Hi. I hope you haven't forgotten me. I realize I haven't updated in five
months, but Senior year, second semester was a pain in the ass. Between
homework, college applications and acceptances, softball, and classes in
general, the most I was able to do with CoT was write in my little journal
and try to do some drawings. I also had a hard time just finishing this
chapter. I knew how I wanted it to end, but getting there was a pain. But
as you can see, I did it. Naming this chapter took some time too. And the
title makes sense at the end of the chapter.
Oh! I have a very special guest in this chapter! Because she has been an awesome person to e-mail and she has a kick-ass fic, I wrote in Kurome Shiretsu!! With her consent, of course. Yay for Kurome-san!! ==!!
... is for thoughts "..." is spoken (Japanese usually) ... is random author notes or location specifications.
:Blah stuff: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or "The Red Poppy" by Louise Gluck. Any bad puns are unintentional. I have already been pun-ished. == R&R!! Myao!
Chapter 5: The Red Poppy
"Suki! Hurry it up! We're gonna be late!" Reia yelled up the main stairway. Mornings were far from quiet at the Hawagashi Orphanage. To make matters worse, it was a Monday morning. As with most young people, Reia was greatly annoyed at that fact. And yelling tended to be a good way to deal with annoyance.
"Just a minute, alright?!" Narisuki yelled back, leaning over the banister outside her room. "I can't find my music folder!"
Reia rolled her eyes. "Isn't it in your book bag where it's supposed to be?" she said leaning against the railing.
"I looked in there and it's not...wait..." Suki's door flew open, revealing a very ecstatic blonde, the renegade folder in hand. "I found it!" She yelled triumphantly, flashing a victory sign.
"I told you it was in there..." Reia said, shaking her head. She folded her arms across her chest. The youko in her recognized the possibility of danger moments before the ningen. Opening her eyes quickly, Reia ducked as Suki's shoe sailed over her head and landed somewhere near the front door.
Reia glanced up at Narisuki, grinned and batted her eyes innocently before walking towards the kitchen. Unseen, Narisuki stuck out her tongue and placed a finger under her eye. --
"Both of you shut up and come eat!" Mona Hawagashi yelled from the kitchen. Mona, despite being an orphanage manager/owner for about 25 years, was still beautiful and very much in shape. It was said around the orphanage that her strong figure came from herding the twelve children currently under her care, particularly Reia.
"Gomen nasai, Mona-chan, but Suki's gonna make us late again!" Reia said, walking into the kitchen and sitting down at the table. "I mean, we still have to pick up Isashi."
"That doesn't mean you two should yell at each other every morning," Mona said, scooping sweetened rice into a bowl and placing it in front of Reia. "You and Suki need to set an example for the younger ones."
"Yes, ma'am," the redhead mumbled, her spoon halfway in her mouth.
"Fix your tie."
Reia sighed, and put down her breakfast. As she flipped her collar up, Narisuki ran into the kitchen, hopping to pull her suddenly floppy sock back up to her knees. Reia grinned at Narisuki, who glared back.
"What are you two fighting about this time?" Mona asked, setting a glass of juice down next to Reia's cereal bowl.
"Oh the usual. Suki's being blonde and forgetting where her stuff is," the red-head replied, reaching for her juice...
...and closing around air as Suki grabbed the glass and drank from it. "Bite me," Suki stated and sat down with Reia's juice.
"Okay," Reia responded, grinning. Both girls stuck out their tongues, acting every bit the mature young ladies they were supposed to be.
"Behave, you two..." Mona said, handing both girls plates and other breakfast ware so they could set the table and start feeding the children. Suki grabbed the silverware and napkins, leaving Reia with the plates and bowls. Reia grinned; if she had to place the plates, Suki got to do dishes...suddenly this morning wasn't so bad after all.
Since the orphanage housed eight children, two adults, and two near- adults, eating was always entertaining. The main dining room had been a living room at one point, before an extension had been built onto the front of the building to allow for additional room. A long, low wooden table ran down the center of the room, surrounded by twelve cushions, each of which mandated how much room the cushion's occupant could use. Not having much space had stopped bothering Reia and Suki, who tended to retreat to Reia's basement room when breathing room was in short supply.
As the girls finished placing and the breakfast ware, Mona backed into the room laden down with a plate full of toast, which Reia helped her ease onto the table. Suki returned to the kitchen for the butter dish, as Mona walked to the stairs to call the rest of the inhabitants of the Hawagashi Orphanage to breakfast. A mob of children, ranging in age from five to eleven, raced past her, all dumping their various backpacks, jackets, and what-have-you in the entry hall. The orphanage matriarch sighed as the trampling herd made its way into the dining room.
"Reia-san, Reia-san! I hafta show ya somfing!" Mona heard one of the children yell at the eldest girl.
"Hold on, kiddo. Let's get everyone their food first," Reia said patiently. She turned to the young boy, and straightened his twisted shirt. "Now, what do you want to eat, Aren?"
Due to the sheer number of orphans, the eldest four had decided to split up the children to three per person. Mona and her husband had proposed it to the girls as a way to earn money without having to petition for the permission to have a job outside of school. All they had to do was tutor and look after their three charges. Eventually, Reia and Suki found that having to dress their charges became an additional chore.
