Authoress here.

There's something so exciting about a new story! And I have so been in the mood for something fresh, exciting and new. This Hana-Kimi story is a sort of AU…it happens in their sophomore year, after the visit to Hokkaido. And, because it annoys me that he did, Nakatsu has NOT professed his undying love to Mizuki. Ah, the joys of Auhoressness and fanfiction.

Disclaimer: In an attempt to follow JewelValentine's witty disclaiming style, mine is as follows:

I do not own Hana-Kimi. It is owned by a woman who thought that cross-dressing females would be an interesting topic for a manga and that putting her in a school full of attractive men would make for a witty, spirited, grand old time. I also do not own Hard Times by Charles Dickens, for it would be hard to own a book that I myself have never read.

Claimer: I know, it's odd to put something like a claimer in one's stories, but I've been getting ripped off and then accused of stealing plots. So here it is: THIS IS MY PLOT. I have done the research, I have done the digging, and I have done the dreaming. I appreciate those who enjoy it, but I DO NOT appreciate those who wish to simply replicate it without my okay.

Summary: Rivalry between Osaka High, Tokyo Academy, and Nagasaki Central has never been higher. The annual Mountain race, held in the beautiful but treacherous Shirakami-Sanchi Mountain Range is a forty-mile trek across country that would test both the brains and brawn of students selected to compete.
The race is prestigious for high schools because of an age limit, which allows only seventeen year olds and under to compete. When Osaka is challenged to bring on its best team of the sophomore class, Dorm Two jumps at the chance for glory.
Mizuki Ashiya, Shuichi Nakatsu, Izumi Sano, Kyougo Sekime, Daiki Kayashima, and Shinji Noe have been chosen to bear the Osaka name and pride to the race, but not one of them realizes what lies before them….

(Note: When Hana-Kimi is written, it signifies that the story is being told from a third-person perspective. If a character's name is written in Italics, it signifies that the following is in their first-person view. I also might give scene changes in Italics. Thank you for your cooperation.)

No Mountain High Enough
Chapter One: Change of Scenery

Hana-Kimi

"Ashiya. Ashiya! Mizuki Ashiya!"

With a jerk, the brunette rose automatically from the desk chair, back ramrod straight and eyes blinking the sleep away as rapidly as possible. "Yes, Onishi-sensei?"

"I believe I asked the class to discuss the third chapter of the Dickens classic 'Hard Times,' not to take a nap."

"I apologize, Onshi-sensei." Mizuki could feel her blush deepening, and she sat down quickly while her classmates snickered around her. As the teacher turned around, Mizuki leaned towards one of her best friends, Shuichi Nakatsu. The bleach-blonde wasn't trying to disguise his sniggers.

"Nakatsu!" Mizuki hissed, exasperated. "Why didn't you wake me?"

The cheeky teen gave her a wide smile, one hand casually brushing strands of unnatural blonde away from his face. "Because you looked so…cute, sleeping."

Behind Nakatsu, Kyougo Sekime fought back his laughter at Nakatsu's comment. "Yeah, Ashiya, you looked like a little angel."

"Quiet, Sekime…" Mizuki threatened. The bespectacled boy merely grinned all the wider.

"Quiet, all of you." This comment came from the dark and handsome Izumi Sano, who looked as annoyed as the teacher did at the disruption. Mizuki was immediately subdued, though Nakatsu and Sekime continued to laugh silently.

Rubbing her eyes, Mizuki forced herself to pay attention to the discussion. Some boy from another dorm was standing, reciting a passage from the English book they had been assigned to read. His English was choppy at best, and as she listened to the stream of "-Louise look-ed calm at father Gradgrind, which had unhappiness upon his head-" her lethargy returned, making her eyelids unbelievably heavy. She propped her chin up with her palms, blinking heavily.

While she struggled to remain awake, Sano had let his own gaze fall from the speaking student to his roommate. Mizuki let out a little yawn as he watched, covering her mouth daintily with her fingers. Sano felt an exasperated smile creep onto his lips; the girl was sometimes so obvious he was surprised she didn't come to class one day with a pink bow in her hair.

Maybe because I know the truth, I notice all the girly things she does. Sano mused. But, for a girl in the middle of an all-boys' school, I'd say she's doing pretty well.

Indeed, the spunky spit-fire had kept her secret with relative success, hiding her feminine identity to all but him. She applied herself with gusto to her friends' pursuits; sports, food, and friends. She complained with equal loudness at the homework-load, she ate most of her friends under the table, and was unequaled when it came to long, endurance running and was a formidable opponent in sprints and relays.

