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A Toyota's ceaseless honking was Anna's death threat that morning. Her mother sympathized with her, but that didn't mean she'd tolerate being prosecuted a second time for what authorities called a "minor infraction".
Anna stood in front of the mirror decked out in Kaijo's compulsory garb. Because Anna's mother was insufferable when it came to fashion, she was mortified when her daughter modeled the original uniform. She then proceeded to rip the unflattering blazer off her frame and tossed the oxfords in the fireplace to burn.
Her tantrum was followed by an hour-long hunt into the school handbook in search of circumvents to the dress code. Fortunately, her prayers were answered.
After hemming up the skirt and tucking in the dress shirt, she replaced the rest of the ensemble with a black cardigan and thigh highs, satisfied when Anna's resemblance to a nun decreased significantly.
Anna didn't think she looked half-bad when she slipped on her vans and made a beeline for the car, but of course, her dear mother thought otherwise.
"You look less like a third grader with boobs than I expected." And just like that, all the self-confidence she'd built up plummeted to the ground.
"Thanks." Anna stated dryly, letting out a hiss when the ignition jerked her back. Her ears picked up a faint giggle from the driver's seat.
What a bitch.
"Just a warning—if I have to go to court again because of your tardiness, I'm shaving your hair." Her mother said sweetly. "Oh, I'll also ship all your clothes to the Salvation Army and send you to your grandmother's where you will marry a foreign merchant and ride camels for the rest of your life."
"I object. I want a lawyer." Anna protested. "Care to explain why you chose a school in Kanagawa? There's plenty of schools around Tokyo I could've went to—"
"I didn't like any of them."
"You're insufferable, you know that?" Anna snapped, rolling down the windows. An assault of cherry blossoms fluttered in, causing Anna to wheeze when they engorged themselves in her mouth.
"Attractive." Mom snickered. "I bet you'll get all the guys."
"Hilarious," Anna muttered, covering her mouth. "But seriously, why Kaijo of all places? I wanted to go to Touou."
"I refuse to send you to a boarding school full of jocks and chain smokers."
"...I'm pretty sure the majority of Japanese kids don't smoke." Anna sighed, resting her chin on her forearm. "What about Shutoku? I thought you liked that school."
"That was before I came face to face with the school regulation manual. That shit's thicker than the Bible and Harry Potter series combined."
"And Kirisaki Daiichi?"
Her mother's face darkened. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Now I'm interested."
"The minute I walked into that damn building, this piece of shit had the audacity to walk his little ass up to me and flip my skirt." Anna flinched at the aura radiating from the older woman. Her mother was definitely a force to be reckoned with when angered. "I was two seconds away from beating the shit—"
"Mom, I get it, you can stop." Anna sighed. "I think you're making too much of a big deal out of this. It's high school, Mom."
"I simply don't want my daughter falling into depravity by socializing with the wrong crowd. Before you know it, you'll befriend prostitutes, dye your hair some ridiculous neon color, and drop out after getting knocked up by some deadbeat."
"Mom!"
"Anyways, Kaijo was the best option. Do not argue with me." She paused. "Oh, and tons of kids in Japan commute trains to school. Just be happy I'm driving you today."
Anna banged her head against the back seat.
"And also, I've heard that the school hosts some of the most attractive, well-off men." Mom squealed, her eyes sparkling. "Oh, Anna, you have to bring home a nice boy this year! You don't look like a complete preschooler anymore, you have a foreign appeal, and you can speak fluent Japanese unlike the rest of those stupid Gaijin!"
"Like you, Mom?"
"...I'm not afraid to throw you out of this car, you know."
It was going to be a long ride.
:.
Anna shouldn't have been blowing a gasket, really.
She also shouldn't have been sprinting down the street as fast as she was now in a desperate attempt to catch up to the kids biking to school.
"Remember, Anna, class starts at 8:00, and the gate closes at 7:50. You do realize what that means, right?"
"It's already 7:40!"
"Which means you should get going." Her smile was chilling. "I'm not the type to makes empty threats, darling, so I suggest you start running."
Now, Anna's mother was many things—a successful businesswoman, a single mother, and a cosmetic miracle-worker. But to Anna, she'd always be the dimpled, Louis Vuitton-donning spawn of satan who hid her fangs under the guise of a smile.
And she definitely wouldn't mind taking an electric shaver to a mass of brown curls.
Anna clamped harder on the toast gnashed between her teeth, her eyes locked on the three meter wall—4.1 feet of brick, and about 5.5 feet of netted fence.
7:51.
She'd have to jump it.
Hands dug themselves into the rough cement, fingers being used as a spring for the upcoming leap. As soon as Anna's feet touched the top of the brick panel, her arm shot out, latching onto the rod of the fence, and suddenly, she was airborne, her body thrust into the air, her free hand flying to press down her skirt.
What she didn't take into account, however, was the fair-haired figure leaning against the opposite side of the wall, cleanly rooted in her trajectory.
Anna's eyes widened, her lips faltering; her breakfast slipped out of the confines of her teeth, and she barely had time to shriek out a half-warning.
"Watch out!"
Kise Ryouta never saw it coming.
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...つづく
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A/N: This was my first attempt at a KnB fic so it was probably pretty shitty lmao. Originally, it was much longer, but I dislike lengthy first chapters so I sort of shortened it. Opinions, criticism, and general advice or whatnot is always welcome :)
