Chapter 1: Back Again
"The owner's of Uematsu Law Firm involved in a terrible accident."
"Truck crashes into Uematsu vehicle directly after Itchiro-sama wins year long murder case. His wife, Chitose-sama was in the passenger seat."
"No sign of foul play, but authorities suspect otherwise."
"Itchiro and Chitose Uematsu pass away in Osaka General leaving behind their 17-year-old daughter."
"Hyoga Minoru convicted for the murder of Itchiro and Chitose Uematsu."
The headlines were everywhere. On all day long so that everyone would talk about it. For months it was like this; constant reminders that they, my loving parents, are gone. As I walked the halls of school my peers would whisper amongst them as I passed. Teachers let anything wrong I did slide such as falling asleep in class or missing due dates. My friends would try to cheer me up, but I was beyond help. For my eighteenth birthday I stayed home and cried to myself on the floor of my bedroom as the leaves on the trees began to change color. I did not return to school the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. Against my will, my body would not move. It was not until the school called for medical attention, worried that I may be suicidal, and the white coats showed up at my house. They whisked me away to a place where I could get treatment for severe depression. I did not stay long. After a session with my therapist, Yuzuki-sama who asked what my parents would want from me, I immediately pulled myself together and was permitted to leave after a few more days under surveillance.
As soon as I got home I put my plan in motion to move on. I sold the beautiful manor we use to live in after blessing and cleansing it of all the negative emotions I created in there. I donated all of our belongings to charity but kept the few family heirlooms and photos. With the money I made from selling the manor I was able to purchase a spacious studio apartment in the upper-middle class district of Osaka. Just a step down from where I once lived. The rest of the money, along with the massive amount my parents left me, are in savings after paying for the funeral and my medical bills. However, I will admit that I splurged a little. Any girl can shamelessly admit to retail therapy. I bought several things for my new place to replace the everyday necessities I got rid of from my old home. I also bought a whole new wardrobe. New clothes equal new start, and good shoes will take a girl to good places.
And so it began. I created a whole new life for myself in my mind at the sanitarium, and I was beginning to live it. In this life, my new life, I am a reformed citizen of Japan. I was a rebellious yankii in high school and was soon expelled. Grew up rough with no parents around to care for me or scold me. I was raised by the streets and loyal to only myself until I got caught up in a gang war. I was nearly raped and murdered until a detective intervened and saved me. The detective encouraged me to escape from the nasty spiral my life was, and go back to school. She was kind, and pulled several strings to get me back in so I could finish my senior year.
And I am back again. Back at Shikon Academy to redo my senior year. I arrived early before any of the other students, so that I could talk to the principal and discuss my placement. I stand at the threshold looking up, and then I take a deep breath and open the door. The familiar feeling of this school engulfs my body, but there is something different. I am alone here realistically and figuratively. The halls are empty as I make my way to Kokubunji-sama's office. He greets me at the door with a smile and lets me in. I sit in a cozy chair that you would find in high-end furniture galleries. This is the first time I have set foot in his office, so naturally I inspect every piece of fine furniture and take in the over-the-top presentation of the place. "I sure hope the students tuition money didn't pay for all of this," I think to myself.
"It will be good to have you back, Uematsu-Chan," he says to me as he sits down and folds his hands on top of his desk, "It is rare that a school of our caliber would allow back a drop-out, but given the circumstances, and the well thought out letter your therapist wrote us, the board was more than willing to allow you back in."
"I am truly grateful for a second chance, Kokubunji-sama," I square my shoulders and smile back, "I will not let anyone down this time," I finish bowing at the waist to show my superior respect. I sit back down and he hands me a folder.
"Inside you will find your new homeroom number and a list of instructors. There is also information regarding your new locker and basic school policies. You do not have to worry too much about the handouts as you have been coming here for almost three years. It is just standard procedure to give them to "new" students," he air quotes the "new" with his fingers and we both laugh. We stand and he lets me out. I roll my eyes after turning away from him. The yankii inside me shakes her head at my forced brown-nosing.
By the time I leave his office the other students have arrived. I make my way through the throng to my locker so that I can change into my school shoes. I was assigned the old locker I had before, and seeing it reminds me of my old friends who are now at University. In my flashback, I change the school uniforms we don into hood clothes of tight jeans or shorts and leather jackets. Yumi leans against the lockers with a cigarette sticking out of her mouth while Takako speaks with a client on a stolen burner phone. I chuck the school shoes into the locker and pull out my strappy, faux-snake skin stilettos. "We'll be there to pick up the stuff in an hour…Yes, we have all the money," Takako says into the phone then hangs up. She gets up and nods to us, Yumi tosses her cigarette to the side, and we all leave.
