American Modesty
"Tsukasa, why are you so helpless! I Hate having to be your "Savior" And I hate you too!"
"But Onee-chan I-"
"No, I'm not your Onee-chan! Stop calling me that!"
"But Kagami! What did I do?"
"It's not what you've done, it's what I have to do for you!"
"But Kagami!"
"Tsukasa, wake up."
"Please Onee-chan! I'm sorry!"
"Too late Tsukasa!"
"Tsukasa, wake up!"
"Onee-chan please come back!"
"TSUKASA!"
The small girl woke, sitting straight up, tears falling from her eyes.
"Tsukasa, what's wrong? You were calling out my name and crying, saying I'm sorry, I'm sorry. What was it about?"
Tsukasa looked terrified at her older sister.
"Tsukasa, did I do something wrong? What happened?"
"I-I'm sorry Onee-chan." Tsukasa said quietly, not meeting Kagami's eye.
"Sorry for what?" Kagami asked concerned for her little sister.
"For being so useless, and needing you all the time. I know it's not fair for me to ask you for help all the time."
"Oh, Tsukasa, it was one of those dreams again. Well, I don't think you're annoying, or helpless." Kagami said kindly, bending down and hugging her terrified sister.
"To tell the truth Tsukasa, it feels nice to be needed."
"R-really?" Tsukasa asked, hugging her sister back.
"Really. Now why don't you go get ready for school. That's why I came in here in the first place."
"Alright." Tsukasa agreed. She walked in to the bathroom. She knew she didn't have time to wash properly, so she just shampooed, and washed her hair, then combed it into a better shape. She rushed out of the bathroom, and put on her school uniform. Thank goodness Kagami put it in the wash yesterday.
"Alright Tsukasa, let's go." Kagami said as Tsukasa approached the door.
"Okay sis. And Onee-chan…"
"Yeah Tsukasa?"
"Do you mind keeping out little, uh, conversation a secret?" Tsukasa asked quietly.
"Of, course. Now we've gotta hurry, we're really running late."
"Alright, Onee-chan." And the two set off at a run for the bus stop.
………………………………………………………………………………..
"Hey you guys, glad you made it. You almost missed the train." Konata greeted her two friends.
"Do you think… that we didn't… know that?" Kagami asked angrily, while gasping for breath, and taking her seat. Konata looked glad that she had made her job of annoying Kagami easier, by the fact that she was already annoyed.
"Konata, why can't you ever just shut up when you see someone's distressed? I mean, you're probably the most insensitive little jerk I've ever met! I don't even know why I hang out with you!" Kagami ranted on at Konata.
"Onee-chan, I don't think she means it… I think that's just the way she is."
"Tsukasa, you stay out of this!" Kagami shot back. Tsukasa looked shocked. She didn't cry, but angrily said back "I don't have to listen to you! I'll talk when I want to talk! I'm tired of you always keeping me out of things! I have a say in what goes on between our friends too! I'm not just some puppet that you can make agree with you!" She yelled.
"Well I don't care because I still have authority over you, because I'm older-"
"Who cares if you were born first by a few minutes!" Tsukasa shot back.
"It doesn't matter, because this is between me and Konata!" Kagami said, not knowing that her sister could be so hard to push back.
"Fine, but when you end up friendless because of that attitude, then don't expect any sympathy from me!" Tsukasa yelled.
"Fine, but when you end up cornered by some guy with a gun or knife or
something, don't expect me to help you!" Kagami immediately regretted those words, but refused to show it, she kept up her anger, convincing herself, that what she said was okay, but she never could.
The three girls sat in an uncharacteristically stubborn silence. Konata
reflected on something that Misao had said.
"Ayano's sweet, but when she gets angry, she can be really scary."
"I guess a lot of cute, nice girls are like that." Konata thought to herself.
……………………………………
As the girls separated, Tsukasa said that she had to go to the bathroom. Splitting up with Konata, she walked down a hall, but she was really trying to apologize to her sister.
Tsukasa spotted her walking along a crowded hall, and tried to dodge through the chattering students.
"Onee-chan wait!" She yelled out, but Kagami appeared not to have heard her.
Tsukasa ran after her. As she rounded the corner, she saw her sister darting down another hallway, trying to get away from Tsukasa.
"Onee-chan, stop, I just want to talk!" She shouted, trying to stop her sister, but Kagami kept running.
The chased continued down another hall, but this was deserted. Kagami ran through a large metal door, and as Tsukasa put her fingers in the ridge that was made by the open door it slammed it shut with all the force Kagami could throw into it. Kagami's heart stopped, as a loud shout of pain echoed across the school grounds…
Tsukasa heard a shout of pain, but it was weird. She didn't feel any pain at all. She looked up to see an arm caught in the doorway, and it led to a yelling boy, only about 3 inches taller than Tsukasa, with short black hair, and a
creamy white arm. He had thrust it into the heavy, slamming door to keep it from crushing Tsukasa's finger into dust.
"Holy heck that girl's strong!" The boy yelled loudly.
He smiled at Tsukasa through his pain.
"Are you okay? I hope you're not hurt."
"Why'd you do that?" Tsukasa asked confused. No one, not even Kagami had ever done anything like that.
"Well, I couldn't let your hand get crushed. You look too nice for that." He told her. Tsukasa blushed furiously at the compliment, while the boy turned back more pressing matters. Like the fact that his arm felt like it was about to snap.
