Chapter One: In Which Tezuka Himeno Causes a Ruckus
"Himeno-chan! Over here!"
I winced at the loud voice and turned, fixing a smile on my face as my oba-san¹ threw her arms around my neck. People stopped to stare at us, giggling and whispering as Ayana-oba-san gushed over me.
"I'm so glad you're here, Himeno-chan! I was so worried when I heard your parents were going to England and leaving you all by yourself in the States! How are you? Are you tired?" she took a deep breath, allowing me to get a word in edge-wise.
"Arigato², oba-san, for letting me stay with you. I'm fine, just a little tired. It is a 20 hour flight." I smiled at my exuberant aunt.
"Oh right! We better get you home! Kunimistsu's waiting for you; are you sure you're ready to go do school tomorrow?" my aunt snatched two of my four bags up and more or less dragged me out of the airport to her care, babbling the whole times. "When Mawata told me you were going to stay alone, I jumped at the chance to have you here, Himeno-chan. I haven't seen you in forever, and Kunimitsu wanted to see you again, so I…"
I love Ayana-oba-san. I really do. But she could talk for hours on end, if you let her, and I really didn't want to listen. So I – politely –tuned her out as I gazed out the window. It was around ten o' clock at night, according to the clock on the dash, yet people were bustling about, so different from the good ol' USA.
I was glad to be back in Japan, make no mistake of that. I wasn't at all annoyed that my parents had decided to go to England without me, had planned on leaving me behind in Spokane Valley, only to change their mind and decide to ship me off to Japan.
Nope. Not annoyed at all.
I wasn't that I didn't enjoy being here or anything. I loved my erratic, warm, friendly oba-san, and was looking forward to seeing my best friends and itoko³ Kunimitsu. And I was going to be going to one of the most prestigious Japanese schools, Seishun Gakuen. And I did enjoy being back in the country of my birth.
But still!
My parents – just out of the blue – had announced that they had won a free trip to England. I had been really excited, since I've wanted to go to England all my life, but then my parents sprung the concept that I wasn't going! So my hopes were crushed into a tiny little ball that my parents stomped on several times.
Thanks Mom, Dad. Really.
Normally, I'd be excited to go to Japan. Both my parents were Japanese, though they had moved to the States shortly after I was born, because of my Dad's job. He was a CEO of a huge banking business, my mother being the supervisor. But after what happened a month ago, I was decidedly un-excited to be back. I knew Kunimitsu would have a gazillion questions for me, and probably a lecture. But I couldn't deal with it right now. I was grateful that my aunt hadn't mentioned it, and I was determined to keep it that way.
Maybe it's stupid. But tennis… it had been my life. Ever since my cousin had taught me how to play in the fourth grade, I had been obsessed with it. But my dream of being a pro had been shattered along with my wrist, thanks to that Fuji kid. If I ever met him again, I'd be sure to give him a piece of my mind – or maybe my fists.
"Himeno-chan! We're here."
Blinking, I realized that we had come to a stop in front of a familiar house. Two stories, neat and quiet, Ayana-oba-san's house was a lot different than mine. Both my parents were loud and obnoxious; probably where I get it. Ayana-oba-san, my father's sister, was still loud, but she was neat-freak. I lugged my suitcases to the door, wondering why on earth clothes weighed so much, when the door was randomly flung open, hitting me straight on the nose.
"Ouch!"
"You know, standing behind a door isn't exactly a smart thing to do, Hime."
Holding my nose, I glared at my cousin. He was lounging in the doorway, and amused smirk on his face. Kunimitsu and I shared the same brown-blonde hair and face shape, though my eyes were tawnier than his brown. A good four inches taller than me – who only stood about 5'6'' – I had to tilt my head to glare at him.
"I didn't exactly expect to be attacked by a door, Kuni-chan, so don't even start." I retorted, using the nickname I had made up when we were five and six. Kunimitsu was a year older than I was, a ninth-grader to my eighth. He hated it now, and that whipped the smirk off his face.
