Hello Yan Sim fandom! This is my first official Yan Sim fic. I hope you like it, but if you don't, that's cool. I know this chapter is a little rushed, but I wanted to get to the good stuff. It'll get better, I promise. :D
Buraza Town.
That's the name of the small community you and your family are moving to. West of Tokyo, located in a relatively flat part of this beautiful country. Not only that, but it's pretty close to the town itself. Just on the outskirts, in fact. You shift your gaze from the town; it's pretty small. You can't see much due to the night sky outside, but you're sure it's a nice area to reside in.
You hope so.
Your ears are becoming sorer and sorer from the two-and-a half hours' worth of music blaring from the speakers of your ear-covering headphones. Legs beginning to get antsy from the lack of activity.
You and your parents had gotten off of your flight from the United States of American in one of Tokyo's airports. The flight itself had taken roughly eleven or so hours, and the drive to the neighborhood would be around two-and-half.
In other words, you can't be that far from your new home.
Deciding that you're done with music for tonight, you take out off your headphones, the volume of the chattering between your parents increasing as you take put them away in your backpack.
"How much longer?" you ask, rubbing your face. The eleven-hour flight from the United States of America to Japan had been long and exhausting. Now, you're ready to collapse on your brand-new bed. Or...futon. You haven't seen the interior of the house yet.
"We're on our street, we juuust need to find our new home," your dad replies.
"Hold on for a little longer. We're all tired, sweetie," your mom pipes in.
"But this is going to be worth it!" your dad chirps, sounding like he hadn't just spent twelve-and-a-half hours travelling.
You really hope this was worth everything your family went through in order to move here.
The drive drags on for another five minutes, until your dad pulls into a driveway. You've already unbuckled your seatbelt, door already open as you step outside. You can't describe the relief that overcomes you when you finally step out of that damned car. Stretching your legs and back, then marveling at your new home.
The pictures your parents showed you didn't do it justice.
You'd driven through a pair of short, dark, metal twin gates with small designs engraved on them. The driveway itself seems to be made of cobblestones and there was a dark, stone wall bordering the outskirt of the property line. In front of you stood a somewhat modern-Japanese style home.
The outside seems to be made of a mixture of wood patches and a white, marble-like stone that make a pretty combination together. Instead of windows, there appear to be shoji, which are sliding panels framed with lightly-colored wood. Surrounding the exterior of the house is an engawa, a narrow corridor that wraps around the lower level of the house. From the looks of it, the engawa is also equipped with a system of storm shutters – which you think are called amado- too.
"Wow..." you breathe, smiling.
"Nice, huh? Can't believe I found this one on sale that was close to town and your new school," your dad states.
"My new school?" you ask.
Mom nods. "Yep! Akademi High, very close to Buraza and home!"
"It's also one of the top high schools in Japan!" Dad states, grinning like the dork he is.
"You...put me in one of the top high schools...?" you question, heart sinking.
"Of course we did!" Mom chatters enthusiastically.
You groan, slumping. How in the hell are you - an awkward, shy seventeen-year-old – going to fit in at freaking Akademi High?!
"You'll be fine, dear. We've been in touch with the headmaster and he says you're a perfect candidate. Great grades, good attendance, high-moral character, volunteer hours, club experience! Don't worry. You'll start on Wednesday, alright? I know moving to Japan is hard, but I'm telling you," Dad smiles, "you're going to like it here."
You look away. "I really hope so."
…
The interior of your new home is pretty, too. It's a simple two stories, the lower level composed of a dining room, which, in Japanese you think is called a...kotatsu? You think? Surrounding it are thin pillows, which you completely forgot the name of. In the hearth of the room, you find a sunken part of the floor that's outlined in a pretty, white stone, which contrasts prettily to the dark, wooden floor. In parts of the lower level, you see tatami mats.
By now, your entire family's shoes have been removed and placed neatly in the shoe cabinet.
"I can't keep up with all these Japanese terms just yet," you complain.
"I know, but it'll get easier. Hopefully, when you get to school, you'll be able to make new friends and they'll be able to help you get adjusted," you mom reminds you.