"Reia-san! This is more 'mportant!" Aren cried, hanging onto the redhead's sleeve. Reia responded by shoving a bowl of rice towards the seven year old.
"Eat first," she ordered, pushing him down into his seat. "Then you can show me." The reluctant Aren glared and stuffed rice into his mouth as fast as his chopsticks could go.
"That's not what I meant, kiddo." Reia sighed and shook her head as she passed out bowls of rice to the other children and adults, who had just taken their places at the table.
"Ca' Ah tell yuff nowff?" Aren asked through a mouthful of rice. Bits of rice that couldn't fit in his mouth clung to his face and lips.
"Fine. Whatever," Reia replied, lifting her rice-filled chopsticks to her own mouth. She looked at the black haired seven-year-old as he swallowed his rice and turned around. When he turned back, the triumphant Aren held...
"MY SHOE!!" Suki yelled, grabbing it out of Aren's hands as she walked around behind him. The empty plates she had been carrying clattered to the floor, thanks to their plastic nature.
"No! Mine! I found it in the hall! Give it back, Suki!!" the seven- year-old yelled, the triumphant grin gone.
Reia put her head in her hands. I figured something like this would happen today, she thought to herself. "Aren, you'd look awfully funny wearing a girl's size 8 shoe," she sighed, not looking at either Aren or Suki.
Aren stuck out his tongue at Suki and Reia, before sitting down, looking every bit the dejected child.
Ten minutes drifted by in relative silence, shouting only occurring when so-and-so ate who-ever's food. Mona and the girls asked the younger children questions about how their classes were going. The answers ranged according to child, naturally, with only one squabble between the ten-year- old twins, who disagreed on the difficulty of learning English words.
"And what about you, Aren-chan?" Mona asked, looking at the child, who ducked his head. For as loud as he was around Reia and Suki, he was rather shy when adults were around.
"Ummm...we're learning how to tell time," he muttered into his juice glass.
"Oh really?" Mona asked, acting every bit the mother of all. One of the first things she asked every child who entered the orphanage to do was to call her "Okaasan." So far, all but Reia called her by that name. "Well, can you tell me what time it is now?"
"Okay..." Aren stared at the clock that hung on the wall behind Suki. "It is...7:45 and a half!"
"A-chan, it can't be "and a half." There's no such thing," Suki said, shaking her head.
"But it does say that!" Aren cried, pointing at the clock. "The baby hand is between 7 an' 8, and the mommy hand is at 45 and a half!!"
Suki and Reia looked at each other, and then slowly turned towards the clock hanging behind the blonde. Both pairs of eyes grew large as they read the clock.
"Gotta go!" Reia yelled, as she and Suki raced to collect their bags and bikes.
Phoenix: And now we advance to the girls arriving at school. I had an actual part in here, but it was unneeded crap. All that is needed is for you to know the girls picked up Isashi on the way to school.
Hitsuyukan Prep. Academy, 8:05am
"Later, Suki!" Reia yelled, as she tried to wave and finish chaining up her bike at the same time. Isashi echoed Reia and waved at Suki, who was entering the school building.
"Come on, come on..." Reia muttered at the lock. She pushed her white streak of hair back from her face. How come locking these damn things is so hard for me! Opening's easy, but why the hell must locking be difficult!!, she thought as the lock refused to allow its other half in. Reia glanced up towards Isa, who was digging through her purse. The redhead smirked, and then moved so her body blocked Isa's view of the bike lock.
Reia placed her fingertip on the lock opening, allowing her senses to explore the metallic composition. A slight tingling sensation filled her finger, letting her know that the metal was under her control. She reached down to pick up the other half of the lock and placed the tip near the opening. Then again, locks were never that difficult in Makai, Reia thought as the kitsune in her controlled the metal. She smiled as she dropped the lock, which was now more secure than any human technology would allow.
"Reia, you ready?" Isa asked, looking at her watch. Reia nodded and followed her brown-haired friend inside.
Once inside, both girls opened their backpacks and changed from their street shoes into their school shoes. Reia, who never liked shoes that tied when she was in a hurry, finished before Isa, but waited for her friend. As Isa stood up, the warning bell sounded, telling all students to report to their homerooms. The girls ran, falling in line with the rest of the latecomers.
"Hurry up, hurry up," they heard one of the teachers yell as students streamed into classrooms.
"Glad you could be here today, but move faster! Inoue, Hawagashi, why am I not surprised you two are late?" Both girls looked up as they turned into their homeroom.
"Gomen nasai, sensei," Isa replied, Reia echoing.
"Just get inside," their teacher sighed, marking both girls as present. The girls made slight bows, and then walked calmly to their desks in the middle of the room.
"Welcome. Didn't think you two would make it," a voice with a slight Castilian-Spanish accent said as Reia and Isa took their places. Isa turned around to glare at the speaker as Reia looked to the side.
"And how often do you come late again, Mari?" asked Reia, resting her head on her hand.
