Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that i claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:
For Love and Money, Chapter7: A new Crew
Qiang Pu had to admit, she was liking school so far. The fact that Yaayaa was so helpful, always right there for her whenever she might possibly need her was proving to be a good thing. Another reason that the dismissive attitude she had been raised with was proving to be a potentially bad thing. There was no way she would have been accepting of the energetic outsider before.
Now thought, she liked to think that she was becoming a rather progressive young lady, if she didn't say so herself. She had managed to not get in any trouble, she was doing a fairly good job of paying attention so far in classes and then there was the so-called 'P.E.'
She had to admit, that was probably going to be the easiest class for her. Running, exercising, and participating in 'sports'. It was all too easy, and it seemed like it was going to be a constant source of praise. Not that she WANTED to be praised or anything, after all. It would not be proper or expected of a young warrior of the Joketsuzoku to seek out praise for doing such frivolous things.
Still, seeing the respect and wonder in her new friends eyes had made the young warrior oddly happy. It seemed that Yaayaa could barely keep her attention off of Qiang Pu's every action, something that had sent a little thrill through the young warrior.
Maybe that is why the main character in the manga she was reading liked it so much when people praised her? If so, it was becoming much more relatable. Was that conceited to think? She might have to check with the ladies of the Teahouse to see what they thought. She could ask Nabiki, but… To be honest, the Elder scared her a bit at times. Not that a proud warrior of the Joketsuzoku would ever admit that.
She glanced aside at Yaayaa who was talking rapidly about what they should do after school as they sat and ate their lunches together with their desks pushed together. It was nice, having a friend like this. In the village, you had to always worry what their endgame was, who had put them up to getting close to you, what they had planned down the road that would entail them getting close to you.
Here, it seemed so much more… Honest. Open. Yes, she could already see the petty politics playing out, the subtle interaction, but at least here she didn't seem to have to worry about literally someone stabbing her in the back.
It was kind of refreshing, she thought to herself.
"So, how long have you been in Japan again?" Yaayaa asked with that same starry eyed look she had had most of the day.
"Qiang Pu...I mean, I have been here for two months now. I spent most of the first month recovering." Qiang pu answered honestly.
"Recovering? Were you sick?" Yaayaa asked with concern in her voice.
"Sick? No, I had been… Injured. But I am better now!" Qiang Pu said happily.
"I hope it wasn't bad? I would hate to think of anything bad happening to you." Yaayaa said with genuine concern as she looked her new friend over.
"Qiang Pu is fine, was only shot and stabbed a few times. Hardly anything to worry about." Qiang Pu answered without artifice.
"Shot? Stabbed? This...Isn't one of those chuunibyou things, is it?" Yaayaa asked a bit warily.
Qiang Pu looked at her, then glanced around to make sure the others were not paying attention before she quickly lifted her shirt to show one of the stitched up scars on her lower belly. "See? Not that bad. I can already run and even do some limited practicing. No sparring, though. Don't want to make Doctor Tofu unhappy, because then Kasumi is unhappy. And no one ever wants to make Kasumi unhappy."
"Not bad? That...That is awful! Your perfect skin! I mean, I don't like thinking of you being hurt, you are my dear friend after all." Yaayaa said a bit more mutely than she had started her little rant with.
Qiang Pu waved her hand dismissively "Is not that bad. Scars are proof of the life you have lived, or so one of my teachers say."
"You… Talk like you have a lot of them…" Yaayaa said in a worried tone of voice.
Qiang Pu looked at her friend and nodded "I have a few, not as many as some, though."
Yaayaa bit her bottom lip as she looked at her new friend "Maybe sometime you could show me?" She asked in a quiet voice.
"You want to see my scars?" Qiang Pu asked curiously.
Yaayaa hedged and blushed "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't ask weird things like that!"
"Is weird? How so?" Qiang Pu asked in an uncertain tone of voice.
