Author's Corner:
Sasa: Hello! It's Sasa!
Mystery Girl: Welcome!
Sasa: Enjoy my new Prince of Tennis story! This is my new OC Emma Smith!
Emma: Pleased to meet you all!
Sasa: She's half British and half Japanese! :-]
Emma: H-Hai... ^-^'
Sasa: Blue ROSE!
A baby girl with curly brown hair and aquamarine eyes sat on a white wooden bench beside her mother who had the same light hair and bright eyes. The mother and daughter pair continued to remain silent and still as the sun set in the background, setting a red cast behind them which oddly enough fit the mood.
"Mommy?" The child asked her mother quietly.
"Yes, baby?" The 25 year old woman replied as she took in her young child's features which resembled her own so much.
"Where is daddy Ed?"
Large blue-green eyes looked up inquisitively at her mother.
The woman bit her bottom lip; her hands clenched at her sides tightly in response to her daughter's question. Her head dropped as unshed tears filled her blue-green eyes.
"He's...gone..."
"Emma is sorry, Mommy..." The baby girl bit her own bottom lip and began to cry with her mother who hugged her tightly.
"It's okay..." Alice Smith consoled her baby girl softly. "It's not your fault..."
A few days ago...
"Edward, I'm home!" Alice called out as she locked the door behind her. She placed her Gucci bag down on a table before walking into the dining room where she knew her husband was.
"Ed?"
She paused when she noticed her was looking over some papers. From her position, she could see how white his knuckles were from clutching those papers...
"Edward? Are you alright, darling?" Alice asked her husband as she cautiously approached him.
Edward looked up and glared at her with dark stormy blue eyes.
Alice froze as she felt her blood stop. She felt like a corner antelope facing a lion that was about to strike.
Her blonde hair and blue eyed husband placed the papers neatly on the dinner table before turning to her. Even though he was angry and livid, his obsessive-compulsive disorder and controlling nature would not allow him to leave a mess behind.
Alice's aquamarine eyes flicked to the papers on the table desperately before turning back to her husband.
"Who's the father?" Edward asked calmly as he walked to stand in front of his wife.
"W-What are you saying, Ed?" Alice bit out as she fought her instincts which were telling her to flee from her husband.
Edward's eyes snapped as he noticed her shaking hands and feet.
"Don't pretend you don't know!" Edward roared at Alice as he shook her shoulders violently.
"You whore! Don't lie to me! I know Emma isn't my child!" Edward screamed at Alice as he glared at her intensely.
Alice's eyes teared up as she struggled against her husband.
"Ed, please-"
Strike!
As quick as lightning, Alice fell to the floor, clutching her left cheek as Edward breathed heavily through his nostrils which flared at the sight of his helpless wife.
Edward quickly took off his tie, folding it neatly, and placing it on the dinner table before he approached his wife who began to crawl away from his. He grabbed her ankle and pushed her under him as he bite her neck harshly, drawing a thin trail of blood onto the floor.
"You're mine," He whispered darkly as his hands trailed down her body.
Alice whimpered into her hair as she felt her husband's hands touch her body under her clothes.
Tears continued to fall from her eyes.
"Think of Emma...Think of Emma..." Alice whispered to herself in her mind like a mantra.
Live...live for Emma...She needs to know her real father at least...
"We are going on a trip, Emma," Alice told her daughter with a slight smile as she wiped away her tears.
Emma smiled brightly at her mother.
"Ooh! Where?" Emma asked her mother with large shining eyes which glowed at the prospect of going on a trip to a new place.
"Japan."
I was six years old when Mother and I moved to Japan. I did not know why we moved...I thought it was a trip...I thought Daddy would join us later, but he never came...
Whenever I asked Mother about Daddy, she would cry...so I stopped asking her...
We moved to Tokyo and I learned the Japanese language easily...Mother always said children soak up language and other knowledge like a sponge, so in a way, she was right.
I attend Tokyo Girls' which is a private middle school with my three best friends Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki, and Fuu Hououji.
[Sasa: Yes, those three girls are the ones from CLAMP's Magic Knight Rayearth series.]
Hikaru is in the Kendo Club. Umi is in the Fencing Club. Fuu is the Student Council President.
Me?
I am in the Choir Club.
The four of us are the closest of friends who have gone through so much together.
I am a child with a single mother. Hikaru has to deal with a lot of responsibility helping her family run a kendo school with her family. Umi has abandonment issues since her parents are always too busy and faces the world with an arrogant facade to hide pain. Fuu is insecure about herself.
We all have our own personal problems, but we always help bring each other up when we're feeling down.
