Warning! If the idea of male characters in k-on and/or heterosexual romantic sub-plots makes you soil yourself, you best turn back now. If Original Characters make you puke, then once again, you best press that back button.
I'll be the first to admit I know very little of Japanese culture and traditions outside of what I've seen in anime/manga and TV, and the validity or believability of this story could be extremely low, AND I REALISE THAT.
Disclaimer: I don't own K-ON, and never will. I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to the original creator(s).
Phew! Okay… let's get this story started. This first chapter will be more or less an introduction of the OC. Sorry if you want more of the K-on girls, but please bear with me for a little bit.
It was a fairly nice march "winter" in Japan. Looking out of the window of my eerily empty room, I could see there was no snow, no ice, nothing. Whether I could be more alienated from my old country was a tough question.
Canada... oh how I miss you...
If I was in Canada right now… I don't even want to think about it. If I was back home, I'd be getting ready to go on a ski trip with my friends. I could walk outside and not get strange looks! I could...
Shit. I shouldn't get myself so worked up. Not like things are gonna change anytime soon.
Before I go on another rant, I get up from my bed and start unpacking some more. I've already been living here a while, but I've put off unpacking my things in some bizarre hope that this was a temporary situation. I'd been so excited getting on that plane, but now all I seem to be capable of doing is wishing for those same comforts I was so eager to leave behind just a week ago.
I knew I was being a selfish brat, but c'mon… Japan? Why did it have to be Japan? I'll admit that it's a beautiful country with a vibrant culture, but all the stories my dad told me about his teaching days were really starting to make me dread my coming day at school. Phrases like 'eerily xenophobic' and 'insane work ethic' lurked in my mind, causing me more than a touch of anxiety. I can only hope that times have changed since then, or that he was just exaggerating.
The school was called Sakuragaoka. It's a pretty run-of-the mill school, and it's western architecture definitely made me feel at ease when I first visited. I'm not exactly looking forward to having to adapt to a foreign curriculum, though. I've had my own share of trouble with school back home, and I can't imagine this is going to be easier. I can only take solace in the fact that my dad's incessant Japanese lessons, as annoying as they were, had prepared me fairly well.
...For those wondering how I got here, well, you best leave all logic at the door. My father, who had previously lived in Japan as an English language teacher, had become great friends with the school nurse, named Akane Sato. They apparently got along great, but nothing romantic ever became of it. When my dad came back to Canada, he got married and I was born. Then, when I was quite young, my dad caught my mother cheating and there was a nasty divorce. I don't remember much of my real mom, but me and my dad spent many years together very happily.
Soon enough, however, he started talking about wanting to "settle down". In time I learnt that this meant he was ready to get married again. Long story short, he reconnected with Akane, and after some romantic visits, they decided to tie the knot. The two had some history, and my dad was nothing short of ecstatic when he shared the news with me. Unfortunately for us, Akane was very resistant to leaving for Canada, as she wanted to keep her nursing job in Japan. My dad, after some time mulling it over, bit the bullet and packed his bags. I ended up coming with him, as my dad wasn't too keen on leaving me to my own devices.
As a result, here I am in the land of the rising sun! This... wasn't exactly what I'd wanted. I've never left my home country, so this was something new and frankly, terrifying.
All that aside, my new step-mom is nice, even though her grasp of English isn't the greatest. She gets along really well with my dad, though, and they seem genuinely happy together. She even made one of those fancy 'bento boxes' for my first day of school.
Did I mention it contains seafood? I fucking hate seafood.
...Anyway, after unpacking, I get dressed and start walking to school. We live fairly close to Sakuragaoka, so I only have to enjoy a few stares on my walk there. And these aren't the type of stares you want, either.
As far as guys go, I'm not exactly what you'd call attractive. I'm tall for my age, at 6'2, and have some... odd facial features. My grey-blue eyes were unusually far apart and slightly slanted. With them being adorned by my thick eyebrows, I pretty much look like i'm permanently ticked off. My forehead is also particularly big, which i try to cover up by flattening my bangs down; I had grown out my messy head of dark brown hair just for this purpose.
Needless to say, I'm not exactly a textbook foreigner; most people tended to avoid interacting with me on my walk to school. I guess it makes no difference, seeing as i'm a total dork in the first place; it might be for the best that I don't attract people.
