Chapter 1 Written by: Nishi Kaioshin Intro: This is a story about me and two of my friends, but we changed our names for personal reasons. This is the story of Atarashii N. Aoi, a homeless 15-year old who falls in love with the God of the south, Minami….and so it begins… Also, if you want to comment, email any of us at either sol_leksg@yahoo.com, West_kaioshin@msn.com, or smaugs_sister@hotmail.com. Thank you! *all three bow*

Atarashii N. Aoi sighed as she sat on her windowsill. She was so bored, and sick of this small, tiny town! It didn’t even have a mall and since her ‘rents had stopped her karate lessons, there was absolutely nothing to do! She finally got up and finally got dressed. It was after noon, and her parents had left for work, leaving her alone as usual. She put on the same thing she always wore: A black tank top, her tiger-eye earrings, brown sandals, and rolled up Navy blue shorts. Playing with her hair, she picked up her issue of DBZ. *my story, I’ll do as I wish!* “I wish my life was as exciting as Goku or Vegeta’s! I hate it here!” Tossing the comic aside, Atarashii got up and walked down the stairs. She noticed the back door was open; her ‘rents never left the door wide open. She took off her shoes to avoid any noise and walked inside. After a brief investigation of the living room, she wandered inside the kitchen and gasped. There were two teenagers at her table, eating HER lunch! And the most oddly dressed ones at that. They seemed to be about 17 or so, take or give a year. The taller one had long, wavy, brown hair pulled back into a ponytail on top of her head with a gray scrunchy and her eyes were emerald green with no pupils. Her clothes were the weirdest things Atarashii had ever seen: A double buttoned, yellow vest with white edges. She had an orange sash tied in the front with a big bow tie. Under the vest was a blue-greenish dress with a frilly edge and they had big pockets. The shirt she wore was poofy on the sleeves until they reached the elbows. She had on earrings like Atarashii’s but they were fake silver instead of tiger-eyes. Her sneakers were a deep maroon. The other girl was a little more normal, but she seemed to be a Goth. Her tie-up cowboy boots reached her knees, with the purple socks meeting the black dress she wore. It, too, had huge pockets. Like the other girl, she wore the same earrings, but these were black. Under the over-dress was a yellow shirt rolled up at the end. On her hands were black leather gloves. Her skin was very white, and her hair was a dirty blonde, not as yellow as Atarashii’s, and her eyes were a deep brown. She had a very hard stare, but Atarashii felt that she wasn’t as tough as she seemed. "What are you doing in my house, and eating MY Oreos!? Well?” Atarashii demanded. The two teens turned around, startled. “Busted.” The brown-haired one said. “Well?” Atarashii repeated. The blonde got up and walked over. “Sorry, we thought this house was empty. Oreo?” The girl handed one to her. Atarashii hesitated, and then took a bite. When she had finished and the girls seemed full, Atarashii said, “Um, excuse me, but who are you?” The brown-head looked at her. “Oh, I guess that was rude, not giving you our names.” Holding out her hand, she said, “Hiya! I’m Judaiko E. Fuchui, and this is Taihen A. Kuroi! Whassup?” Atarashii just kind of stared then took Judaiko’s hand and replied, “Oh, I’m Atarashii N. Aoi. Nice to meet ya. Um, can I ask what are you guys doing in my house?” Taihen looked at her and laughed. It was a nice one, so Atarashii relaxed. “You certainly have a lot of questions for your age! How old are ya, kid?” Atarashii frowned and said, “My NAME is Atarashii, and I’m 14. So what ARE you doing? Don’t ya got your own house to eat at?” The two girls looked at each other. Judaiko finally said, “Well, you see, we don’t have a home. We’re both orphans and runaways. We’ve been on the run together since we were 10. Going from town to town, stealing, sleeping under the stars, runnin’ from the fuzz *police*, train-hopping, you name it, we’ve done it all!” Atarashii’s mouth dropped, and then she jumped up and shouted, “Wow! I have always wanted to do that, but none of my lame-o friends would go with! Can I go with you guys?!” The pair was obviously shocked. With a mischievous smile, Judaiko leaned over the table and looked the girl in the eye. “Are you sure? It’s a dangerous life, ya know!” Atarashii nodded vigorously. Taihen and Judaiko turned around and whispered in a huddle. Atarashii tried to get in on what they were saying, but couldn’t hear them. After a few minutes, they turned to her. “Okay! I think it’s high time we got an apprentice!” Taihen said. “But only if you let us pig out on your fridge! We haven’t eaten in days!” Atarashii smiled and cried, “Of course! Eat the house if you want! Oh thank you, thank you!” She rushed forward and grabbed the two girls in a bear hug. Choking, Taihen said, “Not so tight ki-…I mean, Atarashii!”

