Umm...hello, everyone. This isn't a pokemon fan fic, but rather a Pretty Cure (or Precure) fan fic. I started this last year in April, and it's since been completed. But it got serious backlash in the fandom, especially the Tumblr fandom for reasons I completely did NOT intend, and now its considered the most controversial fic in the fandom, for mostly dumb, overblown reasons. I'm hoping to get better, more civilized and rational reception here. This is an entirely OC fan fic, so you don't need to know about the canon series in order to enjoy it. I'll admit, it's not the best Precure fan series in the world, and if you have problems with it, you're more than welcome to talk to me about them. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it in spite of its possibly glaring, irredeemable flaws!

Now, the first chapter will be split into two parts because I'm pretty sure there's some kind of word limit on here, and the first chapter alone is 36 pages long. Yeah, I know.

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Twilight Pretty Cure

Chapter 1: I’m a Real Super Hero?! Cure Twilight Shines Through! (Part one)

In another world…

Discord swept across the land like a natural disaster, only this was much worse. It came so suddenly and out of the blue that nobody had time to react, or even understand what just happened. The ground looked as though it were literally stripped of all the grass it ever had, leaving mostly a charred, lifeless ground. All the now leafless trees were twisted in unnatural ways. Clouds of smoke curled into the gray sky, polluting the once clean air. Most houses were more or less demolished, some even collapsing into nothing but piles of rubble. Other areas were simply swallowed up by thunderous blue flames that danced wildly, eating whatever was nearby.

It was a total disaster zone.

It was like every single natural disaster attacked it at the same time, but none of this was natural. Not even a little bit.

In the midst of the wreckage, a young, skinny teenager of about fifteen years old stood looking up at the dismal sky with bloody red eyes shining like a new sports car, as though he was having the thrill of his life. His medium length hair, a shining shade of silver, glistened amidst the frightening flames, heavily contrasting with his thin, golden, olive leaf diadem. His pale skin looked almost transparent and clearly contrasted with his dark attire, a dark brown vest, a lavender ruffle, a short sleeved black shirt, black pants, tall red boots, a red cape, and fingerless red gloves. The smile on his face was a wicked one, not appropriate for the desolate setting. In his hands wass a large, black stone, diamond shaped, about the size of a brick that glowed eerily like the lights of a haunted house, if haunted houses even had working lights at all.

“So this is it...This is the true extent of my new power...Wow! This jewel really is as powerful as everybody says! I’ve never felt so alive before! Finally, I feel like I can actually do whatever I want!!” the young boy whispered softly at first, making him sound like he didn’t quite comprehend the situation and everything around him. But once he drank up his surroundings like a kid in a restaurant drinking juice out of a bendy straw, he yelled and let out a hearty laugh as though he had never felt so free, so alive, in his entire life.

“How could you…?” a hoarse, ladylike voice asked from just fifteen feet away. It came from a woman whose refined, Navajo Indian-styled clothes were now ripped into tatters, whose steel silver hair was scraggly and dirty, covered in patches of dirt. Her body was covered with fresh scars and scratches. One scar on her face was bleeding slightly. Despite her injuries, she shot daggers at the boy with her emerald hued eyes, filled with shock and anger. “How could you do this to us, Zenjin?! This is your home!! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!” The woman yelled angrily, her voice going up an octave, angry with what the boy, Zenjin, had done.

He barely noticed her at first, but he did turn around to look at her once he stopped laughing. The look in his red eyes was full of bloodlust and hate, with a wicked smile to go with it. The woman’s face went pale as soon as they made eye contact; she really didn’t like the look on his face. There was no empathy, no mercy, nothing. Only hate and malice, but also a touch of what appeared to be childlike curiosity. “Oh, I know what I’ve done. Now I truly understand what this jewel is capable of...and I LOVE IT!”

“What?!” The woman exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock. Her emerald eyes soon looked as though they were about to pop right out of her eyes when she saw the brick-sized, raven black jewel in his hands. “No! You...you’ve corrupted the Energia with your hatred!!”

“So that’s its name...Energia. That’s so stupid! You could have come up with something better, Queen,” Zenjin replied with a touch of indifference, without any hint of remorse in his high pitched voice.

“Zenjin! Look what you’ve done! So many of our citizens have died because you corrupted the Energia! Have you any remorse at all?! Please, stop! Give the Energia back to us! You don’t know what it’s capable of, especially in the wrong hands!! It’s easily influenced by evil feelings like hatred and lust! Give it back so we can restore Rozaniela back to normal! Please!” The Queen yelled angrily but with desperation and pleading in her shrill voice. Hiding behind a nearby gnarled tree were four small, stuffed animal-like creatures, floating in the air, fearful of the silver haired boy, their large, round eyes wide with fright, afraid of what’s to come or what he might do next.

“Do I look like I care?” Zenjin asked right before stretching out one of his hands and firing an ominous purple and black beam at the weak woman, knocking her off her feet and causing her to scream in agony.

“Queen Malgorzata!!” The four floating animals yelled as they flew over to the woman. The light blue one’s hands began to glow as it placed them on the area where she was hit.

“He’s out of control!” The pale purple one exclaimed frightfully.

“What are we going to do?! He’s destroyed 80% of Rozaniela! We’ve never seen destruction of this caliber before!” The light blue one asked with dread peppering her voice.

“Actually...there is a way we can fix this…” Queen Malgorzata whispered weakly.

