Hello! This little story has been buzzing around my head for a while. Since it is surrounding Oishi's cousin, when I write Oishi, I am talking about the PoT character not my OC. Anyways, have fun reading!
It was a typical morning for Oishi Kaori. She woke up and brushed her onyx hair into a pony tail and then put on minimal make up to cover some glaring red pimples that developed onto her face. After getting dressed in her skinny jeans, tank top, and cardigan before she packed her bag for dance class. She picked up the bag and went downstairs and saw her father sitting at the table reading the newspaper and drinking his coffee.
"Good morning, dad," Kaori said getting a glass of juice and a yogurt from the kitchen.
"Morning. Remember that later today your mother is dropping by to pick up her things," her father said not moving the newspaper from his face.
"Great. I'm going to dance today to see how things go. I really don't want to be here when she shows her face."
"That's fine. Take it easy."
Her father wanted what was best for his daughter and cared for her safety. He and his wife were going through a divorce and wanted his daughter to be comfortable in her life and not have to worry about her mother. Kaori was a national title winner in dance and she was progressing well this season until she injured her knee a few months ago when her mother pushed her down the stairs in an argument. Luckily it wasn't too many stairs and she only had to have minor surgery on her knee. That incident caused the divorce.
"I will. What should I do if it starts hurting again?" Kaori asked.
"Stop dancing until you get better. I'm going to call my brother and see what he can do for you since nothing here has worked and they said that you would be fine in a matter of weeks," her father replied.
"So would that mean I would have to go away?"
"Yeah."
Kaori slumped in her seat a little. She didn't want to go away from her school and friends. Where would her father go? What about her friends and fellow dancers? She didn't have much time to think about these before her father told her that it was time to go. She picked up her bags and walked to the car for the ride to school.
To Kaori, school was fun, but boring. She didn't like how many people acted fake around her. She had some friends that she made and she didn't want to leave them if she had to go to Japan. After classes, she started her familiar walk to dance class with two of her friends.
"So crazy is gonna be home today?" Amy asked using the nickname she came up with for Kaori's mother.
"That's what my dad said. She is just coming to get her things. So I am going to stick it out at dance for as long as I can," Kaori said.
"Sounds like a good plan to me," Olivia said.
The three girls arrived to the studio and they proceeded to change into their proper attire. Kaori pulled her hair into a sock bun and and pinned back all of her hair back neatly. They entered the studio and began stretching. Kaori felt a little pain while stretching, but not much to put her on the sideline. Walking never hurt, but dancing always did.
After their stretching they began their across the floors, Kaori was fine when she wasn't using her left leg as her main leg. When that happened, the pain was too much for her to bare. She wasn't able to do turns, walk-overs, nor aerials. Her coach noticed the pain.
"Kaori, I know your leg is still bothering you. I can't let you compete this weekend. You can't dance until you have been cleared for good. I'm sorry. You are extremely talented and I don't want you to ruin what you have," her coach said.
"I understand," Kaori said. She left and gathered her things and went home. When she got there, she saw her dad sitting in the living room fuming.
"That bad?" Kaori asked.
"Yeah. Thankfully the judge stripped her of all parental rights. How was dance?" Her father asked.
"I can't compete until I am cleared for good this time."
"I'll call my brothers and see what I can do for you. They will be more than willing to help you out."
"So does this mean that I have to brush up on my Japanese?"
"Hai."
Kaori slumped her shoulders. She hadn't spoken, read, or wrote in Japanese in years. Now she had to relearn it in order to get better. A few days later she learned that she would be staying with her uncle, aunt, and cousin while she would visit her other uncle for treatment. While she was there, she would attend her cousin's school. Kaori packed her bags and said good bye to her friends and then went off to the airport. When she got there her father got out and grabbed her bags.
"I'll miss you," her father said giving her a hug.
"I'll miss you too," Kaori said in Japanese.
"Give me a call when you land and get settled in," he replied.
"Hai."
With that Kaori was off to Tokyo to start a new journey in her life. She hoped that she would make new friends and learn to dance again. Her father said that she should be over there till the fall. It was spring and school just started in Japan, so she wouldn't be that far behind. Before she knew it, she was on her plane and in the air to Tokyo.
The flight was long and tiring. Kaori couldn't sleep well and the time change really threw her off. When she got off the plane, she saw everything in Japanese and she groaned trying to read them. She brushed up on her language before she came back. Most of her childhood was spent speaking in Japanese, but her mother didn't like it when she did that because she couldn't understand her most of the time. In private, she would speak to her dad in the language. He told her that it was important for her to learn her culture. She made her way through the airport and to the baggage claim where she saw a woman and a man who looked familiar to her.
"Kaori?" The man asked.
She simply nodded being a little bit out of it at the moment.
"It's so nice to see you again. Shuichiro wanted to come, but he has school right now. You can always visit him at school,' her aunt said.
"That would be nice. I haven't seen him in years. I hope I remember what he looks like!" Kaori said smiling, "And getting up and walking around might help my knee. It kinda has been bothering me since I couldn't get up and walk around on the flight."
"We can drop you off and you can walk home with him. I'm sure he won't mind. You'll find him at the tennis courts!"
They get into the car and they drive her to the school. She looked at her school and saw the size of it. It didn't look like her school in America. She smiled at the thought of a fresh start. It seemed that classes just got out a little bit ago.
