Title: Welcome To Reality
Chapter Title: Konnichi wa. Watashi no namae wa Warren Serena desu. (Otherwise titled 'The death of a Princess')
Summary: Serena Warren, now fifteen, graduates the tenth grade with honours and is offered a chance to go to Japan on a student exchange program. Here, she realizes that the reason her dreams seemed so real is that they were.
Author: Silver Sparklze
Reason For Writing: This story was written as a challenge set by Sage: The Dark Dryad.
Author's Notes: I have tried to translate the Japanese next to the words, but even so, anything written in bold will be translated at the end of the chapter if not already translated.
~Tokyo Airport, Tokyo~
Serena searched what she could see of the airport anxiously, looking for Rei. Finally, she caught sight of a large poster that read
SERENA WAREN!
Both of the "a's" were backwards, and it was missing an "r", but Serena got the point. She grabbed her bags off the conveyer belt, and hurried over as quickly as she could to the sign. She frowned in puzzlement when she saw the people who were holding it. A tall lady around eighteen with wavy green hair, and a man around with same age, with blonde hair.
"Rei Hino?" She asked.
"Iie. Watashi no tomodachi. Tachi no namae Kaiou Michelle da." {No. I'm her friend. My name's Michelle Kaiou.}
"Oh. Er…Watashi wa jouzu ni nihongo ga hanasemasen. Eigo o hanashimasuka?" {I don't speak Japanese very well. Do you speak English?}
"Yes. Sorry. Are you Serena Warren?" Michelle asked.
"Yes. Osokunate sumimasen." {Sorry I'm late.} Serena shifted her suitcase from one hand to the other. She turned to the blonde man. "O namae o kite mo iidesuka?" {May I ask your name?}
"Amara. Amara Tenou." The blonde…lady said. Serena blushed at thinking Amara was a man, both now, and earlier, when she'd seen her in the Mirror.
"Nice to meet you." Serena bowed.
"You too." Michelle said politely, and Amara bowed back.
"If you don't mind my asking," Serena began, "Why aren't the Hinos here? I understood that they were to be my host family."
"They had some complications." Amara said shortly, glaring at Serena. Serena decided that to say more would be suicidal, and so remained silent.
About twenty minutes later they arrived (by car…a rather old Sedan) at a bunch of sprawling buildings that Serena recognised as the Hikawa Shrine. She got out and grabbed her suitcases, placing them beside her.
"Do I go in?" She asked Michelle. Michelle smiled.
"Here's Rei-chan now." She said by way of answering. And indeed, Rei was there. She came out, black hair fluttering in the breeze, smiling welcomingly. Then…she stopped.
"Sere-ko?!" She croaked in Japanese,
"Yes…that's my name." Serena said, puzzled.
"Eto Amerika-jin ikimasuka?" {But I thought you were going to America?}
"Uh…I just came from America."
"Oh! Gomen. Watashi no tsuen o tomodachi…" {Excuse me. I thought you were my friend…} Rei looked flustered.
"That's ok. Er…do I look like your friend?" Serena asked the question, even though she knew the answer already.
"Hai. You have the same hair…the same eyes…you are the same height…and you sound similar…her name is Serena too." Rei looked rather sad.
"Oh." Serena ducked her head shyly. "May I come inside? These bags are heavy."
"Oh. Oh! Of course! Gomen nasai! How rude of me! I will show you to your room." Rei gestured for Serena to follow, then seemed to remember Michelle and Amara. "Oh, gomen, Amara-san, gomen, Michelle-san. Domo agrigatoo for picking up Serena-san" {Sorry, Amara, sorry, Michelle. Thank you very much} Amara and Michelle smiled.
"It was no problem, Rei-chan." Michelle said, obviously taking pains to talk in English so that Serena would be sure to understand her.
"Well…thank you anyway. Just so you know, there will be another meeting same time next week if you want to attend."
"We'll be sure to keep that in mind." Amara said coolly. "Come on, Mi-chan, time to go." She took Michelle's hand, and led her over to a motorcycle. Amara got on the front, and Michelle hopped on behind her, snuggling closer than necessary. A smile spread across Amara's face, and she looked back at Michelle, who had laid her head against Amara's shoulder fondly.
Serena followed Rei into the temple, and to an empty room. She placed her things down on the tatami mat floor, and looked around the room curiously. In one corner were two large cupboards, and aside from that, and a desk and chair by the window, the room was empty. No bed or anything.
"There is a futon, blankets, and a pillow in this cupboard," Rei pointed to the one closest to the door, "And your clothes can go in this one. There's a bureau inside. If you need anything, come find me, or Chad-kun, or Ojii-chan. We're all glad to help." Rei smiled at her again, and left.
