I should return to where I came from, shouldn't I? I mean, I don't belong in this land of the lustrous, do I?

At the same time, everyone that I've met are valuable to me. Phos, Jane, Katsumi, all the other gems, Sensei, even the Lunarians.

Agh, what do I choose?!

I sat down.

I...

I really don't know...

"Follow your heart."

Katsumi's words months ago came back to me.

And where does my heart lie at?

I looked up at the two doors.

I thought about the life I've left behind.

That wasn't actually full of pain and sadness, but all that I've went through...

I then thought about my new life.

Hey, the answer's pretty obvious, isn't it?

I walked towards the right door and opened it.

A flight of quartz stairs greeted me.

Those are nice stairs...

... Just like the ones the school has, only higher.

I stepped forward.

Flashes of my time in this world appeared in front of me, but I continued walking.

Me running away from the Lunarians...

Ah, there's Phos.

Rutile giving me the powder finish, Red Beryl then giving me my clothes and hairstyle.

Cinnabar fighting to save us.

The night I met Katsumi.

Me shadowing Phos and Ventrico.

Me grabbing as many parts of Phos as I can as they drifted away.

Sensei shouting at us after we came back from the sea...

Phos getting her agate legs, then running after gaining control of them.

They just kept going as I climbed.

Antarc and Phos, breaking ice floes, then the three of us laughing together.

The little Shiro puppies all around the school.

Alex going berserk, then teaching us about the Lunarians.

Our talk with Aechmea, then Semi.

Red Dia...

Me falling from the Lunarian vessel.

As I reached the top of the stairs, another door awaited me. But this one was more "curvy" and styled, something that looks really elegant.

As I put my hand on the door, I looked back, down the stairs, at the opened door below.

No regrets now.

I looked forward and opened it, stepping forward into the unknown future.

A brilliant white light greeted and blinded me.

-------------

Darkness.

Tired...

I opened my eyes, and as the first rays of light appeared...

... they suddenly blinded me as a throbbing headache hit.

"Ah!"

I immediately shut my eyes and put a hand to my head.

"She's up! Hey are you okay?" Red Dia's voice called out from beside me.

"My head hurts..."

"Here, let me help you up! Phos!"

I felt two pairs of arms pull me into a sitting position.

I rested my head on my arms over my knees.

"Ow..."

"You fine like this?" I heard the peppermint gem ask me over the intense pain.

"Y-yeah, I think. I feel like ramming my head against a goddamn wall."

"Eheh, don't do that..." I heard the red diamond mutter.

"I didn't know gems feel pain, though. Always thought we just go numb."

There was a moment of silence.

"I don't know how to break this to Sensei..."

"Break what?"

"That I'm not from here, that I was a human. What if he kicks me out? He already reacts negatively to the word 'human' the other time, I'm surely screwed if he knows. But then- ah!" I stopped as I felt a sharp pain at the back of my neck.

"Dan!"

"I'm fine, Jane," I muttered. "Then again, I don't want to hide this anymore. I can't keep this to myself for long."

"Well, I don't think it'll be that bad," Red Dia comforted.

"Don't worry about being kicked out, too," the peppermint gem chimed in. "If Sensei kicks you out, then he'll have to kick me out too!"

"Count me in!" the red diamond commented eagerly. "You don't have to worry, Nicole, it'll all be fine."

"Hmm. Guess you're right, I'm going to tell Sensei once I see him- ah!"

Another sharp pain shot up from my neck.

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." I muttered. "I think it hurts if I lift my head."

I lifted my head slowly, and sure enough, the pain got worse.

"Ah! I'm going to try something, I hope this works."

I quickly lifted my head up as high as I could.

A sharp pain shot through my neck as my migraine worsened momentarily, until I felt something click back into place in my neck.

Suddenly, all the pain stopped.

"Woah, damn! This feels much, much better!"

I opened my eyes and moved my head down. "Alright, let's go bac-"

The faces of every single gem I know stared back at me.

"Uh... huh?"

Quickly looking around, I noticed that I was back in the school. At Rutile's corner, to be exact.

Why am I at Rutile's corner?

"Uh, um, looks like I was out for quite some time, right?" I nervously asked.

"Indeed, Danburite," was the reply from the doctor, who was standing towards my left. "You were out for more than a day."