"You said the tennis courts right?" Kaori asked.
"Yes, have fun! I'll let my brother know that you are here. He said he wanted to see you in a few days to give you time to adjust," her uncle said.
"Sounds good. Thank you! See you later!"
Kaori got out of the car and started walking across the campus. She did get some looks from people, but it didn't bother her much. When she finally made it to the courts, she saw her cousin deep in concentration at practice. Kaori decided that she would watch from the side and stood next to a couple of younger students.
"Wow! Look at Oishi-senpai! That Moon Volley is excellent!" One of the younger ones yelled.
Kaori flinched at the name trying not to give away who she was. She just didn't know if he had told them about her coming.
"Nah, Ryoma-sama's moves are excellent!" A girl corrected.
Kaori thought that the name sounded familiar, but she couldn't figure out where. As soon as she saw practice was near an end, she moved closer to the main gate to greet her cousin. When she got over there many of the members stared at her. She thought she had something on her at first and then they realized that she just stood out a little from many of the people who were normally there.
"Nya? Who are you? Looking for someone?" A red head said coming up to her after they were dismissed.
"Oh, yeah. I was just looking for my cousin," Kaori replied.
His face fell into an 'o' face, "Well, we are all done so you can find him now!"
"Thanks," Kaori smiled before she recognized her cousin standing next to another teammate. "Ah, Shuichiro-kun!"
That statement caused many people to turn and look at her. Her cousin on the other hand just smiled and walked towards her and gave her a hug.
"I didn't realize that you were coming here!" Oishi said.
"Yeah, I didn't plan on it, but being stuck on a plane for as long as I have, getting up and walking is better than being stuck in a house, believe me!"
"I can imagine. Oh, let me introduce you to my teammates!"
Kaori smiled as her cousin rounded up the regulars.
"Everyone, this is my cousin Oishi Kaori. She's staying with us for a while," Oishi said.
"Please call me Kaori. It's a lot easier, believe me," Kaori said bowing a little.
"Pleasure, Tezuka Kunimitsu," he said.
"Inui."
"Fuji."
"Eiji!"
"Taka."
"Momo."
"Kaidoh."
"Ryoma."
"Pleasure to meet all of you!" Kaori said.
"Why don't we all go to my father's sushi shop?" Taka suggested.
"Are you feeling okay for it Kaori-chan?" Oishi asked.
"Yes, you mother hen. I'm just a little broken, not paralyzed," Kaori said getting a few laughs from his teammates.
As they were walking out they bumped into another girl running out of the school.
"Ah! Sorry, Fuji-san!" The girl said picking up her bag that Kaori noticed as a dancer's bag.
"It's okay, Kanai-chan," Fuji spoke and Kaori swore she saw the girl falter a little bit when he spoke.
"Hey, you dance?" Kaori asked.
The girl perked up, "Yeah! I'm the captain of the dance team here! We are holding auditions next week if you want to join!"
"I wish, but I'm currently out with a knee injury, but that's why I'm here! My uncle is gonna help me rehab it so I can dance again."
"Aw, but still show up so you can get some practice in even if its basics and nothing too flashy. Oh, I'm Kanai Akana by the way!"
"Oishi Kaori."
The girl stood there for a moment before speaking again, "Wait, as in the Oishi Kaori from America? Two time national title holder in solo and in team routine? Got a scholarship to the Joffery Summer Ballet program in New York City, Oishi Kaori?"
"That's me!"
"Oh my god. Please even if you don't try out for the team, just come and watch us dance and give us critique! You are amazing and so talented!"
"Thanks! I would be glad to stop by and I might take you up on looking to try out, but I'm probably not here long term. Just until I am better."
"Saa, why don't you come with us to Taka's sushi shop and you two can talk," Fuji offered.
"Is that alright?"
"I see no problem. The more the better!"
The group was off to the shop. When they got there they all sat down. Kaori sat next to Akana and Tezuka. Oishi was across from her and next to Eiji. On the walk there Akana got to know Kaori a little better, but she wouldn't tell how she got her injury.
"Can I just say, that your solo at Nationals was amazing. The emotion and everything was just perfect!" Akana said.
"Thanks. When I performed that on stage it did not feel that way. It felt like I messed everything up. It had been a rough week anyways for me to begin with," Kaori said.
"It sure didn't look like it. So how far are you in recovery? I missed most of last season to an ankle injury."
"I'm pretty far, but I still have pain when I dance. Walking is fine. I can't really run either. I had surgery on it a while back and they said that I would be up and ready weeks ago, but that never happened. I took it easy too. It's killing me that I can't dance right now."
"I know the feeling. I was so frustrated when I was out. Getting back on that stage performing was the best feeling ever."
Kaori looked down at her food for a moment and sighed, "Yeah, I can imagine."
"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that because you are still injured!"
"It's fine. I just wish my stupid injury never happened."
"Yeah, how did it happen again?"
Kaori saw her cousin tense up before she spoke, "I'd rather not say."
"Oh, sorry. Hey, when you want to talk about it, I'm all ears!"
Kaori smiled. She felt like it was the first genuine smile she gave since her accident, "Thanks, I'd like that. I'm just not comfortable talking about it."
The rest of the night went well for the teens and they all went their separate ways to their homes. When Kaori and her cousin got home she went right up to her room and got all of her things ready for class. She was looking forward to starting school and she already made a few new friends.