Prep-Notes: The experiment continues! The plot bunny is rolling and I'm following it's tail, wherever it takes me. This chapter will, similarly to the prologue, be mostly in the first-person POV with a few tidbits in the third-person POV. I don't know if this is the same format that I'll be using for the entire fanfic, so I decided that I'll just play it by ear, and take the formatting of each chapter on a case-by-case basis depending on what I feel the story needs. I'll try to remember to post the format of each chapter in the Prep-Notes so as to avoid confusion among the 'slower' members of whatever audience I have gathered (No offense meant, of course. Hell's I'm probably 'slower' than most of you lot!).

UPDATE!!! CHAPTER 1 HAS, AS OF 05/01/2009, BEEN UPDATED FOR SPELLING AND GRAMMAR ERRORS, AS WELL AS SOME CHANGES AND DELETION OF IRRELEVANT CONTENT FROM THE STORY.

"xxx," is talking.

'xxx,' is thinking.

Xxx is writing on paper.

Xxx is typing on a computer.

Chapter Preview: This chapter introduces us to our heroine and main character. It shows the kind of life that she currently lives, what she's like, how she feels, etc. It also gives the background to the majority of the OC's in this story. It's the groundwork for the story to develop. It might seem a bit monotonous, but it gets somewhat better after the introduction section, I swear. Humor, angst, sarcasm, Here's to hoping I can get this right! ^_^"

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Splitting Up Is Serious Business

'Ugh…' was the first thought to penetrate my thick skull as the alarm blared to life. I feel my arm respond without a thought. Wham! That shut it up good. I snuggle back into my pillow and attempt to drift back off into the bliss of sleep. I have absolutely no clue if I had been lying there for minutes or hours, all I know is that sometime later, I feel something soft reciprocate the abuse I gave my alarm clock earlier. "Wuzzat…" I mumbles and I partially opened my eyes. Blue hair with green highlights streamed into my line of sight.

"Time to wake up Rini-chan!" said a cheerful voice. Light streamed into the room as yet another figure pulled back the purple curtains of her room to let the sunlight in. This one had short black hair that came up to her neck. She turned and fixed her blood red eyes into me. Dear gods, those eyes can be scary when she looks like that. "Hurry out of bed, before I burn your breakfast along with the rest of your room!" On second thought…

A nudge from above me told me that the girl currently sitting on my back was currently poking the back of my head. "Oy… you mind getting off me so I can get up Lina-chan?" I felt her scoot off me to the edge of my bed. I turned around and sat up, trying to banish the fog of sleep from my mind. "I'll be out in a few minutes. Waking up is a process you know."

Lina just raised an eyebrow at me, as if sending me a silent 'lolwut?' at me. God, computer geeks freaked me out sometimes, especially hardcore gamers like Lina. "Go, woman, so I can take a shower in piece."

She stood up and headed out, leaving me alone. I took a glance at the alarm clock. 6:03am. Good, I have time to relax a bit before breakfast. A glance at the curtains reminded me that I had a certified loony after my room's destruction. Make that a quick shower…

Ten minutes later I come out drying my shoulder long pink hair and head to the breakfast table in the kitchen. I glance around at the daily gathering. My girls were already up, though not all were completely awake yet it seemed. We had all grown up together in one form or another. We were all the same - orphans, runaways, and survivors of the streets of West Tokyo; each haunted by our own pasts.

Rikku-chan was perhaps the scariest of our group. 15 years old, black, neck long hair, blood red eyes, average figure, she was your typical looking girl, if you ignore her eyes. Gods, those eyes can burn a hole in your head if you look into them long enough. When I pointed out earlier that she was a certified loony, I meant it - she has a history of being institutionalized, though I have to admit that it's not all her fault. I remember just a little over two years ago when she told me her story, the last time we ever had to break her out and run for it. One of her foster parents tried to rape her. She remember trying to fight him off, how she had knocked the cigarette that he was smoking out of his mouth, how he had beat her within an inch of her life, how her curtains had caught fire, how she finally managed to find the baseball bat under her bed during the confusion, how she cracked his skull open and left his unconscious body to burn in the house with a mad gleam in her eyes. Ever since then, she found allure in the glow of fire. Her obsession with the element was borderline dangerous. Pyromania, they call it. She carried a lighter and at least one book of matches wherever she went. She was one of two of us girls who flat out refused to wear dresses. She wasn't a bad girl though. Her past makes her misunderstood by others. I first saw her at an orphanage we had been staying at about 8 years ago. I was 7, she was 6. I grew up with her on and off, running into her several times at several 'homes'. She used to be so happy-go-lucky, even at the orphanages. I never forgave what that man did to her, when she came back touched with madness. Even with him dead, I still don't forgive him. I was her only friend for a very long time before I practically dragged her from her last 'home' and took her with me to live with us two years ago.

