A flock of fluffy multi-colored birds fluttered past tree canopies, disappearing into the horizon of the clear blue sky. Below this atmosphere, a little girl in a white dress sat in a field of pale flowers. The little girl fiddled with a white flower, amazed by the green spots sprinkled all over its petals. She kept it between her small fingers, spacing out as her cheeks pressed between her knees. "Where's it coming from?" she wondered of the music emitting from the flower.
That is, until a flock of birds startled her, tempting the child to look over past the leafy paradise that surrounded her. At the corner of her sight, she spotted a shadow that dashed past the trees and swooped into an underbrush. The bush where the shadow had been shook back and forth for a few seconds, making the girl curious.
Something pushed through the leaves, pushing a gigantic tree aside. The sun shone on this figure, creating a shadow that stretched out several feet. The girl blinked and saw a slab of drool trickle down on a flower ahead of her. At first they were small trickles, but it quickly turned into a steady flow of drool that came from a tall, hairy creature with ocher-colored fur. It stretched its limbs out far, to make itself much bigger, and gnarled its teeth with a contoured smile as the massive rows of eyes going down its face focused on the small child surrounded by flowers.
Its lips parted, revealing rows of teeth. It didn't only have one mouth, but three, which all opened and let out a shriek resembling that of an ape's. It lifted its long arm over its head, spanning eighteen feet, and created a chopping motion.
"AGHH!"
A shadow dashed through and swept the girl before the massive paws could smash down on her. The child trembled, but that fear subsided at the sight of the individual who held her. Sunshine revealed it to be a blonde-haired boy, the light complementing his freckles. The girl's eyes widened in recognition of the familiar boy, and an excited smile formed across her face.
"June-pyo good morning!" She laughed, forgetting the dangerous situation while the boy placed her down beside some flowers and brought his attention to the creature.
"Hanami, of all the places to find you…"
"A Tambara ape."
He cracked his knuckles, taking off straight for the creature that stood by. The boy leapt over with a sprint and came down with a body-shaking smash of his forehead right against its own. The strike seemed completely ineffective at first glance, as the boy backflipped several times, landing down into a patch of golden flowers.
One of the Tambara's tails smashed down over this patch causing flowers to flutter up, but the Tambara raised its tail only to realize the boy was rushing through the yellow flowers that surrounded the creature. The boy blended well with the flowers because of his yellow top and he came in again and headbutted the creature, causing it to flinch, nearly falling back this time. He yet again landed back in the patch of yellow flowers, and resumed his dash around the Tambara ape. It whipped its five fluffy tails over in an attempt to trip him up and turned its head, watching him evade and continuously circle it.
The yellow flowers fluttered up and the wind further whipped them up, causing golden glitter-like pollen to come out and majestically blend with the sunlight and the numerous flowers that surrounded them. The creature tried thrashing around to escape the flower storm, but found that it grew tired. The pollen coupled with the earlier headbutt, allowed the dust to take its effect much faster.
The furry creature let out a long overdrawn yawn, scratching its head in succession. It tried taking a step forward, but didn't see that its tails were entangled around its feet and thus, clumsily tumbled face first into the meadow of flowers. The boy went over to check on it and landed down on the creature's back, nearly slipping off due to having no shoes or socks on.
He inspected the area, then got a call. He tapped his ear piece, well aware of who called. "I found her. I'm headed over now, bye." He hung up as quickly as he answered.
"Grandma Wakaba told us not to enter Tambara's garden, Hana. Geez," the boy thought to himself, watching the creature now in a deep snooze with a bubble forming over one of its nostrils, only for the bubble to sink into its nose and come out of the other nostril. Golden dust twinkled onto its body, as a loud crunching sound came from the distance. Trees overhead were being pushed aside. From the other side of the forest, more Tambaras were nearing the garden.
"Ugh, we're gonna get in so much trouble if she finds out." He facepalmed himself, but couldn't bring himself to scold her after seeing the smile she had on her face from the flower she held up to her face. "But it was worth it for this flower. Hey June, this flower really looks pretty in your hair." She placed it in, causing him to blush.
