Nothing is ever right in the beginning.

Safe, In Your Arms

Chapter 3: A New and Complicated Life

Stepping in an electronics store, Forrest sighed. Here we go. She had already bought the study desk that she needed. And also new clothes, daily used things, books for school and etc.

I'm so lucky that I have Theresa, she thought as she smiled to herself. Without her, I would never manage a budget.

It was half true though, Forrest Fan did not exactly have a budget because of her father, but she feared asking him for money. She saw it as shame. She wanted to succeed on her own, not take things for granted.

She looked around and saw a row with displaced laptops.

Desktop or laptop? she asked herself.

She shrugged and walked to the row of laptops with her assistant Theresa following her.

A sales assistant arrived in the matter of seconds. Forrest immediately nodded, greeting the sales person and she pointed to the first laptop on display—the most expensive and new one in the store.

Without hesitation, the sales assistant made a gesture to tell Forrest and Theresa to stay where they are. It didn't take long for the person to come back with a box, obviously containing the laptop inside.

"Arigatou," Forrest said as she took the box and proceeded to the cashier.

"Master Kai, Miss Forrest and Miss Theresa are at the door," James said as he knocked on the door.

The blue-headed boy named Kai nodded to dismiss his butler. He walked outside and saw Forrest, wearing a dark blue hoodie and black jeans.

"Sorry, Theresa will come later. She is still checking out my hotel room," she said.

Kai just stayed expressionless, his teammates just left minutes ago.

"James, please help carry Miss Forrest's luggage to her room," he stated flatly.

Forrest looked at the teenage boy with interest. How could he be so… emotionless? she asked herself. Oh well, maybe he's just one of those spoiled rich brats. I mean, look at his house. Oh brother, this is going to be a long year.

She walked to the room and admired it one more time before opening the box that contained her new laptop.

"There should be a man delivering a new study desk that I just bought," she said casually.

True to her words, a man did come several minutes later. With the help of several butlers, they carried the desk upstairs to the room.

"Thank you," she said as she gave the delivery man a small tip. She also thanked the others and smiled.

Kai stood at the door, waiting for her to say something to him. He waited for several minutes but Forrest stayed silent—she was plugging wires in the computer and trying to install several programs on it.

"Do you beyblade?" he asked. She nodded. "Were you ever in a team?" She shook her head. "For how long have you beybladed?"

"About a year or so, not really long. Swimming is my favorite sport; I don't have much time for beyblading. I'm not bad though, at least, that's what I heard," she said, not over confident but not missing any confidence either.

With that, Kai decided to leave her alone. He needed not a weak player who merely played for a year, but before he left, he asked one more question:

"What element does your bit-beast control? … If you have a bit-beast that is."

"It depends," she replied, shrugging. "But I do have a bit-beast."

"What's the name of it?"

"Why do you care?"

"Hn."

"It's Starlet."

Starlet for hope?

Forrest swam again, for the second time in the same day. And she was quite glad that the water was heated.

Freestyle, then backstrokes. Mhmm, I'll do several laps by breaststrokes and I'll try to improve my butterflies, she thought as she started doing her first dozen of laps in the pool.

After the Bladebreakers left, Kai was even more bored so he decided to train Dranzer a bit in the backyard. He knew that Forrest was swimming there but he guessed that she wouldn't care.

One-piece swimsuit? Well, that girl is sure scared to show flesh, he thought as he told Dranzer to try to cut through thick branches laid out on the ground.

He couldn't help to admit that he was disappointed that Forrest didn't beyblade well.

But she's a female, and females don't blade well anyway. Even with years of training, he thought as he grinned. Dranzer almost cut a tree down with one attack.

He didn't want to destroy the garden, so Kai ordered Dranzer to practice speed instead. Kai threw rocks at Dranzer and the bit-beast dodged every one of them.

"Nice work, Dranzer."

The phoenix gave a casual look to Kai and entered the blade. Immediately, the blade stopped spinning. Kai crouched down to retrieve his blade. After that, he made himself to the study room; he had some Japanese homework to finish.

He checked his watch, 18:48, it read. As he looked at the pool, he saw Forrest, still doing her laps and apparently she was doing butterflies.

"Dinner in fifteen minutes!" Kai called as he disappeared from Forrest's sight.

Fifteen minutes? Perfect timing, Forrest thought as she did her last butterflies lap. I'm starving.

