"Ahhh, wow there are so many people here... but why are they heading away from the auditorium? What the heck!?" Hanami stopped in place, perplexed. In the distance, people were forming a mob.
Minami sniffed the air twice; there were all sorts of delicious aromas that intoxicated her enough to distract herself from Hanami's scent. Aside from the grilled octopus and other foods she smelled from nearby stalls, she also caught the scent of an abundant amount of Retsu forming forty feet in the distance through a bunch of trees. Even in the distant sky, there was so much of it, that it seemed as if it was snowing in one specific area.
"Hmm, something's creating so much Retsu over there," Minami spoke up.
"What? Retsu?" Hanami asked, trying to see whatever Minami was seeing.
"All of that white stuff in the sky over there, you don't see it? It's like a storm," Minami told her, but her friend couldn't see anything at all. "Nope! I can't see anything there, I give up! "
"There must be a performance of some sort going on. I'd investigate, buuut..." That much Retsu in one place could only mean something big was going on and she'd hate to get herself into a dangerous position, to say nothing of putting Hanami in danger. "Come on! Let's go find June," Minami suggested, taking Hanami's hand. She pulled the girl along, who could now briefly see the Retsu.
"Is it snowing over there?!" Hanami squeaked in surprise, having been squinting the whole time.
"Oh, you can see it now? That's Retsu. Something's happening over there that's attracting the human visitors."
"That can't be good for the ceremony," Hanami nodded as both girls passed by people admiring the building in the distance.
A harmonic melody began to play not too far from them. It came from the building where the ceremony is to take place. The sunshine lit the top, so the building cast a refreshing shadow over the girls. Approaching the complex, Hanami's ears picked up a note of the opera emanating from the entrance growing louder and louder until it silenced the chirping of the tiny green birds flying by. She shut her eyes, loving the melody playing around the square.
Blinking, she turned towards the large, grey oval-shaped building. It had rows of thick grey windows that continued to the top of the building. Minami linked her arm with Hanami's and skipped over to the flight of steps. "Is it safe? These stairs seem weird," Minami thought to herself upon inspecting the odd twinkles that emanated from both ends of the steps. She found her answer when Hanami stepped onto the first two. The steps were like springs that wobbled for a few seconds. It was something of a trampoline powered by Retsu.
"Seems fun," Minami giggled, taking a furtive step, before finding herself taken up two steps higher than Hanami. The latter's mouth widened and she started to hop on the step like a child. Hanami excitedly jumped higher and higher before leaning down and jumping even higher. When she had risen about 20 feet high, she found herself floating down under the force of gravity; there wouldn't be any danger unless she jumped off the stairs altogether. Hanami spun several times in the air and landed on the final step at the top.
"Bet you can't jump that high," she called out to Minami, who smirked, taking up the challenge. She jumped and landed a step higher, relatively easily. "I win!!! I should have made that bet," Minami giggled as Hanami said, "Let's do this again some other time."
Minami nodded, looking just past Hanami's shoulder. Just then, she noticed three girls standing close to a bin at the foot of stairs, staring at them, but they just as quickly turned away, lifting newspapers up above their faces in an effort to conceal their identities.
"Didn't I see them before somewhere?" Minami tapped her lower lip observing the girls. Hanami pat Minami's shoulder to catch her attention before passing through the open entrance to the auditorium. "What's wrong, Minami? Come on, let's head inside."
Minami snapped out of her thoughts, concluding that the girls were simply attending the ceremony as well. She turned away and looked up to a large hologram banner which read "ENTRANCE CEREMONY IN HERE." The words rotated over and over, pausing for three seconds in between rotations.
Just before they passed through and into the building, it dawned on Hanami. "We aren't late, are we?" she thought to herself, stepping onto the black marble floor that made up the hallway.
"You ladies mustn't treat the propellers like toys," a snarky voice called to the girls from the shadows. They tried following the voice, but couldn't pinpoint where it was until a slankly fellow with a long, pointy nose appeared behind them, startling the girls. He made it obvious that he was watching the two when they were playing with the steps. The individual seemed to be at least forty, going off of his wardrobe and choice in facial hair.
"So-sorry about that," Hanami excused herself, stepping into the auditorium with Minami as the individual creepily waited for the girls to disappear out of his line of sight without responding. He returned into the shadows from whence he came. Both followed the long stretch over to a metallic door. Hanami pressed her small hands against the handle of the door causing the entrance door to slide up into the ceiling. Stepping through, it was apparent that they were like ants within the auditorium. The entire place was huge. The rows of seats spiraled downwards just like in a theater.
At the end of the opera-like auditorium, there was a large stage where people were hooking up stereos. Hanami took note of the banners that floated above each of the four rows. The first two banners in the middle had the words "New Students" rotating above it. The other two banners to the far right and far left had the words "Free Occupancy" rotating above them.