Miki-chan was the next girl I laid eyes upon. Poor Miki was sitting at the table with her head propped onto her drooping arms snoring lightly. 16 years old, a tomboy at heart, but with figure that can kill a person if used effectively, she easily dwarfed us in looks. Dirty blonde hair that came down to mid back, light blue eyes, she has a gift with people that I sometimes envy, and sometimes wish I'd never heard of before. Miki was an empath - she could feel what others felt. For a very long time she had absolutely no control over her gift. This caused her parents to abandon her at the age of 7, when they finally got tired of all the psychiatrists, the hospitals, the money they had to spend on medicines to keep her sedated. For years she drifted from orphanage to orphanage, shelter to shelter, never staying in one place for too long. Every matron, patron, owner, caretaker, and child feared that she was possessed - how else could she have such disturbing insight into what everyone around her was feeling. She was horribly underfed when I first met her 5 years ago. She was one of the three that ran away with us from our last orphanage two years ago. At that particular time, she still couldn't do very well around a lot of people, the sheer amount of emotions she felt when in a large crowd were overwhelming. To this day I swear she would have died alone on the streets if I hadn't found her. Without Raina to teach her meditation, and me to had cared for her when she couldn't, she would have been lost to us.

Speaking of Raina-chan, she was currently in the kitchen preparing breakfast. My stomach growled at the thought. 'I need sustenance…' I thought as I sat down next to Rikku and stared at Raina as she worked. 18 years old, shoulder length caramel hair with stunning green eyes, tall, and a bit more muscular than normal for a girl her age, she's the only one of us orphans who hasn't had to experience the hardship of the orphanage. Raina's parents died in a terrorist attack in Neo-Hokkaido when she was very young, younger than she remembered. She was adopted by her mother's longtime friend, Reiki Basara. Reiki is a martial artist, a master of Kendo to be precise. He owns a chain of dojos around Japan, a couple in Neo-Hokkaido, one in Neo-Kyoto, and three in Neo-Tokyo. He's been training Raina in their art since before she could walk. She was a student still, yet to us she was a master. She was also the other girl in our little group that refused to wear dresses. For as innocent as she seems, she has the soul of a warrior, and the wisdom of one as well. She and her guardian had opened up their third dojo about 6 years ago, about 5 blocks from the orphanage I was staying at. Raina and I met at a grocery store. She caught me trying to shoplift a candy bar and stopped me. When I tried to shove her down and run she snatched my wrist, got me in a weird arm lock, took the candy from me, and paid the store clerk for it before giving it back. She said that robbing with malicious intent is wrong, and left. I had followed her all the way back to her dojo. I told her that I wasn't robbing with malicious intent, but through the need to survive. She was the first person I had ever opened up to other than my best friend. I told her of how I was forced to live on the streets between shelters, the pains that my friend and I had to constantly endure just to have something to eat at the end of the day. Finally, when we reached the dojo, she invited me in for dinner. Even at the age of 12 she could cook up a storm of food. Reiki and Raina were wonderful host, and I finally had another girlfriend to talk to. Over time she has taught me and, as time went on, my friends some of what she knows. Mostly meditation techniques, some basic katas, and some physical fitness tips for staying in shape. She always spent extra time with Miki, teaching her everything she knew about meditation so as to try to work some control over her gift. After a few months, Miki started getting better. After a year, she had complete control of her empathy. I have always felt a debt of gratitude towards Raina for that, and even then she never stopped helping us when needed. She was the one who helped Miki, Lina, and I escape from our last orphanage without getting caught two years ago. It's through her that we now have a place to stay, and through her that we can legally be on our own now. With a little help of Lina's magic and Reiki and Raina's consent, we now all bear their last name - Basara. Thanks to her, we're all sisters now.

