Chapter 2 – Who's That Girl?
"Whoa!"
"Cute!"
"Is she a transfer student?"
"D'you think she's met Rukawa yet?"
These comments followed Hikari all the way to her new classroom.
Irritably, she slammed the door the moment she entered the classroom and was greeted by many staring faces. Some, in sheer disbelief that such a gorgeous looking girl ever existed, and some in some in annoyance that she had disturbed their studying.
Ignoring all these, she made her way to the back of the class.
WHAP.
Everyone turned their attention to her again as she hit the dozing boy whom she was assigned to sit next to.
"Oi!" Hikari shoved Rukawa irritably. "Wake up! You promised me you wouldn't sleep in class again."
Gasps of surprise greeted this comment.
Several moans followed.
A loud, "Oh crap, is she his girlfriend?" was heard.
"No! Rukawa is single you hear me, SINGLE!"
Hikari sighed grimly. Guess I'll have to do what I always do in a new school… now what was it again?
Pulling out a piece of paper she had prepared the night before, she read it:
I, Rukawa Hikari am in no way romantically involved with insert name here and that he is still considered single.
Taking a pencil from her pencil box, she added the next few lines below it:
Rukawa Kaede is my younger brother, end of discussion.
"That should do it," she muttered as she stood up and addressed the class.
"I, Rukawa Hikari am in no way romantically involved with Rukawa Kaede and that he is still considered single. Rukawa Kaede is my younger brother, end of discussion."
Nodding, satisfied, she sat down at her seat.
The teacher entered a few minutes later and announced. "Today, we have a transfer student in our class, I'm certain you have already met her. Hikari, please stand up."
The class shifted their attention to the now famous girl. "My name is Rukawa Hikari, nice to meet you all."
End of routine.
~~
"Please wait, Miss Hikari!"
"You haven't even opened my letter yet!"
"NO!" Hikari called behind her as she skidded through the corridors, chased by a mob of boys, all intent for getting her attention. She had grown famous second by second and upon hearing her availability, the boys had immediately taken action.
From the opposite direction came a mob of girls. It was just as bad.
"Hikari! Would you please pass this to your brother?"
"Back off! She's going to pass Kaede MY letter!"
Seeing her brother pass by, Hikari dashed towards him and ducked behind his tall figure. "Run!"
Rukawa raised his eyebrows a fraction and sprinted away behind his sister.
"Whew! They've been chasing me all day long!"
"Just like in Junior High," Rukawa muttered as he continued on his way.
"No, worse than in Junior High," Hikari pointed out. "In Junior High all they did was flood my e-mail account and our post box. Now they add in 'catch-me-if-you-can' to the list! By the way, where're you going?"
"Basketball."
"Basketball? Good. I'll join you. I remember there was a certain topic about having a girls' team…"
"No way."
"No way? You know I can beat you in a one-on-one any day."
"You can't."
"Can to!"
"Can't."
"Can!"
Their tirade lasted all the way until they reached the gym.
"Hey, it's empty! Yay!" Hikari cheered, diving for an abandoned ball lying on the ground. "One on one! Let's see if you've improved!"
"Hmph." Rukawa pointed at her skirt. "Aren't you worried about that?"
"That's all right, remember I wear shorts under my skirt all the time?" Hikari laughed. "That's why I order longer skirts, remember? To hide the shorts!"
"Hmm." Rukawa readied himself.
"Here goes!"
~~
"Ah! I'm late!" Sakuragi yowled as he dashed through the corridors. "Oh no!"
"Hey, what's going on?"
"SHHH!" Berated the crowd at the gym doors. "You'll disturb them!"
"What?" Sakuragi peeped through the crack between the doors.
"Faster! You're not moving fast enough!"
"Eh?" Sakuragi grunted as he watched the fast moving game.
"Faster! Your opponent will elude you!"
Hikari dribbled the ball past Rukawa and performed a lay up shot. As the ball fell to the ground, she explained to Rukawa.
"You've improved. That's good, but I don't think you have enough practice yet. You need to move faster. Faster than your opponent, then you can be sure that your opponent can't elude you."
"Ahem!"
They turned to see Ryota coughing politely. "Ahem. We'd like to use our court, please."
