He could hear the alarm ringing in frantic fashion on the drawer over to his right. With a mutter followed by a groan, he twisted his body around, arm swinging outward and three fingers smacking against the big button in the middle of the alarm clock now indicating 06:00. Sitting up, he glanced around the room, eyes blinking repeatedly in order to gain his bearings and the bags beneath his eyes showing all the signs of a very tired young man. Kurt Parker still wasn't fully used to the massive time difference between his native home of the United States of America and Japan and just having a few days in him to get used to it wasn't going to do the trick. But today was the first big day at Hakushuu High, the day he'd been waiting anxiously for ever since being accepted into this foreign exchange program. The fact that he'd be able to get a first glance of a culture that sparked his interest through things like anime and videogames and that grew into something more by furthering his knowledge about it through any articles he could get, travel channel shows about Japan, etc.
Making his way out of the bed, Kurt carefully looked around the nearby surroundings before finding the switch to light up the desk lamp to allow him a better view of his new bedroom. It was much smaller in size than his own in America, but with a little bit of decoration – mainly some posters and an extra pillow for his futon – he managed to start making himself at home over the past few days. In fact, Maruko had encouraged him to do so. While she wasn't at home too much during the week given her university's schedule, the time spent with her on these past two weeks preparing for the new term had been very enlightening. An exchange of lessons of both English and Japanese to one another, her cooking was everything Marco hyped it to be and it was a much better (and less awkward) situation than he expected it to be. Combining that along with the fact the apartment complex did have a small fitness center with weights, Kurt wasted no time in making himself a frequent visitor of it.
The idea of playing football in Japan struck him by surprise at first, but after Marco had been so kind as to deliver him just about all the archives that Hakushuu had gotten over the past year of competition alongside the World Youth Football Cup that barely got shown in America, the young American was starting to see exactly why Marco was enticed about the idea of playing. The Japanese weren't too shabby. A lot of balance with the given talent across the country and for high schoolers to be able to take on and defeat battle hardy, experienced teams with some semblance of NFL experience (well, NFL Europe, but that still sorta counted) or with teams much older and wiser…it was a surprise to watch. Almost scary, in a good way…
He couldn't wait to get out in the field.
But he needed to get to the school first.
"Ah crap," he exclaimed under his breath as he took a second glance at the watch, quickly jumping off his futon and going on through the set motions to prepare for his day between showering, brushing his teeth, combing his hair to a point where it looked somewhat presentable, throwing on his school clothes and managing to catch a quick bite to eat alongside Maruko before she showed him, yet again, what train to catch and to take the stop to at Kobuchizawa Station – which was just a short walk away from Hakushuu High and the local distillery. As she parked the Subaru in front of Higashi-Yamanashi Station, Maruko took a second glance at Kurt.
"Are you sure you won't get lost doing this?"
Kurt could see the concern on her face, but he nodded regardless. "Have to learn sooner or later, right?"
She returned his smile back with one of her own. "Don't get lost, then. But if it happens, call Reiji on that cell that we got you. He'll know what to do."
"Shouldn't come to that, I hope," Kurt ducked his head and exited the car, grabbing his bag and tossing the strap over one shoulder before closing the door carefully behind him. "Thanks again, Maruko-san."
"Have a good first day." Kurt waved and watched as she drove off into the distance and with that, he dug into the pockets of his pants and brought up a map with written instructions on each of the stations, necessary lines and everything he needed to guide himself through the process of not messing up his first day. Taking a deep breath, he turned around, facing the station in front of him and exhaling softly. "Well…here goes nothing."
"Soooo…how fun was it getting lost in the Japan railway system, my American friend?"
"I don't want to talk about it, please…"
"I'm not holding it against you. I just never would have thought you'd have gotten out two stations too soon and we'd run across you on your way out…talk about lucky."
Hanging his head low, Kurt is simply shaking his head while Reiji Maruko – or rather, Marco, given his apparent disdain for the name – watched him, flashing Kurt a sheepish grin as the two sat in the backseat of what looked to be a rather spacious car that had the kind of leather that one didn't see gracing the seats of cars very often. The car maneuvered without too much trouble through the streets, even when given its large size.
"So, tell me…how in the world did you get one of these again?" Kurt asked, using his index finger and spinning it in the air to indicate the entirety of the vehicle the two sat in.
"It's a company car, belongs to my father." Marco takes the soda bottle in his hand and brings it to his lips, taking a sip from it. "He is adamant about me making use of it to get to school and other places." He shrugged. "Can't complain. It is a rather comfortable way of travel."
"Wow," Kurt whistles lowly. "What does your father do?"
"Oh, y'know, he's just the head of a gigantic family that extends across parts of Japan and has influence in Sicily," Marco replied nonchalantly, watching as Kurt's expression changed from curious to outright frightened. "Legitimate business, ya know?"
"He's a Maf-…mafio-"
Marco stifles a laugh, taking another sip from his drink before his expression turns into a rather disappointed one, as he shakes his head. "Maybe it's the language barrier, but you are just a liiiitle bit too gullible, my foreign friend." Marco sighed, as he saw Kurt breathe a sigh of relief. "He actually works for the government at the embassy of Italy and his side of family is loaded, so put two and two together..."
Kurt's expression turned into a sour one, as he sighed again. It wasn't really a language barrier, but more so his ability to fall for stories rather easily. "Anyways, how close are we?"
"Very." Marco points to the window to Kurt's left. "Take a look for yourself."
