ATTENTION READERS: This is the Beta version of LH5W, if you want to read the official, updated version of the story, you'll have to go over to DeviantArt. com and head on over to my page. My username is Aloubell. You can also get there by going to my fanfiction. net profile which provides a link over there.
In any case, this Beta version is basically the rough draft of LH5W, my first attempt at it. Much of the plot points from this version will be the same in the official version, but there are significant and consistent characterization changes, a few (but very important) plot differences, expansion of past ideas, and overall better quality in storytelling.

All of this will be done over on DeviantArt. I no longer will write the story in traditional prose nor submit/update it here to fanfiction. net. The Beta version will remain here, just know that it isn't the 100% official story.
The official version will be written in a lazy prose mixed with play-writing elements (you'll get what I mean when you see it).
This is the new format for the story from now on.
So please head on over there if you're interested in updates to the story! Thank you for stopping by =D

-Aloe

PLEASE NOTE: The official version is being written somewhat out of order. The official version will start on chapter 46, the place where the Beta version left off. The official version will go on to complete the last chapters of Season 2. Once those are done, I will redo the story over again from Chapter 1 which will be the official version.

Having said that, if you choose to continue on reading, I hope you enjoy the Beta version and look forward to the official!

~*Part 1*~

I just didn't understand…why didn't people want to be around me? Had I done anything wrong? I'm around those other kids all of the time and no matter what, they never accepted me. Whenever I walked by, they'd give me nasty looks and run away. It had been like that for years now. I couldn't take it anymore. No third grader, or anyone, should have to experience such sadness like this. It's just not right.

After lunch ended, I didn't feel as if I could endure the rest of the day surrounded by those rejecting eyes. Every other day, I tried my best to withstand it all—pretended that I didn't care. But a eight-year-old can only take so much. When the teachers weren't looking, I struggled to climb over the gates surrounding the school—avoiding any security guards. My skinny arms were never all that strong, that's why I never participated in sports—that and the fact that people wouldn't invite me anyway. But I was determined to leave that awful place, even if it was only for a few extra hours.

Running down the sidewalk, I thought of places to go. No place seemed quite right until it finally hit me: I could go home. At home, my parents would be there and probably wouldn't care that I was there as long as I didn't bother them. Other parents would be concerned that their kid was skipping school—not mine. They mainly sent me to school to get me out of their hair. So as long as I was quiet, I wouldn't get in trouble. Besides, if I went home, the one person who appreciated my existence, my big sister, Kajou, would eventually come home and embrace me with a smile.

Panting, I came up to the door of my house, and slowly opened the door. Looking around, I could see that the house was empty—parents were at work and I was all alone. Mom and Dad probably won't be home for a few days…maybe I could just stay here while they're away. Heading towards my room, I scanned at the walls. There were pictures of Kajou everywhere—with her red-orange flaming hair that flowed all the way down her back and big, yet strikingly majestic amber eyes. Being five years older than me, she was always extremely popular with both the girls and the guys. Not only that, she was successful in absolutely everything that she did—always winning certificates, trophies, plaques, and ribbons. She could do absolutely anything. That was why our parents were fonder of her, she brought joy into their lives—I was just a mistake and they treated me as such. Kajou was the only one who ever felt sorry for me, the only one to show me compassion. Even though so many people like her, she only paid attention to me. I loved her so much for that.

Walking into my room, I wondered if I should turn the lights on. Everything in my room looked so barren—no pictures of friends, no pretty or cool designs…just…blah. Okay, so the lights stay off. Going in further, the weight of everything suddenly fell on me, and I couldn't take it anymore. I usually kept up such a tough front to show people that I wasn't weak—that I wasn't affected by the things they did or didn't do. But the truth of it was that I had to cry every now and then—away from the judging world around me. Feeling tears well up in my eyes, I fell onto my bed and buried my face into my pillow. I cry my eyes out, feeling my pillow get damp from the tears. Everything just hurt so much, I asked myself over and over what was keeping me there—why I would keep forcing myself to endure all of this. I hoped that my life wouldn't continue being that way, but something told me that I just couldn't escape from that misery. Looking up slightly, I noticed a large black ring surrounding me—everywhere I went, it was there even if I couldn't always see it. It wasn't always there, I sort of remembered a time when I was younger and I didn't have to worry about something like this. But the moment it appeared, people avoided me even more—saying that I caused them to have negative feelings like worry, doubt, and fear. They never understood that it wasn't my fault.

Senses clouded, I didn't hear anyone come into my room. But suddenly, someone else's weight shifted the bed before a familiar hand rubbed my back.

"Aki? What's wrong, honey?"

"Kajou…" Glancing at my sister, I saw her sitting there with a sympathetic look. She was still in her school uniform: a long white dress shirt under a brown vest, jacket, and ruffled skirt, complimented with a sky-blue bow at the collar. Seeing how she was there made me realize that I had been crying there for the past three and a half hours.

"Aki, did you skip school today?"

I shook my head slightly. "Not the whole day. I left after lunch." Turning onto my side, I faced her.

She gave a small smile. "My, aren't you the sneaky one?"