The boy with no words, scooped her up into his arm. Her feet flew around causing one of her sandals to drop without him noticing. "Why are you giggling?" he asked her.
She didn't respond, keeping it all to herself, as June focused on leaving the Tambara's garden behind. Small twigs and branches snapped under their feet as the boy pulled the girl up into his arms and jumped over a random log that was in their path. The boy landed on his knees and dashed down the leafy path, heading in the direction of a clear lake. The closer the children got, the mistier it became around them on the lower floors of the forest.
On their way, the boy saw a blonde, slumbering bear ahead of them and lunged up to the nearest tree. He applied so much force upon pressing his bare feet against the tree's bark that the tree almost gave way, but the boy then shot up from tree to tree like a ping-pong ball. Erupting in glee, the girl waved her hands wildly over her head and cheered loudly. "WEEE!!!" The boy backflipped into the air, brushing past some tree branches with a wide smile on his face and landed down on a tree branch about fifty feet from the ground.
He looked around as some yellow birds flocked past him. There were more tree branches ahead of them that resembled skyscrapers. The boy knelt over, looking dead ahead. An ethereal sense overtook the two.
"Grab onto my shoulders and hold on tight," he instructed her hastily. She tightly wrapped her small arms around him and pressed up close, making him blush as he stood back up, snuggling his head below her chin. She was reminded of his sweet honey scent she had known most of her life. A refreshing breeze blew past his curly blonde hair, drowning her in this smell.
Unlike her, the boy detected a waft of roasting chestnuts coming from the lake they were headed towards, a sure indication that they were close. The boy stepped off the branch in one overbearing leap, as the girl felt her gut rise up as she took an exasperated breath and felt the sensation of him landing on another branch.
"Scared already?" he teased her, making her open her eyes and courageously shake her head with a no. With that, he took another step off and landed on another thick branch. In the process, he scared some flying squirrels that were playing near the branch he landed on. The combined weight of the boy and girl caused the branch to nearly snap. The squirrels scurried off the tree, flying out of view as the boy quickly jumped onto a thicker, more supporting tree branch. He drew a sigh of relief.
Like an acrobat he continued to fly around with the girl, spiraling up the trees, getting closer to the sun. He took a huff when he burst out through a cluster of bushes into the cleared sky above the water. The sunlight that reflected off of the lake's surface resembled diamonds that hit their eyes from below. Waves swung back and forth with the wind that pierced past their ears as the girl buried her face in the boy's hair, causing the boy to instinctively shoot his eyes open. They plummeted at a rapid pace, and the pressure pressed against his ears.
The pair plunged into the lake as the water swallowed them whole. Bubbles erupted up above them as sprouts of water shot into the air like a landmine going off. The boy cocked his head from side to side in search of the girl who had lost her grip when they crashed into the water. He couldn't see much at first because of all the white bubbles spinning around him.
A school of small, violet guppies swam past him as he glanced up where it was much clearer. The girl's crimson hair swung freely as she swam towards him. As soon as their eyes met and she was close enough, she took his hand between hers. He took note of how the girl's eyes complemented the aquatic atmosphere. A pinkish blush spread across his cheeks, but was soon replaced with surprise when the girl began kicking her feet back and forth and pulled him along with her as they both swam up to the surface.
Upon reaching the surface, the pair took a breath of air, freeing their lungs from the temporary constriction felt below the rippling waves. The girl whipped from side to side while the boy swiped his palm across his face to remove some of the water the girl had got into his eyes when she whipped her hair around. Both broke out in a fit of laughter, but looked down with expressions of shock when they felt something lifting them up. Just below them, an old, gigantic, dark green turtle that was about twelve feet in both length and width swam and suddenly rose up lifting them out of the water with its slippery shell.
The turtle's motion and its rather slippery shell made the girl nearly roll back into the water, but the boy caught her and pulled her over to him, pressing her cheek against his damp, puffy white button down shirt. Water rolled down the ends of the girl's crimson mane. The boy turned his head up ahead and quickly looked away upon spotting three other children they knew by the lakeside and another two further ahead, who were whistling and rowing a small canoe together towards them.
