The New Kid
"Things are progressing well with the little princess?"
"All according to plan. She's isolated from her peers and her fool of a father has refused to let the truth of her heritage be known. If we stage it as a regular kidnapping, we'll have her and Seijiro will have no choice but to turn over leadership to us." The brothers shared an evil chuckle, thinking of all the power they would wield if their plan worked.
"And her martial arts skills?"
"She's a girl," Gohei Hiruma laughed. "If we can't handle one measly little girl, then we don't deserve the power we're gunning for."
"You're right, of course," Kihei chuckled. " The days of Hiko's iron rule and restrictions are over. Now, we will rule."
"First things first, brother. First, we kidnap the girl. Maybe have a little fun with her, and make the 'Dragon of Heaven' bow before us." They shared an evil laugh as they watched her enter the school for the day. Things were going according to plan.
… …
"You must be the 'Agatha' everyone has warned me about." Agatha looked up at the tall, smiling boy from her place eating lunch on the ground. There was a light drizzle outside, causing most of the student body back into their homerooms for lunch. Aggie happened to love the rain and getting drenched in it. Standing up and brushing the beads of moisture off her uniform, she smiled at him.
"You seem to have me at a disadvantage, sir. You know my name, but I don't know yours."
"I'm Seta Soujiro, and you're the American, Davis Agatha. How do you do? And why are you out in the rain getting soaked?"
"I'm fine," Aggie said in a friendly manner. "And I happen to like the feel and smell of warm rain. It's not like it's coming down in sheets or anything and it's not like I'm going to walk around in soaking wet clothes. My next period is gym, so I have to change anyway." She knelt down and gathered her things together to do just that. Lunch was almost over anyway. She hadn't lost much time.
"What were you working on?" the student asked curiously as he watched her gather the squares of fabric off the wet grass.
"I like to crochet in my spare time," she said curtly, preparing for the jabs at her hobby. She didn't often do it where others could see and mock her. Crochet wasn't a traditional Japanese activity. But her mother had been teaching her the art when she died. Her mother could make the most fascinating patterns with a crochet hook and some yarn. Agatha had the knack as well. She sold her patterns on Ebay for a pretty penny, something that not even her Poppi knew about. In time she planned to use the money to help her settle in America.
"The pattern is very pretty," he said, eyeing the parts still on the ground. "A blanket?"
"Y-yeah," she stammered, picking up the rest of the damp pieces of her creation. "Aren't you going to disparage me for doing something so weird?"
"Nah. I like weird. Frankly, I find the girls in there too normal for my tastes," he flashed her a smile and she blushed. "Let me escort you to the locker rooms, milady," he said in perfect English. She shut her mouth once she realized that she was gawking at him and his outstretched hand.
"I-I'm not allowed to speak English," she said softly in Japanese. She gave the boy a wide berth as she headed back into the school, holding her book bag in front of her like a shield. He only watched her go, his smile ever present. Something about that smile unnerved her. It was outwardly friendly enough, but it lacked… depth. Much like his eyes, his smile was brittle and lacking. Or maybe she was just making excuses. Cute boys didn't usually talk to her, especially new students. He was leanly muscled and had the calluses of a swordsman from what she could see. What was he doing here? Setting her sodden things in her locker, the girl quickly changed into her gym clothes and made her way to the gym. It was volleyball class today as it had been the last two weeks, so she bound down her chest tightly as she would for sword practice, since bouncing with her large breasts hurt.
"What are you doing here so early, weirdo?" Shura asked in a snide voice. She tossed her immaculate, curly ringlets in disdain as she said it, and not for the first time the American wished that she could let her knee-length hair down and show the snobby girl a thing or two. But practicality demanded that she keep her thick hair in its severe bun.
