Episode I - Part I: Spring Blossoms
While she stood near her friends' home, Sakurai Naoko had her tilted upwards to gaze at the sakura petals falling from the trees. She smoothed out the wrinkles of her white, knee-length sundress with a pink flower print, sighing contently. Naoko had black loose, curly hair with large dark brown eyes and a round face. She had a soft, rosy complexion, a rather large bust with curves, and stood at five-seven.
Naoko was so entranced by the beauty of the sakura petals that was fluttering near her, she jumped out of her skin when she heard a door slam. She turned around and positioned herself in a ridiculous ninja-like stance. Naoko saw her friend, Kobayashi Hikari.
Hikari's velvety red hair was styled with a few left-sided braids, the rest was flowing in shiny waves. Her sharp black eyes was covered in a dark misty looking eyeshadow and mascara. She appeared to be athletic with a light golden undertone as she stood at five-four. Hikari wore a simple navy blue shirt, white jean capris, and blue worn-out sneakers.
"What in the world are you doing?" Hikari questioned.
"What?" Naoko realized her embarrassing pose and straightened up. Her cheeks were covered in a deep pink tint. "O-oh! Sorry, I was trying to look threatening just in case if somebody wanted to mess with me."
Hikari snorted, "Right. Keep telling yourself that." she rolled her eyes when she noticed Naoko's pout, "Aren't we supposed to be meeting the others?"
"Oh yeah, right!" Naoko exclaimed. "Let's get going!"
With a bright smile, Naoko walked along the pavement with Hikari beside her.
Hordes of cars covered the roads as the crowds of people covered the streets. The sun was high and bright, the pink sakura petals blanketed the city.
Heading near a trio of older-looking boys with an air that screamed trouble. Kyou heard one of them whistle at her, while smirking lewdly.
"What's with the long face, Pretty Lady?" said a boy with straggly dirty blond hair.
"Yeah, give us a smile." exclaimed a boy with the face of a pug.
Kyou tightened her grip on her black lacy umbrella as she walked past the trio.
A boy with a half-shaven head sneered at Kyou, "Fuck you, Freaky Bitch."
Kyou stopped walking and snapped her head back to give the boys a venomous glare, but they had already started to walk away in another direction.
Kyou released an irritated huff and continued her walk.
Tachibana Kyou had black hair, tied in a French braid thrown over her shoulder with a straight-cut fringe. Her round black eyes were covered with mascara, dark purple eyeshadow; curved lips was painted with a black shade of lipstick. She had a cool pale tint with a skinny physique as she stood at five-six. Kyou wore a layered knee-length dress with a black and red plaid print; long, striped monotoned socks and a mini, black leather jacket with short sleeves.
When Kyou walked by a ramen shop with a large bear on the banner, her shoulder knocked into someone else's arm. Kyou didn't pay the person any mind, even when he shouted at her.
"Oi!" he yelled, snatching her arm.
Kyou looked at the boy touching her with an annoyed expression. He appeared to be either seventeen or eighteen. He had short dark brown hair with multiple blond streaks and pierced ears. He had a slim frame and was at least five inches taller than her. The boy wore a simple white shirt with black, spiky lettering and black torn jeans. Honestly, he looked like a delinquent.
Kyou almost rolled her eyes. She asked, "Yes?"
"That hurt." he growled.
Kyou sucked in a breath and released it through her nose, "Let me go or you'll lose an arm." she calmly stated.
"What?"
"I said let go me or you'll lose an arm." replied Kyou, looking into his dark eyes. "It isn't smart to grab someone for the simple act of bumping into you. The person could have a knife and stab you to death or strangle you."
"Are you threatening me?"
Kyou shook her head, "No. I'm just giving you a warning that could save your life." her lips twitched. "It's my good deed for today. Besides, is it really a good idea to manhandle a defenseless girl in broad daylight with so many people watching?"
The delinquent boy looked around and saw people staring at them. Some appeared to be scared, some looked worried, and a few whispered amongst each other. He released her arm with an irritated sigh.
Kyou flexed her arm and gripped her hand around her lacy umbrella. She looked up at him, "Wise choice, Mystery Boy. Make sure you take my words for consideration. There are too many young people dying these days."
The boy gave her a very confused look, as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Then he tsked, "Whatever. Just watch where you're going next time."
You should do the same. "Hm." Kyou said, instead of what she thought.
Kyou turned her heel and walked away from the boy, still feeling irritated.
The boy, Kamiya watched the girl walk away for a second before continuing his walk.
"What a weirdo." he muttered.
Turning a page of her novel, The Count of Monte Christo, Nakahara Melina looked up to meet the unsure eyes of the middle-aged waiter. He had a notepad and pen in his hands, waiting for her to answer. Earlier, he called her Miss in English with a heavy accent.
"I'll have an iced coffee, the Focaccia sandwich and Mason Jar Salad. Please."
Melina waited for the waiter to respond. The waiter looked surprised at her perfect Japanese.
The waiter nodded, still surprised and took their menus. He gave Melina a polite smile, "Your Japanese is very good."
As the waiter left, Melina muttered, "I am Japanese."
Melina had a chestnut hue to her skin with thick and curly black hair, her curl pattern looked almost like "s" shaped. Her eyes were dark brown with a heart-shaped face. She had the frame of a dancer with slightly wider hips as she stood at five-six. Melina wore a simple deep red shirt with a white, short-sleeved jacket and black jeans.