"Oh. Really? Must have been a terrible fall, ehehe..." I muttered as I looked outside.

It was day.

"It is. You and Phos are a worrying pair. Don't pull off something like that again, okay?"

"S-sure."

"And now," Rutile smirked, leaning closer towards me, "for research purposes, would you tell me more about the human body?"

"... What?"

"Hey, Dan!" Red Beryl cheerfully called out from the other side. "Can you tell me about the fashion styles you guys have back then?"

"... Eh?"

"Is your kind just like us?" Dia asked from in front of me.

"Eh?"

"What was combat like?" Bort asked coldly from behind Dia.

"Eh?!"

"What was the world like back then?" Yellow Dia chimed in.

"Tell me more about your life!" Euclase called out from beside Jade.

"Lunarians!" Alex shouted out from behind. "How do the Lunarians live on the moon?!"

"Idiot," Cinnabar commented.

Oh, Cinnabar's here!

Hey, not the point!

A flurry of questions then proceeded to bombard me simultaneously.

"Eh?! Eeeeeeehh?!"

"Enough," a familiar voice called out from behind everyone.

"Oh, sorry," all of them chimed as they parted in half.

I looked at Sensei, who was holding a book.

Ah, my diary...

He stepped closer to me.

"Ah... u-um... Sen... Sensei..." I stammered as I lowered my head.

There was a moment of silence.

"... I'm sorry." I muttered. "I didn't want you to know because... I was afraid that you'll kick me out."

Another moment of silence.

I felt a hand on my head.

"Idiot. Do you think I am not aware of Red Diamond's origins?"

I looked up in surprise.

"See what I mean now?" the red diamond in question cheerfully chimed in.

"To~ld you he'll accept you!" Phos added in cheerfully.

"But... how..."

"The trumpet, remember?"

"Yeah, I do," I replied, remembering that night. "So you knew I was going to come?"

"Well, I had a gut feeling that someone would show up, so I got Kongo to get everyone to try to play it. You managed to play it, didn't you?"

"Yep."

"It was clear that it was you the night that you played it," Sensei commented. "There was nobody else that could have played it, and other situations also gave you away. Red Diamond speaks fondly of you a long time ago, do you know?"

"She does?" I asked, turning over to a lightly-blushing Jane.

"Yeah, I do."

"Heh, thanks."

"You did not need to hide your identity, but it does not matter anymore," Sensei continued. "Your body is that of a gem, and therefore you are part of us. Danburite, I formally welcome you to the land again."

"T-thanks."

I smiled, looking at Sensei.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" another familiar voice called out, this time from behind me, above.

I looked at the top of Rutile's shelf. "Katsumi? What are you doing here?"

She leapt up, somersaulted and landed on my right.

"Katsumi, how many times do I have to tell you not to use my shelf as a leaping platform?" the annoyed doctor muttered.

"Sorry, doc! But your shelf is perfect as a stopping point for me!" was the cheeky reply.

Rutile sighed.

"Anyway," Katsumi turned her attention towards me, "yep, they found me! And your diary too!"

"Yeah, I noticed. Wait, you're allowed to stay!"

"Yep! And I've got my own room too!"

"Wow, that's great! I'll miss you, though."

"Oh, come on, it's just beside yours! I can always come over!"

"Yeah, you're right. Oh, Sensei," I looked at him, "the Lunarians said that you're a machine."

"Indeed," was the reply.

"It doesn't matter to me, Sensei, to me AI is still life. But still, why won't you pray for the Lunarians? Is it because of nirvana and they're still attached? Or did they do some bad stuff and can't move on?"

Kongo put his hand on my head again. "You have a kind heart. I told everyone when you were unconscious, and I shall tell you the same thing. In time, I will tell everyone the truth, but for now, I need you to trust me. Would you trust me, young one?"

I nodded. "Of course."

He smiled. "Thank you. And now," he continued, lifting his hand and turning back, "your new family can do whatever they want with you."

"Sure- wait, what do you mean?"

"It's about time you felt what I went through when everyone wanted to check out my arms," Phos smirked.

"Good luck, Dan!" Red Dia called out beside the peppermint gem as the both of them prepared to leave. "I suggest you run!"

"I'll join those two, alright?" Katsumi said as she followed both the peppermint and the red diamond away.

I looked at Cinnabar.