"I've always been a fan of martial arts and stuff, but I'm not exactly built for it. I watch a lot of anime and movies, and read manga, but I've never done anything. You study martial arts, don't you?" Yaayaa asked as she looked at Qiang Pu.
Qiang Pu nodded and gave her friend an inquiring look. "How did you know that I do martial arts?"
Yaayaa blushed before she said "It's how you move. You move like one of my favorite actresses."
"I will take that as a compliment." Qiang Pu said, being careful not to relapse into her more normal manner of speech. She wanted to make a good impression, after all.
"You will probably have to ask your mom if I can come over sometime, right?" Yaayaa asked as she picked at her food, watching her new friend intently.
"Is yes, will have to ask. But Elder Nabiki good person, I am sure she will not mind." Qiang Pu smiled, hoping her new friend would not take offense to her broken Japanese when the language got away from her.
"Qiang Pu, can I ask you a question that might be a bit personal?" Yaayaa asked nervously.
"You can ask, can't promise I will answer." Qiang Pu replied truthfully.
"How long have you been speaking Japanese?" Yaayaa asked carefully.
Qiang Pu blushed "Learned at home, but… Not very good at speaking when I came here. Is hard to remember to speak right." She gave her friend a shy little smile, biting her bottom lip.
Yaayaa smiled and did her best to set her new friend at ease "Well, I think you are doing a very good job with what can be a difficult language. So, you have only really been speaking Japanese for a few months? That..Is pretty amazing,"
Qiang Pu chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. Perhaps she really was starting to understand why that character liked to be praised so much.
The sound of the bell drew the two young ladies back to the moment, with Qiang Pu eeping and quickly sending a text to Nabiki, as she asked if she could have a friend over.
Between classes, Qiang Pu checked her phone and grinned over at Yaayaa "Elder Nabiki said that you could come over. She wants to meet my very first friend at school."
Yaayaa grinned and nodded, a thoughtful look on her face "I will have to let my parents know, but I should be able to come by today… If that is okay with you, Qiang Pu?"
"Sure! Is not a problem, would be happy to have you over!" Qiang Pu said happily, before she turned her attention back to the teacher.
Yaayaa looked at her new friend with a happy gleam in her eyes, and let out a content little sigh. It was nice to have a friend at school. She hadn't really had much luck so far, and to have one as amazing as Qiang Pu? She definitely won the friend lottery this time. Yaayaa hummed happily to herself as the two girls did their best to pay attention to the teacher.
Meanwhile, in another classroom…
"Sakura! Will you please.. Just sit down and stay in your chair, please?" The exasperated teacher said as she rubbed her forehead once more. It was bad enough that the young girl was constantly getting lost everywhere, she was not even sure that young miss Sakura Hibiki was even a student of her school. But, a teacher always did their best to handle her students, no matter what that entailed.
Yes, she had dealt with students who would just wander off before, but never before had she contended with one that literally seemed to be able to lose her way in a room with only one or two doors. It simply defied logic, that anyone could get lost that easy.
Then add in the fact that that the twelve year old girl was stronger than most adult men, and you had a real recipe for wishing for an early retirement.
"No, Sakura dear, don't move your desk. Just… Please sit down."
Yes, maybe it was time to retire.
After school, Qiang Pu and Yaayaa passed through the gates of the school as they headed towards Qiang Pu's home. They had decided to walk, instead of having Nabiki pick them up today.
"So, have you thought about what club you are going to join, Qiang Pu? Maybe one of the sports clubs, like volleyball or basketball? Oh! What about the Kendo or karate club? I'm sure you would do amazing in any of those!" Yaayaa gushed as she gave her friend another starry eyed gaze.
"I'm not sure. Elder Nabiki said that I shouldn't overdo it, and that I shouldn't stand out too much." Qiang Pu confided.
"But why? I'd think she would want you to show everyone just how amazing you are!" Yaayaa said in a mildly confused tone, then looked at her friend "And why do you call her elder? Is she really old? Or does she have another daughter named Nabiki?" Yaayaa asked, as mental images flashed through her head.
