Prologue

New Start

Alexandra Velázquez walked the Narita International Terminal towards the baggage pick up, ignoring the woman and man who were talking excitedly to her. Her mom and dad just didn't understand what was going on with her. She didn't want to be here. Granted, she had been all for a new beginning, but she had at least hoped to not move to a different country, let alone a different continent. Not that it was her first time in Japan. She had gone to four years of preschool and elementary here. Not that it would be the same. She had gone to school in Osaka, not Tokyo. She was glad to at least know the language fluently.

Alex, as she was preferred to be called, had been moving around for a while; her dad having been in the military until recently. He had started out in Spain, then moved to Japan a few years later on rotation where he met his future wife: Rei Kamogawa. Alex was born in Argentina, and lived there for about a year. They moved first to Brazil for two years, and then to Japan for about four years, leaving when Alex was seven. Then it was Spain for another two years, Germany for one, another one in France, two years in the US, and then three years in Argentina. At 16 she was finally entering her the last year in school.

The family arrived at baggage claim, and while her mom and dad continued their talk, she scanned the bags, looking for her own bags. At soon as it was there, she reached out and tried pulling it by herself, which caused her to pull way too hard, and she took an extra step back, colliding with someone behind her. She turned around, only to find a younger kid, probably 13 or 12, on the ground.

"Gomen!" Alex said, dropping her bag on the ground, and extending her hand to the kid. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah" The kid said, taking her hand, and letting her help him up. He was wearing a cap, not letting her see his face.

"You sure?" she asked again.

"Hn." The kid mumbled, and then moved away. Alex noticed he was carrying a tennis bag.

Alex turned around and picked up her bag, carefully putting it in the cart her parents were standing over. A few minutes later and all their luggage was there.

"Dios, Alex, tell me just how did you convince me that you could bring 4 bags just for yourself" her dad said with a smile.

"Easy… waited until Real Madrid scored a goal during their last game, and asked right then" Alex said with a smirk. It was something she and her dad shared, their love for Real Madrid football team.

"So smart" he dad, Roberto Velázquez, said. "Makes me wonder whose daughter you are"

"She is definitely mine, the question is whether she is yours" her mom, Rei said.

"Ouch" he said with a smile.

Alex was used to her parents' little banter. From what she could tell, it had always been like this. Alex shook her head, and looked around the airport, while her dad hailed a cab. It wasn't a very busy day, as there weren't that many people coming or going. The car ride to their new home wasn't long or short. Her family wasn't rich, but they lived comfortably, affording luxuries here and there. Their new house was a little bigger than any other she had lived in before. For only three people, it had four bedrooms, the living room, and dining room, kitchen and a small study. Not to mention a small backyard, where her dad was setting up his grill (something that traveled with him, no matter what)

Her room was a little big too. She even got her own queen sized bed (a step up from the full sized), a desk, two drawer sets, a walk in closet, her own bathroom, and a window seat. That night she only unpacked her sleepwear, the bed things, and her toiletries. She had about another week before the class term started, which felt weird for her, considering it was late March. Here, in Japan, as she had learnt long ago, the first term started around April 1st (no April fools here), and then continued until around July, then came summer break, the second term from September to December, winter break, and the last term from January to March. This time round, she would be enrolling in Seishun Gakkuen, or Seigaku for short.

Her rules for school survival were very simple: No Drama, of any kind what so ever. She hoped that this time, it would actually stay like that.

The next day, she spent most of, just unpacking her things, which thanks to her dad having sent them to storage before they traveled arrived all the same day, which meant: boxes galore in her home. By the end of the day, she had only unpacked her clothes, which was enough work for about a week (yes, she had a little shopping problem). Everything else remained in boxes. Then the next day, she and her mom, went to Seigaku, to get her enrolled. It was a fast meeting with the school Principal, and a lot of forms to write on and sign, by the end of the day she would be joining the Third Year, classroom 7 roster.

The entire week before classes started, she spent a) unpacking (slowly), b) getting familiar with the way to school, and the city itself, c) helping her dad set up the reason he moved to Japan: to open a pizzeria. Yes, her dad could be considered insane, but then again, he did live in Italy for a few years before he joined the Spanish military. She wasn't worried about him… much. Her mom was like her, she just wanted to support him, and stick by him.

Before Alex knew it, it was April 1st, and she was walking over to her new school. The uniform thing didn't bother her. She'd wore one in every school she attended except when she lived in the US. Walking into the school, she noticed she was getting there right on time, and by the time she got to her classroom, the bell was ringing. She walked in, and didn't really know where to sit. The tables were made for two, and she didn't know how things worked here. She walked over to the teacher, and handed him the sheet, she had gotten from the principal on the first day, as a second bell rang, and the classroom doors were shut as it seemed all the students were there. The teacher finally read her note.

"New student, huh?" the man said. "Let me introduce you to your classmates." He said standing up and walking to be in front of his desk. "Good Morning class."

Some students responded back, others merely nodded or mumbled something in return. But she took notice to a guy, sitting next to the window, and looking out to the sky.

"This is your new classmate. Veláz-… Alexa-…" her teacher tried to pronounce her name.

"You can call me Alex" Alex said to her teacher.

"Right… Alex-san, you can sit there, next to Fuji-san" the teacher said, pointing to the guy looking out the window.

Alex nodded and walked over sitting next to window guy, Fuji. He turned to look at her the moment she sat down, and she noticed he was smiling, and that his eyes were closed.

"Ohayo" he said, still smiling.

"Hi, I'm Alex Velázquez" Alex said smiling back and put her hand out for a handshake.

"Fuji Syusuke" he said, taking her hand. "You speak great Japanese"

"My mom is Japanese, and I lived in Osaka when I was young"

Then he turned back to look at the sky, as the teacher began his lecture. That would be the first time I met Fuji Syusuke… who could have known what things would turn to.