New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.

~Loa Tzu

Faceless people, nameless buildings, they all passed by in one colorful blur. The soft hum of the limo was the only sound that reached my ears and it took all of my self-control to repress the sigh that wanted to slip out. The fabric of my romper was digging into my thighs uncomfortably and the more I shifted the deeper it dug. Wonderful.

"Sky?" My mom asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. I turned to look at her and as her concerned brown eyes met my own, I painted a smile on my face.

"Stop worrying about me, it's just different. I'll be used to it in no time, you know me, I'm adaptable." I grabbed her manicured hand in mine and gave it a small squeeze. She had been pestering me for what seemed like every five minutes since we boarded the plane in Louisiana to fly here, to Japan. Mom was getting remarried, something I never thought was a possibility.

My own dad died when I was five, and ever since then she's had a long line of asshole boyfriends come along. When Arashi popped into her life, I never imagined we'd be where we were now. He was practically perfect, no matter how hard I tried to find some fault in the Japanese man, there was none to be found. He was nice to a fault, was head over heels for my mom, and he genuinely cared about me and my wellbeing. Not to mention he was the owner of a legal firm that did well. To put it simply, he was loaded. The man bought my mom and I anything we even hinted at wanting, it was borderline ridiculous.

Despite how wonderful my soon to be step-dad was, leaving my southern homeland was hard. Before Arashi proposed to my mom, he asked me to go to dinner with him, in part to ask my permission, and in part to ask how I would feel about moving across the world. My own feelings were important to him.

Arashi met my mom when he was on vacation with his sons and since then, they'd kept up a long-distance relationship, him visiting as often as possible. If they were getting married, that couldn't be the deal anymore.

The decision came ultimately came to me. Arashi wouldn't propose if I didn't approve. My mom suffered for years, I wasn't going to be the one to stand in the way of her happiness.

He proposed and she said yes.

The move itself wasn't immediate. My mom and I had a lot to learn before we moved to Japan; language, etiquette, culture. We had already taken to learning, but it was thrown into overdrive after the proposal. There was another small problem, not only would we be thrown into a completely different country with a different language and different culture, but we'd be members of the social elite, something neither of us were familiar with.

"Baby, we're here."

My mom's voice caused my head to snap up and look out of the window.

"Wow." The word didn't even begin to cover my astonishment. We knew Arashi was rich, but neither of us had been expecting the mansion laid out before us. My mom and I had only ever lived with the necessities, and sometimes not even that. Our small two-bedroom apartment wasn't even in the same dimension as the estate in front of us. It looked like something straight out of a movie.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and meeting my mom's eyes, so similar to my own, I saw a happiness that I'd only seen a handful of times. Any and all negative feelings were pushed to the side. Mom had consistently sacrificed things for me, for my own comfort, my own happiness, this was the least I could to for her.

When the limo came to a step, the door was open, and my future step-dad was beaming down at us, clad in a simple black suit that no doubt cost more than anything I had ever owned in my entire life. He helped Mom out of the vehicle first and they embrace happily. My heart constricted painfully, but I forced a smile when he offered his hand out to me. I took it and he gave me an awkward hug. Arashi was strangely touchy-feely for a Japanese man.

"I'm glad to see you made it okay. Was there any trouble on the way?" He asked, his dark eyes flitting between Mom and I.

"It was all wonder, can't say flying is my favorite activity though." Mom laughed. She had a terrible fear of heights and this was her first time on a plane. I had a little experience from the one Disney trip my Nanny brought me on when I was younger, but I was no pro. Despite getting nauseous a few times, the flight wasn't horrible, and I was seated next to the nicest old lady in first class. We chatted a majority of the trip since Mom was knocked out.

"Did Athena and Wasabi make it?" I asked immediately.

"They did, they are inside. I believe they missed you." Arashi replied with a chuckle and I fought the urge to sprint inside of my new mansion home. Athena and Wasabi, my dog and cat, my two pieces of home.

"How about we make out way inside." Arashi suggested. "All of our things are in your new room SkyLynn-chan. I tried to get Kei-kun to come greet you but he was otherwise preoccupied and Kohei-kun is taking a nap. He was so excited about your arrival that he couldn't sleep a wink last night."

Kei and Kohei were Arashi's sons from his previous marriage. Kei was a year my senior and didn't even try to hide his distaste for me and Mom, contrary to Kohei who was six and overjoyed at getting a mom and a big sister.

The doors to the mansion swung open the minute we arrived on the doorstep. The sight when we walked in left me and Mom speechless. A mansion as big as this one obviously needed an abundance of help to keep it up, but seeing the help lined up, bowing as we walked in was unnerving.

"Welcome Chiasson-sama and Chiasson-sama." They said in unison.

"Th-Thank you." Mom managed to reply after a few seconds of astonishment and Arashi laughed at our reaction. They immediately dispersed to attend to their duties and the sound of pattering paws on the hardwood floor caused my heart to soar.

Athena, my chihuahua, flew into the room, curly tail wagging nonstop. I swept her into my arms and she assaulted my face with kisses. My eyes started to water, seeing my dog here in this unfamiliar place made everything more real.

A loud meow drew my attention to the ground and my black cat, Wasabi, rubbed his head affectionately against my leg.

"The cooks have begun preparing dinner, it should be ready in about an hour. Please take a chance to get settled in. Misa-san will show you to your room SkyLynn-chan." Needing no further invitation, I kissed my mom on the cheek and trailed after the blonde maid, Athena still in my arms.

We walked up the main staircase and down the hall, took a left and ran into none other than my wonderful new step-brother. Misa immediately bowed at the sight of him and Athena squirmed in my arms. I let her down and she ran to the older male, his hand twitched as if to reach down and pet her but he restrained himself.