Before Melina could return to her novel, she noticed from the corner of her eye, a pale-skinned girl who looked not much older than her and Ayumu was staring at her. Melina turned her head to look straight at the girl. The girl looked down and focused on her food. Melina sighed through her nose, closing her book and placing beside her.
Ayumu glanced up from her phone to look at her friend. Immediately, she recognized the irked look on her face. "Melina," she said. "He just didn't know."
Melina didn't say anything, despite looking like she wanted to say something. Begrudgingly, Melina said, "I know. But sometimes I just get annoyed of people assuming I'm not Japanese. They assume I'm American or something. I don't even speak English."
"Yeah, your English is the worst." Ayumu tried joking with her.
Despite her annoyance, Melina's lips twitched before the corners tilted upwards a little. "Don't be mean to me, Miss. Genius."
"I'm not a genius. Hikari is." Ayumu smiled, displaying her dimples.
"Oh, right. Miss. Genius Number Two."
Ayumu giggled, "That's too long of a name."
Kochiyama Ayumu was a small, petite girl, only standing at four-eleven. She had a light golden appearance with freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. Ayumu had honey-blonde, wavy hair with black eyes. She was dressed in a baby blue blouse with a pleated knee-length skirt drenched in dark red, her red and white striped brim hat was on the café table.
Melina and Ayumu was sitting in a café called Burn Side St Café in the Harajuku district, waiting for their friends to arrive.
"When do you think-" Melina started.
"Melina! Ayumu!" said Naoko, walking towards the table, making her presence known.
Naoko received a few looks. Most of them were from men, whose eyes were on her chest. Naoko's smile twitched downwards. Hikari, who was walking beside Naoko, glared at all of them. The men shivered under her piercing gaze and turned their eyes elsewhere.
"Were you waiting long?" asked Naoko, looking a bit more comfortable once she sat down with her friends. She was next to Melina as Hikari took a seat by Ayumu.
Ayumu shook her head, "No, not really. We just got here, like twenty minutes ago."
"Hello, everyone."
Ayumu, Melina, Naoko; Hikari jumped at the sudden appearance of Kyou, whose face was blank but her eyes showed amusement.
"Jes-! Wear a bell or something, Kyou!" exclaimed Melina.
Kyou gave her a very tiny smirk, "Careful. You almost said the Lord's name in vain, Modesty."
Melina almost scowled at the name. Kyou took a seat next to Hikari.
"Something happened to me when walking here." started Kyou. Everyone looked at her curiously. "I was catcalled and manhandled."
Naoko's mouth dropped, "You weren't hurt, were you?"
Kyou shook her head. "No. I was catcalled by a group of boys, who was trying too hard to be edgy. Then I was manhandled by Mystery Boy."
"Mystery Boy?"
Kyou nodded, "The name I gave him. I have a feeling I might meet him again."
Hikari rolled her eyes. "Right. Afterwards, you're going to see dead people."
"I've been trying to for years, but nothing has worked."
Melina just looked at her, "I can never tell if you're serious or just joking."
Moments later, the middle-aged waiter came with Melina's order and Ayumu's seasonal fruit pancakes and café au lait. He took the orders of Naoko, Hikari, and Kyou, who ordered three stacks of pancakes for herself.
The four girls started to talk amongst themselves about Melina's ballet studio's production of Giselle and Ayumu helping her parents with their new clothing designs. The conversation started to steer about Akadou Academy.
"I wonder what it's going to be like at that school?" Naoko questioned, taking a bite of her eggslut.
In the next couple of days, the girls would start attending an all-boys school for a co-ed project created by the Chairman of Akadou, Akagi Ryoko, who wanted her school to be mixed for the next year. Sumiyama Yukina, the Head of Elize Girls' School agreed to allow a few of her students to be apart of the project. The students, who wanted to be apart of the project took the Akadou Academy's entrance exam. Only a very few wanted to be apart of the project, but only Sakurai Naoko, Kobayashi Hikari, Nakahara Melina; Tachibana Kyou, and Kochiyama Ayumu passed the exam.
Hikari scoffed, "We're going to an all-boys school. The boys might chase us around like horny fools. But at least we're not wearing mini skirts. Can you just imagine if that happened?"
"All I care about is the bathroom situation." said Ayumu taking a moment to bite and chew her pancakes. "Are they going to put up a sign for our bathroom? And most importantly, are the bathrooms going to be clean? I refuse to sit on a toilet that was probably covered in God knows what." she cringed.
"I asked Akiyama-sensei that when I saw her not too long ago." Melina said. "She told me that the Chairman took care of that for us. The Chairman made one of the bathrooms that's near our class into a girl's bathroom and that the nurse is a woman, so if we have any...feminine problems, we can always go to her."
Ayumu sighed in relief. "Good. I just hope that it's a nice bathroom."
"I just hope that the boys are nice too." said Naoko. No one caught it, but she shivered a bit.
"Akadou is well-known of causing problems." replied Kyou, but she paused in thought. "Although I shouldn't judge them so quickly. We can't trust them quickly before getting to know them yet. They could turn out to be maniacs underneath the delinquency. I don't want to deal with a madmen in the beginning of the year."
"Oh, so you want to deal with madmen later in the year then?" Hikari asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe." Kyou simply said.