Ikuku Tsukino took one look at her niece and had to fight the urge to frown. The poor girl was so shy she was positively skittish!

She bent down and looked little Tsunami in the eye.

"Hello Tsunami-chan. I'm your auntie Ikuko. Your mama is my little sister."

"Auntie?" she repeated from where she was shielding herself behind Nana. Ikuko had to keep her expression neutral.

"Too cute!" said Ikuko. And she meant it.

Tsunami blushed and hid behind her mother a little more. Ikuko gently ruffled her hair... it was a pity it was kept so short. She was sure Tsunami would be absolutely adorable with longer hair. Instead hers was rather short and messy.

Ikuko could tell her little sister was suffering. After the death of their parents, Nana had taken it the hardest and had learned to keep her real feelings hidden so well no one would be able to tell she was falling apart inside.

And she could see with her own eyes Nana was just shy of breaking completely.

"Tsunami-chan, how would you like to play with my son?" asked Ikuko gently.

Tsunami perked up at that, even though Shingo was a few years younger than she was. The two of them were soon playing an educational game, though Ikuko had to fight the urge to frown when she realized Tsunami had a bit of trouble with some of the questions.

The second Nana was assured that her daughter wouldn't overhear, and had a cup of tea before her, she broke down.

"Let me get this straight. The town your husband insisted you move to is full of people who harass and belittle not only you, but your daughter as well?"

Nana nodded miserably.

"Iemitsu said it was a beautiful town and a great place to raise our new family. But then he started to leave, until eventually he didn't bother to come home for months at a time. I haven't seen him for at least a few years now," said Nana. "Worse, the children, parents and even some of the teachers have been mocking my poor Tsu-chan. She's had such trouble with her grades at school and they've even started to call her 'Dame-Tsunami, the walking catastrophe' behind her back. And don't get me started on the housewives there! Without a proper husband around, they've been saying such awful things about us!"

Nana barely avoided breaking down and crying.

"I don't know what to do, Onee-san. I don't think I can take much more of this."

Ikuko was past frowning... she was openly displeased.

"And where is this husband of yours?" she demanded. She was going to have a lot of words to say to Iemitsu Sawada and not a lot of them would be nice...or child appropriate.

It was one thing to be away from home working...it was quite another to almost literally abandon your wife and child for years at a time with next to no contact! At least Ikuko saw her own husband regularly, despite the fact he worked for a magazine and traveled for business.

"He claims to be working construction, though the contact information he gave me went through different companies and he never answered even once. And the last time he bothered to visit, all he did was spend a week, eat my cooking and get drunk. He completely dismissed Tsu-chan's request for him to speak to the parents about their harassment, saying that a 'man' had to learn how to stand up for himself!" said Nana furious. "And she hasn't been the same since he brought that strange old man home with him when she was five."

That got Ikuko's attention.

"What old man?"

"He said that the man was his boss, but after their visit Tsu-chan went from a vibrant, happy child who made friends easily into a shy little thing that trips over her own feet regularly. And before you ask, the first thing I did was have her checked over by a doctor to see if that man did anything to her," said Nana furious. "I simply have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Her confidence is completely shot because of those petty children, and the teachers aren't even trying to help!"

Ikuko took a long sip of her tea.

"It sounds like you and Tsunami-chan could use a change in scenery. Or at the very least, Tsunami-chan should switch school districts," said Ikuko firmly.

Nana nodded, her head in her hands.

"Mama?"

Nana put on a brave face, before scooping her child up in a hug. The poor thing was positively tiny for an eleven year old.

"Are you having fun with your cousin?" asked Nana, her mask firmly in place.

Hearing the light growl from her stomach, Ikuko smiled.

"Why don't I bring up some snacks for you two?" she said gently.

Watching the way the little girl ate and backed off if Shingo wanted something instead, Ikuko felt her heart break. Clearly the poor thing was being bullied to the point she couldn't eat her lunch in peace.

Later that night, while the children were asleep, Ikuko broached the subject of taking Tsunami-chan into their house for a few years. At least until she was able to get over her skittish behavior.

Puberty was hard enough without the added harassment of petty children. There was no doubt in Ikuko's mind that the poor girl would suffer a great deal while adjusting to becoming a young woman.

Besides, it wasn't like they didn't have the room for another child.

"Are you sure?" asked Nana.

Ikuko felt sympathy for her younger sister. The poor woman was at her wit's end and had no idea how to help her daughter. She had built herself around the image of a Yamato Nadeshiko after their parents died, and no "perfect housewife" would have a daughter suffering through such trouble in school and have no friends.

"I think both of you need a clean break. Never mind the fact that little Tsunami is going to be a young woman soon. Perhaps this could help her break out of the self-imposed shell she's made around herself," said Ikuko firmly.

Nana was clearly considering it, before a thought occurred to her. One she didn't particularly like, but had to be voiced just in case.

"I think we should do more than that. I think we should change her name as well."

"I agree the 'walking catastrophe' name is a bit harsh, but are you sure?"

"There have been... attempts... on us in the past," admitted Nana reluctantly. "I don't know what my husband actually does, but whatever his job is, it's been attracting some very unsavory people from Italy to us. I know I've heard them mention something about a 'young lion' and how they were going to get even by targetting his family. And I've seen my picture once in the hands of a foreigner."

Now Ikuko was alarmed.

"How does Usagi Tsukino sound?" asked Ikuko with false levity. Changing the name wasn't much, but it would definitely insure no one would find Nana's little girl easily.

Usagi, formly Tsunami, looked at her new home with trepidation. She knew her mother had made arrangements with her aunt Ikuko. Her entire summer had been spent getting her grades up with tutors who sat her down and explained things she had never really gotten. Quite a few of them were furious at the fact none of her teachers bothered to do their jobs and help her, or even point her in the direction of someone who could.

