My Life

Old Fiat

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Existence twenty-nine: Kabaji

My name Kabaji Munehiro. I live in Redwood Housing Area (it's the lower level of Oakwood). A lot of people there were the servants of the people in Oakwood live there, my parents being some of them. My mother is—(wha- uh… usu, Ore-sama).

Loosen up…

My mom works as maid at the Imonoyama mansion and my dad is the valet of Rupert Sakaki-sama.

Actually that's how it all started. Just last year…

I met Rupert Sakaki-sama once because he and dad were walking in the park. Me and the rest of my old team were practicing and Sakaki-sama stopped and started watching me as I played a match (I was in sixth grade and was playing against one of my friends). He apparently told Sakaki-sensei, his father.

I had enrolled at my elementary school in the scholarship program by my parents and, by chance, one of them was Hyotei Gakuen. I was offered the chance to go there and took it compulsively. The only thing is, the scholarship doesn't pay for the uniform, so my mom and dad had to buy me a second hand one from the school.

Actually the uniform was a little too short.

And an ill-fitting, second-hand uniform there is the neon sign that says "SCHOLARSHIP STUDENT!! I DO NOT LIVE IN OAKWOOD!!"

Okay, so the neon sign isn't so bad. What's bad is once those who are rich and have super-star parents see your uniform it all becomes 'oh, a poor person. How charitable…' and then they don't talk to you. In fact for the first two months, I think only three people talked to me, and only twice each person. They actually only said something like "Do you know where Eishi is?" etc. Actually the only people who talked to me were other scholarship students. I got seriously depressed actually.

Then they day I had the courage to join the tennis team.

Sakaki-sensei walked up and down the line of seventh graders and could pick out every scholarship student. I stood and held my breath and he tugged on my collar. On the Hyotei uniform, your name gets embroidered on the inside—if it is custom made. If not, you are stuck with someone else's name on your collar. He looked at it and looked up at me.

"It's nice to see you again Taki Oorameshi," he raised an eyebrow. "How is high school?"

I turned red.

"Scholarship?" he asked in a flat tone. "Yes," I said, wishing I could sink into the ground. He hadn't done this to the rest of the students, why me? I remembered my dad's walk with Sakaki-sama.

I got on to the tennis team. There wasn't much chance that I could get on to the regulars, and I remained ignored by the Oakwood students and the other scholarships, but now I had something to push for.

I managed to burry myself in a hole of tennis and silence. There was only one person to pull me out.

Atobe-san was in eighth grade at that time, but was considered the face of the team. He had his own fan club in the school—his own cheering squad. I had only spoken to him once right after I had joined the team. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "You were brave, standing straight while the coach was talking to you. But it means he thinks you might have talent. Ore-sama thinks so too." He flashed a devilish grin.

We didn't speak again until he sat next to me until we sat next to each other during art class, where they jam all the junior high students randomly in the same classroom.

He pulled on my collar to read the embroidery.

"You aren't really Taki-kun, are you?"

"Uh… no, Atobe-sempai."

He cocked one eyebrow and giggled. "'Atobe-sempai'?? No one calls me that! It's 'Atobe-sama'!"

"U-usu, Atobe-sama," I said, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.

"Kawaii!!!" he said, his tongue between his teeth in excited manner. "That's adorable!"

"Arigato," I muttered.

He slung his arm around me and smiled. "You're with me from now on. What is your name?"

"Kabaji Munehiro…"

He grinned. "You're sweet, Kabaji-kun."

He introduced me to all his friends and made team speak to me, though they still don't really like talking to me too much. Out he pulled me out of my hole, he gave me something to do.

He saved me.

I thank him.

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Kawaii… I made Kabaji a person! Yay!!! Did I go too out of character? I think I kept well in but… :throws dart at Ore-sama No Like:

Anyway.

Happy Birthday to ME!!! I'm 13!!!! Booja!!!

-Old Fiat s. Italy

Next is Hiyoshi.