"Mom and Dad won't be mad at me, will they?"

This time, she shook her head. "I'll make sure that they won't get mad. You won't get into any trouble, I promise." If Kajou were never there, my parents would be a lot harsher on me. Thanks to her persuasive skills (and the fact that she was their favorite anyway), she managed to have them go easier on me whenever they were upset. She was like an angelic shield that protected me from an even worse life. "I'll tell them that I went to pick you up because you were feeling sick. They'll believe that."

Between hiccups, I asked, "Don't you have volleyball practice right now?"

"Silly," she said with her smile softening, "I sensed that you were sad and came straight home. Nothing in the whole universe—especially sports—is more important to me than you. I want you to be happy, Aki, and I'm the only one who can do that." She moved to lie on the bed next to me, scooting me up to her to hold me in her arms. My body suddenly went warm as she strokes my hair in a motherly way. "Now tell me, what is making you so unhappy?"

Trying to find the right words, I hesitated for a moment. Kajou patiently sat there as the words formed in my mind. "I just feel so lonely, Kajou. For some reason, nobody wants to be near me or talk to me, and no matter what I do, it seems like things only get worse. I feel like some kind of freak. I just don't understand. What's wrong with me?"

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, my dear little Akimoto. You're beautiful, you're smart, and you're more unique than anyone in the whole world. To me, you're absolutely perfect." Her voice suddenly went dark. "It's everyone else that's the problem. I've told you before: In this cold world, you can't trust anyone. People will only make you sad and disappoint you. That's why I give you this bit of advice little sister: don't make any friends, you don't need them. They'll just end up making you even more miserable. They'll use you, forget about you, and treat you like dirt. It hurts less just to not be involved with them."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Because people are fools—they are too stupid to contemplate what it right and truly beautiful. You know how bad you feel right now?" I nodded. "Well, when you befriend one of those idiots and lose them as a friend, you'll feel much, much worse—leaving a scar in your heart that most likely will never heal."

Trying to process her words, something came to my attention. "But Kajou, you have a bunch of friends. You know…those people who are always around you."

She bitterly laughed. "There is a difference between fans and friends. They are really only around me for their own personal gain in the long run. I would never think for a second that one of them even truly cares for me. For those who do believe that I'm their friend—well, let's say that they are fooling themselves and I like watching the fools play." Winking, she told me, "No one said that Kajou couldn't have any fun, could they?"

As tears started to flow again, Kajou noticed and wiped them away. Once she did so, I asked, "What am I supposed to do then? I hate feeling so lonely."

Taking my hand into hers, she brought me even closer. "You don't have to feel lonely, because I love you Aki and I know you love me. We only need each other—all I need is you and all you'll ever need is me. We can ignore the world around us, and I promise to always be there for you. Don't make any friends—I'm the only friend that you'll ever need and I won't disappoint you."

"What about our parents?"

"I am grateful that they have given me a home as well as the gift of my life and yours, but other than that, they are of no significance to me. In fact, I sort of hate them for not accepting you, my dear little sister." I opened my mouth to speak again but she beat me to it. "No more questions. Just promise me that you'll take what I say to heart." Without hesitation, I nodded. "Good." She put her hand firmly under my chin and lifted my face to hers. Softly speaking, she said, "I love your red eyes so much Aki. And I'll be happy as long as those beautiful eyes are only looking at me…and no one else."

Maybe Kajou was right, perhaps if I never even made friends in those worlds, I wouldn't have been in so much pain. Regardless of whether they meant it or not, my old friends had hurt me—knowing them…and losing them…cut deeper than any physical wound possibly could. Perhaps making that wish was a mistake. After losing Kajou, I needed to fill the void and find someone who would love me—to find someone who would be my silver-lining in a life that was so messed up. All of this made me think if making the wish and going on the trip was worth it. My mind was so clouded that I didn't know what was right for me anymore.

I couldn't stop the tears from flowing—they seemed to be on automatic as my body walked on its own behind the floating Taiitsukun. Usually by this time, I would have been hounding the old lady with questions and complaining. Doing this for the third time, however, kind of dried me up of any of the energy I had before—it was completely gone, just like my wand was. Taiitsukun had said that I was a Master now, but the truth was that I didn't feel any more powerful or confident. I just felt…empty.

As my head hung low, I felt Taiitsukun inspecting me from the corner of her eye. "You know, child, you are the first out of all the girls to skip Mage and go straight to Master. It is quite remarkable indeed." Feeling as if my voice box didn't work, no response came from me. "Your emotions, as of now, will affect your flow of energy, so I'm going to have to make sure that you're stable enough to use your magic. Also, since you can now use magic without a wand, I am having you go into training to get used to the feeling." She stopped. "I am sending you to another world."

My body froze in fear. No! I can't do it again. I can't! Even more tears ran down, each and every one dripping onto the floor.

She either didn't notice or chose not to acknowledge my pain. "This world is not meant for you to achieve your wish. No. You are just there to get a hand at casting spells without a wand. Ordinarily, it would probably only take a day for you to get it. However, because of your emotional state, it is inconclusive as to when you will recuperate. So I suggest feeling better soon."

