One thing that drained the life out of her was the presence of the family's Himalayan cat, Karupin. If she weren't so tired that night, she would absolutely run for her life, hiding from the sight of the said cat. She would. Nobody had ever told her that they had a cat. Yes, a creature she detested most.
Thank Lord the cat was one with fluffy fur and adorable-looking face, but that didn't change anything. It was still a cat, and she refused to live with one. Though, she couldn't really blame her family. Only her older brother knew about her hatred toward the creature, no one else. It was something she developed during her stay in England, something only close people knew about it. Take Ryoga for example.
Upon hearing the news, her mother was quite lost of what to do. Well, throwing out the cat was not, and never an option. Even when she suggested of handing the pet to someone else, her younger brother blatantly disagreed with the idea. It wasn't fair for the cat, he said. It wasn't, she was aware of it. But, there were so many buts she could utter.
There were no fair ways they could come up with, even when she had lots of ideas in mind. One of them was to lock the cat in a room or something. It was fair. It wasn't like the cat will go strolling around the neighborhood; it was basically locked up in the house, so was there any difference? Well, everyone, specifically her brother said it was still unfair. It was animal torture. Surely, they had never seen what animal torture was like.
They settled on not doing anything toward the cat. Instead, they forced her to learn loving the cat. Had they never heard of the term phobia? It might not make her have a difficulty in breathing, but it was still bad. Bad enough that seeing its face terrorized her.
Yeah, thank God it looked like a doll. It was just a doll, she convinced herself.
On that Monday afternoon, she dragged her brother right away after he came home, still wearing his school uniform, to Shibuya once again. She was still mesmerized by the view a place could actually proffered. Though, her little trip the previous day wasn't as exciting as she had currently. The friends her brother was with the other day had interrupted her little reunion and astonishment. Or she was the one who actually interrupted them. Nevertheless, she wasn't amused by it.
One thing she noted from their meeting was the unique personalities they all had, if she were to put it politely. At one side, the one who was standing in front of her was quite as a stone, and in the other side, those were people who could just not shut up. One was smiling creepily even though there wasn't anything to be smiled at, and the other one was muttering things she didn't understand. They were strange, in every negative way.
Though, it was amusing, and the stone person was a little attractive. That, she did not deny.
Another interruption, any kind of it wasn't something she need at that moment. Be it a harsh bump or a coincidental meeting of her brother's acquaintance. Unfortunately for her, all they talked about was tennis, tennis, and tennis, and how the person would certainly beat her brother the next time they play together. Surely, being beaten in tennis was better than being beaten by her. Literally beaten, as she had enough witnessing their stupid glaring contest.
Well, self-restraint had always been an essential thing in having a peaceful life. In keeping your self-restraint, you might want to stay away from your subject of irritation. Because really, keeping your self-restraint was indeed quite hard, even if you were already an expert of it. That being said, she slowly faded away into the bustling horde of the night. Keeping your self-restraint was important, after all.
It was stupid of him to not realize it until she had really disappeared. Why of course, he panicked. She had no idea where she was (she only knew it was Shibuya) and she didn't have any number he could contact. The main purpose of the trip was supposedly to get her a new number, not strolling around aimlessly like what they had been doing until recently, and she just had to disappear before that. If she was lost, it wasn't his fault. Even if he convinced himself that, the guilt would never disperse. It was just like when his cat disappeared. It wasn't his fault, really.
On the other hand, she, well, she was completing her own goal of the trip: adoring the fantastic sight before her. She liked it. Not only the magnificence of the place, she liked how everyone was so busy of himself or herself. She like how she was walking in a crowd of strangers. She liked how she was in a foreign place and no one knew her.
Foreign place she did not know.
"…Where am I again?"
It took no time for him to bid his (lame) farewell to the guy before him. He was somehow convinced that his sister wouldn't be far away yet, and searching for her as soon as possible was the only option left. Besides atoning his carelessness for not paying attention to his sister (even though he had told himself again and again that it didn't matter since she too never bothered to pay any attention to him in the past), he sure didn't want his mother or father to scold him for getting his sister lost. It wasn't his fault, he said again.
He felt weird for worrying her, even though it wasn't. He knew that worrying your own sister was normal, yet he still felt strange. He had always felt like that when it came to his sister. Every kind feeling he had for her was just strange. It was odd for him to worry about her, despite everything she had done, because he cared. He deeply cared about the things she had and hadn't done as a sister. He really cared. It hurt him. That was the reason why he always felt weird.
After all, she was his sister. He loved her, even if he didn't know how to convey his feelings properly, even if the other person thought otherwise.
So, when the least person he expected to called him, he was confused. After what the other person told him, he felt somewhat betrayed. Why, of all people, did she run into him? And how the hell did everything come into what it was currently?