“What? There is?” The orange one asked, confused.

“Yes...take a guess,” Queen Malgorzata said. Some of her injuries healed while the fairies ruminated. The answer dawned on them when the blue fairy finished healing Malgorzata’s shoulder.

“No! No! You can’t be suggesting that!” The light pink one exclaimed.

“We don’t know if they truly exist or not!” The pale purple one cried out sadly.

Queen Malgorzata rummaged through part of her dress and pulled out four small, star shaped bottles with heart shaped caps on them in four different colors: lavender purple, ocean blue, sunny yellow, and mandarin orange. They looked like perfume bottles, but they’re completely empty. “These Heart Lighters are proof enough that they exist. My dearest fairies...you must go to Earth to find humans whose hearts resonate with these Heart Lighters...the Pretty Cures. They are the only ones who can stop Zenjin’s malice and return the Energia back to its original state...and save what’s left of Rozaniela,” Queen Malgozata whispered weakly.

“But we don’t even know how we’re supposed to tell if they’re the Pretty Cures or not! We’ve never been able to find out the actual requirements for being a Pretty Cure!” The orange one exclaimed.

“It doesn’t matter! Just go to Earth and find them! I don’t care who it is, how old they are, how incapable they are, whatever! As long as their hearts resonate with these Heart Lighters...then they can help us. Go to Earth! Now!” Queen Malgorzata exclaimed. The Heart Lighters glowed in their respective colors and floated to the creatures. The yellow one went into the orange creature’s ribbon, the purple one into the purple one’s ribbon, the blue one into the blue one’s ribbon, and the orange one in the pink one’s ribbon.

“But we can’t just leave you here!” The pale purple fairy exclaimed sadly, her voice completely consumed by worry.

“Oh no!! Look!!” The pink one cried out.

It was a sight that all five of them dreaded. The jewel was glowing in an ominous black light. It floated toward an ecstatic Zenjin and...went inside of his chest. As soon as it seemed to disappear, he cried out in pain. He felt as though his entire body was on fire, just like the flames consuming the houses and trees he haddestroyed. But once he got used to the feeling, he seemed to enjoy his body feeling like it was on fire.

“Yes...the power is inside me...my body’s on fire...wow! This is great! I can do whatever I want from now on!! YES!!” Zenjin howled happily, like he was experiencing the ultimate high.

“How dare you...WE ALL RAISED YOU!!” The orange fairy yelled and flew after Zenjin faster than a race car, her sky blue eyes blazing with anger.

“Sunbeam!! NO!!” The pale purple fairy tried to grab her, but the orange fairy was too fast for her.

But she couldn’t get close enough, as Zenjin fired another beam at her, which she thankfully evaded. He didn’t even look! He just continued smiling and laughing maniacally. Sunbeam, realizing that the power he successfully acquired from absorbing the Energia was too great for her to handle, went back to the injured Queen.

“His rampage on Rozaniela...it’s just a test run. His real intention is to go to Earth. For what reason, I don’t know. We don’t know what’s going on in his head, but that’s what I fear the most. Please, my dear fairies. Sunbeam, Moonbeam, Starbeam, Lovebeam. Get to Earth before he does. Find the people whose hearts resonate with the Heart Lighters. They can stop him. I’m begging you…” Queen Malgorzata told them weakly.

Silently but reluctantly, the fairies nodded and flew away to the sky, with the Heart Lighters tucked away in the bows around their necks. They were all unsure of what would happen. But soon, Zenjin spotted them.

“Pheh! Those blasted fairies! They better not interfere with my quest!!” Zenjin yelled as he himself flew up to sky, bloodlust consuming every fiber of his soul, flowing through all of his veins.

***

At 6:00 AM, most people would be asleep, but in the Tasogare house, two kids were awake, one of them a girl of twelve, with very short raven black hair in a boyish style and eyes as green as dark as a forest. Alert and wide awake, the morning sky welcoming the first morning blue, the girl turned on her bedroom light, sat on her floor, using a purple colored pencil to finish coloring in the cat ears of a cat girl superhero.

Her door was wide open, so she could hear a boy of fifteen yawning right out loud, but she was too busy drawing to really care. "Uuuugh...I can't believe they're making us wake up this early..." A blue eyed boy yawned, his chocolate brown hair frizzy and unbrushed. But when he saw the younger girl sitting in her room in her light blue snowflake pajamas drawing away contentedly, he found himself smiling warmly.

He walked over and sat on the floor with her. "You're up early. What's that, Riko?"

"Twilight Cat," Riko replied, still coloring Twilight Cat's ears.

"You're really good. I wish I was as good as you," He said.

Suddenly, Riko looked up at him with a concerned look in her eyes. "Hikage. Do you really have to go to school this early every day?"

Hikage ruffled his sister's hair. "Yeah. It's stupid but it's gotta be done. I know for a fact that you're not looking forward to school, now are you?"

Riko looked down at her drawing. "You read me like a map."

"Of course! I'm your brother and that's my job!"

Riko clutched her purple colored pencil. "I don't wanna go to school. They'll hate me for sure," Riko murmured nervously.

"This is a brand new place, Riko. I'm sure you'll find some friends here," Hikage said. "If I can do it, I know you can. And if anyone picks on you, let me know and I'll give them a good spanking!"

Riko smiled. "Thanks."

