Chapter one:
I Hatsu Mizuhara had come to Japan to study abroad for my freshman semester of high school. It had been a few days since i had landed in japan and no matter the hour i always got a call sometime in the day from my parents asking if i was okay. Trying to reassure them that i would be fine living abroad i answered each and every call. The reason that they called so much was that before i had left my parents, being the overprotective parents they were, studied japan as much as they could. It had been a week before i was supposed to leave that my parents watched a movie on the Yazuka and were sure that within days I would be targeted and kidnapped. I tried to reassure them every time they called that i wasn't involved or being held hostage. Today was no different i was on the phone with my mother, Misa Mizuhara, "Now hatsu honey you're remembering to eat healthy right?" My mother asked me
"Yes mom, i am eating healthy." I told her, even though in the last few days all i had eaten were ramen and store bought dehydrated miso. "Mom it's late here and i need to still go over a few more things before school starts." I lied again, knowing full well i was prepared a few days ago i just didn't want to talk to my mom anymore.
"Oh, well okay hatsu but just remember that the mob is out there and to be safe. I love you hatsu." My mother said a little sad that i didn't want to talk to her.
"I love you too mom." I hung up the phone after i said that so she wouldn't try to talk for another half an hour. I do love my parents but they were becoming a little bothersome with their worrying. The small apartment that i lived in had a small bathroom off to the side and a small kitchenette area. The apartment had community washer and dryer and so far everyone just ignored me and that was fine i didn't really know anyone in japan so it was not a big deal for me. I unrolled the futon that i had bought on the first day here and changed into my night cloths so that i could go to sleep, not because i was tired but because there was nothing else for me to do today so sleep sounded good.
The next few days went by and though i still didn't know anyone I felt like going to this school would be the best way to get to know some people. On the day right before school was supposed to start i looked at the map that i had made when i was at home and tried to find a quick route to school. The apartments i lived in were close to the market district and the school was just a short ways away from there. The walk took me a good ten or fifteen minutes to get there and that was fine by me, i always loved a good walk.
Finally the day to start school had come and i had known what classroom i would be in was going to be year one room three. I was sitting in class looking around and noticing that a few people stood out mainly the teacher who wasn't here yet which seemed odd and a little girl who couldn't have been more than ten or eleven sitting up front in a high school outfit. Sometime later the teacher strode in looking exhausted. "I'm yukari tanazaki and I'll be your homeroom teacher for class three, Huh?" Mrs. Yukari looked at the small girl standing at the front and looked as if she just remembered something. "Oh yeah this is chiyo Mihama. She's only ten years old but because of her unique gifts it's been decided to allow her admission to high school. And none of you better pick on her just because she's smart for her age."
The rest of the day went pretty normal and i watched as a few of the girls in the class made friends with chiyo-chan. When lunch came around i walked out of the classroom and towards the roof. I always loved the wind and the open sky it always seemed to call to me. I ate my lunch on the roof for the next couple of weeks and thought about how i missed home but i liked being here.
One day a few weeks into the semester a new girl transferred into our class and as usual yukari had introduced her with a big speech. "This mean addition to our force hales from Osaka!" Then in came a rather plain looking girl with medium length brown hair and standard build.
"I am ayuma kasuga it's a pleasure to-" She started but yukari cut her off.
"No No No, it's sweet of you to try to talk like we do but you can just say 'darn pleased to meet ya.'"
Ayuma looked flustered and said "Darn pleased to meet ya'." Later during lunch a girl with dark hair who was the super hyperactive Tomo takino was grilling Ayuma about how she wasn't a real osakan. I decided it would be best not to get involved so i walked up to the roof and ate my homemade lunch of a sandwich and some rice.