Finally, I glanced over at Lina-chan. She was sitting in the corner of her table with a laptop computer, typing away at something. It being barely 6:30 in the morning, so she was probably hacking into our private bank account again to bring it back up to their usual balance of 100,000 yen. Lina-chan was my lifeline in this world, and I hers. I've known her since I could barely walk. We were born on the same day, in the same hospital. We were even told that our mother's had given birth next to each other. 16 years old, teal shoulder length hair, crystal-blue eyes, and a petite figure, she was the brains of our group. For a long time, growing up, wherever she went, I went. She was the brains, I was the brawn. I was the street brawler, the bodyguard. She was what really kept us alive. We're sisters in all but blood. We were inseparable, until one day 7 years ago. She was sent away for a month, to be with some potential foster parents. They seemed like decent people. I'm a good judge of character, and they didn't seem malicious, they seemed to genuinely care about us. She came back to me a month later traumatized. She hasn't talked since then. She hasn't talked for a very long time. It's not that she doesn't like to communicate with people, or that her voice was damaged, but at some point during that month, something had happened to her, something that took away her will to talk. She got slightly better as time went on and we started moving from shelter to shelter again, making the best of what we had, but she, like Rikku, never completely recovered what she had lost. Now-a-days, she only talked when she felt she needed to. Today, Lina-chan is still the lifeline that keeps us off the streets . She's a genius with computer programming, and by proxy, a genius at hacking. She is what keeps our bank account up to par so that we would never have to beg, and made sure we always had enough money for rent, food, clothes, and other necessities and some simple pleasures. It might not be the most honest way of making a living, but it keeps us from robbing stores, selling drugs, from prostitution, or even worse, from the Yakuza. I guess such is the sacrifice that we have to make if we want to live on our own while the majority of us are under-age and unable to find jobs. No one wants to hire strays. She made sure to keep the amount in our shared account small enough that it wasn't noticed, but large enough that we lived somewhat comfortable.

I was startled out of my reflecting when Raina came out of the kitchen with plates balancing on places she really thought would be impossible to balance. "Breakfast is served girls! I'll be putting the coffee out in a bit for you Miki chan, so hang in there."

"Have I told you how much I love you yet Na-chan?" groaned out Miki, not even bothering to look up.

"Sorry sweetheart, but pronouncing your eternal love for me won't bring the coffee out any faster," came the cheeky reply from the brunette as she set down the different breakfast dishes. She seemed to really love Western style cooking. Not that I minded either.

"In that case, I hate all of you…"

"Just because I can't make the coffee faster doesn't mean that I can't bring it out as slow as a snail."

"… don't make me sic Rikku-chan on you Na-chan…"

"Eheheheh, no need to be so hasty there Miki-chan, I'll have the coffee out as soon as it's ready, you'll see." Ah, pointless banter. Not quite the common tonic to be taking right as you wake up, but for me at least, mornings wouldn't be mornings without threatening to direct Rikku at one girl or another. I gave Rikku a side-long glance and saw that she was playing with a new Zippo lighter. Seems this one had a particular rendering of a phoenix on it. She has other phoenix Zippo's, but this one seems to be etched onto the metal rather than painted on. I can see why she got it. She was flicking the top open and close, lighting it every now and again and stroking the tip of the flame with a fingernail. How that girl never burns herself with how she plays with fire is beyond me.

"Last day of school Serena-chan! You excited?" exclaimed Rikku in her usual bubbly voice. That girl is entirely too happy to be up at any time before 10am. The prospect of school finishing though DID seem to brighten my blurred view on the world this morning though.

"Rikku-chan, it's so early right now I don't think I can muster enough energy to get excited about your new Zippo, much less school," I replied, sounding almost like a zombie.

"Aww come on Rini, don't be like that. You know you've been looking forward to summer break all year."

My response was thudding my head on the table and groaning before mustering enough strength to lift my forearms and start eating. Ah, the sweet merciful gods of good cuisine have smiled upon me today. The moment the feel, taste, and texture of eggs and sausage links hit my tongue I instantly start feeling much better.