"I was hoping to avoid you and your disgusting smelling perfume," Aggie answered in kind, moving by her and her two friends to sit on the bench and wait for the rest of the class. People came trickling in as lunch period wound to a close. Many of the students chose to come by the risers where the dark-skinned beauty was, but no one bothered to engage her in conversation. She sat staring into space until Soujiro came over and stood in front of her.
"You seem bored," he said in a casual way.
"I would bring a book, but the spoiled Princess Shura likes to ruin my books to make her points. Never mind the fact that she has to replace them afterwards, 'daddy-kins' can afford it. She's such a snob, I can't stand her."
He sat down on the riser next to her, a tad too close for propriety. "From the death glare being thrown in your direction, I'd say that the feeling is mutual."
Noticing and dismissing the glare, she smiled sweetly at her foe. "You would be correct. Don't worry, Mr Fujito should be here soon and you won't feel the need to babysit me anymore."
"I'm not babysitting you. I am honestly enjoying your company."
"Stop your lyin'. No one enjoys my company. No one except my friends."
"Then I believe I'd like to be counted among your friends," the smiling boy said, unsettling the girl.
"Oh, you don't want to be counted among my friends," the girl said, half in a panic. "You're new to Sagano High. You still have a chance to be with the popular kids."
"But then I wouldn't be able to learn more about you, Agatha. You're my only goal." There were reddish undertones in her dark brown skin from her embarrassment, but she managed to growl at the boy.
"Interested in exploring the unknown, are we? Well, I'm not. Stay away from me with your evil thoughts," she walked away from him haughtily. There were two types of new kids in her experience, at least among the boys. Ones that were determined to ignore the anomaly that was an African American in their new school and those that wanted to make a name for themselves by scoring with that same girl. Luckily there were very few people willing to take her on. Obviously this idiot fell into that category. He was smooth, but she was smarter than that.
Mr Fujito was already breaking the class up into teams. Aggie went to get herself sorted, still having color in her cheeks which very few noticed. Finding out that her team was playing opposite the new kid, an evil grin spread across her face. Here was her perfect chance to scare this idiot away for good. She played aggressively, keeping the ball in the air for long periods of time. She wasn't tall enough to spike the ball in his face like she wanted to, but when she sent the ball back to the opposite team, it was with a decidedly angry bent. Soon it was just her versus the new kid. The rest of their teams had long since given up and sat on the risers. Neither student was giving up. Covered in sweat, they both just kept hitting the ball to each other, covering their whole court themselves. People started taking bets on who would lose first. The new boy was fast, but Agatha was holding her own, and knew the game better.
"Alright, you two. It's time to clean up for tomorrow," the teacher interrupted their intense match. Soujiro jumped up with unexpected height and spiked the ball right in front of the net. Aggie sent it right back to him. Her unexpected move sent the ball over the teenager's head and into his court. He couldn't recover fast enough to return the serve. The ball bounced on his floor and just like that, the fifteen minute match was over.
"Yeah, I think we're done here," she said with a smug look on her face, walking away and letting the other students handle cleanup. Soujiro jogged over to retrieve the ball as a bunch of students surrounded him.
"Wow, that was intense," Shinji said in awe. "What were you trying to prove?"
"Yeah," Akio said. "Volleyball is Agatha's game. I've never seen anyone go head to head with her like that."
"Just a little misunderstanding I intend to clear up after school," he said, his smile still in place.
… …
Aggie showered the sweat off her body and prepared for the kendo club. She was still bursting with indignation and looking forward to venting on her partner this afternoon.
"Hey, wait up," Soujiro yelled from down the hall, cutting through the din of students headed for the doors.
"Oh, for the love of-" She huffed. She let him catch up to her, then whirled on him with an angry look. "I'm not going to sleep with you, okay? Even if you'd won that little Volleyball match of ours, I still wouldn't sleep with you! It's not happening, like, at all! Despite what you seem to think, I'm not like those rappers' girlfriends in the music videos. So you can go away and consider whatever bet you've made with your new friends lost. Leave me alone."