The girl eyed her divine savior hopingly as he dialed the number of his little brother's cellphone. Somehow or another, God had sent her a knight in shining armor, or phone to be precise, to save her. He was none other than the man she met the other day in the airport, Yukimura Seiichi with his ever-lovely blue hair. To her very surprise, he and the friend he was with, a man with a real stern appearance, Sanada Genichirou, knew her little brother, through tennis. Everything was connected through tennis. Even the conversation that led her knowing about their acquaintance with her younger brother was through tennis, though it started with asking each other about school and clubs. But it still ended up with tennis. It was scary how her life was always related to tennis, she mused.
Her second meeting started with a light bump. Both of them instantly recognized each other. It was easy for her, since the man was beautiful and all. Maybe, she was quite a looker herself if the man managed to identify her right away. Somehow or another, they ended up walking together to no exact destination. Along their walk together, they conversed about things regarding the little details about their life. Yukimura initiated the conversation first, asking what school she was in. She told him she had just arrived in Japan and would attend school some days later in Seigaku. Well, the conversation evolved itself that resulted in the small things she knew about him and his tennis club, along with his brother's also, that they were rival schools and Seigaku defeated his school in the Regionals, much to his devastation. He claimed to be the captain of his tennis team that had led them in the past to their glory, and will too this year, along with his friends. He also said that he didn't join his team on their journey toward Nationals so far since he had been suffering this disease that prevented him playing, though he was okay now.
After quite sometimes walking and talking together, they found one of the friends he had been talking about. They were separated in the crowd, so it was quite a miracle that they managed to find each other again. The man, she thought, seemed quite familiar. She had seen him somewhere before, but couldn't recall when and where. It wasn't after he told her that he actually knew her also that it hit her. He was the person she bumped before; the acquaintance of her brother that made her strode away, the one who had been glaring with his brother. And you called that a coincidence? Most definitely not.
When Sanada told them, specifically to her, that her brother (though they hadn't known yet, she only claimed to know Ryoma) had gone panic and went away immediately after realizing her disappearance, she explained them about the situation she was currently in, up to the very detail concerning her lack of communication device to contact her family. She didn't tell them the reason why she was separated with her brother, though. Well, the very reason was the man in front of her, so of course she couldn't rant about it.
Seeing the troubled face she made, the blue haired man like the angel he had always been offered her a helping hand. By some means, he knew the phone number of her brother, though she'd never know why. Did members of opposite teams supposed to have each other's phone number? Well, it might be a friendly rivalry, she thought. Though his face said otherwise when he talked about their loss in the Regionals. He looked like he was ready to kill someone, really.
Unfortunately for her, as much as she promised to kill her brother afterward, he hung up right away upon hearing the Yukimura Seiichi was with her, lost in the giant crowd. Nobody was sure as to why in the world he seemed to be so annoyed and ended the call immediately. Not even herself. The only thought that could cross her mind was the fact that he was fed up with her. But really, because of such trivial matters? Such a damn brat he was. She was serious when she said she could kill the cat; it certainly would bring a great deal of pain and grief to him. Well, she could always throw the cat on some random river. She admitted that it was cruel of her, but there seemed to be no problem about it, she thought.
Yukimura being the hero again, suggested another way to help her. It brought a quite amount of glares and grunts on the friend's part, but she accepted the offer gratefully. As to why he knew the address of her home, she would never know. Well, he knew her brother's phone number, so why not his address?
She still thought it wasn't a friendly rivalry though. Not him with his murderous glare.
The day ended with two extra additions in her phone's contact book. It was awkward for her when she asked the two men to accompany her finding her phone a Japanese number. She had explained about her situation, that she was someone from overseas, and her phone was practically useless with no number. Well, they agreed, which was expected. She thought that the bluenette wouldn't actually refuse a request from someone he was interested in. (Yes, she claimed that Yukimura had taken an interest on her. It was just some curious interest, not more. But still.)
They conversed some little things, which wasn't particularly important. It was after she introduced herself to Sanada that she accidentally revealed her blood-relation status with her younger brother. She didn't say her last name when she introduced herself to Yukimura, nor did he ask anything concerning the matter. It was careless of her to mention her last name to Sanada, but it didn't really bring any harm, so she didn't bother about it much. Well, they both asked her some questions to confirm her relation with Ryoma. She didn't lie about it or put some excuses. She only told the truth, that she was her older sister. She noticed a slight frown Yukimura made, probably because she didn't tell him about it first hand. Again, it wasn't anything big, but he might feel hurt for some sort of reason? Anyway, she apologized to Yukimura for not mentioning it earlier, saying that she didn't really like someone from her family to be mixed up in her personal affair. Meeting them was a personal affair. Her little brother had nothing to do it. Them knowing Ryoma was only a coincidence. In the end, she made an excuse, no?