After that, Hikage got himself ready, fixed himself breakfast, and waited at the corner of the street for the school bus. A large yellow mass pulled up, and when it left, Hikage was no longer there. Riko found this to be a great opportunity to read one of her mangas and lose herself in the adventures of Princess Hinata. Riko wasn't sure how long she had been reading, but someone came into her room.

A little girl of about seven, with black hair going straight down to her shoulders and dark green eyes. She was wearing a long sleeved pink shirt, a white skirt, black shoes, and pink and red socks with hearts all over them. The little seven year old had a Barbie doll in her hand and stomped over to Riko. "Hey!" The girl shouted.

No answer.

"Hey! Riko!" Again, no response.

The girl puffed her face out petulantly. "Are you being weird again?!"

Once again, no response.

'Ignore her, ignore her...' Riko told herself as she kept her eyes glued to her book. 'Just ignore her, like Hikage says. It'll make her get bored and leave me alone.'

Unfortunately, that outcome didn't happen. Instead, Rina took her Barbie doll and threw it right at Riko's head. "Owww!" Riko flinched when the Barbie's leg made contact with her cheek. She turned to the little girl with an angry glare. "Rina!! What did you do that for?! Don't you know it's rude to throw stuff at people?!"

"It's your own fault for being weird and daydreaming again!" Rina shouted like a spoiled brat.

“What’s going on in here?” Soon, two adults came into the room, a man and a woman.

“Rina threw one of her Barbies at me!” Riko shouted, unabashedly pointing at Rina with her index finger.

The man crossed his arms. “Is this true, Rina? How many times do we have to tell you? We don’t hit people in this house!” He scolded firmly.

Rina indiscreetly pointed at Riko and blurted out, without any hesitation, “She’s being weird and stupid again! She’s supposed to be the older sister!”

“It’s okay if she only does it in the house. But that doesn’t make it right for you to throw things at your big sister or call her names, young lady. Now I want you to apologize,” The woman scolded firmly.

“But Mom--”

“Apologize. Now,” The mother insisted firmly, not letting her youngest daughter get away with what she did just now.

Reluctantly, little Rina muttered, “Sorry…”

Riko said nothing. ‘You’re not sorry at all, you brat! You’re just doing it because Mom told you to!’ She thought angrily.

“That’s better. Now go and get ready. Your first day of school starts in an hour,” The father told them. Rina promptly left her room, and so did their parents, leaving Riko alone.

It was a rather nice little room for a twelve year old girl. The bed sheet was purple and embroidered with snowdrops and bellflowers. She had a black dresser, which had a clock, some game consoles, lots of games, some toys, and a little purple and white jewelry box. She also had a green, yellow, and white rug on her floor, lots of stuffed animals lying around her room, a white book shelf filled to the brim with manga and other books, and not only that, her bed was white, looked like a couch (only with white wood), and had three drawers on the bottom of it, with more stuff in them. There were also boxes full of all of her favorite DVDs. Reluctantly, Riko changed out of her pajamas and decided to at least put on her favorite clothes, a light purple short sleeved shirt, a sleeveless white hoodie with a pocket, a pair of comfy brown shorts, white socks with pink stars on them, and black and white sneakers.

With a bit of a dazed look on her face, she picked up her pink school bag, sat on her bed, and began putting notebooks, textbooks, and a manga she planned to read inside. After that, she brushed her hair, brushed her teeth, walked down the stairs and headed right into the dining room, where she found her mother, father, and little sister at the dining room table. Her father had blue eyes and black hair like his daughters. The mother had curly brown hair trailing down her shoulders and green eyes, like her daughters.

“Arinao, would you mind taking the girls to school before work? I have some bills I have to pay,” The mother asked her husband. Riko peeled a banana open and ate it.

“Sure, Saki. I don’t mind at all,” Arinao replied with a smile, making his wife, Saki, quite happy.

“Oh, thank you! I really appreciate this, Ari,” Saki exclaimed happily as she wrapped her loving arms around her faithful husband’s neck. Riko finished her banana, went into the fridge, and began eating some of her favorite vanilla cream yogurt. Once she finished that, she grabbed her purple lunch box and put stuff in it, like a small bottle of water, a pack of cookies, some chocolate pudding with a spoon, a peanut butter sandwich, some fruit snacks, and crackers. Once that was done, she went back to her room, and returned to her drawing. She pulled out a purple colored pencil to finish adding some texture to Twilight Cat's shirt.

She couldn’t help but smile as her worries disappeared in thin air as soon as the violet colored pencil made its markings on the paper. For Riko, drawing was only one of her escapes from the harshness of reality. Drawing allowed her to be lost in her dreams and fantasies, and best of all, it allowed her to be herself. Rina didn’t mind her drawing, so she wouldn’t have to worry about being weird. She could be silent but it would be acceptable in this case, because she’s so focused on drawing, and nobody considered her drawing hobby to be inappropriate or weird. Soon, once she was finished coloring her shirt, she added some pink to Twilight Cat’s cat ears.

“I wonder if I should make her wear a scarf? Nah, it’d lower her speed,” Riko mused to herself, wondering if something was missing.

All of a sudden, she felt something soft and furry brush against her arm. She looked to her left and found that it was one of her cats, a pretty tortoise shell cat with chocolate brown fur with many splotches of peanut butter yellow fur decorating her fur, with a face that made her look like a perfect yin yang symbol because of the peanut butter yellow streak separating her face into two halves, going right down her face and ending right at her little pink button nose. She also had stunning green eyes, like Riko’s, only a much lighter shade, even lighter than Rina’s. As soon as she saw the affectionate cat rubbing against her arm, Riko scratched her head gently, which made the cat purr happily.