Annoyed with my usual low self-esteem, I start to fiddle with my tie. I've always wanted to wear one of these fancy uniforms, but this tie is really a pain to wear. I suppose it's nice that I don't have to rely on my poor taste in clothing, though. If my clothing choices were left up to me, then I'd really be a fish out of water.
Once I arrived at my school, I was greeted by the principal and the student council president. They showed me the way to my classroom, and I couldn't help but get more and more nervous as I approached our destination. I was enrolling a few days late due to an untimely flu. Thanks to my shitty immune system, I'd lost all hope of joining the class normally like everyone else...
Ah, who am I kidding. With the way I look, there's no way in hell I'd avoid being scrutinized. I just hope they don't make me introduce myself...
As we waited outside the classroom, my new teacher, Miss Sawako, eventually caught notice of us. Excusing herself from the class, she comes outside to greet me.
"You must be Conrad-san!" She says to me slowly and politely, to ensure I understood.
"Uh... yes. Sorry for missing the first few days." I bow deeply, as my father often reminded me to do.
"It's fine! Please come inside and introduce yourself." She says, smiling gently at me.
Fuck. The thought of being the center of attention makes me cringe, but I guess I'll look even weirder if I refuse.
Walking into the classroom, It's hard not to be put off by the murmurs erupting from the other students. I guess they were getting a good look at me. I almost feel like apologizing to the class, for not fulfilling any preconceived fantasies of a handsome and dashing foreigner.
Taking a deep breath, I try to quickly conceive of something normal to say to avoid any sort of embarrassment.
"Nice to meet you all... my name is Conrad. I moved here from Canada, and I'll be living in Japan... at least for the remainder of high school. My hobbies are reading and playing the bass guitar. I hope I can become friends with all of you in the future." I said, with an obvious nervousness.
Perfect! Not too weird, good pacing; nice and normal. I was understandably confused when I looked around the class and was met with odd stares from the other students. Did i say something weird?
"Uh, Conrad-san?" the teacher asks me with a smile.
"Yes, sensei?"
"Could you repeat that again, but this time in Japanese? I don't think everyone was ready for that…"
...Shit. No wonder that came out so easily.
I could hear a few stifled laughs among my classmates. Even taking extra precaution on my Japanese, my second introduction was sloppy, as I was still a bit embarrassed at my mistake.
"Thank you, Conrad-san. You can go ahead and take the empty seat near the window." Sawako motions towards the back of the class, looking a little sorry for me and my fumbling ways.
I was feeling a bit lightheaded as I followed Miss Sawako's gesture to my seat, but I was able to shake it off fairly quickly once I noticed the quality of my sitting position. Not only did the nearby window have an awesome view of the schoolyard, but I was sitting right beside an extremely attractive girl. Her hair was a beautiful light brown, and her face carried a look of confidence and aloofness. But what really caught my eye was her forehead!
...Look, I don't have a fetish or anything, but I don't think I've ever seen a forehead as big as mine. For years I've tried to cover it with my hair or a hat; always seeing it as one of my worse features. This girl, however, managed to display it for the world to see and still pulled it off elegantly.
I've fancied the occasional girl back in Canada, but isn't this what they call a soulmate? Our eyes meet for a moment, but I dart them away quickly and my heart skips a beat.
I shake my head. I'm getting way ahead of myself...
"Aw jeez. Of course I had to sit next to the prettiest fuckin' girl... I'm totally gonna screw this up..." I mumble to my self, burying my face in my hands. It turns out I wasn't as quiet as I thought; peeking out from my hands, I saw that the girl was currently looking straight at me, her face full of curiosity.
"Sorry... were you talking to me?" she said with the cutest goddamn face I've ever seen. "I'm not very good with English..."
Great, so not only did she catch me talking to myself, but now I get put on the spot? I can barely talk to girls as it is, but with my current Japanese level, I'd be lucky if I conversed my way out of a paper bag!
"N-No, I was just saying..." I mumbled, feeling the heat rising to my cheeks. I couldn't think of the proper words at all. "It's nothing, I just..."
"What?" she asked, sounding half impatient and half curious. "Can you speak up?"
"...I was just thinking... that you have a really big forehead" I smile like an idiot.
There we go, Conrad. A full and comprehensible Japanese sentenc-
WAIT. WHAT DID I JUST FUCKING SAY? THAT'S THE BEST THING I COULD COME UP WITH?