Mariposa Hiedra waved an olive-tanned hand dramatically. "Now, now. That's completely different," she said, tossing her long, dark-brown hair. "I happen to have swim practice every morning and afternoon."
"I have tennis every afternoon, too," Isashi stated. "And Reia has to look after her orphans when she's at home, right?"
Reia nodded, then turned to face the front as the classroom door was closed by the class president. Another day... she thought to herself as she pulled out the reading they had been assigned for homework. She was half listening to the mild spat behind her as the announcements for the day began. She only came out of her daze long enough to hear the messages that were important to her and to hear the bell signaling the end of homeroom. Students continued talking as they packed their things and moved onto their respective classes.
Phoenix: Another shortened scene. And an introduction of a semi-important character. Hehehe...(hides in fear of Mariposa) Continue!!
Cafeteria, 12:25p
"Thank God for lunch breaks!" Reia sighed, dropping into her customary chair at her customary table.
"I know. Today's been so long!" Isa said, sitting down a few chairs away. She unzipped her backpack and pulled out a plastic bag bearing the label, "Thank you!" After fiddling with the knot made of the bag handles, the brown-haired girl removed an apple, a soda can, and a very squished turkey sandwich in a zip bag.
"You seriously need a lunchbox..." her friend stated, removing a garnet- red vinyl lunch box from her own backpack.
"Well..." Isa shrugged as Mariposa and Tomoko with Narisuki in tow made their way across the cafeteria to the circular table Isa and Reia were sitting at.
"Hey, punks," Reia and Isa offered as a greeting in unison, grinning at each other.
Mariposa slammed her binder onto the table, nearly causing Reia's open soda to spill. "I am not a punk! I am Zanthar, Bell ringer for the Dead and Queen of the Fallen!!" She thrust a finger towards the two startled girls. "You shall fear and worship me!!" With her final proclamation, the self-appointed Queen of the Fallen stormed off to claim a chair from an underclassman's table.
"Lemme guess. Pop quiz in Math?" Suki asked, placing her binder on top of Reia's and sitting between her foster sister and Isa.
"No. Just Math class," Tomoko answered, as Mariposa returned and flopped into her newly captured chair. Tomoko, ever the calm member of the group, sat down next to Mariposa, who was glaring at her sandwich.
"What happened this time?" Isa asked, ripping off a chunk of her turkey-bread blob.
"Evil witch!" Mariposa yelled, stabbing her lunch with Reia's spork.
"Who, your teacher or your food?" Reia asked, reclaiming her spork. "If you meant your food, you need to be pun-ished."
All the girls except for Reia groaned.
"Is Reia-san making bad jokes again?" asked a sandy-blonde, as she placed her lunch down next to Isashi. Reia grinned in reply. "I figured as much..."
"Haven't seen you around much lately, Kirsten," Isa said, sliding over to give the newcomer more room.
"I've been doing a lot of working," Kirsten answered. "But with the summer coming, I'll actually get to goof off with you guys."
"Even though some people goof off all the time," Suki said, glancing at Reia.
"Silence you," Reia ordered, putting Suki into a loose chokehold and ruffling her hair.
"Ahh!! Off! OFF!!" Suki screeched, batting Reia's hand away.
"Stop harassing your foster sister," Kirsten sighed, putting her empty plate to the side. "Where is everyone today?"
Tomoko took a drink of her water before answering. She was the best one at keeping track of the group's schedules. "Ilia isn't coming, Terra's not here today, and Kurome should be coming," she reported.
"Big surprise on Ilia," Mari said sarcastically. "That guy's completely antisocial. Genius on the piano, but antisocial."
Reia nodded in agreement. "At least Kurome's coming. I need to talk to her."
"You mean bug her about updating her fic," Suki said.
"Hey, I'm worse than she is about that," Reia responded.
Phoenix: Hehe...(sweatdrop)
Isashi looked up from her sandwich ball. "Speak of the devil..."
"And up she pops, to quote Terra," Kurome finished, coming up to the table.
"We were wondering when you'd get here," Reia said. "I want to talk with you."
"Oh, Reia!" Kurome ran around to the redhead, a short stack of papers in hand. "I finished reading your short story."
"And?" Reia asked, taking a sip from her soda and taking the papers from her blonde friend.
"I loved it! It was so good! You need to write more of those!" Kurome said.
"Thanks for the feedback," Reia said, putting her lending copy into her binder, from which it was promptly removed by Mariposa. "Thief," Reia stated.
"By the way, I am going to be working on my fic more since the summer's coming, and I expect you to do the same," Kurome said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Alright, alright, I will," Reia answered, holding her hands in an "I surrender" position. "Aw crap, it's time to go."
All seven girls looked at the clock as the lunch monitor told everyone to clean up their tables. The girls all silently cursed the white haired American woman who also taught French language and literature, and picked up their things, abandoning their conversations for a later time.
Upstairs hallway, 3:30pm
"One more class, and we're free for the weekend!" Mari shouted, throwing her arms in the air. She grinned at her friends, who all rolled their eyes.
"Hold on, guys," Isa said as she walked towards the lockers. She stopped at one that was plastered with various signs written the girls and popped the lock. "Anyone hungry?"