I finish eating breakfast relatively fast and head into my room to dress myself for the day. I decide to go with black, low-ride jeans and a blue tank top. White sneakers and a lightweight denim jacket complete my outfit for the day. It was unusually cold for it being summer. Then again, it was always somewhat chilly in Crystal Tokyo. People have said that ever since the Great Freeze, the wind has had a certain bite to it that's never really let up. By now, most of the Earth has recovered from that catastrophe, but it left certain lingering effects that would probably take millions of years to completely recover from, the wind being one of them.

I walk back out of my room and into the living room with my diary at hand, to gather my things for the day. The living room is spacious enough to accommodate us, with a 2 couch set taking up two walls near the sliding door to the balcony and a 40 inch flat screen TV hanging off of a metal plate, angled downwards from the corner of the room. I have to say though, it's the ONLY room in the apartment with enough room to accommodate all of us. It was a three bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment that Lina-chan had found for us. Miki had been able to convince Raina to sign the paperwork for renting it for us while Lina worked up the funds to keep it. It was only a month later that Raina decided to move in with us, to make sure we were 'taking care of ourselves'. Reiki-kun seemed to understand her decision and supported her through the whole thing, he even helped her move some of her stuff from the dojo she was staying at. When we saw the rooms we had instantly drawn straws to see who got exclusive rights to the master bedroom and master bathroom. I, obviously, won the draw, so I was the only one in the apartment with a room of my own. Lina and Rikku shared the larger room, mainly due to Lina's 'collection' of computers, laptop, and computer hardware, and Rikku's destructive sense of fun. Raina and Miki got the smallest of the rooms, though each seemed content with what they had. Neither had ever had much to begin with, so just having each other's company seemed to be enough incentive, though with Miki, there was always alternative reasons. In this case, it was her continuous attempts at trying to crack Raina-chan. Apparently, Raina was able to use her meditation techniques to block out Miki's empathy, something that vexes her to no ends. She can't get even the slightest reading out of her. The wars that those two have fought ever since Miki stumbled onto that particular discovery…

I decide to leave all except one notebook at home in case something last minute comes up. I slip my diary in my bag and shoulder it. "Alright, I'm ready!"

"Good, we're just waiting on Lina and Miki," said Raina. She was wearing some gym pants and a male small-sized muscle shirt that was cut up enough to show a bit of skin but not enough to completely ruin the shirt. Rikku was sitting next to her in jean shorts and a black t-shirt with a small leather jacket that was on her more for looks than for protection. I sighed. Lina was probably trying to decide whether she should take her blue computer bag or her green computer bag with whatever outfit she chose, and Miki was probably trying to help but getting nowhere.

"Lina-chan, just grab the blue one and lets go! You already took the green one on Friday!" I yelled out. A minute later, a blushing Lina came out wearing a knee length dark blue skirt and a long sleeve white shirt with a little heart on the right corner, her blue computer bag on her shoulder, weighed down by her laptop and whatever else she was bringing. She shot one of her glares at me as Miki followed with a smug expression on her face.

We leave the apartment and start heading down. We're on the fourth floor of a six story complex, so naturally, we all hit the stairs for our daily dose of cardio. Raina's insistence, I swear. Once we reach the side walk I move next to Lina-chan as is customary. My eyes automatically start darting from side to side, looking for potential crooks and crannies from which potential threats could jump out at us. It was almost like the old days, with a 11 year old Lina walking timidly looking for suitable shelter for us while I walked next to her, the street brawler who those even older than I was feared to cross. I move my hands down into my pocket and finger the switch knife that I kept at hand. I never went anywhere without my knife, even at school I made sure to have it on me at all times. It had gotten me in trouble more than once with the teachers and the school security, but it had saved our lives too many times for me to leave it at home just because of some authority figure on a power trip said to.

We reach the school grounds relatively fast, our apartment is maybe ten blocks away from the school so the walk isn't too bad so long as we leave on time. We split up, Raina heading to the main office to pick up her graduation gown, Rikku heading to her homeroom seemingly in a trance, probably trying some meditation techniques to keep herself in check, and the rest of us heading off to our own homeroom.