Slowly, she got out of the pool and dried herself roughly with a towel. She wrapped herself with it and ran to her room.

"Sorry about the water!" she told the maids who stared at her. Water was dripping from her hair, forming a trail on the expensive carpet.

As she arrived in her bathroom, she threw her towel on the ground and took a shower, making sure to use conditioner on her hair. She was still a girl after all.

"Ah, miss Forrest. I have just completed your school forms, you're all set to go," Theresa said as she saw Forrest enter the dinning room.

Forrest Fan didn't look too interested.

"Thanks, Theresa," she said as she sat down and looked at the food. "Sushi? Nice. My favorites. Mhm, and I've seen this soup before."

"We weren't sure which one you preferred so we prepared several kinds of sushi," an elderly woman said.

"Thank you, I love it. Don't you, Hiwatari?" Forrest turned her attention to Kai.

The blue-haired boy shrugged and ate quietly his meal. Forrest rolled her eyes and ate. Several minutes later, the cooks and maids left to eat on their own. Only Forrest, Kai, Theresa and James remained at the table.

"So, um, Hiwatari? Are you in 10th grade?" Forrest asked, hoping to start a conversation.

"No, 11th," he replied, simply. "You?"

"Tenth."

"You look like an eighth grader," he stated flatly.

"Gee, thanks. But it's okay, I'm not tall anyway," Forrest said, sticking out her tongue.

"And immature," Kai added.

"Oh, shut up."

And that was the end of it.

So much for hoping to live in a fun house, Forrest thought as she finished her last sushi.

Several maids stepped in again and served the dessert, some red bean made sweet things wrapped with leaves. Forrest looked at the dessert and tilted her head. She never saw those before.

Too sweet, she thought as she took a bite. The raven haired girl finished her dessert in a few bites, took a napkin and wiped her mouth with it.

"Thank you for the dinner!" she exclaimed as she went to her room.

Entering her room, she smiled as she heard one of her favorite songs playing on her computer. She sat on the bed and hugged herself like a scared cat.

Forrest liked all kinds of music, but mainly soft music. She did mainly like a singer or a band, but she had favorite songs. For her, the lyrics of songs were the most important part so she searched for good music through lyrics.

All of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words
You've got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here

Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes—

"Miss Forrest?"

The girl jumped and leaned forward to turn the volume lower. Luckily, she didn't fall.

"Yes?" she asked with slight annoyance.

"Sorry. A man named David called, he's on the line right now, do you wish to answer?"

"No. Tell him to get the hell out of my life, thank you."

Forrest giggled to herself as she saw the face of the maid when she said those words.

Not today. I won't let his speech about money ruin my first day in Japan, she thought as she stood up and went to her walk-in closet, searching for more comfortable clothes as the ones she had on were wet from her hair.

She looked around and saw in one corner several pieces of the same clothing hanging there.

I never bought those before, she thought.

As she walked to the clothes she sighed. Oh man. Uniforms? I bet Theresa bought them. Mhm, oh yeah, I remember now. That school requires them. Oh damn it.

Forrest hated skirts and ties and the uniform had both of them. Skirts were awfully annoying for her, you couldn't sit on the ground and ties always ended suffocating her one way or the other.

"Pfft, my luck."

The next morning came, and as soon as she woke up, Forrest already felt like a comet just hit her. In other words, she had a big headache and felt extremely unlucky. And her premonition proved true, she was late.

She quickly put on her uniforms, grabbed her backpack, ran downstairs, and got out of the house but before she could get far, she heard a honk. It was James driving a black car. Forrest tilted her head.

"Hi, James! Sorry, I don't have time, I'm going to be late," she exclaimed.

"I'm giving master Kai a ride, do you wish to have one too?" he asked, kindly.

The 10th grader's face immediately lightened up. Never mind the bad luck, I feel lucky now, she thought as she thanked James and glided in the car.

As she entered the car, she took a seat in the back and she looked at Kai, who scowled.

"I'm not the person who invited you here," he said, not looking at her.

Forrest shrugged. She was too happy to let Kai ruin her mood.

"Why, hello Hiwatari! I feel weird today. Like you know, your first day of school in first grade. I hope that I'll live through. I've no clue what Japanese school is like," she started rambling.

Kai just sat there, listening. Even though he didn't pay much attention, he caught every word that she said.

