Chapter 1
(Inaba. April 12th. Morning)
It was the usual morning in the small town of Inaba. It was raining, adults had gone to work, and kids were going to school. Same old monotonous routine to most, but not for a certain high-schooler.
This high-schooler was a boy with short slightly messy light brown hair and blue eyes. If you're interested in whether he's handsome or not, one would say his looks while ok, aren't anything special. He was carrying a backpack instead of a normal schoolbag like most. This boy was a Yasogami High student, judging by his uniform. What was interesting was that he was trying to read a map of Inaba while holding onto his umbrella. After turning the map over several times the boy was finally able to tell which direction he needed to go to reach Yasogami High.
On his way towards the school he spotted a few students with the same uniform he was wearing and decided to follow them, since they were going where he was going. As he walked, he noticed more and more students going to the direction the students he was following were going, so he must be on the right road. That's right this boy didn't know where he was going, because he wasn't from Inaba. He was a new student from overseas that came to Japan as an exchange student. Sadly for the boy, Yasogami High wasn't where he wanted, but since the point of this trip was coming to Japan itself, he decided to go with it. Now all he had to do was go to the school, get himself situated and pray that aside from ending in a small town, he wouldn't have any problems.
(Yasogami High. April 12th. Morning)
"Crap, crap, crap," was what the brown haired boy was thinking as soon as he entered the classroom his new teacher, named Kinshiro Morooka, led him to with a silver haired boy. Earlier when he entered the faculty office to find out which class he should enter, Morooka, whose appearance screamed 'unpleasant', glared at the boy like he was a criminal. Now he was standing in front of the entire classroom nervous while the silver haired boy was calm like nothing was wrong.
"Alright you brats! Here is our new transfer student from the capital." shouted the teacher to the class, while motioning towards the silver haired boy. "This sad sack has been thrown here from the city, like yesterdays garbage. And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any funny ideas," the infuriating teacher continued the baseless accusation he calls introduction. " Now hurry up and introduce yourself," Morooka ordered as he turned towards the silver haired boy, who hadn't batted an eye at the teachers insults. "Doesn't this guy have any self-esteem," wondered the brownheaded boy next to the transfer student.
"I'm Yu Narukami. Nice to meet you all," the silver haired boy said with a bow.
"You infidel," Morooka accused startling both boys, "You just leered at the girl by the window," the teacher yelled at Yu while pointing his finger accusingly.
Yu could only stutter "Wh-I- d-didn't.". But Morooka was having none of it, "You're on my shit list. Effective immediately." the teacher said with finality, leaving Yu dismayed.
Morooka then turned his hateful gaze at the other boy who everyone in the class noted was slightly taller than Yu. " As for him. This is our new exchange student from overseas from some uncivilzed barbaric nation that isn't worth remember-". "That's racist!" was yelled, silencing the whole class. All eyes were turned to the culprit, who happened to be standing next to Yu, covering his mouth in shock. " Voi mätä," thought the brown haired boy in his native. Since everyone was still staring in shock at the bravery that was displayed the boy decided to get the introductions over with, "Umm. My name is Viljam Nousku from Finland. Please don't kill me," The brown haired boy now named Viljam said while bowing deeply. This causes every student except Yu to laugh at the last sentence that was obviously meant for Morooka.
The said teacher finally recovered from his shock and went beet red in anger. "Congratulations. You just made it to my rotten shit list," The teacher announced with hateful tone causing the other students to control themselves, lest they too end on the said list. Poor Viljam was like a deer in the headlights now, one gruesome thought after another flashing before his very eyes.
"Excuse me, can the transfer student sit here and the exchange student there," a girl in green jacket said before Morooka could say anything. Turning to the student in question, who was motioning to the empty seats next to her and behind her, Morooka was silent for a moment before finally answering "Yeah sure. Now get seated you two," shouting the last one at the new students who took the seats. Narukami next to the girl in green jacket and Viljam behind her.
Unbeknownst to everyone Viljam thought of the jacket wearing girl as a saving angel in his native. "We call him King Moron," said girl whispered to the boys she saved(Viljam's opinion). " He's the worst isn't he," the girl asked, to which Yu answered with a quiet 'yeah' and Viljam with a quick nod.