Hanami snuggled her cheek against his chest and scrunched her nose in comfort. A magnificent rainbow reflected right off of the waves as the turtle swam around with the children on its back, forming ripples and faint currents as it swam through the refreshing lake headed towards a boulder that had algae floating around it.
It was half submerged, too, and only held up by a coral structure below. The boy stood up, wiping his left arm to the side, setting his sights on to the boulder.
He jumped off of the turtle's shell and landed on top of the boulder as the creature stopped in front of the grassy boulder and began to eat large pink plums that were growing off of some of the branches that hung below. The girl stood up and grasped onto some of the green vines that hung off the cliff-like boulder and began to pull herself up using the boulder wall as support for her feet. When she neared the top, the boy held his hand out. The sun shined past the boy's shoulders, as his lips curved into words.
"Take my hand, Hana," the boy said as a strong wind that came from the blue sky above flew across the lagoon. It washed down past him and the girl, noticeably causing her to shiver. The blinding breeze made her turn away momentarily and when she turned to look up and take the boy's hand, Hanami's eyes widened. The freckles and the curly blonde hair… she slid the image of the child and the current individual in front of her across each other, and it all came back to her. "J-JUNE-PYO!!!"
Hanami excitedly rose up, feeling her injuries disappear, and didn't even realize she let go of her kendo blade. The metal clanked a few times upon falling against the tile floor. She grabbed June's hand while lunging up and tackled the tall fellow.
June stumbled back a bit and patted her head a few times in an attempt to get her to calm down with a wide smile. "There, there! Hana, stop." He blushed as Hanami reached up to his cheek and pinched it, pulling him down. "Loooook at you! YOU'RE SO BIG! SO THIS IS WHERE YOU'VE BEEN!" The girl stretched his cheeks out, forming silly faces as June attempted to speak while prying her hands off his face. "I didn't know where you went! No one told me anything, not even Uncle Yuko…"
"You didn't give her the letter I gave to you?! Father… you traitor!" June screamed in his head.
"It's been about five years, and you didn't leave a single note! I think someone has to explain themself!" Hanami cracked her knuckles to which June rubbed his cheek.
"The thing is, Hana… like my other siblings were sent to other regions by the Tensei, I'm here as a certain lady's watchdog."
"But you could have told me before leaving!" Hanami called out, giving him a pissed off glare that made him try and think up a reason. In sincerity, he didn't tell her because it would have been too painful to do so with the girl he fell in love with, but he couldn't say anything for numerous reasons.
"Y-Yeah, hehe. We can talk about all of that later, right now I have t-" June turned his head, finally prying the girl's hands off and dropped his jaw. Marco was gone.
"Ahhhhhhhhh… HE GOT AWAY AGAIN! Not good." June tapped the tip of his left baton against his forehead repeatedly in frustration.
"Again?" Hanami raised a brow.
June nodded and explained,
"This is the second time he's gotten away from me. That Marco. Marco is a member of the Hirazawa gang that was formed about two years ago by Heisuke, who's from a dangerous family of loaning gangsters here in Osaka."
"Marco, during his first year, not only beat down the old Hirazawa gang as a form of discipline, but then got lazy and practically got recruited into the gang, since he's Heisuke's watchdog and a Setsu servant to the Yataro. Their little gang thinks they can do whatever they want, no matter how many times we of the Day Patrol reprimand them."
June recalled last year when Marco had escaped him on the last day of his freshman year. He had set a low level Goshtra that June had captured free on the campus. He was hot on Marco's trail. June turned the corner and spotted Marco scaling a fence towards the wilderness around the campus. As June dashed through the slippery path of ice that covered some of the campus' pathways, a group of girls from the nearby female's locker room intercepted and blocked his path. The girls all bombarded June simultaneously about a "large rodent" roaming the locker room. June attempted to get through them, saying he'd check in a moment as politely as possible, but there were too many girls crowding him.
