Hanoashi smiled at Ayase as they pulled into the drop off portion of the school. "Thanks for taking me to school," she smiled as the maid exited the car and walked to her side, undoing the seat belt and guiding her into the school.
"It's no problem Hanoashi," Ayase smiled at her. "Though your former teacher has a special mission for you," she added, her tone growing serious.
"A mission?" Hanoashi tipped her head. What kind of mission? Whatever it is I have to make Honoka-Sensei proud! She noted determinedly.
"Ah, you are here Ayase-san," Honoka smiled at them two. "And it's good to see you back at school, little Hanoashi," she added gently knelt down to her level.
"It's great to be back ma'am," Hanoashi smiled in return. "I've really missed being here," she added, her tone growing a bit sad.
"Unfortunately we had a student join my class while you were gone, so you'll have to join a different class, but never the less we have a few options, all of them just as good as my own," Honoka smiled.
Darn it! I know it can't be helped, and I was warned back at the beach, but still...kinda stings, Hanoashi mused as her heart sank a bit, but her spirits quickly lifted.
"Remember that you are teaching kindergarten and not middle-school nowadays," Ayase laughed.
"True enough," Honoka laughed as she rose up.
"So...what about this mission you have for me," Hanoashi asked, curiosity filling her dark green eyes.
"Well...we could put you in with the other students, but...we have one special need's student who needs a friend her age who is...well...you'll figure it out when you meet her. In case you are wondering her condition isn't in so much mental as it is physical, surprisingly enough given what happened to her," Ayase smiled.
"Alright then...I'm in," Hanoashi nodded.
"I thought you would be," Honoka smiled at her. "For the record your father knows about this request and has already spoken...well...written to those involved about this, so yeah," she added before nodding to Ayase. "I'll leave you to guide her to her class, Sensei Riko probably isn't too pleased at having to watch double duty," she added with a small laugh.
Hanoashi followed Ayase down the hall and into a smaller room. Gazing in, she had to stop her eyes from bulging out at what she saw, which was not easy considering what she saw. There in a wheelchair was a blond haired Russian girl her around age, with brilliant blue eyes that from just looking at her echoed wisdom and hope, though mixed in with a twinge of loneliness and sorrow.
However what struck her the most was that the girl had no limbs...or rather her limbs were all just small stumps.
It's no wonder why they don't want to put her in general population...they'd gang up and bully her before you could say Maus and she'd be totally defenseless...Hanoashi realized, before nodding to Ayase. "I'm in," she smiled.
"We'll leave you for an hour," a woman said, nodding to the two girls. "Try to get along with young Hanoashi, alright Kaytsuha IV?"
"Yes mother," the blond haired girl nodded, watching as Ayase along with her parents left. Hanoashi came over and sat down next to her. "Kaytusha IV, right?" Hanoashi asked.
"Alicia Mikiko, though I prefer the name Kaytusha IV," the girl smiled. "There's a long story about that...and these..." she added, her smile fading as she moved around what little remained of her arm.
"I am Hanoashi Amelia Katoni...though Hanoashi is just fine," Hanoashi smiled in response, nodding slightly to acknowledge her missing hand and arm.
"I see my disability doesn't offend you," Alicia sighed in relief. "Most people stare at me or worse call me names behind my back. The whole pity thing is the worst."
"It's not the same, but I've lost things myself...my mother for instance..."
"I know, for the past month my father that news article about your parents to me every night, to encourage me that not everyone in this world is bad...that there is good among the world outside of the walls of my house. I'd very much like to see that good someday with my own eyes," Alicia noted somberly.
She sounds so sad...Hanoashi realized. I can't exactly blame her though, I mean had I lost even just a single finger or toe I'd be devastated, let alone an entire hand and practically the entire arm. And Kaytusha IV has lost all her limbs...and by the sound of it...
So, you like to play chess?" Alicia asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Hanoashi nodded, though her mind buzzed with curiosity. How can she play chess without any hands?
"My parents play for me," Alicia IV smiled, as if to read her mind. "I tell them what moves I wish to make and they faithfully perform them for me."
