The administration office is located in a wing of the main school building, alongside a few classrooms that are actually open for students who want to study. It was easily distinguishable – being the wing that doesn't have broken windows or vandalized walls.
Sneaking into the administration office is not a hard task for the Ebizuka Trio. All the teachers leave for home at exactly 5pm. There wasn't much to teach in Suzuran and, God forbid, they don't try to discipline the students at all. The office was considered safe to be left unlocked. Suzuran students avoid the place like plague. No decent Suzuran would be caught dead there.
All of which made it easier for the Ebizuka Trio to break in.
"What's his surname again?" Kirishima asked as they rifled through the enrolment files.
"Asamori." Pon supplied. "Asamori Sora."
They continued their search in silence.
"There! I got it!" Pon raised a file in triumph.
"You sure this file is his?" Kirishima asked as Mako and he made their way to him.
"There is only one file with the name 'Asamori Sora' on it. Who else could it belong to?" Pon snorted. He opened the file and three heads bent over it. "The address is… here." Pon used his cell phone and took a picture of the address.
"Right…" Kirishima took the file, eyeing the documents with interest before stuffing it back into the cupboard. "Let's go."
The next step in Operation Find Sora was slightly harder. The trio skipped school the next day and made their way there. The address had pointed to a location in Shinbashi, Minato-Ku. The trio looked up at the small Izakaya, proudly bearing the name of "Asamori Family restaurant".
"This is the place?" Kirishima turned to look at Pon suspiciously, who was in turn looking at his cell phone. Wasn't Sora some rich kid? And wasn't he half asian?
"According to the map, yeah." Pon looked up and nodded affirmatively. "It's here, no doubt about that."
Kirishima scowled, and hurried in, closely followed by Mako and Pon. A small bell tinkered at their entrance.
"Good Morning…" A woman called out cheerfully and emerged from a curtain-covered doorway at the corner of the restaurant. "Can I help you with anything?"
The woman's smile froze when she noticed their uniform. Kirishima paid that no heed. Suzuran students get that all the time. It is part of the deal one gets when in the infamous School of Crows.
"We're looking for Asamori Sora. Is he in?" Pon asked politely. They weren't some of the rowdier kids who acted all arrogant just because they were from Suzuran. Those are the wannabees. They're the real deal.
"Yes, he is. I'll get him for you." the woman went to and called upstairs. "Sora-kun! There're some people looking for you!"
The three of them exchanged looks with one another. He was home? How did he make it home? There was the sound of footsteps, and the curtain was pushed aside.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Her eyes were blurry when she opened them. She blinked rapidly to clear the blurriness and refocus them. The first thing she saw was a beige ceiling. Around her, there was the sound of something beeping.
"You're awake." Someone came into view. From her outfit, it was a nurse. "I'll get the doctor."
A nurse? A nurse? Shit! She was in a hospital!
She shot up in bed and then paused as pain exploded throughout her body. Her head felt as if tons of fireworks are setting off within her skull and the whole room swirled crazily.
"Please! You can't get up! Not yet!" The nurse anxiously tried to calm her down and push her back gently but firmly into bed. "Please relax!"
She acquiesced and leant back into bed but by no means was she going to relent. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. What? What the hell? What happened to her? Sora lifted a heavily bruised hand to her throat, frantically gesturing to the nurse. Why can't she speak?
"Please..! Relax!" The nurse said again, firmly but in a low voice. "I'll get the doctor who'll explain everything to you… Everything's OK now."
If everything's OK, I would have been able to speak! Sora thought sourly. Nonetheless, she stopped resisting and allowed the nurse to leave and get the doctor. The sooner the nurse gets the doctor here, the sooner she'll have her answers.
Sora took the opportunity to survey her surroundings. There were four beds in the large room that she was in but hers was the only one occupied. The room itself was an off white colour, more due to age than to colour scheme, and was not air conditioned. Ventilation was due to the slowly rotating fans located at the ceiling above each bed. Wires and pipes crisscrossed along the ceiling and the walls. The whole place was clean, but looked rundown.