"Quiet there," yelled the King of Morons and the class was finally starting properly.
(Yasogami High. April 12th. Afternoon)
After the classes were over for the day Morooka left the class without so much as a glance to Viljam, which the boy in question was grateful for. Shortly after though an announcement was heard that told the students to stay in classrooms until further notice. As he was checking his backpack to see that everything was in order so he could leave the moment they were allowed , he heard some male student babbling about Yama-something being his soulmate on some channel. "Torvi," Viljam mumbled under his breath, as if a tv could tell you who your soulmate is. Just as he was finished checking his pack he spotted the girl in green jacket talking to Yu. Viljam had been meaning to thank the girl for saving him from being mutilated, but hasn't gotten the chance yet, also he didn't want to intrude on their time. Just as he turned towards the door the said girl called him, " Hey. Nousku-kun". the boy turned towards the girl who called him. "You going home alone too? Why don't you join us," The girl said cheerfully. Viljam was about to open his mouth to reply, but the girl beat him to it, "Oh right, my name is Chie Satonaka. You know, I sit in front of you," said the girl now named Chie to the boy. Viljam could only nod in reply while still trying to come up with words to speak with. " So, wanna join us," Chie asked again while smiling friendly. " Okay," Viljam said unable to come up with anything else to say. Chie then turned towards a girl with a red cardigan, " And this is Amagi Yukiko," Chie introduced her friend. "Sorry to disturb you," Yukiko said, causing Viljam to tilt his head as the figurative question mark appeared on his head.
"Again? Yukiko why are you apologizing," Chie asked, her friend.
"Amagi? As in, the Amagi Inn," Viljam questioned the two who looked at him slightly surprised. " You know about Amagi Inn," asked Chie from the exchange student. Sure the Amagi Inn was well known in Japan, but not world wide. "Yeah that's where I am housed in during my stay," Viljam explained, causing Yukiko's eyes to widen, "Ahh you're the boy, that mother said would stay with us," Yukiko exclaimed in realization. "WHAAAT," Chie gawked.
When Viljam Nousku was accepted as an exchange student to Japan he was given a room at Amagi Inn. The room in question was small enough that the exchange program was able to cover it without any extra charges on Viljam's part. In addition the Amagis were made the host family, making Yukiko his host sister for the year. Though Viljam has only met Yukiko's mother and not Yukiko herself until today.
This was quickly explained to Chie so that she understood and stopped imitating a fish out of the water. " Good for you, Nousku-san," said Yu who had been standing behind the two girls for the whole conversation without Viljam noticing. Before Viljam could question how long Yu had been there, another announcement was heard from the speakers that allowed everyone to leave. This instantly made Chie perk up, " Alright, you three, we can talk more as we walk now come on," Chie said while moving to the doors, until a headphone wearing boy stopped her. " Umm Satonaka-san. This movie was very enjoyable and exciting. Bye," The headphone wearing boy said quickly while handing over a dvd case and made a run for it. " Stop right there! What did you do to my dvd," Chie shouted while giving the boy a kick in the crotch. Viljam winced at this.
While the headphone wearing boy was holding his crotch, Chie took a look into the case. Only to see the disc inside cracked, " WHAAT! It's completely cracked. My Trial of the Dragon," Chie cried in horror, earning a sympathetic look from Viljam.
"I think mine's cracked too. Critical hit in the nads," the headphone wearing boy whined, causing Viljam to snort lightly. Not noticing someone snorting at his misery, the headphone wearing boy quickly tried to beg Chie for mercy, " I'll get you a new one, so please have mercy until my next paycheck.". Chie only hmphed while moving out with Yukiko, Yu and Viljam.
Outside, Chie had asked Yu why he was tranferred to Inaba. The silver haired boy explained that his parents had work overseas and he had to stay in Inaba for a year. "Oh I expected something more serious," Chie said with minor disappointment. "What about you Nousku-kun, what's your story," Chie asked the boy who had been quiet all this time. " Well, in my hometown, there was an advertisement for exchange student program for Japan. I decided to apply and here I am," the foreigner said simply. Chie frowned at the too simple answer, " But why did you come to Inaba? I'm sure you wanted into a big city like Tokyo or Kyoto," Chie questioned, not satisfied with the exchange students answer. Viljam sighed before answering," Because I didn't have a say in where Iwould end up. And for the record I almost got lost here, so I don't think I could survive in a big city," Viljam said with a shrug, causing Chie to giggle a bit.
