Updated: 30th August, 2012
The Evening Family News
News around the neighbourhood can travel fast. News around the world however, travels a little slower if the key pieces of information are in another language. It was precisely this that stopped the Chairman of Cross Academy anticipating a new arrival to his academic school.
Head bowed to his paperwork, he never caught sight of the young teenage girl that walked through the iron gates of his academy. She trailed up the path, as day class students flowed through the loud hallways. Each group was lively and as she came to the main hall, the young girl gasped at the architecture. Magnificent paintings adorned the ceiling and patterned designs ran up each and every wall. She almost lost her way through the corridors, adoring the ancient beauty. Her dark brown eyes scanned the area for a figure of authority, but the endless wave of students overcame her. As the crowd dwindled along with a chiming bell, she treaded further into the building hoping to discover a teacher.
The headmaster sighed in dismay. His study could be so boring without his precious Yuki or angered Zero in the room. He jumped from his seat and brightened at the momentarily brilliant idea that struck him, "I'll make them some cookies! Yuki would love them and it'd give me something to do other than work."
Yuki moaned, as another wave of tedium washed over her and the rest of the class, though she could only imagine the chaos that awaited her. She had no doubt that the boredom would evaporate the closer it got to the end of the day. Lower years were the worst for pushing and shoving and she cringed at the memory of yesterday's switch over.
"Yori are you listening?" Mr Smith asked leisurely. Yori blinked slowly and nodded, whilst holding up a pile of notes she had actually taken the day before. Mr Smith bought the silent lie and continued with his lecture. Yuki glanced at her friend.
"What's wrong?" she asked curiously.
Yori shook her head and weakly glared back at her, "Someone woke me up last night!" she hissed. Yuki's visage contorted with a sheepish look and she began apologizing profusely. Yori eventually let it go once Yuki promised her a slice of the headmaster's homemade cake. There was no doubt in Yuki's mind that he would again grow tired of work and bake something. She sighed for a second time, as the teacher droned onwards into the seventh chapter.
"Excuse me sir, do you know where I could find the Headmaster's office?" a dark haired girl politely queried Mr Smith. He paused half way through his last paragraph seemingly surprised by the intrusion, as he looked up to find timid youngster peering at him from the entrance of the classroom. She hid herself well behind the large oak doors. Only her head, swaying hair and an arm that grasped tightly round the wood of the door were visible. He gazed at her for longer than necessary and the rest of his class eventually turned their attention to the intruder as well.
She coward, shaking slightly, "I… suppose not." She muttered, as numerous invasive eyes stared up at her. The students were quite expectant. It had been a long morning and was sure to be a longer afternoon, so some entertainment would no doubt alleviate their certified boredom. After a few awkward moments upon which her eyes focused between various students and the form of the teacher, she began to disappear. The door gradually closed.
Mr Smith hastily clambered up the shallow stairs, dropping his lecture papers to the floor, "Ah, no! I could have one of the prefects take you." He shouted, as he pulled the double doors wide open. The students twisted, shifted and crawled over to the pathway in an attempt to catch a better glimpse of the young woman.
"Oh, well if it wouldn't be any trouble. I don't want to affect their education…" they heard her reply. Mr Smith shook his head quickly and motioned for the closest prefect, Zero, to stand.
"This is Zero," he said clamping an arm round the grumbling teen's shoulders, "I'm sure missing a few minutes of class won't affect his learning. He's one of my smartest students… which can't really be said for the other prefect."
The girl stared at him dubiously, turning her gaze upon Zero who scuffed his hair back and attempted to smother a large yawn. "Okay." She nodded, grateful enough for an escort of sorts. He would do. She would require a witness, so that the headmaster would retrain himself from pulling a fit at first sight of her.
Slipping out of the classroom, Zero marched through the academy and stalked up the stairs to the upper floors. He didn't turn to check whether the stranger was behind him or not, nor did he particularly care.
She ran after the mysterious boy and shouted a sharp 'Thanks!' down the corridors to Mr Smith. This young man needed to change his attitude. Then again she had been a prefect in her last school and those lower years could be very disrespectful. On numerous occasions she had had to catch her tongue when dealing with the brattiest of them. She could see where he was coming from, acting as the enraged, unapproachable type, but he had to have a better side, right? Surely he was not like this at all times.
She trotted on behind him, swishing her arms left and right. He stopped. She banged into his back and fell to the ground with a stuffy, 'ouch'. He turned his head to the side and glared down at her. She cringed, as though struck by an arrow and hopped to her feet swiftly.
The door in front of them opened.
Headmaster Cross waltzed out, as though he was on top of the world. However, this did not last when he spotted the two before him. His smile faded and in its place laid disbelief and a great deal of recognition. It flickered over his visage so strongly that Zero felt obliged to look back and study her to discover if he had once before met her as well. He had not. He curiously turned to look back at the headmaster with a frown, "She said she wanted to see you." He muttered lowly.