Reia and Tomoko walked up next to the brown-haired girl and looked in. It had been Mariposa's idea two years prior to claim an unoccupied locker as the group's food locker and stash various snacks in there. The only rule tended to be if you removed food, you had to donate food. However, the Hispanic girl tended to be the only one who brought food. Reia and Isa usually ate the food before it reached the locker.
Mariposa leaned against the next locker glaring at underclassmen who dared look at her. "Are you guys –actually- wanting to be late to class?" she drawled, glaring at a first year girl.
"Knock it off," Reia said, smacking Mariposa's shoulder. "And since when have you cared about being late? You're the newspaper editor, for cryin' out loud."
"True. Sensei doesn't care if we're late," Isa said, closing the locker. She offered the others a peach candy from the handful she had grabbed and unwrapped one for herself, stuffing the wrapper into her pocket. "But Micharu gives pop quizzes for tardiness."
"Nah. Class Four gets then everyday, even if they don't count," Reia said, trying to talk around the peach candy in her mouth. "But I gotta go anyway."
Reia waved to her friends, and walked down the hallway to Room 202, the Foreign Literature classroom. Of all the classrooms in Hitsuyukan Prep, Room 202 was the barest. Although the literature teacher, Micharu, had been there for two years, he had never really bothered to put anything on the walls. Of course, some of the more daring students tacked signs or sketches on his walls anyway to see how long it take for him to notice. So far, Reia's drawing of a shrubbery had stayed up for three months with no signs of attempted removal.
The redhead fell in step with the rest of Class Four as they streamed into the room. Micharu had never forced the students to sit in any particular order or spot, therefore Reia went to her customary seat next to a window.
"Hey, Ilia-kun," Reia said, as a tall, blue eyed boy sat next to her. He regarded her with a glance and slight inclining of the head.
Ilia Khoskov was the quietest person Reia had ever met, though he had managed to charm his way into her group. The silent Russian had always intrigued the girls, mainly because he did everything efficiently and without saying a word. As was customary when he entered any classroom, Ilia immediately pulled out a book and began to read.
Reia sighed and shook her head. Compared to how Kurama was, I guess silent men don't bother me so much, she side-glanced at Ilia. The moment he becomes talkative, that'll be the shocker.
"Alright, Class Four," a deep voice sounded from the front of the room. Twenty-seven sets of eyes turned towards the blonde, blue-eyed teacher as he picked up an attendance sheet. "Let's get this over with. If you're here, say so. If you're not here, be silent."
Micharu stood at an impressive six foot even, although Ilia stood three taller. As was typical of the former Ranger, he commanded his classroom as he would his soldiers: with authority and respect. This was a man who could intimidate you while still willing to protect you from anything. Having his class at the end of the day never seemed all that bad after Reia learned how cool a teacher Micharu could be.
"...and Zoicho!" Micharu called, and was quickly responded to with a "Here!" by a voice at the back of the room. "Spectacular," he said, tossing the attendance sheet onto his table. "I believe I assigned a reading for today?"
A mad shuffling could be heard as the students began tearing through backpacks and notebooks to find the reading for the day. Reia calmly reached into her binder and pulled out the poem.
"I want you all to reread the poem for what should be the tenth time for my scholars and the first for my slackers," Micharu stated, as he sat down at his own desk.
Reia began to reread the paper that was laid out in front of her. She barely heard the discussion that began after all the students finished reading. Her mind drifted past time as she looked out the window at the trees blowing in the wind. Since the first time she had read the poem, its words haunted her mind. Her dreams became more vivid, causing her to remember things that had taken forever to forget, yet things that shouldn't have been forgotten.
She shook her head, red hair swinging around her and lightly whipping at her face. No. Now's not the time, she silently told herself. She closed her eyes, feeling the sunlight that drifted through the window.
Opening her eyes slowly, Reia scanned the courtyard of the school. A boy in a green uniform stood at the gates, his hands hidden in his pockets. He looked up at Reia with dark-brown eyes, and turned his head to the side.
Is he calling me out? she thought, the kitsune inside becoming excited. Reia nodded and held up four fingers where the boy could see them, then two fingers, then a fist. The boy nodded in understanding, and went around the corner of the gates to wait.
Reia glanced back down at the poem. I guess some things will never change, she thought, smirking slightly.
The Red Poppy by Louise Glück
The great thing is not having a mind. Feelings: oh, I have those; they govern me. I have a lord in heaven called the sun, and open for him, showing him the fire of my own heart, fire like his presence. What could such glory be if not a heart? Oh my brothers and sisters, were you like me once, long ago, before you were human? Did you permit yourselves to open once, who would never open again? Because in truth I am speaking now the way you do. I speak because I am shattered.
Woohoo!! I finally finished this chapter!! I'm not gonna say how long it took, but most of the typing was in the last three days, being July 2 to the 4th, although technically it's the 5th now. I don't think I'll do reader responses this time. However, as I am going on a trip to Florida this weekend, I will be working on the next two chapters.