"They sound like wonderful parents," Hanoashi smiled.
"They are...not like my previous...ne..never mind..." Alicia began in kindness, but her voice switched to venom and then fear, her eyes echoing this sentiment.
"Are you alright?" Hanoashi squeaked.
"Yeah...just a bad memory, let's keep talking about hobbies and such, it's the only way I get over what was done to me," Kaytusha suggested.
"Al..alright then," Hanoashi mused. "You watch racing?"
"Why'd I want to watch people risk themselves in a sport like they do," Alicia half snorted, half laughed. "Nah, I get why some people like to watch it, but it's not really my thing so to speak."
She's very sharp...she might be as sharp, or even sharper then the girls at Rikona's school! Hanoashi realized with a start. "I can understand that," she smiled. "I've never been one much for horror films, not that my parents ever let me watch one with them."
"Then how do you know about them?" Alicia asked, her blue eyes glittering mischievously.
"Kinda snuck downstairs once when I was four to find mom and dad in the library watching one, or what I assumed to be one. Might have been a war movie though not really sure. The only reason mom didn't bust my bottom was because I was so scared by the film that I was extremely reluctant to go downstairs for a good month and a half." Hanoashi sighed. "Still remember that."
"I'd imagine you would," Alicia laughed gently. "Was your mom the spanking kind?" she added, her tone growing a bit somber.
"No," Hanoashi admitted, shaking her head. "She was more along the lines of washing my mouth out with soap or putting me in time out. Once got grounded for a few days for throwing a fit in the doctor's office."
"So why exactly were you throwing a fit?" Alicia asked.
"Well...I apparently have this condition called SC-type 4 Diabetes, and...well...if I eat too much sugar then I have to the the poo sucked out of my rear."
"Ouch," Alicia shrugged. "Never been one for sweets myself, surgery products taste...disgusting." She then make a sly look of triumph. "Spicy is where it's at."
"I've always been more parcel to sour myself," Hanoashi shrugged.
"That's a close second for me," Alicia noted.
"Alright, have you had time to get antiquated?" a woman asked.
"Yes Sendai," Alicia smiled, gazing at Hanoashi. "I like this one," she added.
"Great!" The teacher then turn to Hanoashi. "I am Sendai Yoshidalo, your private tutor if you will. No need for formalities, I used to teach general high school back at a juvenile detention camp, but came out of retirement for the sake of the Mikiko family."
"It's an honer to learn under your tutelage," Hanoashi bowed respectfully.
"Now now, no need to bow young miss, though that politeness will carry you far in life," Sendai smiled. "Today we'll be practicing reading Hanamizu Shichu," she added, turning to Hanoashi. "It might be a bit advanced for you, but I'd very much like for you to give it a try, alright?"
"Alright," Hanoashi smiled, walking over to the shelf and picking up the book, before sitting next to Alicia. Snot Stew...sounds disgusting...she mused to herself quietly, though she well hid her dislike of the book's name.
"Hold it for me so that I may read a few sentences, and then you can take a turn," Alicia requested.
"Alright Kaytusha IV," Hanoashi opened to chapter one and held it for Alicia to read.
After a bit she stopped and smiled toward Hanoashi. "Your turn."
"Alright," Hanoashi smiled as she read a few sentences, and the two went thought this for the first two chapters.
"As fun as this is, I'm ready for our lesson," Alica smiled.
"Reading like this makes her preform better," Sendai noted. "Alright, we'll be doing basic count bys for the moment, Hanoashi, you'll fill out the paper over there. Meanwhile Alica and I will use the card method."
Card method? Hanoashi wondered, but nodded and went over, frowning as it was just basic addition and subtraction, with some slight multiplication. I don't think they quite got the memo about how advanced I am in this stuff...Hanoashi mentally sighed.
"Thought you liked doing this stuff," Alicia frowned, gazing at her.
"How did...?" Hanoashi wondered before she shook her head. "I do, but I'm more used to doing more advanced stuff," she apologized.