“Meow,” The pretty little tortoise shell cat meowed.

“Hi Reese! You’re always making me happy. Look! I’m drawing more Twilight Cat pictures! Do you think I should give her a sidekick?” Riko said happily, feeling much better having her faithful feline friend, Reese, brightening up her day a little.

“Meow,” Reese replied.

“Yeah, you’re right. Twilight Cat needs to do more stuff herself. Thanks for the advice. Meow!” Riko replied playfully and played with Reese some more. “I do hope you’re not getting into fights with Caroline again.”

“Meow.”

Once she finished doodling and playing with Reese, she put her sketchbook and a few colored pencils in her book bag and zipped it up tight. She then looked at some things on her dresser: a set of fluffy orange cat ears and a fake cat tail with black stripes on them. She really wanted to wear them and pretend to be her made up hero, Twilight Cat, or at least a real cat, chasing mice and catching fish and playing with yarn.

Oh, how her innocent heart yearned for those cat ears and tail. It was like they were calling out to her, saying, “Put us on! You know you want to! Don’t you want to pretend to be Twilight Cat or a real cat or some other anime hero?” She really wanted to pretend a little, since Rina very rudely and bluntly interrupted her this morning. But then again, she decided against it. She resisted the temptation and went back downstairs, where she caught Arinao in the den watching the news. She managed to catch a piece of it.

“Currently, there are no new leads regarding orphanages closing unexpectedly in Russia, Romania, China, North Korea, Afghanistan, and other countries, or why children and babies from those orphanages are disappearing by the thousands, making them completely empty. We have also received eyewitness reports claiming the local homeless people are disappearing from the streets, as though they never existed. Investigators are still having a hard time finding credence to these claims, but we can’t deny that these disappearances and foreclosures are very real, and running rampant all over. We only pray that those children and babies are found safe and sound,” A female newscaster said.

“We’re leaving, Riko. Are you ready?” Arinao asked.

“Yes, Dad!” Riko said as she grabbed her tan coat, purple lunch box, and her pink school bag and followed Arinao and Rina to their silver BMW.

The school was only ten minutes away. All Riko did was stare at the scenery going by. She liked the amount of greenery surrounding them, and how lush the trees looked, like they were never tainted or contaminated. But she really didn’t want to go where their car was heading to.

“This’ll be a big adjustment for you, Riko. But if you do your best and keep your chin up, everything will be just fine. It’s a new school. You’ll get what you really need here,” Arinao explained kindly.

“I don’t want to go to school,” Riko muttered sadly, clinging to her school bag, her previous happiness dissipating into thin air.

“How come?” Arinao asked.

“They’ll hate me. They always do, no matter where I do,” Riko replied softly.

“You’re exaggerating. Not everyone is the same as the kids at your old schools. This is a brand new place. I know it’ll be hard, but you’ll make it through. You always have considering everything you went through. But try to keep your play acting and daydreaming to a minimum this year, okay?” Arinao replied, hoping to reassure her, but she wondered if she sounded condescending instead.

“They’re gonna hate her anyway, Dad. Nobody wants to be friends with Riko. She’s not normal, unlike me!” Rina proclaimed boldly, with a smug smile and her chubby arms crossed.

“Hey!” Riko yelled angrily, surprised that her younger sister would make such a bold claim. But Rina’s venomous words hit her right in the heart, worsening her anxiety.

“Rina! Watch your mouth! Would you like it if someone told you nobody wanted to be friends with you? Not another word out of you,” Arinao scolded.

“Fine…but you know its true…” Rina muttered under her breath.

“Do you have your schedule?” Arinao asked.

“Yeah. It’s in here,” Riko replied softly, nudging her cotton candy pink backpack.

“Oh! Here it is! Hikaribashi Middle School!” Arinao exclaimed as the car pulled in front of a large, pale grey brick building that looked very fancy.

Riko had to admit, it looked a lot nicer than her previous school, which was rather unkempt and nitty gritty. This one looked very clean, though its structure looked a little unconventional. She had no way of figuring out why, though. The grass around it looked nice and clean despite being overrun with kids her own age. There was a blacktop next to it, where even more kids played and hung out. That was also something her old school had. However, it’s quite cloudy and dreary out, which made the school itself look a little stiff and uninteresting.

“You have a good day, Riko,” Arinao said with a smile. “Remember to keep your chin up and do the best you can.”

“Thanks,” Riko replied with a bit of a forced smile.

“Don’t act weird!” Rina piped in.

“Ri-NA…” Arinao scolded with a warning voice before Riko closed the door to the back seat and hopped onto the grass. With that, Arinao drove away so he could drop Rina off at her own school.

At first, Riko didn’t want to go any further. Too many kids were playing, talking, laughing, and already in their own groups of friends. She wasn’t sure what to do. Should she talk to someone? But who could she talk to? She didn’t know anybody, and if she did talk to anyone, would they like her or hate her? Riko assumed they’d hate her right off because that’s what she’s been used to all her life. She really didn’t expect to make any friends, only enemies, just for being around. She already wished she was back at home, drawing more pictures of Twilight Cat and cuddling with her pets.

