The early morning began to peek through the thin curtains, casting sunlight into the bedroom where a small girl slept. As the bright rays drifted slowly over the girl's eyelids, she let out a small whimper and shifted in her sleep, her left hand clinging tighter to the small, worn, stuffed rabbit she was hugging to her chest, as her right searched for a missing source of warmth. With a groan, the girl opened her eyes groggily, letting out a grumpy yawn as she woke. Still half asleep she shuffled herself out of bed and stood, rubbing her eyes with her free hand, still clutching the well-used rabbit closely. Staggering on her feet the girl slowly made her way to the bedroom door and lazily pushed it open before shuffling out into the hallway, unconsciously heading to the kitchen. A light clattering and sound of sizzling made it apparent that someone else was already up, and as the girl walked through the open doorway she spotted a familiar mop of brown hair by the stove.
"Morning, Hayate," the girl mumbled out.
"Morning, Vita!" Hayate answered, much more alert and cheerful, turning her head to look at the youngest member of the family, then chuckled a little at what she saw. The young girl was still dressed in her deep-red pyjamas, which were a little dishevelled and lopsided. Her eyes were only half-open so she looked like she was still sleeping on her feet, and her normally tidy hair, customarily in braided pigtails, was wildly sticking out in various directions.
"Go wash up," Hayate said light-heartedly, "Breakfast will be ready soon."
"Okay," Vita answered, turning around to head to the bathroom, loosely dragging her bunny behind her.
"Wake up Signum-nee-chan too!" the brunette called.
"Yeah," came the grumbly response from the hallway.
Smiling, Hayate turned back to the stove, turning off the elements as she finished cooking.
Moving On
Chapter 2 – Good Mornings and Goodbyes
The blaring alarm clock broke the morning silence, ringing sharply for several seconds before a hand reflexively slapped it off. Growling, the girl's red irises squinted up at the clock, hoping that the stupid machine had made a mistake. The bright liquid crystal display told otherwise, a brightly glowing "7:00" proving that it really was time to get up. Planting her face into a pillow, she let out a loud, muffled groan, thinking it would make her feel better. It didn't. Finally giving in to the inevitable, Reinforce pushed her blankets off and slid out of bed. Shivering slightly at the loss of warmth, she rubbed at her arms while hurriedly hopping across the rough carpet. Opening her bedroom door a crack she stuck her head out into the hallway and looked out.
"Morning!" she called, and then waited a few seconds. When no response came she pulled the door open fully and stepped out, flinching as her feet made contact with the cold, laminated flooring. With no one else home she rushed down the hall to the bathroom, wearing nothing but her underwear. Making a beeline straight to the shower she quickly turned the knobs to the "almost too hot for comfort" level, and then danced back and forth as she waited for the water to warm. When wisps of telltale steam finally began to rise she immediately tossed the little clothing she was wearing to the floor and jumped in, letting out a happy sigh as the hot water made contact with her skin.
Twenty minutes later the silver-haired girl was out, a thick towel wrapped tightly around her as she thoroughly dried her hair.
'Maybe I should get a haircut soon," she complained to herself. True, it had been a very long time since she'd had anything except her bangs trimmed and she would probably feel awkward without the familiar weight, but having to blow-dry the full length of hair that stretched down to her waist every morning tended to be tedious. It took several more minutes before she was finally satisfied, but she finally switched the dryer off, tossing it back into an untidy drawer beneath the sink.
It was already half-past seven when Reinforce entered her room again, and she headed to the small dresser in the corner to pull out her clothes for the day. Her school uniform was easy enough to find, having been jammed into the top drawer, though it was slightly crumpled and creased. Underwear, on the other hand, proved to be more of a challenge. She found a clean pair of panties quickly, but ended up wasting time trying to find the matching bra, digging through several drawers before discovering it between the folds of a sweater. Dressing hurriedly, she was still pulling on her socks as she hopped out of her room toward the kitchen, where a small, angry fluffball impatiently mewled at her.
"Sorry," Reinforce apologized to Agito, quickly scratching her chin so she'd stop complaining before getting breakfast. Dishing out the cat's food first, she slid the tray in front of the irritated animal.