"W-what?" She hisses, waiting for a response; you know, something that might make me seem like not an asshole. Unfortunately for me, I was so dumbfounded by my own stupidity that I just sat there in an embarrassed silence. As a result, she simply turns her eyes back to the front of class, her cheeks puffed out slightly.
Needless to say, she looked PISSED. And who could blame her? I know all to well what it's like to have a billboard attached to your face. If I were her, I'd knock my fuckin' light's out!
There's some pretty shitty ways to make a first impression, but I feel hard pressed to think of one worse than that whopper of an introduction. I was all but certain that I was gonna screw up with this girl, but even I thought I could at least last one class without fucking up. Even for me, this was abysmal...
For the rest of the class, I tried to focus at the lesson at hand, but I could barely keep up with what the teacher was saying in the first place, and I still felt really bad for the girl next to me. I was trying to think of ways to fix this situation, but my feeble Japanese certainly wasn't going to help. Before I knew it, the class was over.
The forehead girl is quick to stand up, and walks over to another equally cute girl with straight black hair. As the two start fussing over some sheet of paper, I soon found myself creepily trying to listen in to their conversation. What the heck were they doing?
My stalking was all in vain, however, as as someone clears their throat in front of me, pulling my attention from the two girls.
Looking to my front, there was a skinny boy with large and thick glasses. I'm not going to lie; he looked nerdy to the max.
"Hello, Yankee-san" The skinny boy announces, giving me a crooked smile.
Well this is certainly something. I honestly thought I'd scared everyone off with my fairly strange introduction. I guess birds of a feather flock together...
"Uh, Yankee?" I reply, confused "You mean me?"
"Yes you. you're a Gaijin, right?." He repeats smiling, as if that would help my confusion.
I never thought someone would approach me during the first day, let alone so aggressively. Maybe the whole Japanese xenophobia thing is bullshit. Then again, he was calling me a Yankee and a Gaijin, even though I had announced my actual name earlier. This guy was only a few words in, and he was already starting to piss me off...
"I have a name." I respond with some force, not able to completely hide my annoyance.
He continues to stare innocently, though, clearly drawing a blank.
"Conrad. Conrad Ferguson."
"R-right, sorry Conrad. My name is Tanaka Hayashi. I guess you can just call me Tanaka, since you foreigners go straight to a first name basis, right? Anyway, You look like a nice guy! I have no friends here, and you don't either." the boy sputtered out a mile a minute, while pushing up his glasses. "Logically, we should be friends, right?"
"W-well, of course I don't have any friends... I just moved here from-" I say nervously, before being interrupted.
"Me too! I just transferred here from Hokkaido. Let's be friends, alright?"
I admit I'm taken aback, and even a little creeped out by his assertiveness, but hell... I'll take what I can get. Ever since my unfortunate exchange with that forehead girl, the prospect of gaining friends here was getting less realistic by the minute.
"...Alright." I said, seriously having nothing else to say.
"S-so anyway, I was thinking about joining a certain club…" Tanaka continues, starting a rant which I admittedly had no intention of listening to. My eyes were too busy wandering not-so-innocently back to the two cute girls talking nearby.
They were leaving the classroom. As they start to walk away, I see the paper they were examining earlier get knocked off the desk as they moved their bags. Neither of them noticed as it floated down to the ground, and they both left obliviously; the forehead girl laughing heartily all the while.
"Excuse me... Tanaka, was it?" I say to the guy, cutting him off; he was still talking to me. I feel a little bad for zoning out, but it's not like I'd be able to keep up with him, given the language barrier.
The boy looks surprised as I got up from my desk.
"So... will you consider joining as well?" he says, looking a bit nervous. "I know it's probably not your thing, but..."
I suddenly remember that conversations typically go two ways. Not something one should have to remember, really, but I'm not exactly great at social etiquette, as you can probably already tell.
"Uh...yeah, sure." I said half-assed, not knowing what I just agreed to. He grins as I walk away, waving awkwardly all the while.
I guess I could always chalk it up to miscommunication later...
Walking over to the black hair girls' desk, I find that the forgotten paper was... a club application form. It was fully filled out for the creation of the Keion or 'light music' club, whatever the hell that is. Upon further study, it turns out the due date for handing the form in in was this afternoon; a deadline that lied only an hour from now.
Hey, this might just be my luck! Returning this form could be a good chance to apologize to the forehead girl!