Through the tears, my body started to shake with anger. Feel better soon? She has absolutely no idea what I'm feeling. She acts as if each and every one of my emotions has some on/off button that I can access at any time! Maybe if I had that…things wouldn't be so hard. But I don't, and they are. And I was starting to think that that was how it was always going to be.

Suddenly, there was a bright red light shining in front of us as a figure materialized from it. The figure turned out to be a pretty woman who looked like she was in her early thirties, with short light, coffee-brown hair with her bangs parted on one side and comforting dark brown eyes. She was wearing a light green, long-sleeved blouse, and deep blue jean capris. She looked around the black void for a few seconds and had a look of awe and nostalgia on her face. When finally noticed me, her eyes lit up and a huge smile ran across her face.

Running over, she grabbed both of my hands. "My, aren't you cute! You're just too adorable. How old are you?"

Taiitsukun gave an exasperated sigh. "She's seventeen, Emiko."

Turning her head towards Taiitsukun, the woman's smile faltered a little, but remained genuine. "Oh, Taiitsukun, didn't see you there."

"Of course you didn't! You've always been so absentminded."

The woman laughed a little. "You're still uptight Taiitsukun!" Never letting go of my hand, she turned back to me. "I'm sorry I almost forgot! My name is Emiko Niwa and you're Akimoto Tsubaki, right?" Nodding slowly, I brought my face up to see better through my bangs. She gasped. "Oh my goodness, have you been crying?" She stroke my hair on the side. "Did the mean ol' Taiitsukun make Aki cry?"

"I most certainly did not!" Taiitsukun exploded. "And I'm not mean!" Coughing to clear her throat, she regained her composure. "I brought you here for a reason Emiko. You need to take her to your world and make sure that she gets some training in on using her magic without a wand."

"Tell Auntie Emiko why you're crying. I wanna see that pretty face smile!" Hearing Emiko say the words similar to Hikaru's made me feel slightly worse.

"Emiko! You completely ignored me!"

Turning around to face the old lady, Miss Emiko giggled. "I heard you loud and clear, Miss Uptight. I know what I gotta do, we went over this." Putting her arm around my shoulders, she brought me in closer. "I'll gladly take young Aki under my wing to help her out. I'd be happy to! My house is always more exciting when a new friend comes along!"

Seeing my somewhat baffled face hidden behind the miserable one, Taiitsukun said, "Emiko here is going to help you with your magic. Her family has been practicing magic for generations—although slightly different magic—so she is probably the best I can get to make sure that you don't slip up."

"Hey, don't speak to her like that. She won't slip up." She shook her head. "Jeez, why are you always so negative?" At that, Taiitsukun blushed a little and turned away. Huh, I never thought that someone could ever get to her like that. "Everything will be fine! We'll have Aki swinging around spells without a wand like a pro in no time."

Sighing again, Taiitsukun extended her arm to open another door-sized portal. Giving me a slight push, Miss Emiko and I walked towards the gateway.

"I want her to be ready no later than a month, Emiko," Taiitsukun warned.

Emiko gave her a playful scowl. "A month? Just that little time? You shouldn't rush these things. She's a teenage girl and these feelings aren't easy to handle. Girls are delicate little flowers that need time and care in order to heal—"

"Thirty days, Emiko!" Taiitsukun got all in her face and everything to yell out that message. Miss Emiko turned away as she led me through the portal. In the blink of an eye, we were in some type of big chamber made of cement stones, lit only with several large torches.

As my tears started to dry, I looked around with sensitive, most-likely blood-shot eyes. The place looked pretty clean, but it had sort of a dungeon-y feel to it. Is this her house? What kind of place is this?

She smiled. "I know what you're thinking, and yes, this is a part of my house, but only the basement. This is where you'll be doing your training." Are you kidding me? This place isn't nearly big enough to withstand this kind of magic. "I know the place doesn't look all that impressive for something like that, but the room is actually protected by a barrier that makes it so that it doesn't get destroyed with any kind of spell. It took a while to put it up, but it was well worth the effort." Looking from her to back to the room, I thought, well, if she says so. I walked around trying to get a feel for the place. Miss Emiko giggled again. "You're not much of a talker, are you? Or are you just shy?" She started circling around me as if she was doing some kind of investigation. "It's funny. Taiitsukun told me that you were a bit stubborn and hard to handle. I don't see that at all." Her face suddenly fell and lost its peppiness. "It's because you've been hurt, isn't it? With the things you've been through, it's no surprise why you're like this."

Finally speaking, I said in a low tone, "You don't know what I've been through."

"You'd be surprised about what I know."

"Bullshit!" I shouted. "I'm not talking about any of that lame teenage girl crap that all girls go through when they mature. I wish those were my problems…" Falling to my knees, I brought my hands to cover my face as tears ran out once again.

Hearing footsteps come my way, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "I know things are hard right now, Aki. But you have to be strong and fight through it so that you could achieve your happily ever after." Bringing my face up, I turned to her to see her smiling. "Some things are worth fighting for, right?" My eyes went wide. How does she know about me? How much did Taiitsukun tell her about me? She had no right. Taking hold of my hand, she helped me up. Well, at least this woman seems sincere. Drying my tears, she said, "Why don't we get you something to eat before we get started on the training?" Feeling too vulnerable to argue, I gave a slight nod. She led me over to a flight of stairs that circled up to the first floor of the house.