"Hey, you like this stuff," she said when the cat gave her a disapproving glare, "Don't give me that look…"
Pouring a bowl of cereal out for herself, Reinforce took a seat at the kitchen table. Crunching away at her cold breakfast she glanced back down at Agito, who was still staring back up at her, food untouched.
"You're not getting anything else," she said, putting her foot down. Giving one last annoyed hiss, the cat finally started eating. Satisfied, Reinforce took another scoop out of her bowl and continued to eat in silence.
Only a few minutes until eight, the girl stood up, dumped her bowl and spoon into the sink then grabbed her book bag from the kitchen counter. She crouched down to give Agito a last pet on the head before heading off to school.
"Don't cause any trouble now," she said, which the cat simply ignored, preferring to nuzzle up against her hand instead, softly purring. Smiling, Reinforce stood and walked toward the front door, calling a final farewell over her shoulder.
"See you later."
A loud meow answered back.
"I'm not going to be late, stop worrying so much."
"Stop moving around Vita, you're making this difficult," Hayate said, laughter in her voice as she tried to braid the young girl's pigtails. The primary school student was fidgeting in her seat, shuffling back and forth as hands were gently playing with her hair.
"But that tickles," Vita mumbled, slightly red-faced from getting scolded.
"Oh? Vita has ticklish hair?" Hayate teased, grinning as she playfully swished the girl's hair back and forth.
"Aye!" the girl yelped, quickly planting her hands on her head to stop the assault, "Hayaatee…"
"Now stay still," the brunette ordered, giggling loudly as she resumed braiding the soft locks. Hayate had plenty of practice doing this every morning, and with Vita finally sitting still it was only a few minutes later when the antsy girl had hopped out of her seat, freshly tied pigtails bouncing as she landed.
"Thanks!" Vita said with a childish glee before running off to get her things for school. Pleased, Hayate wheeled herself around, thinking that she should get herself ready to go as well. Crossing through the hall on the way to her room, she spotted Shamal in the entryway pulling on a light-brown overcoat.
"Leaving already?" Hayate asked.
"I wanted to get to the clinic earlier today," Shamal answered with a smile, "I'm planning to pick up some groceries on my way home. Want anything?"
"Nope," the middle school student answered easily, "Don't be too late."
"I won't. See you later," was the older woman's reply, waving slightly as she opened the front door and left. Hayate waved back, waiting for the door to close tightly before moving again. Opening the door to her room she almost bumped into Vita, who was just exiting. She shared her room with the youngest girl in the family, the red-haired child having troubles sleeping alone – though she fervently denied it. Hayate had tried to break out of the routine once the younger girl had entered primary school, even buying Vita the stuffed bunny that she clung on to so much. In the end the attempt wasn't too successful, and they were still sharing a room and bed. Lately, however, Shamal and Signum had both taken to teasing the redhead about it, and with the youngest girl's sensitive pride it would only be a matter of time before she would demand to get her own room.
"Ready to go?" Hayate asked, seeing the backpack hanging loosely on the girl's shoulder. Giving a quick nod in response, Vita gave the older girl a quick hug goodbye before running off to the front door.
"Be careful on the bus," Hayate called out.
"I know! I'm not a kid," Vita yelled back, firmly denying that she was still young and irresponsible. Signum's voice came out from the living room, a little too quiet for Hayate to hear, but she was probably saying the same thing to the child.
Chuckling to herself, Hayate entered her room, wheeling to her desk where her school things were sitting. Stacking her textbooks neatly, she slid them into her school bag, and did one final check over the room to make sure she had everything. Satisfied, she placed the bag on her lap and turned around, ready to leave as well.
"I'm ready to go," she said as she got closer to the living room.
"Ah, alright," Signum answered, getting up from her seat on the sofa and grabbing the car keys from the coffee table. Zafira, who had been lying at the older woman's feet, stood up as well, noticing that everyone was leaving.