"Yeah, don't worry. Now, go pick out your room! Other than the master, of course,"
…
I love my new room, you think as you step into it and plop your backpack on the bed.
Shoji line one wall of the room. When you gently slide it open, you realize you can step onto a balcony that overlooks the surrounding trees from the second floor. Running over the top of your balcony is a small roof, which seems to contain a storm shutter at its tip. Nodding to yourself, you close it gently.
The opposite wall of the shoji, which is the one to your left when you come in, contains a fairly-wide desk with a decent number of drawers on it. When you flick on the light switch, a few white lanterns light up overhead, giving your room a bit of illumination. Next to your desk is a dresser, and the wall opposite to your bed contains a TV stand.
...You could put a TV in here.
Your bed is more of a Japanese futon that looks extremely comfortable to you. Overwhelmed with the desire to crawl in and succumb to the gentle grasp of sleep, you decide that a shower is in order first.
An hour or so later, you finally crawl into your new futon.
…
[Two Days Later]
After two days of unpacking and frantic last-minute research on manners in Japan, you think you're as ready as you'll ever be for the first day of school.
You and your mom went shopping for a few uniforms after you all got relatively settled in. Today, your parents are both getting things set up for work, so that means you're on your own today. Both send you texts expressing love and good luck.
The skirt was much too short for your comfort, with nearly three-quarters of your thigh exposed, so you decide to wear a pair of dark leggings underneath. That can't hurt, right? Hopefully it's not…rude or…anything.
When you believe you've done as much as you can with your physical appearance, you rush downstairs, grabbing a small snack and your backpack before you head out.
…
The walk to Akademi isn't that long. You see several other students trickling towards the school as you progress through Buraza, nearly all of them wearing the same school uniform as you. Some of them glance at you, others don't seem to know you exist. Nevertheless, you continue on.
When you've reached your destination, your jaw nearly drops.
Akademi is huge.
A large, spotless-white school with several floors and a giant clock residing in the middle. You peer down at the long walkway, slightly intimidated.
"Shit…" you mumble. There's no way you're not getting lost in there!
"Ohayo, gozaimasu!" comes a voice from further down. You spot a teacher with short, blonde hair wearing a onesie with a whistle dangling from her neck.
"H-Hi…I mean-O-ohayo gozaimasu…?" Despite all of the research you've done, you still manage to completely butcher the pronunciation.
The teacher chuckles. Up close, you find that her eyes are a stunning, electric blue. "You're new, right? From America? Must've been quite the trip."
You nod, your shyness coming into play. Quietly, you introduce yourself.
She smiles. "I'm Kyoshi Taiso, the Gym teacher here at Akademi. Nice to meet you! The headmaster told me you'd be arriving today!"
"It's nice to meet you too," you reply, smiling softly.
"Two students volunteered to help you out for the first few days," she states, "they should be here any minute now. Their names are Saki Miyu and Kokona Haruka. They're both sweet girls. I'm sure you'll get along just fine! Oh, and the headmaster gave me these. Your class schedule, a map of the school, bell schedule, forms for parents. You know how it is," she rattles off as she hands you a folder with several papers inside. For now, you pick up the schedule and the map.
"Thank you," you say, smiling again.
"No problem," she replies, "and, I believe your guides have arrived."
You turn to see two busty girls, one with long, cyan hair that curls down towards the bottom with matching eyes and a cyan bracelet on her wrist. The other has a deep, royal purple shade of hair with similar eyes and a rich, purple bracelet on her wrist.
…Fuck.
Maybe you didn't do enough with your generic hair this morning.
"Hi! I'm Saki Miyu," states the cyan-haired girl.
"And I'm Kokona Haruka," the other introduces.
You bring your hands together to fidget as you tell them your name.
"Nice to meet you! We'll be showing you around before class, if that's alright," Kokona asks, looking to you for confirmation.
"P-Please," you stutter, looking to the masses of students pouring in. Nearly all of them seem to have a varying shade of unnatural hair color, making you feel extremely self-conscious and out of place.
You're definitely going to have one hell of an adventure here.