Sighing, Serena set about putting the room to rights. Although she knew Japanese people did not set up their beds 'til night, she also knew that she would be more comfortable having it set up now, so she did so. Then she placed her laptop on the desk, and put her palm-pilot and mobile beside it. Her night light which she'd had since she was small was put beside her bed after being plugged in to an extension cord, and she placed her special pillow and quilt on the bed, leaving the others in the cupboard. Quickly, she put her clothes away, changing into jeans and a white t-shirt with a pink bunny on it. Then she decided to see if Matty was online.
Sere-chanTokyo has logged on
Matty555: hi!
Sere-chanTokyo: hey.
Matty555: r u ok? u sound stressed.
Sere-chanTokyo: fine. just that rei recognised me.
Matty555: nm u can do about that. did u hear?
Sere-chanTokyo: eh?
Matty555: 'bout that plane that crashed. Evry1 died. Apparently, it was the only plane heading to America from Singapore. It was a Japanese plane, which had made a small stop over in Singapore for a few passengers.
Sere-chanTokyo: Matty…I think Serena Tsukino was on that plane…
Matty555: would u like me 2 check?
Sere-chanTokyo: how?
Matty555: a hacker never reveals her sources…
Sere-chanTokyo: sure…check. Then I can regain my piece of mind.
Matty555: 4 ppl with the name Tsukino were on the plane. Want their names?
Sere-chanTokyo: yes.
Matty555: Ken Tsukino, Ilune Tsukino, Samuel Tsukino, and Serena Tsukino…Omigod, Serena…I'm so sorry…
Sere-chanTokyo: I have to go…
Sere-chanTokyo has logged off.
Serena sat back, eyes wide. Suddenly, they filled with tears, and she began to cry, great hiccuping sobs. She forgot how thin the walls and doors were, and she wailed her heart out.
"Genki da?" {Are you ok?} A hesitant voice said from the doorway.
"Iie! Tachi tomodachi ni Sere-ko no shine deshita! Shine deshita!" {No! My friend Serena's dead! Dead!} Serena wailed, automatically speaking in Japanese.
"Sere-ko? Sere-ko o anata?" {Serena? Serena who?} The girl asked.
"Tsukino Serena! Tachi tomodachi!" {Serena Tsukino! My friend.}
"Tsukino Serena?! Iie! Masaka!" {Serena Tsukino?! No! You're lying/joking.} The girl sounded shocked.
"Nande masaka desuka?!" {Why would I lie?!} Serena turned around, and blinked. "Ami-chan?"
"Nan desuka? Sere-ko?! Amerika-jin ikimasuka?!" {Who are you? Serena?! But didn't you go to America?!} The blue-haired girl looked shocked.
"Eigo o hanashimasuka?" {Do you speak English?} Serena demanded.
"Yes." Ami nodded.
"Ok. I am not the Serena that you know. Rei-san got me confused as well. My name is Serena Warren. I am an exchange student from America. I came here to go to school. I met Serena Tsukino over the Internet, and we became friends. One of my friends from home, Matilda Atkinson, informed me that the only flight to America from Japan, stopping off in Singapore, had crashed, and everyone aboard had been killed.
"Frantically, I asked her if Sere-ko had been on board. Matty-chan is a hacker, and she soon found out that Sere-ko's whole family had been on board. Naturally, I was upset, being so close to Sere-ko. We actually met for the first time today, when I was on my way to Japan, and she to America."
"Oh…how do you know me?" Ami asked slowly, suspicion flaring in her eyes.
"Sere-ko sent me a photo, and she talked about you guys a lot. You seemed really close, as though you'd been through a lot."
"We have…" Ami's eyes softened. "I can't believe she's gone. After all she's been through." She stifled a sob. Serena got up, and led her over to the bed, making her sit down.
"It's better to cry, you know." She said quietly, "Let it all out. Then you don't bottle it up. That's bad for you. I should know." Ami nodded, and her face crumpled as she began to cry. Serena pulled her into a hug, forgetting everything she'd ever learnt about body contact with the Japanese. All she cared about was that there was someone in pain, not that it wasn't proper etiquette to touch them…
Konnichi wa. Watashi no namae wa Warren Serena Desu: Hello. My name is Serena Warren.
Hai: yes
Gomen nasai: I'm sorry.
San: attached to the name of someone who; you hold in high regard
is older than you
you don't know very well.
Tatami: tatami mats are made out of rushes. They are about 20 cm x 20 cm, and cover the whole of a floor in a traditional Japanese room (paper doors and all). You must always take your shoes (and house slippers) off before entering a room floored with these mats, as they are very easy to rip, and extremely expensive.
Ojii-chan: grandpa
More Author's Notes: Thanks to these reviewers;
Sweetkitty(): thanks :-) glad you like it.
Shimmering Angel: thanks…and I'm updating…
Thought for the week: "Just say no" prevents teenage pregnancy the way 'Have a nice day' cures chronic depression.