"She's real good at detecting emotions, after all everything she interacts with is practically her head, so her attention to detail is...rather sharp," Sendai noted. "Sorry, when Drake said that you knew multiplication I thought that it was just the simple stuff."
"Mother wanted me to know my multiplication tables one through one hundred," Hanoashi shrugged.
"I'll test that later. Still, no mater how advanced you are, you and Alicia are going to have to go through the regular grade system, alright?"
"Alright," Hanoashi noted, before lifting her pencil and beginning to to the problems. Of course, Japan doesn't have grade skipping like some of the other nations do...well except for accelerated schools like Nishmari, but that's only one grade in high school...
"First problem," Sendai noted.
Hanoashi glanced up, before realizing what she meant by the card method. So she shows her a problem and Kaytusha IV answer's it vocally? I'll have to commit that method to memory, it could come in useful when I become a mother.
She finished in no time, and turned her paper over, before turning her gaze to watch Alicia finish her problems.
"Alright, that's good for today," Sendai smiled, setting the cards down. You missed three problems, but that's fairly good out of twenty," she added.
"I'll do better next time," Alecia promised.
"Alright, snack time," Sensadi noted before glancing at Hanoashi. "We have to give Alica a snack every hour and a half," she explained.
"I think I understand," Hanaoahsi sat next to her as she watched the girl eat her small meal, which included a newton bar, a small chunk of beef jerky, and a small pear packet. That is making me a bit hungry, but I'm guessing that she cannot eat the same as us...I had guessed that missing a limb would change a lot, but one's diet...that kind of blows my mind.
"Alright, what's our next lesson?" Alicea asked, excitedly.
"Our next lesson is to watch an episode of blues clues," Sendai noted, before walking her over to the tv station, motioning for Hanoashi to follow.
"Blues clues?" Hanoashi asked as she sat in the chair next to Alica.
"It's an American children's educational program that's been dubbed in Japanese, I think that you'll like it," Sendai noted.
Hanoashi settled down, interested, but the three episodes that they watched were too easy for her. She glanced at Alica questioningly, but she just smiled. Why is this so easy for me? Hanoashi asked herself.
She soon found herself walking alongside Alicia in the outdoor park. "So, favorite thing to wear?" Alicia asked.
"Hm...that's a tie between a short sleeve shirt and shorts combination or a one piece swim suit. Actually I've taken to sneaking into a one piece every night these days."
"Sneaking in?" Sendai inquired.
"Yeah, I started having nightmares of running into cone snails at the beach, so I decided to try sleeping in my swimming trunks. Felt so comfortable in them that I took to them," Hanoashi shrugged.
"You know that cone snails aren't likely to be at the beach, right?" Sendai prompted.
"Tell my mind, nearly died to one during that time everyone evacuated to the countryside, and I practically watched another girl die, so..." Hanoashi had to stop as her voice began to shake from the memory.
"Oh...I'm so sorry..." Sendai whispered.
"We've both seen some shit," Alicia whistled.
"Careful Alicia, or I'll wash your mouth out with soap," Sendai hissed sternly.
"I hate it when mom does that," Alicia sighed.
"Then don't use foul language," Sendai snapped. "I'm sorry about her language," Sendai apologized to Hanoashi.
The Irish girl couldn't help but to smile at the exchange. "It's alright, I've accidentally let a word or two slipped in the past, got my mouth washed out with soap."
"See, she knows," Aleica smirked in triumph.
"She said she let a word or two slip in the past, you on the other hand..." Sendai sighed in exasperation.
"So..." Alice was about to begin when the lunch bell rang.
"Time for lunch," Sendai smiled. "We'll be going to the cafeteria together, heard that you need a special diet as well," she added, gazing at Hanoashi.
"Yep, here's hoping that they remembered the sugar free cake," Hanoashi muttered.
"Oh, right, SC type 4 diabetes," Alicia remembered, grimacing. "Is that hard on you?" she asked curiously.
"Aleica..." Sendai warned.
"Only if I were to forget," Hanoashi smiled, though she was beginning to lose her appetite at the thought of having to go through with that again. I do not appreciate that day...she muttered.
