Chapter Two: Kyo Sohma
After everything that had occurred the night before, Hitomi still insisted on driving me to school. As a promise to Dad that I'd try to be nicer to her, I reluctantly obliged. It was early morning, and the sun shined promisingly for everyone but me, Ai Takumi. Hitomi pulled up to the curb of the high school in her little car, with Ichijo sucking noisily on a juice box in the back.
It was a big stone building, with huge sprawling lawns. Kids spilled out from the school onto this lush green lawn gleefully, chatting happily about TV, and friends and gossiping amongst themselves. Ugh...just one more year...to think I'm finally a senior makes me overjoyed. After graduation, I'd be free to do whatever the hell I wanted to. But until then...
"Alright! We're here!" Hitomi smiled cheerily, putting the car into park. "Your new high school!" I just sighed, and shouldered my bag.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I muttered. "Whatever." Hitomi just smiled, and I grudgingly kissed her on the cheek. I got out of the car, and turned away as she got ready to drive away. I ignored her as she tootled the horn.
Finally, I looked back to see her gone, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God..."
Since the school grounds were practically smothered by students, I snuck into the school for some peaceful congregation...not that I was really interested in hanging out with many other of the other students.
On the far east end, there was a double glass door, that peeked into a empty, dusty library. I peeked my head into the big, high ceiling room. "Hello?" A snore alerted me, to look at a zonked out woman, head falling on her arms. I just shrugged, and shut the door behind me. I dropped my book bag on the desk, and went to lie on my back on the floor.
Man...this whole freaking school seemed like a lot of work on my behalf. I sighed heavily, blowing a piece of hair out of my face. So did juggling Hitomi and the kids...plus a new baby. Dad was having less and less time for me, but still wouldn't let me go back to Tokyo to live with Mom...
Suddenly, something hit my stomach and orange and white fell beyond my vision. I heard a muffled thud, and sat up, despite the throbbing in my side. "Oh my God..." It was a guy, lying face first in the plush carpet.
"What the hell was that for!" He yelled, turning furiously to face me. His orange hair seemed to almost be standing up, like a very pissed off cat. But his reddish brown eyes intrigued me...
"Huh?" I blushed furiously. "Well...if you were watching were you were going you wouldn't have tripped on me!"
"That's a load of crap!" He roared. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to not lie in people's way!"
"Didn't yours teach you not be such a jackass!" I combated, eyes flashing furiously.
"Oh, so now it's my fault I tripped over your clumsy ass?"
"Well, maybe if you stopped being such a dunce and actually paid attention, you wouldn't have fallen on that smart ass face of yours!" We both fumed at each other for a split second, and he got to his feet and yanked me up with him. I mumbled a irritated thanks. (Even if I was still pissed off.)
"Why were you lying on the damn floor, anyway?" He asked, his hands curled into tight fists at his side. "Stargazing?"
"None of your business!"
"Well, I guess it is pretty peaceful in here." He admitted, looking around. "But no one but me comes in her because that incompetent librarian over there is always sleeping. Some freshman tried to wake her up on a dare, and she almost killed him." He chuckled. I rolled my eyes. "Well, are you going to stand there all day that you're screwed up in the head or are you going to tell me your name?"
"What the-you didn't even ask for my name!" I snapped. He looked shy.
"Uh...right. Well, if it means anything I'm Kyo Sohma."
"Ai Takumi." I brushed my uniform off, and he did the same.
"So, why are you suddenly here? Are you new or something?"
"No duh, Sherlock." I rolled my eyes again. He scowled. "But, yeah I just transferred." He shrugged.
"Whatever. Just-don't go lying around places anymore. I coulda broke my ankle, ya know."
"Oh, I understand. It's not like I needed my kidneys anyway." I shouldered my bag angrily. "I mean, the least you could do is apologize."
"Apologize for what?" Kyo demanded furiously. "I didn't do a damn thing!"
"Just watch where you're fricking going!" I yelled back, face hot. "That's enough!" I spun on one heel, and stormed out of the library. "Stupid Kyo Sohma..." I muttered frustrated. "What's his fricking problem? I mean, damn it all..."