Marco looked on from over the fence and made a peace sign as though to say, "better luck next time, sheriff!" He winked and landed down on a pile of fluffy snow that reached about seven feet and disappeared, much like he had a few moments ago.
June struck his forehead twice out of irritation. He swiped his baton down to his side as Hanami held in her giggles at how funny it seemed. "The next time, he won't. Not with me around, at least," she told June in an attempt to cheer him up, flexing one of her muscles to which June laughed.
"But you're not strong enough to back that up. You're gonna end up getting someone else in your fights, Hanami," June thought to himself.
"The good old, one, two, one, two!" He spaced out for a second, recalling little Hanami throwing jabs his way until accidentally hitting him square on the nose. Much like that moment as a child, she ended up actually hitting him on the nose by accident, leading him to cover his nose.
"Oops, sorry! I got carried away!" she quickly apologized, to which he commented, "You still pack a good punch."
"Hehe… wait, look!!!" Hanami swung her finger
in the direction of the other thugs and then back
over to Heisuke, who was already tip-toeing
slowly out of the scene.
A sweat drop rolled down Heisuke's cheek at the sight of June. He panicked and stepped onto the ledge of the fountain. He then plunged his feet into the clear, chilly water while ignoring the fact that the water filled his socks and reached his knees, making a mess of his khakis.
Heisuke planned to dash right through the fountain to make a quick escape once he got into the crowd of spectators, but was stopped by the girl he had been holding hostage just seconds ago.
She grabbed the back of his blazer before he could even take another step, took a hold of his wrist. "NO YOU WON'T!" With a firm grip on Heisuke's wrist, the girl whipped him right back around, shaking him like noodles, and gave his arm a strong tug over her shoulder as he cried out after hearing a snap.
With his body on her back, she leaned up, causing his body to rise up above her head. "HHHHYYAAHHHHH!!!" She yelled, with one onlooker screaming out "SHE'S GONNA KILL HIM!!!" and others gasped soon after, only bothering to record.
The world seemed to spin around for Heisuke and he felt his insides rise up before the steep drop as she flipped him straight down against the sturdy ground. His head made a direct collision, with his body following soon after. He laid flat on the tiles, completely knocked out.
"Got him!"
Hanami raised her right arm up to pat her forearm in a flexing motion. "Yeah!!! That's what I call girl power!"
June dropped his head back and laughed, punching his chest a few times before looking back at the female with a serious face. June strolled over to her with Hanami lifting her kendo blade back up and following behind him.
"Minami Momogi… were you aware that it's forbidden under school regulations for Setsus to drain other students of Retsu on campus?" June spoke low enough for only her and Hanami to hear.
"How come you know my name, Mr. Sheriff?" Minami tapped the side of her head with her knuckles and stuck her tongue out, maintaining a dopey face.
"I'm supposed to recognize important guests. So, how could I not know of the Chinese emperor's daughter, who's now attending Hirazawa?"
She knew it'd be pointless to hide it from him, especially after he flat out said it to her face. "Okay, you got me! But I wasn't acting like that for no reason… we just moved here today, and I didn't get to eat much on the way. I figured some Retsu wouldn't be bad for a morning snack… my Setsu side got the better of me, I'm sorry." She briefly bowed.
June rolled his eyes, faking a laugh. "I'm sure you totally are!" he responded sarcastically, and dug his left hand into his back pocket to pull out a small card that resembled a mirror. Minami flinched, expecting June to have something that'd harm her, but eased up after nothing happened.
He pressed his thumb at the center of this mirror and a holographic notepad appeared. June looked over to the five thugs, typing in the information on the scene and what had occurred, then turned and asked Hanami, "So, what led to all of this?"
She raised her index finger to her lower lip and explained, "Well, they were harassing this girl here, uhh… Minami, was it?"
"That's right," Minami responded.
"And no one did anything about it, so I dealt with it. The rest is history, hehe."
June slightly laughed, unsurprised at her actions. Fitting the pieces together, he suspected this as this was the usual way the thugs attempted to recruit females into a harem club they were eager to make since last year.