"Ah! Sorry!" Hikari bowed repeatedly as the basketball team walked in. "Didn't realize it was time for your practice!"
"Nah, it's okay. I think Aya-chan would like to meet you!" Ryota promptly dropped his I'm-a-captain look and replaced it with the Where's-Aya-chan look.
"She's the manager, she's really, REALLY nice!"
"Ignore him," Sakuragi, who had followed him into the gym, butted in. "He's crazy about Ayako."
WHAP.
"You keep out of things you don't know of, Sakuragi." Ryota waggled his finger in a no-nonsense manner.
"Cheh, I'm not a little kid, you know." Sakuragi gingerly rubbed his aching head.
"Hi! Sorry I'm late!" someone called.
"Aya-chan!" Ryota joyfully called and rushed forward.
"Aya-chan…"
"Don't call me Aya-chan," Ayako tossed her fan on the floor. "That one's torn, I'll have to make a new one. Hey!"
She caught sight of the new person standing on the court.
"Rukawa Hikari, yes?"
Hikari nodded her head dumbly.
"Hi! I'm the team manager, Ayako!" Winking cheerily, she stuck out a hand for Hikari to shake. "Nice to meet you!"
Ayako smiled as she drew out a piece of paper and pen from her bag. "Now if you would write your name, class, height, position on this paper, we can get you into the team in no time at all."
"Wha-?"
Ayako blinked innocently. "The basketball team, of course. What did you think?"
"I see." Hikari thought aloud. "Okay!" She grabbed the paper and pen and scribbled furiously. "Done!"
Ayako read the paper:
Name: Rukawa Hikari
Class: 2 – 10
Height: 171 cm
Position: Shooting Guard
'Junior High' had been crossed out, and 'Transferred from' was written neatly above it.
"Ryonan High" Ayako gasped. "You're from Ryonan High?"
"Yep!" Hikari grinned. "And for your information, I'm NOT a spy. And I'm NOT," she added in a loud voice. "NOT, going to pass letters to my brother for you OR join the fanclub!"
The girls who were edging up to them fell back quickly.
Everyone sweatdropped.
"Whoa!"
"Cute!"
"Is she a transfer student?"
"D'you think she's met Rukawa yet?"
These comments followed Hikari all the way to her new classroom.
Irritably, she slammed the door the moment she entered the classroom and was greeted by many staring faces. Some, in sheer disbelief that such a gorgeous looking girl ever existed, and some in some in annoyance that she had disturbed their studying.
Ignoring all these, she made her way to the back of the class.
WHAP.
Everyone turned their attention to her again as she hit the dozing boy whom she was assigned to sit next to.
"Oi!" Hikari shoved Rukawa irritably. "Wake up! You promised me you wouldn't sleep in class again."
Gasps of surprise greeted this comment.
Several moans followed.
A loud, "Oh crap, is she his girlfriend?" was heard.
"No! Rukawa is single you hear me, SINGLE!"
Hikari sighed grimly. Guess I'll have to do what I always do in a new school… now what was it again?
Pulling out a piece of paper she had prepared the night before, she read it:
I, Rukawa Hikari am in no way romantically involved with insert name here and that he is still considered single.
Taking a pencil from her pencil box, she added the next few lines below it:
Rukawa Kaede is my younger brother, end of discussion.
"That should do it," she muttered as she stood up and addressed the class.
"I, Rukawa Hikari am in no way romantically involved with Rukawa Kaede and that he is still considered single. Rukawa Kaede is my younger brother, end of discussion."
Nodding, satisfied, she sat down at her seat.
The teacher entered a few minutes later and announced. "Today, we have a transfer student in our class, I'm certain you have already met her. Hikari, please stand up."
The class shifted their attention to the now famous girl. "My name is Rukawa Hikari, nice to meet you all."
End of routine.
~~
"Please wait, Miss Hikari!"
"You haven't even opened my letter yet!"
"NO!" Hikari called behind her as she skidded through the corridors, chased by a mob of boys, all intent for getting her attention. She had grown famous second by second and upon hearing her availability, the boys had immediately taken action.
From the opposite direction came a mob of girls. It was just as bad.
"Hikari! Would you please pass this to your brother?"
