Chapter 1: The Girl Who Didn’t Belong
The morning sun stretched across the turquoise waters of Okinawa, spilling golden light over the streets of Naha City. The scent of fresh sea air mingled with the distant aroma of street vendors setting up their stalls. It was a perfect day for anyone with a normal life.
For Usa-hime, it was just another day of wishing she could disappear.
She trudged down the road toward school, her worn-out sneakers barely making a sound on the pavement. Her platinum blonde hair, too light to blend in, swayed with each step, occasionally catching the breeze. Despite the humid warmth, she wore her blazer over her uniform, sleeves stretched over her fingers as if the extra fabric could shield her from the world.
She could already hear the voices ahead before she even reached the school gate.
“Oi, Usa-hime!”
Her stomach dropped.
A group of students lingered near the entrance, leaning against their bikes, chatting about their weekend plans—until they spotted her.
One of the boys, Tanaka Ryo, grinned. “Where’s your carrot today, Rabbit Princess?”
The others snickered.
Usa-hime stiffened. Ignore them. Just keep walking.
But Tanaka wasn’t done. He tapped his foot against the pavement, his grin widening. “I mean, shouldn’t a bunny girl like you have a snack on hand? What do you even eat, anyway?”
A girl with short hair, Megumi, chimed in. “Maybe she drinks blood! Have you seen her eyes?”
“Yeah, those creepy red eyes. What if she’s a vampire?” another student added.
Usa-hime’s face burned.
Her red eyes. Her pale skin. Her weird name.
She knew she looked different, but did they always have to remind her?
She swallowed hard, gripping her bag’s strap as she brushed past them, heading toward the school building without a word.
“Hey, wait! We’re just messing around!” Tanaka called after her, his laughter still echoing.
Usa-hime didn’t stop.
She wished she could shrink, disappear, blend in like the other students.
But she never could.
She was Usa-hime—the Rabbit Princess, the quiet, awkward girl who barely spoke in class.
And even after sixteen years on Earth, she still felt like she didn’t belong.
Classroom Struggles
The morning dragged on.
As usual, Usa-hime sat in the back of the classroom, head down, taking notes in perfect silence. The math lesson blurred together with the hum of the air conditioning and the occasional sound of chalk tapping against the blackboard.
She rarely raised her hand. Even when she knew the answer, the thought of speaking up made her stomach twist.
Most of her teachers barely noticed her. All except for one.
“Usa-hime-san,” Saito-sensei, the history teacher, called out.
She tensed.
“Can you answer the next question?”
The class turned toward her.
She hesitated, fingers gripping the edge of her desk. “Uh… I…”
Her throat closed up. The words refused to come out.
She knew the answer. She had studied.
But the weight of everyone’s eyes made her brain go blank.
The silence stretched.
A few students snickered.
Saito-sensei sighed. “Anyone else?”
Relief and shame washed over her as someone else answered.
She lowered her head.
Why am I like this?
Lunch Break Isolation
Lunchtime was the hardest part of the day.
While the other students gathered in groups, chatting and sharing their meals, Usa-hime sat alone by the window, eating her bento in silence.
The sunlight streamed in, making her pale skin glow unnaturally bright. Another reminder that she looked different.
She toyed with her rice, staring out the window at the blue sky beyond.
A part of her wished she could be like the other girls, laughing, gossiping, making plans to go to karaoke after school.
But no one ever invited her.
She sighed, resting her chin on her hand.
Maybe she was just meant to be alone.
A Small Light in the Darkness
“Hey.”
A voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
She blinked and looked up.
Standing in front of her desk was Taro, her childhood friend.
He was one of the few people who didn’t treat her like a ghost. With his messy black hair and lazy smile, he looked effortlessly normal—unlike her.
“You’re zoning out again,” he said, plopping down in the seat across from her. “Thinking about space aliens or something?”
She frowned. “I don’t think about space aliens.”
“Liar.” He grinned, stealing a piece of tamagoyaki from her bento before she could stop him.
“Hey!”
“You weren’t eating it anyway.”
She huffed but didn’t argue.
Taro had always been like this—casual, teasing, but never mean.
He didn’t care that she was weird.
He was probably the closest thing she had to a friend.
“So,” he said, resting his chin on his hand. “Wanna go to the arcade after school?”
Usa-hime hesitated.
She wanted to say yes. She really did.
But then she thought about how the other students would look at them. How they would whisper.
“…I have to go home early,” she muttered.
Taro raised an eyebrow. “You always say that.”
She forced a smile. “Maybe next time.”
He sighed, but didn’t push. “Alright. But you owe me more tamagoyaki next time.”
As he walked away, Usa-hime stared at her half-empty lunch.