"Keep the house safe, Zafira," Hayate said, saying goodbye to the loyal animal. He didn't answer, but probably understood. Signum quietly slipped on her shoes then opened the front door, letting the young girl out first before stepping through herself, locking the house tightly behind her.
Reinforce's second morning at school had been much less intrusive than the first, thankfully. There were still the persistent classmates determined to pry into her life, along with the club members trying to convince her to sign up – though the latter had at least provided entertainment – but for the most part everyone had settled for a pleasant greeting and idle chitchat. In another few days the novelty of her arrival would have been gone, and she wouldn't have to be so apprehensive about walking into the classroom every morning. Of course, there was one thing that had been bothering her since morning: the lack of any acknowledgment from one particularly pushy classmate.
Glancing over her shoulder to the back corner of the room she spotted the short-haired brunette sitting in her wheelchair, intently focused on her textbook. The girl had arrived later than everyone else, barely in time for homeroom. Since then she'd made no attempt to speak to the transfer student. It wasn't like Reinforce wanted to talk to her or anything. It was just that she'd been expecting the girl to be a little more forward, given her actions the previous day.
"Read the next line please, Ein-san," the teacher's voice suddenly called out, and the platinum-haired girl started slightly, having been caught not paying attention. She quickly rose to her feet, grabbing her textbook as she skimmed to find the line they were on. Clearing her voice, she started to read the page as smoothly as she could.
"Seems advanced for eighth grade English," Reinforce thought to herself as she finished, her eyes lifting off the page to look back up at the teacher. It was only when she noticed that everyone in the room was staring and that the teacher was watching her with apparent surprise did she remember that they were currently reading Japanese literature. Glancing down at her book, she mentally slapped herself when she noted that the text was indeed written in Japanese – and that she'd just spoken several lines of it in clear, unaccented English.
"Um…oops?" she said, laughing awkwardly as she slowly took her seat again, feeling like she wanted to bury herself ten feet underground.
"So much for trying to blend in and avoid attention," she berated herself, doing her best to avoid eye contact with anyone else for the next several hours.
The next few classes were graciously uneventful, and when lunch break finally arrived she zipped out of the room in an instant, pre-empting all of the curious questions she was sure to be bombarded with, heading for the rooftop. Climbing the long flight of stairs and opening the heavy door, she was relieved to see the wide open area was miraculously vacant. Letting out a long and heavy sigh that she'd been holding in for the last hour she found herself a decent place to sit and pulled out her lunch. Grimacing a little at the hastily made tuna sandwich that she'd put together the night before, she took a quick bite and leaned back, staring up at the sky.
This should've been easy now, coming to a new school. It was routine to her, second nature almost. It was only supposed to take a few days for her to settle in and become just another student in the crowd. It was her own fault though, for getting distracted. After all, one slip-up was all it took to become the center of attention again – especially unwanted attention. Though, it wasn't normal for her to get distracted so easily either…
On a whim she stood up, walking over to the fenced-off edge of the rooftop, casually eyeing the school grounds below her. Somehow or other her gaze managed to drift to the small grove of trees that she'd hidden herself under the day before, and she wasn't too surprised when she spotted a familiar girl idle beneath the shade.
"Is she waiting for me? I shouldn't care either way," she mulled, stepping back to start walking away. Pausing in her stride, though, she turned about and took another quick glance down to the school yard, feeling vaguely guilty for reasons she couldn't explain.
"This is stupid…" she thought, irritated with herself as she stalked off.
Chewing thoughtfully, Hayate sat back in her chair as she ate. She didn't go outside often to eat her lunch, usually preferring to stay in the classroom or occasionally visit the library. It wasn't really a bad thing, and the fresh air and sun was certainly pleasant. It was peaceful too, which was why she imagined a certain someone kept running off to such places the moment she had the chance. And speaking of that certain someone…
"Hayate, wasn't it?" an all-too serious voice questioned from behind her.
"Yup," she chirped, glad that her name had been remembered.
"What would you have done if I didn't show up?"
"You make it sound like I was waiting for you," Hayate said jovially, not bothering to look at the other girl, "I just figured this would be a nice place to sit and enjoy my lunch."
