Disclaimer: I do not own characters of Fushigi Yuugi. It belongs to Watase Yuu.

A/N: Hi Songwind & Yui. Thank you so much for your reviews. It gives me the determination to see this story through instead of abandoning it. =)

The Real World

Tamahome looked at the sunset with his sister, Nuriko, and sighed. Nuriko looked at her brother & asked, "Hey are you ok? What's wrong?"

Tamahome looked at the fiery setting sun & said, without looking at her, "Everything here is wrong. Don't you think so? We are freaks isn't it? If not, our parents wouldn't have abandoned us at here!"

Nuriko winced at the emphasis Tamahome had placed on the word here. Here was a huge laboratory with lots of people like them – freaks. 'No!' thought Nuriko, 'I refuse to think of myself as a freak. I'm not.' But still, she couldn't help thinking, 'if I am not… why did mum abandon me? We were so happy as a family. Why? Why did they give us up without much persuasion when people at the laboratory came for us?'

"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You are not a freak. I am just being a jerk here," said Tamahome apologetically. He knew that his sister was very sensitive to the word freaks because that was her ex-classmates' nickname for her.

They couldn't see beyond her supernatural strength. They couldn't see her saving them when the fire exit door wouldn't budge & there was a huge fire. She was the one who smashed that heavy door & saved the day. All they saw was her supernatural strength. No one wanted to be near her. No one would even touch her. She never had a boyfriend.

Nuriko acknowledged her brother's apology with a nod of her head. "It's ok. You didn't mean it anyway. I'm all right. Don't worry." However, deep in her heart, Nuriko was crying. She thought back of the time when she first tried to make friends & was called a freak.

Seven-year-old Nuriko looked around her new school curiously. She had always been a curious child & with her violet eyes & hair, she attracts people to her like moths attracted to light.

"Hey you there! Are you new here?" asked a small boy who looked about her age.

Nuriko smiled & said, "Hi! I'm Nuriko. Yup! I'm new here. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"I'm Chin. You want to play? We need one more person in our arm wrestling competition."

Nuriko smiled and nodded. "Mummy! I'm going to play," shouted Nuriko quickly before joining her new found friend. "Be careful honey!" called Nuriko's mother distractedly before turning her attention back to little Nuriko's new teacher, Miss Tan. She was explaining to the old woman about her daughter's supernatural strength.

In the mean time, little Nuriko had no idea what arm wrestling was. She watched with interest as the boys arm wrestled each other & the girls' turn were coming. She was bursting with excitement when it was finally her turn. She has already grasped the rules of the games by observation & was all set to win. Well, all kids wanted to win & she was no exception.

Finally she was seated in front of a little girl who looked slightly bigger. "You ready little girl?" said Nuriko's rival, "I bet I can crush you under a minute. Don't cry when that happens!" She threw back her head & laughed whereas Nuriko just smiled.

"Come on! Let's get started!" shouted the rest of the children.

The two young girls faced each other with hostility & held each other's palms.

"One! Two! Three! Start!"

A huge thump & a crash echoed throughout the whole school. A shriek soon followed through. The little girl who was Nuriko's rival wailed loudly while holding on to her wrist.

"Mummy!" cried the little girl.

Miss Tan ran to the sound of the shriek & Nuriko's mother closed her eyes & massaged her head. She had already guessed what had happened.

"What's wrong Lyds?" asked Miss Tan anxiously, "Oh my god! What had happened to your hand? It's all bruised & why is the table smashed?"

All kids gathered around their teacher in fright. Finally little Chin pointed his finger towards Nuriko & said, "She… she… she smashed Lyds' hand on the table & smashed the table…. She… she…. She's a freak!" With that, Chin burst into tears followed by the other small children. All their eyes looked at Nuriko with fear & accusation.

That was the start of the name calling.

A/N: I'm sorry. Another sad chapter. I can't wait for them to meet & get some action out of the way. *sigh I'm getting impatient. I must be patient… =) Anyway, what do you think of this fic? Do let me know! Please review! Arigatou! =)