He turned his attention to the other girl. "Was it that the thugs conveniently walked up on you and you decided to play along in order to have a 'morning snack', as you called it?"
Minami waved her hands back and forth. Her single fang stuck out, as if she were showing it off. "It all happened randomly, I swear! What can I say? I'm an opportunist, and the opportunity presented itself! I only get like this when I'm really, really hungry though." She fiddled with the ends of a strand of her hair and looked up to June as she bit her lower lip nervously before completely shifting to a more serious gaze as her hands lowered to her side.
The sound of people chatting in the back grew louder, drawing his attention to the fact that they still had onlookers. June turned his torso a bit and called out, "Alright, alright! Nothing to watch here. Day Patrol has it under control, everyone off to where they have to be. Enjoy the ceremony! Thank you!" June waved the hologram around, shooing the visitors and the students.
They all turned away, headed towards their various destinations murmuring amongst themselves, except for three females in purple uniforms who pretended to leave, but hid behind a metallic trash bin. One male also remained perched behind a tree, and the three girls noticed this fellow, but said nothing, finding his attire to be very creepy for a young kid. The kid moved his binoculars over to them and then set them back onto Hanami and June.
Hanami interjected, confused at the sight of Minami's tooth. It suddenly dawned on her. "Wait, you're a Setsu?" She placed her hands on both sides of her cheeks, blown away by the fact she hadn't noticed.
"Not completely. My mother's human."
"Really?! No way! Mine, too. I'm Ha-" Hanami paused. "Haruna Hasegawa. I transferred here today as well actually!"
"Well, that's nice. I guess that makes us destined besties!" Minami nodded her head and bowed forward, apologizing again.
"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused. I'm Minami Momogi! Thank you for stepping in for me, that takes a lot of courage!" Minami said, catching onto Hanami's scent. Her eyes briefly darkened until June's vibe snapped Minami out of her not-so-subtle desire for the girl's blood.
"It's no problem. As the great Solten Guy says, 'Evil deeds will not prevail for I fit the hero's needs!'" Hanami then coughed, trying to imitate the deep voice the hero had and went on to say another phrase. "My creed! I am here to vanquish evil deeds at lightning speeds!"
"Well, he has different catch phrases," she mumbled, thinking to herself while tapping her chin and then felt Minami place her hands onto her shoulders.
"You're talking about the manga Hero Trails, written by Satsuki Miwa?!" Minami squealed as Hanami took her hand.
"That's the one, teheh. He makes the best action mangas. It was in the top four in many polls a few years back."
"I had so much time to read manga and novels while stuck…" Hanami thought to herself. "It's the only good thing that came out of those years! I at least have an idea of how to write a story if I decide to make one."
June watched the two chatter before he cut in. "Well, where were you headed exactly again? And Hana, you should head to the infirmary for those burns on your arm." June placed his palm on her shoulder and showed off his dimples. She looked down to her arm and shook her head, indicating that she was fine.
"I'd go with you, but I have to take these guys to the silencing room." At the words "silencing room," the thugs who were laid over twenty feet behind June all began to groan.
"I downloaded an app for directions on campus, but it doesn't work at all." Minami tried tapping the screen, but only bubbles fluttered with each contact.
"Here, let me take a look." Hanami made grabby hands, taking Minami's phone.
"See? It shows a screen with a swimming fish."
"Did you try pressing the fish?" Hanami tapped the center, causing the fish to squirm. Its shape shifted to a barcode.
"I didn't, I was scared it'd swim away…" Minami laughed along with Hanami. "Oh wow! It worked, what's next?"
"I think you have to put your PIN?" Hanami randomly guessed. Minami did so, but an error in red popped up repeatedly along with a voice telling her to "stop." That confused both girls, who stared at the screen.
"Here, take his map." June reached into his back pocket. "The entrance ceremony is going to begin in about twenty minutes," he added, as he finished typing the last of the report and powered the hologram off. He handed them a card, and Hanami took it, studying the odd white card.
