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Nene POV:

The house is so big now. It's not just a tiny apartment anymore. I've got a queen-sized bed and a huge full-length mirror and a walk-in wadrobe. The kitchen is nice and spacey so I can cook lots. There's even a big room just for the TV. Mom and Dad promised me a shopping spree so I can decorate my room. 

But I'm not sure I like it. 

Standing dead-center in the middle of my room, I realise despite how luxurious and pretty it all seems, it doesn't feel like it's mine. I feel like I'm at a rich friend's house.

Even after filling it up with my plushies and posters, it didn't feel cozy. 

I sighed, giving up on my room. I would just have to buy extra huge pillows to cover up the empty floor tommorow. 

"Nene? She's here!"

I should have felt excited, but I really didn't. Even without wondering, I knew what Mom meant. My new sister was here. 

I really didn't understand why my parents had to adopt a new sister for me. I didn't need one. Maybe they felt I was acting wierd? Because of my adventures with the apparitions? Still, it really didn't explain it. They could have just gotten me a cat. I do already have one, though- Hanako. 

Thinking of him makes my chest ache again. I hurry down the huge flight of stairs to meet my new sister to take my mind off things.

Before I even make it to the first floor, I see her.

"Nene, meet Kira. She's 14, and comes from the orphanage around here." Mom beamed at me, then back at Kira, her eyes shining like she'd found the moon. "Kira, this is Nene. She'll be your older sister, since she's 15."

I slowly approached my smiling parents and that stranger. (Well, you can't blame me- she is a stranger.)

Kira, although younger than me, looked the same age as me. She had shoulder-length brown hair and big eyes similair to Aoi's- though they were the brightest apple green, filled with curiousty and innocence. But despite her cute and angelic appearance, something was off about her that I couldn't put my finger on. 

"Nice to meet you, Kira." I smiled and debated whether to stick out my hand for her to shake. "Welcome."

"Come inside, Kira, we'll get you settled in your room."

"Is she getting the guest rooom?" I asked Dad as Mom lead Kira upstairs arm-in-arm. 

"No, we have to leave that free for when your grandparents visit. Kira'll be sharing a room with you." 

"What?" Despite myself, my jaw dropped open. "But I thought I was getting my own room. I don't want to share a room."

"Enough with that selfish talk, Nene," Dad frowned. "You complained your room was too empty anyways. Kira is a lovely girl, you're just not used to each other just yet."

"Just because I said it was empty doesn't mean I want a stranger to move into it." I grumbled. 

But although I put on an attuide, I felt slightly bad for already taking against Kira. She and I could be great friends. But I knew she could never replace Aoi. The life I had left behind gave me a salty, lingering feeling in my gut that I couldn't say I liked. It wasn't even homesickness- probably friendsickness, if that existed. 

When Mom finally came downstairs, she said, "I've got Kira's things in your room now. She's unpacking. I'll make lunch, and you be nice to Kira now, Nene."

I ignored Mom and climbed the stairs up. Gosh, it hurt my ugly legs, but maybe climbing those stairs everyday would help me lose some leg weight. 

"Hey, Kira." I stepped into my room. Kira was crouched over a cardboard box labelled with her name. 

She turned around. "Hello, Nene-chan. Or do you prefer Yashiro?"

I flinched. 'Yashiro' reminded me of Hanako. "No, Nene's fine."

Kira gestured to my bed, which had been moved to the corner of the room. "I'm sorry about that. Your mother moved your bed so there would be space for mine." She pointed to her bed in the oppisote corner. 

"It's fine." I walked over to the box. "Is that your things?"

"Yes." Kira looked down at the box. "I don't have a lot of things, so they shouldn't take up too much space."

Inside, it was filled with books about gardening, a single, dusty teddy bear, some basic, ragged clothing and a pair of slippers. 

I picked up a thick book labelled 'Top Tips for Gardening.' "Hey, I like gardening, too!"

"I don't really like gardening. I just like reading about the grafting." 

"Grafting..?"

"You know, when you slice off the roots of one plant and combine it with another." Kira grinned, but there wasn't anything pure about that. "It's so gruesome, I love it."

"Oh... okay." I did my best not to scrunch up my nose. It sounded horrifying. It was even more horrifying how Kira grinned. "Um. Interesting."

I realised then that Kira was a girl who loved gore and all things horrifying. But though she could horrify me all she wanted, she would never truly scare me, because I had seen things no horror movie could ever replicate. 

A/N: I actually didn't initially plan for Kira to be like that. But as I was writing, I automatically wrote that, because I read about grafting in another book and I had an ex friend who was like that. Improvision on the spot really can be useful sometimes.