A bad thing about having a good memory, he thought as he tried to block Forrest's voice from his ears.

"…it's just that after the incident yesterday, you know, I was lost in school. I'm pretty scared and all, and seriously, I don't think that I'll understand a thing today. Oh God, and, and, do you know anyone who could tutor me in Japanese?"

Kai was opening the door at that time and he looked back at Forrest, who was still sitting, she was unaware that they already arrived.

"Get out. And no," he said as he slammed the door.

"Gee, okay. Be mean to me. Goodbye! I'll get my schedule. I hope that I get a class with you!" Forrest said as she ran to the office. Luckily this time she recognized her environment at least a little bit better.

"Um, my schedule?" she inquired at the secretary. "Thanks," she added as she took it and scanned it.

Japanese, 2nd lang. 201 8:15-9:30

French, Advanced 102 9:35-10:50

Physical Education --- 10:55-12:10

Lunch --- 12:10-1:30

English, Advanced 134 1:30-2:45

Calculus 215 2:50-4:05

So this school has two floors. Good luck to me, Forrest thought as she climbed the stairs to the second floor. 201… phew. Found it.

She checked her watch, straightened her skirt and put a forced smile on her face. Here goes nothing, she thought as she peered through the door.

Her first class, obviously, was only for people who didn't speak Japanese. She sighed in relief as she saw some people who looked European, American and other ethnicities than Japanese.

"Hey there, I believe that you speak English," the teacher greeted.

Forrest examined the teacher who stood in front of her. It was a young lady with wavy dirty blond hair. She had watery forget-me-not blue eyes and a fake smile.

"Yes, I do," Forrest replied. I don't like her, at all, she thought as she took a seat in the front of the class.

"Oh no, miss. I will assign you your seat. This is school and you must listen for my instructions," the teacher said with much authority.

Forrest frowned and nodded, a soft blush crept up her cheeks. She was embarrassed and the whole class was staring at her. Just then the bell rang and the door suddenly opened.

"Phewww, right on time. Ohayo Akiyo-sama!" the newcomer said.

"Jane, sit down. Please arrive on time. This is your third tardy," Miss Akiyo piped.

"You haven't told me where I sat, yet, Miss Akiyo," Forrest said, impatient.

"Tut tut. No need to rush me, Miss I-know-everything," Akiyo said with disgust, "there," she added, pointing to the seat beside the girl named Jane.

Forrest took slow steps on purpose and dragged her feet to the seat beside Jane.

"It's Janet. Not Jane, by the way. What about you?"

"Forrest Fan. And that's F-o-r-r-e-s-t. Nice to meet you," Forrest replied, this time with a real smile.

She seems like a nice girl, Forrest thought.

Janet had light-brown eyes. Her eyes were a light brown that was very close to orange, which made her eyes look cat-like. Her face was oval and her cheeks were red due to the fact that she ran to school. Her hair was a dark crimson with orange highlights which gave the impression that her hair was on fire. Janet wore uniforms that were slightly too big for her but nevertheless she looked content and cheerful.

Forrest sat down and looked at the board, where Miss Akiyo wrote the date down.

"Now, before I was rudely interrupted, I was saying that today we are going to practice on vocabulary building. I believe that many of you are not very strong in vocabulary so this lesson will help a lot. Now, I gave you an assignment to read and answer questions yesterday. I'm quite sure that many of you did not fully understand the story. So now, please take a dictionary from the shelf—" she pointed to the corner of the room where a mahogany shelf stood, "and find the definition of the words that you did not understand. I want you to copy the words 10 times and the definitions 3 times. Is that understood?"

A wave of "yes ma'am" and "yes Akiyo-sama" rang through the room.

"Laura Fan," Miss Akiyo called.

Forrest walked to the front of the class, confused.

"It's Forrest, not Laura," Forrest said.

"You will share a dictionary with your seat partner, Jane, for today," she said ignoring Forrest. "I want you to buy a dictionary tonight and put your name on it so that I can keep it in—"

"Oh, Miss Akiyo. I have brought a dictionary. An English-Japanese and vice-versa—"

"Now, it is rude to interrupt me, miss. Go to work. And read that story now!" Miss Akiyo yelled as she lost her temper.

Forrest scurried back to her seat and drew a big breath in.

