A/N: Welcome, welcome to the rewrite of It Started With A Photo! I realise what an awful writer I had been for abandoning the original, so, enjoy this rewrite! It will be a bit different than the other, but will continue to follow the original storyline of the manga/anime "Itazura Na Kiss".

I do not own Itazura Na Kiss or Sailor Moon.

Enjoy!

Summary: After being rejected by Chiba Mamoru, her secret infatuation for three years, Tsukino Usagi's life turns upside down when her and her father's house is destroyed by a minor earthquake. Her father's friend offers them his home, but what happens when Mamoru is living under the same roof? Does she have a chance to capture his heart? Based off of the anime Itazura Na Kiss [REWRITE]

Chapter 1

"And now, please welcome, Mr. Chiba Mamoru, the valedictorian from Juuban Junior High!" the booming voice rang throughout the auditorium, and a few teenagers covered their ears in an attempt to prevent themselves from going deaf, their eyes squinting in anger until they realised who was to speak in a few minutes. Excited murmurs immediately flooded through the area, and Tsukino Usagi glanced around, her golden ponytails swishing around her shoulders as she turned to her friend Aino Minako, who was sitting to her right.

"Mina, who's Chiba Mamoru?"

The other blonde tapped her index finger lightly against her chin, her expression deep in thought. "Chiba. . .? Isn't he supposedly ranked as #1 in the entire city?"

"No, you idiot!" Kino Makoto, their other friend, rolled her eyes from Minako's right, "He's ranked #1 in the entire region with an IQ of 200!"

"City, region, same difference, Mako!" Minako waved her hand dismissively.

The shorter giggled as she heard her two friends continue to bicker, occasionally picking up a few of their words. "An IQ of 200, huh?" she whispered softly, "He's probably some freakish nerd." Usagi laughed again as she imagined a small, squeaking man with thick glasses and a face full of acne speaking into the microphone, constantly blowing his nose.

"Hello everyone, I'm Chiba Mamoru."

Usagi looked up and immediately stopped laughing, her bright blue eyes widening.

That was definitely not an acne-faced nerd.

The young man up on the stage had dark, ebony-black hair which seemed to shine in the artificial light of the auditorium, and sapphire eyes that appeared to put the night sky to shame. And he was no short, squawking nerd; his tall frame caused him to adjust the height of the microphone, and his voice was a deep baritone, causing Usagi's stomach to start twisting.

Usagi opened her dry lips to say something, but couldn't seem to choke it out. "H-He's-"

"He's hot!" Minako hissed for her, her blue eyes wide as well.

"I believe that, with the beginning of high school, we all have a chance to be successful," Mamoru spoke on stage, his voice echoing across the walls, "That we have shown that we can all strive towards our bright and shining futures. . ."

"I wanna stride over there and smooch him," Minako turned to Usagi and winked, "Don't ya think, Usagi?"

The shorter blonde immediately flushed a deep red, her light cerulean eyes blinking in shock. "I-I-"

"Minako," Ami, the girls' other friend, spoke softly from Usagi's left, "he said 'strive', which means 'to make a great effort to obtain something', not 'stride', which means-"

"Oh, Ami," Minako waved her hand again, shaking her head, "when will you learn that things like that don't matter?"

". . .That being said, I wish all of my fellow underclassmen a fresh start here at high school." Mamoru concluded, and bowed to the audience before turning and walking away, the entire auditorium bursting into applause.

Usagi, however, could only hear the loud beating of her heart.

"I. . .I think I'm in love."

Three years later, Usagi stood by the gate entrance to her school, her heart beating just as fast as it did when she first laid eyes upon Mamoru. The breezy wind did nothing to calm her sweaty palms as they clutched the pink envelope in her hand, wrinkling it slightly. She immediately squeaked in realisation and stopped doing so, trying to smooth the crisp paper and looked up, taking a deep breath.

Today had to be the day. She had worked all night on this letter, put all of her love into it, and now she could only hope for the best.

