell the class."

"Um ...hi ...sorry if I'm late, I had to stop by the office before coming here."

"That's just fine. If you have a valid excuse, then the lateness won't be held against you." He replied. "I'm Tashima Hiroki, but you can call me Tashima-sensei, or just teacher. Whichever is easier for you." Jessica shyly nodded.

Her homeroom teacher looked young, probably in his early twenties, with dark gray hair and eyes of a similar shade. He wore glasses, and had on a white lab coat over his button-up white shirt and black work pants.

The young man turned to the class, an excited and pumped expression on his face. "Anyway, as I was saying, today we're getting a new student~! So be sure to make her feel welcome, okay?"

"Hai, sensei!"

He then turned back her. "You can go on and introduce yourself, if you want. It doesn't have to be a lot, just your name is fine," the teacher said. "You don't have to share your life story. Though, it would be the first time a student has come pretty close to that."

"Uh ...O-okay." Jessica raised an eyebrow at him, before turning to her classmates, and they starred right back at her. It had been some time since she had felt so shy around other people, and she hated being in the spot light when she wasn't prepared. "Uh ...my name is Jessica Evans, or Evans Jessica. Last name's come first here ...anyway, I'm fifteen-years-old, and I moved here from America. I don't know much Japanese. Actually, I barely know any at all, so I hope you all help me with learning the customs and things here ...and, um, that's about it, I guess."

No one in the class said anything, not even an applause; not that she was expecting one.

Had they even understood her at all? She was pretty sure they knew English well enough, if those two younger boys from earlier was anything to go off of.

"Evans, your spot is the third desk in the middle, please take your seat so that we can continue." The teacher said.

Jessica gave a nod and walked to her seat. She put her bag on the back of the chair like she had seen some of the other students doing, then sat down. She moved around a bit to get comfortable, only to find that her knees were pressed up against the bottom of the desk. Oh, you have got to be kidding!

Tashima-sensei had already began talking, and the last thing she wanted to do was interrupt the class when she just sat down, but there was no way she would be able to focus if her legs were scrunched up like this. So, giving a silent, annoyed groan, she raised her hand.

"Yes, do you need something, Evans?" The teacher addressed her.

"Um ...I really don't mean to interrupt your class, sir, but-." God, this is embarrassing! Jessica couldn't help but be thankful that her brown skin tone helped hide most of her blush. "The desk is sorta small for my legs. Is there some way I can get a bigger seat?"

Hiroki-sensei smiled. "I don't think you'll be needing a new one," he said, with a chuckle. "The good thing about these desks is that they are adjustable. On the bottom left side of the desk should be a button, just press that and you should be okay."

Jessica did just as he said, and the desk elevated little by little until she had all the leg room she wanted. She looked back up at the teacher and smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem, it's what I'm here for." He turned his attention from just her to the entire class. "As I was saying, this year we're trying out something new, so you may notice that the time for your gym classes have changed a bit. And also-."

As the teacher continued on with the morning announcement, Jessica sighed. It was a good thing that she didn't have to change seats, and the was very nice, much nicer then the teacher she had at her old school.

Things might not be so bad. Maybe I might even like it here. Jessica thought, leaning her chin in her hand.

That ends the first chapter. I wrote way more then I expected to, buy whatever, who doesn't love longer chapters. Anyway, I try and update every week, and the story may have about twelve or thirteen chapters. I reason being, I'm basing it off the number of episodes in the anime, and in the mangas. As always, please point out any mistakes, and show that comment box some love~!

Peace~!