At least, they were worth to make her say those excuses. She hated excuses. She loathed it.
What she had planned to do that morning was to choke him to death with a glass cup, painting his throat red. But never mind that. Compared to her current predicament, murdering her little brother could wait. What she saw was a hideous green sailor uniform with an equally gruesome pink ribbon lying on her bed. She only left her room for a little while to get some snacks, and then she saw that in her sacred room. It was a uniform, and she was sure it wasn't some random uniform. It was her uniform, her fucking school uniform. It was the uniform she would wear everyday except for Sunday.
Seigaku could be awesome and kicking in the sports department, but surely not in the taste section. Horrifying, she would say. And, did most school forbid students to customize their uniform? Yeah, and it sucked.
Almost immediately, she opened her laptop she had brought from England and checked Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku's website, the school of her new acquaintances. What she saw was really unfair. Rikkai had the most normal uniform she could ever wished for. It really made her wonder how a slightly (actually, a lot) different green could make such a difference. The whole problem wasn't the design of her school uniform, really. Rikkai had blazers, and it was cool. But, sailor was cute. The damn green and the hideous pink ribbon were the problems, nothing more. Well, there was always a hoodie that could cover half of the ugliness, but still. She couldn't hide the enormous ribbon.
Like what had been said before, she wasn't really an outside person who did nothing but sport. Not the current her, at least. So, she filled those free times she didn't have before with a little music. If there was anything she was passionate about, it was her saxophone. While it was true that she liked jazz, her preference wasn't really limited to only that. She didn't really have any preference. As long as the tune clicked, then she liked it, no matter what kind of music it was.
She used to take a lesson back in England, which probably explained why she was very skillful in handling her instrument, beside the fact that she used to practice everyday. When she thought about it, she hadn't touched, or even bothered to look at the sax. It was lying on the floor in its case.
Well, she had nothing to do.
Ryoma knew nothing about her. Yes she was his one and only sister, but what else did he know? He didn't even know the fact that his sister could produce such lovely sound with what he presumed a saxophone. Since when did she ever take the instrument? His sister had really become more and more distant. Here he thought he could mend the already wide distance between them.
It was complicated, he would say. But nothing was complicated. Nothing. His pride just didn't want to admit of his huge sister complex. If there was one person that could get him so emotional, then it was his sister. The little things she did mattered. Everything was significant. He envied her. He worshipped her like a god. But, he would always claim it wasn't that simple.
It was that simple, actually.
He being he would think that he needed to go to a psychologist, that he felt really strange. But he was strange. He was strange for not admitting the simple things.
Like loving his very own sister, for example.
Nothing much happened the previous day. She whined jokingly at her mother, telling that Ryoma had left her all alone in the crowd of Shibuya. To his defense, he claimed to have left her with some acquaintances of him, so it didn't really matter. A lie. She found the two of them by herself, and he purposely left her even after knowing her situation. Little brat, weren't he? So she expected at least a flick on the forehead like her mother usually did, but she didn't. While it was quite disappointing, her mother cooked her favorite foods in return, so it wasn't half bad. Her mother was a great cook, something that Ryoga inherited.
The previous day did not matter. It was that day that mattered. It was her fateful day. It was the day that determined everything. It was the day that led her to the fun life she had been waiting for.
First day of school.
If she screwed up, then she was screwed for good. First impression was essential after all, and she sure did not want to leave an impression of 'the transfer student in green'. She sure didn't. So, welcome her mighty savior, her gray hoodie. It was still better than the green of Seigaku, she mused.
The walk with her brother wasn't particularly dreadful as she thought it would be. He was walking in front of her with heavy stomps like she never existed. She didn't mind, actually. She too, was walking behind him, ear plugged with a pair of earphones without minding his presence. He was only there to show her the way to school. He didn't have any obligation to talk to her, nor did she have one. There wasn't any heavy tension around the air. Somehow, it felt right, and at the same time, wrong. Siblings should be friendlier than that, huh?
But they were different; at least that was what she thought. Being nice and loving to her younger brother had always been an option she never actually took, yet they still had certain bonds, be it love or hatred. Either way, there was a strong bond, and it made them special.
She knew they understood each other, cause they have the same contradicting feelings. That hesitation when they wanted to reach out their hands to one another. They felt it, so they understood it.
It was always fun to think they were some kind of special siblings with bond so strong it couldn't simply be broken by a mere ignorance. It was very fun that she didn't realize she was there already.
The gate of her school. The gate of her glittering teenage life.
A/N: As you have noticed, I have very little dialogues here. Well, working on that in the upcoming chapters. I suck at dialogues, by the way.