Riiiiiiiiiing

Then the bell rang, its sound echoing into the dreary grey sky, which signaled for everyone to go in. Riko went in, yanked out her schedule, and tried to find her assigned homeroom, F9. As it turned out, it wasn’t hard to find. It was the third room on her left. Shyly, she opened the door, and she found a classroom full of kids and one female teacher, all of whom immediately turned their heads to stare at her with confusion and curiosity. She was frozen in place by their stares, unable to move. Her face became contorted with blatant anguish and trepidation. Already she wanted to go home.

‘Oh no. They’re all staring at me like I’m some kind of zombie who’s out to eat them. I wanna go home and work on more Twilight Cat drawings...’ Riko thought in her head anxiously. She yearned to go home, but she couldn’t leave even if she wanted to.

“Everyone? May I have your attention please? As you all know, we have a new friend joining us today from here on. Want to come up to the front and say hello?” The female teacher explained kindly, then asked for Riko to come to the front.

‘No! That’s the last thing I want! Just my being here is embarrassing enough as it is!! But the front of the class?! Absolutely not!!’ Riko screamed in her head. She wanted to run away as far as she could. But she knew she’d get in trouble if she ran out of the school.

She turned around and faced the class. She was facing them and they were facing her. Her throat closed up. She couldn’t spit anything out, not even a hello. The teacher seemed to get the message and decided to take the initiative by writing her name on the board with a piece of chalk. Tasogare Riko, it wrote.

“Everyone, I’d like you all to meet Tasogare Riko-chan. She and her family moved here from Yokosuka a month ago. She’s new here, so help her out when you can, okay?” The teacher told them all, but they didn’t seem to be paying much attention to her. Only to Riko, who was already looking like she was about to cry. “Care to say a few words, Tasogare-san?”

She couldn’t say anything. All she could do was allow her brain to be consumed by a torrent of worries and anxieties and questions. Would these kids be different from the ones from her last school, or would they be exactly the same? She assumed the latter was more likely. Would they be her friend, or would they automatically hate her? Would they assume she’s stupid just by looking at her? She heard someone say she doesn’t look too smart. Would they pick on her? Would they like her? Were they thinking about how unfashionable her clothes are, how average she looks, how stupid she is for not wearing any makeup, or a skirt or dress or other ridiculously skimpy clothes every middle school kid she met wears nowadays? She normally didn’t care for any of these things, but she knew that these things were considered the holy grail of even having the tiniest bit of normalcy and a social life, though she really couldn’t see why. Some of the girls looked like they had their own cliques already. Would they call her nerdy? Pick on her just for being here? Start up false rumors about her and convince everyone that they’re true when they’re not, like in those teenage girl movies she'd catch every now and again? Riko really wanted to go home. Now. Nothing was coming out of her mouth. The silence was too tense until someone broke it, and not in a very pleasant way.

“Hey weirdo! What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or are you too stupid to talk?” One girl with short, wavy orange hair, gold eyes, and a rather large, unsightly, and disgusting scar on her left cheek exclaimed in a venomous tone.

“Can it, Asagi!” One red haired, bespectacled boy in a wheelchair yelled.

“You shut up, Four Eyes!” The girl, Asagi, snapped back.

“Asagi Marina! One more word out of you and you’re getting a special one-way ticket to the principal’s office, so either behave or be on your way!” The teacher scolded firmly. She then turned to Riko and said in a soft voice, “Feel free to take your seat now. There’s one right next to Mitomo-kun.”

Quickly, Riko ran to the empty seat and sat down. Strangely enough, she looked over and realized she’s sitting right next to the red haired boy in the wheelchair who yelled at that orange haired girl, Marina. He’s probably the one the teacher said is Mitomo. She secretly thought that he looked nice in his dark grey unzipped hoodie, blue jeans, and green shirt. She was quite surprised by this turn of events. As soon as he saw her looking at her, he looked back and smiled, which made Riko turn her head away and stare down at her schedule, but not before he managed to whisper something to her.

“Don’t worry about Asagi. She picks on everybody, me included. Don’t feel like you have to suck up to her,” The boy whispered in a low voice.

Riko nodded in response, which seemed to be fine with him. She looked at her schedule to make sure everything on it was right.

Name: Tasogare Riko

Schedule:
1st Period: Homeroom. Teacher: Omori Seiko (F9)
2nd Period: Art. Teacher: Sasamoto Amika (F2)
3rd Period: Gym. Teacher: Hanazawa Tsutomu (Auditorium)
4th Period: Math. Teacher: Ikari Isao (F9)
5th Period: Lunch. (Auditorium)
6th Period: Recess
7th Period: Science. Teacher: Amane Gendo (F5)
8th Period: Health. Teacher: Tsutsumi Shinju (F9)
9th Period: English. Oginome Chisaki (F6)

Riko did notice something else as she looked at her schedule. She heard kids talking. "Tch. Is Asagi ever gonna stop being a jerk?"

"No. She's a criminal's kid. They'll never stop being jerks."

"I wish she'd go to jail already. It's where she belongs."

"What's her deal?"

"Don’t you know? Her dad was some big shot politician and he just got thrown in jail. Something about stealing money and making people poor as dirt.”

Riko looked toward Marina to find her face shining a bit. It looked a little wet, like she's crying. Riko put a hand to her mouth. 'Is she crying?' Then it hit her. She had just heard some gossip about her. Maybe she's sick and tired of people talking bad about her? Riko figured that was the best answer. Marina wiped her swollen eyes with her arm, keeping her sullen expression.