"That's the map," he told them, tapping the center. Blue glowing straight lines formed all along the card. The lines rose up to form a field of the campus. It had all the areas detailed well. June pressed down on a few of the visible locations to show how to use it. The girls awed in amazement. "Whenever you want to expand the map, drag any corner outwards; of course, do the opposite to shrink it."
"Nifty! Hey, that's a castella stand over there!" Hanami initially got excited but… "Darn, there really isn't a kendo stand." She sighed.
"Kendo?"
"Yep, I was hoping to join a kendo club, but there isn't one."
"Oh, but you can always make one, you know," June informed her, checking off a list quickly. Her eyes flared up. "REALLY?! HOW?!" She dove on him and shook his arm as Minami watched, amused at their interaction. "You have to talk to the school principal for that. I'll introduce you later. For now, you really should go to the infirmary for those burns." June glanced down to her arm, very concerned.
"Nah, it's okay. I don't feel anything, really!" Hanami tried to wave her elbows, but quickly knelt over as she flinched in pain. Minami moved down to check on her. "That's my fault… oh my, I'm sorry."
"No, no. I got reckless back there." She tried to wave Minami off as June frowned.
"Hana, you've got to listen to me. I don't want that to fester. Those burn marks could leave a scar. I wouldn't want your body messed up."
"I see what he did there… too bad that's not getting him anywhere. Poor guy," Minami internally thought, as June continued.
"Head over and have Doctor Galahan treat you right away. Miss Momogi can go with you." June spun his baton, stopping it along his forearm as the end continued past his elbow, while directing a menacing smile at Minami.
"Sure, count on me. It's the least I can do, ahaha," Minami awkwardly laughed and reached down. She helped Hanami up, making sure not to grab at Hanami's forearm. "Let me return the favor, come on!"
"But you have to get to the auditorium. I'll head to the infirmary alone. Really, it's okay." Hanami's Aries tendencies surfaced off, reminding June of her stubbornness.
"No it's not, Hana!" June's voice rose, as both girls' eyes widened. "If she doesn't go with you, I'm afraid I'll have to
take Minami off to the silence room as well…
or even worse!" He practically blackmailed them.
"June-pyo, you can't be serious." A sweat drop rolled down the back of her head as June headed straight to her and brought her face to his chest. His hands slid into her silky hair, as he pressed his face atop of her head. This shocked Minami and some of the girls that were hidden away, gawking at the interaction.
Hanami stood still, a tad surprised, but then eased in his arm. "Still as overprotective as ever… but come on, not in front of everybody," she thought to herself, letting out a faint smile as her knees became wobbly, thinking of the misunderstandings that could come from it.
Unlike her, June's mind filled with anger. "Wait until I get my hands on that Marco…"
"June-pyo," Hanami mumbled. Seconds seem to slow down. She felt him touch her chin suddenly and tilt it up, as he went down. She wanted to step away, but at the same time, simply froze. "June-pyo? You okay?" she asked, concerned.
June shook his head and responded, "Yeah. I'm really happy to have you here is all… though this isn't the circumstance I wanted." He gave her a brimming smile, the kind that she remembered him often giving her whenever he had something going on. That's why it made her uneasy.
She spaced out, not noticing that his sights were on her lips. "Just work and make father Yuko proud," he repeated in his head everyday across every season. "Only serve him, repay him. Keep the Hasegawa in power. I can't step out of line." The reminder helped him ease his grasp on her.
Minami blushed, as fumes fizzled out of her ears. From her perspective it seemed as if June had kissed Hanami. When Minami got closer and slid to their side, she realized that June simply kissed her forehead. That didn't stop spectators from making a ruckus over it though.
"Click shhh click shhh." Silently, a camera clicked repeatedly, taking holographic photos of the scene. A shady individual remained hidden, recording it all until a squirrel scurried down the tree, prompting the individual to snap two final photos and retreat further into an underbrush.
"Jeez, what was that for? I'm not a kid, you know," she mumbled, lightly pushing her hand up against his chest to part away.