"Cinn..."

All they did was smile back at me.

"Good luck."

She turned around and walked away.

"Hey, hey! I..."

I stared in horror as everyone else loomed closer.

"I... I... I'm not good with crowds..."

"Dissection!" Rutile said as she got closer with a slasher smile.

"Fashion!" Red Beryl cheerfully called out.

"Questions!" Dia declared sweetly.

"Combat..." Bort loomed over me.

"Lunarians!" Alex shouted.

And I was once again bombarded with questions.

"Someone, save me!"

-----------------

I ran across the grassland towards the Lunarian cloud ahead.

It has been yet another few months since the three of us have returned, and life has never been better. With that secret off my chest, I'm finally able to feel what it truly means to be free; free to be me. Now, this world is truly my home.

For starters, Katsumi has been accepted by everyone and is now part of our family, not just a dimension-hopping friend. She was really happy when Sensei granted her residence in this world while Phos, Red Dia and I were at the moon, and that itself is another whole story to tell.

Anyway, it's back to summer again, everyone's in their regular uniforms again. Red Dia finally received the new version of uniform, and surprisingly enough, she loves it. Red Beryl still acknowledged the pros of having a short collar though, so she's busy coming up with a new uniform that utilizes that.

Speaking of the gems, I'm officially partnered with Phos for patrol. While Zircon is still with Bort, Red Dia and Yellow Dia have paired themselves together, and they've had loads of fun ever since. I've seen Red Dia's special sword, by the way; it's amazing, to say the least.

Anyway, what am I doing now? I'm going to assist Morg and Goshe against the Lunarians, while Phos goes back to the school to get backup.

"Morg! Goshe!" I shouted as I dodged multiple arrows and spears hurled at me

"Dan!" they called out as I leapt up to the Lunarian cloud, brandished my sword and took out a whole group of Lunarians.

"Man, it's all back to square one, isn't it?" I commented. "Even after going to the moon and coming back, they still show us no mercy at all!"

"Well, the Lunarians were never fond of us to begin with," Morg replied as they dodged a barrage of arrows.

With unspoken coordination, we leapt back onto the ground.

"We're thankful you're here, Dan," Goshe said as we went at it again.

"No need for thanks, Senpai; this is my job."

I took another swing, and three Lunarians were reduced into a puff of smoke.

"Now!" Morg shouted, and the three of us leapt up to slice the large Lunarian in half.

We landed back onto the ground.

The cloud didn't disperse.

Yellow spears came out from inside the sliced figurehead.

Deja vu...

"Hey, heliodor spears again?" I commented.

"Those are synthetic, right?" Goshe asked.

"Yep. The real Heliodor's still on the moon as dust. I wonder how the Admirabilis are doing..."

"Hey, about time you whip out those knives of yours, Dan," the pink-haired gem commented. "You don't want them to-"

Two of the spears hit her and the silver-haired gem, shattering them instantly.

"... break us again..." she finished.

I dropped my sword and whipped out my balisong knives, feeling that warmth travel through me. "With pleasure."

I leapt up.

"Oh yes, let's dance."

I can't disperse them all; gotta need to wait till Sensei.

--------------

"Dan!"

"Jane!" I greeted as the red diamond lept beside me and blocked an arrow for me.

"Having fun, eh?" she smiled.

"You can say that," I smirked. "Hey, when's Sensei-"

"You two!" Phos called out from behind. "Clear the area!"

"You heard her," Red Dia said as we leapt back, landing behind everyone.

Sensei snapped his fingers.

The cloud disappeared in a cloud of steam.

"Good work," he said.

"T-thanks."

"And now..." Sensei muttered, looking at the two broken gems as both Red Dia and I walked up.

"Looking out for your elders again, are you?"

Uh-oh.

"HERE IT COMES!" Jade shouted. "FALL BACK!"

"Phos!" I shouted as everyone scrambled for cover. "I need you to shield me-"

I stared at the peppermint gem, Red Dia and Katsumi, the three of them all huddled together behind Phos' alloy shield.

"Sorry," the peppermint gem apologized sheepishly, "full house here."

"Eh?! My sword, need to hold onto- oh," I muttered, seeing my sword with Morg and Goshe.

I braced myself. Guess it's my turn to hit the shockwave.