‘I wish they’d just stop and get over it,’ Marina thought as she buried her face in her arms, wishing she was somewhere else.

Once homeroom was over, Riko was able to get to all of her classes on time. It helped that there was more time in between classes and the fact that they’re all on the same floor. This eased her anxiety somewhat. She breezed through her first classes just fine, though math was going to take some getting used to, since she hates math and isn’t any good at it. But the teacher seemed nice, much nicer than her other teachers back at her old school. He’d probably help her out if she asked nicely. She didn’t make any friends during this period of time. She didn’t approach anyone, as she was too shy and frightened to do so, but nobody approached her either, not that she cared.

Then lunch came around. Unlike her old school, where everyone sat at long, large, rectangular tables that folded up, all the tables in the lunch room were round, and scattered all over the auditorium. But all of them were full save for one, and even that one was hard to get to because it was so crowded. But she got there and ate her lunch quietly and without trouble. She didn’t mind sitting all alone. She was used to it, but what was different was that she had her own space to call her own, and just this made her happy.

‘I don’t mind sitting alone. Here, nobody will bother me or throw food at me or yell and scream and try to touch me or knock me over or rub against me or get food all over my books. At least this is great! Still a little loud, though,’ Riko thought happily, smiling to herself as she munched on her peanut butter sandwich. It helped that she’s away from the other kids, who aren’t even paying attention to her, so she can enjoy her alone time. Admittedly, she did have to cover her ears a little because of kids being loud and rowdy, tables and chairs making screechy noises against the floor while being moved, the scratchy PA system, and kids banging on the tables with their arms. But other than that, everything else was fine.

For the most part, school went by without incident until recess came around.

The blacktop was a lot bigger than her previous school, and unlike that one, there were little tables and benches she could sit on. As usual, kids were running around, talking to each other, playing four square, and other things. She was about to sit down and read until she saw the red haired boy in the wheelchair sitting a little further away. But as soon as she saw him, she saw the orange haired girl, Marina, angrily stomping toward him like she was about to beat him up. What was she going to do to him? Should she interfere? Or should she not, out of fear that Marina might beat her up too? She certainly looked strong, like she could take down a gang of middle school boys singlehanded. Riko froze in place and watched as Marina approached the boy from behind, yanked him off of his wheelchair, causing him to fall to the ground, and before he could get up, she smacked the glasses off of his face, sending them bouncing on the concrete. Riko’s hands flew to her mouth in horror. The boy, however, wasn’t deterred.

“What’d you do that for, Asagi?!” The boy yelled angrily despite being deprived of his eyesight and his means of getting around. The orange haired girl showed no sympathy.

“This is what you get for not knowing your place and getting in my business, Four Eyes!” Marina snapped boldly, looking like she was about to step on him. "You need to know better than to stick your nose and broken legs in places where you're not wanted, idiot!"

"You're an even bigger idiot!" The boy snapped back with gusto.

‘What?!’ Riko was appalled. Her fear suddenly morphed straight into anger. How could this girl be so cruel? How could she be so arrogant as to push a kid out of his wheelchair and knock his glasses off of his face? Worst of all, nobody was helping him! She was not going to let this girl get away with her cruel deed. No she wouldn’t. Without any trepidation at all, albeit a little timorously, Riko stomped over to the choleric Marina and gave her a good shove. It wasn’t strong enough to knock her down, but just enough to get her attention.

“Leave him alone! You shouldn’t be picking on people like that! You could have hurt him!" Riko shouted angrily.

Marina was surprised, but not deterred. “What’s it to you, newbie?!”

Riko didn’t know what that meant, but she still kept going. “I saw you push him and say those mean things! Don’t you know it’s rude and mean to pick on people?!”

Soon, she herself was knocked over. She fell on her rear end, which really did hurt, but Marina didn’t care one bit, not that Riko expected her to. “Mind your own business, you freak!”

“Asagi!” The voice of a male teacher exclaimed sternly, causing all of the kids to turn around. The man grabbed Marina’s arm tightly and kept a firm grip on her. She was anything but happy.

“Let me go!” Marina begged angrily.

“I’ve had enough of you! It’s the first day of school and you’re already causing trouble! You are coming with me to the principal’s office, young lady!” The man scolded as he dragged the angry, wild, and reluctant orange haired girl away from the blacktop and back into the school building.

After that, Riko saw the boy’s glasses, picked them up, and held them up to his face. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” The boy said as he gently took them and put them on. As he did that, Riko rolled his wheelchair close to him so he could get in it. She couldn’t believe how heavy it was. But then again, it was an electric wheelchair, and those are a lot heavier than manual wheelchairs.

“Do you need help getting in?” Riko asked with concern in her voice.

“Nah, I’m good. See?” The boy said as he pulled himself back into his wheelchair. “Thanks for standing up to her. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

She couldn’t help but agree with him on that last part. “You’re welcome. I didn’t like how she was treating you, so...I figured I might as well actually do something right for once,” Riko muttered shyly. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Nah, I’m good. Not a scratch on me,” The boy replied. Riko had a hard time believing that, but she didn’t say it out of fear that she might hurt his feelings.

“Glad you’re okay. I’m gonna go--” Riko wanted to walk away until the boy suddenly let out a surprised sounding yelp, which made her turn around in both fright and confusion. “What’s...wrong? Did I do something bad?”

