"Momma, momma, look at this~" A young girl ran into her house raising her arms up.
An young women turned away from her cooking in the kitchen to look down at the sight of the young girl in front of her with her hands hidden behind her back. The women placed down her spoon and bend down to the young girl's eye level. "What do you want to show me?"
"This~!" The young girl exclaimed. She soon took her hands from her back to the front to show in her hands a small white crochet rabbit with a pink bow and pink dress with black beads in its eyes.
The women eyes widen a little before softening to a smile. "Oh~! Did you make this?"
The young girl just nodded as she pushed the small rabbit into the women's hands.
"Oh, is it for me also?" The women said as she grasp onto the rabbit. She looks back at the young girl with a heartwarming smile. "Thank you, I'll make sure to always treasure it."
After she says that, she stood back up and placed the rabbit on the counter next to her as she picked up her spoon and continued her cooking. The young girl, who was still in the kitchen, was looking up at the women, but with a sparkle in her big eyes.
"Umm..." A high pitched voice called out.
Hearing the voice made the person in front of them scrunch their eyes and twitching before being still again. This person was outside in their backyard resting in front of a big cherry blossom tree relaxing before the voice disrupted them. Eventually, the person knew that they couldn't sleep with the voice, so they gave up and slowly pulled themself up with their elbows. As they got into a sitting position, they were rubbing their eyes as the thing in front of them spoke.
"Good, you finally got up." The thing in front of them said. "Are you by any chance Amimono Akemi?"
The person, whose name is Amimono Akemi, finally finished rubbing her eyes and placed them on her sides. "Yes...That's me..."
As her eyes began to focus, she can finally make out what was talking to her. As she began to focus on it, she begins to notice that the thing in front of her was 1. Not a human and 2. Was hovering in mid air. The thing in front of her looked like a small white mixed poodle with dark blue eyes and tiny pale white fairy wings attached to it's back. Akemi looked at it for a few seconds before raising her hand up to her arm and pinched it.
"Umm...What are you doing?" The poodle thing asked her.
"Trying to see if this is a dream or not." Akemi replied calmly.
"Well this isn't a dream." The poodle said. "I am Shuya and I am a teacher from Mikagura Gakuen. I am here to announce that you passed the entrance exam and are to attend Mikagura this following year."
Akemi stopped pinching herself, lowered her arm, and looked at the teacher in front of her with wide eyes. "Are you really serious, I got into Mikagura?!"
"That is correct." Shuya said. "Another way on knowing that you passed is that you can see me. Only students from Mikagura can see me, and seeing as how you've been accepted to attend..."
Those words made Akemi tear up for a second before wiping them off with her sleeve and grabbing Shuya's paws. "Oh thank you! Thank you soo much! You don't understand how it feels to be accepted!"
"I can tell that you are very happy by your expression." Shuya said as Akemi took her hands off his paws. "Then, you are to come in April to begin your student life at Mikagura. Before I go, here..."
As Shuya says that, a magic ring appears above Akemi and what lands in front of her was clothing and a book.
"That is your winter uniform that Mikagura has. You can choose to wear it normally, alternate it, or not even wear it at all. On top of that is the school manual so you know what's going to happen there. It provides the rules on what has to be followed there and any other information you want to know." Shuya explained. "With that said, I hope to see you in April. Good bye."
A flash of light appeared in front of Akemi making her shield her eyes. As she lowered her arms, she looks to see that Shuya was not there anymore. Akemi just took the uniform and manual into her hands, stood up, and walked into her house. As she walked through her upstair hallways, she can see that at the end of the hallway the end door was slightly opened. She quietly walked towards the door and peered in to see a women looking out the window, but what she sat on was a wheelchair. After seeing that, Akemi quietly walked back and headed towards her room as she opens the door and heads inside. As she closes the door behind her, she places the items in her hands on her desk and falls onto her bed.
'I did it, I got into Mikagura! Now I just need to tell mom and get ready.' Akemi thought to herself.
Akemi turns onto her back and looks at the ceiling before sitting up on the side of the bed. She looks to the table next to her bed and sees a picture of an young girl riding on the shoulders of an older man while a women was next to the man as they all smiled. Akemi took the framed picture into her hands and just stared at it for a few moments. A tear falls from her eye as she wipes it off and place the frame back onto the table.
"Don't think about it, it will only hurt you again." She said to herself.
She stood up from her spot and headed out of her room to the room at the end of the hall. Akemi placed her hand on knob, turned it, and pushed the door slowly to see the same women in the wheelchair looking outside the window. When Akemi place a foot into the room, the women turned her head and looked at her.
"Oh, good afternoon Akemi." The women said as she turned her wheelchair to her direction.
"Good afternoon, mom." Akemi replied. "Mom, I have to tell you something.
"Oh? What is it?" Her mom looks at her concern.
"Oh, it's nothing bad, it's actually good news." Akemi pushed her hands for her mom to calm down. "Well, I have been accepted to Mikagura Gakuen and will be attending this coming April."
"Well, how wonderful, that is great news!" Her mom says with a smile as she puts her hands together.
"But, Mikagura is a school in which students have to live at the dorms there." Akemi explains. "So that means that I will have to leave."
"Is that a bad thing, you have always wanted to go to Mikagura ever since you saw the magazine with a student from there." Her mom said.
"But, if I leave, who will take care of you?" Akemi looked down at the ground as she says that. "I mean after what happened, I don't want to leave you alone."
Akemi's mom looked upset as she can see tears fall from her daughter's face. She placed her hands on her wheels and rolled slowly to the upset girl in front of her. When she got close in front of her, she raised her arm up and placed a hand onto Akemi's cheek making her look slightly up at her mom.