The inside of the actual house was pretty normal—other than the dungeon-y, magical training ground that they had under it. The hallways and rooms were brightly lit, decorated with a cheery décor, family pictures, plants, furnishings, etc—everything a comfy home should have. She led me into a kitchen filled with the delicious aromas of many different dishes—and a young girl who looked about my age. She had short, silvery hair with thick, long bangs, sea green eyes, pink lip gloss, and three piercings in each ear. She was wearing a no sleeve indigo maid outfit with a short skirt, a pink apron with a poufy bow in the back, and an indigo maid head piece. When she saw us, she immediately ran over and hugged me.

"Miss Emiko! She's just adorable!" She squealed. Jeez, is everyone in this world clingy like this?

"I know, right? And look at her eyes!" The weird girl backed off a bit to look at me in the face with her big jade eyes. "She has the exact same eye color as Daisuke!"

"You're right, she does!"

Miss Emiko clapped her hand as an epiphany came to her. "Oh yeah! Aki, this is Towa, she's a friend of the family—"

"As well as the family maid." She did a small curtsey. "Towa at your service Miss Aki! Miss Emiko told us that we would be having a guest for a few days. So I prepared a meal for you!" It seemed like she had prepared some type of beef stew, some rice, and a salad. To be honest, I wasn't all that hungry, but I didn't want to be rude after they'd shown me this kind of hospitality. So I sat down at the table as Towa handed me a plate of food. They both stood at the side of the table watching me with smiles on their faces until someone else came into the room. It was an old man with a gray beard, gray spikey hair, and dark brown eyes the same color as Miss Emiko's.

Taking my mind off of the untouched food, I looked over to the newcomer. He waved. "So you're finally here huh? Well it's nice to meet you. I am Daiki Niwa, Emiko's father. If there is anything I could do to help out with your training, don't hesitate to let me know." Damn! Does everyone in this world know about me? He faced Miss Emiko. "How long has she been here?"

"She's only been here for about half an hour. After eating, I was going to take her back down and get started. No time like the present, right? Things may be a bit shaky at first, but she's a strong girl, she'll get it in no time!" Apparently, I had absolutely no say in any of this stuff. There was always the option to run, but where was I honestly going to go? Part of me really wanted to not only get the heck out of there, but quit with whole wish journey. The other part told me that I was in this way too deep to get out of it, no matter what I was feeling. The universe was totally getting a kick out of my pain at this point.

After eating (two bites), Miss Emiko realized that I wouldn't get very far with the meal, so we headed down back to the basement for the start of my training—well, it wasn't really training because I already knew my powers, so it was more like a reteach, but without the wand. She told me that after using my magic for a while, I'd definitely work up an appetite. But I doubted it.

Having me stand in the middle of the room, she stood in front of me with her hands on her hips. "Okay, before we get into spells and stuff, we need to make sure that you can still openly access your power. Behind every spell that you use, it's your energy that manipulates the elements or entity that you wish to control. Take away the thing your controlling and you have pure energy. With or without a wand, any magic user should have the ability to make their energy manifest on its own, even if it's only for a second." Lifting her hands up as if she were holding a ball, she said, "Let me demonstrate."

Suddenly, I felt an odd sensation fill the room. My body started to feel slightly heavier, like the gravity in the room went up a couple notches. It wasn't hurting, or uncomfortable, it was just…and odd feeling. When I looked at Miss Emiko, I noticed that her body was starting to emit a flickering, but bright pale gray light. Soon enough, a small sphere of light of the same color appeared in her hands. I stood there in awe in what I was seeing.

She giggled. "You see? This is the basics of magic. It's kind of a small light, but being a descendant of a family full of magic users, it's possible for me to do this. I'm sure that your light will be even more impressive!" Her glow disappeared as she pointed to me. "Now focus Aki and make your power appear before you. You'll see that you don't need a wand at all!"

I didn't want to just stand there and do nothing, so I figured that maybe this would get my mind off of things. Searching within myself, I closed my eyes and tried to find the core of my power. I felt kind of lost because I had absolutely no idea where to start. Thinking of my dilemma, I decided that if I what she said was true, I'd start off by telling my body that I was going to use Wind, but before it actually manifested as Wind, I'd make it form as actual energy like she had done and said. Concentrating, I focused on Wind, my natural-born element that had never failed me before—completely ignoring the times when it seemed to work almost too well—almost causing tornadoes that completely destroyed an area. Deep inside, I hoped that I didn't end up destroying this poor defenseless house. She may have said that there was a barrier protecting it—well, she hasn't seen what I was capable of.

I had sat there for a while trying to find my power, but something felt wrong. The more I tried to reach it, the farther I seemed to be going. It was hard to completely concentrate since I was still depressed, but nonetheless, accessing Wind shouldn't have been a problem. But it was, and was making me feel inadequate and like a failure. Sweat trailed down the side of my face as I concentrated more and more, with little to no results. What kind of Master am I if I can't even do this? What if Taiitsukun was wrong, what if I had actually lost my power? Since leaving the previous world, I felt detached from everything—including my power—and I felt nothing.