"Chie, that's rude," Yukiko scolded Chie, though Viljam wasn't sure why. " Oh come on Yukiko aren't you interested in the boy from the land of vikings," Chie asked her friend. "*pfft* Ahahhahaha," Viljam bursted into uncontrollable laughter, earning a questioning look from Chie, while Yukiko was slowly being infected by the laughter. "What? What did I say," Chie asked annoyed at the laughing boy. Surprisingly it was Yu who answered " Vikings are from Norway, Satonaka-san. Nousku is from Finland," said the silverhaired boy in amusement. This revelation caused Yukiko to giggle, while Chie was embarrassed, " Wh- I- It's not that funny," Chie shouted clearly flustered. This reaction finally allowed the laughing finnish boy to gain some semblance of control, "*kihhih* Ihana," he said between chuckles, earning a questioning look from the three. "What was that," asked Chie while looking at Viljam in suspicion. Said boy turned slightly red," Nothing," he said too quickly for Chie's liking. " If that was some kind of finnish insult, then I'll leave footprints all over your face," Chie threatened the poor guy.
There is a saying in Finland called 'käpälämäkeen' or ' to the Paw Hill' which is a *funny* way of saying 'run for your life' or 'run for it' or simply 'run away'. Take your pick out of these lines you would use to describe Viljam 'going to the Paw Hill' in fear of Chie Satonakas wrath. " GET BACK HERE," the girl in question yelled while running after the guy. " Chie, wait," shouted Yukiko who ran after her friend with Yu in tow.
(Inaba. April 12th. Few minutes later)
" You better use words we can understand next time," Chie warned Viljam, who was still wheezing from the short run. Yes, short, because the brown haired boy didn't even make it down the hill from Yasogami gates, before he started coughing violently. Turns out Viljam wasn't exactly an athlete, and he had an asthma. Thankfully he had an inhalator stashed in his backpack, which he took a deep breath from. After the boys breathing became even Chie was calm enough for the Finnish boy to explain, that the word he said didn't have a japanese equivalent to his knowledge, though the closest he could think of based on the situation is cute. This revelation took Chie blush ever so slightly, but it didn't last long.
With Chie's little warning out of the way the four were now walking together. Chie and Yu were making some small talk while Yukiko and Viljam were quiet most of the time. Things went interesting when Chie asked Yu if he thought Yukiko was cute. " Yes she is," Yu said like it wasn't a big deal. This caused Yukiko to protest about it, which Viljam shook his head at," Most girls would probably kill to get your looks," said Viljam off-handedly, instantly covering his mouth in regret. Sure enough this drew all attention to him. " Ok first you call me cute then you flatter Yukiko. Are you trying something," Chie asked with newfound suspicion.
Not panicking this time Viljam was able to give an answer," Sorry, I keep forgetting I'm not talking to my sisters," said the brown haired one in slight embarrassment.
"You have sisters," Yukiko asked in slight wonder.
"Yeah. Whenever they have issues with their looks I say the first thing that comes to my mind. And it works most of the time," Viljam explained
Now Yu had a questioning look, " Most of the time," he asked. " Sometimes I say something they either don't care to hear or actually argue about," Viljam said in embarrassment, " Frankly, I wish they stopped having delusions about being the ugliest things on the planet when they're anything but," the boy continued with a heavy sigh.
"You okay," Yu asked with slight worry. Viljam instantly perked up at the question, " It's fine. It's not like they can harrass me all the way here," the foreigner said, sounding more cheerful. While the girls and Yu wondered about the wording he used, they decided not to question it and kept going.
(Amagi Inn. April 12th. Evening)
" Siis sinut on majoitettu japanilaiseen majataloon? Vau. No, millaiset oltavat on," said a young womans voice from a laptop in the small room where Viljam was housed in. Currently Viljam was having a video chat with his family who were curious about his wellbeing. " No, huone on pienehkö, mutta kyllä tämä minulle kelpaa," answered Viljam to the blond haired woman on the screen. The video also showed a balding blond haired man as well as a dark brown haired older woman. There was also a girl with slightly darker brown hair than VIljams that was leaning on the blond woman so she could see the screen. " Onko isäntäväki kilttinä sinulle," Asked the dark haired woman. Viljam smiled at the question," Ovat ja itse olen tietenkin yhtä kiltisti," said the boy with a cheeky grin.