That bitch.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't mind her. She's having emotional issues. She cried yesterday in class. Probably broke up with her boyfriend or something," Janet said reading Forrest's thoughts.

"I'm fine. Thanks."

Forrest quickly adapted to the temper of the young teacher. She learned to not speak and to never raise her hand unless she was 210 percent sure of an answer because or else, Miss Akiyo often hollered at the student for wrong answers which resulted in no class participation.

"Class dismissed," Miss Akiyo said with slight annoyance.

The whole class stood up, bowed and there was a wave of "goodbye Akiyo-sama".

"What's your next class?" Forest asked as she packed her bags quickly.

"PE. You?"

"Advanced French," Forrest said, sighing.

"Oh. Don't worry. Mr. LeBoeuf is quite nice."
"I know. Hey. I'll see you!" Forrest said as she got out of the class, made her way in the crowded hallways.

She followed her memories from the day before and entered the room 102.

9:33, the class starts in two minutes. Yes I'm on time! Forrest thought as she looked at the teacher. She recognized that face with the gentle smile.

Mr. LeBoeuf had light brown hair with some strands of grey hair. He wasn't quite thin and Forrest could notice his full belly hanging.

"Ah bonjour mademoiselle! Vous etes la nouvelle eleve?" he asked, in French. (Ah, hello miss! You are the new student?)

Forrest nodded and blushed a little.

Maybe he doesn't remember me from yesterday… it's okay, she thought.

Mr. LeBoeuf pointed in the same direction as yesterday. Forrest's eyes wandered at the seat where she sat yesterday, beside the group of guys.

Then it hit her, Kai Hiwatari was in that group of guys.

Oh, duh. Of course! Two toned blue hair. Oh God, I'm stupid. I'm getting Alzheimer, Forrest thought as she mentally slapped herself.

She made her way to the group of boys and eyed Kai. She gave him a weak smile and glanced at the other guys. The four guys were seated in a square.

"Tyson," the blue-black haired boy said. Tyson sat at the bottom right of the four.

"Ray," the raven haired boy followed, seating at the top right.

Then a grunt was heard, it was coming from Kai who sat on the left of Ray.

"Max," the last guy said, with a perfect American accent. Max sat beside Tyson at the bottom left.

"Yo. I think that I saw you before, haven't I?" Forrest said as she grinned slightly.

"Where are you from?" Max asked as Forrest took a seat beside him and diagonally across from Kai.

"Salt Lake City," Forest replied as she took out her French book.

Max was about to reply but Mr. LeBoeuf gave an attention-catching cough.

"Alors. On a une nouvelle eleve. Je pense qu'elle sera tres contente de se presenter," the teacher said. (So. We have a new student. I think that she'll be very glad to introduce herself.)

Forrest's cheeks were tainted with a deeper blush as she nodded.

"Salut," she said as she slowly stood up, "mon nom est Forrest Fan, je viens de l'Amerique et je suis ravie d'etre dans cette classe. J'espere que j'aurais le temps de m'introduire personellement a chacun de vous. Merci." (Hey, my name is Forrest Fan, I'm from America and I'm glad to be in this class. I hope that I'll have the time to personally introduce myself to each one of you. Thanks.)

That was so cheesy, she thought as she sat down and grimaced. Her cheeks lost a bit of its redness.

Mr. LeBoeuf waved his hand and sat down at his own seats. He expected everyone to know what to do but Forrest was confused. She looked around her and saw everyone conversing in French.

"Mon professor de maths est ennuyant," Tyson said with a yawn. (My math teacher is annoying/boring).

"Um, guys, what are we supposed to do?" Forrest asked timidly.

" 'Converse between yourselves in French for warm up,' " Ray said, imitating Mr. LeBoeuf's deep voice.

Forrest couldn't help but to giggle a little bit.

"You guys all speak English?"

The Bladebreakers all nodded. Kai looked away and rolled his eyes.

"I don't see the point of this class. We're not exactly learning anything. Half of the class is speaking Japanese right now and he doesn't care," Kai said with a cold voice.

Ray laughed and patted the blue haired boy on the back.

"That's the fun of it! We're not doing anything. Chill, Kai," the Chinese boy said.

The class passed by at a semi-fast speed and Forrest was glad that at least she made some friends.

Author's Notes: Next chapter is where it starts to get interesting. Introductions are over so the plot thickens :D