I am lost in this daydream of leading my all girl gang as I make my way to class 3-A. There are already students in there who regard me inquisitively as I step in. I take a seat at the front of the room in the desk closest to the door. I pull my pen, planner, and notebook from my bag and wait for class to start as I look over my schedule:
Homeroom: 3-A Instructor: Mr. Inutaisho
1st Period: History Instructor: Mr. Motosuwa
2nd Period: Calculus Instructor: Mr. Shinbo
3rd Period: Physics Instructor: Ms. Saito
4th Period: Phys. Ed Instructor: Ms. Mihara
5th Period: English Instructor: Mr. Nekoi
6th Period: Japanese Instructor: Mr. Inutaisho
"Mr. Inutaisho…" I wonder to myself. I have never heard about this teacher. He must be new.
"We have Mr. Inutaisho for homeroom!" One of the girls in the back of the class squeals.
"We are so lucky to be in his first class teaching as a full time teacher! We also have him for Japanese! He's so handsome…" another chimes in.
"And young, too! I heard one of the teachers in the faculty office say he's only 24-years-old!" the first girl exclaims.
"Wow, so close to our age! Maybe we could…"
"Shhh! Minami, you know that relations between students and teachers are forbidden!"
"Oh, but Motoko! You know I've had a crush on him since he was here last year as a student teacher!" the girl called Minami whines.
Before Motoko can respond the door slides open and in walks a tall, masculine man with long silver hair. Behind me I hear the two girls swoon as they and everyone else takes their seats. "So this is Mr. Inutaisho," I think to myself as I cross my legs and rest my chin on my wrist.
"Good morning class 3-A. We have a new student joining us," Mr. Inutaisho says as he sets his briefcase on the desk and takes off his coat, "Would you like to stand up and introduce yourself?" He questions with his eyes down and focused on settling into his desk. No one responds, and I feel eyes begin to pile on me. Mr. Inutaisho looks up irritably and turns his gaze on me. He raises his eyebrows at me, and I immediately figure out that I am considered a new student.
"Oh," I gasp at this epiphany and raise giggles and snickers from the class. I stand up, introduce myself, and then sit back down. I feel my cheeks warm as more laughs are heard, and inside I want to tell them all to shut the hell up. I settle for rolling my eyes, and brushing my hair behind my ear. I look towards the teacher who still has his eyes set on me. Our eyes lock for a moment before he stands up with papers in his hand. He proceeds to hand out a few to each column of desks and pauses once he gets to mine.
"Uematsu," I look up once the cold voice calls my name. He hands me the papers to take one and pass the rest back. "I foresee a long day ahead," I inwardly sigh to myself.
In spite of the anxiety I feel during all of my classes I manage to pull through really well. Escaping to my fantasy life when I can. I think about the past and replace the clean-cut images with ones of me leading my girl gang through the school day. In these fabricated flash backs, I am tough and no one dares to disrespect me. And I am having fun sticking out from the rest of the class in uniform as I don denim shorts, a white crop top, and a leather jacket. I imagine that, in the present, I am the reformed yankii so none of the gossip and snickers going on about me by my fellow classmates can pierce my skin. Why? Because gangsters do not "give a fuck" that is why. "And not a single fuck will be given," I think to myself as I rewrap the bandage around my wrist that I now have to wear thanks to the mishap during Physical Education with the Dreadful Duo.
I finish securing the band-aid just as 6th period starts. Mr. Inutaisho walks in, suitcase in tow; with the same grumpy and stern look on his face that was there this morning. "Damn, I guess even coffee couldn't help to rearrange your face," I say not realizing I had said it out loud. Dead silence and big eyes on me, I feel adrenaline spike up my back. "Good time to stop working, Mind-To-Mouth Filter!"
He regards me coolly with a lifted eyebrow, and I sink into my seat.
"How dare you say that to Inutaisho-sensei, Ronin!" Minami shrieks at me from behind, "Just because Shikon Academy was kind enough to let you back in does not mean you can mouth off to your superiors!"
The name she called me, Ronin, triggers something in my mind. The name given to masterless Samurai in the feudal era also doubles as a name for those who fail to get into University. I gape at her as I process why she called me that, and suddenly I remember. My parents are dead. Am I Ronin because I have no parents, no leader? Or am I Ronin, a masterless Samurai, because I have yet to master high school? My other side comes to my rescue as I nearly fall back into the abyss I spent months in the sanitarium to climb out of. Quickly, my face rearranges from holding back tears into one ready to fight. I shoot Minami a death glare potent enough to cast a dark shadow in the room, "Well aren't you just the patron saint of hypocrisy? I suggest that you, kohai, sit down and shut the hell up," I monotonously say to her, "On a side note, when I finish my studies doesn't define me. I'll still get there. I'm going to do you a favor and pass that as the reason why you called me Ronin." Under my death gaze she slowly nods and sinks back into her seat.
"Uematsu will be staying after class, alone, to perform the cleaning duties. At the bell the rest of you are excused to your after school activities," the class cheers at Inutaisho-sensei's orders, and I turn to face him after glaring back at Minami's and Motoko's smug looks. He has his book open in one hand while the other flips through pages. "Turn to page 31: Introduction to Poetry. Uematsu, stand up and read the summary then the first poem that follows." My eyes shoot daggers at him as I stand and ignore the snickers from behind me. "And this was the one subject I was looking forward to."