Soujiro stopped dead in his tracks, the slightly creepy smile on his face slipping away at last to be replaced with one of confusion. "Agatha… It's good that you're not about to sleep with me. That's called 'rape' without my consent," he told her carefully.
Now it was the girl's turn to look confused. "Most students avoid me like the plague, but there is a certain percentage of boys that think about 'trying out the black girl'. Luckily for me, the percentage is very low, but there's always someone that thinks I'm some kind of slut."
His head tilted to the side, a rather bird-like move that made her giggle despite her ire. "I'm not in that percentage, Agatha. I'm in the even smaller percentage that is interested in getting to know you and being your friend. Kami-sama, Is that what you've been going through this entire time?"
"Yes," she said shortly. "The boys want to mock me or mark me. I don't hang out with boys as a rule."
"Then I guess that's about to change," he said, his smile sliding back into place. "You're headed for the kendo club meeting aren't you? I was just heading there myself. Let's go before we're late." He walked by her gaping form and continued down the hall. Aggie shook her head hard and followed him.
"You're late, Agatha," Mr. Takahashi said in an angry voice as she entered the training hall. It wasn't like Agatha to be late. Ever.
"I know," she answered. "I brought a student that was lost to the training hall," she covered for herself.
"My name is Seta Soujiro. I was hoping to join the team," the boy said with a hand behind his head. "Honestly, that's why I transferred to this school from Wazuka. I wanted to test myself against the best."
"Well, that's quite a claim," the teacher said, showing interest. "The best fighter I have on the team is Kenshin. Kenshin, come and test your sister's latest find. He wants to join the team."
The sounds of wood smacking against wood stopped immediately as the students came over to watch the testing. The redhead came to stand in front of the smiling boy. He smelled of dragon, but he hadn't introduced himself to Hiko before entering this territory.
"Wazuka, huh? That's not too far from Kyoto. Who are your parents?"
"I'm an orphan," Seta stated. "My parents died when I was twelve. Car accident." Silence met this statement. The boy smiled interiorly, knowing that he had the two audience members he wanted in the palm of his hand. Kenshin and Agatha, being orphans themselves, wouldn't be able to resist him now. This would be child's play.
"Sorry to hear that," Kenshin said in sympathy. He looked over to Agatha, only to find her frowning slightly as if trying to remember something. She soon went to the shinai rack and grabbed one for herself, shaking her head slightly at her brother to show that she was okay.
The girl wandered back to the gathering crowd to see her brother facing off with the new kid. He was tapping his foot on the ground and smiling that psychotic smile of his. He attacked suddenly, and the exchange was so fast that Aggie almost missed it. When they separated Kenshin had a bruise on his neck and Soujiro had a matching one on his hip. They attacked again and managed to score off each other again. Aggie couldn't help but be impressed; very few people could manage to hit her brother at all let alone twice.
"Alright, I've seen enough," Mr. Takahashi said clinically after watching the two. "If you want to join our team, I'm alright with it, Soujiro."
"I would be honored," the boy said with a smile and a bow.
"Good," the club moderator nodded. "You'll be training with Kenshin; he's probably the only one that can keep up with you and that crazy speed of yours. The rest of you, get back to work! Agatha, you're with Ito over there. This club wasn't formed so that you could all gawk at Kenshin and Soujiro!" Despite this edict to work, there was a lot of whispering and gawking as they practiced that day.
"Daichi-san, would you like to switch places so that you don't break your neck rubbernecking?" Ito looked at her smirking face in embarrassment.
"I can't help it, Agatha-san. Look how fast those two are moving! I've never seen anything like it!"
"That's all well and good, Daichi-san. But I don't want Takahashi-san yelling at me for slacking off." The two traded places and continued their mock duel. But it was clear that Ito's heart wasn't in the practice though. She stabbed him in the ribs suddenly and he cringed and whipped around, glaring at the American.