Starting to feel a bit fatigued, everything in my vision began to spin with my head getting feeling light. Panting, my legs felt uneasy making me almost fall.

Emiko's voice rang out, "Aki! That's enough!" She ran over to me to keep my body up from collapsing. "It's not good to try and force it like that. You have to think of your energy like a stove: what you were just doing was like turning the knob to turn the fire on, but all you get is gas. Without the spark, the fire, or your power, will never start and you'll keep wasting energy, causing you to tire out a lot faster than you normally would while using magic."

Breathing heavy, I told her, "I can do it. Just give me some time."

"And you'll have that time. But not now, you need some fresh air." Turning her head away from me and towards the stairs, she yelled, "Towa! Would you be a dear and take Aki out for a little walk?"

"Sure thing Miss Emiko! I'd be happy to!" Towa shouted back. Miss Emiko's yell still rang in my ears as I winced in pain. Sheesh! Don't those two believe in walking up to someone to talk to them?

She must have noticed because she nervously laughed while her face went a bit red. "Oh, I am so sorry about that!"

Rubbing my temples, I said, "Don't worry about it…"

As we walked around, Towa had been telling me how the Niwa's were a really nice and exciting family. She also said that there was someone that she just couldn't wait for me to meet. I was wondering if it was that Daisuke person that they said I had the same eye color as. But considering she was making such a big deal as well as keeping it a secret, I figured that the person she was talking about was somebody different entirely. Scanning the town, I realized that it was a pretty nice and clean place. The streets were made of bricks and the houses were sort of old-fashioned-looking on the outside. It was actually kind of cute how the set-up of it all was. There was even a trolley! The people seemed really friendly as well. All of this lead me to believe that this was a peaceful town where nothing bad ever happened. The question was if the town had more to it than it lead on to believe.

We eventually stopped in front of a small café. Towa said that she recognized two of the girls sitting outside under an umbrella drinking tea.

"Miss Harada Twins! How are you two girls doing?" Towa asked with a bright smile. Twins? My stomach did an uncomfortable twist. That is the last thing I needed when going to a new world.

The one with long brown hair and a huge pink bow smiled back and answered using a cute, high-pitched voice . "Miss Towa, right? It's been a while! We're fine."

"Miss Towa, it's not necessary to call us 'Miss Harada Twins'. We are Riku and Risa, okay?" Said the girl with short, reddish-brown hair who sat across the table. They must be fraternal twins. Both of them looked a couple years younger than me and had the same chocolate-brown eyes and wore the same school uniform: A long white shirt and collar with a short, off-red vest and a burgundy skirt. "Who's that with you?"

"Oh! This is Aki Tsubaki! She's staying with me and the Niwa's for a few days."

The one with long hair gave me a smile. "It's nice to meet you Tsubaki. I'm Risa Harada and this is my sister Riku. Welcome to the town!" She looked at my wrist. "That is the most beautiful bracelet I've ever seen! Where did you get it?" I couldn't help but look away when she asked. It was still hard for me to accept that I was forced to leave the first guy I ever really like and possibly loved. This was the only thing I had to remind me of the happiness I had there, and in it contained Hikaru's feelings for me.

Her sister, Riku, chimed in trying to change the subject probably from seeing how uncomfortable I was. "Staying with the Niwa's huh? Are you Daisuke's cousin?"

Towa blushed and talked frantically, "No, nothing like that. She's a friend of the family from out of town."

"Where out of town?" Riku gave sort of a skeptical tone when she spoke—which sort of annoyed me.

"Way out of town," Towa replied.

"That's not really an answer…"

"Well…uh…" Towa looked back at me with a "help me out here" look. Coming up with something—that would qualify as a "snappy" comment towards Riku—I was interrupted by a guy's voice from behind.

"Who are you?"

I turned around to face a guy who looked around the same age as Riku and Risa. He had light, baby-blue hair and cerulean eyes while wearing thin-framed glasses. The most noticeable thing of all was that he was sitting in a large black stretch limo. I couldn't even understand how I didn't see that thing coming down the street. Were my senses really that messed up at that moment?

"Hiwatari, what are you doing here?" Risa asked the guy curiously.

Acknowledging her, he answered with a flat voice, "I was just passing through when I noticed this strange woman standing here." Who're you calling strange? The more I thought about it, the more I felt as if there was something strange with that guy. There was something different about him compared to everyone else, but I couldn't quite find what it was.

"Her name is—"

"My name is Akimoto Tsubaki." I ended up cutting off Riku the moment I couldn't stand being spoken for any longer. It annoyed the hell out of me how people had been answering for me since I arrived there. I may have been depressed and didn't feel like talking much, but I was still me. It was usually against my morals to show weakness and tread around all depressed like I had been. But I was just so upset that the sadness just flowed out. So I realized that I needed to try to keep it together slightly more than I had been—even if it was tearing me up inside.