And yet, Sano noticed the small things that reminded him every day of her sex. If it wasn't the too-thin shoulders, it had to be the long, shapely stance, the slightly flared hips, the long lashes, the moments of unparalleled tenderness, or the mood swings. Along with her obsession with the small, furry, and cute, Mizuki could speak freely of things most boys would avoid.

Like feelings. Sano chuckled to himself internally. Yes, Mizuki could write the book on feelings. She always had several, and was not shy in letting Sano know about most of them. And the ones she didn't tell him verbally were spoken in volume on her all-too expressive face. There was little that was a mystery to Sano when Mizuki was concerned. Except for-

"Izumi, please read the fourth and fifth paragraphs on the same page." The teacher's brusque voice cut into his thoughts. Always the cool one, Sano stood wordlessly, book in hand.

"'I merely wanted to see how one rides a horse, Father.' Louise said mildly. 'There is nothing wrong with that, I hope…'"

After class

"Sano, what does 'bourn' mean? I said it meant to come alive on the test last week, but I got it wrong."

"You should have gotten it wrong. 'Bourn' means a destination, or a goal. Your answer would have been right if it was spelled b-o-r-n, not b-o-u-r-n…"

"Oh. That's stupid. The English are very confusing, stupid people. So I got the sentence wrong then, too."

"Maybe the stupidity aspect isn't their fault, Nakatsu… What did you write for the sentence?"

"Oh, shut up, and stop doing that stupid smirk."

Mizuki sighed, listening to Sano and Nakatsu's conversation. She felt like ditching her Non-Eastern World History class to take a few laps around the track. Sitting around, doing nothing except falling into a stupor was not her idea of fun, and with track season over, she had been doing too much of the above activity for her liking. Sano noticed her silence, and sent her a sharp glance.

"You shouldn't cut Non-Eastern, Ashiya. That professor's a bloodhound; she will find you."

Mizuki dismissed Sano's uncanny ability to read her thoughts- she had long since gotten used to it. "I can't handle this!" She wailed, theatrics coming out in full throttle. "All of this indoors-y, sitting-y, do nothing-y stuff… all this crap!"

Nakatsu took his friend's side immediately. "I second that, Ashiya. Soccer season's dying down, and we already have blown our chances for going to the sectionals, with our goalie going and breaking his hip like that, stupid jerk…" Taken over by anger at the unfair losses the soccer team had suffered, Nakatsu kicked at a discarded pencil as if it had done him great personal harm. Sano and Mizuki allowed him ten-seconds of brooding before grabbing his arms and frog-marching him down the hallway.

As they neared Mizuki's next classroom, the PA system wheezed to life. The students milling around the corridors paused in their conversations to listen.

"Attention, students and staff. There is a school meeting in the assembly hall. Please report to the assembly hall before the next chime. Classes are postponed until after the school assembly. Thank you."

As the trio changed course, Nakatsu voiced his mind. "Wonder what's so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow morning's announcements?"

Another member of Dorm Two, the strange and self-proclaimed psychic Daiki Kayashima caught up to them in time to hear his roommate's query. "It's an assembly about an upcoming competition with the rival schools."

Nakatsu nearly jumped a foot at Kayashima's voice. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" He snarled, patting at his chest to slow his heart. "And yeah, right. Your little mind games don't work on me. I don't believe you."

Kayashima was not perturbed by his roommate. Falling in step with the three of them, he merely smiled calmly. "Your aura says otherwise."

Mizuki held back her giggle as Nakatsu became distinctly red in the face. "I'll bet you a thousand yen you're wrong!"

"Nakatsu, do you even have a thousand yen on you?"

"Shut up, Sano! Of…course I have… a thousand yen…" Nakatsu patted his pockets; face brightening as he felt a bulge of money in one of them. "Yeah!"

"I'll accept the bet." Kayashima said placidly. "Although, I'll remind you again of my precognizant powers. You won't be having lunch today, not without your money."

"Whatever. Let's hear your new tune when you lose." Nakatsu grinned at his roommate good-naturedly.

They entered the assembly hall, choosing spots by the already-seated Sekime and his roommate Shinji Noe.

"Dorm buddies!" Noe sang out, stuck in his perpetual good mood. The only thing that ever dampened his spirits was when he became painfully aware of his bad luck with girls. Then, he could perform an emotional break-down that put Nakatsu's outbursts of random crying to shame.

