Beforehand:
The large, elegantly decorated ballroom was filled with a crowd of finely dressed ladies and gentlemen. Among this crowd stood a young girl who was a bit short for her age of twelve looking quite uncomfortable. As the couples continued to busy themselves with refreshments and appetizers, she seemed to be, if it could be put any more bluntly, bored.
However, she then approached a tall adolescent male with an intriguingly different tone of golden brown hair. A pair of glasses was perched on his nose bridge, and he had a very intimidating aura. She held out her hand and politely introduced herself as Kasumi Shitoyaka. The teen, who was unaware of her presence, briskly shook her small hand, introducing himself. Kasumi then smiled, stating that it was a pleasure meeting him, then walked back into the crowd. There she stopped at an elderly, yet still quite appealing man in a tan suit standing in the corner.
"Well, my dear Kasumi, what have you learned so far?" he asked with a gentle yet strong voice. Kasumi closed her eyes, knitting her eyebrows with a much focused expression reflected on her face. She then looked back at him, revealing the dark brown, piercing eyes that set such an impression to people she would later on meet.
"Tezuka Kunimitsu. Around 15 years of age, therefore around 9th grade. Approximately 58 kilograms. 179 centimeters tall. Probably born in October. From the school Seishun Gakuen. Plays tennis. There seems to be a problem in his left arm, though," she finished, looking at the old man questioningly.
The man laughed heartily then placed his hand on her shoulder. "That's the granddaughter I trained," he said, smiling.
"Honorable grandfather, why do you choose to enroll me in this school?" Kasumi asked her grandfather. Kyo Shitoyaka chuckled. He then answered, "I think your parents would have wanted that."
The man swiftly turned the wheel and the car smoothly made a right turn. She sighed. Sometimes her grandfather's reasons were hard to understand. "But Honorable Grandfa-"
He quickly braked the car, lunging Kasumi into the chair in front of her. She ended her sentence with an "Oof!" Her grandfather sighed. "You've been under my custody for over three years now. At least call me something more casual like 'grandpa'." Kasumi apologized quickly, bowing her head. Unfortunately, she bumped into the front seat again. "Ow!" she exclaimed. He laughed as he flawlessly parked in the new driveway.
Kasumi looked out. "This is our new house?" She studied it closely. It was of fairly new quality, sturdy material, three floors, and a backyard with what appears to be a pool. A sakura tree that just bloomed adorned the front porch. A cool spring breeze blew her brown hair up. Kasumi closed her eyes to appreciate it then went to the car to carry the luggage in.
Kasumi was not used to life in Tokyo. Born in America, she had only used Japanese at home. When she was moved to her grandfather's care, he urged her to study the language of her heritage thoroughly. He had also made her study German, which was where they lived before, so she could pursue a medical scholorship. Youngest to graduate, and a bright student, Kasumi was extremely past your ordinary teenager. But her grandfather had told her that attending a regular middle school with people her age would train her social skills. She never doubted Kyo's opinions, but she felt uneasy about it, an emotion that she had never quite understood before.
Her grandfather had come out of the school's office, looking quite pleased with himself. "Well," he said, "I've registered you and everything. They say you can start school on Monday."
He handed her a plastic bag with a green outfit in it. Kasumi took it and stared at the cuffs and collar. "So this is a school uniform?" she asked. The old man patted her on the back. "We should go shopping for your supplies." She nodded hesitantly.
"And don't forget to bring your tennis bag to school as well. I want you to talk to the tennis coach. She's an old friend of mine."