It was a beautiful day. The birds were chirping, the grass was green, the squirrels raced about throwing nuts at people.

"What a nice Wed-ness-day!" Adonis exclaimed, walking off to school with Takeshi and Daisuke. "I could just sing!"

"Please don't," Daisuke growled. "And it's pronounced 'wens-day'."

"Well, what has got you so down in the dumbs?" Donis asked.

"IT'S DOWN IN THE DUMPS, YOU IDIOT!" Daisuke shouted. "And, if you must know, my grandpa just keeps bugging me because he won't get into a retirement home. All he does is stay home and mooch off my mom and I. It's no wonder my dad practically lives at the office."

"Is your mom going to-?"

"No, they're not getting a divorce, Takeshi."

"Well, let's talk about something happy on this fine day!" Donis said, changing the subject. "I hear a new girl is in your class, Da-ee-su-kay! I must find out her name quickly!"

"Donis… Not everything is pronounced as its spelled, you know…" Daisuke growled. He still didn't like Donis very much. Most boys didn't, as their girlfriends were constantly running off with him. But Daisuke didn't like him because he still suspected Donis to be a heartless villain at heart.

'Um, wait… If he doesn't have a heart, than how…? Nevermind.' Daisuke shook his head, not wanting to be confused today.

"A new girl! Gosh… hope she's hotter than the other girls in our class," Takeshi said to himself.

"I heard that! Takeshi, you really are a jerk-face!" Riku shouted, plowing him down with her bike.

"Owie…" Takeshi mumbled, his face flattened against the sidewalk.

'Why are all your friends skinny?' Dark inquired.

"Oh, look! It's the lovely Harada twins!" Donis grinned cheerfully. "How nice of you to grace us with your presence on this lovely day!"

"Thanks! I'd love to return the comment, but I'm a very terrible person who wishes you would go die of starvation in the bottom of a well!" Risa said with a smile.

Donis twitched in confusion, wondering how anyone could not be as madly in love with him as he was with himself.

"Anyway," Riku continued, parking her bike. "Someone new is coming into our class today. A transfer student from somewhere not in Daisuke's Town."

"You know, it's actually called-" Daisuke started, but was interrupted by Donis and Takeshi cracking up.

"Um, what is wrong with you two, besides what we already knew?" Riku asked in confusion.

"What's wrong with you? There isn't any place outside of Daisuke's Town!" The two continued laughing.

"Um, this place is really called-"

"Yes there is! What do you think we've been learning in history all year?!" Riku yelled, throwing out her arms and whacking poor Lucy in the face.

"What have we been learning in history this year?" Takeshi asked, completely serious.

"… You know what? Forget you morons. Let's go, Risa."

"I'm not a moron! And this place is called-"

"Well, you smell funny!" Takeshi shouted, unable to think of a more clever insult on the spot.

Donis slapped Takeshi.

"How awfully un-gentlemanly of you! Don't be mean to women!" Donis said.

Daisuke left quietly as the two began to fight in very unmasculine ways.

"Okay, class," Daisuke's insignificant advisor said. "We have a new studnet named Mio Hio. I hope you all make her welcome and such."

"Talking, hi, talking, I'm Mio Hio, inhale, exhale" Mio Hio said.

"Yes, I just said that," said the insignificant advisor. "Please sit down."

"Walking, inhale, walking, exhale, walking, inhale, placing down books, exhale, sitting, inhale-" Mio began.

"What are you doing?" said the insignificant advisor.

"Talking, saying everything I'm doing, commence talking," Mio said with a grin.

"… Well, that's going to have to stop," the insignificant advisor said unhappily.

"Talking, well what if I, inhale, forget what I'm doing, exhale, commence talking?" Mio said, gasping (and saying "gasping").

"I'm sure you'll live," the advisor said sarcastically and began the lesson.

'You two sure have a lot in common,' Dark said.

'Huh? Are you saying I'm stupid?!' Daisuke inner-yelled.

'Not exactly. Well, kind of. You're both very forgetful, you both have funny hair, and you both have a curse!'

'What? What do you mean Mio has a curse?' said Daisuke, now interested.

'That name is a curse! Her parents are awful; who names their daughter 'Mio' when their last name is Hio?'

"Daisuke? Hello? What is the answer to number three?" random advisor shouted.

"Um…" Daisuke flipped to a random page in his text book. "Uh, I got seven."

"We're in history class, Mr. Niwa," random advisor said sternly. "You're just lucky that seven is actually the answer I was looking for."

"Oh… um… Okay then." Daisuke took out his other text book, but was distracted by a strange gagging noise on his left.

It was Mio, who had forgotten to swallow and was now choking on her saliva.

"Is their a problem, Miss Hio?" the advisor asked.

"I think so! Oh," Mio blinked. "Nevermind, I'm okay now!"

"Are you sure you're in the right grade?" random advisor asked.

"Um… my paper says I should be in the ee-darg hat-ha-gee," Mio said, reading carefully.

Random advisor looked at her paper. "It's the eighth grade, Miss Hio. You're reading it backwards."

"OH!" Mio started snort-laughing for about five minutes until the random advisor dismissed her class twenty seven minutes early, saying something about needing a vacation.

"Wow, the new girl is a total idiot. She makes even me look smart," Takeshi said, staring at Mio who had a blank, happy look on her face. Mio noticed Takeshi staring at her.

"Hi, I'm Mio Hio," she said brightly.

"Yes, I know," Takeshi answered flatly.

"Really? Who told you?" Mio asked, scared. She rummaged around her backpack and took out a can of pepper spray. "Don't hurt me or I'll viciously attack!"

"Um… please don't…" Takeshi said, not looking forward to being injured yet again before it was even noon.