"IT'S STILL TOO EARLY FOR THAT! YOU FOOLS!"

The shockwave pushed at me, but I remained standing. Surely I can stand like thi-

"Ah!"

My torso was blasted back as my limbs were torn off and cracks covered my entire body.

I landed on the ground, motionless.

"Dan!" Phos called out as she, Red Dia and Katsumi rushed over. "Are you okay?"

"Well, aside from being in pieces on the ground?" I joked. "Yeah, I'm completely fine."

"Sorry for not giving you a space," Jane apologized, "but the last time Sensei shouted I was the one to be broken! And that was last week!"

I chuckled. "Yeah, my bad for pushing you out of the shield at the last second. Guess we're even now."

"Ah, silly Nicole, we're always even!" the red diamond comforted me as she reached in for a hug.

I felt my cracks get wider.

"Ah! Sorry, but you get what I mean!"

"Yep!"

-------------

"Hey," I muttered out loud as my pieces were placed into the black bag.

"What is it?" Phos asked.

"It's been a whole year since I've came here. Look how the tables have turned, Phos."

"Hey, you're right!" she replied, smiling.

"So much has happened since then..." I recalled. "First the sea, then winter, then the moon..."

"And you guys found me!" Red Dia chimed in cheerfully.

"Everything really turned out for the best," Katsumi joined in smiling, picking up my sword and balisong knives.

"And I have a task for both you, Phos and Katsumi," Sensei also joined in, handing to me a notebook.

My eyes widened. "The encyclopedia... you don't mean..."

"Yes, I do. I would like to reinstate both you and Phos to resume work on the encyclopedia I have suspended months ago, now with the help of Katsumi."

The peppermint gem and I beamed. "Thanks, Sensei!" we replied altogether.

"You're welcome. Do not go into the sea again; to battle everything against you there, you would need a strength of a hundred-fold of mine."

"Not gonna be doing that..." I commented before realizing what I just said.

Phos and I looked at each other...

... before bursting into laughter.

"Oh, the tables really have turned, didn't they?" I giggled.

"For our sake let's hope you don't turn into a second Phos," Rutile muttered as she put the last pieces of me into the bag. "Really, Danburite, one Phosphophyllite is enough."

"You say it like it's a bad thing," the peppermint gem in question smirked.

"It is," the doctor replied, deadpan.

"Hey you quack, that's mean!"

"Let me shift a bit," I muttered, moving about in my bag as the two of them continued to bicker.

"Hey, stop moving!" Jade shouted as she struggled to keep me in place. "All your fragments are coming out!"

"Ah, sorry. Was finding a comfortable position."

"We should get you back now," Euclase commented from a distance away.

"Yeah, we're done here," the secretary replied as she zipped up my bag.

As I felt myself being lifted up and listened to the muffled sounds outside, I smiled.

I'm really at home. This is my new family, and I love everyone in it. And this isn't even the end of the line.

This is just the beginning. A new beginning. And I'm looking forward to whatever comes in this future.

... That doesn't quite explain my feelings, does it?

Ah, let me quote a song I've heard some time ago, back before everything. Guess that will sum everything up perfectly.

"And the ones that need me got me,

Ones that doubt me can't stop me.

Even the ones that say 'forget him',

Bet your ass they ain't forgot me.

Either wanna hit me or hold me,

Those that hate me don't know me.

And the ones that don't trust anybody trust me;

Yeah, the ones that like me love me."

End

Author's Note

What if someone became a gem?

That was the one thought that made me think about looking up for one such work. And I found it. 

However, something in that story didn't sit with me; the main character knows way too much. I wanted one story where the two worlds are unrelated, the origin world of the main character being one that not even the concept of HnK was even conceived by anyone.

Then it hit me. What if I wrote my own?

Picking a gem of choice wasn't hard, but tedious. I want a gem that had been overlooked all this while, one that nobody has ever picked as an OC and used in an art commission or story.

And somewhere down that search, I chanced upon danburite. First discovered under the town of Danbury in 1839 by Charles Upham Shephard. A Mohs hardness from 7 to 7.5, but has a poor cleavage, and brittle too. Comes in white, gray, brownish white, straw yellow or just simply colorless.

I searched it up with "houseki no kuni" behind. No results.

And thus, Dan was created.