Being a inconsiderate person, I rounded the corner without even looking. Of course I would bump into someone. I was knocked back on my butt, and my bag skidded across the hall. "Ah, crap! I'm so sorry..." I helped the girl up, who had pretty black hair tied into neat braids. Her sharp purple eyes assessed me gently, as I helped her to her feet. "I'm so, so sorry...my clumsy ass and all-" I went to grab my stuff, but she took my hands in hers.
"Hmmm..." She mused, in a soft mystic voice. "Your electric signals are all frazzled...are you alright? Did something happen to you?"
"Huh?" I blinked a few times, then smiled and shook my head. "Oh, no. Not really." She tailed me as I went to grab my crap, and shove some back in the bag.
"This is your first day, isn't it?" She asked, handing me a rogue notebook. I nodded.
"It's that noticeable, huh?"
"Well, you do seem a little on edge." She observed. "But, that's mostly from the electric signals..."
"Electric whats?" I puzzled, frowning.
"Oh, there you are Hana." We both turned to see a slender blonde with hands on her hips. She had that fierce, tough look about her with her ankle length navy skirt, and piercing blue eyes. "For once, we had to find you." Looking on her side, I noticed a cheery brunette with big brown eyes. Damn cheeriness is going to kill me...
"Oh hello, Arisa. Tohru. I was merely conversing with the new girl." The blonde, Arisa, blinked a few times.
"Huh-? Oh, hey. I guess you are new here. Haha...forgive me for being such a dunce. I'm Arisa Uotani-San, but just call me Uo or Arisa...or whatever you want, really. This is Tohru Honda-San" She jerked a thumb towards the grinning brunette. "And this is Saki Hanajima-San. I hope she didn't shock you or something...she has a tendency to do that when she gets startled-"
"Of course I didn't." Hana cut off, in her soft quiet way. She wrapped a soft arm around my shoulders. "I was just making sure the poor transfer didn't get lost on her first day. After all, this is a big place and not everyone is too kind to the fresh meat." She hugged me softly, holding me in her arms for a moment. "And I hope that we can become dear friends."
"Oh, Hana..." Arisa laughed, and ran a hand through her hair. "That's incredibly sweet of you...as always. Hey, newbie. You never told us your name."
"Ai Takumi-San." I gave a smile. "But Ai works."
"Fantastic! Well come on, Miss Ai...homeroom is about to begin. Don't wanna be late on your first day, right?"
"No, you wouldn't want that." Hana added mystically. Tohru smiled.
"Relax, Ai." She soothed. "You're going to do great...I just know it."
Classroom 3-D was on the other side of school, second floor. Students milled in the hall, pouring out of bathrooms and supply closets, or sitting on window sills and even the floor. The whole hall was buzzing with activity. Beside me, Tohru chatted happily with some input from Uo or Hana every now and again. They just seemed pretty content on hearing her out though...not that what she was saying was boring or anything.
Me? I just walked quietly along, nothing more or less than a silent shadow. And no one ven glanced my way. I liked that.
A lot.
As any other angsty, misunderstood teenager I preferred solitude than spending 'quality time' with others...but these three girls might fit my style nicely.
In homeroom, people chatted happily. I took an seat at one of the empty desks. Unexpectedly, the door banged opened. And who stormed in? Kyo Sohma, trailed by a slender boy with silky gray hair and sparkling purple eyes. "I told you not to start something here, didn't I?" The other boy told him, sounding slightly annoyed. "I told you...you'd only get your pride hurt...didn't I?"
"I thought I had your ass beat that time, you damn rat!" Kyo yelled, slamming into a seat at the empty desk behind me. Uo groaned loudly.
"You two at it again? What did you do this time, Kyon Kyon?"
"Don't call me that you Yankee bitch!" Kyo fumed, his hair appearing to stand on edge again.
"You and Kyo were fighting again?" Tohru fretted. "Did either of you get hurt?" The gray haired boy smiled at her.
"No, Miss Honda...we're both fine. Nothing important got hurt...just that stupid cat's pride..."
"You watch your mouth, pretty boy!" Just as Uo opened her mouth to intervene again, the bell rung and everyone made a mad dash to their seats.