“No. It’s...that book...is that Hinata Sun Child?!” The boy exclaimed, his green eyes wide and bright, though big with shock.

Now it was Riko’s turn to be surprised. Someone actually knows about the book she has tucked underneath her arm? She looked at the book, then at the boy a few times before it finally dawned on her. “You...you actually know about this?”

“Of course!! I freaking love that manga!!” The boy shouted happily, with a big, bright smile making his light skinned face quite radiant.

Riko could feel a big smile being painted on her own face, something that was pretty rare when it came to the subject of making friends. Someone actually knows about the manga she’s reading! Someone who acts and sounds like he actually knows his stuff! Riko could feel joy bursting from within her heart. This could be it.

“...have you read up to the part where she realizes that all the hardship she went through was because of her annoying sister and where she goes to the tower to confront her?”

“Yeah! And that scene where she calls her out on everything and tells her to finally acknowledge her for who she is and not treat her like someone she has to feel sorry for?! God, I love that scene!”

“What about the part where her friend saves her from the corrupted hippocampi?!”

“I’m so sad with how that turned out! I can’t believe they killed off Rochelle! She was my favorite! But I love that hippocampi friend she made in that part! Liberty I think was her name?”

They only happily chatted about it for just a few minutes before they realized they were rambling. But it was the good kind of rambling, and once they stopped, they burst into laughter. It felt so good to Riko, like she finally found someone she could really call a friend. She had never laughed so much before, and it really felt like she could get rid of the sadness she had before. She felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her heart.

“I...I’ve never met anyone who even knew Hinata Sun Child even existed…” Riko said as she calmed down.

“Me neither. You’re pretty cool, y’know that? Oh! I completely forgot! Hi! My name’s Mitomo Kyoya,” The red haired boy, Kyoya, told her after he calmed down, introduced himself, and held out his hand. As soon as she saw him outstretch his hand, she fell quiet, something Kyoya noticed. He drew his hand back. “What’s wrong? Not big on handshakes? Are you a germaphobe?”

“No, it’s just...I just kinda don’t like shaking hands. I’m not trying to be mean,” Riko replied shyly.

“It’s okay. I totally get it. You are new here after all. Riko, right?” Kyoya said with a smile. ‘I wonder why she’s looking away from me? Maybe she’s still kinda shy?’ He secretly thought upon noticing that she’s not looking directly at him.

“Yeah, I am. By the way...thanks for earlier. Y’know, for yelling at Asagi when she was making fun of me. Nobody’s ever stood up for me before,” Riko replied.

“Don’t mention it. Like I said, Asagi hates everybody, even me. Nobody likes her either, so I can totally relate,” Kyoya said. The two children wanted to talk more, but the bell rang, much to their dismay.

“Awww,” Riko whined.

“Yeah. Bummer. But it’s okay! We can talk more next time!” Kyoya said. Riko smiled and nodded in response.

She couldn’t believe her luck. Finally, she had found a potential friend! Someone who’s actually nice! Someone who actually knows about what she likes, doesn’t make a big deal out of it, actually appreciated her nice gestures, and doesn’t think she’s automatically bad! ‘I wonder if this is all just a dream? It can’t be a trick,’ Riko thought. It almost seemed too good to be true. But he talked to her. He was nice to her. He actually appreciated what she did. He liked the same manga as she does. He didn’t pick on her. He stood up for her. She wasn’t sure just yet, but maybe, just maybe, she had finally found someone she could call a friend.

Riko was happy through the rest of the day. Finally, the bell rang, and school let out. Riko found her mother’s car in front and went right in. But Saki clearly looked worried.

“Ri-chan, the school told me what happened. Are you alright?” Saki asked with worry peppering her voice.

“I’m fine. I’m used to it,” Riko replied insouciantly.

“Used to it?!” Saki yelped with shock as she drove out of the parking lot and onto the road.

***

"Asagi-san," The principal began. "You can't keep harassing other students like this. It's not good for them or for you. Look, I know kids haven't been nice to you, but harassing them isn't going to make them change their outlook on you."

"It's not like anything else works!" Marina snapped. "I've tried being nice before! It doesn't work!"

"Children can be stubborn, Asagi. We try our best to make a safe learning environment for everyone, but there will always be problems that spring up, and I don't want you to get in any more trouble than you already have," The principal told her. "I'll hold an assembly sometime soon. But please, Asagi. I don't want to see you picking on other students again. If you keep this up, I may have to take extreme measures, and believe me, I don't want to go there."

Marina didn't believe him, but she nodded before leaving the office.

***

Now that school was over, Riko was happy to finally be back home. But she did notice that they weren’t picking Rina up. Saki told her that’s Arinao’s job. As soon as they got inside the house, however, they were treated to an odd but somewhat interesting sight.

Sitting at the dining room table, chatting happily, were Arinao, Hikage, and a girl they had never seen before. This girl looked to be about Hikage’s age, but Riko couldn’t help but think she looked quite pretty. She had medium length, raven black hair tied into a long braid with a blue ribbon at the end, and shimmering blue eyes, just like Hikage’s. She was wearing a white and dark blue striped shirt under an unbuttoned, short sleeved, pale blue shirt with rolled up sleeves, a pair of crimson red checked pants, and short, light brown boots. Dangling from her ears are large silver hoop earrings.

Both Riko and Saki weren’t quite sure what was going on. Hikage was the first to see them.

“Hi Mom! Hi Riko!” Hikage exclaimed happily.