Entering the lunch line, Hanoashi sat across from Alice, and the food came in. Hanoashi found herself a bit surprised at Alicia's meal choice, containing mostly low-calorie foods such as a serving of green beans, a rice cake, and a small bowel of Sardines.
Hanoashi on the other hand contained the old usual, as well as the sugar free cake. She could tell because unlike the regular cake with was more like spice or vanilla cake without frosting, this was more like angel food cake in texture.
"You gonna eat?" Sendai urged.
"Huh...oh, yeah, still thinking like it was a bit over a month ago," Hanoashi admitted, digging in yet keeping to her manners.
"You play Pokemon?" Alicia asked.
"n...no..." Hanoashi mused. "The card game or the video games?"
"Video games, you ought to give them a try sometime," Alicia smiled.
"I'm...not too sure about video games, what if I get addicted."
"Only an idiot gets addicted to them," Alicia scoffed. "I usually play an hour's worth on my game boy light, but since it's a game boy and not a game boy advance I can't the newer games," Alice sighed. "Shame too, Chrystal, Ruby, and sapphire let you play as a girl trainer it'd seem," she added.
"I know that my brother had considered getting into the trading card game at one point, but he worried that it'd end up becoming a never ending expense," Hanoashi admitted.
"You have a brother?" Alicia gasped. "Lucky!"
Hanoashi had to stifle a sigh. "I had a brother...when my mother died he went to live with my uncle Medritri," she explained somberly.
"Oh...I'm so sorry," Alicia whispered, gazing down.
"It's alright," Hanoashi smiled dispute the pang of sorrow she felt in her chest.
"Eat your food Kaytusha," Sendai turned.
"Ju...just give me a moment will ya," Alicia stammered, giving her a bit of a reproachful look before accepting the ketchup laden Sardine bite.
Kaytusha is just too cute when she's a bit flustered like that, Hanoashi laughed inwardly. Not that I'd want to force her into it, but...
The bell to return to class resounded after they had finished eating, and Hanoashi brought their trays over to the tray return shoot.
"So, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Alicia asked Hanoashi as she followed them through the halls.
"Stay at home mother and spouse, though if that's not in the cards either a daycare worker or high school English teacher," Hanoashi beamed, her mind beginning to daydream. Wouldn't any of them be wonderful? She sighed happily inwardly as she began to imagine herself in those roles.
"Can you say some words in English?" Sendai asked.
Hanoashi smirked at the idea to show off her skills and began speaking.
To her surprise Alicia began speaking back, just as fluently as she was. Woah...I was not expecting that...she noted.
"Nice, but what about this?" Alicia asked after a bit. "Privet, menya zovut Alisiya."
"Alicia, don't confuse her with your Russian," Sendai noted direly.
"You know Russian as well?!" Hanoashi gasped.
"Well yeah, my biological sister Kaytusha is the Instructor heiress of the Pravda high school after all," Alicia smirked.
"Huh?" Hanoashi was confused.
"The House of Pravda is a Sensado academy, and it is tradition for the headmaster to adopt a child to inherent the Sensado portion of their school, with the academy High Heiress acting as a sudo-mother to the instructor heiress so to speak," Sendai explained.
"Kind of like the Nishisumi?" Hanoashi asked.
"Pah, they're nothing like the Nishizumi...not that I've ever met one. Have you?" Alice asked.
"Not really," Hanoashi shrugged.
"Well, for starter Pravda uses only Soviet tanks where as Kuromorimine uses German tanks," Alicia began. "Plus, Pravda tends to enjoy more long, drawn out battles where as Kuromorimine enjoys quick and decisive victories."
"I think I understand, but I've never really studied much on tanks," Hanoashi confessed.
"Most girls don't. I didn't until my sister Kaytusha found me. Hence my nickname since I'm the youngest of quadruplets, with Kaytusha being the elder."
"Quadruplets?" Hanoashi tipped her head.
"Four babies born to one mother during one pregnancy," Sendai noted.