"Don't call me that. We aren't four and five anymore." He told me.
"So?" I inquired. "You still call me "Hime"."
"Hai, but that is part of your name."
I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, into the living room, saying, "And so is "Kuni"." I removed my shoes and heaved my carry-on onto the table, leaving Kunimitsu to grab my luggage. Yes, yes, I'm a horrible person, but I was tired, and all I really wanted to do was sleep.
"At least call me '-kun'. Or just Kunimitsu." I heard him mutter as he dragged me bags in. Laughing, I turned around and glomped him, smiling at his disgruntled tone.
"I missed you Kuni-chan." I said with a little smile.
He returned the hug, chuckling softly. "I missed you too, Hime. And don't call me that." I rolled my eyes, releasing him and taking a step back. As I did so, his eyes fell upon my casted arm and his eyes grew serious. "Hime, about your arm, I—"
"We should go help your mother. Those bags are pretty heavy." I interrupted sharply. At the hurt in his face, I sighed. "I don't want to talk about this, Kunimitsu. It's done, it's over with, and there isn't anything I can do about it."
Kunimitsu opened his mouth to say something, but Ayana-oba-san burst in, lugging my bags behind her. He hurried to help her, setting them on the steps. His mother looked at him. "Kunimitsu, can you help Himeno-chan take her bags to her room? She looks exhausted. She turned to me, handing me a key. "It's to your room. I kinda figured you'd want some privacy."
Touched, I said, "Arigato, oba-san." I hugged her tightly, then turned to Kunimitsu, waving my hand. "Lead on, itoko."
He wouldn't let me carry my bags upstairs. Nope. He took all four of them, claiming it was "weight training". Weight training my butt. Chivalry was nice and all, I guess, but it was a pain the butt. Kunimitsu knew about my wrist and still had the fanciful idea that I could still play, despite what the doctor had said. It was sweet, in an annoying, depressing way. So he was babying me for nothing.
The room he led me to was spacious, holding a bed, desk and a nightstand. Sheets – in a pale blue colour – were folded nearly on the bed, along with blankets the same colour. The walls matched the sheets, and the curtains were a soft cream colour. On my right side was a closet, on the other side another door that, when I poked my head in, led to my own private bathroom. The room had a lovely, open feel to it, and I felt at home.
Flipping on the light, Kunimitsu set my bags on the bed with a huff. "Mom was ecstatic when she heard you were coming. She painted the room four times." He crossed the room, opening the closet. "Your uniforms are here, along with the stuff Mawata-oba-san sent. We also picked you up a bag, your books and some school supplies.
I had been trailing after him as he showed me each objected, and hugged him awkwardly with my bad had. "Arigato, Kuni-chan."
"Don't call me that. And it's not a problem." He hesitated in the doorway, and then turned to me. "Hime, don't rush into things. It's not… like you to give up so easily." He pushed his glasses – which were so like mine – up. "If I must, I'll teach you to play right handed. But you will play again."
I wanted to cry. I was a failure with my right hand – I had already tried. I couldn't risk overworking my left hand and loosing all use of it. But Kunimitsu was encouraging that tiny part of me that refused to believe Watanuki-sensei, the part that hoped against hope. I had even foolishly brought my racket with me. It was dumb, and I was giving myself false hope, but… I couldn't bear not seeing it.
"Just give it some thought, Himeno." I looked up at the full use of my name. Normally, he and I just used the nicknames – I knew, despite his protested, that it was special to him. I knew he was serious when he said my full name. "Good night. I'll be across the hall if you need me."
"Night," I mumbled.
Weariness hit me like a ton of bricks. So much had happened in so little time that my mind was whirling. I wearily made the bed and changed, setting my alarm, then flopped facedown on the bed. This wasn't going to be easy, but maybe, just maybe, it would be a new, better start. That was my last thought before sleep claimed me.
