A/N:

Alternate Universe, Modern Era. Disclaimer: based on a rom-com movie I love. To those who have seen Overboard, (yes, I'm talking about both the old and the new,) Cheers! I can't just bypass an amnesia plot, it's pure comedy goldmine. The same flow, except that in this story, roles are reversed.

Light reading, please don't take things seriously. I am only writing for fun.

Thanks.

P.S. To all EniKao fans, I also have a few stories in AO3. Its not the best but it's good enough for a distraction if you need 'em. When the Fireflies Returned ( EniKao) will also only be exclusively posted there.

Sandcastles

Chapter 1

The Lowly Frog

The blue-eyed woman huddled close into her worn-out parka, shielding herself from the bayside breeze. She kicked down the stand of her trusty, battered bicycle, and she let it stand idle on her side. Rubbing her ungloved hands together she frowned a little, annoyed at the calloused skin of her palms: such shouldn't be the hands of a young woman like her.

Her sigh of frustration came out as a small puff of frost released in the air. It floated to the starless San Francisco sky, and it disappeared into the waters of the quiet bay.

For a while she stood in the midst of it all, the lights of the boats flickering in the distance as they bobbed up and down.

Kaoru turned in the opposite direction- right across the street, to the rows of houses settled by the hill—

And her heart ached.

In a quaint distance was a familiar sight. A two-story, five-bedroom house, the dim, customized lights accentuating the wooden patio, and a little garden that held her fondest childhood memories. That very house was the house she grew up in, a house that she will probably never set foot again.

A sudden vibration in her pocket pulled her out of her thoughts, she reached in and retrieved her phone. The screen was cracked, but it was still functional, there was also a good 10% battery life left.

Kind of like her own life, she thought glumly.

She pressed the answer prompt and lifted the phone to her ears. "Kaoru speaking."

"Where are you?" came the female voice from the other line. Kaoru's eyes widened marginally, it was her boss from her per-diem job.

The young woman hid her free hand in her pocket, protecting herself from the biting cold. "I'm on my way, Misao. I just made a quick stop to the hospital to see how Yahiko is doing," she bit her lip nervously, "I hope I didn't inconvenience you."

"What the hell are you saying?" Her boss/best friend sighed, "Kaoru, you're not late. I just called you to find out if you wanted some Chinese take-out. Aoshi has been feeling generous tonight-"

"Thanks, but I had dinner."

"Really? You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." A long, doubting silence followed, finally, "Misao, I'm sure. I came from my shift at the pizza parlor before I stopped by the hospital," she looked down at her soiled white shirt and downtrodden blue jeans. There were stains of tomato and cheese sauce, she still reeked of dough and baked garlic.

She grimaced when she realized there was baking flour on her ponytailed hair. Kaoru made a mental note to wash her face and clean up once she reached Misao's 'office'.

"Didn't I tell you to quit working your other jobs?" Misao started, "Kaoru, you're going to be a fucking doctor tomorrow, for crying out loud! Get yourself together, girl!"

Kaoru cast her head down, and she let out a long, exhausted sigh. "I don't want to get my hopes up. Last time when I did, I only ended up royally disappointed."

There was a considerable pause on the other line, as Kaoru trailed off, unable to continue.

"Hey," Misao softly said, "Remember the saying, 'three time's the charm'? I saw how hard you worked for it. Dammit, Kaoru, working two full-time jobs and taking up one per-diem at my plumbing service, taking care of your brother, AND studying for the medical board exam?

When was the last time you had a day off? I'm surprised you lasted that long with only four hours of sleep everyday-"

The young woman shrugged her shoulders. "Misao, I'd love to chat but I better get on my way. It's getting dark,"

"Of course, I'm sorry. You sure you don't want any take-out? Ah, I'll order you an egg roll, at least. I've got your plumbing tools ready here. See you in a few minutes!"

"Thanks." The young girl said, hitting the End Call button. And she sighed, relieved that through the end of their conversation, her voice didn't shake. She was also relieved that she was not face-to-face with her. Although Misao was her friend, she was also her boss, and no one would never want to show their boss that they were struggling.

Kaoru stared at her reflection on the broken screen of her phone, and she stopped.

The girl looking back at her… she looked exhausted.

Ponytail in disarray and with white patches of flour, make-up-less face that showed her dark under-eye circles, chapped lips and sunken cheeks- her father would have cried if she had seen her today.

When was the last time she bought new clothes? Roughly two years?

The young woman wiped the tears that came inevitably, rolling on her cheeks.

Two years ago everything seemed perfect. She graduated from med school, the Bed and Breakfast business of their beautiful home was thriving, the future was looking bright… until her father was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Lung Cancer! Her father never smoked a day in her life!

The young girl's shoulders shook terribly as she tried to stifle her cries.

She started taking jobs to sustain their daily living. There was Yahiko's schooling, and the coverage of the family business expenses. To top all that, there was still her own ginormous student debt.

But the cancer treatments were expensive. Exhausting, soul-draining.

And although they fought hard,

They fought so…very…hard…

the cancer won over.

It took away her father.

It took away their beautiful house by the bay.

It took away her bright, happily-ever-after.

Kaoru put the phone away in her pocket, and her hand accidentally brushed against another item. Slowly she pulled it out.

It was a gift from her mother and father on her tenth birthday, a keychain in the form of a glass frog. Apparently, the Frog Prince was her favorite bedtime story.

She clutched the keychain tightly in her hands, and she brought her gaze back to the sparkling view of the bay.

It had been two years since her father's passing.

She was still working three jobs. She lost the ownership of their bed-and-breakfast home to the bank. Neck-deep in debt, still paying off her student loan, failed her second take on the medical licensure exam, and drowning in her brother's never-ending hospital bills.

She gathered her breath as tears came streaking down her face.

"The Princess kissed the Frog, and he transformed into the Prince that he really was. They lived happily ever after." her father had said.

"That wasn't what happened in the original version! She never kissed the frog!" Kaoru finally yelled out to the open waters, "She flung him and he splatted on the wall, because she was disgusted! Damn you, Disney! Besides, what royalty would want to kiss an ugly, warty toad… I CALL THAT BS!" she broke down.

She did not care if her voice rang throughout the open space, did not care if the passing night joggers looked at her as if she were crazy.

She did not care if she was doing her ugly cry.

She already looked like a neglected hobo, anyway.

"Mama, you should have told me this was a cruel world,

instead of leaving me to find out alone."

The young woman reached out, and she wiped her tears away. Who else would do it for her? There was no prince charming to sweep her off her feet, no fairy-tale ending waiting at the end of the unicorn-fart rainbow.

In her favorite story, she would have been the frog. Except that she was no real princess underneath, there sure as hell was no prince waiting to kiss her and magically transform her into one.

This was no children's fairytale book, nor a million-dollar animation production.

This was real life.

So what if the bank foreclosed their beautiful house? She and her younger brother still had a small studio apartment to keep them sheltered.

So what if they're struggling, paycheck to paycheck? She can still make enough to feed themselves three times a day.

So what if she didn't pass the board exam this third time? She'll just have to take it again. And again and again and again, until she passed it!

"Fairy tale endings," she yelled to the bay, putting the keychain away in her pocket. She mounted her bike, "No one else is gonna rescue me but myself!" With one last look at the beautiful two-story house, Kaoru pushed her feet and pedaled off.