After filling up their bags with essentials *food, soda, extra clothes, cash, and zines*, the trio took off down the dusty road. Atarashii had never been so excited in her entire life! Her dream was coming true at last! She looked at her newfound friends and smiled. An hour later, they made it to a local city called Richfield. It was pretty big and actually had a MALL! Atarashii begged the girls if she could go, but they shook their heads no. Taihen explained that they needed to save their money. They instead sat at a table while Judaiko went looking around. “So, Taihen, what are we doing exactly?” Taihen had been making her chew on a big gumball and her jaws hurt. Taihen looked at her and said, “See, since you’re the cutest and the youngest, you are gonna distract that clerk while we make off with the free samples from the stores! This’ll be your first test to see what ya can do. Judaiko’s got a great knack for this; she’s the one who taught me the ropes!” Atarashii awed at the girls. They lived what she had always dreamed, and now she did too! Just then, Judaiko came running back. She sat down and panted, “Great…bakery …free cookies!” Taihen smiled and said, “Well, let’s get to it, girls!” The trio got up and walked over to the shop.

Sure enough, it had loads of free samples. Now Atarashii knew why Judaiko and Taihen had such big pockets! The shop had no cameras that she could see, and it wasn’t very busy, with only one person; the clerk. Taihen whispered in her ear, “’Kay Atarashii, put the gum on your chair, and sit on it. Then you complain to the service guy that you’ve got gum on your chair, and we’ll nab the grub and leave, then you leave about five minutes later and we’ll meet outside, got it?” Atarashii nodded, then took the gum out of her mouth and made her way to a small table. Just as she sat down, she dropped the sticky wad on the chair. She and the gum met with a loud ‘squish!’. Not really pretending to be disgusted, Atarashii jumped up and moaned. “Sir, sir!” The clerk came over and asked, “What’s the matter, miss?” Pointing to the chair, Atarashii said, “Are you aware that there is GUM on this chair!? These are extremely expensive jeans, ya know! They’re Gap! I’m pressing charges!” As the clerk begged and fought with her, the two teens snuck in and busily went to work putting the samples in their pockets, shirts, and even their shoes. As soon as they were full, Judaiko gave her a thumbs up and the duo dashed out of the store. “Fine then. I won’t press charges, but if it EVER happens again, I’ll have you and your entire staff fired!” Atarashii walked off with her nose in the air. She walked outside and waved her hand twice in the air with only two fingers, showing the all clear. Judaiko and Taihen popped out from the bushes, pockets and socks bulging. “Great job, Atarashii!” congratulated Judaiko. “Yes, that was fantastic for your first time!” said Taihen. Atarashii blushed and said modestly, “Oh, it was nothing, really! Now come on, let’s eat! I could eat a pterosaur!” The trio laughed as they made their way down to the train yard. Atarashii smiled. She was finally home.

It was a year later. Atarashii was now turning 15 and her friends took her to a big city for a grand treat: Shopping! All of them had been saving their pennies and now they had decided they needed to act like girls for once. After leaving DI *hey, they’re poor!*, they got some ice cream. Atarashii looked up from her mint and chocolate sundae at her best friends and partners. She had come to love them more then her own family, whom she had forgotten about a long time ago. They were inseparable. “Um, how can I ever thank you guys? You didn’t have to do this, though the shopping was nice!” Judaiko nodded at Taihen and Taihen nodded back. Reaching into their bag, they pulled out…Lord of the Rings! Atarashii was a huge fan of fantasy and that was her absolute favorite book. She squealed as she took the heavy book into her hands. Running her hand over the leather cover, she could almost hear the pounding of horse’s hooves and almost smell the faint smell of fields of flowers. With tears in her eyes, she said, “Oh, Judaiko, Taihen! How did you ever afford it?! We could barely shop at Deseret Industries!” Judaiko giggled and said, “That’s why, silly! We bought it two days earlier! Taihen and I knew you’d love it!” The trio got up and hugged each other. Picking up her soda, Taihen said, “To our wonderful friend, Atarashii! And may she stay forever beautiful so we can scarf more cake!” Atarashii laughed and declared, “Amen to that!” The three cardboard cups banged together and the friends drank. Suddenly, a voice sounded in their heads. “Hello! Testing one two! This is the great wizard Babidi!...."

~Who is this fiend Babidi? I dunno…*evil cackle* See what happens, next time on Dragonb…I mean, oh forget it….
Go to Chapter 2!