A/N: Welcome fellow Mai-HiME lovers! I am your host, Wolf Of Wind!
Just so you guys know, the title of this chapter is just as it seems: a pilot. Only your feedback and whatnot will push me to post more HiME goodness.
Enjoy!~
Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-HiME... if only *daydreams about what it would be like to actual own it*
Distance by Wolf Of Wind
Chapter 1: Pilot
There's nothing like a good midnight motorcycle ride to cure the stresses of life, school, drama, and friends; sometimes, when all three of those would combine, I would ride all night long. Who cares if I miss another day of school? As long as I do my work and keep up my surprisingly superb grades, the teachers stay off my back.
Unfortunately, Mai Tokiha isn't a teacher.
I care for her –she's one of my closest friends –but Mai can be so annoying! Whenever she isn't badgering me about school, she's telling me about her boy issues. "Who should I go out with? Tate is so sweet, but Reito is so rich and polite!" Blah blah blah… like I really give a shit. If it weren't for these rides, I would have lost my mind by now.
I parked my Ducati in the parking lot next to the student dorms, glad to finally free my head from my helmet and feel the cool night breeze make my dark, long hair flutter. I would've enjoyed the night more if I didn't have a voice in the back of my mind nagging me about school in the morning (I wasn't surprised when it sounded like Mai's). Figuring the best way to ignore the voice was to block it out with music, I took out my iPod and headphones. I was happy to hear Three Days Grace's "Just Like You" blasting in my ear [1]. Ah… sweet relief.
I walked up to my dorm room, completely unaware of my surroundings… and not really caring. All I knew was that I was tired, sweaty, and dreading class tomorrow. Why don't I just skip? 'Cause I have a major exam in Physics, damn it. Leave it to Gomez-sensei to have a test on a Thursday two weeks before fall break. Everyone knows that most students stop thinking about anything educational right before a school holiday. Note to self, teepee Gomez-sensei's room for your senior prank next year.
I'm only a junior and I already hated most of the staff at my school, Fuuka Academy (it takes most of the four years for most students to just hate the evil teachers). I loathe almost every single staff member. Maybe I just have a problem with authority, 'cause I didn't really like any of my superiors, including the seniors and the people in the Student Council. I especially dislike Reito Kanzaki. What an ass. He thinks that just because his parents founded the school and died in a car accident, leaving him as a billionaire pre-teen, that he can take whatever he wants whenever he wants it with no questions asked. I don't care if he's "the hottest guy in the whole school," I still have many reasons to hate him.
As soon as the cold water hit me when I stepped into my shower, I let all my troubles flow away it. It's times like these that I was happy not to have a roommate, since I would've gotten scolded for returning so late. Even though I stayed in the school dorm, I didn't have a roommate like all the other students. Then again, I'm not like the other students here…
I never knew my father, and my mom died due to a drunk driver running her off the road and a cliff. I'm an only child, but I was adopted by a very wealthy family at the age of 7. I refused to become close to anyone in that family, and in the process of avoiding them, I grew to detest the family that had taken me in. Since I'm not a legal adult yet and still have two years to go, I'm technically still part of that family, but I use my birth name instead of their last name. I'm proud to be a Kuga, and no goddamn rich snobs will change that.
You may think that I'm being harsh on my "family," but you would think otherwise if you knew how they treated me while I lived underneath their roof. Adopting me was just a publicity stunt, and that's all I was to them. The only time that I felt significant to them was when they took me out in public; they acted like I was their legitimate daughter then.
The parents died in a car crash during the summer before my 7th grade year. The son (only 1 year older than me) took all the money and wasted no time in abusing me worse than his parents did. The daughter (2 years younger than me) never understood why her family treated me the way they did, so she would try to be nice to me… Unfortunately, that would just lead to more fights and more punches thrown at me from the brother.
I fell onto my bed, my hair dried and my eyes closed, ready for sleep. Now don't get me wrong… I don't think all rich people are terrible. The summer before I entered high school, I found out that my mother had left me a bank account chalk-full of funds for me to use at will. The first thing I did was enroll in this school 'cause students are required to stay in the dorms; that way, there was no more need to depend on that jerk son for money. In celebration, I bought myself my Ducati, the first taste of true freedom that I had ever received. My mother did me a great service; ever since I found out about the account, I felt like she was still watching over me, protecting me.
I yawned. I knew that I wasn't going to be in this world much longer. My last thought was that I love my mom, but I needed someone to actually tell me that they love me… and mean it.