"Back off! She's going to pass Kaede MY letter!"
Seeing her brother pass by, Hikari dashed towards him and ducked behind his tall figure. "Run!"
Rukawa raised his eyebrows a fraction and sprinted away behind his sister.
"Whew! They've been chasing me all day long!"
"Just like in Junior High," Rukawa muttered as he continued on his way.
"No, worse than in Junior High," Hikari pointed out. "In Junior High all they did was flood my e-mail account and our post box. Now they add in 'catch-me-if-you-can' to the list! By the way, where're you going?"
"Basketball."
"Basketball? Good. I'll join you. I remember there was a certain topic about having a girls' team…"
"No way."
"No way? You know I can beat you in a one-on-one any day."
"You can't."
"Can to!"
"Can't."
"Can!"
Their tirade lasted all the way until they reached the gym.
"Hey, it's empty! Yay!" Hikari cheered, diving for an abandoned ball lying on the ground. "One on one! Let's see if you've improved!"
"Hmph." Rukawa pointed at her skirt. "Aren't you worried about that?"
"That's all right, remember I wear shorts under my skirt all the time?" Hikari laughed. "That's why I order longer skirts, remember? To hide the shorts!"
"Hmm." Rukawa readied himself.
"Here goes!"
~~
"Ah! I'm late!" Sakuragi yowled as he dashed through the corridors. "Oh no!"
"Hey, what's going on?"
"SHHH!" Berated the crowd at the gym doors. "You'll disturb them!"
"What?" Sakuragi peeped through the crack between the doors.
"Faster! You're not moving fast enough!"
"Eh?" Sakuragi grunted as he watched the fast moving game.
"Faster! Your opponent will elude you!"
Hikari dribbled the ball past Rukawa and performed a lay up shot. As the ball fell to the ground, she explained to Rukawa.
"You've improved. That's good, but I don't think you have enough practice yet. You need to move faster. Faster than your opponent, then you can be sure that your opponent can't elude you."
"Ahem!"
They turned to see Ryota coughing politely. "Ahem. We'd like to use our court, please."
"Ah! Sorry!" Hikari bowed repeatedly as the basketball team walked in. "Didn't realize it was time for your practice!"
"Nah, it's okay. I think Aya-chan would like to meet you!" Ryota promptly dropped his I'm-a-captain look and replaced it with the Where's-Aya-chan look.
"She's the manager, she's really, REALLY nice!"
"Ignore him," Sakuragi, who had followed him into the gym, butted in. "He's crazy about Ayako."
WHAP.
"You keep out of things you don't know of, Sakuragi." Ryota waggled his finger in a no-nonsense manner.
"Cheh, I'm not a little kid, you know." Sakuragi gingerly rubbed his aching head.
"Hi! Sorry I'm late!" someone called.
"Aya-chan!" Ryota joyfully called and rushed forward.
"Aya-chan…"
"Don't call me Aya-chan," Ayako tossed her fan on the floor. "That one's torn, I'll have to make a new one. Hey!"
She caught sight of the new person standing on the court.
"Rukawa Hikari, yes?"
Hikari nodded her head dumbly.
"Hi! I'm the team manager, Ayako!" Winking cheerily, she stuck out a hand for Hikari to shake. "Nice to meet you!"
Ayako smiled as she drew out a piece of paper and pen from her bag. "Now if you would write your name, class, height, position on this paper, we can get you into the team in no time at all."
"Wha-?"
Ayako blinked innocently. "The basketball team, of course. What did you think?"
"I see." Hikari thought aloud. "Okay!" She grabbed the paper and pen and scribbled furiously. "Done!"
Ayako read the paper:
Name: Rukawa Hikari
Class: 2 – 10
Height: 171 cm
Position: Shooting Guard
'Junior High' had been crossed out, and 'Transferred from' was written neatly above it.
"Ryonan High" Ayako gasped. "You're from Ryonan High?"
"Yep!" Hikari grinned. "And for your information, I'm NOT a spy. And I'm NOT," she added in a loud voice. "NOT, going to pass letters to my brother for you OR join the fanclub!"
The girls who were edging up to them fell back quickly.
Everyone sweatdropped.