"Ah...wait mothers can have four babies at the same time?" Hanoashi gasped.
"It's rare, but it can happen," Sendai smiled.
Huh? Hanoashi mused, growing a bit scared of carrying four girls inside of her, but then smiled at the idea. "I kind of like the idea of that, but I think I'd rather have one kid at a time," she noted.
"Believe you me, you would not want to carry four kids at once," Alicia mused.
"Do you know of your other siblings?" Hanoashi asked.
Alicia shook her head. "Not at all. My current parents are too busy caring for me and while Nonna tries to search for our lost siblings, she has too much to worry about, between her high heiress responsibilities and her care for Kaytusha."
"Oh..." Hanoashi gazed down, sighing. "I understand in a way, though my situation isn't the same. Mom was...expecting when she died from complications over the fire."
"What!?" Sendai growled, causing the two to flinch. "Sorry...just..." She glanced down. "My mother died in a similar way, with my baby sister..."
"It's alright Sendai..." Hanoashi sputtered, before calming down from the surprise. "Mom had just discovered that she was with child and hadn't even told any of us yet," she added.
"So you have a sibling you never got to meet?" Alicia asked.
Hanoashi shrugged. "Possibly two, mom thought she was having twins this time. But...there is no way for me to be sure."
"Would you want two younger brothers or sisters?" Alicia asked.
"Not too sure, had mom survived I'm pretty sure that it would have been annoying in some ways either way."
"Yeah, Dina and Dani were quite annoying for Sara," Alicia muttered.
"You know Sara?" Hanoashi gasped, surprised that she knew her friend.
"Land Before Time Six, the Secret of Sauras Rock," Alicia shrugged. "You've seen it?"
"Oh, thought you were talking about a friend of mine," Hanoashi noted. "Wait...they made six movies about it?" Hanoashi tipped her head in confusion.
"Yep!" Alicia smirked. "No wait...actually they've made about nine or ten of them."
"Wow...I've only seen the original," Hanoashi breathed.
"It is certainly a classic," Alicia smiled.
Arriving in the classroom the rest of the day went by fast, mostly containing various test and a few teaching lectures. As Hanoashi waited alongside Alicia outside, Hanoashi gave her a smile. "Thanks for being my friend Alicia."
"Not at all, thank you Hanoashi. I...I've always wanted a friend, but with my condition I..." she blushed.
"I know," Hanoashi soothed. "Looking forward to tomorrow," she added.
"Same. Isn't that your housemaid's car?" Alicia asked.
Hanoashi followed her gaze, sure enough seeing Ayase's Corolla pulling up. "Yep! I'll see you tomorrow Alicia," Hanoashi smiled.
"Likewise," Alicia smiled.
Jumping into the back seat, Aysae buckled her in before smiling at her. "So what do you think of her?" she asked.
"One of my best friends already," Hanoashi beamed.
"That's good, I figured that you'd make a good fit for her, though still I couldn't help but be a bit worried," Ayase breathed.
"I guess you have to be careful in that situation huh?" Hanoashi mused.
"Absolutely."
"How is Father doing?" Hanoashi asked.
"He's doing fine, but still not quite getting doesn't the idea that he needs to rest," Asayse sighed. "Anyways, you'll be doing another multiplication test, 1-100, and then you'll have the rest of the day to rest."
"What about chores?" Hanoashi squeaked in alarm.
"I'll handle them for today...Young Hanoashi?" Ayumi paused.
"Yes Ayase-san?" Hanoashi hazed at her respectfully.
"I was hired to be the family maid. While it's perfectly fine for you to want to do chores and stuff of that nature, and to include you in them from time to time, you need to bear that in mind, alright?"
"Yes Ayase-san," Hanoashi nodded.
"Good girl," Ayase smiled. "So anything you'd like for lunch?"
"Would Donburi and Miso soup be too much?" Hanoashi asked.
"I can do that," Ayase smiled at her indulgently. "Guess that you are pretty hungry huh?"
"I'm Austrian," Hanoashi recited her father's joke, causing Ayase to laugh.