These seats were arranged in sections. Minami observed that there were a total of four rows, the two center rows being for the new students. The rows to the far left and far right were for older students, their parents, and other family members and friends. Hundreds of dark blue seats suddenly whipped open as if an invincible force were flicking them up. This was an automatic response to someone walking down the aisle, as Hanami and Minami were doing at the moment, taking in the decorative details of the ceiling above.
"Testing, testing one, two, threeeeeee." A high-pitched girly voice echoed alongside the opera music that resonated through the auditorium.
"Mmm wooow, that sounds lovely!" Minami closed her eyes for a moment to listen to the music and then drew her attention back to the main stage. The music relaxed Minami's Setsu side and made her forget all about Hanami's scent.
Both girls stepped onto the dark green carpet that covered the auditorium's floor and walked down the center aisle towards the stage. Upon reaching the bottom, Minami rubbed her eyes. The music made her very drowsy for some reason, so tired that the dark blue-haired girl slid into the nearest seat in the front row almost right away. All of the repressing of her Setsu side made Minami really sleepy. She snuggled into the seat and knocked out without a single word.
Hanami didn't bother to keep Minami awake, since just an hour or so ago, they had both gone through quite a lot and almost as if it were fate, found each other. That's how high school has always worked after all; you never know when you'll make a friend or foe. Plus, Minami had on a happy smile as she slept. "I don't want to disturb that," she told herself, unable to keep herself from smiling.
Swinging her kendo bag off, Hanami set the bag down on the seat beside Minami's and turned her attention back to the front podium. On the stage, there was a small girl singing to herself. The girl on the stage continued to repeat the same phrase, testing the microphone without paying much attention to the two visitors. Rather curious as to why they were the only people there, Hanami made her way to the front of the stage and stopped, falling in love with not only how pretty the girl looked in her black dress, but her bat-shaped hair and the purple gems for eyes that she had that almost seemed to glow. It was like seeing a model in person, though she didn't know who she was exactly.
Working up the courage, Hanami waved her hand up. "Hello there, do you know where everyone else is? Has the entrance ceremony ended already?" Her question went unanswered, since she couldn't be heard over the noise of the mic being tapped on. The little girl continued to speak into the microphone.
"Come around, you're not all bound, use your sound for a few rounds,"
"It'll be heard all across these realms, oh wow,"
"Time to play or slay, try not to go cray,"
"It's not the same, when you're sleeping on a high mound,"
"The skin's deep on the taste of puffy white clouds,"
"Life's one sad clown, this whole world is plastered brown,"
"Not everyone wears a crown, let's break it down right now,"
"Hidden away, oh hey, what can you say?"
"It's going down, yeah, spin and spin, around and around,"
"Crumble it,"
"Spliced, yeah, okay."
Hanami listened, confused at what the girl was singing, but figured it was random. Working up another attempt, she tried waving her hands and calling to the girl, but the music totally drained out what she was saying as she was forced to listen to the girl singing for another thirty seconds.
"Day keeps rolling, night keeps boiling."
The little girl double clapped.
"Mmmh, days keep rolling, nights keep boiling."
She clapped once more, making a full rhythm out of the echoes that bounced throughout the place. Church organs blared in the back mixing with the musical AB note's that made up the ballad.
"Same old, same old, same old, same old,"
"Scary," she whispered with a giggle and continued.
"Impound, yes, yes, impound, impound,"
"Yes,"
"Waves of the knights, stumble all around,"
"All around,"
"Come, you can catch me in-"
"Darling, come round and round, your life is forever bound!"
"Come, let's watch the world become safe and sound." The little girl raised her fingers to both sides of her ears and made quotation marks with a big smile.
"It's driven plenty deranged, yeah, penny shortchanged,"
"Now join me, somber arranged, the lanes exchanged."
Hanami unintentionally clapped to the rhythm as the girl did, freaking out at how catchy it became to her, despite the strange lyrics. She slapped her hands back down on the stage floor, embarrassed and found herself getting lost in the melody again.
"Ohhh wwwuuu ohhh, woah, uuwwwwoah,"
"Why am I so down when I'm renowned?"
"Oh yeah, I'm bound,"
"Day keeps rolling, night keeps boiling,"
"Mmmmm, days keep rolling, nights keep boiling,"
"On and on... Woah, oh, oh,"
"At a yawn, I'm gone, never drawn, uncertain of a respawn, go ahead act on, like a pawn killing to the dusk of a dawn,"
"At a cost, the floss, is tossed, don't get lost in the surrounding moss,"
"Yeah, in the moss, let's squash the brainwash,"
"Woah, woah, oh,"
" Yeah, like love in the glimmer light, shines onto bitter flight,"
"Woah, oh, oh,"
"Take that skill and toss it off the rebound,"
"Come, let's catch, the trade of spade, switchblade in vein, matched foul by the nine-foot watchful golden night owl,"
"Blaring, it's a game of the lame untame, craft it up into a blossoming Japanese crane, mock chain,"
"Lock of a sock, don't ever knock the rocket's hot pocket, no, no, oh it always happens,"
"Pause, take it back up, embright the sight that's life's given right," the girl told herself, giving the imaginary crowd jazz hands side-to-side, without noticing that Hanami raised one of her hands. The girl pranced around, twirling over.