"Alright everyone, time to get the ball rolling." I looked up to see a middle age man leaning against a desk up front, clipboard in hand. "Today we have a new transfer student, Miss Ai Takumi-San from Kanto...please stand Miss Takumi." I stood up silently, hands balled into fists. Tohru gave me a reassuring smile. "Now, let's get down to business."
"We're starting a class project today. How this will work is I will put you into pairs. The pairs are as follows; Arisa and Tohru, Saki and Yuki; Ai and Kyo..."
"Now, wait just a damn minute!" Kyo got to his feet loudly. "I have to work with her?"
"Yeah, and having anything to do with you is so great for me too." I snapped. Kyo turned a furious red.
"Just-just shut up!"
"Oooh, that's the best you got? I'm so offended..." Kyo's face turned redder.
"Enough, you two." The teacher snapped, sounding almost bored. "Mr. Sohma, you're working with Miss Takumi and that's final."
"Freaking teacher..." Kyo muttered angrily, dropping back into his chair. Uo leaned over menacingly.
"You better be nice to Ai, got it?" She snarled. "Or I swear I will break your puny little neck...got that, punk?"
"Who you calling a punk, Yankee?" Kyo snapped back. Uo scowled.
"Why you little son of a-"
"Uo, we better get started if we want to finish before class is over." Tohru interrupted tentatively. Uo just blinked a few times, and then winked at me.
"I'll get him if he's mean...alright, Ai? Just let me know." Kyo scowled, and looked down angrily into his notebook. I returned Uo's smile, and relaxed in my seat.
"Damn Yankee...now I don't know what we're supposed to do." Kyo sulked.
"Hello, it's called multitasking. You should try it sometime." I suggested, rolling my eyes. He just scowled.
"Look who's talking! You're the one who got me into this mess with her in the first place!"
"It's called manners, you inconsiderate jackass." I replied coolly. "I mean, not to sound like a stuck up bitch or anything but it is my first day. You could save your crap for my second day at least." Kyo looked up.
"Did you ask for my sympathy? How was I supposed to know? I'm not a freaking mind reader!"
"It's simple human decency, dumb-ass!" I snapped, then scowling, turned to my empty notebook. "Forget it. Let's get started."
"What is the project anyway?" Kyo pressed, sounding irritated.
"A project on the Chinese zodiac." I muttered absently. Kyo stiffened quickly, his hands gone still. "You know those twelve animals used for astronomy and crap...hey, what's wrong with you?"
"Ah, forget it." He scowled. "Why do you care?" I rolled my eyes.
"Are you on your man-period or something? You seem real moody."
"Man-Period!" He snapped, looking more and more like a pissed off cat every second. "Where the hell did you come up with that?"
"That confirms it then. Now shut up, and let's get to work Sohma."
"Fine." He grumbled angrily.
"Hello." I looked up to see the gray haired boy from earlier smiling dreamily down on us. "I hope my cousin isn't upsetting you. He has a tendency to do that." Kyo scowled, and looked intently at a blank page in his notebook. "I'm Yuki Sohma...Kyo's cousin."
"Sadly." snorted Kyo moodily. Yuki ignored him, and turned to smile at me.
"So how is your first day at this school? I'm the student body president so I like to make sure the transfer students are fitting in alright."
"Oh, wow. Eh, it's alright." I shrugged. "This is my 12th school in my lifetime..it's lost the thrill, ya know?"
"Oh, I bet." Yuki chuckled. Kyo just scowled deeper.
"Hey, we gotta a project to work on ya know." He snapped angrily. "So why don't you carry your happy ass back to your table, ya damn rat?" I frowned.
"Rat?" They both looked at me, almost alarmed. Yuki's face quickly relaxed.
"Oh, that. I was born in the year of the rat in the Chinese Zodiac and people always told me I resembled a little mouse when I was a child. The name sort of stuck."
"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Perfect little Yuki Sohma...just get the hell away from me!" Yuki smiled at me.
"Maybe another time, Miss Takumi. My cousin appears to be going through his 'time of the month'...good-bye." Kyo blushed a violent crimson.
"We are never to mention that again." He instructed angrily. I frowned.
"What? He seems nice."
"Oh, forget it. You wouldn't understand." The bell rung, and Kyo immediately threw his bag over his shoulder and stalked out. I just blinked after him. Something was off about that Sohma kid...damn, what is up with him?