Oh, by the way. I really did have an English teacher like Micharu, and he did make jokes like that. And we did have a Food Locker. One of Mariposa's better ideas...
Gods, this was a long chapter.....11 pages....never again.... Watch. The next one's gonna be either super shot or super long...I always do that to myself.
Oh! I have a very special guest in this chapter! Because she has been an awesome person to e-mail and she has a kick-ass fic, I wrote in Kurome Shiretsu!! With her consent, of course. Yay for Kurome-san!! ==!!
... is for thoughts "..." is spoken (Japanese usually) ... is random author notes or location specifications.
:Blah stuff: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or "The Red Poppy" by Louise Gluck. Any bad puns are unintentional. I have already been pun-ished. == R&R!! Myao!
Chapter 5: The Red Poppy
"Suki! Hurry it up! We're gonna be late!" Reia yelled up the main stairway. Mornings were far from quiet at the Hawagashi Orphanage. To make matters worse, it was a Monday morning. As with most young people, Reia was greatly annoyed at that fact. And yelling tended to be a good way to deal with annoyance.
"Just a minute, alright?!" Narisuki yelled back, leaning over the banister outside her room. "I can't find my music folder!"
Reia rolled her eyes. "Isn't it in your book bag where it's supposed to be?" she said leaning against the railing.
"I looked in there and it's not...wait..." Suki's door flew open, revealing a very ecstatic blonde, the renegade folder in hand. "I found it!" She yelled triumphantly, flashing a victory sign.
"I told you it was in there..." Reia said, shaking her head. She folded her arms across her chest. The youko in her recognized the possibility of danger moments before the ningen. Opening her eyes quickly, Reia ducked as Suki's shoe sailed over her head and landed somewhere near the front door.
Reia glanced up at Narisuki, grinned and batted her eyes innocently before walking towards the kitchen. Unseen, Narisuki stuck out her tongue and placed a finger under her eye. --
"Both of you shut up and come eat!" Mona Hawagashi yelled from the kitchen. Mona, despite being an orphanage manager/owner for about 25 years, was still beautiful and very much in shape. It was said around the orphanage that her strong figure came from herding the twelve children currently under her care, particularly Reia.
"Gomen nasai, Mona-chan, but Suki's gonna make us late again!" Reia said, walking into the kitchen and sitting down at the table. "I mean, we still have to pick up Isashi."
"That doesn't mean you two should yell at each other every morning," Mona said, scooping sweetened rice into a bowl and placing it in front of Reia. "You and Suki need to set an example for the younger ones."
"Yes, ma'am," the redhead mumbled, her spoon halfway in her mouth.
"Fix your tie."
Reia sighed, and put down her breakfast. As she flipped her collar up, Narisuki ran into the kitchen, hopping to pull her suddenly floppy sock back up to her knees. Reia grinned at Narisuki, who glared back.
"What are you two fighting about this time?" Mona asked, setting a glass of juice down next to Reia's cereal bowl.
"Oh the usual. Suki's being blonde and forgetting where her stuff is," the red-head replied, reaching for her juice...
...and closing around air as Suki grabbed the glass and drank from it. "Bite me," Suki stated and sat down with Reia's juice.
"Okay," Reia responded, grinning. Both girls stuck out their tongues, acting every bit the mature young ladies they were supposed to be.
"Behave, you two..." Mona said, handing both girls plates and other breakfast ware so they could set the table and start feeding the children. Suki grabbed the silverware and napkins, leaving Reia with the plates and bowls. Reia grinned; if she had to place the plates, Suki got to do dishes...suddenly this morning wasn't so bad after all.
Since the orphanage housed eight children, two adults, and two near- adults, eating was always entertaining. The main dining room had been a living room at one point, before an extension had been built onto the front of the building to allow for additional room. A long, low wooden table ran down the center of the room, surrounded by twelve cushions, each of which mandated how much room the cushion's occupant could use. Not having much space had stopped bothering Reia and Suki, who tended to retreat to Reia's basement room when breathing room was in short supply.
As the girls finished placing and the breakfast ware, Mona backed into the room laden down with a plate full of toast, which Reia helped her ease onto the table. Suki returned to the kitchen for the butter dish, as Mona walked to the stairs to call the rest of the inhabitants of the Hawagashi Orphanage to breakfast. A mob of children, ranging in age from five to eleven, raced past her, all dumping their various backpacks, jackets, and what-have-you in the entry hall. The orphanage matriarch sighed as the trampling herd made its way into the dining room.
"Reia-san, Reia-san! I hafta show ya somfing!" Mona heard one of the children yell at the eldest girl.
"Hold on, kiddo. Let's get everyone their food first," Reia said patiently. She turned to the young boy, and straightened his twisted shirt. "Now, what do you want to eat, Aren?"
Due to the sheer number of orphans, the eldest four had decided to split up the children to three per person. Mona and her husband had proposed it to the girls as a way to earn money without having to petition for the permission to have a job outside of school. All they had to do was tutor and look after their three charges. Eventually, Reia and Suki found that having to dress their charges became an additional chore.
"Reia-san! This is more 'mportant!" Aren cried, hanging onto the redhead's sleeve. Reia responded by shoving a bowl of rice towards the seven year old.