Riku gave me a somewhat irritated look before she spoke again. "She's apparently staying with the Niwa's."

Risa gave a sly smile. "You're just upset 'cause Niwa didn't tell you anything aren't you? Are you jealous Riku?" Riku instantly blushed at the question.

"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!"

"Staying with the Niwa's huh? How…Interesting…" He eyed me top to bottom. It wasn't in a "checking me out" kind of way, more like in a "there's something odd about this particular girl" sort of way. This led me to ask myself how perceptive this guy was. His window started to go up but stopped it to say, "It was nice meeting you Miss Tsubaki." After that, he was driving off down the road.

"Okay, so who was that?" I asked.

"His name is Satoshi Hiwatari. He's a classmate of ours and a friend of Niwa's." Risa told me as she took a sip of tea.

It was clear to me that she was speaking about a specific Niwa, not the family as a whole. This whole thing reminded me of how I hated that whole Japanese thing of calling someone by their last name. Not only was it annoying, but it left a lot of room for confusion when someone was talking about or to somebody especially when they meant someone else. You have no idea how much of a relief it was when I moved to America and people were calling each other by their first names. No one ever got confused (except for those times when people had the same first name, but that wasn't nearly as confusing as calling every person in a family by their last name)!

I sort of wanted to ask them which particular Niwa they were talking about, but decided that I was probably going to end up meeting them anyway. Not only that, but if I asked, Riku here might wonder as to why I didn't know one of the Niwa's when I was supposed to be a "friend" of the family. If I was dealing with stupid people here, my life would be a lot easier.

"So…Tsubaki," Riku began, "where did you say you were from?" Damn the distractions didn't work!

Towa started to panic in my place. "W-we already told you, out of town! O-oh look at that, the sun is setting." She pretended to look into the distance. "What's that Miss Emiko? You need us home? Right away!" Taking my hand, she bolted down the street. She suddenly stopped to face the Harada twins with a smile glued to her face. She shouted, "Sorry we couldn't talk much longer, really wanted to! Have a nice day and see you later!" Then continued to run so fast that the world around us became a blur. Talk about déjà vu.

Hearing the door slam behind us, I hunched over, panting from all the running. Okay, I understand running away from those two. What I don't understand is running all the way back to the house. We could have easily avoided them by just running one block.

Towa, who didn't seemed fazed at all, stood in front of me with that same smile that was going borderline creepy. "Sorry about that Miss Aki. Are you okay?" Am I okay? Where the hell do you get all that perkiness from?

Miss Emiko poked her head out from around a corner. "Aki! Towa! I'm glad you're back!" And speaking of perky… "There is someone special that I would like you to meet." She yelled to the hallway in back of her. "Dai! They're back!"

At the sound of a door opening and closing, footsteps of some unknown person came closer. Soon enough, a boy who was slightly shorter than me and looked around the age of those teens I met at the café stood there. He had spikey hair similar to Mr. Niwa's but his was a bright crimson red along with eyes of a very similar color. It was his eyes that tipped me off as to who he was.

"Aki, this is my handsome and sweet son, Daisuke. Daisuke, Aki."

The boy walked up to me to shake my hand—I complied. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Tsubaki." That's when she showed one of the most charming, sincere smiles I had ever seen. In fact, it would probably be a good challenge against Tamaki's. Looking at him closer, I saw that his school uniform—that consisted of dark brown dress pants, a red undershirt, and a short-sleeved white shirt over it with a collar that had a red stripe on it—was the boy version of the uniform that the Harada twins were wearing.

"See Dai? She has the same eyes as you, isn't that interesting?" Miss Emiko asked.

He blushed and laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah, sure mom."

All of a sudden, Miss Emiko had this devious twinkle in her eye. She reached into her pocket and hugged Daisuke from behind with one arm. Thinking that she was going to do something bad to him, my body tensed up, ready for anything. What I didn't expect was for her to take out a wallet-sized photo and showing it him. What the?

"Wait—mom!" His whole face went red as his body started to pulsate.

"Sorry about this Dai, but Aki deserves to meet the other member of the family…and I have a plan, remember."

As I blinked in confusion, Daisuke started to grow several more inches, finally getting taller than me. His spikes became skinnier as well as longer, mostly in the front as his bangs fell longer as well. An extreme change occurred when his hair went from red to a deep violet. When he opened his eyes—that had gone significantly sharper and more mature, and had also gone from red to violet—he smirked the moment he saw me. What happened? He' s a completely different guy now!

He spoke with a deeper and smoother voice. "It's way better out here now that I get to meet you in person." Lifting my hand up, he kissed it softly causing me to blush slightly and look down. What the hell is with this guy? My stomach turned in that familiar way it did when a cute guy was around. And despite the fact that I was still attempting to get over leaving Hikaru, my body couldn't deny when it was attracted to someone. Damn hormones. "Dark Mousy at your service Miss Akimoto Tsubaki." He continued to hold my hand.