"It's a thing from where I came from,a Joketsuzoku thing. We call all the older women in our tribe Elder as a sign of respect." Qiang Pu explained as they walked.
"I don't think I've ever heard that term before?" Yaayaa said thoughtfully.
"Is not surprising, we is very isolated." Qiang Pu explained, then blushed as Yaayaa gave her a look.
"You slip when you rush or get excited, Qiang Pu. We are very isolated." Yaayaa said as she corrected her blushing friend.
Qiang Pu nodded her head and laughed joyfully"I still have much to learn. Take good care of me, teacher." She said with a wink to the suddenly blushing girl walking next to her.
They walked for a bit more in companionable silence before Qiang Pu asked "what club are you in, Yaayaa?"
Yaayaa waved her hand dismissively "One you would find incredibly boring, I'm sure. The cultural club."
"Oh, and what do you do in your club?" Qiang Pu asked, suddenly interested.
"Well, it's actually the remnants of a few clubs." Yaayaa explained as she started to tick off points on her fingers "We do flower arranging, calligraphy, haikus, traditional dance and help out the drama club." She said, then looked over expecting a bored, disinterested lol from her far more active friend. She was surprised at the excited look she got instead.
"Can Qiang Pu join? Is very much interested!" Qiang Pu said, in her excitement reverting back to her original pidgin japanese.
Yaayaa laughed and nodded "I don't think you will like it, but if you want, you can join me tomorrow for our meeting after class?" she asked nervously.
"Qiang Pu would very much like! Thank you, Yaayaa!" Qiang Pu practically crowed, much to the embarrassment of her blushing companion. "Oh, is home!" Qiang Pu said happily as she opened the door "I'm home!" Qiang Pu called out happily.
"Welcome home, dear." Nabiki said from where she was sitting at the table, looking over figures.
"I'm coming in, thank you for having me." Yaayaa said as she stepped in, and removed her shoes.
Nabiki smiled happily and walked over, looking the younger girl over and then smiling. "I'm so glad that Qiang Pu has made such a respectable friend already. Welcome to our home, dear. Why don't you two go on up to Qiang Pu's room, and I will bring you up some snacks." Nabiki said as Chiko made some happy noises at seeing Qiang Pu.
Qiang Pu took Yaayaa's hand and led her up to her room, stopping to give the youngest Tendo a tender hug before she pulled her nervous friend along in her wake. "Here, this is my room. Elder Nabiki insisted I needed a few things, to make me fit in better." She said in a way of explanation for the posters, manga, and even a game console with a television that were the only decorations in the otherwise spartan room. Qiang Pu walked over and sat on her bed, as she smiled at her friend. "So, what do we do? I've never had a friend over in Japan before."
Yaayaa smiled and sat down at the low table, looking the room over. "It's a nice room, I expected something a bit...Well...More cluttered."
Qiang Pu laughed and slid down to the floor, sitting across from her new friend as Nabiki walked in and left a tray of cookies and some drinks on the table. "You ladies have fun." Nabiki said with an approving look at Yaayaa.
"Well, usually I play games or chat with my friends when I go to visit them." Yaayaa said, as she watched her new friend intently.
"Then, teach me how to play games better? I'm still not very good." Qiang Pu admitted sheepishly.
And that is what the young ladies did for the next few hours, as the unusual pair bonded.
Back at the school…
"I am glad to see a fresh new face joining us. We just need to get the rest of your transfers lined up, for school records of course. Once that is done, we can have you formally join the classes. It will be nice to have another well traveled young lady joining our school. Now, tell me if I am pronouncing your name right?" The principal said as he looked at the papers again "Safety Pin?"
The young girl sitting across from him smiled reassuringly and shook her head politely, before speaking in fluent Japanese with just a hint of a british accent to it. "Close, sensei. It's Xaph Ti Pyn. And I am very much looking forward to seeing how much I can learn here." The smile on her face almost reached her eyes.
For some reason, it unnerved the principal just a bit.