Full Court Press!

Part I, Chapter 1

Welcome to the Western Osaka District, a place of wonder and excitement where… damn it, who the hell am I kidding here? It's a suburban wonderland, two storey gated houses as far as the eye can see – narrow roads lined with trees, small shops and whatnot. Not much to see here, honestly – and it's not because I'm a lazy describer (or because I'm a Miguel de Cervantes fan - though that might have something to do with it). In any case, this is where our story begins.

Right smack in them middle of this maelstrom of normalcy sits the Tainaka household, home to a family of four. It is here that I live with my mom, dad and older sister; the prominent member of the family – Ritsu Tainaka. Apart from being the founder and de facto leader of Sakura-gakou's Light Music Club, she is the drummer of the town-favorite band – Houkago Tea Time. I don't know why, but I have an itching feeling that you already know that… or maybe it's just me. I'll never really know.

Moving right along… See that young guy holding a large cup over there walking down the street; the one with the red jacket with the happy face pin that is just begging to be thrown off a tall apartment building? That's me, Satoshi Tainaka – 15 years of age. And no, I do not know who killed this Blake person… so don't bother interrogating me.

I've lived a peaceful life mostly, living the life of your typical everyday highschooler slugging through class and books and club activities and whatnot. For your information, I don't go to Sakura-gakou High School – that'd just be absurd. Out of the question – it's a girl's school after all. They've got a strict policy about outsiders, especially boys – probably because the prettiest girls in town are all cooped up there with their cute, cute blazer and skirt uniforms... forget I said that. I'm serious.

The school I go to is the Osaka West Public High School, also known as the 'other Osaka West school'. Sakura-gakou is the more prestigious school in the Western Osaka District, I guess… makes me wonder how big sis made it there, haha! Education at the Osaka West is co-ed, so both boys and girls get to study here.

At the West, I study with my close friend, Francis Suzuki (who also wonders how his sister Jun, also a good acquaintance of mine, got into Sakura-gakou). The Suzuki siblings are Japanese-Canadians who lived most of their life in that icy northland. We first met in Middle School and I could barely understand what they were saying. 'Good Morning' I could understand… but what the hell's a 'bonjour'? Since I sat with the siblings, I took it upon myself to help them brush up their Japanese to conversational level. Their kanji-reading speed is still comparable though to my APM on Starcraft II – pretty damn slow.

Both Francis and I are members of Osaka West's Press Club – a socialist print-media outlet under the guise of a normal everyday school publication… nah, it's actually the other way around, hehe. Here, Francis and I work under the guidance of our firebrand socialist sophomore editor-in-chief, Natsuki Shinohara. Use 'wealth' and 'inequality' in the same sentence, and you'll have a Lenin-esque speech within minutes – or an Occupy Osaka movement.

Then, at home, my sister Ritsu instructs me in the Way of the Drummer. It's been a year since I started learning from her and I think I've gotten pretty good – she said so herself the other time. Maybe there's hope for me yet! I used to think I'd never learn the drums, but then I took an arrow to the knee… wait, wrong script.

So, in a thousand words or less, that's the story of my life. Though not boring, per se, I always feel like… I don't know… meant to do something more. Walking through the streets of our subdivision that afternoon, I couldn't help but think about that. My friends and I are only freshmen and my sister and her friends are sophomores… but time can go by rather quickly. I'd be nice if we could all make our high school years something we can fondly remember.

Last year, I clearly remember Ritsu coming home and declaring her band's goal.

"We're going to perform in the Budokan!"

Bursting into laughter, I replied, "Good luck with that!"

I was promptly jabbed in the arm shortly thereafter.

It's a crazy goal, I thought… but it's better than having no goal at all. In all honesty, performing in the Budokan does sound pretty sweet. And… I'd love to perform alongside my sister and her friends – if only I had a band to jam with…

Nah. That'd be too much trouble. I shouldn't get my hopes up too high – I shouldn't get my head up in the clouds… or have it get bitten off by a Witch for that matter. I should just focus on today and the task at hand… getting sugar. It's the reason why I went out of the house with a large cup in my hand in the first place.

"Man, why couldn't Ritsu go and get it herself…" I muttered, trotting down the road at an intentionally slow pace, "She's the one who knows Yui-senpai… Tch, I don't even know what she looks like…"

That Sunday afternoon, my mom ran out of sugar in the pantry and asked me and my big sis to go and fetch some. The way we determined who would go; coin toss. I chose heads and I lost – forgive me Mami-san*. Rather than go to the store though, Ritsu suggested that I go ask her band-mate Yui Hirasawa's family, neighbors of ours who only lived a few blocks away, for some extra sugar.

Yui-senpai, as my sister had warned me over and over again, can be a bit of an airhead and may tend to get things wrong every now and then. In layman's terms, I might come home today with a cup full of salt… or baking soda… ergh, or even laundry detergent. I, for one, do not want to eat my pancakes with laundry detergent. I'd best be on my guard…

Before long, I finally reached my destination – the Hirasawa household. I took a gulp and reached for the doorbell.

Ding dong.

Footsteps echoed from behind the door and my heart raced. Then, the door slowly opened… and I was amazed by who I saw. There she was, an angel… I didn't know Yui-senpai was this beautiful.

"You must be Satoshi-kun." She said with a smile, her tone so warm and kind. Her ponytail, her bright eyes… the pleasant aura she gave off – I didn't know an airhead could be so stunning. "Your mom already called ahead, so I readied our bag of sugar for you."

"O… oh." I said, absolutely speechless, "So, do I just scoop in...? I never really borrowed sugar from anyone before."

"It's okay – let me help you." The girl assured happily. She opened the top of the sugar bag and slowly tilted it, pouring the sugar into my cup up to the brim. "Is there anything else your family needs, Satoshi-kun?"

"W… we're good." I stammered miserably, "T…thanks for asking, Yui-senpai."

The girl suddenly blushed.

"Actually, Satoshi-kun." She said, shy all of he sudden, "'Yui-senpai' is my onee-san. I'm her younger sister, Ui Hirasawa."

"Oh…"

An awkward moment of silence… then, muffled chuckles followed. Before we knew it, the two of us were laughing.

"Hirasawa-san, then." I corrected myself, still laughing from my folly. Ui only smiled. Oh crap, my heart's racing… Need to get out of here… "So, yeah. I guess I'll see you around."

"Alright then. I'll see you around, Satoshi-kun!"

Hearing her say my name like that made my cheeks turn red. I waved goodbye and turned around, doing my best to hide my face. I turned around, hoping to see a glimpse of her face again, but she still watched me leave with that warm smile of hers. I waved to her again and she waved back – I felt awkward… but happy. With the cup of sugar in hand, I headed home – bright and cheerful.

Ui and I didn't see each other a lot after that – but I got pretty excited every time we did. I wanted to get to know her better, spend some time with her and all that jazz… maybe even ask her out. Then, it came – the second Cultural Festival of Sakura-gakou. The day that changed it all… I'll never forget it.

To Be Continued