I woke with a start, but I didn't have a nightmare. I haven't dreamt ever since the night that my mother died, I realized. The clock read 5 a.m. Great… Another night with barely any sleep; I'm going to become a zombie at this rate.
I got up, deciding to get ready for school and just ride my bike around for a while. It would be different since I wouldn't be wearing my leathers, but whatever. It took me about an hour to get dressed into my version of the Fuuka uniform: orange vest (required), white hoodie, and a pair of jeans. I used to wear the school skirt, but I gave up on that. Too many people would stare and ask me out, so I figured that was the reason why.
I ate breakfast and headed out of the dorm, my helmet in hand.I knew that school would start in about an hour, so I would have just enough time to do this one thing.
Thirty minutes later, I found myself on that old cliff, a fresh bouquet of white lilies in my hand.
"I miss you," I whispered as I stared at the restless ocean tide at the bottom. I tossed the flowers over the edge and watched them disappear in the matching white foam and constant crashes.
"I hope you like them, since they were your favorite. Love you and wish me luck today."
The salty spray stung my eyes, or maybe that was just the few tears that somehow escaped. I took a deep breath. Time for school. [2]
It was a normal morning that consisted of the usual events: meeting up with Mai, Chie, Aoi, and Tate in class, being teased by the three girls, laughing at Mai and Tate, etc. Finally, it was time for lunch. The teachers had a very important meeting with the Student Council. This basically means that we regular students could do anything we wanted without any trouble. But since it was still the first week if school, no one really took advantage of the opportunity. How dull…
I was sitting with the usual crowd (Mai, Tate, Aoi, Chie, and Mikoto), who were being surprisingly dull today, too. My eyes did a sweep of the room and narrowed when I saw a particularly annoying redhead strutting up to my table. Why? Why did she have to bother me every day? "Hey there, Mutt."
"Leave me alone, Nao. I don't feel like tolerating you today. And don't call me mutt," I responded flatly. I laughed when I saw Nao huff in anger. She could be pretty fun to mess with when she wasn't pushing my buttons.
"What's wrong, Flea bag? Haven't gotten an eyeful of your master yet?" Nao smirked. She always enjoyed making me angry. "Guess not since you're so grumpy. The poor whittle puppy misses her master," she baby-talked and reached out to pet me, but I slapped her hand away. I stood with my hands balled and at my sides, glaring at Nao with the coldest glare I could muster. And that's pretty chilly…
"I said to leave me alone, or do you want me to demonstrate how to give a black eye?" I growled.
"Ha! I'd like to see you try!" Man, I was this close to hitting her square in the mouth, but then Mai tugged on my hoodie sleeve. I turned to her, and she pointed to the entrance of the cafeteria. Following her finger, I felt my body go rigid. The teacher's meeting was over, and Reito Kanzaki was walking towards us. Fuck.
I looked back at Nao, blood boiling and pushing me to rip her a new one. Instead, I tucked my hair behind my ear and said, "Run along, little spider… before you push me onto a path that will end with you needing a new face." I sat back down, mentally patting myself on the back for the pissed off expression Nao had.
"Is there a problem here?" Reito asked. I turned away, ignoring him altogether. I heard a grunt escape from Nao before she stormed away. But apparently, that didn't satisfy Reito.
"You would do well to remember your manners, dear sister." He placed a hand on my shoulder, but I just shrugged it off.
"And you would do well to remember your place and to keep your hands to yourself!" I snapped before briskly walking out of the crowded lunchroom. I didn't dare to look back. How dare he address me like that in front of my classmates! That's right… it was the Kanzaki family that had adopted me so many years ago. I had finally made amends with Mikoto last year, but I refuse to treat Reito as my equal, much less my brother.
I wanted to leave so much, but I knew that I would be in trouble if I left school during lunch hour. So, I went out to the school courtyard for some fresh air. There were some people eating lunch, but it was fine; none of them would bother me. I sat down on one of the empty benches, tilting my head back with my eyes closed. Today was just awesome so far. I thought about how I could sit there forever, but then the bell rang. I sighed in frustration as I stood and stretched. It's like school is out to get me.
If only I knew…
A/N: HAHAHA! Cliff hanger! I'm so evil.
Time for the brackets~
[1]: Pretty great song. As the story continues (If it does...), the lyrics become perhaps a little more relevant. Perhaps...
[2]: I would just like to say that I wrote this scene before going back to watch the series again. I looked like a trout when Natsuki actually did just this in that one episode. I'm such a pro.
NOW~~ Review if you can! The more reviews I get, the faster I am to update and continue the story~ Thank you very much for reading!
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