Gateway
It's Tai again. I must say I'm impressed with the treatment they've given us. They've given us a big room and the best part is there are two separate beds. I mean, c'mon I've had to share a bunk bed for most of my life. This is a big step up.
The food? Let me tell you it was great. Yesterday's feast was great. I'm not entirely sure if we'll get that every night, but I sure hope so. Kari loved it too, I don't think I've ever seen her eyes bulge the way they did yesterday.
Today is the day classes start. It's more or less the moment of truth in my eyes. We'll see if I know what I'm talking about. Anyway, it's about time I head over to eat breakfast. Kari's already awake in her new gray uniform. I'll tell you right now, I look weird in gray.
Chapter 1: Blondes here, Blondes there, Blondes everywhere
Tai flapped his school bag over his shoulder and glanced in the mirror. He sighed at the sight of himself in gray. Even the high school students back in Odaiba didn't have to wear gray, their uniforms were green.
"C'mon Tai, you don't want to miss breakfast do you?" Kari said as she opened the door. The door led to a hallway which led to the stairs. There were a lot of doors leading to everyone else's rooms in this area. In that way it reminded Kari of her home. Tai finally closed the door and locked it. He led the way as best as he could remember to the dining hall.
The dining hall was grand, fit for a king. Tables and tables were layered out in rows covering the massive room. On these tables was a variety of breakfast food. Tai's grin escaped him and he instantly began looking for a seat.
"Taichi, sit next to me!"
Tai was shocked to say the least; he glanced halfway down one of the middle rows to see a blonde girl with blue eyes waving towards him. She was wearing a bigger size of Kari's uniform.
Kari smiled. "Wow, you're popular Tai."
"Can't turn down an invitation." Tai maneuvered through various people, some who were eating and walking, others who were just talking, and some people who were also looking for a seat.
"Hi," Tai said to the girl as he pulled up a seat and sat down.
"Hey!" She said to him. It just hit him that she spoke with an accent. "Grab something to eat and enjoy. It's really good."
"Is that so!" Tai said, grabbing some toast and chewing on it. Tai heard Kari sigh before she placed a plate in front of him.
"Hello, Hikari-chan!" The girl said.
Kari examined her. She didn't believe they'd met before, or maybe she's forgotten. Bingo! "I think I saw you yesterday on the bus,"
"That's right," The blonde replied before she smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Catherine DeGaul. I forgot we weren't properly introduced. Sorry it's the blonde in me," She started laughing. Tai and Kari looked at each other, they didn't get the joke.
Within three minutes the three of them were talking as if they were close friends. Tai continued to eat long after the two girls were done. It was part of his soccer motto, build strong legs from eating; building strong head from head butting; always win.
Kari turned her head to the front entrance of the dining hall. She lightly elbowed Tai and pointed over there. Yamaki stood in his black suit and sunglasses that seemed to just fit him.
"Students," He called. Only half of the children gave him their attention. "Students!" He repeated, this time raising his voice. The dining hall became silent. He stared at the students with his business like expression. "Breakfast will end in five minutes. Afterwards you shall report to field to receive your schedule. This will lead to your first day here at Mitarashi Boarding School." He ended the conversation without any real closure and made his exit.
Tai shook his head. "I don't like that guy, he gives me the creeps."
"Tai watch out!"
Tai's chair was pushed into the table, before he was knocked over onto his side. He didn't know what was going on; just that someone was on top of him. Then he felt even more weight, like someone else was on top of him too.
"Matt stop!"
The two people on top of him rolled off and continued to fight. Tai jumped up immediately pissed off. He quickly regained his composure to see two kids fighting. One was the blonde haired kid from yesterday and the other is someone he's never seen before. One thing was clear, Matt was winning.
Tai ran forward and tried his best to pull Matt off of the other kid. A crowd had built up around the fight. Matt fought as best he could out of Tai's hold on him and ran to tackle the other kid.
"Stop that this instance!" A female commanding voice broke through the chants and jeers that had surrounded the fight. A black haired woman walked forward in her gray suit and a scowl on her face. The fight immediately stopped. Matt regained his composure and stood up.
The woman's scowl didn't leave her face. "You two," She pointed to Matt and his possibly senseless foe. "You two come with me," She didn't wait for an answer; she turned around and walked away.