"Smite, ignite, the vixen's plight," she paused, turning around.
"Snide tight despite a resounding fright, no might,"
"You can feel this height?" She shook her hips until her knees hit the ground, and then sprung back up in one energized hop.
"Let's burn this stage on and on, and on, and on, like nothings wrong, in life's bloodied thong,"
"Mix it there now." She slid back, taking a step forward and hopped repeatedly, shaking her arms.
The beat dropped at this moment with a loud bass. "Ablazed, you can't tell if this is a faze, the cycle's got you in a daze, real crazed,"
"Mhm, that's right!" Hanami unintentionally said, having lost herself in the melody, before squealing. "Wait, what?!" She watched the girl flail around in her own world.
"Slumber, grow dumber as you age, get tucked away, woah okay,"
"Defaced, replaced, like an old shoelace, too outpaced,"
"No trace, no, no, nah, no, no waste, you empty, grimy plastered vase,"
"You've long found your case, take it to the double face,"
"Day keeps rolling, night keeps boiling,"
"Mmm, days keep rolling, nights keep boiling,"
"Soulja, little soul, oh soul... don't cry in your large bowl,"
"Take your roll,"
"It's far, too low, too low to stay afloat,"
"Drown right below, swim with the transient crows,"
"Come join me under the dark bubbles, as the stars all tumble down,"
"My intricate pronoun, my intricate pronoun,"
"Dazzle across every town, ting, tong, bling, make all the sound, for you are not bound, bound, bound,"
"Ablazed, ablazed, ablazed, you can't tell if this is a faze,"
" Yeah, the cycle's got you in a daze, lost in the same old maze,"
"Don't lie to yourself, you're not well, you can't tell in that cell, all dying, can't taste that smell, your state is real swell." The little girl used quotation marks again, making her adorable expressions as she waved her hands to her side.
"Kiss the bell, it's only time, a matter of time, oh climb,"
"This crime has gone on and on, oh the hearts that've been gravely wronged."
Hanami noticed that the little girl's expressions became saddened. She now spoke slower.
"Drowned, below... never, ever, ever, ever to be found,"
"Poor little soul isn't safe and sound,"
"For the hounds are still around,"
"Day keeps rolling, night keeps boiling,"
" Mmmh, days keep rolling, nights keep boiling,"
"Yes, yes foiling.�� With that final whispered line, the little girl took a deep breath, placing her hands down to her side
.
"That's pretty dark... uh, what does any of that even mean? She must be emo... but for a girl her age, it's really cute. The dancing, I mean." Hanami raised a brow confusing herself. "I wouldn't have expected that today, but... get a hold of yourself!" She got distracted, only to shake her head as she realized that the girl had stopped singing and now pretended to shoot kisses at the empty aisles. Each paused kiss was followed by a "Thank you!"
"Heeeellllooooooooooo there??? Ummm." Hanami tapped on the stage floor hoping that the vibration would get to the girl to notice her, but it was futile. She looked over towards the stairwell that led to the top of the stage.
"I guess I have to get up there myself!" Hanami made a beeline for the end of the stage. As she ran up the steps, she looked out towards the rows where the crowd would later be. "There's gonna be so many people," she thought to herself as a queasy feeling overcame her for a second, before she pushed it to the back of her mind. Seeing the little girl, Hanami slowed down her approach.
"You're such a small bean compared to this place," a familiar voice whispered into her ear. Hanami was so startled, she almost fell off the stage, but was caught just in time by the whisperer. She opened her eyes and the lightning illuminated the sides of the individual's golden curly hair.
"June-pyo, gosh! Don't do that again!" June let go of her, to which Hanami softly hit him in the gut.
"Ah, I'll be right back, let me get something real quick." June turned away and disappeared into the curtains that covered the backstage.
She was going to say something, but held it back since he had left as quickly as he had appeared. She shrugged her shoulders and rather than talk to the little girl right away, she decided to talk to a stereo technician who was tinkering with a large stereo that towered over the right end of the podium.
"In all honesty, I'd rather avoid her. She seems scary." Hanami kept her eye on the girl whose eyes seemed to widen as she kept a scary smile on. Hanami kept her eyes glued on her as she went to the technician and tapped on his shoulder to get his attention. The technician fixed his blue cap around and turned around. He stared at the red-haired student, who was obviously asking him something, which he couldn't decipher over all the sound coming from the stage.
In order to hear what she was saying, the technician pulled back all of the wires he was plugging into the stereo. This cut out the opera music that resonated across the auditorium, leaving only the little girl's loud squeaky voice that she used to practice vocals. Hanami and the technician both cringed at the final high pitch, as the little girl abruptly stopped and hopped off of the podium, going right around the large stereo to figure out why the technician had suddenly cut out the music.