"Eat first," she ordered, pushing him down into his seat. "Then you can show me." The reluctant Aren glared and stuffed rice into his mouth as fast as his chopsticks could go.
"That's not what I meant, kiddo." Reia sighed and shook her head as she passed out bowls of rice to the other children and adults, who had just taken their places at the table.
"Ca' Ah tell yuff nowff?" Aren asked through a mouthful of rice. Bits of rice that couldn't fit in his mouth clung to his face and lips.
"Fine. Whatever," Reia replied, lifting her rice-filled chopsticks to her own mouth. She looked at the black haired seven-year-old as he swallowed his rice and turned around. When he turned back, the triumphant Aren held...
"MY SHOE!!" Suki yelled, grabbing it out of Aren's hands as she walked around behind him. The empty plates she had been carrying clattered to the floor, thanks to their plastic nature.
"No! Mine! I found it in the hall! Give it back, Suki!!" the seven- year-old yelled, the triumphant grin gone.
Reia put her head in her hands. I figured something like this would happen today, she thought to herself. "Aren, you'd look awfully funny wearing a girl's size 8 shoe," she sighed, not looking at either Aren or Suki.
Aren stuck out his tongue at Suki and Reia, before sitting down, looking every bit the dejected child.
Ten minutes drifted by in relative silence, shouting only occurring when so-and-so ate who-ever's food. Mona and the girls asked the younger children questions about how their classes were going. The answers ranged according to child, naturally, with only one squabble between the ten-year- old twins, who disagreed on the difficulty of learning English words.
"And what about you, Aren-chan?" Mona asked, looking at the child, who ducked his head. For as loud as he was around Reia and Suki, he was rather shy when adults were around.
"Ummm...we're learning how to tell time," he muttered into his juice glass.
"Oh really?" Mona asked, acting every bit the mother of all. One of the first things she asked every child who entered the orphanage to do was to call her "Okaasan." So far, all but Reia called her by that name. "Well, can you tell me what time it is now?"
"Okay..." Aren stared at the clock that hung on the wall behind Suki. "It is...7:45 and a half!"
"A-chan, it can't be "and a half." There's no such thing," Suki said, shaking her head.
"But it does say that!" Aren cried, pointing at the clock. "The baby hand is between 7 an' 8, and the mommy hand is at 45 and a half!!"
Suki and Reia looked at each other, and then slowly turned towards the clock hanging behind the blonde. Both pairs of eyes grew large as they read the clock.
"Gotta go!" Reia yelled, as she and Suki raced to collect their bags and bikes.
Phoenix: And now we advance to the girls arriving at school. I had an actual part in here, but it was unneeded crap. All that is needed is for you to know the girls picked up Isashi on the way to school.
Hitsuyukan Prep. Academy, 8:05am
"Later, Suki!" Reia yelled, as she tried to wave and finish chaining up her bike at the same time. Isashi echoed Reia and waved at Suki, who was entering the school building.
"Come on, come on..." Reia muttered at the lock. She pushed her white streak of hair back from her face. How come locking these damn things is so hard for me! Opening's easy, but why the hell must locking be difficult!!, she thought as the lock refused to allow its other half in. Reia glanced up towards Isa, who was digging through her purse. The redhead smirked, and then moved so her body blocked Isa's view of the bike lock.
Reia placed her fingertip on the lock opening, allowing her senses to explore the metallic composition. A slight tingling sensation filled her finger, letting her know that the metal was under her control. She reached down to pick up the other half of the lock and placed the tip near the opening. Then again, locks were never that difficult in Makai, Reia thought as the kitsune in her controlled the metal. She smiled as she dropped the lock, which was now more secure than any human technology would allow.
"Reia, you ready?" Isa asked, looking at her watch. Reia nodded and followed her brown-haired friend inside.
Once inside, both girls opened their backpacks and changed from their street shoes into their school shoes. Reia, who never liked shoes that tied when she was in a hurry, finished before Isa, but waited for her friend. As Isa stood up, the warning bell sounded, telling all students to report to their homerooms. The girls ran, falling in line with the rest of the latecomers.
"Hurry up, hurry up," they heard one of the teachers yell as students streamed into classrooms.
"Glad you could be here today, but move faster! Inoue, Hawagashi, why am I not surprised you two are late?" Both girls looked up as they turned into their homeroom.
"Gomen nasai, sensei," Isa replied, Reia echoing.
"Just get inside," their teacher sighed, marking both girls as present. The girls made slight bows, and then walked calmly to their desks in the middle of the room.
"Welcome. Didn't think you two would make it," a voice with a slight Castilian-Spanish accent said as Reia and Isa took their places. Isa turned around to glare at the speaker as Reia looked to the side.
"And how often do you come late again, Mari?" asked Reia, resting her head on her hand.
Mariposa Hiedra waved an olive-tanned hand dramatically. "Now, now. That's completely different," she said, tossing her long, dark-brown hair. "I happen to have swim practice every morning and afternoon."
"I have tennis every afternoon, too," Isashi stated. "And Reia has to look after her orphans when she's at home, right?"