Reinforce let out an exasperated sigh, not bothering to argue the point, and the rustling of leaves and grass told Hayate that the girl had taken a seat. Neither of the students said anything for awhile, one polishing off the rest of her bento while the other was content to remain silent for the rest of the break.
"You definitely know how to make an impression," the brunette said suddenly, in between mouthfuls, "You even left Yuzumi-sensei speechless."
"Don't remind me," Reinforce groaned out, "That was an accident."
"Oh?" Hayate said, humouring the transfer student, "Your English sounded perfect from what I understood."
"That's not what I meant," the silver-haired girl grumbled out, "I'm just…not used to being in Japan yet…"
"So where did you live before?" Hayate eagerly pried, dropping pretences as she let her curiosity get the best of her. Reinforce didn't answer, rolling to her side so her back was turned to the brunette.
"Aw, come on," the girl whined, disappointed that she was being pushed away, "It couldn't hurt to tell me, could it?"
Still facing away, the platinum-haired girl didn't acknowledge the question. A little upset, Hayate was about to move toward the girl when she heard an answer murmured out quietly.
"America."
"So you're American, then?"
"Something like that," Reinforce said vaguely, still seeming reluctant to answer anything specific. Hayate didn't say anything in response, choosing to ponder the answers a little as she finished the last of her lunch.
"You must be pretty good with English and Japanese," she finally said, "If you can translate without realizing it."
"I suppose."
Taking note of the girl's suddenly colder attitude, Hayate decided not to bother her with any more questions and slowly wheeled back toward the school. Reinforce glanced up slightly when she noticed her leaving, but didn't say anything.
When classes were finally finished that afternoon Reinforce tried to hang back a little, making up excuses about why she was staying later. Her classmates looked a little disappointed, wanting to talk to her after school – precisely the reason why she had decided to wait. It wasn't until everyone had left the room and several minutes had passed that the girl finally picked up her school bag and started to leave, only to be surprised when she found someone else still in the room.
"I hope you're not following me," she said accusingly, though her voice didn't hold any hostility. If anything she sounded amused.
"I don't like moving through crowds," Hayate answered honestly, "So I always wait for everyone else to leave first."
"I'll keep that in mind," Reinforce said, wondering how the girl in front of her managed to force so many private encounters in such a short time. She wasn't terrible company though, so it could have been much worse. "Well…I guess we should go."
The brunette nodded happily, leaving the room first, leaving the new student to fall into step beside her. They didn't say much as they headed towards the entrance, and remained silent as they grabbed the rest of their things from their lockers. As they left the building, Reinforce noticed a tall woman standing at the school gate, eyes drawn to the long, pink hair tied up in a ponytail. The woman waved as she spotted the girls, and out of the corner of her eye Reinforce saw Hayate wave back.
"Your mother?" she asked in spite of herself. Hayate suddenly burst out laughing, stopping in the middle of the pathway as she had to hold her sides.
"I guess not," Reinforce said, not quite sure what was so funny.
"That's Signum. She's more like an older sister," Hayate managed to say after a bit, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, "I don't think I could ever see her being a mother. Do you want to meet her? She's a little scary at first, but she's really not that bad."
"No thanks," Reinforce answered, feeling uneasy. She shouldn't have asked such a personal question; it was just inviting more trouble later. She wasn't even sure why she was talking to this girl so much either, and the fact that it seemed so easy was really bothering her. She was well aware of what she had to do, and never had any troubles avoiding people before. This time wasn't any different, but she would have to make herself perfectly clear.
"Look, from now on…don't try getting so close to me."
Hayate looked a little surprised and dejected at the sudden request, and Reinforce was forced to push aside her sudden twinges of guilt.
"Why? Is Ein-san dangerous?" the girl teased, but there was definitely some hurt in her voice.
"Something like that," was the only answer, and Reinforce walked away, not once looking back at the girl in the wheelchair.
A/N: This certainly took me a while to get out. Hopefully the next chapter will be finished sooner than a month, but I can't say I can promise anything. Also, I finally managed to break my personal barrier of 3000 words :D. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that cares about that though...