Looking over at Miss Emiko, I gave her a "what the hell" look. She giggled. "You see Aki, part of the magic of our family is that whenever a male is born, and after they turn fourteen, they take on the responsibility of harboring Dark inside of them." She probably knew what I was going to ask, so she said, "Don't worry so much about why that happens. All you need to know is how I know how down you're feeling and thought that Dark here could show you a good time. After all, pretty girls like you tend to feel a lot better with a smart, and extremely handsome young man with them." She turned to him. "You don't mind, do you Dark?" I didn't need this right now—in fact, this was the last thing I needed. Emiko knew where I came from was still trying to set me up with this guy. What kind of name was Dark anyway? Was she really so insensitive to get me to fall for another guy just so that I could use my powers? Not only did it probably not work like that, but I was starting to think that she was more conniving than I initially thought.

I gave her a scowl as Dark answered. "Of course I don't mind. I'm actually looking forward to it." Winking at me, I turned my head and blushed again. Oh great. He's a flirt.

"All of this really isn't necessary…" I said in a quiet tone. Maybe he didn't mind, but I certainly did. But apparently, my opinion didn't matter.

"So it's settled then!" Miss Emiko exclaimed as she took my hand. "I am going to get Aki ready as you do the same. Okay Dark?" She didn't listen to a damn thing I said!

"Will do," He told her.

At that, she rushed me into a back room.

"Introducing…Aki the magnificent!" Miss Emiko shouted from around a corner as she pushed me out into the open. I was wearing skin hugging, cashmere, purple one shoulder, no sleeve shirt with a short, blue jean dress and black boots. She even had me wearing lipstick! I felt totally embarrassed—way too much skin was showing. Seeing my bracelet on me still gave me some comfort, but not enough to actually go walking about while looking like this. I mean, come on!

Dark stood in front of the door while wearing a black beret and a silk, dark, olive green button-up shirt with a black dressy jacket and pants. He saw me and smiled, causing me to flush even more. I can't do this!

"You look really hot, Aki. Now I'm really excited for our date."

"It's not a date!" I said quickly. "I didn't even agree to this…" This whole thing felt wrong. How the heck was I expected to go on a date? I still technically had a boyfriend! Well…no…that wasn't entirely true. Hikaru and I—by some cosmic standards—were broken, sort of, up even if it didn't really happen. Nonetheless, my feelings were still with him. So I couldn't go on a date with anyone—especially with someone as good-looking as Dark. It just made me feel…dirty.

Opening the door, he bowed in a gentlemanly way. "It'll be whatever you want it to be." Looking up slightly at me he added, "After you, milady."

My body refused to move. I just stood there mentally beating up myself for looking the way I did and going out with a guy who looked like that. Noticing my hesitancy, Miss Emiko and Towa gave a "gentle" push…right into Dark.

He laughed a little. "Hasty, aren't we? I didn't know you wanted to play like that." I immediately backed off and headed out the door.

"In your dreams," I muttered.

"Hopefully I can make those dreams into reality." And at that, I was walking fast down the sidewalk trying to avoid them from seeing my flushed face.

Sitting at a bakery near the café where I met Riku, Risa, and Satoshi, Dark and I decided to rest there after walking around the town at night for about an hour. I had to admit that the town was significantly more dazzling at night—with the lanterns burning bright and stars twinkling, it was the perfect romantic setting—causing me to keep those types of thoughts out of my head and stay a safe enough distance from Dark. He seemed to find that amusing and tried to get closer whenever I showed resistance. Yup, he's definitely a flirt and a playboy—so confident that he could woo me. If I didn't have any self-control, I won't lie…he may have had a chance—a slight, extremely small chance. Damn those annoying, too-often-getting-in-the-way hormones.

Dark sat there with an amused smile as I attempted to put my attention elsewhere.

"You're cute when you have that embarrassed look on your face," he said. Feeling my face warm up again, I resisted the urge to look at him. "Do I make you nervous?"

"Of course not!" My reaction was unexpected, but my body was practically shaking from not being able to express myself like I usually did. The more I thought about it, the more I was discovering that it took a lot of work to be depressed. When I was younger, it was like my second language—even despite my sister being there. In fact, I found that it was difficult to be any other way. But somehow, since this whole journey began, I'd been finding it harder and harder to stay sad. It was true that my life was like Hell in more ways than one, but something was preventing me from completely internalizing those old feelings of misery and dread. What had happened? Yeah, I was still upset—no doubt about that—but I actually felt like I could handle it all.

"I finally got a reaction! Now we're getting somewhere."

Sighing, I sat back in my seat and rested my arms of the table while folding my hands. "You don't have to be with me out here Dark."

"I know I don't have to. But I want to. You're a very attractive woman." When I finally looked at him, I saw that he was intently looking at me.

Feeling slightly intimidated, I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "No I'm not."

"Ah, I see. You're just like Riku: so modest about your good qualities." He knows Riku? After thinking for a second, I realized that it made sense considering he was a huge flirt. "It's actually quite cute when some girls deny things like that." He suddenly went serious. "But that's not what we're here to talk about." You're telling me that there's actually a legitimate reason for this illegitimate date other than trying to hook me up? "You and I are a lot alike, Aki."

My face fell as my instincts went on high alert. "What do you mean?"