She had turned him down again.
Maybe… maybe she was meant to be alone.
A Storm Brewing
The rest of the school day passed in a blur.
By the time she walked home, the sky had turned a soft pink, the ocean breeze cooling the air.
She passed by the usual shops, the usual streets, the usual people.
Everything felt the same.
But deep down, she felt like something was about to change.
Like something was waiting for her beyond the horizon.
And soon, she would find out just how right she was.
An Uneasy Home
By the time Usa-hime reached her house, the sun had dipped below the horizon, casting an orange glow over the rooftops. The salty scent of the sea mixed with the crisp evening air as she walked through the familiar streets of her neighborhood.
Her house wasn’t anything special—just a modest two-story home in a quiet part of Naha City. It was normal. Safe.
Yet tonight, something felt…off.
She couldn’t explain it, but as she reached for the door handle, a strange chill ran down her spine, like an invisible force was watching her.
She shook it off. I’m just tired.
Stepping inside, she kicked off her shoes and sighed. “I’m home.”
“Welcome back,” her dad’s voice called from the living room.
The smell of curry drifted from the kitchen, a sign that her mom was cooking. The usual routine.
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Nothing seemed out of place.
And yet…
Usa-hime couldn’t shake the unease in her chest.
Secrets at the Dinner Table
Dinner was quiet.
Her dad, Inoue Renji, sat across from her, lazily stirring his curry. His messy brown hair and unshaven face made him look more like a washed-up surfer than a responsible adult. Her mom, Inoue Aoi, was his complete opposite—sharp-eyed, silver-haired, and always composed.
Usa-hime had asked before why they looked nothing like her, but they always brushed it off with, “Genetics are weird.”
She didn’t push.
But now, staring at them across the dinner table, she had the same nagging thought she always did.
Why do I feel like I don’t belong here?
“You’re quiet today,” her dad said between bites.
Her mom didn’t even look up from her phone. “She’s always quiet.”
Usa-hime hesitated. Should she tell them about school? About how the teasing was getting worse?
No. They wouldn’t understand.
Instead, she mumbled, “It’s nothing.”
Her dad frowned. “Those kids giving you trouble again?”
Her grip tightened on her chopsticks. “I said it’s nothing, Dad.”
A heavy silence followed.
Her mom finally looked up from her phone, studying her with sharp eyes. “Usa-hime,” she said slowly. “Do you ever feel… different?”
Usa-hime blinked. “Huh?”
Her mom’s voice was calm, but there was something beneath it—something serious.
“Like you don’t belong here.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
How did she—?
BZZZT!
A sharp, electric hum crackled through the air.
Then, out of nowhere—
A holographic message flickered to life in the middle of the dinner table.
The Message from Captain Rygar
Usa-hime yelped, nearly knocking over her curry.
The hologram’s image was unstable, flickering in and out, but the figure was unmistakable—a tall, battle-scarred alien warrior with a deep, menacing glare. His right eye glowed red, and his body was clad in heavy, metallic armor.
His voice boomed through the room.
“Renji. Aoi. This is urgent.”
Usa-hime stared in horror. “WHAT THE—?!”
Her dad groaned. “Dammit… I knew this day would come.”
Her mom sighed, rubbing her temples. “Rygar, you’re breaking at least six communication laws by contacting us like this.”
“Like I care,” the hologram snapped. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important.”
Usa-hime’s brain short-circuited.
Why were her parents talking like this was normal?!
“Okay, WHAT IS HAPPENING?” she shouted, standing up so fast her chair nearly toppled over.
The hologram—Rygar?—paused, noticing her for the first time. His glowing red eye narrowed. “Ah… so the kid’s here, too.”
Her mom’s voice was firm. “She’s not involved in this.”
“She might have to be,” Rygar said darkly.
Her dad scowled. “Not a chance.”
Usa-hime slammed her hands on the table. “HELLO?! I’M RIGHT HERE! SOMEONE EXPLAIN!”
Her parents exchanged glances.
Then her mom exhaled and set her chopsticks down. “Usa-hime… there’s something we never told you.”
Her dad sighed. “We were hoping you’d never have to find out.”
Usa-hime’s stomach twisted.
The uneasy feeling—the way she never fit in—the questions she had buried for years—
Her mom’s voice was steady but final.
“Your father and I… were once intergalactic hunters.”
The room spun.
“…You were WHAT?!”
The Truth Revealed
Usa-hime stood frozen. Her mind raced to catch up with the insanity of what she had just heard.
Intergalactic hunters? Like… alien bounty hunters? Space warriors? What?
Her dad scratched the back of his head. “Yeah… so, long story short, before we moved here, your mom and I were kind of a big deal in the Alien Hunter Union.”
