"Good morning hime." Asami waved as she walked up to the girl who had quite quickly become a close friend to her.
"Morning!" She said with a bright smile, and a jumpy persona.
"oh why are you so excited so early in the morning." Asami looked at her, questioning the girl that looked as if she was on a sugar high.
"have you forgotten we are going on the field trip today duh?" Hime asked her in an 'obviously' tone as if she would definitely know why she was excited.
"I know, but I've lived in Tokyo since I was born. why would I be exicted?" Not really getting why she found tokyo to be so exciting. There was nothing good about that place honestly. It gave her mom nothing but pain and her only bad memories.
"ah thats true, you were a city girl i forgot." Asami rolled her eyes at Himes' stereotyping statement.
"really your labeling me like that?" Hime looked at her friend with a mischievous glint in her eyes and smirked. "well I mean with your pretty face I'm sure you were popular. tell me honestly did you have any boyfriends before?" She wiggled her eyebrows and and questioned her in a gossip girl tone.
"Well..." Asami stalled trying to find a way to change the subject. "You did!! you sly girl, how could you hide that from me?!" Hime gapsed loudly, attracting a few looks from several classmates. Asami quickly covered her mouthing, sunshine her friend and said in a soft tone, "I didn't okay, I didn't really like anyone in my old school." Hime let her off as she knew Asami was avoiding the subject. But hooking on to her previous statement she continued to tease Asami.
"oh and there is someone you like in this school then?" She said emphasizing the 'this school' in her sentence making Asami flustered as she waved her hands and shook her head quickly.
"w-what, when d-did i say I like fuji-kun?!" She squeaked out, a blush slowly creeping on to her pale cheeks reaching her ears.
"oooh, I didn't say I was talking about kitamura, ooh Asamis' got a crush!" In a childish tone, she couldn't help but make fun of her cute friend.
"Ssssh! no I don't okay. lets hurry up and get to the bus already or we'll be late cause of you." Asami pulled Hime towards her teacher without meeting her in the eyes as Hime grinned widely behind her.
"aww young love, how cute." She said letting out a content sigh.
"come one already, you sound like a grandma." Asami rolled her eyes at her antics.
"a cute one I bet." She winked as if to show off her charms.
"oh shut up." Asami was officially wondering why she had a good first impression if this girl, enough to want to be good friends with her. clearly she was not as gentle and graceful as her she came off. Completely different from her name.
(Hime means Princess)
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"ok is everyone on the bus?" the teacher shouted over the buzz of conversation, quieting down the students.
"sensei kitamura isn't here yet!" one of the boys in Kitamuras circle of friends yelled from the back.
"Kitamura? where is he?" the teacher questioned the mission boys friends. Asmai wondered too if he would show up today. Not even herself realizing that she was always restless when the chestnut-haired boy was not in her sights.
"Sensei, I'm here,I'm here!" His smiling figure ran up the stairs of the bus, scratching the back of his head while apologizing to the teacher who shook his head at the boy.
"you're late." the sensei said to him in a firm tone with a deadpan expression. Clearly he was used to the boys antics.
"sorry, i overslept." He chuckled in a nonchalant manner as if he had said the same words a dozen times. "ofcourse you did, Just go sit down Kitamura." Fed up with the boy but knowing he can't do anything about it right now the teacher let him go finally. Fuji in a playful soldier posture said "yessir!" to his sensei and ran towards the back of the bus. Smiling at the girl who had quickly looked away as soon as their eyes met. Hime seeing this interaction moved to the seat across before Asami could stop her.
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"Is this seat taken?" he said in a gentlemanly manner, unlike his usual demeanor. Asami blushed as soon as the boy spoke but tried her best to suppress her butterflies before answering, "huh-uh-u-m go ahead."
"thank you." he grinned at her and sat down, a little to close for Asmai as she turned another shade red. Her heart thumping so loudly she was afraid everyonr ont he bus could her it. Fuji smiled at her flustered expression that looked adorable in his eyes. Making small talk he asked her a question, "So are your excited to be visiting your old city." She hesitantly answered with a blank expression. Her heartbeat funally calning down a little. "No, I mean I don't know what to feel honestly" She sighed. "what do you mean?" He tiled his head, confused by her vague answer. She briefly met his eyes before looking down at her hands clamped on her skirt tightly. In a quiet tone she slowly said to him,
"I mean when I left I was a young niave girl who had no clue of the hardships of this world, I only knew that things were going to be different. But I was confident you know, that we would be happpy with this new start, that me and mom would make it out of this rough patch and be completely fine in no time." Her voice slightly break at the end as a knot formed in her throat.
"and you were wrong?" His heart squeezed at the girl that was trying her hardest not to burst out crying.
"Completely." She met his eyes confidently this time but the look in her eyes shook him. He thought that when he talked her into coming to school and this past month and a half of her being happy in school that she was getting better. He was wrong tough, the look in her eyes screamed 'help'. He knew she wasn't fine, that her consciousness was slowly eating at her and he would not let the voices in her head win. He couldn't let this girl end up like her mother. He had to save her, he made a vowed to himself that he would do so no matter what it took, no matter how long it took.
"But that doesn't mean you have to stop being yourself, what happened wasn't your fault nor your mothers. Not everyone can be strong against the worst obstacles in their life but you are. I know your stronger than most and being strong doesn't mean holding back Asami. It means acknowledging your pain and learning to move on with it." His firm tone and eyes filled with reassurance made Asami want to believe in him and his words. However she knew it wasn't easy, The mind is a man's greatest obstacles. She didn't know if she had the strength to defeat her demons. "Acknowledging, Moving on, Dealing with everything that happened, I don't know if i have the energy to do it." He held her hand which were clmaped into fists, her nails had left marks on her palms. His warm hands and soft voice calmed the storm in her heart immediately.
"I'll help you then, I'll be there every step of the way."
"promise?" she said in a soft tone, like she was pleading him almost. Begging him to save her, to not leave her like everyone else she had loved before.
"cross my heart." He whispered, his thumb rubbed the back of her hand. She didn't look into his eyes but she knew without even looking that he would fulfill this promise tell his last breath.
......
"aww look at you two, how sweet." Both of them jumped, quickly separating their entwined hands. Asami looked over at her friend that stared at her with her hands clasped in a praying posture and smiling like a proud mother.
"Hime!" She yelled exasperatingly at her friends teasing, the blush that had disappeared from her face crept up again.
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