The energy in the room was incredible; there were cheers everywhere, girls in the stands watching their beloved team play against a rival school. The girls on the court were beginning to tire; after all, there were only twenty- one second left on the clock. The game was tied, and unless someone scored it was going to be a draw.

but this was an unacceptable outcome! And as Naomi Shizuoka stood, holding the ball, her eyes were lit up and attentive; despite everything that she had been dealing with at home, playing the game never failed to cheer her up and energize her. mmaybe it was that it gave her a chance to numb herself to everything outside the game, the players, the ball. Bur even if that is what it was, she was able to be happy.

Her signature smirk grew on her face as she suddenly threw the ball to her team member, running ahead of her as the ball was passed back and forth. eighteen seconds; The girl tried to pass, but the ball was intersected and the rival player begn advancing down the other end of the court.

Thirteen seconds. Naomi jolted after her, trailing her, and when she attempted to throw the ball at ten seconds, she stole the ball of of the air, earning cheers from the crowd. She started running back, dodging other players; five seconds. She wasnt going to make it all the way to the net. At two seconds she stop, a decent distance away from the net that would decide the outcome of the game, took aim, and took the shot.

As the ball soared threw the air, it felt like there was absolute silence in the room. That is, until it fell through the net; at that point the room exploded, and Naomi was enveloped by her teammates, who were laughing and patting her on the back. The two teams lined up and walked by each other, congratulating each other. Naomi never stopped smiling, her signature crooked grin stuck in place; she felt so alive when she played. Whether she won or lost didnt matter much; it was just the thrill of the game.

People in the stands began to slowly file out in little groups, and most of Naomis team went back to shower and change. She stayed out though; she liked to cool down a bit after a game, and she picked teh basketball up and threw a couple simple shots. It was calming to her, and after a few moments, she turned to follow her team.

The gym was a terrifying place, even for someone who'd trained in one kind or another for years. No matter if it'd been for practice or a competition there had never been one quite like this before her. Inside were who knew how many people filled with energy as a basketball game wound down to some presumably dramatic conclusion. Otherwise why would they be quite so raucous and energetic? There was so much cheering, clapping and stamping of feet from the crowd alone that it was hard to pick out a rhythm and stick with it Add in the ball dribbling off the floor and ten girls running up and down that floor and it was a veritable cacophony of beats that rendered her attempts to pick out a comfortable rhythm hopeless through sheer chaos. It was hard to keep herself focused on the reason she'd even come to the gym in the first place. Not for the rhythms of course; those could be found anywhere and likely would be more pleasing than what was in store today. Since enrolling in LeRim she had deliberately avoided anything to do with athletics, other than that one little incident with the Seme Etoile. A new school was a new opportunity to become the person she wanted to be, not whom her parents wanted her to be. She loved her new uniform with its cute style and abundance of frills. Something truly important had inspired her though: she'd heard that the person she'd been searching for would be here today!

So despite her misgivings Esther had taken it upon herself to walk all the way to the Spica campus. Every step she took did nothing to ease the butterflies in her stomach as she grew nearer to that person. Even at twelve she knew that her family had left her alone in the world. Both parents gone, her birth mother gone and now her uncle vanished into the night. Probably because she'd slacked off in her training, her duties as a daughter, they'd all left her. A lot of the other girls at school were intimidating or just unbearable, but there was one person she could count on to understand her. She had a sister! That girl was a basketball player and thus, the trip to the gym for a game Esther would've had no interest in watching otherwise. Only she'd made it to the doors but failed to go inside, too afraid of the moment that loomed before her. Her sister was in there, playing her heart out for all these other girls. What should she say? What should she do? Esther was nervous, anxious and terrified the louder the noise got. All of a sudden it died down a bit, girls started exiting the gym with satisfied expressions and smiles. So the home team had won? Maybe.

Esther dared to poke her head inside the gym a little, medal jangling around her neck. It seemed the game was indeed over with Astraea Hill's team (she thought) emerging victorious. A few players were making their way back to the dressing rooms but one remained on the floor; Esther's eyes were drawn to her immediately. Slightly older than herself with purple hair and a crooked grin showing her satisfaction. This was it! No question remained about the girl's identity. Before her stood the girl she'd yearned to meet, searched for fruitlessly the months before. Her sister! Concern about how she should act around her remaining family flew away as instinct took over. Smiling excitedly she tore across the floor towards the purplenette, eyes full of hope she dared to allow to surface. Exuberance overtook her as she threw her arms around Naomi, almost knocking herself off balance from the impact. By the giddy smile on her face it was clear that she didn't care one bit about that.

"Is that you? It is! Nee-nee!" she cried out, hugging Naomi for all she was worth, "I'm so happy to meet you nee-nee!"

Naomi was half way to the locker room before she turned back around to have a last look at the gym; she always hated leaving. The game kept her head on straight, and she needed as much of that as she could get right now the game kept her from loosing her mind when thoughts of home.threatened to overwhelm her, or when she pined for her old.position as student council president. She would have given anything to stay there, forever.

But that was a part of what her life had become: leaving that adrenaline- fuelled world for reality. She expected that. What she didnt expect, though, was to see a stranger run up to her and tackle her as she turned around.

Naomi gave a tiny cry in surprise as the girl collided with her, stepping backwards to prevent herself from falling over. She blinked, utterly confused; she was used to girls coming up to her: her flirt nature made her a relatively well- known girl around campus. But even for her, being tackled was a bit new.

And what had she called her? 'Nee-Nee?' She was calling her her sister? What was going on here?