“You were legendary,” Rygar corrected. “The best team the Union ever had. Until you abandoned your duties and disappeared to play house on this backwater planet.”
Her mom’s eyes narrowed. “We didn’t ‘play house.’ We retired.”
“Retired?” Rygar scoffed. “The galaxy doesn’t get that luxury.”
Usa-hime felt like her brain was melting. “Hold on, hold on, hold on—” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’re telling me you’re space warriors and I’ve been living a normal high school life while you’re just casually making curry every night?!”
Her dad shrugged. “Well, yeah.”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”
Her mom sighed. “Usa-hime, calm down.”
“CALM DOWN?! MOM, THERE’S A SPACE WARLORD ON OUR DINNER TABLE.”
Rygar coughed. “Technically, I’m a captain, not a warlord.”
Usa-hime groaned and collapsed back into her chair. This was too much.
The Threat of Helena
Rygar’s expression turned serious. “We don’t have time for this. I came to warn you—Helena has returned.”
The air in the room grew tense.
Her parents exchanged a look—one filled with something Usa-hime had never seen before.
Fear.
Her dad’s voice was low. “You’re sure?”
Rygar nodded. “She’s rebuilding her army. The Union is preparing for war. We need you both back.”
Her mom shook her head. “We can’t.”
“You have to. You know what Helena is capable of. If she completes her fleet, the entire galaxy is doomed.”
Usa-hime’s breath caught.
A war. A galactic overlord.
And her parents—who had always seemed so normal—were supposed to stop it?
Her hands clenched into fists. “So what are you going to do?”
Her parents didn’t answer.
Instead, they looked at her—at their daughter, their quiet, awkward little Rabbit Princess.
And Usa-hime made a decision.
“…If you won’t fight,” she said slowly, “then I will.”
Silence.
Her dad’s face paled. “Wait, what?”
Her mom’s eyes widened. “Absolutely not.”
But Usa-hime stood her ground.
For the first time in her life… she wasn’t afraid.
“I’m going to be a hunter.”
The Weight of Her Decision
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Her mother’s voice was sharp, unwavering.
Usa-hime had expected this reaction. She just didn’t care.
“You don’t get to decide that for me,” she said, crossing her arms.
Her dad groaned, rubbing his temples. “Usa, this isn’t some game. This is real. You saw Rygar—do you think he’s the type to joke around?”
Rygar, still flickering as a hologram in the center of the dining room, raised an eyebrow. “I have never made a joke in my life.”
Usa-hime pointed at him. “See? And that’s exactly why I have to go!”
Her mom’s eyes narrowed. “That makes no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense!” Usa-hime shot back. “You guys are legends, right? And now the galaxy is in danger again, but instead of doing something about it, you’re just sitting here, acting like we can ignore it?”
Her dad opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off.
“And don’t say it’s ‘too dangerous.’ Obviously, it’s dangerous! But if you two could do it, why can’t I?”
Her mother scoffed. “You? You can barely talk to your classmates without panicking.”
Usa-hime flinched. That one hurt.
Her dad groaned. “Aoi…”
But her mom didn’t back down. “You’re not a fighter, Usa-hime. You don’t know how to wield a weapon, you don’t know how to fly a ship, and you certainly don’t know what it takes to be a hunter.”
Usa-hime clenched her fists. “Then teach me.”
Silence.
Rygar tilted his head, observing her carefully. “Hmph.”
Her mom sighed. “This conversation is over.”
She turned to Rygar. “We’re not coming back, and neither is Usa-hime. Find someone else.”
Usa-hime’s stomach twisted.
“So that’s it?” she said. “You’re really just going to let the galaxy burn?”
Her mom turned away.
Her dad looked guilty.
Neither answered.
And that was answer enough.
Usa-hime bit her lip, then turned on her heel and stormed upstairs, her heart pounding.
If they wouldn’t help her—if they refused to fight—
Then she’d figure it out on her own.
An Unexpected Visitor
Hours passed.
Usa-hime sat on her bed, hugging her knees, staring at the ceiling.
Her mind was spinning.
It had all been so much, too fast. One second she was just a nobody in high school, and the next, she was the daughter of legendary alien hunters.
And they still saw her as nothing.
She hated it.
A knock at the window snapped her out of her thoughts.
Wait… the window?
Her room was on the second floor.
Slowly, cautiously, she turned her head—
And nearly screamed.
A shadowy figure crouched just outside the window, glowing yellow eyes staring directly at her.
She scrambled backward, heart pounding.
The figure tapped the glass. Knock, knock.
Then, before she could react—
They phased through the glass.
Usa-hime gasped as the figure stepped into her room like a ghost, their body shimmering before solidifying.