My story begins here and now...
I bit my bottom lip as I tried to tie my curly hair with the baby blue ribbon Mum bought me last month. Oh dear...I look ridiculous trying to tie my hair into a ponytail...It looks like I am fighting my hair...
My aquamarine eyes flicked to the digital clock that lay on my table beside the bed which was covered with clean white bed sheets.
8:35 AM
My blue-green eyes widened.
Late! I am going to be late!
I glared at my reflection in the mirror before opting to tie the blue ribbon in my hair Blair Waldorf style.
I rushed down the stairs quickly, slipping on my shoes, and running out the door.
"Have a good day at school, Emma dear!" Mum called out happily as she waved to me from an open window.
"Good bye, Mum!" I yelled back as I got into the car Sebasu-chan (my chauffeur) prepared for me.
"Quickly, Sebasu-chan!" I ordered as I looked at the clock in the car.
Sebastian saluted me playfully before he said "Yes, young mistress."
Ten minutes later, I was in front of the school gates.
Phew...I made it...
I wiped my brow and walked to my homeroom.
Class 3-1.
"Emma!" Hikaru greeted me as she jumped up and glomped me tightly.
I smiled back at her as I slipped out of her death grasp.
"Hello to you, too, Hikaru."
Hikaru grinned cheekily with her sparkly red hair and eyes.
"So you were almost late to class," Hikaru remarked as we both sat down.
I nodded as I pulled out my notebooks.
"Yeah. I woke up late...Had a weird dream..."
"A weird dream?" A voice repeated.
I looked up and saw Umi and Fuu walking to where Hikaru and I were seated.
"Hey, Umi! Fuu!" I greeted them as they came to sit with Hikaru and me.
The two girls smiled at me.
Umi was so pretty with her long blue hair and matching eyes. She had the charisma to match her looks, too. It's a shame she lacked love. Fuu was a cute girl, too! He short brown hair and green eyes caught her a lot of attention whenever we went out to the mall, but like always, she never noticed.
"Hmm...a weird dream foreshadows something, you know...it might mean that there is something coming for you," Fuu remarked as she placed a finger on her chin.
"I agree with Fuu," Umi added. "Have you noticed anything strange, Emma?" She asked.
I shook my head as I thought about anything weird that happened in the past few weeks.
"Nah."
"Hmm..."
The girls and I put our heads together before pulling away and laughing heartily.
"Maybe it's just paranoia!"
"You're right!"
"Ha ha ha!"
Boy was I wrong...
"Hello, everyone!" Minase Yuri said as she stood in the front of the classroom.
Minase-san was the president of the Choir Club.
Greetings from around the room flooded.
Minase-san clapped her hands.
"I have exciting news! In three weeks, we will be performing with Hyotei Gakuen's Choir Club at their school to raise money for a charity!" Minase-san announced grandly.
Girls clapped their hands.
Hyotei Gakuen was a prestigious school, after all.
Its music program was amazing!
"For the solo, we have to choose someone from the club, so please write down a name and put it in the ballot box!" Minase-san said as she had her aide pass out slips.
After doing so, some people counted the ballots and brought a paper to Minase-san who smiled as she saw it.
"Are you guys ready to hear who our representative is going to be?" Minase-san teased.
Everyone held their breaths, waiting for her reply.
"Our representative for the solo part will be..."
I could hear imaginary drum rolls in the background.
"...Smith Emma-san...!"
Eh?
Did president just say my name?
All of the girls looked at me.
"Smith-san!"
"You get the solo!"
"Urayamashii!"
"I am so jealous!"
"Congrats!"
"Congratulations!"
I looked at the president and chuckled sheepishly.
"U-Um..."
Minase-san smiled down at me coolly with an arrogant smile. She pointed at me with her finger.
"Make us proud, Smith-san!"
"H-Hai..."
I nodded and hid my burning red face.
Mou...what am I going to do now...
I whimpered like a dog as I walked beside my three best friends.
"And Minase-san read off my name..." I mumbled sadly with twin rivers running down my eyes.
"Ha ha ha!" Fuu chuckled as Umi pat my head.
Hikaru smiled next to me.
"It will be okay, Emma."
I smiled at my friends.
"Thanks, girls."
After we all separated, I walked home and entered the door.
"Mum? I'm home!" I said as I slipped off my shoes and walked into the living room.
Mum was sitting on the couch with a photo crinkled in her hands.
"Mum?" I repeated as I walked to her.
She looked up at me with lifeless eyes.
"Mum?"
"Emma...come," She bade me as she pat to her side.
"Hai."