As her ponytails danced in the wind behind her, she took another breath and patted her odango-styled hair in an attempt to relax herself. "Come on, Usagi, let's do this. You've been waiting for this day ever since, you can do it."

And there he was.

Chiba Mamoru, his eyes gazing out at nothing in particular as he walked towards the front gate. Perfect, handsome, intelligent Mamoru.

Who was now looking at her, an eyebrow raised.

"H-Hi." she whispered.

"Hello." he replied smoothly.

Gulping, Usagi grinned weakly and then thrust out her hands, the love letter at him, looking up at him. "Will you please read this?"

The deadly silence that followed seemed to last an entire millenium as Mamoru's dark eyes slowly moved from Usagi's face to the letter in her hands. The blonde could sense other students watching them, whispering among themselves, the ruffling of navy school uniform skirts swishing in the breeze, shoes clacking against the marble entrance, tree leaves falling down, the-

"I don't like stupid girls."

Blinking in surprise, Usagi felt her small smile fall as Mamoru turned and walked away, leaving her alone by the entrance. She could hear other students snickering or whispering comments of pity as they passed by her, but all she could feel was her heart drop fifty feet, her stomach turn over, and thick tears starting to stream down her cheeks.

"Oh."

"What were you thinking?!"

Usagi winced as Minako continued to scream, throwing her hands up in the air, her expression wild. "Tsukino Usagi, I have never been as disappointed with you as I am today!"

"S-Sorry?" the shorter girl cringed in her homeroom seat, nervously looking up at her friend. "Mina, I'm-"

"Usagi, why would you do such a thing?!" Makoto's voice groaned from behind her, and Usagi looked up to see the brunette gently massaging her temples, her eyelids closed. "You know that man is a-"

"Cold heartless bastard, I know, I know," Usagi sighed and leaned forward, crossing her arms onto her desk and resting her head on top, "I just thought that. . .things would be different if I tried. . ."

As the three girls sat in their homeroom, they could hear other groups of students passing by their classroom door, peeking in to glance at the famous Tsukino Usagi, the ditzy girl from Class F, the 'hit rock bottom class', who had been publicly rejected by Chiba Mamoru, the handsome yet robot-like genius from Class A, and, most likely the smartest person in the entire country.

"Well at least now you know that he's an awful person," Minako said, smiling, and started to run her fingers through the other girl's ponytails, "And, I mean, since the entire school now knows, and you're the topic of gossip, you might as well learn from your mistake-"

"USAGI! HOW COULD YOU?!"

"Oh, here comes the storm." Makoto mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes, as a taller student with untidy, short black hair raced over, his dark blue eyes wide. His breathing was uneven as he breathed uneasily, falling to his knees in front of Usagi. "How could you confess to that. . .that. . .jerk?!"

"Oh boy." Makoto huffed again.

"Seiya," Usagi began, sighing, "I told you-"

"Don't you see how much I love you?!" Kou Seiya half-yelled, pouting now, and then crossed his arms, waving one of his fingers back and forth, "I mean, now that you see how bad he is, you should understand that my love will always be here for you. Right?"

"Oi, Seiya, leave the girl alone." Minako scolded, her expression stern. "She's been through a lot."

"No, no, Mina," Usagi shook her head, looking up at her friend, "If anything, this shows that I need to give up on Chiba Mamoru, and-"

"Exactly!" Seiya said, immediately brightening. "We'll start with that! You and I can start being together, and you can see how much I love you! Hell, we can even spread banners that show how you're over Chiba!"

Groaning, the petite girl slammed her head against her desk. "I hate today."

As the day went by, Usagi found herself to continue being stared at by other students and even a few teachers, which did not help for her self-esteem.

"I hate today." she repeated as her and her friends walked home, her eyes downcast.

"Don't get too down, Usagi," Ami looked up, pushing her reading glasses up her nose, "If it makes you feel any better, Chiba didn't seem to be bothered by it at all today during our class."