"Tch," Matt didn't care, he put his hands in his pocket and followed. The other boy followed in suit.
Tai shook his head. "I knew that guy was bad news,"
"It's time to get our schedules stop lollygagging." Catherine said, getting a head start on her way to the field.
Kari turned to see Matt's younger brother looking at his shoes, sad. She walked over to him and waved her hands in front of his face to get his attention. "C'mon we have to go outside to get our schedule. What's your name?"
"Takeru Takaishi, but my friends call me TK." TK replied with a slight blush.
Kari smiled at him replying with, "My name's Kari Kamiya. Let's be friends okay?" TK nodded.
"Kari, hurry it up." Tai called out, making his way out of the dining hall with Catherine by his side.
--
"Taichi Kamiya," Tai yawned out, giving this particular faculty member a chance to look him up by his last name, grab his schedule, and hand it to him. Tai stared at it for quite a while before accepting his classes.
"Hey Tai, what'd you get?" Catherine said from behind him. Tai thought for sure that she should be on the other side of the field. It was almost as if she was stalking him. That's when Tai remembered the previous day and that gothic blonde girl that kept showing up everywhere.
"Beginners Algebra, Japanese History, Caligraphy 3, P.E., and Piecology." Tai answered. He scratched his head, feeling as though he didn't pronounce the last one right.
"Piecology? Hmmmmmm," She stared at her own paper. "We have two of the same classes: Beginners Algebra and P.E." She said happily.
Tai's eyes widened. He couldn't believe who was staring at him. It was definitely the girl from yesterday. She was standing at the entry way back into the school.
"Hey where are you going? We have class together!" Catherine said in vain. Tai was running as fast as he could through the crowd of kids heading to the entry way. The girl took steps back seemingly fading away into the school.
--
"Kari Kamiya," The younger Kamiya said. Before heading to collect her own schedule she had gone with TK to collect his schedule. Her selfless attitude was at work again.
The faculty member handed her her schedule.
"What'd you get Kari? Do we have any classes together?"
The eight year old girl unfolded her paper and began to read. "Kanji, Science 2, Math 3, P.E and Psychology."
"Oh we have kanji, science, and psychology together." TK said, unable to contain his grin.
"Now that everyone has been given their schedules, it is now time for everyone to head towards their first class. Tardiness is not an acceptable trait at this school, so do your best to arrive to class on time."
Kari knew it was Yamaki who was speaking. This time he was speaking into a microphone that amplified his voice enough to cover the entire yard. Kari glanced around the yard hoping to see a trace of her brother, but he was nowhere to be found.
"C'mon Kari we both have Kanji." Kari nodded and the two jumped into the sea of children flooding into the castle.
--
Tai had lost sight of her. It was like the girl vanished into thin air. 'She's suspicious. Oh man, where am I now?' He looked around. He was about to turn around and go back the way he came when something peeked his nose. He frowned at the smell. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, he'd never smelt anything like it before. Curiosity sunk into his skull as he decided to investigate. Before him lay a plethora of stairs heading down, lit by torches on each side of the walls. Something about that place was making his hair stand on end.
As if caught in a trance he slowly made his way down the stairs. He was sure to take each step as gently as possible. The lower he descended the less light seemed to reach him. The torches were beginning to lessen with every few steps.
It felt as though he'd been walking for hours, but he finally reached the bottom. The smell was stronger than ever, like breathing in metallic heat. Tai's eyes widened as he saw the door before him. It was an iron door seemingly impenetrable. Tai smirked slightly, wondering why he was even thinking of breaking the door down. From the small cracks under the door he could make out light. They sure weren't using electric light it was too dark, more like a torch. Tai shrugged, it fit.
Tai suddenly heard whispers. His heart beat increased. He pressed his ear to the door only to immediately remove it. The door was hot, too hot for the skin to touch comfortably anyway. He moved his head as close to the door as he could.
"You've done well in this - Alice," Tai missed a word.
"He's adjusting – Curiosity is a human trait. –" Tai tried to get even closer to hear more.
"His sister – feel it." Tai's heartbeat increased. Remembering Yamaki's words from yesterday, 'you two are the only two who are set to arrive in a male female group.' Were they talking about him? His heart was beating very fast.