The door swung open with Kagami appearing from behind it, rushing towards Tsukasa, hugging her and apologizing over and over again.
"I'm so sorry Tsukasa, I didn't mean to slam your hand. I'm so sorry."
"Onee-chan, I'm alright, but you might want to check him."
"Huh, what are you…?" Kagami asked, turning around, to see the boy on the ground clutching his arm, and nearly unconscious from the pain.
"Hey, are you the girl who slammed the door? You've got a really good arm." He said to her, temporarily forgetting the pain.
"Are you insane?! I just crushed your arm, and you're complimenting me?" Kagami asked disbelievingly at the boy.
"Well, to answer your questions in order, Some people call me insane, but it's never been proven. Next, I know it was an accident, so why would I be angry? And besides, I've been through worse." The boy said as if the arm he was clutching was of no real importance. Kagami looked down at the boy thinking "Man, this kid really is crazy!" According to Patty, most Americans didn't act like this. He must have been one of those "rares" as Patty described them. Of course, Patty seemed like a rare already.
"Alright, just tell me your name, and I'll check you in with the nurse." Kagami said slightly impatient that the kid wasn't treating this seriously. He seemed to think that other people's happiness came before his own. This kid didn't think much of himself.
"My name's Truman. Truman Drotum. I'm a new student here, and I just transferred from America." He said with another smile, and yet again the tone of voice that suggested that it was nothing special. And then his face contorted in pain, and he passed out.
Kagami really couldn't believe how modest this kid was. "Just the opposite of Konata. And just the same as Tsukasa…" She thought to
herself. She smiled, knowing that Tsukasa made herself a friend.
…………………………
Truman woke up in a white room. "Too clean." He thought to himself, flinching at the overly clean room. He tried to sit up, but pain shot through his arm, making him collapse, and groan loudly in pain. To his left, a girl stirred at the sound and Truman looked over at her. It was Tsukasa.
"It's about time you're awake, Truman. You've been out for a couple hours." A voice said on his right. He turned his head over again, to see the other purple haired girl. He still had to learn her name.
"So you said that you were from America? That's nice, cause we have a friend who moved here from America too." Kagami said happily.
"Really, what's her name? Oh, but where are my manners. Please tell me your name first. I want to know the name of the girl who's treated me so nicely." He said politely, which was very uncharacteristic of him.
"My name's Kagami Hiiragi, and that heavy sleeper over there, is my sister Tsukasa." Kagami said pointing at the dozing girl as she spoke.
"Nice to meet you."
"I had a friend who went said she was moving to Japan." He said, continuing what he had asked.
"Her name's Patricia Martin." Kagami answered. Truman immediately sat up, without using his arm.
"You know Patty too?!" He practically yelled.
"You guys are friends?" Kagami asked yet again in a tone of disbelief.
"Yeah we are. And…" He paused, looking down and blushing.
"We actually dated for awhile, but we stopped. It just didn't work very well. But, we're still really close friends. She and I are pen pals. Or at least we were," He grinned widely "But now that we're going to the same school, we can be friends again." He said excitedly, with the grin on his face stretching so that it showed all of his slightly pointed teeth, including the fang that was growing in the bottom right corner of his mouth.
Kagami silently thought of all the ways he was like her friends.
He knew Patty.
He had the same carefree attitude as Konata.
He had the same modesty as Tsukasa
And once again, the same attitude as Misao, not to mention his smile and fang were just like the brown haired girl's.
Kagami decided to see if this guy wants to be a member of their little group of friends.
But first, introductions were to be made
"Hey Truman, how would you like to meet our friends?"
"Really, that'd be awesome. Patty's told me all about the friend's she's made. She told me she learned Japanese from manga, but I can finally beat her at something, 'cause I took Japanese for the last couple of years. I'm pretty good, but I still like Manga, and Anime. I'm just not obsessed with it like Patty. And she also told me that she works at a cosplay café. But I don't know what that means." He said, grinning that same, toothy grin, and laughing at his friend's foolishness.
"Don't worry Truman, you really don't want to know what it is." Kagami said rolling her eyes.
"Oh, well then I guess I'll just stay out of it, until she tells me." He said lightly, trusting Kagami's words. Kagami frowned
"You know Truman, you're kind of… oh how do I put it… eccentric." Kagami said, trying to tone down her comments.
"I'm more used to totally insane, from my friends." Truman said bluntly, apparently thinking what he was humerous, and not disturbingly sad.
"You must not have very good friends." Kagami said reproachfully. She just didn't feel comfortable with the casual way he slid insults into his sentences.
"Nah, they're just teasing. I think Patty once compared them to you and Konata."
"She told you about Konata? Well we just mess around, but they sound like they're really making fun of you." Kagami tried to convince him, but he wouldn't here it.
"No they were just joking, but it doesn't matter anymore, I don't see them anymore, and I get to make new friends." He said brightly.
"Are you always this optimistic?" Kagami asked confused. She had never met anyone this happy. Not even any of her friends could be like this.
"Yup. Not much can get me down." He said smiling. "Well except…" He looked down at the floor, but not with a blush this time, but with a face that was pouring with hidden emotions.
"There are two things that I've ever been sad about. Death. And rejection. The only things that ever broke my heart were when Patty broke up with me, and… well I'd rather not talk about the other thing." He said, still not looking at Kagami. Kagami's eyes were wide, but not as wide as her sister's. Tsukasa had woken up awhile ago, and she heard the entire conversation. "Who is her talking about."