Chapter 1

Chapter 1

[Author's Disclaimer: I own nothing. No, really, I'm a college freshman. I own NOTHING!]

Present Day, Azabu Juuban

It was a nice, warm afternoon in Azabu Juuban. The sun was shining, birds were singing, homework was practically non-existent, and a train was coming into the station. And so, a high school girl decided to take the afternoon off and meet her boyfriend at the station. And her friends came along, too.

On that same train was a young man who was anticipating a family reunion of sorts. By some coincidence, he was talking with the previously mentioned boyfriend. Yes, the universe was running along its nicely chaotic schedule. And then, all hell broke loose. But we're getting ahead of ourselves now.....

Earlier that afternoon

"C'mon, you guys!" Tsukino Usagi called out behind her. "Mamo-chan's train is going to be here any minute, and I don't wanna be late!!"

"You know," Aino Minako commented to the two other girls, "you'd think that she might have matured in the past three years."

"Oh, please!" Kino Makoto shot back. "If she matured, she just wouldn't be our Usagi! Right, Ami? ......Ami?"

"I don't know about this....there's so much I could be doing...." Mizuno Ami trailed off as her two friends stopped and looked at her.

"You're right, you know." Minako sighed. Then, she grinned. "And what you're doing happens to be coming with us to the station!"

"But...I.."

"Guys!!!" The trio turned to see an impatient Usagi standing there. "I don't want to be laaaate!!!"

"We're coming!!" Makoto assured her before the blond, ponytailed girl could begin one of her famous wails/crying fits.

"Does anyone know where Rei is, by the way?" Ami asked, looking around as the four friends continued on their way to the train station. No one answered the question, though, as their destination came in view.

On board a certain train headed for Azabu Juuban

"Excuse me." Chiba Mamoru looked up. Standing there before him was a young man with black hair and pale, ice-blue eyes. He looked to be about Usagi's age, actually, though he was probably about Makoto's height. Then, Mamoru shook himself out of his introspective haze and looked up at the young man.

"Yes?" The young man smiled politely at him, readjusting the duffel bag held in one arm.

"I'm sorry. I was just wondering if that seat is taken," he gestured at the empty bench across from Mamoru. "There aren't many other empty spots where I could fit myself and my bags...."

"Oh, no, it's not taken." Mamoru grinned. "Feel free to sit there, if you'd like."

"Thanks." Gratefully, the young man collapsed on the seat, dropping his bag next to him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even bother introducing myself. I'm Hino Mikado." He smiled and held out his hand.

"Chiba Mamoru." Mamoru shook his hand before the name fully registered within his mind. "Wait a minute. HINO Mikado? As in Hino Rei?!!"

"Er....yeah...." Mikado looked at his fellow traveler oddly. "What's the problem with it? Look, Chiba-san, I make no guarantees as to the desirabilities of my dear cousin's prophecies, but they usually are pretty accurate. I can vouch for her on that one."

"No, that's not it at all. I actually know Rei, that's all." The young man's eyes narrowed suddenly. "Wait a minute....Chiba Mamoru? Name sounds vaguely familiar....hey! You're the guy that dumped Rei for one of her friends, aren't you?"

"Er..." Mamoru sweatdropped. *Why is it that EVERYONE seems to know that story?!* He wondered for a second. "Well, yes..."

"Hey, lucky thing, eh?" Mikado grinned. "I mean, I know my cousin, and if she ever finds a guy that can live through her ranting, it'd be a genuine miracle!"

"Wait a minute. You're not angry with me?"

"Nah." Mikado replied easily. "The way I see it, Rei would have taken it out of your hide enough so that anything I did would be too little, too late. Frankly, I'm amazed you're still breathing."

Wisely, Mamoru chose to not tempt fate at this time, and refrained from responding to the comment. "Er....so you're Rei's cousin? How come I've never--we've never heard of you?"

"We?" Mikado raised one eyebrow.

"Rei's friends. Usagi, Ami, Minako, Makoto, and me."

"Ah. Well, I haven't been back here in, oh, it must be around ten years, now. My parents moved away when I was six or so. They died last year." Mikado paused for a second, then kept going with his story. "I finished the semester there, and then decided that it was time I saw my family again. I mean, we wrote, and stuff, but I haven't SEEN Rei or Grandpa in a decade." He turned and stared out of the window for a moment. Mamoru, fully aware of what it felt like to be parentless, kept his mouth shut. Then, Mikado turned back. "But, anyway. What are you doing here?" And the two of them began talking once again.

Train Station.

"Rei?!" Usagi called out. The raven-haired priestess turned around at the call, and stared in shock at her friends.

"Guys? What are you doing here?" Rei gave them all a vaguely annoyed look, as if to say *I don't know why you're here, but don't mess up my business!*

"Mamo-chan's coming in on the train from Nekomi Tech!" Usagi bubbled happily. "But why are you here?"

"My cousin, Mikado, is coming in on that train, too." Rei replied.

"Wait a minute?" Minako interrupted. "Cousin? How come we never heard about him before? Is he cute?"

"I haven't seen him in ten years, OK? But last week, he called us out of the blue. My aunt & uncle died in a car accident a few months ago, apparently, and he wanted to know if he could stay at the shrine for a while. And I don't know if he's cute or not, I haven't seen him in a decade."

"Your aunt and uncle..." Usagi trailed off. "I'm sorry, Rei..."

"It's OK, Usagi. I didn't know them that well, really."

"So, what's your cousin like?" Makoto asked, her usual romantic tendencies overridden by her sympathy and curiousity.

"I don't know!" Rei exasperatedly replied. "I only remember a few things about him. He's our age, he used to have a good sense of humor, and he could do fire readings, like me. Not as well, but he could still see things in the sacred fire sometimes. Beyond that, he's as much of a mystery to me as he is to you."

"Wait a moment." Ami stopped for a second. "He's our age, but he's coming in on the train from Nekomi Technical?" Rei looked thoughtful for a minute.

"I don't know, actually. Probably, though, he's coming in from farther out and his train just passed through the Nekomi station."

"That would make sense." Minako said to no one in particular. The conversations stopped a moment later, though, as the awaited train finally pulled into the station.

To Be Continued....