He chuckled and apologized, and watched her turn away as she went off in search of her kendo bag. Once she spotted it, she ran over to where she dropped her kendo bag and picked it up, before going over to get her kendo blade.
All the while, Minami stood beside June, who told all of the girls that were still around to keep it moving. "Nothing to see here! Continue on, go! Enjoy the festivities!" To his baton flicking up, the remaining females and males took the cue and fled as June glanced down to the sheepish smile Minami had on.
"You're a slick operator, Mr. Sheriff," she teased, to which June warned her. "Step out of line with Hanami, and I'll rip out those fangs of yours. I don't care who you are." His threat sent shivers down her spine, prompting her to nod several times in compliance as Hanami returned.
"He is such a weird guy…" Minami told herself.
"Uh, why are you nodding so much?" Hanami asked out of curiosity.
"He told me the best path we can take! Time to go!"
"Hang on, make sure it's set first! Let me see it one more time." June grabbed Minami's arm before she could go.
He tapped the card twice and placed a green holographic marker over where the infirmary was. "You see the building near us? Keep going straight, cross over the bridge that's in the distance over there, then keep going straight. There's going to be a huge pond, but don't take too long sight-seeing."
"Well, thank you." Minami squinted her eyes, as Hanami formed a smile while rubbing the side of her neck.
"When you continue, look for an oval building. It's going to have a red 'H' hovering in front of it. Try to get treated fast. As for the club, I want to introduce you to the principal- actually, she's been meaning to see you."
"Really? You're the best, June-pyo!" Hanami ran in and gave him a quick hug as she said, "I am definitely gonna make the kendo club!" She raised her fist and brought it back down.
"Okay, let's go!" Hanami strapped her bag and dashed off as Minami excused herself. "Hold up!" She cried out as June smiled faintly and turned away. "Now, to take these clowns…" By the time he turned around, all of them were missing.
"OH NO! They got away while I was… talking." He dropped one knee to the ground, ruffling his golden hair around in frustration. "Drats, I also forgot to ask her… if the rumors are true." June sighed as he stood back up. "But I guess I'll have time to talk to her later. For now, let me track those goons. They couldn't have gotten that far." June closed his eyes, taking a single sniff before taking off.
Minami cheerfully jumped onto the bridge right behind Hanami. "Are you sure he's not your boyfriend? Seemed awfully handsy for someone that's only a relative. Though, I guess that is common here." She watched Hanami and laughed as the girl shook her head back and forth furiously.
"No, no! He's like that with everyone back home, teheh. Come on, don't ask me that again." She cut the chit-chat short, and took Minami's hand and ran through the crowd that was up ahead until they reached an area with a river.
"Hmmm…" Minami shrugged her shoulders. Both girls slowed down, taking in the festivities around them, as they passed by performers and individuals passing flyers out.
"Oh! I just remembered my little brother. He would have really loved this kind of stuff…" Hanami commented with a somber look.
"Wow, I wouldn't expect anything less from the mighty Hasegawa. Your family must really be big. Unlike yours, my family is sort of small. It's only me and my brother for now while my parents handle a chain of restaurants they own in China. Quite the task, being Wei Keqiang's older kid."
"The Chinese emperor…" Though Hanami felt like being honest, she kept her identity to herself.
"My parents on the other hand are pretty common. I'm mostly human from my mother's side and I only have 1% of my Setsu heritage from my father… you can make fun of me for it." Hanami looked down to the ground in shame as they walked. To her surprise, she felt a reassuring pat on her shoulder from Minami.
"Nah, why would I do that? I don't think that's funny at all. It is cool though, I've never had a friend I could relate to as much as you." What Minami said filled Hanami with joy.
"Please don't tell anyone though! I had to be honest with you about that. Outside of the Hasegawa Rikutos, no one here knows I'm mostly human. It'd bring up all sorts of trouble," Hanami whispered to Minami. "Though I honestly wouldn't be surprised if our families knew each other."