"Don't take me lightly," she said once she had his attention. She launched three rapid fire attacks that Daichi was unable to defend against. Scoring hits on his head, head, and ribs, Aggie looked down at her opponent groaning on the floor cross-eyed.
"And on that note of Agatha-chan as the only one paying attention during this practice, I say we call it a night. We only have three more days until our next tournament. Come back Wednesday ready to practice seriously. Dismissed!"
"Yes, sensei," all the members shouted respectfully. They gathered their things and left, gossiping the whole way about Seta-san's speed. The boy himself ignored the whispering, making a beeline for Agatha.
"That was exhilarating! I've never had anyone actually hit me before. Of course, I wasn't using my full speed, but it was still a great match."
"My brother's style is built for speed," she said absently, making her way to the girl's locker room.
"Really? What else do you know about your brother's style? It's quite unique."
"I know everything about my brother's style. I've studied the Sword of Heaven with our guardian after all."
"Oh, so you're an apprentice too?"
"It's complicated," the girl said, going into her locker room without explaining. The boy was frustrated enough to shake the girl for answers, but he maintained his smile. This was only his first days of surveillance after all. A few minutes later, Kaoru emerged from the locker room, pulling her damp hair into a ponytail.
"Wow, you're really fast," Kaoru said in admiration. "I would kill to be that fast! I'm Kaoru, by the way. What's your name?"
"Soujiro," the boy answered, smiling back at her. "I've recently taken up the task of befriending the lovely . Is she still in there?"
"Ooh… That's no easy task you've set yourself, Sou-chan. Agatha is not an easy nut to crack. I've been her friend for years and there's still things I don't know about her. She doesn't trust easily."
"What are you saying about my sister?" a freshly showered Kenshin asked in a teasing tone, pulling on his girlfriend's ponytail. His own long hair was in a topknot that cascaded down his back in a trail of crimson.
"I should go get a shower," the smiling boy said suddenly, sprinting to the boy's locker room.
"Sou-chan wants to be Aggie's friend. I was just telling him what he's in for. Your sister is not an easy person to get to know."
"Ah, but she's worth it," the Junior student insisted playfully.
"Of course she is," she shrugged. "Just… most people don't realize that."
Just then, Aggie came out of the locker room, looking refreshed and smelling faintly of baby powder scented Vaseline like usual. She blinked on seeing her teammates in the hall.
"What's the matter?" she asked, her eyes narrowing when both teens shook their heads.
"We were just discussing your relationship with Sou-chan," Kaoru said at last, sensing imminent violence.
"I have no relationship with Soujiro-san," she said firmly, shouldering her bookbag. "I need to spend some time in the library before I head out tonight. Goodnight, minna." She put on her headphones and headed for the library, a determined look on her face.
The librarians, very familiar with the girl, waved her through to the computers at the back. Immediately she dove into the old newsreels from three years ago. Something about Soujiro's name and Wazuka was itching her brain. It took a while to find what she was looking for, but she sighed in triumph when she found it. Apparently, his parents had died in a particularly horrific car accident. Rounding a curve on a mountain road late at night at high speed, they'd gone over the rail and down the mountain. But what was interesting was the speculation that not all their wounds were inflicted by the accident. The coroner had found evidence of contusions that may or may not have been imposed on the couple prior to the accident. The time of death and the time of the contusions had been too close to say definitively which came first. Puzzling over this, she pulled out her homework and saved her search results to a USB to look over later.
Thoughts of the boy's doomed parents kept plaguing her as she tried to focus on her studies. A nasty alternative narrative kept trying to assert itself in her head, but she had no proof except that creepy smile of his. Deciding to contemplate this scenario later, she refocused on her homework. Finishing in record time after that, she walked to the front of the library only to find the object of her disturbing thoughts sitting near the front desk, doing his own homework.
He waved at her, grabbing his things quickly and walking over. She managed a less than enthusiastic response, but slowed her ground-eating steps for him to catch up. Considering how fast he could move, she suspected that he'd have caught up to her either way, but there was no need to be openly rude to him. Not yet, at least.