Immediately afterwards, the bluenette blinked in realisation and covered her mouth, her cheeks colouring a bright pink as she noticed the shorter blonde's expression dampen. "S-Sorry, Usagi, I didn't mean-"

"No, no, it's alright, Ami." Usagi shook her head, "At least you're in Class A with him. You seem to be intelligent to him, as if you actually mean something."

"I don't like stupid girls."

Feeling a lump form in her throat, Usagi sniffled lightly, and Minako instantly draped an arm around her friend's shoulder, grinning. "Oi, don't start the waterworks, little bunny! You're moving into your new house with your father today, aren't you?"
"Y-Yeah!" the shorter girl brightened at once, the ends of her lips pulling up. "That's right, he finished building it a few days ago, and the realtors said we could finally move in today, so we're both excited!" letting out a sigh of relief, the girl laughed. "Finally, I don't have to share a bathroom with him anymore."

"Oi, my lovely Usagi!"

As Seiya came jogging up the street behind them, he smiled at the group, wiping sweat off of his forehead. "I heard that you're moving into your new home today. Does that mean I can finally meet your father?"

"Seiya, how many times must I tell you?" Usagi laughed softly, "We are never going to get married!"

"But I have loved you since the beginning of freshman year!" his smile melted, a crease between his brows.

"I-"

"Oi, Seiya, give the girl a break!" Minako repeated, winking, "I mean, it's not like your constant asking is going to make her say yes!"

"But why? You see it all the time in movies; if the guy is persistent and keeps asking, then the girl eventually discovers her hidden feelings and falls in love with him, and then they both get married!" Seiya replied, looking proud with himself.

"Mina, Seiya-"

"Usaaaaa!"

The five teenagers looked up to see Usagi's father, a bespectacled, skinny man with short brown hair, waving cheerfully at them. He was standing in front of a bright brown house, a wide smile on his face as they approached him. "It's up! It's up, Usa!"

"Papa, I told you to not call me that when my friends are around!" Usagi hissed, pouting slightly but then smiling once she took in the house, fully constructed and standing. Her father pulled her into a tight embrace and the two looked up at their house, both smiling. "Usa, we finally have a house like your mother wanted us to."

Usagi's grin widened at her father's words and nodded. "She would be very happy in this moment, Papa."

"Ah, nice to meet you, Mr. Tsukino!" Seiya said enthusiastically, and extended his hand, grinning. "I mean, father-in-law."

Tsukino Kenji looked down at his daughter. "Who is this?"

"Your future son-in-law, sir!" Seiya replied, and the girls giggled, all of them rolling their eyes.

"Okay, all of you, come in." Kenji said, bringing all of the teenagers into the house.

The house was only one-story, but seemed traditional, with bright yellow walls painted with vines and other designs. It was certainly large enough for Usagi and her father, and smelled of burnt wood and jasmine, along with the calming sound of crickets chirping outside, a slight breeze gently rattling the windows as the group entered the living room. "Tea, anyone?"

"Yes please." all four chorused at once as they sat down, taking in the scene.

"Papa, this truly is amazing." Usagi found herself saying, smiling, and stood up to help her father with the tea.

"Thanks, Usa." Kenji kissed his daughter's forehead and started pulling out some cups. "I just wish your mother could be here with us, too, but, we both know that, up in heaven, she's watching us." he looked up at the ceiling, his eyes shining, "That she's guiding our lives to pull us towards the right direction, to whatever she thinks is best for us, to-"

Boom.

"What was that?" Ami asked softly, and they all turned around, watching as some parts of the house started to fall downwards as the ground shook slightly.

"Everyone, be careful!" Usagi called out, but couldn't seem to keep her balance, and started to run towards the entrance, pulling her father and her friends. "Come on, we need to get out-"

And with that, the entire house fell.

A/N: Yessss, finally got this up! :D I'm very excited to be rewriting this story, I have lots of plans for it! (:

Review please! And, if you read the old version of this story that I wrote, don't be shy to add in your review what you'd like to see different, what you'd like to see the same, etc! I will gladly take those into opinion (:

Thank you all for being so patient!