Then again most of the tutors in question were friends of her aunt, so it made sense they would be angry.

"Usagi-chan, welcome home!" said Ikuko.

Tomorrow would be her first day at her new school.

"Ah... I'm home," she replied back.

Ikuko gently ruffled her hair.

"I was thinking we go do something fun and maybe have a girl's day. What do you think of that idea, Usagi-chan?" said Ikuko.

Usagi tilted her head.

"What's a girl's day?"

Ikuko's heart wanted to break at that innocent question.

"Its a day where girls go out and have fun like shopping for clothes, get our nails and hair done, and do all sorts of things without the boys around."

Usagi looked at her feet.

"I always get my nice clothes dirty though."

Ikuko pulled her little niece into a hug.

"Don't worry Usagi...I'm sure you'll find some new friends in your new school," said Ikuko. "And if the boys pick on you like before, I'll have a stern word with their parents."

Ikuko wisely kept her silence at the doubt she had in her eyes. Usagi had very little reason to believe that her aunt would interfere when her mother couldn't do anything about it.

A little while later...

As she thought, Usagi looked absolutely adorable with longer hair.

Ikuko couldn't resist the urge to hug her once the extensions were in.

"Too cute! You look just like Nana did at that age!" cooed Ikuko.

"I look like Mama?" said Usagi, perking up.

"Ah, Ikuko-san! It's been some time!"

Ikuko turned and saw one of her friends. She was having a girl's day with her daughter, who happened to be Usagi's age.

Usagi hid behind her aunt.

"Who's this adorable little cutie?"

"This is my niece Usagi. She's going to be joining K-elementary this week," said Ikuko.

"Poor dear is rather shy isn't she?"

"She was bullied quite a bit in her previous school. Is this little Naru?" asked Ikuko, looking at the red-haired girl next to her mother.

"What class are you going to be in, Usagi-chan?" asked Naru.

"Ah... Class 1-A," she replied.

"Hey, that's my class! Why don't we sit together during lunch?" said Naru.

"I... would like that," said Usagi shyly. Though the adults could hear the doubt in her voice.

Two days later...

Naru brightened when she saw Usagi. Though she frowned briefly when Usagi went to sit in the corner to eat by herself. It bothered her that the other girl flinched when she came near her.

"Hey, Usagi-chan, how about you join us for lunch? Isn't it lonely eating by yourself?"

Usagi blinked, her brown eyes wide with surprise and confusion. She picked up her lunch and allowed the auburn haired girl to lead her without resisting.

Every day at lunch, Naru would drag Usagi to join them. The girl would sit silently and eat her food, as if she was surprised that anyone was including her to their group.

It wasn't until a month had passed that she spoke up.

"This...is nice."

"She spoke!" said Kaede.

"You have a really nice voice," said Shizuru.

Usagi blushed and hid behind her juice.

"How come you always sit silently?" asked Naru, curious.

"I... never had anyone to talk to before."

"Really?" said Naru.

"No one wanted me around," said Usagi quietly. "The other kids at my old school weren't very nice at all."

"What about after school? What sort of clubs or activities did you do?" asked Shizuru.

"I didn't have anything. No one wanted the 'walking catastrophe' in their group, and no one wanted to spend time with me after class was over," said Usagi sadly. "I used to go home and read my manga, since the teachers didn't really do more than chastise me for turning in homework with the bare minimum on it."

"What sort of manga?" asked Naru, trying to change the subject.

"I like sci-fi?" said Usagi after a moment. "I really like the Gundam series, and I find certain fantasy genres to be really fun to read."

"Oh, do you like Miyazaki films?" asked Kaede eagerly.

"I've never really seen any," said Usagi.

"You know what this means, right?" said Shizuru.

"Sleepover at Kaede-chan's house!" said Naru with cheer.

Usagi didn't think much of it, but her shock at being included was pretty obvious when Naru brought it up with her aunt.

Though there were a few...mishaps...whenever they brought up Usagi's home town.

The day that Usagi expressed her surprised that they could eat on the rooftop freely during lunch, for instance.

"You've never had a rooftop lunch before, Usagi-chan?" asked Naru.

"A scary demon always claimed the one at our school. If you tried to eat there he would bite you to death. Then again he always gets really cranky if someone wakes him up or is late to class..."

"Demon?" said Naru shivering.

"Hibari-sempai is so strong that not even the teachers bother to scold him anymore," said Usagi. "He beats up high schoolers too."

"He sounds really scary!" said Shizuru shivering.

Usagi shook her head.

"Hibari-sempai doesn't like fighting the weak. He only goes after people who look like they might give him a challenge and break the rules a lot. The worst I've ever gotten from him is a bump on the head for being late. He takes care of the weaker kids by insuring the bullies know that someone will come after them if they do worse than minor harassment," said Usagi. "Sort of like a big, grumpy wolf that protects his territory."

She would openly admit she respected and admired Hibari Kyouya. He was scary, and violent, but he didn't abuse his power or hurt the weak. It was because of him that she had bothered going to school at all in Namimori, because she felt secure that it would never escalate past minor harassment or harsh words.

"Sounds like you have a crush on him!" said Shizuru.

Usagi blanched at that.

"I wouldn't dare! Hibari-sempai would never go for a small rabbit like me. I just admire him is all."

Kaede changed the subject.

"I heard that they have a miko-in-training over in Higurashi shrine! She can give predictions and they really come true!"

Usagi perked up at that.

"Do they do charms too?"

"Of course!" said Kaede.

"Why don't we go over there for the weekend?" suggested Naru. "Exams are coming up and every little bit helps!"

Usagi nodded shyly. A charm for good grades might help, especially considering she still got confused on some parts.