***
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
With a groan, I rolled over and slammed my hand down on my alarm clock. I sat up, rubbing my eyes sleepily, as light glowed from behind the curtains. I glanced at the clock. 6: 15. I stared at it for whole thirty-seconds, waiting for my brain to start. Mornings were not my forte – what was so good about him. Then I gasped, Kunimitsu's explanation coming back to me.
The school starts around 7:30, though I leave at 6:30 for practice. Meaning, if you don't want to be late, or get lost finding the school, you better be up before then to come with me.
…
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I'm gonna be laaaaate!"
I sprang out of bed with a shriek, throwing stuff in my bag as I ran around getting dressed. I couldn't shower in fifteen minutes; I'd take one tonight. Frantically dragging a brush through my tangled hair and stuffing it in a ponytail, I thumped down the stairs. Ayana-oba-san was sitting at the table, reading the paper, and Kunimitsu was putting his shoes on.
"Ayana-oba-san!!!!!!! Why didn't you wake me up!?" I wailed as I shoved a piece of toast in my mouth.
"I did, Himeno-chan. Three times. And each time you said you were getting up." She said calmly.
"And you believed me!?" I pushed past a smirking Kunimitsu, calling over my shoulder, "Bye!"
"Wait, Hime!"
I growled at my cousin's voice. "What?!"
"Don't you need shoes?"
I blinked then looked at my feet. Only socks covered the appendages. I gave a little shriek of frustration, ran back inside, shoved my feet into shoes and ran back outside.
Only to have Kunimitsu stop me once more.
"WHAT?!"
"You don't know where Seigaku is, do you?"
It was then when I realized that, lo and behold, I had absolutely no idea where I was going. I gave another growl of frustration and glared at my smirking cousin. "Lead. Now. And so help me, if you play any jokes or anything, I'll kill you."
"And a good morning to you too, Hime."
"Just go!"
We arrived at school without mishaps. Kunimitsu disappeared saying, "The captain of the tennis team cannot be late. I will check on you later." and left me to find the office all by myself. Once I did – a good quarter hour later – I had a pile of forms to fill out for the too brightly smiling receptionist. After another half hour of filling out forms and waiting for the receptionist to take them, she handed me my schedule. Then I made the valiant attempt to find my classes.
Not an easy task, lemme tell ya.
You see, most schools have classrooms that number in the 100s on the first floor, the 200s on the second and etc. But not Seishun Gakuen. Oh no. To be like every other normal school would be blasphemy.
By the time I had found A220, it was 7:15 and the hallways were deserted. I hadn't had the courage to ask anyone for directions, and everyone else had just stared at the "new girl" anyway. I slowly slid open the door, muttering a quiet, "Gomen nasai."
Twenty-two pairs of eyes turned to stare at me. I gulped and shuffled to the front of the class, where the teacher was waiting for me. I knew my face was on fire, and I wished the earth would open up and swallow me. It didn't, of course, but it was a nice thought.
"Ah, Himeno-san, correct?" the sensei said dryly, taking my transfer paper. "Thank you terribly for joining us, finally. Now, if you would take a seat, we might actually be able to get through something."
The class snickered and I made a beeline to the only open seat, near the middle, next to a honey-brunet boy who gave me a friendly closed-eye smile. I timidly offered him a smile in return. He seemed friendly enough.
"That's right, you're new here. Fuji-san, would you mind showing your new partner around for the rest of the week, or until she gets a hang of how the school works?"
The brunet nodded. "Hai, sensei." He turned to me, who was frozen in shock, smile still on my face.
Fuji? His name was Fuji? My blood had turned to ice, but my anger came to a boil. It as him. The guy who had broken my arm was here. How dare he speak to me as if nothing was wrong!
"Hello, Himeno-chan, I'm – " he began in a friendly manner.
"I know very well who you are." I cut him off coldly. He blinked in surprise, opening his eyes fully to stare at me. "You're him – the one I've dreamed of punishing all month. I hate you, Fuji-kun, and always will!" I growled vehemently.
Silence fell over the room, as the teacher, Fuji and the rest of the class stared at me in shock. I didn't care. I had found my focus of revenge.