“Hikage...who’s this girl?” Saki asked, confused and surprised.

“This is my new friend, Minamigawa Hotaru! She totally saved my butt at school earlier today. I lost my school ID and schedule, but she found them and gave them back to me. I found out we share a bunch of classes together, so I thought I’d thank her by inviting her here to stay for dinner. Sorry it’s so sudden,” Hikage explained. “Hey Hotaru-chan, that’s my mom Saki and my little sister Riko. They’re super duper nice.”

“It’s not THAT big a deal, Hikage,” The black haired girl, Hotaru, said to him, making him laugh a little. She then turned to them, smiled sweetly, and bowed a little. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’m sorry to barge in like this. I won’t stay long, I promise.”

“Do your parents know you’re here?” Saki asked.

“Yes. I told them over the phone,” Hotaru replied kindly.

“Jeez, it’s the first day and already my son has a girlfriend! And quite a pretty one too!” Arinao exclaimed jokingly, with a mischievous smirk to go with it.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Dad! If she was, we’d be in our room making out by now!” Hikage snapped back, which made everybody laugh.

Riko wasn’t sure if she would be welcome in something like this, so she tried to go to her room and draw, like she always does. Drawing took her away from the things that made her scared or nervous. It was practically her salvation. But she was bereaved of the opportunity when she saw Arinao approach her with a smile on his face.

“Want to go for a walk?” Arinao asked.

Unlike other things that stopped her from drawing, walking with her dad was actually something she enjoyed. Plus, she wanted to see the neighborhood a little more, with all the pretty, multicolored flowers decking nearly every porch she saw, the people walking their dogs, little squirrels and rabbits hopping around...Riko smiled. “Sure! I’d love to!”

***

On the way home after school, Marina fought the urge to use shortcuts to hide from the angry gazes she always got. There was always at least someone to whisper behind her back, glare at her, and tell her she was just like her father. But hiding from those people would help her feel better, since there was a conflict in her heart that wouldn't be resolved without a confrontation with those people.

So she walked past all those people sneering at her, looking down on her and not ever giving her a chance. They had all already decided she was like her father based on everything they heard on the news, and because they wouldn't change their opinion, Marina would make sure they never forgot that opinion: she would be just like her father. It wasn’t like there was anything she could do to convince them otherwise.

Soon, Marina arrived at a blue and white house, with the name tag Asagi written on a flat piece of wood on the front door. She was reluctant to go in. The principal might have called her mother already, and she really didn’t want to fess up. But this was her home, the only place where she could truly be herself, hide from the hatred and false assumptions of others. This was the only home, the only piece of warmth and happiness, that she truly knew after all. Quietly, she unlocked the door with her brass house key and opened the door.

“Hey Mom. I’m back,” Marina murmured in a low voice, but stopped when she saw her mother unconscious on the couch, still in her gray and white office uniform. One of her high heels had fallen off of her left foot. Her mother had some slight bags under her eyes. Marina smiled warmly. 'She must have had a rough day,' Marina thought before taking a red blanket and gently putting it over her mother.

After that, she quietly walked to the kitchen. There were quite a few dirty dishes and coffee mugs sitting in the sink. Marina turned on the faucet, got some detergent out, sprayed some in the water, and began washing them. She had washed off about three plates and three mugs before she heard a yawn from behind her.

Marina turned around to find her mother behind her, with the red blanket around her. Her mother's caramell colored hair cascaded down to her upper back, and her chocolate brown eyes didn't look fully awake yet. "Is that you, Mari? Welcome home."

Marina continued to wash more dishes. "Hey, Mom."

"Sorry about that. I must have slept for an hour. Silly me," Her mother said, brushing her hand through her messy hair. "I can do those if you want."

Marina put a coffee mug on the rack once she finished washing it off. "That's okay. You need some rest. You probably had a rough day."

Her mother flashed a sweet smile at her, happy that Marina wanted to help her out. But her smile then morphed into a solemn expression. "Mari. There's...something we need to talk about."

Marina flinched, dropping her sponge. ‘Oh no. She found out, didn’t she? I knew it!’ Marina thought fearfully, but took great pains to hide her fear. “There’s nothing to talk about,” She said grimly.

“Please don’t lie to me, Marina," Her mother told her with a sad look. Marina knew that look all too well, and she didn't dare face her. "The school called earlier today. They said you were picking on a new transfer student and knocked a boy off his wheelchair. I thought you were better than this.”

“They deserved it! So what?!” Marina snapped angrily.

Soon, her mother firmly pressed her hands onto her daughter’s shoulders. “Marina! This HAS to stop! I know it’s been hard for you, and I know how much you want friends. I get that, and I don’t fault you for everything the other kids have been saying about you. But picking on people and bullying them isn’t going to make things better!"

“It’s not like anything else works, Mom! I’ll always be that kid who’s OBVIOUSLY going to go to jail just like her dad!” Marina shouted before storming out of the house.

“Marina!” Her mother wanted to go after her, but she then remembered that previous attempts have never worked, usually ending in even more arguments than needed. In the end, she figured it’d be best to leave her alone to sort her feelings out.

Even bullies have problems in their lives. She ran from her house, running on the sidewalk. After a while, she stopped and fell to her knees. She cried into the sleeves of her crimson red hoodie for quite a while.

“What did I do...to deserve this?” Marina whimpered through her tears.

***

Part two will be up soon!

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