The class starts to pack up once Inutaisho-sensei dismisses them. I remain still save for rubbing my throat and searching for my bottle of water. Instead of stopping at that one poem, he made me read the entire section! He would interrupt me commanding me to speak louder so that everyone can hear me, and now my throat hurts. The Dreadful Duo hit me with their bags as they walk by, and I force myself to ignore them even though they tediously had to step over other desks just to be able to walk down my aisle. Once the last student leaves I stand and head for the cleaning closet. I pull out the duster, wipes, broom, dustpan, and mop. Then, I begin to clean the classroom from top to bottom. "This room is beyond filthy. How can these third years be so messy?" I shake my head to myself as I head to the front of the room to take down the beast of a chalkboard. Inutaisho-sensei sits at his desk doing paperwork, and I try really hard to not smack him as I walk by.
"Uematsu, why did you have to be let back in to school?" I hear him question me, and with nothing else to do I respond.
"Surely, you know the reason why. I was the talk of the town for a few months," I turn to him, and he looks to be remembering something. I finish wiping down the chalkboard and grab the broom. "Finish the floor, and I'm done."
"It's a shame what you had to go through, but Minami is right. It's unacceptable to come back to school with such an attitude," he says and tilts his head to the side, "If there is something you need to talk about, let us know."
"Well, I have a therapist for that," I say turning away to continue cleaning the floor, "You know that as well. It's on my file."
"That's not what I was referring to," I turn and he is standing very close to me. He gently lifts my left wrist (the one I scraped when Minami knocked me over in P.E.) and says, "This school has a strict tolerance policy for harassment. If another student caused this, you should say something."
I yank my arm back ignoring the sting from the bandage yanking off clotted blood attempting to close the wounds. "I just fell, Inutaisho-sensei," I regard him with respect hoping that he will come off it, "It's nothing to worry about." As much as I would love to have one less problem, dealing with the Dreadful Duo, I remind myself of the strict codes I lived by as the leader of an all female gang. One being: snitches and talkers get stitches and walkers. Even though I am a reformed citizen, the codes are my way of life.
"You've done a good job today, Uematsu," he says after staring me down for the truth, "The classroom is cleaner than I have ever seen it. You may leave now."
Desperate to get out of there (and not willing to turn my back on him to put the broom back into the cleaning closet), I hand him the stick with a tight smile, grab my things, and walk out of the classroom while watching his reflection in the windows as he stands there grasping the stick of the broom; looking at it curiously. I power walk out of the school and off campus. I make it to a bench conveniently placed on the sidewalk and plop down gasping for air. "Wow, the tension in that room nearly suffocated me." I rerun the past event in my head until my breathing calms down. I come to the conclusion that Inutaisho-sensei is a strange one, and I should keep communication with him to a minimum. I gather myself and head for the train station to get home.
It takes around a half an hour for me to get to my stop (if I take the express train), and then a ten-minute walk to get to my apartment building. The building is modern with western influence. I let myself into the ground floor foyer and greet the front desk attendant as I make my way to the stairs. I live on the third floor in a corner unit, so I have a wonderful view of the city. I open the door and the sunset over the city skyline welcomes me home through the large panoramic windows. I kick off my shoes and step into my apartment placing my bag on the kitchen island to my right. I hang my school uniform jacket on a set of hooks near the door, and look around my home. In the center is a two-seater couch and matching chair aimed at a 106 cm flat screen. A glass end table stands at a junction between the pieces of furniture with a small lamp on top of it. To the left of my "living room" I have my "office"; a desk and chair placed at an angle in front of the windows so that every time I look up I see the city. To the right of my living room is my "bedroom"; a full sized bed with pull out drawers to store things in pushed against the corner. I also have a nightstand next to my bed and a dresser. Adjacent to the entrance is another door that leads to the bathroom. "And this is home," I sigh to myself as I sit down on my couch and stare out the chunk of window in front of me. It is small, but it is cozy and perfect for just me. A single person home for a one-person family.
File No.10079 Page 1/3
Student: Uematsu Sakura
DoB: October 5 (18-years-old when spring term starts)
Occupation: High School Third Year at Shikon Academy (held back one year)
Class: 3-A
Rank: 4/356 (previously; awaiting grades from current term)
Club: Music [previously (proficient in piano and guitar)]
Height: 163 cm (5'4")
Weight: 54.4 kg (120 lbs.)
Family: Uematsu Itchiro – Father (deceased)
Uematsu Chitose – Mother (deceased)
Contact Info
Address: 610 WFirst street Apt #: 314
Phone: Not available at this time
Email: None provided
I.C.O.E.: Dr. Kadawaki – Osaka General (family physician)
Notes
Souma Yuzuki – Assigned Therapist – Hakurei Sanitarium
Suicide watch – Level: yellow – Please contact Hakurei Sanitarium should suspicion arise
Medications – None – subject to change