Shortly after the door to his small room was opened by Yukiko," Sorry for disturbing, but mother asked me to bring you a clean futon," the girl said while carrying a bundle in her arms, earning the guests attention. " Thanks Yukiko-san," Viljam said while taking the bundle from the Amagi. "Hei, kuka siellä on? Mitä tapahtuu," was heard from the laptop earning a confused look from Yukiko. " Ahh that's my family," Viljam said while scratching the back of his head. " They're asking if I'm doing well," said the finnish boy, while questions in finnish kept pouring from the laptop. Viljam turned back to the laptop that was situated in a way that him and Yukiko couldn't be seen and walked back in front of the screen. "Sori. Host-sisko toi futonin," said the brownhaired boy to his family. The conversation went on for a moment while Yukiko was left standing by the door.
Yukiko looked for a moment at Viljam having a conversation with his family which she couldn't understand, before turning to leave. " Ahh Yukiko-san, wait. My family wants to see you," Viljam called out, stopping Yukiko from leaving. Yukiko wasn't sure what to respond. She was slightly worried about meeting her guests family. What if they don't like her. What if his parents didn't like their son associating with a foreigner. She shook her head at the thought. If VIljams parents didn't want him to associate with foreigners, he wouldn't be here. Yukikos thoughts were interrupted, when Viljam grabbed her hand and pulled her in front of the laptop screen. " Iskä, Äiskä, tässä on Yukiko Amagi. Isäntä-perheen tytär ja Tuomiopäivän Duon korvike," Viljam said with a laugh, followed by a 'HEI', from the annoyed blonde woman and brownhaired girl. " Yukiko-san, meet my family: Dad, mom, my big sister Maria and my little sister Linnea," Viljam said while motionig towards his family in the order(the balding man, dark brown haired woman, blonde young woman and brown haired girl). " Umm. Nice to meet you all," She said with a bow, earning a questioning glance from the Nousku family. Viljam quickly translated what Yukiko said and they offered their greetings, which VIljam translated to Yukiko. About an hour passed with the conversation that Viljam was translating back and forth. Viljams family seemed like nice people, although there was a moment when Viljams sisters gave the boy a stern look while saying something, that made their brother blush while crying something in protest. The Nousku family and Yukiko(who didn't understand what was being said) laughed at the boys flustered behavior. Finally Yukiko let out a long yawn, which she covered with her hand. Viljam noticed this and told his family that him and Yukiko should go to sleep. This was met by goodnight wishes, particularly from the sisters who cooed' ÖITÄ, PALLERO', and the video was cut.
" Your family seemed nice," Yukiko said, smiling to Viljam, who returned it.
" Yeah, they are," Viljam said with a forlorn look. " So...What was it your sisters were lecturing you about," Yukiko asked curiously, which made Viljam blush. " Trust me Yukiko-san: You Don't Wanna Know," Viljam said punctuating each word. "...Ok," Yukiko said confused. " Sleep well, Nousku-kun," Yukiko said before walking out. " Good night," Viljam said as Yukiko closed the door.
With that done, Viljam started to set the futon, which he had dropped before dragging Yukiko to meet his family. Viljam was looking forward to the experience of sleeping on futon. Then his mind started to wander towards the 'lecture' his sisters gave him. The sisters were basically telling their brother not to seduce Yukiko, grope her, or anything in between. " Miksi ne ärsyttimet minua luulevat," Viljam thought in his head annoyed. Though the sisters were joking, he didn't appreciate that kind of humor. He was just happy that Yukiko didn't understand finnish, otherwise she might think he's a pervert or worse. Viljam does think about girls as much as the next guy, but he doesn't hold any illusions of how a girl should act. Not to mention thanks to his mother and sisters, he knows how terrifying a womans wrath can be. Also Yukiko wasn't his type. With those dumb thoughts out of the way, Viljam had set the futon and was now drifting asleep in it, wrapped in a soft blanket.