Reia nodded, then turned to face the front as the classroom door was closed by the class president. Another day... she thought to herself as she pulled out the reading they had been assigned for homework. She was half listening to the mild spat behind her as the announcements for the day began. She only came out of her daze long enough to hear the messages that were important to her and to hear the bell signaling the end of homeroom. Students continued talking as they packed their things and moved onto their respective classes.
Phoenix: Another shortened scene. And an introduction of a semi-important character. Hehehe...(hides in fear of Mariposa) Continue!!
Cafeteria, 12:25p
"Thank God for lunch breaks!" Reia sighed, dropping into her customary chair at her customary table.
"I know. Today's been so long!" Isa said, sitting down a few chairs away. She unzipped her backpack and pulled out a plastic bag bearing the label, "Thank you!" After fiddling with the knot made of the bag handles, the brown-haired girl removed an apple, a soda can, and a very squished turkey sandwich in a zip bag.
"You seriously need a lunchbox..." her friend stated, removing a garnet- red vinyl lunch box from her own backpack.
"Well..." Isa shrugged as Mariposa and Tomoko with Narisuki in tow made their way across the cafeteria to the circular table Isa and Reia were sitting at.
"Hey, punks," Reia and Isa offered as a greeting in unison, grinning at each other.
Mariposa slammed her binder onto the table, nearly causing Reia's open soda to spill. "I am not a punk! I am Zanthar, Bell ringer for the Dead and Queen of the Fallen!!" She thrust a finger towards the two startled girls. "You shall fear and worship me!!" With her final proclamation, the self-appointed Queen of the Fallen stormed off to claim a chair from an underclassman's table.
"Lemme guess. Pop quiz in Math?" Suki asked, placing her binder on top of Reia's and sitting between her foster sister and Isa.
"No. Just Math class," Tomoko answered, as Mariposa returned and flopped into her newly captured chair. Tomoko, ever the calm member of the group, sat down next to Mariposa, who was glaring at her sandwich.
"What happened this time?" Isa asked, ripping off a chunk of her turkey-bread blob.
"Evil witch!" Mariposa yelled, stabbing her lunch with Reia's spork.
"Who, your teacher or your food?" Reia asked, reclaiming her spork. "If you meant your food, you need to be pun-ished."
All the girls except for Reia groaned.
"Is Reia-san making bad jokes again?" asked a sandy-blonde, as she placed her lunch down next to Isashi. Reia grinned in reply. "I figured as much..."
"Haven't seen you around much lately, Kirsten," Isa said, sliding over to give the newcomer more room.
"I've been doing a lot of working," Kirsten answered. "But with the summer coming, I'll actually get to goof off with you guys."
"Even though some people goof off all the time," Suki said, glancing at Reia.
"Silence you," Reia ordered, putting Suki into a loose chokehold and ruffling her hair.
"Ahh!! Off! OFF!!" Suki screeched, batting Reia's hand away.
"Stop harassing your foster sister," Kirsten sighed, putting her empty plate to the side. "Where is everyone today?"
Tomoko took a drink of her water before answering. She was the best one at keeping track of the group's schedules. "Ilia isn't coming, Terra's not here today, and Kurome should be coming," she reported.
"Big surprise on Ilia," Mari said sarcastically. "That guy's completely antisocial. Genius on the piano, but antisocial."
Reia nodded in agreement. "At least Kurome's coming. I need to talk to her."
"You mean bug her about updating her fic," Suki said.
"Hey, I'm worse than she is about that," Reia responded.
Phoenix: Hehe...(sweatdrop)
Isashi looked up from her sandwich ball. "Speak of the devil..."
"And up she pops, to quote Terra," Kurome finished, coming up to the table.
"We were wondering when you'd get here," Reia said. "I want to talk with you."
"Oh, Reia!" Kurome ran around to the redhead, a short stack of papers in hand. "I finished reading your short story."
"And?" Reia asked, taking a sip from her soda and taking the papers from her blonde friend.
"I loved it! It was so good! You need to write more of those!" Kurome said.
"Thanks for the feedback," Reia said, putting her lending copy into her binder, from which it was promptly removed by Mariposa. "Thief," Reia stated.
"By the way, I am going to be working on my fic more since the summer's coming, and I expect you to do the same," Kurome said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Alright, alright, I will," Reia answered, holding her hands in an "I surrender" position. "Aw crap, it's time to go."
All seven girls looked at the clock as the lunch monitor told everyone to clean up their tables. The girls all silently cursed the white haired American woman who also taught French language and literature, and picked up their things, abandoning their conversations for a later time.
Upstairs hallway, 3:30pm
"One more class, and we're free for the weekend!" Mari shouted, throwing her arms in the air. She grinned at her friends, who all rolled their eyes.
"Hold on, guys," Isa said as she walked towards the lockers. She stopped at one that was plastered with various signs written the girls and popped the lock. "Anyone hungry?"