"Bert, I thought you were tuning the stereo to the ones at the back of the auditorium, what happened? This is my time for peaceful practice," the little girl pouted and then caught sight of Hanami. Hanami instantly felt uneasy under such a bewitching gaze that seemed to tear into her.
"This student approached me and I couldn't hear her. Sorry ma'am." Bert's orange eyebrows rubbed against the messy strands of hair that dangled down against his nose. He pointed over to Hanami, who bowed respectfully. "What is it you wanted?" he asked her.
"Yeah, sorry. I was just wondering where all of the attendees of the ceremony are? Did I get here too late? You see, I'm a new student at this school and it's literally my first day in Osaka! I'm not sure if me and my friend over there are late," Hanami rambled on and said the last part awkwardly as Minami's loud, grizzly bear-like snoring drew their attention to her for a second. Sweat drops ran down all of their heads.
"I'm surprised you're not napping like that other girl down there. She missed my performance," the little girl said, impressed. "Anyway, this is the principal of the school... Miyumi Cordelia Hachi," Bert mouthed, as he raised the yellow wires he had in hand and pointed to the little girl.
"Hachi?" Hanami's eyebrows started to twitch as she turned to face the little girl. "The stupid oaf..." An image of Takumi resembling a grumpy troll floated around in her head.
"Haven't I heard that name somewhere too? Miyumi..." Hanami turned away momentarily, thinking of where she heard such a familiar name. "In a magazine?" she tried to remember.
"Excuse me?" Miyumi asked, having not heard what Hanami mumbled. The girl regained her composure as she took in the little girl's hair and eyes again, noting a resemblance in their hair. "Except Takumi's is lighter," Hanami thought to herself. It felt really weird standing face-to-face with her fiancé's older sister as so many questions flew around in her head, the most prominent being how the girl seemed so young.
"So... ?" the principal asked Hanami, snapping her out of her thoughts.
Hanami turned her attention over to the black curtains that twirled softly around with sounds of footsteps coming from backstage.
"June-pyo, you're back," Hanami said as June stepped out from behind the curtains with three boxes in his arms. "Yeah, let me set these boxes where the president requested," June replied, walking past both women and going to set the boxes down beside the stereo. He stood up, fixing his attention on the two women who were now locking eyes.
Miyumi stared Hanami down whilst curtsying, rocking her feet back and forth with her small hands beneath her dress. Miyumi had seen someone who resembled her before. "Was it in a picture?" she thought to herself.
"Perfect! I can introduce you two?" June felt the air thick with awkwardness.
"PRESIDENT! That's Hanami Hasegawa, my lovely cousin. The girl you told me to bring to you." June smiled, running his hand through his curly, blonde hair and walked over to Hanami. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, but quickly let go, taking a step to the side to avoid being tackled by the wild Miyumi who charged Hanami.
At the sound of Hanami's name, Miyumi's eyes widened in surprise and she jumped up, tackling Hanami down to the ground with no question. June gasped, raising his hands up over his head and nearly fell back, startled at what Miyumi had just done.
"WAAAHHH!" Hanami squeaked, tripping back over some wires with a thud.
"M-MY LITTLE BROTHER'S FIANCE?! YOU'RE MY NEW LITTLE SISTER!!!!" Miyumi was thinking back to the photos she had seen of Hanami. "I CAN FINALLY SQUISH YOUUU! AND YOUR CHEEEEKS" Miyumi squeezed her face through Hanami's forearms and nibbled on her cheek, showing off her tiny fangs. Miyumi squeaked even louder, thinking back to when she got the news from her parents that Takumi now had a fiancé. Miyumi was reluctant at first, seeing as her parents were dictating her little brother's life, but after digging into a bit of Hanami's past, she wasn't put off by the marriage anymore.
"Little?!" Hanami checked her height and stared down at Miyumi, who screamed.
"I WANTED TO MEET YOU EVER SINCE I SAW YOUR CUTE PATOOTIE IN A PHOTO THE OTHER DAY! YOU'RE EVEN PRETTIER IN PERSON!!! My little brother is so lucky!" Miyumi blurted out with Hanami responding, "T-thanks?? W-wait, huh?!"
"The other day when I came back from France, I was informed of it, my dear. How was your first interaction with him?" Miyumi rambled on. "It did confuse me. For my mother to agree to letting Takumi marry a girl..."
"'Cause he's a mama's boy?"
"No, because she's crazy! Crazy about him ..." Miyumi cut Hanami off. "It is my little brother after all, he'd never agree to any of that," Miyumi paused to listen to what Hanami had to say.
"I don't mean to snitch but... the first interaction was terrible. He's horrible, he gave me a hard time earlier today," Hanami modestly informed Miyumi.
"I knew you'd say that. He has that rough exterior, nothing you won't be able to handle I presume, as a strong, brazen female of the Hasegawa."