She tried moving the different parts of her body and winced. They all hurt like mad. Judging by the bright sunlight outside the window, it should at least be afternoon. She wondered how long she has been asleep.
"Oh, you're up." The doctor, a female with long hair tied up in a casual ponytail, strode into the room. "How are you feeling?"
Like I got hit by a truck… She thought groggily. She patiently let the doctor check up on her. The doctor dragged a nearby chair and sat down, nodding thanks to the nurse for passing her a brown coloured file.
"You've suffered major trauma to your body. Organs – no internal damage, thank goodness, and no broken bones but damage to muscles aplenty, along with sprained wrists and ankles. Overall though, I'll say you're lucky; very, very lucky. I've treated people who had gotten off worst in fights before."
Sora gestured to her throat. And the doctor's smile dimmed.
"Yes, well. That is where your luck diminishes. You're suffering from Vocal Cord Paresis, caused by neck trauma." The doctor looked at Sora with sympathetic eyes. "You won't be able to speak for a while, I'm afraid. And you may have swallowing or breathing difficulties. But don't worry." The doctor patted Sora's hands. "Your case isn't severe and it's highly likely the damage isn't permanent."
She hoped to the dear God upstairs that what the doctor said is true. She looked down at her clothes. She was clad in hospital pyjamas. Who changed her? Whoever changed her would know that she was a cross dresser.
The Doctor's eyes gained a knowing look. "It was a female nurse who changed you. Yes, uh… We know about your cross dressing issue and rest assured we won't say anything. We're very good in keeping patient-doctor confidentiality. It's the reason why a lot of our patients chose to come back to us."
She'll maintain scepticism about that. Still, the damage's done. Sora gestured for a pen and paper.
"Where am I?" She wrote in large shaky hand writing. Jeez, her words resembled that of a nursery kid just learning to write.
"Ryushin Hospital."
"How did I end up here?" The last thing she had remembered was sneaking away from Suzuran. After that, everything was a blank.
The doctor hesitated. "Someone brought you in."
"Who?" Sora wrote.
"I'm not sure… When I arrived, you were already prepped for treatment." The Doctor got up, clearly indicating the end of discussion. "I'll check up on you later."
She waved the clipboard to get her attention and wrote frantically. The doctor narrowed her eyes when she read what Sora wrote. "No, I'm sorry. You'll get your phone back once you get better and not any time before. You need to rest, not play games."
With that, the doctor and the nurse left. Sora felt like throwing her clipboard after them in frustration.
How was she going to contact her friends? Or worst, what will Solange do if she can't get a hold of her?
The young boy that emerged was gangly with wild shaggy hair held back with a hair band, revealing typical Japanese features.
He was definitely not Sora.
The boy in front of them turned white at the sight of them. The woman looked between them in askance. "Is something wrong?" She asked cautiously. "Aren't they your friends from school, Sora-kun?"
Kirishima stiffened at that. This guy is called Sora as well?
"Yeah, mum!" He said frantically. "T-They're my friends from school! We we're just going to hang out. See ya later!"
With that, he swung an arm around Pon and Mako and literally dragged them out of the restaurant. Kirishima followed, fuming in displeasure.
Pon couldn't have gotten the wrong person. They checked and there's really only one file. So there is no other Asamori Sora in the school. He hadn't seen this guy in their school before, despite his mother saying he's from Suzuran but his name is Asamori Sora too.
What the heck's going on?
The moment they exited the restaurant, they dragged the boy into a vacant alleyway and Mako slammed him hard against a building wall, pressing his forearm against his chest so as to restrain him. Pon and Kirishima stood on either side of him, the former cracking his fists menacingly.
"Oof!" The boy exhaled forcefully as his back made contact against the wall.