I sat beside Mum who began to pat my hair.
"I...have something to tell you..." She said as she caressed my hair. "It is...about your father...your real father..."
My eyes widened.
"My...real father?" I repeated slowly.
Mum nodded solemnly.
"Edward Smith is not your real father. He was my fiance whom I was betrothed to before I met your real father..." Mum explained as she stopped playing with my hair and settled for looking at me with gentle eyes that mirrored my own.
"T-Then...w-who...?"
"Your real father...he is Japanese man...his name is Sanada Gennosuke," Mum continued on idly. "I...want to introduce you to him..."
I froze.
"D-Does he..."
"No...he doesn't know about you...he left me after he found out his own fiancee was pregnant...I didn't find out about you till a few months later..." Mum bit out as she looked away from me in shame.
Sanada...Gennosuke?
Why did the name Sanada sound so familiar?
Suddenly, Mum began to shake and cough violently.
I started to pat her back to calm her.
"Are you okay?" I breathed out as I tried to slow down her heart beat.
For the past few years or so, Mum's heart was not doing so well...best to be safe, after all...
"I...want to pay my last debts...he needs...to know you...you deserve that much," Mum whispered weakly as I took in her broken form with watery eyes.
Sanada Household
"Genichirou, please get the door!" Sanada-san asked her son as she lifted a clothing basket full of white sheets to the laundry room.
"Hai, Okaa-san," Genichirou said as he went to answer the door.
The door bell rang again.
"Coming!" He shouted as he unlocked the door and opened it to find two women. No...one woman and one girl...they looked awfully similar.
He took in their forms. Brown hair and blue-green eyes.
One word crossed his mind: foreigners.
"Hello...how may I help you?" He asked in his gruff voice.
The older female smiled at him softly with warm eyes.
Genichirou felt a tingly feeling in his chest.
This woman, she had warm eyes like his mother...
"Is Sanada Gennosuke here?" The woman asked in perfect Japanese.
His eyebrows shot up.
"Yes, he is my father. May I ask why you are seeking him?" He asked the woman politely.
"I have some...important news to share with him...may I speak with him?" The woman asked cordially.
He nodded before stepping aside.
"Please, come in..."
It was not unusual for his father's business partners to come and seek him out.
Genichirou took them to a waiting room before going to summon his father who came quickly.
"A foreign woman who speaks perfect Japanese, you say?" Gennosuke asked his son with an arched eyebrow.
"Hai."
His father mulled this over before nodding.
"I will take over from here, Genichirou...please go."
He nodded before glancing at the young girl sitting beside the older woman.
Sensing his stare, the young girl looked at him, as well with her piercing eyes.
He shut the screen door and sat outside.
Emma's POV
"Hello, Gennosuke-san...it's been a long time," Mum said to the man who sat across from us.
He had jet black hair and dark brown eyes. His face was tanned, and he seemed semi muscular. His face was strict looking, and he carried himself with an air of dignity like the traditional Japanese.
"Joy-san, please do not refer to me so intimately," The man said as he folded his hands into his lap.
Mum smiled bitterly.
"Alright then...Sanada-san...I have...some news for you," Mum said as she stared at him impassively, betraying her earlier countenance when she was so close to hyperventilating outside the door.
"What is it?" The man continued to remain still like a rock.
Yes...he seemed like a rock...so cold, so unresponsive...more like a boulder...
"This young girl...she is my daughter..."
Sanada-san stared at me with bored eyes.
"And what of it?"
Mum smiled weakly.
"She is also your daughter."
His eyes widened.
Outside the room, Genichirou's own dark brown eyes widened in shock.
"T-That is a lie!" Gennosuke said in outrage before he stood up.
"It is not a lie," Mum argued as she also stood up. "She is yours!"
She pointed at me as she continued talking. "She has your dignity and your sense of manners! How can you deny her just because she has my looks!"
A glass teacup dropped and created a loud bang.
Genichirou looked and saw his mother.
Oh god...he hoped she did not hear...
Sanada-san fell to her knees.
Gennosuke slid the screen door open and saw his wife and his son.
"Oh god," He muttered before walking and kneeling by his wife.
"Sayuri..." He reached to touch her but she pulled away.
The Sanadas glared at Mum and me with such intense hate that I felt it was swallowing me whole.
"You can't hide from the truth," Mum said as she continued to look at them as I pulled her away.
"Mum...let's go," I said as I led her away from the murderous trio.
In that moment, I wished it would be the last time I saw them...I didn't care who they were...I was always alone with Mum and me...I had three great friends, and that's what mattered to me...
If only life was that simple...