"Ehhh... not that I have a choice, but that brute doesn't scare me one bit," Hanami commented in her head at first and said the last part about not fearing Takumi out loud and proud, as Miyumi went on.
"Still... to think my mother agreed. My mother's obsessed with him, so finding out she was fine with him having a fiancee blew my mind. Anyway, I'm so lucky!!! I get to make you into a doll! MY BABY SISTER!" Miyumi pounced on top of Hanami again and bombarded her with smooches. Pink lipstick plastered all over Hanami's left cheek.
"F-FIANCE?!" he blurted out, now aware of the reason Hanami was even in Osaka to begin with. Thoughts of Hanami on an altar about to profess her unwavering love and be kissed by this mysterious guy made June drop to his knees. The whole world seemed to collapse around June as he watched the mysterious guy turn around to reveal the little brother of the one he served.
"Fiancé?!" June repeated silently beating himself up in his head. His head dropped down as his curly blonde hair covered his eyes.
"Yes, Taku, Taaakuuuuu... Taaaaaakuuu, Takkuuumi." Miyumi got off of Hanami and ran over to June, who was in a fetal position on the ground. She gave him jazz hands, moving around him as she continued to chant Takumi's name. She skipped around him repeatedly, then slumped over him and echoed Takumi's name into June's ear over and over as she knew of his sentiments for Hanami. "Teheheheheheheh, it's Taku! Takummmi! Get all of those hopes out of your mind!"
The taunting got to him, as June stood back up slapping his palm against the stage floor. "HHHRRAAAAAHHH, THIS CAN'T BE!" June cried, sounding like a loud helium balloon. Miyumi skipped back to Hanami as June shouted "TAKUMI?!"
He glanced at Miyumi and Hanami, who jumped back, startled at the loud shout. It wasn't like June to raise his voice or lose his cool out of the blue. "Uh, you okay June-pyo? That's the first I've ever heard you speak up so loud, let alone make such an odd sound" she noted he was acting so strange. A sinister grin formed across Miyumi's face. Miyumi had to chime in, so she teased, "Is it because Taku's your new rival?"
An imaginary lighting struck the top of his head at what Miyumi said. June nearly collapsed as Hanami shifted her sight from June to Miyumi, completely lost. "Rival?"
"Ye-" Before Miyumi could say anything else, June shook his head in response. "I-It's nothing, we'll talk about that later," he answered Hanami, as Miyumi got back to hugging her. Hanami was now being too squished to hear what June said, due to struggling to get Miyumi off of her.
June frowned, spacing out. "Just when I found you again... it's in these circumstances. Anyone but him," June said to himself and looked over at Miyumi and Hanami. His eyes nearly popped out of his head, as the principal grabbed the student's face and shoved it into her chest, smothering her.
"Ay, pretty boy stop gawking at the girls, come lend me a hand, or hands." The technician pointed over to the stacked boxes while scratching the side of his head. June rubbed the back of his neck and contemplated snapping a photo, but turned away as the technician repeated himself louder.
"Yeah, sure. The boxes I brought, right?" June adjusted his sleeves, folding them backwards and lifted the boxes up to get them off of the stage.
"Oh noooo, Haaanaaaa dear, wake upppp!" Miyumi tucked the edges of her gown beneath her knees and sat down beside Hanami, fanning her hand over her face. Two minutes later, Hanami's consciousness returned to her. She heard a serene yet deep voice repeat an odd name with the same phrase. A few taps to her shoulder led the girl to slowly open her eyes and blink once, adjusting to the lighting above before a shadow crept over her further.
"Hana, are you ok? Are you ok? Are you okay Hana?" Miyumi asked almost in a melody, tilting Hanami's chin up.
"Hana?" Hanami raised a brow with an expression of cluelessness spread across her face.
"Lady Cordelia," two voices called simultaneously from an unknown location. "Lady Cordelia," the voices repeated, drawing Miyumi's attention. Miyumi stood up, searching for the familiar voices as Hanami looked over directly towards two young women.
"Twins?" Hanami mumbled, surprised.
"Ayaka, Azami, we have talked about being so formal!" Miyumi said their names, approaching the pair who adjusted their glasses and bowed.
At the same time, June set the boxes just in front of the stage and returned to the other side. He attempted to give Hanami a helping hand, but she gave him a cold shoulder with a furious look plastered on her face. Her cheeks puffed up, her eyebrows furrowed down. "You aren't off the hook, pal!" Hanami pressed her small index finger up against June's chin making him take two steps back.
"S-Sorry, it's-" June attempted to apologize. At the sound of the two women simultaneously saying, "Hooooi" in their direction, both Hanami and June turned their heads towards them as they introduced themselves. June already knew both women, but Hanami didn't. The two women had violet hair that matched their fingernails. Both wore matching round glasses with a golden chain dangling from its side. Their lips were also painted violet, which contrasted with the white uniforms they had on for the special event. "I'm Ayaka." "And I'm Azami, young miss."