"Yup. My family has friendly ties to the Hachi. In fact, for more than five thousand years, our families have always done business with one another. This trip isn't any different." Minami blushed at what she'd say next. "There's actually this guy that I'm dying to see. He's part of the reason I even agreed to come to Hirazawa… the heir of the Hachi. I have to get the right to marry him."
Hanami's heart throbbed once in a big pump. "There's no way!" she internally screamed, feeling as if a boulder had landed square on her head. "I just made a friend and she's in love with… no, no, no, no, no! I'll just ask her…" Hanami gulped as she listened to Minami ramble.
"Ehehehehe… what's the guy's name?" Hanami asked her, praying to the universe that it wasn't her dreadful fiance.
"His name? Takumi Hachi," Minami said with a gentle smile as Hanami internally died.
"What'll she think if she finds out!?"
"I was told he's marrying a Hasegawa… you wouldn't happen to be that Hasegawa, would you?" Minami's gaze shifted to a serious one as Hanami looked back to her.
"Eh… no, it's not me! Actually, it's a cousin of mine! Like I said! I'm not even completely Setsu. That's actually why I'm here, to join her in Osaka for school, for supervision, er… but she's always sick, so she's studying at the Hachi's."
"Oh, I hope that won't ruin our relationship, since I have to take him from her," Minami said, worried.
"Don't worry about it, she's blind."
"So... she won't see it coming?" Minami asked, though then realized what she said. "Ah sorry!"
"No it's fine Minami she's not actually blind. Uh, I mean! She's not really allowed to see people," Hanami lied, trying to keep a straight smile. "No! I'm building a friendship of lies!" she freaked out internally.
"Oh..."
"I'm glad that won't put a stop to our friendship. I'd be surprised if he remembers me though. I'm really anxious to see him again, but I plan to try and talk to him today when I see him."
"But let me tell you now, it isn't as great as it seems," Minami's words snapped Hanami out of it. "Being of a royal family means you're always living as someone you're not in someone else's eyes…" Minami mumbled.
"I know, tell me about it. My sisters give me hell because my mother isn't their mother. They think that I won't surpass them, but I'll prove I'm the best kendoka around!"
"Gotcha. It's like a test, hm? To see how well we can manage ourselves. For me, I've gotta focus on bringing up the restaurant now that I'm here."
"Alone? That has to be really hard, especially if you recently got here."
"It can be, but I have it covered, I'm going to post out flyers this week. You should stop by, I'll treat you to some soba."
"That sounds nice! I'll take you up on that offer, Minami. If you need help, I wouldn't mind lending a hand. Don't be afraid to ask me!" She raised her arm up and flexed her muscle, giving Minami a reassuring smirk.
"Actually, that'd be great! You should come with me after the ceremony!"
"I'm not too sure I can. I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to get back to the place I'll be staying at." Hanami realized she didn't have Alto's number, but then remembered the number Miranda had given her when she helped her prepare.
"Wait, what class are you in anyway? We're both freshmen starting tom-" Hanami asked as they crossed a bridge, before pointing at Minami's pin. "Oh that number!" The number "27" gleamed at the center of her pink basking fish.
"The class? That's a good question." Minami responded as they stepped over the hovering blue bridge made up of Retsu that resembled a force field. Just below the bridge, ducklings followed a swan that they mistook for their mother. They all went down stream as a couple pointed down to them.
Hanami took a moment to answer, lifting her other bag up in front of herself. She unzipped it and dug through until she found the book Miranda had given her. "Aha, here it is! Let me see." She flipped over to the first page, lifting it up as Minami got hers out too. "At the count of three, we'll both say our class!" Minami proclaimed.
Hanami took her up on this little game. "1… 2… 3!" Both girls called out and simultaneously shouted, "CLASS D-2!!!"
"EEEEK!!!" They both sprung up, clapping their hands excitedly, before Hanami stopped herself out of embarrassment. The pair giggled uncontrollably. A sense of accomplishment overcame Hanami. She actually made a new friend on her first day in Osaka. They both continued on, enjoying their stroll as refreshing blossoms bloomed around them.