School is dull as usual. Since it's the last day, the teachers let us do mostly whatever we wanted. Fortunately, Lina has a cracked internet connection, bless her soul, so we were able to kill time by surfing the web. The rest of the class kept their distance from us. That suited us just fine, those who judge us just because of what we were aren't worthy of our attention. I did notice myself getting a bit more nervous as the day went on. On my way to third period, I managed to catch a couple of cops wandering one of the halls of the school, asking questions to teachers and students. 'Now that can't be good…'

Lunch was a quiet affair. We all sat down outside under one of the trees just inside the gates of the school. Raina and Miki were idly chit-chatting about their morning and Rikku was watching music videos with Lina on her laptop. I took the opportunity to pull out my diary and start a new entry.

14/06/957 NSM

Dear Diary

It's the last day of school today. I'm currently at lunch right now, looking on and reflecting at what a year it has been. It's had good times and bad times, but the girls and I are closer to each other now than I ever thought possible. It's been two years since we started living in this area, since Lina found our apartment. We've turned it into our home. For the first time that I can ever remember, we have a home. Even after all this time, I still can't believe that I finally have a last name. I've been a ronin for so long, what with my being found out in the streets as a baby and all that I still find it unbelievable to find myself with a family. The girls have all become my sisters in all but blood. We're even sisters in name now, thanks to Lina and Raina. Basara Serena. That's my name now, and I love the sound of every variant of it.

I can only hope that the peace lasts. I was on my way to third period this morning when I saw two police officers asking one of our teachers some questions. From the looks of it, they weren't with school security. Now, normally it might be anything, but with my paranoia the way it is, I'd say it would mean that they were probably asking about the girls and I. We're lucky it's the last day of school. I'll have to talk to everyone today when we go to the Crown to hang out. We'll have to keep a low profile if we want to keep living in the area, or else we'll have to start looking around again. Damn, and I was starting to get used to our little apartment too. Ah well, looks like we'll have to keep our heads down then, I really don't want to loose my first home yet. Even if it was for a little while longer.

I ended my entry there for now as I heard the bell ring. I looked down at my bento and noticed it was empty. That's when I noticed the aftertaste of food in my mouth. I had no clue that I had even eaten anything! I guess when I start to get into my writing I really don't notice anything else.

The rest of the day went alright. I cautioned the girls to keep low and that I'll explain at the Crown after school. As the last bell rang I had to keep my head low. Those two police officers were sweeping the halls, looking for someone, the girls and I, I immediately guess. I had to get away. I met the rest of them at our after school meeting spot, about a block away from the school near one of the café's. Quietly, we walked over to the Crown Arcade. We went there at least three times a week, if not more, for shakes and to talk. The walk didn't take long. Maybe fifteen minutes at the most.

The Crown was an ancient place. It was marked a good while back as a historic landmark by Neo-Queen Serenity, supposedly it served as some kind of headquarters for her during the queen's own teen years. It hardly mattered to me though, I just liked the chocolate malts that they served.

Once we were seated and had our shakes in front of us, I went ahead and told the girls what I had seen. It didn't take long to explain, but it brought a level of worry that only runaways like us truly felt.

"This complicates matters," said Miki, a frown on her face.

"I'll cook them in their own skin," muttered Rikku as she got 'the gleam' in her eyes. Ho boy. Crystal Palace, we have a problem.

"Calm down Rikku, if anything we can stay at one of Uncle Reiki's dojo's for a while until things cool down. I'm sure he wouldn't mind the extra company." God bless Raina's guardian. Uncle Reiki might be a bit eccentric, but he was a good man with a heart of gold.

"Raina's right, we shouldn't be panicking just yet. We have contingency plans," I put out, about to go over our alternatives. That is, until I felt a tug on my arm. I turn to look at Lina and she points at her laptop where she has her word processor out. She had typed in something for me to read.

If the authorities are really looking for us, then our best chance to avoid them is to split up. One or two of us should go with Na-chan to her Uncle Reiki for a month, maybe even for the entire summer break if need be. The rest of us can find an apartment in another part of the city if the situation is really that bad.

"Genius girl comes through for us again," I muttered as the rest of the girls gather around to read what she wrote. "Lina's right, though I hate to admit it in this case. If we don't want to stand out too much and be caught, we're going to have to split up for a little while. Maybe even go as far as to avoid going out in public for a couple of weeks for anything other than necessities."

