Domon and I were racing home. "Ha! I win!" I called as I tagged his mailbox.

"Not fair!" Domon told me. "You got off the bus first."

"Well 'cause I'm a girl I should get a head start," I told him smugly. "Plus you could have beaten me since you have longer legs."

"I let you win any way," Domon said.

"Yhea right," I snorted.

"It ain't polite for ladies to snort," Domon told me trying to act sophisticated.

"Well first of all ain't isn't a word and heck I'm ten years old," I said. "I've got plenty of time to learn how to be a lady."

"Kids are either of your parents around?" some funny looking guy with a braid in his hair asked us.

"Are guys allowed to braid their hair?" I whispered to Domon. "I've never seen a guy with a braid in his hair before."

"I don't know," Domon whispered back to me. "Can guys wear purple though? Daddy doesn't ever wear purple."

"My daddy's at work," I told the funny looking man.

"So is mine," Domon said. "My mama is inside though."

"Well let me talk to your mother," the man told Domon.

For some reason I didn't funny looking man. He didn't look very happy. Something about him made me uneasy. Later I learned why I didn't like him much. He was there to take my best friend away. He wanted to take Domon to Earth and train him to become a Gundam fighter. I hated him because of it. I didn't want to loose Domon. I had never had a lot of friends. I was bright and funny but I never took the time to get close to a lot of people.

Domon and I sat on the swings the next day at recess and talked about what was happening. He told me all about the funny looking man whose name was Master Asia. He told me that Master Asia was a martial arts master. He wanted to teach Domon everything he knew. In order to do this though he had to go to Earth. He wasn't going to be with me anymore.

"You promised!" I yelled as I jumped off my swing. "You promised that you would always be here for me!"

"Rain I still will be!" Domon yelled back.

"No you won't!" I told him. "You'll go off to Earth and forget all about me, but I'll never forget about you. Then when you come back we'll be complete strangers!"

"I could never forget all about you Rain," Domon assured me. "You are my best friend. You always have been and always will be."

I looked back at him for a moment then ran away as fast as I could. I went over to my friend Mary Beth where she was playing on the slide. She could tell that something was wrong, but I hardly ever told anyone what was wrong. Domon's leaving only made that worse. I didn't want to be hurt again. I was losing my best friend and there was nothing I could do.

All to soon the day Domon was to leave came. I stood there next to him at the shuttle station looking down at my hands trying not to cry. Domon gave his father, mother, and brother a hug and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek then turned to me. He raised my chin with his hand so that I was looking into his eyes. The tears that I had withheld all day started flowing freely down my cheeks. Domon wiped several of them away with his thumb. I threw myself into his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I'll miss you Rain," Domon told me gently. "Don't worry. I'll come back again someday and then we'll be together forever."

"Do you promise?" I asked looking up into his eyes.

"Of course I do," Domon assured me. "Now let me go Rain."

I only hugged him tighter. Kyoji came up behind me and gently untangled my arms from around Domon and lifted me up into his arms. I turned to him and sobbed into his shoulder. I looked up just long enough to watch Domon climb aboard the shuttle. He looked back and our eyes locked for just a few seconds then we both turned away. Kyogi carried me back to his house and let me lie on Domon's bed and sob for several hours. I cried for Domon and my mom, yet most of all I cried for myself. I cried for the fact that I didn't have a best friend anymore. I cried for the fact that I was a motherless ten-year-old girl. Most of all I cried for the empty feeling inside of my heart.

Domon looked at Rain and saw the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. He lifted her chin with his hand and looked into her blue eyes. She smiled slightly and wiped the tears from her cheeks. He quickly closed the gaps between their lips and kissed her tenderly. Rain groaned softly as the kiss deepened and his tongue slid into her mouth and caressed hers. All to soon the kiss ended. Rain settled back into Domon's arms and let her head rest against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her waist. They sat there in a companionable silence.