Reia and Tomoko walked up next to the brown-haired girl and looked in. It had been Mariposa's idea two years prior to claim an unoccupied locker as the group's food locker and stash various snacks in there. The only rule tended to be if you removed food, you had to donate food. However, the Hispanic girl tended to be the only one who brought food. Reia and Isa usually ate the food before it reached the locker.
Mariposa leaned against the next locker glaring at underclassmen who dared look at her. "Are you guys –actually- wanting to be late to class?" she drawled, glaring at a first year girl.
"Knock it off," Reia said, smacking Mariposa's shoulder. "And since when have you cared about being late? You're the newspaper editor, for cryin' out loud."
"True. Sensei doesn't care if we're late," Isa said, closing the locker. She offered the others a peach candy from the handful she had grabbed and unwrapped one for herself, stuffing the wrapper into her pocket. "But Micharu gives pop quizzes for tardiness."
"Nah. Class Four gets then everyday, even if they don't count," Reia said, trying to talk around the peach candy in her mouth. "But I gotta go anyway."
Reia waved to her friends, and walked down the hallway to Room 202, the Foreign Literature classroom. Of all the classrooms in Hitsuyukan Prep, Room 202 was the barest. Although the literature teacher, Micharu, had been there for two years, he had never really bothered to put anything on the walls. Of course, some of the more daring students tacked signs or sketches on his walls anyway to see how long it take for him to notice. So far, Reia's drawing of a shrubbery had stayed up for three months with no signs of attempted removal.
The redhead fell in step with the rest of Class Four as they streamed into the room. Micharu had never forced the students to sit in any particular order or spot, therefore Reia went to her customary seat next to a window.
"Hey, Ilia-kun," Reia said, as a tall, blue eyed boy sat next to her. He regarded her with a glance and slight inclining of the head.
Ilia Khoskov was the quietest person Reia had ever met, though he had managed to charm his way into her group. The silent Russian had always intrigued the girls, mainly because he did everything efficiently and without saying a word. As was customary when he entered any classroom, Ilia immediately pulled out a book and began to read.
Reia sighed and shook her head. Compared to how Kurama was, I guess silent men don't bother me so much, she side-glanced at Ilia. The moment he becomes talkative, that'll be the shocker.
"Alright, Class Four," a deep voice sounded from the front of the room. Twenty-seven sets of eyes turned towards the blonde, blue-eyed teacher as he picked up an attendance sheet. "Let's get this over with. If you're here, say so. If you're not here, be silent."
Micharu stood at an impressive six foot even, although Ilia stood three taller. As was typical of the former Ranger, he commanded his classroom as he would his soldiers: with authority and respect. This was a man who could intimidate you while still willing to protect you from anything. Having his class at the end of the day never seemed all that bad after Reia learned how cool a teacher Micharu could be.
"...and Zoicho!" Micharu called, and was quickly responded to with a "Here!" by a voice at the back of the room. "Spectacular," he said, tossing the attendance sheet onto his table. "I believe I assigned a reading for today?"
A mad shuffling could be heard as the students began tearing through backpacks and notebooks to find the reading for the day. Reia calmly reached into her binder and pulled out the poem.
"I want you all to reread the poem for what should be the tenth time for my scholars and the first for my slackers," Micharu stated, as he sat down at his own desk.
Reia began to reread the paper that was laid out in front of her. She barely heard the discussion that began after all the students finished reading. Her mind drifted past time as she looked out the window at the trees blowing in the wind. Since the first time she had read the poem, its words haunted her mind. Her dreams became more vivid, causing her to remember things that had taken forever to forget, yet things that shouldn't have been forgotten.
She shook her head, red hair swinging around her and lightly whipping at her face. No. Now's not the time, she silently told herself. She closed her eyes, feeling the sunlight that drifted through the window.
Opening her eyes slowly, Reia scanned the courtyard of the school. A boy in a green uniform stood at the gates, his hands hidden in his pockets. He looked up at Reia with dark-brown eyes, and turned his head to the side.
Is he calling me out? she thought, the kitsune inside becoming excited. Reia nodded and held up four fingers where the boy could see them, then two fingers, then a fist. The boy nodded in understanding, and went around the corner of the gates to wait.
Reia glanced back down at the poem. I guess some things will never change, she thought, smirking slightly.
The Red Poppy by Louise Glück
The great thing is not having a mind. Feelings: oh, I have those; they govern me. I have a lord in heaven called the sun, and open for him, showing him the fire of my own heart, fire like his presence. What could such glory be if not a heart? Oh my brothers and sisters, were you like me once, long ago, before you were human? Did you permit yourselves to open once, who would never open again? Because in truth I am speaking now the way you do. I speak because I am shattered.
Woohoo!! I finally finished this chapter!! I'm not gonna say how long it took, but most of the typing was in the last three days, being July 2 to the 4th, although technically it's the 5th now. I don't think I'll do reader responses this time. However, as I am going on a trip to Florida this weekend, I will be working on the next two chapters.
Oh, by the way. I really did have an English teacher like Micharu, and he did make jokes like that. And we did have a Food Locker. One of Mariposa's better ideas...
Gods, this was a long chapter.....11 pages....never again.... Watch. The next one's gonna be either super shot or super long...I always do that to myself.