"Some practice, eh?" he smiled, trying to sling an arm around her shoulders. She dodged the attempt and was pleased to see his smile slip for a moment. Then it was back in place like it had never left and she frowned.
"Truthfully, I didn't get much practice today. Ito-san was too busy gawking at you. Everyone was." She sped up, wanting to catch the next train. Soujiro matched her gait, much to her annoyance.
"Sorry about that," he said in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head in chagrin. "I'm pretty well used to people gawking at me. My speed made me pretty famous around my old school. I kinda got sick of it after a while. That, and the memories of my parents, forced me out of Wazuka. I just wanted a fresh start, you know?"
"That must have been a hard transition, going from loving parents to… nothing." She was proud to see the smile slip again. It was just for a moment, but it was there.
"Uh… Yeah… Loving. I guess the same can be said for your parents, huh?"
"Sort of," she shrugged. Truthfully, it was her mother that she remembered with love. Daddy had been an often missing presence in her life. He hadn't taken much of an interest in her. "What's it like going from small town living to life in a big city?"
"It's exhilarating! Everything is so convenient here!" He launched into a detailed explanation of his adventures in Kyoto that took up the rest of their walk to the train station.
"Well… This is my stop. Are you taking the train this way?"
"No, actually, I go the opposite way," he said. "Goodnight, Agatha-chan." She flinched at the familiar address and his smile widened. "If we're going to be friends, I need a way to address you. I-"
"We're not friends," she said in a firm tone. "I barely know you. And as I mentioned before, my track record with Japanese males is-"
"But Agatha-chan, how are we ever going to be friends if you won't let me in? Just a little." He looked at her with pleading eyes and she gave a heavy sigh.
"Very well," she said at last. "See you tomorrow, Soujiro-san."
"I'm more comfortable with Sou-chan," he said pointedly.
"Yeah… No, we're not there yet," she told him, heading up the stairs. She put her headphones on and headed up the stairs to the platform just as the train arrived. Thanking her lucky stars, she boarded and headed for home.
"I hear you made a friend at school today," Hiko laughed at dinner. Planning her brother's epitaph, she groaned into her rice and faced her legal guardian.
"I don't know what his intentions are, Poppi," she shrugged nonchalantly. "He says that he wants to be my friend, but I don't know why. I'm keeping an eye on him. Anyone that can beat Kenshin to a draw, several times, warrants caution."
"A draw? The Sword of Heaven was beaten today? Disgraceful!"
"But shishou, he masks his emotions! It's like fighting half blind," Kenshin defended himself, glaring at his sister. She only held her hands up in apology before resuming her staring contest with her food.
"A master of Hiten Mitsurugi should be able to compensate and defeat any foe, you lazy apprentice! The Sword of Heaven is not permitted to fail! Come on, you've had enough dinner. You need more training so that you can defeat this latest foe."
"But master!" Kenshin whined.
"Don't 'but Master' me! Training. Training is what you need. Come on, boy!" The two could be heard arguing all the way to the dojo, but her mind was on her disquieting discoveries that afternoon. Blocking out the sound of master and student arguing, she headed for her room. Once there, she went to her bookbag and pulled out her crocheted pattern squares. Quickly assembling the rest of the blanket she'd been working on all month, she took a moment to marvel at her own ingenuity. The woman that had commissioned it would certainly be pleased. Snapping a picture to send to her client, she finally laid down to sleep. Tomorrow would bring its own trouble; no use in borrowing trouble ahead of time. Still, her sleep was restless that night and she woke emotionally drained, convinced that the man attempting to befriend her had murdered his parents and staged it to look like an accident.
Dun Dun DUUUN! Agatha is a very tough nut to crack, but it seems that Soujiro is willing to try. What is his connection to the Hiruma brothers? Tune in next time to find out more, eh? :D