"We know who you are and we're delightfully at your service whenever possible. This year, we'll be secretaries aiding Lady Miyumi, as we are her dolls," Azami said, tapping the center of her small round glasses back. "We help her manage the clothing lines she owns in Paris."
"Oh, okay, nice to meet you two."
"That's right!" Miyumi stepped between them. "And I don't mind sharing my dolls with you, sweetie! They're from the Amari family's second branch. We've been inseparable ever since childhood, my special dolls!" Miyumi giggled happily, bringing the two in close, smearing her cheeks on theirs. Ayaka blushed while Azami purposely coughed to get Miyumi to stop.
"I can tell they're pretty close," Hanami said in her head, laughing along uneasily.
"For this trip, they've come to help me carry out some family duties, like taking care of you, and other Rikuto duties. I'm going to be the principal only for this year, since my eldest brother is off dealing with something I can't tell you about. My other brother Taro is overseas and the rest of the family are all doing their own thing. It only leaves me and your fiance to look after Osaka and all of the Setsu clans under us."
"Wow. You have a lot on your hands having to deal with him, too. It must be really hard," Hanami said, taking in the presence of the three.
"We have the Ikigai Packs and the Shosas, so it's not too difficult," Miyumi said with a wink.
"I really respect that, that's so much to sacrifice your business for family like that." Thinking about it, Hanami's eyes lit up in astonishment, especially considering how noble it was. "That's so honorable and unselfish, unlike some people I've met," Hanami mischievously giggled.
"I left someone back there to take care of the modeling business though. Have you heard of Le Chen Cour and Gonsh Parvei?"
"Of course I have! Wait... you're that MIYUMI?!" Hanami's high pitched voice startled Miyumi, who gave her a nod, smirking as if boasting.
"AGHHHHHH!!!!!" It clicked in Hanami's head at that moment. "THE MAGAZINE I READ ON THE WAY HERE! I'M A HUGE FAN OF YOUR WORK!! All of the donations you've done and you've collaborated with Shion Senha! My..." Hanami paused. "My role model, Miyumi Cordelia..." She felt a tingly sensation run through her tummy, as she then shook her head and got herself together so as to not faint.
She quickly passed through the subject. "Though Nana never let me buy any of your makeup products. She's against those sort of things for some reason, teheheh."
"That's the elderly for you," Miyumi giggled. "I'm flattered that you know of my work though!" Miyumi yanked Hanami into a hug as Hanami flailed her arms around, but then settled down, blushing in embarrassment. "We'll send Nana some makeup so she can look ten times younger. That'll change her mind! Houhouhouhouhouhou!" Miyumi let out a laugh, only to abruptly stop. "In any case, you can count on me if you ever need anything. I trust you'll manage my little brother well and I look forward to seeing changes in him." Miyumi took Hanami's hands in her own.
"I wouldn't put too much faith in me if I were you. That guy's not changing with me, but ummm..." Hanami suddenly remembered the kendo club. She was going to speak up, but paused when she spotted Ayaka come in.
"She's distracted..." Azami told her twin, noting Miyumi was with Hanami, leading the pair to walk. Ayaka whispered something into Miyumi's ear. "About what you requested, I've gone ahead and dispatched an Ikigai Pack to assist the Yori in tracking. That aside..." Ayaka pulled away and said the rest normally for everyone on the stage to hear.
"We have another problem at this ceremony. All of the visitors, new students, parents, they're all gone." Ayaka flicked her index finger across the holo-tablet and went down the list of attendants. The particular list automatically checked off when an attendant was in the auditorium and entered through the entrance. Green flashes of light would cross up and down the open entrance, taking in the physical appearance of the individuals and matching them with the closest figure.
"Fill me in on the details later. We'll focus on figuring out where the attendees have gone. My oh my, this is no good," Miyumi answered back before thinking to herself with her palm on her cheek, worried.
Hanami interjected. "I did see a crowd heading away from the entrance ceremony, but I'm not sure why."
"Azami, check the school's holo-map," Miyumi ordered.
Azami nodded her head once and powered her watch on. "Where are all the guests and students?" Ayaka further asked as she ran her long violet fingernails through her violet hair and tapped her holo-tablet twice.
"Tell you in a sec." Azami folded up her puffy white sleeve and tapped her watch twice. "Well, hurry up," Ayaka impatiently said under her breath, as Azami rolled her eyes.
Finally, the watch emitted a blue light at its center, indicating that it was now active. Azami rose it up and spoke into the watch, "Hirazawa holo-map occupancy."
A hologram map of the entire campus sprung out over the watch, resembling a blue disc that had numerous points. It spanned exactly one foot in the form of a 360 degree sphere. The hologram map showed the areas where there were more individuals. There were four pins that represented the number of individuals in a single area. The three main areas in this case with individuals being the school entrance, the square and the basketball courts at the center of the campus within the Itokando Park that is situated beside the park's lake.