"Someone's listening in. I can hear their heart beat!" Tai's heart almost jumped into his throat. He heard that last part perfectly and it scared him. Who or what could hear his heart beating? That was when he ran.
--
Catherine's head was leaning on her arm. She was bored. Tai was supposed to be in class with her and she even saved him a seat but he still hadn't shown up. The teacher was too professional; in fact it was the same woman who broke up the fight between Matt and the other kid.
There was a knock on the door before it opened. To her joy, it was Tai who walked in. The teacher stomped her way over to him and a scowl formed on her lips. Tai immediately recognized who she was.
The lady spoke. "Taichi Kamiya I presume?"
Tai nodded, "Sorry, I got lost." He trailed off.
"I am Mrs. Kakudo. From now on when you speak to me or ask a question you will either have Mrs. Kakudo in your sentence or ma'am." She demanded. It was almost as if she was yelling at him, but not quite.
Tai nodded. "Okay," She cleared her throat. "ma'am."
"Now find a seat and I will continue,"
Tai spotted Catherine waving- what is with this girl?- and decided to sit next to her. "So. . .what's been covered since I was gone?"
"No speaking during lecture!" Mrs. Kakudo yelled.
Tai rolled his eyes. It was going to be a long class. Did he dare do it? Would he sleep? He'd attempt to.
--
Kari smiled. "How's this?" She asked her teacher. She had just finished writing the kanji symbol for tree. Her teacher, Mr. Kiuchi, nodded in approval.
"Excellent work Kari. Now try the kanji for mountain." Mr. Kiuchi replied.
"Okay," Kari replied. She was about to get back to work, when she saw TK struggling with his kanji. "Hey TK do you need any help?"
"No, I'm fine." He said before sighing.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," TK continued to work on his tree kanji. Kari looked at him before turning back to her own work.
Class ended uneventful and Kari soon found herself preparing to exit class.
"Kari," TK called out. Kari turned around. "Can you come with me?"
"Where?"
"Matt promised he'd check up on me after our first class. He said I should head back to the room once class was done." TK said.
"Is Matt that guy who was fighting earlier?" Kari asked.
"Yeah, he's my brother."
Kari couldn't hide her shock. "Brother? You have two last names I think. On the bus ride over here yesterday I heard you say your name was Takeru Takashi. I thought I heard Matt? Ishito?"
"He said Yamato Ishida, but you were close. Are you gonna come Kari?"
"Sure we have a few minutes before our next class starts anyway. Let's go."
The two made their way through the school up into their dormitories. TK's room was on a different floor than Kari's room. TK stood in front of his doorway. "He's not here."
"He could be running late, we just got here."
TK nodded. The two eight year olds stayed put for a solid ten minutes. TK was feeling bad for dragging Kari here, when he knew she wouldn't want to miss class. Kari was determined to stay here until TK was satisfied.
TK sighed. "I think we should head back now."
"Are you sure?" Kari asked.
"Yeah, let's go. He's probably still in detention or something."
--
"Taichi Kamiya,"
Tai shook his head in annoyance. "Here,"
"Joe Kido,"
A child with glasses whose hair was almost blue answered happily. "Here!"
"Excellent," The old bald headed history teacher said. "You two shall become partners in this class." He moved onto the next names on the roll sheet.
Tai turned to face Joe. Joe nervously looked the other way. The room had a window in which Joe was looking out. Tai took it upon himself to stand up and sit down next to Joe.
"So we're gonna be partners huh?" Tai said. Joe's reply was a nod. Tai could tell something was wrong, Joe looked scared. "Uhh are you okay?"
Joe nodded quickly. "I'm fine,"
"Are you ummm scared of me or something?" Tai didn't know where the question came from but it just came out of his mouth.
Joe didn't nod this time. He didn't do anything but stare at Tai. He finally spoke. "I saw you fighting earlier in the lunch room."
Tai gave him a skeptical look and then shook his head with a light smile. "I was breaking up a fight between that Matt kid and some other kid."
Joe didn't seem to buy it. Tai wanted to say 'whatever'; he'd told the truth what else could he say. Joe spoke, "You knocked me over when we were collecting our schedules."