Kei had the same dark hair and eyes as his father, though his face was more angular, and always scrunched into a scowl when me or my mom were around.

He didn't say a word, merely turned and walked straight back into his room. Such a warm welcome.

With him gone, Misa continued leading me to my new room, which was practically across the hall from Kei.

"This will be your room Chiasson-sama, if you need anything just use the phone on the wall and we'll obtain what you require. If you don't further require my assistance, I must help with dinner preparations." Misa said with a bow and waited for me to dismiss her.

I didn't think this was something I could get used to.

"U-Um, thank you! And SkyLynn is fine."

"As you wish SkyLynn-sama, now if you'll excuse me."

She bowed again, and was gone. I sighed, my shoulder dropping, all the energy seeming to leave my body.

My mouth formed an 'o' when I finally turned and took in my new room. Despite having designed the room myself, seeing it in person was shocking. It was everything I had ever wanted.

The room was bigger than any bedroom I had ever been in, hell, it was probably the size of my old apartment, if not bigger. The walls were a light grey and the floors traditional hardwood. My bed was so big it was bordering on impractical.

Everything seemed like such a dream. Was I completely happy with the situation? No, my emotions about it all were too complicated for me to even begin to express, but having this room, it made me happy. Being financially well off made me happy.

People constantly said that money couldn't buy happiness. Those people had obviously never lived on instant ramen for a month. Money wasn't everything, of course there were more important things, but money was pretty great.

I mean, I even had my own bathroom and walk in closet. Happily sighing, I walked to the vanity next to my bed and took a seat. Looking in the mirror, my tired, yet slightly giddy, brown eyes stared back at me.

My short burgundy hair was a mess and my normally tan skin was a few shades lighter than normal. A long plane could do that to a person I guess.

Getting to my feet, I walked into my new, giant closet and browsed my plethora of new clothes, compliment of Arashi. I grabbed a pair of leggings and a grey sweater, something simple and comfortable.

My bathroom was just as dazzling as my bedroom. Not only did I have a standing shower, but a Jacuzzi tub. Jesus Christ.

Without any further delay I stripped and stepped into the shower, a moan slipping from my lips as the water hit my back. Water pressure was an amazing thing.

The minute I stepped foot into the dining room, something attached itself to my leg. Well, more like someone.

"Nee-san!" A childish voice exclaimed. Laughing, I looked down to see Kohei grinning up at me.

"Hi Kohei-kun." I greeted happily. He unattached himself from my leg only to raise his arms in the arm, the universal sign for 'pick me up'. Who was I to tell the child no?

"Well?" Mom asked as I took the seat next to her, placing Kohei on my lap. I almost had to do a double take when I saw her. I was so used to seeing her in jeans and a t-shirt, seeing her in a dress threw me for a loop.

"It's different that's for sure." I laughed as Kohei nuzzled himself against my chest. He was the most affectionate little boy I had ever met. "Who'd have thought we'd go from living off ramen to this?"

"It's kind of ironic don't ya think?" Mom and I both laughed. She had a point. I tried to place Kohei in the seat next to mine, but he clung to me, so I let him stay in my lap, I was as much of a cuddler as him so I wasn't complaining. Kei was seated scross from Mom and Arashi sat at the head of the table.

The maids and butlers brought out the food and laid it on the table. The amount of food reminded me of a Thanksgiving feast. All of Mom and I's favorites filled the table.

"Itadakimasu." Arashi said and we followed suit. It still felt foreign, but if I was able to get used to saying 'Grace', I could get used to one word.

I went straight for the lasagna and Mom laughed, she knew it was going to be my first choice. I also grabbed a few chicken nuggets for Kohei to feast on.

Sitting at the table and eating like a family felt strange. It all felt so surreal.

"Now SkyLynn-chan, the day after tomorrow I have made you an appointment to be registered at the same school as Kei-kun," Arashi informed and Kei almost choked on his food.

"Otou-san! Can't she enroll at Lobelia?!" He protested, almost shooting out of his chair in indignation. I cringed and tried to sink into my own chair, attempting to disappear. It wasn't a pleasant feeling having someone hate you as much as Kei hated me and Mom. She gave me an apologetic look and I returned it with a small smile.

"It would be much more convenient for her to attend Ouran with you Kei. Now, please calm down and enjoy your dinner." It was obvious my step-brother had more to say but he bit his tongue, opting to glare at me.

"Nee-san, will you come play with me after dinner?" Kohei asked, staring up at me with big puppy dog eyes.

"Your nee-san needs to rest Kohei-kun, maybe another time.: Mom said with a smile, causing the little boy to pout.

"Next time okay?" I said with a grin, wiping the crumbs from his face and he hastily nodded his head in agreement before shoving another nugget in his mouth. The rest of dinner passed in relative silence, Mom and Arashi stealing glances at each other when they thought no one was looking. My gut twisted painfully but I shook the negativity away.

After dad died, Mom fell into a deep depression she could never quite pull herself out of. Depression was a relentless foe, and she turned to alcoholism. Ever since she met Arashi, things had been better and only continued to get better. I would never get in the way of her happiness.

When I finished my meal, I moved to pick up the plate, to bring it to the kitchen like I was used to. Before I could even get a grip on the dish, a gloved hand swooped in and took it. Alright then.

"The mean was delicious, thank you, Arashi-san. If you don't mind, I'm tired from the trip."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, get your rest." Arashi said with a kind smile. I placed Kohei down on the seat next to mine –much to his displeasure-, and gave him and Mom a kiss on the forehead before heading up to my room.

The fatigue hit me like a train. I barely had enough time to change into pajamas before passing out on my new bed, Athena and Wasabi curled up beside me.

A/N: Doing some revisions and formatting change, thanks for the love guys. Love you.