"You heard Daisuke's mother—my mother—back there when she told you how the Niwa men for generations had to share their DNA with mine. Which means that I have been around for many, many years—around four hundred to be exact." My eyes went wide. Four-hundred years? He's that old?

I tried to keep my composure. "Yeah, so?"

He smiled sadly. "So…I've known a lot of people and even fell in love with someone." He…what? "You can imagine how hard it would be to form any real relationship especially when you know that you have to leave them behind eventually. Something like that could really scar a person, make them give up on people forever." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Dark actually knew exactly what I was feeling because he had practically been through it his whole entire life—and then some! In fact, he probably had it worse since everyone he had ever known eventually died while he continued on living. Four hundred years is a long time. "I had considered shutting people out, just doing what I had to do without interaction. But it's hard Aki. There will always be people around, even if its family. So no matter what, people like you and I who have a purpose will always be around people as well as feelings from the past no matter what we do."

Without knowing it at first, warm tears started flowing down my cheeks. So to cover it up, I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand and turned away from him. "So…those horrible feelings of loneliness never go away?"

"In a way, no. They will always be a part of you and who you are. But you have to make sure to remember something very important."

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "What's that?"

"Just as those feelings of loneliness are with you, the feelings of joy and happiness are with you as well. Even though you leave friends behind, you can never truly forget them or the happiness they brought you. It's those positive feelings that beat the bad ones of loneliness and misery every time. It's okay to be sad because you have to leave them, but it's important that you don't stay that way. You have to remember the happy memories instead of the sad departure." His smile became brighter. "Even if it weren't people like us—who are forced to move on—the fact of the matter is that saying good-bye is a part of life. It's how you deal with it that makes you who you are. It's true that I don't know your whole story and the hurt you've endured, but if I can relieve some of the pain, then I'll be happy."

My vision was becoming blurry from the tears again. "Dark…" Damn these emotions! But he really was being very sweet to me. I just didn't know if I had his strength.

"Be happy that you knew them and that you still have the memory of them in order to do so. Then, make sure that you make the most out of life and be happy. After all, doesn't it feel better to smile?" It was then that I remembered Mrs. Hitachiin's words. "It's always more fun to be happy. You should try giving your happiness a chance, right?"

Thinking their words over, a waiter came by and dropped off a piece of chocolate cake. Drying my tears, with my hand I looked up and thanked him before he bowed and walked onto the next customer.

Picking up the fork I poked at the desert. Dark smiled at me softly while leaning his head on his hand with his elbow in the table. "Try it. I guarantee it's the best cake you've ever had."

"I'm not really into many sweets."

"It's delicious, I promise."

Looking down, I scooped up a small piece and put it into my mouth. My whole body felt pleasantly warm the moment it touched my taste buds—it was like, fluffy, chocolaty heaven.

"Oh my God this stuff is amazing!"

Dark saw my reaction and closed his eyes while he smiled genuinely. "Told you."

"How did you know about this cake?"

"The recipe had been passed down in the family and I was tempted to try it some years back. Never regretted the decision." He opened one eye. "You have some frosting on the side of your mouth."

I blushed. "I do?" Grabbing for my napkin, I lifted it to wipe it away. Putting his hand on mine, he said, "No, let me get it." Scooting his chair closer to mine, he grabbed my chin and lifted my face to his. A second later, he lightly licked the frosting off causing me to instinctually fall out of my chair—shuffling to get back up and away from him, face fully red.

"What the hell?"

He snickered. "You're just too cute when you get worked up."

That was when a familiar, yet uncomfortable chilling sensation consumed my body—creating goose bumps all over. My heart started to beat rapidly in a totally different way than it did when I was embarrassed from Dark—it was racing out of fear.

Slowly stepping away from the bakery, Dark looked at me with concern and confusion. "What is it Aki?"

"I—I can't…I'm sorry!" I yelled before I turned and ran away.

The shadow creatures were near and I had absolutely no way of fighting them.

ATTENTION READERS: This is the Beta version of LH5W, if you want to read the official, updated version of the story, you'll have to go over to DeviantArt. com and head on over to my page. My username is Aloubell. You can also get there by going to my fanfiction. net profile which provides a link over there.
In any case, this Beta version is basically the rough draft of LH5W, my first attempt at it. Much of the plot points from this version will be the same in the official version, but there are significant and consistent characterization changes, a few (but very important) plot differences, expansion of past ideas, and overall better quality in storytelling.

All of this will be done over on DeviantArt. I no longer will write the story in traditional prose nor submit/update it here to fanfiction. net. The Beta version will remain here, just know that it isn't the 100% official story.
The official version will be written in a lazy prose mixed with play-writing elements (you'll get what I mean when you see it).
This is the new format for the story from now on.
So please head on over there if you're interested in updates to the story! Thank you for stopping by =D

-Aloe

PLEASE NOTE: The official version is being written somewhat out of order. The official version will start on chapter 46, the place where the Beta version left off. The official version will go on to complete the last chapters of Season 2. Once those are done, I will redo the story over again from Chapter 1 which will be the official version.

Having said that, if you choose to continue on reading, I hope you enjoy the Beta version and look forward to the official!