It was only somewhere around the time Chapter 5 or 6 was finished or halfway done when I discovered that danburite was prized as a healing stone; one that emotionally soothes, heals and increases the owner's spiritual senses.

That was after I came up with the idea for Dan to come over to this world to emotionally heal. Talk about coincidences, heh.

I wanted the story to start off familiar, with the difference being that Dan tags along with Phos, then slowly but increasingly deviating from the original timeline due to the unknowing actions of this white gem. The butterfly effect. That's also how I thought about adding in Katsumi.

Fun fact, the idea of Jane being Red Dia only came about at the exact moment when I first introduced her in Dan's flashback. I originally wanted Jane to be a past friend of Dan, and the latter slowly moving on from the former's death.

Another fun fact, I have an actual piece of danburite at home. It's twinned, weighs 42 grams; really picked it on eBay because of these two factors. It now rests inside a small display box with a red ribbon tied around said box, resting on the paper napkin that it was wrapped in when it was shipped.

This is just the end of a beginning; but this definitely doesn't mean that Dan's story has come to an end. Would I make a sequel? Maybe. A prequel going into deeper detail about Red Dia's time? Perhaps. A few chapters about whatever happened back at the school while Phos and Dan were on the moon? I like that idea, it's very much possible. Maybe redo this fanfic and further refine it and redo some parts? If I have the time, yes.

What I really want to say is, thank you for the overwhelming support, all of you. When I created this, I had no idea this would become this big; I'm really grateful for the encouragement all of you gave me. I've written many things; mainly compositions in schools and an original story I've never published/finished, but I've never written a fanfiction before. "New Beginnings" is, no doubt, my proudest work of fanmade literature yet.

Once again, thanks guys, you're the best!

-----------

As a bonus, have this timeline I made for myself to keep track of the pre-gem Nicole's life; did this because I couldn't simply backtrack into the previous chapters to make sure I didn't screw up my own continuity (or that I could, but the info was all in bits and pieces around everywhere). I didn't want to share it officially initially, but hey, here it is. Also, note the date of Nicole's death; that is a reference to the date this fanfic was first published on ff.net, albeit one year earlier.

2001 - Birth of Nicole

2008 - Nicole enters primary school

2014 - Nicole enters secondary school, everything goes downhill, meets Jane. So what basically happened: Nicole accidentally bumped into a very petty classmate purely by accident; said classmate decided to make it a point to ruin her life by spreading rumors, sabotaging and basically seeking out every way to make her miserable. This eventually evolved over the next few years into an open hatred for Nicole in the whole class itself, and even the teachers were caught on with it. Also affects Nicole's grades permanently for the rest of her human life.

2015 - Streaming year; Jane lamented at least once about her not being able to meet the criteria necessary for "pure" subjects.

2016 - Jane moves away. Over this year, Nicole was bullied the same as always; however, this time, Jane was no longer there for Nicole to rely on. Also involves an undetailed incident when Nicole was sabotaged and humiliated in front of the whole school during a presentation she worked really hard for.

11 Jan 2017 - Jane dies; Nicole hears the news and breaks down at her wake a day later. Her emotional health deteriorated rapidly over the next few months.

10 April 2017 - An incident involving Nicole as the scapegoat. Basically, earlier in the day the principal visited the class wanted to call Nicole's parents after reviewing her recent results. During recess, the class was playing and accidentally dropped a literal mallet down from a few floors up, right when the principal was downstairs. Thankfully, it didn't hurt anyone. However, the class ganged up together to collectively frame Nicole, who had in reality actually ran off to a quiet corner of the school to weep and actually attempt to convince herself that everything will become better soon, in order to escape punishment. Later that day, the principal called for a whole school gathering in the hall to give Nicole a public caning. The original intent was actually to give Nicole 5 strokes (which is still bad, but when compared to what she actually received is very mild); however, aggravated by Nicole's refusal to accept the blame of something she has never done before and finally pushed over the edge, the principal heavily assaulted the poor girl in front of the whole school and immediately expelled her after that. Nicole was also heavily caned by her parents, who genuinely thought that their child had actually committed the incident. That night, while sobbing uncontrollably in her bed, all the tendons in her heart snapped simultaneously, a result of prolonged misery; she died that night.

Day 1 - Nicole is reborn as Danburite and wakes up on the island. You know the rest.