This lake is connected to a series of humongous water holes that go down past the clouds and into the ocean that surrounds the island of Japan. Aside from the ocean, the poles hidden within the clouds absorb the Retsu the clouds give off and infuse it with the Retsu pulled from the ocean that creates the lake and powers the second sector of Hirazawa, called Okiri.
There are three levels, each considered a sector. The first level is the ground level that has many of the old cities of Osaka. The other two sectors that make up Osaka are within the clouds. For instance, the Gumi Café is on the ground level where many of the cities that made up the Osaka prefecture in the past still remain. When someone got on the blue force field road that leads up into the clouds, they'd find themselves in Okiri, the second sector where the first floating city of Osaka sits. Hirazawa High is within this city and takes up about 30% of the sector.
Above Okiri, the second floating city is being created, but it isn't accessible to the public yet. If one had access though, they could take a series of networked yellow force field roads in a special hovercraft and reach higher up in the third sector known as Yomonachika, which has an altitude of 120,000 feet.
The blue point represents the area with least occupants, green meant the area had a good amount of occupants, and red meant that the area was flocked, which is something that'd definitely concern the school's faculty and council for various reasons.
"There's a single red point. Something big is happening over there that seems to have attracted the attention of the visitors. We'll have the day patrol dispatched to assess the situation," Azami stopped with what she had been saying when her earpiece began to blink a blue light, indicating someone was sending her intel.
Azami closed her eyes after the blue light stopped blinking. She paused with a sigh and opened her eyes, directing her attention to Miyumi. "It's your little brother. He's playing basketball at the Itokando Park nearby. And he's with the vessel of the Fukushima."
"Oh no... not Yoshigawa." Miyumi rubbed her temples. "Well, at least it's only those two right now and not all five." She nipped at one of her nails, nervously recollecting a harrowing memory of said five.
"And from the sound of it, those boys are putting up some sort of show along with two sophomores, Bentei and Yuuichi."
"Are those two not Rikutos of the Togata family?"
"Yes."
"The Togatas..." Miyumi tilted her head. "I wasn't aware we had those Rikutos attending Hirazawa," she thought to herself.
"They must be taking the basketball initiation ceremony here at Hirazawa," June cut in as he opened up one of the boxes and handed the technician a set of cords.
"Initiation ceremony???" all four of the girls asked simultaneously.
June smiled as he asserted, "It's something the basketball players in this school do. It's even on the Hirazawa web page in the club section. When you click on it, go down the list and check out the Hirazawa Basketball Club. It'll take you to their page where they have events posted. Each year for the entrance ceremony, any freshmen who plans to gain early access to the Hirazawa gym and meet the captain, has to pass the initiation ceremony where they have to take on two members of the team. If they win, they're given the key to the gym and invited to take on the other tests, infamously known as the, um... 'Seven Days of Lala's Hell.'"
The girls looked on in surprise while Miyumi was confused, as it was her first year as principal. Hanami herself seemed spooked due to the added weird finger motions that June made during his explanation.
"Should I be concerned?" Miyumi blinked in quick succession.
June shrugged his shoulders at her question. "There's hardly anything you can do about it though. Last year, only two freshmen managed to get on the team out of a few dozen. That scared a lot of guys. Your brother must be taking a real beating right about now, president."
"Well, on a day like this, we can't entertain such a disruption. These brothers of mine are so troublesome when it comes to basketball." Miyumi sighed, but then remembered their little deal, which brought out her devilish grin. "Ayaka, Azami, be sure to send off guides to bring back the attendees. The Day Patrol will break up the crowd and have everyone return to the auditorium. June, while backup arrives, go ahead and stop that silly ceremony."
June nodded without any hesitation, as it was the perfect thing to do for him. He stepped off of the stage with a single flip and turned towards the main aisle that led out to the hot weather outside, but paused to swiftly slide his batons out of the pouches he had on both sides of his belt. He began to walk towards the center aisle and turned to look over at the stage one more time. "Do I have your permission to use force if necessary?" June asked, trying to hide his grin while thinking of Takumi.
"I'd like to avoid that, seeing as my brother is there. He may retaliate," Miyumi observed the hate in June's eyes.
"I have a word or two for him. He messed with Hanami..." June hadn't forgotten the comment Hanami made to Miyumi earlier. "I'm going to make things clear."
"I know you have a thing against him," Miyumi telepathically told June, who avoided her chilly gaze. "So..." Miyumi set her hand on Hanami's shoulder. At this gesture, the girl finally looked up after having spaced out.
"Hana, accompany June! I know my brother may make a fuss about the Day Patrol disrupting their little game, but I trust that you'll use your charm to put him in his place and reel him here!" Miyumi whacked her back, causing the girl to stumble over.
"Are you sure about that? I think I'd make the situation worse," Hanami initially said.