"Um..." she glanced around; most people were too busy chatting about the game and preparing to leave to see what was going on. "I think you've got the wrong girl."

She stepped back out of the girls embrace with a nervous laugh. "I... dont have a sister. I have two brothers are home but no sister." She gave her usual smile, with a touch of confusion and placed one hand on her hip. She didnt know who this girl was looking for but there was no way it was her.

But... looking closely, the girl did seem vaguely familiar. Had she seen her around school? She tilted her head as she wracked her brain for the answer, but she kept coming up blank. She coulsnt pick.point what, exactly, it was about her that had sparked the recognition. "Hey, Have I seen you before? What a your name?"

They'd never met before so it was completely understandable that the basketball player wouldn't recognize her little sister. She knew that there would undoubtedly be other girls approaching the former student council president. Someone as singularly wonderful as her big sister was bound to have her fair share of fans who'd come to watch her. It hurt a little to have the person she'd flwon across the world to find push her away though. Even though this was just in order to get a better look at a newcomer Esther wondered if she'd done something wrong in approaching Naomi. Fear wracked her soon afterwards and she fidgeted nervously as the older girl explained that she didn't have a sister. Did she really mean that? That she didn't have one, and wasn't interested in a random girl who claimed to be related? She might well be rejecting Esther outright despite being aware of the existence of a half sister somewhere else. Given how stressful her life must be here there was little doubt why she had no time for someone whom had been separated from her for so many years. Maybe, just maybe, it was Esther's fault for not finding her nee-nee sooner! It'd taken too long and now the girl had no time for her.

All she could do was keep trying and hope that it would convince Naomi that she really was there to make the best of their sisterhood. She nervously smiled and stepped a little closer to the third year. This was her nee-nee, she just had to be convinced that her little sister was worthy of attention and affection. Being in a gym didn't really help her calm down all that much but there was no reason she couldn't tough it out. This was also kind of a shocker - she didn't know she also had brothers! Two big borthers, probably, there to look after her just like nee-nee! Or maybe little brothers she could play with and teach some holds to so they wouldn't get bullied. Regardless she wanted to meet them too! A whole new family was here for her; truly a greater gift than she could've possibly imagined. As a result she was hopping with excitement as she renewed her determination to convince this girl that she was worth it.

"My name? I'm.. I'm Esther! I was born far away, but I came all the way here to find my family.." she explained, blushing red, "But my uncle told me I have a sister.. we had the same mom, but I lived with my dads until last year. So.. you're my nee-nee! I love you, nee-nee!"

Naomi had never meant to upset the girl or hurt her in any way; she truly, honestly believed this to be a case of mistaken identity. It was easy enough to make; there were so many students in this school, anyone could have mixed anyone up. The tomboyish girl didnt want this girl to be upset, but it wasnt possible, plain and simple for her to have a sister. She was about to offer to help her find her real sister, to try and make her feel better, when her words stopped her.

The girls name was Esther. She was from far away. She had lived with two dads and... she said they shared a mom. Naomis eyes clouded over at that; her mom was a bit of a sensitive subject for her, as she died when she was young and she had never gotten a chance to really get to know her. She blinked slowly, before shaking her head.

"Come with me." Naomi took the girls arm and lead her out into a nearby hallway. She wasnt rough and didnt hurt her, gently pulling her along after her. After they were alone, out of the scrutinizing stares of the other students, she looked at the girl again.

"Listen... My mom is dead." The word stuck in her throat a bit as she spoke, but she kept going. "So, you see, theres no way we could have had the same mom. Because You-'

She cut herself off, again taken aback by the strange sense of familiarity she got from Esther. She peered at her, thoughts racing. The girl was, what, two, three years younger then her? Naomis mom had died when she was three. She had told it was because she had an infection, but she had never been told how it had been acquired. This girl said she had grown up with two dads; that means she had to have had a birth mother, someone who could have the baby for the two men.

Suddenly, she realized. The girls facial features, her hair... everything...

It looked like her mom.

"No..." She muttered. "Theres no way... Theres no..."

her face clouded over."Would you excuse me for a moment? I have to make a phone call."

~~~~~~~~~~~

"How could you not tell me?!?"

Naomi practically yelled into the phone. She stood with one hand on her hip, the other holding the tiny machine to her ear. Her eyes were alight with irritation, anger; how could he not have told her?

"It didnt occur to you to tell us that Mom acted as a surrogate? That we had a sister?... Oh, thats crap and you know it!"

Naomi knew it would be hell for her next time she saw him; talking to her father like this always resulted in ... unpleasantness. But right now she didnt care.

With a sigh she snapped the phone closed, leaning against the wall. She felt really overwhelmed; he had done it grudgingly, but he had confirmed her suspicions. Her mother had acted as a surrogate to a couple, who then took the baby to another country and were never heard from again. The baby had been a girl, and the times matched up, as well as Esther looking like her mom.

Esther... She was outside. Naomi had walked into the locker room to have her phone call, leaving the poor girl alone. She must have been confused, upset. Her heart ached a little at the thought. So she pushed open the door and walked out.

"Hey... so..." she said awkwardly. Naomi, who was usually so good with words, was at a loss. "That was my dad. turns out everything you said adds up. I cant believe her never said anything...

"but... it looks like..." she took a deep breath. "Looks like were sisters after all." Big sister. Naomi couldnt help but smile a bit at that; she had always been the youngest, and now... she could have someone to protect, someone to watch out for. She gave a small chuckle at the thought; having a little sister wouldnt be too bad.

"Oh, right... I never actually introduced myself. My name is Naomi Shizuoka... Sis."