"We have questions and we want them answered honestly." Kirishima began in a soft but dangerous voice, brown eyes flashing almost viciously. "Is that clear?"
The boy nodded fearfully.
"Good. Where's our friend? And who are you really? Your mother called you Sora and said you're from our school. But we've never seen you around school before."
"I dunno who you're talking about and I am Sora. My full name is Asamori Sora, really!"
"Don't play dumb with us!" Pon threatened. "We know the real Asamori Sora in our school and he isn't you! And he's missing!"
The boy visibly gulped hard. "I really don't know about that… Maybe he's another person with the same name?"
Mako raised a fist but Kirishima beat him to it. He grabbed hold of him again and slammed him against the wall, before pulling him up with both hands to his eye level.
"Wrong answer, asshole. The address on our friend's record led us here. And from your expression just now, you knew something about it. OUT WITH IT!" Kirishima ended with a roar.
"All right! All right! I'm sorry!" The boy panicked. "Please don't hurt me!"
"Then answer us!" Kirishima growled. He was starting to have a strange feeling that his effeminate looking friend isn't all that he seems to be and Kirishima meant to find out the truth, starting with this guy.
"W-well… You see, a couple of months ago, I was at the arcade and this guy approached me with a deal. He'll get someone to take my place in high school. I'll get the diploma and 100,000 yen upfront."
What? Kirishima could feel the similar vibes of shock sent off by his two friends. 100,000 yen isn't a small sum of money.
"I just have to provide him with my high school transcript papers and my identity card for him to complete the proceedings. All I have to is to go take a photo for my new admission."
"Take a photo?" Kirishima asked, perplexed.
The guy nodded frantically. "Yeah, he had me put on foundation to lighten my skin tone and wear uniforms and a scarf. Oh, and he did some other stuff to my face. I don't know what. I ain't a girl. But it's to make sure my photo looks like the body double he had in mind for me but not so much that it looks different from the photo in my identity card."
"Why is he doing this for you?" Pon asked suspiciously.
"Don't know. I never ask." The boy shrugged.
"You never bothered asking why he's doing all these?" Pon ask incredulously.
"100,000 yen! It was a sweet deal! You have any idea how much money that is to me? And I get the cert while still being able to help my mum out. When my siblings are older, I can get out of here with the money I saved and find a job somewhere else with the cert. It's a win-win situation for me. How was I to know that boy's gonna enrol in Suzuran? Well, better a Suzuran cert than no cert." The boy went off into a rant. "My dad died, and my mom can't handle running the shop together with looking after my siblings! So I had to quit high school to help her out but I really want to have at least a high school diploma. I can't go to night school either because my shop's open from morning till night. Then this guy just came along and he just need my papers. In return, I'll get the diploma and 100,000 yen upfront. Who in their right mind would reject him?"
Things are getting more and more confusing by the second. Kirishima wanted answers but he ended up with even more questions. He shook his head and opened his mouth but Mako beat him to it.
"Who is the guy who offered you the deal?" Mako asked.
"I don't know!" The boy waved his hands helplessly. "I didn't even get his number! He paid the cash up front and he said I will get the diploma later."
"Did he tell you a specific date?" Pon asked. It isn't much but this guy he mentioned is the only link to Sora (the Sora they know) right now. Maybe they could set a date to trap this guy.
The boy shook his head. "No… He just said he'll pass it to me upon completion."
Kirishima let go of him and the boy drop to the ground. He didn't even know what he is supposed to feel. They just exhausted their leads to find Sora, and they found out that their friend is hiding something he doesn't want them to know.
"So that's all I know, guys, I swear!" The Sora impersonator, or rather the real Sora, said nervously as lay sprawled on the floor. "C-can I go now?"
Kirishima glared at the Boy-who-is-also-called-Sora. He looked frightened enough, with squinty eyes wide and sweat dotting his forehead.
"How old are you?" Mako asked suddenly, throwing everyone off guard.