"It's all in the mindset. If you go expecting to fight, you'll fight! If you go expecting to defuse, you'll defuse! It's all in how you choose to engage, don't forget that!" Even if what Miyumi said was right, Hanami still wasn't so sure, as she shyly looked down to her shoes. "Awww, please! Would you be a dear and personally get Takumi for me? There's nothing like a girl's charm and smart mind! I have faith in you." Miyumi winked.
"Faith...?" She hadn't ever heard from someone other than her grandmother. A brief image of three tall females standing over her younger sniffling self crossed her mind, but Hanami pushed the thought away as quickly as it manifested. Her idol was asking a favor of her. Lifting her head, she brought her hand up to her forehead. With reassurance, she gave Miyumi a thumbs up.
"Sure, you can count on me! I won't let you down, Mrs. Cordelia!" Hanami forced a smile, remembering what transpired earlier that day. "Easier said than done," she thought to herself and felt Miyumi tugging her into a hug.
"Call me 'big sis'!" Miyumi giggled before moving towards her ear. "I'll let you in on a little secret: my little brother may be dense and cold-hearted, but he's not one to disobey a woman who's made a dent in him. If he listens to you, take it as a sign, okay?" Miyumi then pulled back after she patted Hanami on the shoulder.
A pinkish blush formed across Hanami's cheeks as she nibbled on the inside of her cheek and gave Miyumi a nod. "I don't wanna know about any of that, but I promise I'll bring him back!" she announced as she thought to herself. "I'll knock him out with my Haru-bow if he starts acting rude."
She raised her right arm up and placed her left hand on it as in a flexing motion. "June-pyo, it's go time!" Before she could move, she found herself grabbed by Miyumi, who went on to drag her behind the stage curtains.
"Lemme dress you up real quick, lil' sis. The clothes are from my collection, by the way." Miyumi winked.
The fact that the clothes were her size, made Hanami wonder, "How do you know my measurements?!"
Miyumi playfully exclaimed, "I know everything about you... even the secret stuff, mwahaha."
Hanami's eyes widened, but before she could say anything else, Miyumi lightly pushed her back out of the curtains, telling her, "There's more to talk about, but let's do that later, hmm?" Giving her a nod, Miyumi made her way to the podium as the twins went off to execute their given tasks.
Hanami hopped off the stage, taking a second to check out the brown boots she was given and smiled. She liked the nicely made peachy short sleeves and how it all complemented her well. Inside of the boots, there seemed to be cozy white fur that stuck out from the top. Behind the shoe, at its base, she spotted the Le Chen Cour logo. "I wonder how much they're worth." She took a glance over to Minami, who was still sleeping.
"Oh, can't forget my kendo bag!" Hanami ran to the front row to grab her bag, but heard Miyumi call to her. "You can leave that there, dear. I'll have someone take it to my office in the school council building for safekeeping. There's something I have to talk to you and Takumi about over there anyway."
"Talk to us about what?" She tilted her head a bit, wondering aloud.
"After the ceremony. Now, off you go!" Miyumi swatted her hand in front of her face back and forth. Miyumi lifted up a tablet that had been placed on the podium and began to rehearse her welcoming speech.
"Weird," Hanami thought to herself, slightly worried yet motivated. She could only hope it isn't a request to join some club, seeing as she had to make her kendo club. Thoughts of the kendo club reminded her, "I'll ask Miyumi about the procedure in starting my own club if there really isn't one."
"For now, I'll get that oaf here!" She shook her head, getting the thoughts out and pulled June along with her as both made their way out of the auditorium. "Disrupting the entrance ceremony, huh? Watch when I get a hold of him!" Her fingers fidgeted uncontrollably as she looked over towards the direction of sixty foot trees making up the dark green skyline of the Itokando Park in the distance.
Heating up, the girl's oak eyes momentarily darkened further, noticing the white storm of Retsu floating ahead. With a tug, she let go of June and ran ahead towards the park, ignoring June's shouts to wait for him.
Eight minutes later, Hanami finally brought her running to a halt once she was in front of the thirty-foot long red bridge that led to the park. At the other end of the bridge were crowds of people leading towards the gates. The gates were visible from the top, but not from the bottom due to her height. The girl rolled up her imaginary sleeve since her uniform didn't have a long sleeve and caught her breath.
"Okay June-pyo, I'll get Takumi. You can wait..." She glanced over her shoulder. June was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd he go? Aw, I let myself get carried away... good going, Hanami," she told herself with a sigh. "No point in waiting around now. I'll go ahead and stop this myself," she mumbled to herself and pushed across the bridge and into the crowd. Since she was small, Hanami managed to push past people as if in a sea and furrowed through with ease.
The sound of a ball being dribbled grew louder the closer she got. The chatter of the crowd decreased momentarily, signifying a standoff. Upon reaching the front, she found herself pressed up against the gate, her soft bosom grazing the rough metal of the gates. She took about three seconds trying to get comfortable, but wasn't able to, so she pushed the people behind her back, shooting them a menacing glare. In response, the people behind her jerked their children away making room for her. As Hanami turned her head towards the court, she couldn't believe her eyes.