It was a normal day in Ronaele Snikpoh's life. She'd been annoyed into waking up at 6:00, and getting dressed. While her dad showered, she had sat on her bed and twiddled her thumbs a bit, whilst listening to one of her four Fushigi Yuugi albums and reading one of her five Fushigi Yuugi mangas and cuddling her Fushigi Yuugi Tama-neko beanie and smashing her Fushigi Yuugi Miaka plushie against the wall and lovingly glancing at her Fushigi Yuugi Chichiri figurine. When her dad was done, he yelled at her to get in the damn car. So she did. After that, her dad had driven her and her hellish, demonic creature of hell (a.k.a. younger sister) to a person's house. The hellish demonic creature of hell thankfully departed, while others joined the carpool to White Station Middle. At about 7:00, they reached their destination, and generally sat on their asses for seventeen minutes until the first bell rang. (Why the bell rings at 7:17, and not a normal time at 7:15, is unknown. Maybe the teachers have a big hour-long party at 6:15, and it takes them an added two minutes to clean up before the slaves-er, students-come in.)

From 7:30 until 2:30, there were classes. 6, in fact. The stupid faculty considers the thirteen minutes with the Pledge of Allegiance and whatnot a class, however, so technically, there are 7 classes. All the students just consider 6. Anyway, yes, 6 classes; Algebra, English, American History, Spanish, Science, and Economics, in that order for our heroine. Spanish was the best, as always, because Mrs. Crews/Senora Cruz rocks.

There was a similar daily schedule for one Alyk Yenbig. She, however, the spoiled horrible evil thing, didn't have to get up quite as early as Ronaele, and didn't have to carpool with obnoxious people, either. Nyah. Her father, whose car is not as cool as Ronaele's dad's, drove her to school at sometime or another, and Alyk entered the school at a similar (perhaps slightly later) time as Ronaele. Her first class was also Algebra, but then, her schedule was all different, with a different lunch period, and a different Exploratory class (art), but she's evil and Ronaele knew it because she would have to have Economics at one time or another and Ronaele was already having it so she'd get out sooner and never ever take it again and then take Health which was okay because it was her friend Sserpyc's class who said it was okay and then Art which Alyk was having so there.

Anyway, yes, the boring, hideous school-day had been hideous and boring as usual for both Ronaele and Alyk. There had only been one difference: Deciding it would be funny to ignore the dress code, they wore Dutch wooden clogs even though they look stupid to annoy the teachers. Well, of course their SS instructors were extremely displeased, and Der Fuhrers must NEVER be displeased. Or else. So Alyk and Ronaele got or else--they had to spend four hours in the library after school, even though none of the Nazis stayed that long anyway. So, there they were, sitting at a table and twiddling their thumbs. Hoorah.

"This has been a boring and hideous day," Ronaele decided aloud, whilst twiddling her marker-marked thumbs.

"You can say that again," agreed Alyk, also twiddling her unmarked thumbs.

"This has been a boring and hideous day," Ronaele decided aloud again, whilst twiddling her marker-marked thumbs.

Alyk glared at her. Ronaele grinned a foxlike smile, cackling like a homosexual opera star.

"Seriously. Do you have anything interesting in that monstrous bag of yours?" inquired a very bored Alyk, indicating to Ronaele's brown, monstrous bag covered with anti-Republican buttons.

"It's very possible. Oh, my, yes," replied Ronaele, fishing through her bag. "I have this..." She took out a picture of Chichiri, sighing dreamily.

Alyk rolled her eyes. "I should have known...no, not that. I know you can, but I can't drool over that maimed monk for another three hours-and-a-half. Now, if it was as picture of Nakago..." Her eyes fogged over, shiawase bubbles floating near the equally entranced Ronaele's.

After a moment, Alyk snapped out of it, exasperatedly shaking the salivating Ronaele.

"Wake up. I mean it--I doubt you have any Nakago pictures, so--"

"Yes I do!" Grinning, Ronaele snatched a piece of paper from her notebook, scribbling furiously. After a few moments, she handed Alyk a very crude doodle of the soulless shogun. Alyk snatched the doodle, looked it over, then crumpled it and threw it at the bookcase.

"Dammit, I mean a real one! Not something you drew in two seconds."

"Oh...sorry. Don't you have any?"

Realizing the obviousness of this, Alyk grinned. "You're a genius!"

"I am?"

"Well, almost as genius as me. I feel ashamed..."

Sliding out a picture of the "dwelling for the heart", Alyk sighed, holding it close to her face. "He looks so good," she decided, sighing again.

"I KNOW. Just not as good as Chichiri-san. Remember, I introduced you to hiim? Here, I have something you'll like." With a flourish, Ronaele withdrew a book with Nuriko and Hotohori on the cover.

Looking at it for a few seconds, Alyk grabbed it. "Idiot! Why didn't you TELL me you brought the third?!"

"I figured we'd be put in detention, so I brought a book FILLED with my koibito...first volume he appears in, you know."

"I KNOW that. You've probably engraved it into my mind...it's the first volume NAKAGO appears in TOO, you know!!"

"Of course I do! What do you take me for, a fair-weather Fushigi Yuugi otaku?!"

"No, no...it's just that...why didn't you take it out before?!"

"I dunno...because there was already a picture of watashi no ai in front of me--a gorgeous one, at that--DON'T MESS UP THE BINDING!"

Wincing from the volume of Ronaele's shriek, Alyk gingerly held it open to page 141, a page with a good-looking picture of Nakago at the top.

That was a mistake, as it was also the first page ever in which you see Chichiri without his mask.

Squeaking hoarsely, Ronaele weakly fumbled for the manga, which the unaware Alyk simply held away. Fainting helplessly backwards, Ronaele thudded into a tall bookshelf labeled "References".

That was the beginning...