The real Sora, if what he said is true, blinked at the sudden question. "Eh? Uh… why do you wanna know?" At the sight of Pon narrowing his eyes, the boy hurriedly added on, "18! I'm approaching 18."
Huh…? But that's not right…
"That's not right…" Pon spoke Kirishima's thought out loud. "Sora's from our year… He's a freshman too…"
If this real Sora's identity has been used, then their Sora would have transferred in as a third year.
"No…" Mako corrected Pon. "We have always been assuming Sora is in the first year because he was hanging around with us, and because he was with us in the enrollment ceremony. But he has never specifically confirmed that he was a first year. There are third year transfers too. Look at Takiya Genji."
That fact hit Kirishima like a brick to the face. Mako was right. This had never been a topic of their conversation in all the times they hung out with Sora, simply because they assumed he was a freshman and treated him as such. Given the amount of time Sora hung around with them, it would be natural that the rest of the freshmen followed suit and assumed the same thing.
But Sora had never once affirmed that she was a freshman. Heck, come to think of it, they didn't even know which class she officially belonged to. She had sat with them during the enrollment ceremony, near the end of the school hall, but that was also where the rest of the transfer students sat.
Did Izaki and the rest assume he was a freshman too? Kirishima wondered. Or did Sora actually tell them the truth that he was a third year?
That thought left a bitter taste to his mouth. He shook himself mentally to prevent himself from pursuing that trail of thoughts. Sora is their friend. He deserve the benefit of the doubt.
If what this Sora said is true, then the next time the mysterious man who bought his identity will surface will be a year from now, when the current cohort of third years students graduate. That is far too long, and they still haven't found the answer that they wanted.
"This ain't helping us much!" Kirishima growled. "God damn it!" He kicked the trashcan next to the Boy-who-is-also-called-Sora in frustration.
The boy flinched and gave a yell of fright, jumping sideways in fear, right into Pon's arms. The trashcan flew across the alleyway and smashed against the wall on the other side. It broke and splattered its contents into the alleyway like innards spilling from a gutted fish. The boy stared wide eyed at the eviscerated trashcan, just as Pon grimaced and shoved him face first against the wall.
"Alright!" The Boy-who-is-also-called-Sora wailed. "I have that man's contact! I'll give it to you! Just don't hurt me!"
What? Kirishima exchanged a glance with the other two, who look equally surprised at this twist of events. The Boy-who-is-also-called-Sora hiccupped, "I… I g-g-give you h-his contact-t number and t-t-tell you where to find h-him! J-just d-d-d-don't hurt meee!"
Kirishima's eyes darkened as he caught on. "You. Damned. ASSHOLE! So you've holding out on us all these while!" He roared, raising a fist.
Mako grabbed hold of his hand. "Calm down, Hiromi. We need the information he has."
Hiromi's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "You have 1 minute. The clock starts now."
He had a strange feeling that Sora wasn't all that he seems and that knowing the real Sora may bring about more trouble than answers. He shook off that feeling. It doesn't matter. He will find Sora, and he will wrangle the truth out from his effeminate looking friend, whether he is willing to tell them or not.
A/N: I'm sorry for not updating for so long. The past few months had not been good at all. Anyway, the above chapter is unedited, as can be seen from the strange flow of the story. After receiving so many reviews, I feel guilty about not posting (Captain Juice! You're still following my story! I'm touched! =X). Regarding Sora... Did anybody expect the above curveball? But you guys must have some clue right? Sora has a Japanese mother (chp 1 & chp 3?). How could her surname be Japanese? =X
I will update again in roughly one month, after things have settled down some more. Still a lot of adjustments to be made in my life and in the home.
Lastly, feedback? How did this chapter go?
Update on 6 Dec 2015: I'm reviving this story and had reedited the above scene to flow into the next chapter better. I'm also currently editing the previous chapters. Hope to see you guys soon...