"Wow, I'm surprised you knew a word like viciously," Daisuke noted.

"Do I?" Mio asked, pointing to herself. "Mio? GACK!" She swallowed again. "I love toucans!"

"Um… I'm so happy for you," Daisuke said nervously.

"Do you like toucans?" Mio asked, leaning forward on Daisuke's desk, a little too close for comfort and threatening to pop his personal space bubble.

"Uh, yeah, they're cool, I guess," Daisuke said, leaning so far back in his chair he could feel his spine snap.

"Wow." Mio grinned. "Wanna be my friend?"

"Um…" Daisuke blinked. "Um, may…be?"

"I don't like you," Takeshi said, who had always been overly truthful, though not quite as much as Risa.

"What class do you have next?" Daisuke asked.

Mio looked at her schedule. "Tra."

"I think you mean art," Daisuke offered. "Takeshi has art next, too."

Takeshi looked like he was going to cry.

"Takeshi? I always hated that name," Mio said without the tiniest bit of regret.

"What is this? Let's Make Fun of Takeshi Day?" Takeshi shouted.

"Everyday is for my mom," Daisuke answered.

Takeshi was about to go off to hit his head against a wall repeatedly, when suddenly in came his idol, Satoshi.

"Satoshi! Good to see you!" Takeshi sputtered, going down on his knees.

"Yes, I suppose it is," Satoshi said distantly. "You are Daisuke's… sidekick? Is he here?"

"Who cares? Man, I haven't seen you in ages! How have you been?" Takeshi asked.

"Terrible. See you later, Cynthia."

"Um… bye…" Now Takeshi went to go give himself a swirly… he's just that cool.

"So this is Mio Hio! Pleasure to meet you!" Donis said happily.

"It's a pleasure to meet me too," Mio said in a very half-awake way.

"… I have to help her find her classes today," Daisuke said unhappily.

"Why, how fortunate! I wish I could be graced with the task of escorting young Mio here to all her lessons!" Donis said with a manly grin.

"I hate big words," Mio said, chewing on the end of her hair.

"Anyway, we've got cooking now, Mio. Remember to stay focused… If that's even possible," Daisuke said, saying the last part to himself... and Dark. Goodness grape juice.

"Today we are making a simple pan-fried lemon ricotta gnocchi with parmesan and potatoes . Don't mess it up!" Mr. Intense shouted, before turning back to his French cooking magazine and trying to pronounce the names of the various cheeses.

"Are you going to be able to do this, Mio?" Daisuke asked.

"So I just use this big knife right here?"

"No, Mio, that's a butcher knife; it's used for meat," Daisuke said, though the thought of Mio wielding any knife was frightening. "Let's just stick with our littler… knife-things."

"I cut myself," Mio said, staring at her bleeding finger notoriously. "Oh dear." She sucked on the blood, then got back to work.

"No! Mr. Intense will kill you!" Daisuke whispered, grabbing her wrist perhaps a little too hard. "His bad cooking senses will be going crazy!"

"I suppose I should wash my hands then," Mio said, staring at the faucet.

"Yes, I suppose you should get around to that," Daisuke muttered, completely exacerbated at her idiocy. 'Geez, she's worse than Donis.'

"You have ten minutes left to work!" Mr. Intense shouted.

Daisuke was in the middle of setting up his dish when Mio returned.

"Mio, what took you so long?" Daisuke asked, wondering if this was really worth hearing.

"I couldn't remember which knob it was that turned on the water," Mio said in her usual nasalizing way.

"Okay, times up!" Mr. Intense shouted. The only noise that could be heard was a loud, clanging sound as Daisuke hit himself in the head with a meat tenderizer. Mr. Intense walked up and down, saying this and that about students' meals.

"Well, Risa, what do you have to show me today?" Mr. Intense shouted.

"Well, I don't know what a gah-no-chi is -or how to pronounce it, for that matter- so I just made you a ham sandwich," Risa mumbled absentmindedly.

"Gnocchi," Mr. Intense explained, obviously trying to contain his conniption, "is an Italian pasta dish, containing dumplings and spices or sauces that enhance the flavor. These include tomato sauce, butter and cheese. Did you use tomato sauce, butter or cheese?"

"Um… it's got mayonnaise on it-"

"Get your knife sharpened, Harada. The cabbages await you after school," Mr. Intense said in his scrutinizing way. Risa growled and made faces at Mr. Intense after he left.

"Good job, Daisuke. I'm impressed with your work." Daisuke sighed happily, though he knew Mio was about to get an earful.

"Hi, I'm Mio Hio," Mio stated for about the ump thousandth time that day.

"Where is your gnocchi?" Mr. Intense asked.

"I don't know. Was I supposed to have one?" Mio asked.

"Yes." Mr. Intense glared at her.

"Whoops," Mio said. "It's a nice day out, isn't it?"

"That's beside the point," Mr. Intense shouted. "When I ask you to make gnocchi, I expect you to make it!"

"Did you ask me to make gnocchi? I can do that!" Mio took out a piece of paper.

"What are you doing?" Mr. Intense asked.

"Making gnocchi."

"Gnocchi," Mr. Intense shouted, gritting his teeth and clearly on the verge of losing it, "is not the equivalent to a paper airplane."

"Whoops," Mio repeated.

So she had to stay after school too. Poor Mio. And poor Risa. What fun she must have had.

"Dark, you never did tell me the thing you promised you would. Your past with whatever that dude's name is," Daisuke said on the way home.

'Sorry, I kind of forgot. Wanna know now?'

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

'It all started out when we were little. We were playing this game with a ball called 'Redemption-''

"I'm serious."

'Okay, okay…'

And then the story began… sort of. But the author stopped.