Glancing at the window, Kurt's eyes widen as he takes in his first sighting of Hakushuu High – the school itself not being as big as he envisioned, but by no means a small school. He could already see a few students in their respective uniforms making their way through the open gates, some making casual conversation as they stepped forward, others stopped past the gate and chatting away. Beyond the gate, the building itself had a very traditional but imposing look to it, especially given all the foliage and nature growing around it, with massive cherry trees overlooking the courtyard and passage towards the main campus and while from a distance, Kurt Parker was able to spot what looked to be the rooftop for a massive greenhouse just west of the main campus. But before he could analyze the campus any further, the car came to a stop.
"Well, we're here." Marco picked up his bag with his right hand, keeping the soda bottle tightened around his left.
"Right." Kurt proceeded to grab his own bag and even adjust his own uniform a bit, almost feeling it would help him look a little more presentable as he heard the sound of the door opening on Marco's side, watching as Marco made his way out of the car and gradually proceeding to do the same, making sure to keep his head low on the way out as to not bump it like he did coming in.
The school definitely looked twice as intimidating now that his feet were on concrete and he was only twenty feet away from the gate. Marco seemed to catch on to it, as he nodded towards the entrance gate.
"Don't wanna be late on the first day, now do you?"
"Um…yeah. Right." Kurt took in a deep breath, taking the first steps forward and making his way towards the gate, glancing around and watching as a few, fair share of eyes went from whatever else people were doing to staring right at him – the uncommon body frame, hair, skin tone, the works. Marco walked alongside him, keeping his demeanor rather cool as he exchanged a few nods and smiles with who appeared to be familiar faces to him.
"You'll get used to it," Marco said in reassurance. "The transition shouldn't be too terrible. You'll be in class 2-H with us…"
"Us?" Kurt asked.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. A couple of the guys on the team are on the same classroom," Marco explained. "Two other new recruits alongside you in Makoto and Yashiro, then there are Mitsui, Kisaragi and Gaou…" He stopped himself, flashing Kurt a small smile. "You'll meet them very soon. But, for now, let's just worry about having you make it through your first day of classes before getting into all of that, huh?"
Exhaling softly, Kurt smiled in approval as the two walked into the main campus. Kurt followed Marco carefully to their classroom, which was completely empty outside of one person.
"Ah, Maruko-san." The man glanced over Reiji's shoulder. "Is that our foreign exchange student we'll be hosting this year?"
"Yes sir." Marco turned over to Kurt. "Parker-san, this is Kobayashi-sensei, our homeroom teacher."
"Ah." Kurt bowed rather deeply, realizing the circumstances. "Ohayou gozaimasu!"
Kobayashi-sensei returns it with a much smaller, curt bow of his own. "I look forward to having you in our classroom for the next year." The homeroom teacher changed his focus over to Marco. "Maruko-san, a word, if you will?"
Nodding, Marco holds up a finger and quickly excuses himself as he and Kobayashi-sensei begin talking. While watching Marco interact with the older gentleman in a full suit with shiny black hair that didn't look a day past forty, the same sensation he felt in the morning grew even stronger. He was a foreigner in a strange land and yet, by a rare stroke of luck, he found himself a bit of familiarity, a sport that he knew and loved and could embrace alongside the sights, the people and the culture all around him.
Maybe, sometimes, it is better to be lucky than good.
"…And as today is the beginning of a new school semester, your class was given the honor by the principal to host a foreign exchange student all the way from across the Pacific from Orlando, Florida, which is in the United States of America. So please, I would like you all to welcome our guest. Young man, would you please step in and stand before the class to introduce yourself?"
While his steps were a little bit on the shaky side, Kurt made his way forward, stepping in next to Kobayashi-sensei and looking on at the full classroom that is staring right back at him. Taking a deep breath, he straightened his posture just a little more before finally speaking up.
"Good morning." He exhaled deeply. "My name is Kurt Parker. I am from Orlando, Florida in the United States. I was introduced to Japan at early age by an uncle who lived here for five years as photographer. I enjoy what little I seen of Japanese culture in America so it's why I wanted to come here for foreign exchange program. Very pleased to make your acquaintance!"
The teacher nodded. "Very good, is that all, Parker-kun?" He nodded. "Questions, class?" A young girl raised her hand. "Yes, Aname-san?"
"Where you are from…Orlando…is that where the real Disney World is?"
The question was met by a few murmurs and Kurt nodded rather enthusiastically.
"Yes. Have been a few times. Very fun. But bigger fan of Universal Studios."
The teacher nodded once more. "Any other questions? Yes, Junpei-san?"
"What sports do you play? You kinda looked pretty intimidating," he asked.
"I play American football. Used to play baseball when I was child. Also swim a lot."
"Any other questions, class?" Kobayashi-sensei glanced around, noticing a few faces hesitant but no hands being raised. After a few seconds, he gestured toward the empty seat on the corner. "Welcome to Japan and Hakushuu High School. If you will, please take the empty seat next to Rikiya-san and we shall go over this semester's syllabus and your scheduled classes. If you need help translating, Rikiya-kun should be able to help you out."
"…I got it covered."
Kurt Parker finally glanced at the exact empty seat and of course, at the person sitting over to his left, who actually went through and stood up after having his name called out by the homeroom teacher in order to indicate his very presence. Between the wild, jet black hair falling beyond his shoulders, the pure physical specimen that even a school uniform couldn't hide, the visible scar on his forehead and a wicked grin that resembled that of a bloodthirsty beast than that of a human being, his presence alone commanded attention and outright intimidated anyone within the vicinity.
"That…has got to be…the biggest Japanese I have ever seen," Kurt muttered under his breath in his native English language, blinking a few times as he gradually made his way towards the empty seat, almost in awe. He had seen the tapes from the World Youth Football Cup, but needless to say, the television didn't do his size justice.
As Kurt sat down, so did the large man, who immediately glanced over at him, still wearing the same grin.
"Gaou Rikiya. You must be the newest recruit Marco's been talking about…"