"Oh Akemi, you worry too much." Her mom said with a gentle tone. "Even though I am in a wheelchair, I can find a way around. I already know a way downstairs when you're not here and I can cook for myself. Don't let me in a wheelchair be the cause of you not going to your dream school. Just remember to contact me when you can."
Akemi just looked at her mom with teary eyes before nodding as she wiped her eyes with her sleeves. Her mom smiled and took her hand back as her daughter cleaned her eyes. When Akemi finished wiping her eyes, she look to see her mom back at her spot looking out the window. She gave a small bow before exiting the room and getting ready for her leave.
As the days went by, Akemi did as much as she can to hang out with her mother before she left to Mikagura. She helped her mom clean together, cook together, do laundry together, and go to town just to hang out. Eventually, the time flied and it was already April, the month which Akemi was expecting for a while.
"Akemi, wake up, today's the day." Akemi heard.
She scrunch her eyes before opening them to see the view of her mother smiling at her. Her mom moved her face back slightly as Akemi began to sit up on her hands.
"Good morning, Akemi. Today is the day, so go get ready." Her mom said next to her. "Your uniform is in the bathroom just in case you're wondering."
"Okay mom, and good morning to you too." Akemi said with a sleepy tone.
Akemi rubbed her eyes for a minute before getting herself out of bed and walking to the bathroom. When she got into the bathroom, she looked behind the door to see the same uniform that Shuya had given her. It had a black long-sleeved shirt with two white stripes on the left arm, topped by a white and red collared shirt and matching ribbon with a black skirt with red trims. After looking at it, Akemi just turned back and got ready for her shower. A few minutes later and she cones out of the shower and gets changed into her uniform after she brushed her teeth. She walks back to her room and looks at her self in the mirror.
"Hmm..." She said to herself. "It doesn't feel like me, it needs...something."
In the mirror was a 5'0 girl with black mid back length hair with touches of dark blue in her bangs and hair, with big light blue eyes that look like the sky wearing the Mikagura winter uniform. Her face showed discomfort before turning away from the mirror as she walked around the room. She went through her drawers and accessory box before coming back to the mirror with a smile.
"There, that is a lot better." Akemi said with a smile.
What she added to the uniform was that above her black shoes were knitted red colored leg warmers, on her neck was a black choker with lace on the top and bottom with a lapis heart jewel dangling from it, her hands have turquoise fishnet gloves that go up to her wrist, and on her head was a simple star clip moving her hair to the side to show more of her face. After she got ready, she got her luggage which she prepared the day before when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Akemi called out.
Her mom comes it and sees her daughter all dressed in her uniform and luggage in hand. "I thought I come talk to you before you leave."
"It's okay mom, of course I wouldn't leave before saying good bye to you." Akemi said.
"Well, before you go, I have a little farewell gift for you before you go." Her mom says as she lifts the red box in her lap to Akemi.
"Oh mom, you shouldn't have!"
"But I wanted to." Her mom said. "Remember to have fun over there and don't think about me too much, I'll be just fine."
Akemi gave her mom a smile as she took her hand off her luggage to accept the gift. "I will try to mom, thank you."
They gave each other a hug before letting go of each other and heading towards the front of the house. At the front, her mom sat in her wheelchair while Akemi was on the side walk in front of her house.
"Be good at school, and don't get into trouble!" Her mom called out as she waved good bye.
"I won't! Good bye mom!" Akemi said as she picked up her luggage and gift and began her walk to school. On her walk, she looked down at the red box she held in her hand.
'I wonder what mom got me...' She thought.
She stopped her walk and placed her luggage down with the red box in her hand still.
"Always keep the ribbon~" Akemi said to herself as she pulls the ribbon off. "Let's see what mom got me..."
As Akemi opened the lid, she sees a wooden box sitting inside the box and takes it out of the red box. She sees that there's a lid in it, so when she opens the lid, she was about to cry when she saw a picture of her family on the bottom of the lid and inside the box was a crystal angel slowly turning to the tune Pachabel Canon. Inside the box was a folded piece of paper which she carefully took out before placing the music box on the ground.
I remember how much you loved listening to this song as a child.
Even though it cost a bit of money, seeing you smile is the most richest thing for me.
You are my little angel and deserves to go to a school like this.
Please don't worry too much about me, and make new friends there okay.
I love you dearly.
-Mom
"Mom...You shouldn't have..." Akemi said to herself.
She felt the tears coming back on her face in which she slapped herself in the face to make them go away. She placed the letter in her pocket before opening her luggage as she made room for her music box. After packing it up, Akemi threw the box away in a nearby trash can and continued her walk with luggage in hand.
"While I'm walking, I should read the manual so I remember the rules of that school." Akemi says as she takes out the school book from her pocket.
She turns to the first page which describes the rules and system of Mikagura.
All freshmen must join one extracurricular activity club within the first month. Any student that does not do so will be expelled. If a student wishes to create a new club, it will only be accepted if there are three potential members. However, keep in mind that the school only admits cultural activity clubs. The tournaments are held at fixed intervals, and will determine the rank of all the clubs that exist in the school.
"Huh, so when I get there, I better find a club as quickly as I can." She said as she looks through the book.
Akemi kept reading the book as she kept walking to the Gakuen. Eventually she placed the book back into her pocket and focused on her walk. She soon entered a forest and looked around the area. Ahead, she can see a building ahead of her.
"That must be the school." She stated.
Her walk increased to a fast stride and she stops in front of the school. The gates open as she began walking inside the school. "...I'm finally here..."