We all nodded and started planning. By the time we left the Crown two hours later we had most of it laid out. Miki would go with Raina to her Uncle Reiki's dojo in the south of the city, while Rikku, Lina and myself would go to the northeast of the city and try to find something cheap to rent up there. With the subway system, getting around shouldn't be too much of an issue so long as the tunnel's shields held. The King of Earth, Endymion, gave the initial charge to technology developed by the Palace's R&D department after the debacle with the Dark Moon Family, and used the Earth's latent energy to generate shields around the cities and the transit systems that connected them. I knew the shields and tunnels well, they allowed me to loose many a pursuer in the tunnels, and had saved Lina's and my life more than once.

We made our way back to our apartment and entered the elevator. We needed to act fast if we wanted to stay out of trouble. We'll pack tonight and leave early tomorrow morning. As we got off and headed to our door, I started to note that none of us had uttered a sound since we had left the arcade. It made me wonder exactly what was going through the heads of the girls. After everything that we've been through, especially over the last two years, it would be the first time that we would be so far apart from each other.

When we got in we all collapsed into the two couches and the four beanbag chairs that were scattered in the TV area of the living room.

"So…" I started. "We pack tonight, go to sleep early, wake up at 6 in the morning, and head out. Lina said she's going to go out in a few minutes once she's made a list of stuff she needs to take and get us all cell phones so that we could keep in touch. She is, of course, going to fix them for us when she gets them. Don't use these cell phones for anything other than to communicate with each other. Remember that the Crown and the Moon Plaza Subway station are our two emergency meeting places should something happen. Any questions?"

There was silence before Miki spoke up. "Will our phones have text messaging and mobile web?"

I rolled my eyes. "Miki-chan, this is Lina we're talking about. Of course they'll have text messaging and mobile web! Just remember not to drain your battery downloading ring tones and you'll be all right."

No one else spoke up after that. Lina went to her shared room to get one of her many gadgets or cables and was soon off to get the phones while Raina prepared a simple dinner. Three hours later, and they were fed and fooling around with their new phones. Rikku's was, of course, red and orange. Raina's was forest green, Miki's was sunburst yellow, Lina's was teal, and mines is purple.

"Girls," I spoke up. "It's starting to get late. We should start packing and go to sleep."

I got up before they could say anything and headed off. I didn't want them to look at the worry in my eyes quite just yet. As soon as I close the door to my room, the tears finally start rolling down my eyes. 'So this is what its like to let go of a home,' I thought as I pull out a military duffle bag and start packing light summer clothing. No dresses, just shirts, shorts, jeans, pants and other basic necessities. As I grabbed my diary to pack it in with the rest of my stuff, I suddenly remembered that I had an entry to finish. I grabbed my pen and kept going where I left off.

After meeting up at the arcade and explaining the situation, Lina suggested that we split up for the summer. 2 of us are going to the studio and the rest of us will go north. Not exactly how I envisioned my vacation, but it's better than being stuck in some home. We have to bail before the cops take an unhealthy interest in this area. Hopefully they won't linger for too long. I can still remember the last cop to try to chase me down. I swear to the gods, Crystal Tokyo has more crooked cops on its force than a delegation has crooked politicians! Speaking of Lina, she got us all cell phones and hacked them to work anywhere free of charge, so we should at least have communication between us all. Well, I need to finish packing. Hopefully, the next entry I write will be a bit on the brighter side.

Love, Basara Serina

I closed my diary and put my pen in it's placeholder before putting everything into the bag and folding it closed over the loop of metal. I clasped it shut and set it aside before getting ready for bed. Its going to be another early morning tomorrow, I know I'm going to need all the sleep I can get. I put on my pajamas of lavender silk, turn off my lights and tucked myself into bed. I sighed as I started to drift off. 'My last night at home… why does it feel like I won't be seeing this place for a long time?'

To Be Continued…

A/N: So I went ahead and I took out all WoW references from the chapter. I did so because after rereading the story I felt that it just gave it too much unnecessary filler, something that this story can do without. I'll be giving the existing chapters the same treatment.

Once again, if you see any mistakes that I've made, please remember that, again, I don't have much experience writing SM fics and I'm bumbling and tumbling along on my own. While I can catch the majority of my spelling and grammar errors, I don't always catch everything, even after pre-reading. If anyone sees any room for improvement, please, feel free to point it out, at this point I can use all the help I can get if I want to make this fic into the monster that I think it can become. :D

Next chapter is where the fun begins. Heheheh…