"I need to buy some groceries tonight." I said to myself as i finished my lunch i looked at the maintenance ladder and decided that it would be fun to climb it and see what it felt like to be that high up. I set my bento box on the stone bench i was sitting on and climbed the ladder to the very top of the school. I looked at the courtyard and the gate that was in front of the school. The cherry trees were in bloom and the road in front of the school was a pink walkway and looked like a huge pink tunnel from up this high. I got lost in my thoughts and didn't realize that lunch was over. I climbed down quickly and ran to class forgetting my bento box and i got back to the room late and i opened the door and was teaching classic literature. "I'm sorry Mr. Kiumra, i lost track of time and didn't hear the lunch bell ring." I bowed quickly and Mr. Kimura just gave me a blank look with his head tilted.
"Ding Ding Ding! Mr. Mizuhara we're trying to have a class here." He said and then went right back into teaching the lesson. The rest of the day went buy quickly and as class was getting out Tomo came over to Ayuma and started talking to her.
I was too far away to hear what she said but she suddenly yelled to the rest of the class that was in here "From now on kasuga is now Osaka!" most of the people in class were gone but those that were there all agreed with Tomo and "Osaka" looked exhausted.
I was just about to leave the classroom when someone called out my name, "Hey Hatsu-san wait up!" I turned and saw Tomo's friend koyomi come over to me.
I looked quizzically at her, "Yes, koyomi?"
Then i heard Tomo yell from over by Osaka "Call her yomi, Hatsu!" I looked at koyomi and she just nodded reluctantly.
"Okay, what's up yomi" I asked.
"Mind if i walk with you?" she asked with a small blush but she hid it well under her glasses. I smiled and nodded and we left the room to the sound of whistles and hoots from Tomo on our behalf. We were out in the courtyard walking toward the gate and Yomi looked up at the cherry trees. "I really love these things they make spring feel so good. Do you have these where you're from?" Yomi asked me.
"Not where i lived we didn't, but they really are beautiful." I said looking at the tree's not noticing yomi look at me with a small smile. We walked more and came close to the market district and i turned and looked at yomi, "I have to get some food for dinner tonight so i need to go shopping."
"Oh, well I'll see you tomorrow in class." yomi smiled and turned and walked down a side street and out of my view. I smiled to myself and walked to the stores and picked up some groceries for the week and headed home. I cooked a small dinner of a burger for me and made up some stuff for lunch and realized i had left my bento at school. I sighed and got another container for my lunch but i needed to get that bento back because my best friend Mitsuki Nakata gave that to me.
During lunch the next day i hurried to the roof and looked around the stone bench for my bento. I didn't see it anywhere. I sighed again and looked at the gate surrounding the roof. It was blocking my view of the trees so I climbed up the maintenance ladder again and stood on the roof this time i closed my eyes and felt the spring breeze brush against my face. It reminded me of back home. I stood there for a few minutes longer enjoying the feeling and climbed down knowing that lunch would be over soon and i wouldn't be late twice in a row.
The days were starting to seem more and more like one big day of school and homework and going home. It wasn't that i was bored but it just seemed like nothing was going to happen till one day a few weeks after i walked with yomi she came up to me after school and asked "Can I walk with you again?"
"Sure Yomi." I said cheerfully because i had wanted to talk to yomi more since that day but never seemed like she was around or at least she always seemed busy with Tomo or Chiyo or even Osaka. We walked a while and exchanged small talk about homework and what we liked about spring.
Yomi seemed quite like she wanted to say something but didn't know how to start. We came to the street that i needed to turn on and I stopped and looked at her waiting for her to say something. "Um...so what did you get on yukari's last test?"
"I got an eighty something, why?" I looked quizzically at her
"Well i could help you study." yomi said looking at me a little shy. She had to look up at me because at five eleven i was taller than her. I looked at her and smiled.
"Sure why not, it would be nice to have company over for once. So when do you wanna start?"
"Well i could help you with your stuff today." Yomi blushed visibly
"I could use some help Yukari's homework is a little hard sometimes." I didn't say anything about the blush but just wondered where it came from because in class and when she was with Tomo she was normally an outspoken person and this was a little weird for me to see her act like. I smiled again and started walking down the street to my little one room apartment. I turned around when i didn't see yomi beside me. She was still standing at the corner not knowing what to do. "Are you coming? I thought you were gonna help me study." She looked surprise and hurried over to me. We chatted till we got to my apartment building and we walked up to the second floor and i opened my apartment door and walked and taking off my shoes and stepping into the apartment.