Now that they were inside, she could see them clearly—
A tall, cat-like alien, draped in sleek black armor, their tail flicking behind them. Their feline ears twitched as they studied her with keen, glowing eyes.
“…You’re a lot smaller than I expected,” they said, their voice smooth and amused.
Usa-hime’s brain short-circuited.
“WH-WHAT?! WHO—WHO ARE YOU?!”
The alien gave a small, exaggerated bow. “Name’s Kuro. Top hunter in the Union’s Shadow Division.”
Usa-hime stared. “T-The what now?!”
Kuro smirked. “We handle stealth missions. Spying. Assassinations. The cool stuff.”
Usa-hime’s breath hitched. “Assassinations?!”
Kuro waved a hand. “Relax, I’m not here to kill you.”
She didn’t feel particularly reassured.
Instead, she pressed herself against the wall. “Then… why are you here?”
Kuro’s expression turned serious.
“Because Rygar wasn’t lying. Helena is coming. And if she finds out who you really are, she won’t hesitate to wipe you out.”
Usa-hime stiffened. “W-What do you mean, ‘who I really am’?”
Kuro’s tail flicked. “You’re not just your parents’ daughter, Usa-hime. You have their blood. Their talent. Maybe even more.”
Usa-hime blinked.
More?
Kuro leaned in slightly. “You felt it, didn’t you? That feeling in your chest, like something’s been pulling you toward something bigger?”
Usa-hime’s breath caught.
She had felt that.
Her whole life, she had felt like she didn’t belong. Like she was something… else.
“Your parents don’t want you to fight,” Kuro continued. “But they can’t stop what’s coming. If you stay here, Helena will find you.”
Usa-hime swallowed. “So… what are you saying?”
Kuro smirked. “I’m saying, if you really want to prove them wrong…”
They reached into their pocket and tossed something onto the bed.
It was a silver emblem, shaped like a star, with the insignia of the Alien Hunter Union engraved in the center.
“Come with me.”
Usa-hime stared at it.
Her heart pounded.
She had a choice.
Stay here. Stay small. Stay nothing.
Or take a step forward.
Take the risk.
And become something more.
She picked up the emblem.
Then she looked at Kuro and nodded.
“I’m in.”
A Decision That Can’t Be Undone
Kuro’s golden eyes gleamed in the dim light of Usa-hime’s bedroom as she clutched the silver Alien Hunter Union emblem in her hands.
She could still hear her parents’ voices in her head.
“You’re not a fighter, Usa-hime.”
“You don’t belong in that world.”
But now, she knew the truth.
She had never belonged on Earth.
She had always been meant for something greater.
Her grip tightened around the emblem.
“I’m going with you,” she said, her voice firm.
Kuro grinned. “Knew you would.”
A sharp knock echoed against her bedroom door.
“Usa-hime,” her mom’s voice came from the hallway, cold and stern. “Who are you talking to?”
Usa-hime’s heart pounded.
Kuro’s ears twitched. “Time to go.”
Without hesitation, they pressed a small device on their wrist.
The air shimmered—
A portal of swirling blue light opened behind them.
Usa-hime’s breath caught. “Whoa.”
Her mom knocked again, louder. “Usa-hime! Open this door!”
Usa-hime turned to Kuro. “Will this take us to space?”
Kuro smirked. “No, it’ll take us to a ramen shop. Of course, it’s taking us to space.”
Usa-hime glanced at the door, then at the portal.
She could stay. Keep her safe, quiet life. Pretend she wasn’t meant for something more.
Or—
She ran forward and leapt into the portal.
The last thing she heard before it closed behind her was her mother shouting her name.
First Steps into the Unknown
The sensation of falling through the portal was both exhilarating and terrifying.
Light streaked past her, her body weightless as if she were drifting through a dream. The air smelled different—sharper, electric, like the very essence of the universe itself.
And then—
THUMP.
Usa-hime landed hard on her knees.
She groaned, blinking rapidly, trying to adjust to her new surroundings.
And when she finally did—
Her breath caught in her throat.
She was no longer in her bedroom. No longer in Naha City.
She was standing in the middle of a massive space station, its ceiling made of transparent glass revealing the endless stretch of stars beyond.
Dozens of alien hunters walked past her—humanoids, creatures with wings, robotic lifeforms, beings she couldn’t even begin to describe. Some chatted, some argued, others checked weapons or prepared for missions.
It was a world she had never imagined.
And now, it was hers.
Kuro stretched lazily beside her. “Welcome to the Hunter’s Academy, newbie.”
Usa-hime exhaled, her heart pounding.
This was real.
She was here.
And her adventure was just beginning.