I hurry out the classroom door. Unfortunately, they are nowhere to be seen once I got into the halls. Given my lack of familiarity with the school, going on some wild goose chase didn't seem too attractive. Sighing, I return back to my desk to eat the bento box my step-mom so graciously made me this morning.
"Fucking seafood..."
After forcing down my lunch, I decide that It'd probably just be easier turn the form in myself. I at least knew where the student council room was, and this way I could avoid having to find and confront the forehead girl directly. It was a cowards method, but I have to admit that's always been my preferred way of doing things.
I'll just apologize later... right?
After a few misdirections here and there, I finally got on path to the student council room.
On my way there, I periodically study the page that the girls left behind. It was supposed to be handed in by the president or manager of the club, and I saw it fall out of the forehead girl's bag. That made her name... Ritsu Tainaka, according to the sheet.
Jesus, now I really feel like some sort of stalker...
...now that I think about it, I guess I should join one. A club, I mean. The student president told me it was mandatory, and finding people with common interests might help me start making friends. I think briefly about writing my name down as a 'keion' member; it is a music club after all, and I know how to play the bass guitar. Then again, that just sounds creepy to me... besides, she's already pissed at me anyway; I don't know how she'd react if I butted my way into her club.
After finding the council room, I hand in the sheet to the girl sitting at the desk. It was still lunch break, and she was chewing her food obnoxiously loud. I thought the Japanese were supposed to be renown for their manners... oh well, it takes all types, I guess.
"Uh.. I'm here to hand this form in. It's for the..." I announce, before stopping awkwardly to search for the right words. Damn this language barrier...
The girl wipes her hands on her skirt before taking the form from me and studying it carefully.
"The light music club? Interesting... thanks." the councilor said between bites, giving me a strange stare.
There was an awkward pause, as she looked over the paper some more.
"Are you American?" she said, glancing up at me. I felt a little uneasy, as if she was sizing me up.
"Uh, not exactly... but close enough." I just wanted to get out of here. I glance to the door as if to make this point clear.
"Hmm?" she hums, looking bored.
"...Never mind. If you... uh, see the president, could you... tell her I'm sorry for what I said?" I say, fumbling with my words a bit.
The girl stared blankly at me, before her eyes finally focused. I think I got the message across?
"The president? What's your name?" She asks, confused.
"Uh... it's Conrad Ferguson." I reply, glancing yet again at the door.
Why she needed my name was beyond me. I guess so this Ritsu girl would know who sent the apology. As impersonal as this was, at least I didn't have to rely on my awkward social skills.
"Alright... thank you Conrad-san" The councilor replies, putting emphasis on the honorific, as if to draw attention to how weird it sounded with my western name.
More than happy to get away from this girl, I took my leave without delay.
As I walk out, I feel a little confused as to just what happened in there. That girl didn't seem all there. Eating on the job, barely paying attention... How did she get elected to council?
Disregarding the specifics, I just hope she understood what I said about the apology. Apologizing directly to this 'Tainaka-san' myself, especially after a day like today, just seems like a bad idea.
Man, I'm such a coward...
"Whatever... I gotta think about clubs" I mumble aloud, as I walked back to my class.
Back in the student council room
"Who was that?" a studious girl asked to the councillor manning the front desk.
"Oh, it's you, Nodoka-chan. It was that new Yankee student. His first day here, and hes already applying as the president of the Keion! Isn't that rich?"
Nodoka looks over the sheet curiously, and soon shoves it back into the girls face.
"But Urabe... his name isn't even on the sheet! It says here that Ritsu Tainaka is the president!" Nodoka said
"Well... he kept talking about something involving the president. I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying; his Japanese was horrendous!"
"You should be more diligent, Urabe! You don't want to get trouble with the president, especially this early into the year!" Nodoka scowls the indifferent girl.
"Look here, the form clearly says the president of the club must hand in the form by the deadline. He came to hand it in because he WAS the new president. Just change the names!" Urabe rebuts lazily
"Well... alright…" Nodoka said, worried.
And so, that's it for the first chapter… WUTS GONNA HAPPEN OH NOES
I know, not much of the girls, but the next chapter will be full of them, I promise!
Please comment on how I can improve my writing, because I know it's sloppy (this is my first fan fiction after all!). Let me know if it's too fast, slow, short, long, WHATEVER.
See you guys for the next chapter!