"Um..." Yomi looked a little concerned.
"Oh don't worry it's just us but please make yourself comfortable." i waved my arm toward the small apartment. "It's not much but it's just me so it's perfect." Yomi smiled and took off her shoes and sat down at the small table i had in.
She took out yukari's homework and looked at me "So let's work through the German part today."
I made a salute with my hand and took out my homework as well. "Yes Ma'am." I smiled and yomi laughed a little at that. We worked for a while and it was starting to get late. "We'll that's enough for today i don't want to keep you to long Tomo might miss you." I joked and yomi laughed.
"I'll see you tomorrow Hatsu." yomi said as she gathered her stuff and walked out of my apartment. I grabbed my shoes and walked out after her locking my door quickly.
"Hey yomi let me walk you home it's getting dark." I caught up to her and walked with her. We walked in silence but i could tell yomi was trying not to blush but i didn't say anything. We walked past a small food stand and I pull yomi to it. "Hey what do you want? I'm hungry and you seem to be hungry too." Yomi looked shocked. "Don't be so surprised i heard your stomach growl at my place and it's the least i could do after you helped with my homework."
"Okay, I'll have that." she point to a small fat free bean bun.
"Make that two." I said and i paid that man and gave yomi her bun and ate mine in a single bite. "Wow that was surprisingly good." I looked and yomi who had a look on her face like she hadn't seen anyone do that. "Sorry, Mitsuki would have killed me for doing that."
"Who's Mitsuki?"
"Oh she's just a friend from back home." I said not thinking about it.
"Oh that's nice were you to close?"
"Yeah we were like twins doing stuff together all the time. She was pretty bummed that I came to Japan." I looked up at the sky seeing the orange color of the sun setting. "She gave me a bento box that she made for me...but I lost it a while ago on the roof that day i was late to class after lunch I forgot it there and it wasn't there when i came back. She even carved my initials into it."
I didn't notice yomi going red in the face and she turned away and said "My house is just down the street here." she ran off before i could say anything. I was in shock and didn't know what to do so i walked back to my apartment and finished my homework and went to bed. The next two days yomi wasn't in class and Tomo didn't tell me anything when i asked her.
It was the weekend when i was out walking around the market district when I saw yomi in a gift shop i walked in but she noticed me and quickly ran out of the store and around the corner. I tried to follow her but couldn't she was just too fast for me and i lost her in a crowd.
Next week at school I tried to talk to yomi but every time I got close to her Tomo would run up to Yomi and talk to her first or yomi would turn and walk away from me. I tried to catch her after school to ask her if we were still gonna study together but she wouldn't even talk to me. I didn't know what was going on i was really starting to like yomi and then she suddenly stopped talking to me after that night. I had tried to talk to Tomo but no matter what I tired she never seemed to answer my questions she just acted like i was stupid.
It was about time for summer break and I decided that it would be a good idea to make some guy friends so I hung out with Ohama and Matsuda from my class over the summer break and we became good friends we even went to the summer festival together. I still wondered about what happened with Yomi but I didn't see her over the break and now i had friends to hang out with to occupy my time.
One week before school was supposed to start I was walking around the market district when i saw yomi down the street I ran up to her before she saw me. "Hey Yomi!" I called as i caught up to her.
"Oh, Hi hatsu." She looked a little disappointed that it was me.
"I haven't seen you all summer and you've been avoiding me in school what's going on? Did i do something wrong?"
"No, I've just been super busy with summer plans and Things at home. Anyway I have to go see you at school next week." She waved and walked off without another word. I stood there stunned and decided that it would be better to try to talk to her at school where she couldn't always walk off. That was my plan at least. Until school was back after the break and I tried again and again but Tomo still wouldn't let me get a word in. It was like she was stopping me on purpose. I was really getting frustrated with this whole thing.