Tai thought back. "Knocked you over?"
He thought back to meeting Catherine. He thought back to gathering his schedule. He thought back to seeing that blonde girl. He began to remembered how he had to run through the crowd of kids, pushing a few hear and there. He then remembered bumping into Joe and knocking him down, giving a brief apology, and then heading back after the blonde girl.
Tai gave a goofy grin and scratched the back of his head. "Oh. . . yeah sorry about that. I was rushing."
Joe nodded again. "Apology accepted, I'm Joe Kido nice to meet you."
Tai smirked a little. "Aren't you formal? Anyway I'm Tai Kamiya. Don't call me Taichi. Also I want you to know that. . .I'm not really good with history, but I won't let you down!"
The teacher began the lecture describing the Edo era of Japan. Details of the Tokugawa dynasty were explained as were roles of Samurai and the shogunate. Tai didn't care much for the details, it was as if a spell would try to put him to sleep every time someone spoke of something educational.
The class ended and Tai was woken up by Joe. Tai yawned and took out his schedule. "Caligraphy 3,"
"You don't have to go." Joe said. Tai glanced up from his paper. "Classes are over for the day. It was just announced."
Tai laughed. "Only two classes today huh. Maybe I can get through this after all. See you tomorrow Joe." Tai worked his way back to his room. With any luck Kari would already be there and he could see how her first day was.
He opened the door and peered inside. He flipped up the light switch causing the room to be illuminated. There was no sign of Kari there. He shrugged and walked in kicking something by his foot. It was an envelope. Curiously, he reached down and picked it up. It had written 'Kamiya' on it.
He closed the door and sat down on his bed, carefully examining the envelope. He opened it and began reading.
Taichi and Hikari Kamiya
I hope this letter finds you two well. I hope your first days were remarkable and full of excitement.
Taichi I hope you are aware that there are two soccer teams available in this school.
Hikari I hope you are aware that auditions for a Romeo and Juliet play will begin soon.
The reason I am writing this letter to you two is because I believe there a few things about the school you need to be aware of.
First, beware of the midnight sweeps. It's a policy in the school that sweeps through every room at midnight to make sure the children are intact. I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to always factor these midnight sweeps into your plans.
Second, if you have smelled something burning. You are smelling sulfur. Be on guard.
I apologize but that is all the information I can relinquish at this moment. I hope you two enjoy your stay in Mitarashi Boarding School.
From,
A friend
Tai had reread this letter three to four times before he put it down. He laid back in his bed and went over everything he had read. Sulfur. Sulfur. Midnight sweeps.
He began to daydream of the events that passed through the day.
"Taichi, sit next to me!"
"Oh sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Catherine DeGaul. I forgot we weren't properly introduced. Sorry it's the blonde in me,"
"Stop that this instance!"
"You've done well in this - Alice,"
"His sister – feel it."
Tai sat back up. "Her name is Alice." That's when he looked at the door. Kari still hadn't come back yet. Tai smirked to the best of his ability. "This school is more interesting than I thought it would be."
The door creaked open and Kari walked in. She was followed by a young kid, who Kari quickly introduced as TK.
Tai rolled his eyes. "Already bringing guys over huh Kari?"
Kari ignored his remark and turned to TK. "You can stay here as long as you like."
"Thank you, Kari."
Kari jumped onto her bed. "Tai, TK is the brother of Matt the guy who was fighting earlier. We can't find him anywhere. He said he'd check up on TK after first period."
Tai put his hand on his chin to look like he was thinking. "I see, I see. Well one thing, Kari don't go around telling everyone everything. I mean I don't everyone here to know I'm here because I'm. . ." He rubbed his chin. "academically challenged. You can't just tell everyone's business like that. What if TK didn't want you to say anything?"
TK whispered, "Does he always lecture like this?"
Kari whispered back. "No, he usually falls asleep during lectures."
Tai grinned. "Still, I'm curious to know what's going on myself. Let's swing by your room in an hour or so before we go searching for him."
TK nodded eagerly. "Really?! Yeah let's do that."
Kari now seemed distant from the other two. Something had peeked her nose. She was smelling something warm. The other two were still talking, it was as if she was the only one who could smell it. Was something on fire?
End Chapter 1