"I don't know why we always sit together," Sekime grumbled, adjusting his glasses imperiously. "We're always together."

"Sick of us after only two years?" Mizuki grinned. "You could always move, if you really don't like our company," she added with an even larger smirk.

Sekime merely 'harrumphed' and settled down in his chair, causing the other members of Dorm Two to fall into a fit of chuckles. They were forced to stifle their amusement as the fat, balding vice-principal tapped on the microphone atop the podium at the front of the hall.

"Students, I have an exciting announcement."

The hall was filled with a buzz of voices as the vice-principal paused for dramatic effect.

"We have been invited to send a team of six students to compete in a prestigious race against Tokyo Academy and Nagasaki Central, as well as a few other schools."

The buzzing was louder this time, and above the excited chatter came Nakatsu's groan as Kayashima held out an expectant hand, grinning broadly. The vice principal held up a hand for silence as he continued.

"The race is the annual Mountain Trek for our area, which means the race is held at Aikita, in the Shirakami-Sanchi Mountain Range."

Mizuki, who had no head for geography, leaned towards Sano. "What's the big deal? Is this a big race or something?"

Sano nodded. "The biggest junior competition held on the main island. It's in the Kansai region, where the real Osaka is." (1)

"Junior competition?"

"Yeah. It's a forty-mile course, check-point style, but it's for men seventeen and under."

"So…we qualify?" Mizuki felt vaguely nervous at Sano's slight emphasis on the word 'men.'

"I suppose. Now pay attention."

Mizuki returned her gaze to the vice principal, who was still talking.

"-Rigorous and tough course, designed to test the physical and mental strength of the participants. There have been times when the race has gone on for nine, sometimes ten days. The danger the race presents is real, but in case of emergency all participants have radios to call for help with. There are helicopters within ten minutes of every part of the course, as well as a check point every ten miles. If a team doesn't check in within two days, radio contact will be made. If the radios aren't working, then a rescue team is promptly sent out." The vice principal paused. "But any use of adult help, except a check-in radio call and the check points, means an immediate disqualification."

Mizuki shivered. The course sounded tough, even a little frightening, but at the same time she desperately wanted to be a participant. She needed the fresh air and the difficult challenge! Especially if Sano, one of the most qualified people in the whole school, went as well. Visions popped into her mind of hot dogs roasting over a cozy campfire, or of a gentle rain causing Sano to hold a blanket over their heads while they huddled together for added warmth-

The vice principal was talking again, making Mizuki start with a small blush. She shook her head a little, and paid close attention.

"The biggest prize is the pride of winning such an arduous race, but there are more material trophies as well. Osaka would win a million yen towards our school, and each team member would receive a five- hundred thousand yen towards scholarships." The vice principal grinned. "But my favorite prize would be holding our victory over Tokyo Academy and Nagasaki Central!"

The students erupted into a round of cheers, boos, and general noise at his statement. He held up a hand for order again.

"Sophomores, I highly recommend you find a team and sign up, for I don't believe this is a race for freshman to undertake. Don't worry, underclassmen, there is a good chance we will be invited next year, so leave this year to the sophomores. We will choose the most qualified team on Thursday, and announce it on Friday morning. Now, you are dismissed to your classes."

Full of excitement about the upcoming competition, the men and the girl of Osaka High filed out of the auditorium.

Mizuki couldn't wait to start convincing her friends of Dorm Two to sign up as a team with her. From the look on Nakatsu's face, Mizuki knew he felt the same. He winked at her when he saw her giving him an eager smile. They both wanted excitement; and excitement had been delivered.

End Chapter

Authoress here. With some explanatory notes on geography. Well, one explanatory note on geography.

1. In Hana-Kimi, the school Osaka High is not actually located in Osaka. The city is located in the Kansai region, where the school is in the Greater Kanto Region, closer to the city Tokyo. Like in vol. two, when Nakao calls Nakatsu a yakuza (someone with an Osaka (the city!) accent) and when Nakatsu gets angry, Nakao replies with "You Kansai guys never give up."

(See! I ish not crazies! WheeeeeE! And for those of you currently disgusted/laughing at me for my nerdish knowledge, I stick mine tongue at thee. For it is those who give time on research that have the most convincing stories.)

For a map, go to this URL without the spaces:

http japanese guest houses . com / maps / images / regional map . Gif

I hope you enjoyed the beginning of my BRAND NEW, FIRST EVER Hana-Kimi fic. Hit the blue button and leave me some love!

Authoress GONE.