Kaien mumbled something, pushing passed Zero. His facial features scrounged up as he grimaced at her, whispering softly, "I know."
Zero raised an eyebrow, perplexed. He shrugged indifferently nonetheless and turned around to walk back his class, hands in his pockets. He was only a few feet away from the two when he heard her say something that made his heart miss a beat, "Hello, father." It was spoken quite wistfully, as though she felt herself to be dreaming. Kaien rushed forward and hugged her. Zero watched them, feeling a little transfixed as they held one another tightly. He felt lost. Where had she been all this time if Cross was her father? What separated them all this time? Why did he feel sad? Was he unhappy that Kaien had someone and he didn't? It would not be the first time he had missed having a family, but it had indeed been a long time since he had felt a longing to be in the loving arms of another.
'No,' he thought shaking his head, 'No…Don't think about that.'
"My daughter." Kaien claimed gently, "My daughter… my Yoko."
"Yes daddy, it's me." Headmaster Cross released a sob and smothered her further, rubbing her arms, stroking her hair and kissing her cheeks repetitively.
'She called me daddy. They never call me daddy.' He thought happily. 'Wait! Isn't she supposed to be in school?'
Then came forth the loud confrontation she had hoped to avoid, "What are you doing here young lady? You're supposed to be in school, in England!" Kaien squealed with newfound shock. She was here! In Japan! At the academy! He dreaded the answer. Surely nothing so terrible could have happened. The school year had only just begun.
"Daddy calm down. It's not so bad. Now I can come to this school instead of the one in England away." She joyfully announced, stroking his arm. "Wouldn't you like that? We can be closer now instead of forever away." Kaien stood still for a few minutes interpreting her words carefully.
He was almost afraid to ask until the many possibilities hit him. Once they began zooming through his mind he could not hold his tongue, "Did you get kicked out of the boarding school? Did someone die or get attacked – was there a fire? Why didn't they inform me?" he furiously demanded.
Zero who had been standing not too far from the pair swivelled round on his feet and practically ran back to class. He had some scandalous news for Yuki. He was not the type to gossip, but he couldn't resist this. Besides, Yuki had a right to know just as he did.
"Father its nothing really. Don't blame the school. They got shut down about a week ago and I told the headmaster I would mail you the details. I kind of forgot to and now… here I am!" Yoko brightly declared, arms wide apart with a shining smile pasted over her face.
Kaien shook his head, as his biological daughter smiled at him impishly. He studied her and noticed the changes since last he'd seen her. She was no longer the troublesome child he had had before Yuki and Zero. She was now as old as them and more mature.
"You know that this isn't like every other school, Yoko." He said sternly whilst waving his hand around as if to present the building to her, "This is serious business. If you're to stay you'll have to help. You'll have to earn your keep and education just as Yuki and Zero."
"That's fine. I've already studied a little extra the past week so it won't take long to catch up and I can help with your little… experiment." She told him confidently, crossing her arms. Headmaster Cross stared at her, debating silently the implications her presence could cause to his 'experiment'. He had no doubt she would cause trouble, intentional or not.
"I'll have to think about it Yoko." She groaned loudly, "No! I do have to think about this seriously!" he insisted, "I don't know if I should have you around them."
"I'll be fine!" She persisted, "I was around them when I was little."
He bit his lips anxiously, "I know, but things are different. Things have changed since then and I want to be certain nothing will go wro-"
"Do you not trust me?" she asked with tearful eyes, "Is that why you've kept me away for so long? We haven't seen one another since I was three and as soon as I'm here all you can think about is getting rid of me again."
"It's not that Yoko! I love you! More than anything, but I have to think of your safety."
"What of Zero and Yuki! You took them in not long after you sent me away and they've been allowed to stay! You've never sent them away!"
"It's different."
"I don't see how." She stomped her foot indignantly, fists balled up and brows drawn together.
"Hmm… you will if you stay." He murmured, biting a finger and gazing through her for a moment before snapping back to attention, as she continued to question him.
"Can I stay? I don't want to go back to England. As much as I like it there… I miss home. I miss you."
He closed his eyes tightly, hoping deeply that she would suddenly vanish back to England and be nothing more than a passing nightmare. When this did not happen he gulped, clearing his throat with a rough choking sound, "I'll have to introduce you to Zero and Yuki!" He grinned widely, hugging her again, "Technically they have been your brother and sister for a while now ha, ha!" he laughed awkwardly, pulling away from her stiff form and turning to walk down the corridor.
Yoko raised an eyebrow before laughing a little herself and joining him. He relaxed and they both tottered to the kitchens to hunt down some ingredients to make cookies.