A week later…
I left the house at dawn, dressed in my new school uniform, to visit my mother at the hospital.
Today was the first day of the school year. It was the second week of April. We were in Spring.
The whole city seemed to have taken a tint of pink; the Sakura in full bloom. Their beauty and freshness calmed down some of my anxiety.
Just as usual, the hospital was very calm in the early hours of the morning.
As I was making my way up the open staircase heading for the first floor where the room of my mother was situated, I caught sight of the director of the hospital where he was coming into this direction from the right hand-side corridor.
Immediately, I remembered the incident of a month ago. That evening, on the spur of the moment, I hadn't truly realized it but, he had made proof of great kindness by allowing me five more minutes with my mother, while he could have had asked me to leave on the spot.
The truth was that I had always found the man very scary. He always kept his face set in a scowl, and whenever I had come across of him before, it was to see him yelling at one or another employee of the hospital. But, after that evening, I began to ask myself if it could be that beneath his hard exterior, was hidden a very soft-hearted and gentle person, not at all as scary as I believed him to be.
I bowed down respectfully in greeting as he came across of me, but he didn't seem to notice me. He was making his way swiftly down the aisle towards a young male doctor and two nurses who were holding themselves there, conversing with one another.
The man looked more than angry, and he reprimanded the younger male severely about something. I didn't realize that I was gawking at him, until he became silent and turned his head to the side to look at me.
This caused me to jump- though, his eyes were not angry when he looked at me- and in a panic, I greeted him again with another bow, and hurried out of sight.
I take back what I've just said! He's very scary!
As I entered my mother's room, I announced my presence with a greeting, but then, I paused down momentarily to watch her from the doorway, my heart seeming to weigh a ton in my chest.
Every time I would come to visit her, my heart would become heavy with pain. There had still not been any improvements in her condition; she still showed no signs of waking up.
Very quickly though, I erased all traces of sorrow from my expression, and smiling cheerfully, I closed the door and crossed the room up to the window to pull the curtains wide open, in order to allow light to pour in freely into the room.
'Ah! The weather is excellent today!' I exclaimed, taking a deep, rejuvenating breath, and turning back around to face her, I told her, cheerily, 'Today is my first day in Shigeizumi High School, Okā-san! Do you remember that I told you the other day that I'm being transferred?! Ah, I'm so nervous!'
I squirmed a little.
'The uniform is very pretty, you know? It consists of a short, black, pleated skirt, a white short-sleeved shirt, and a red bow tie. I have completed the outfit with black leggings and a pair of brown shoes.'
I wish- I wish you could see me, Okā-san!
At these unspoken words, my heart was filled with grief again. Tears came to my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. For the few minutes that followed, I remained quiet. And then, leaning back against the window, and staring at the floor nervously, I murmured, 'But I wonder if I'll be able to find my place in such a school.'
What would you tell me if you could answer me, Okā-san?
At that moment, I could almost hear her voice ringing in my ears. It was a soft, velvety voice, filled with warmth- like the rays of sunshine- which was saying in a pleasant and affectionate tone, 'Ganbatte kudasai, ne! Hime!'
'Hai! Ganbarimasu!' I exclaimed, with a smile.
After I had said goodbye to her and left the hospital, I headed for the Shintō shrine situated next to it, just like I would do every day, to pray for her recovery. But unlike any other day, I had something more to ask the Kami.
'Please, Kami-sama, may everything go on well for me in my new school!' I said, in a prayer.
Out of the blue, I was startled by the sound of two hand-claps. My eyes blew open, and my head snapped around, to see a young woman standing by my side. She had her hands folded in front of her in prayer, her eyes closed.
The woman was in her early thirties. She measured average height and was quite lean, and she had short, shingle, light-brown hair; her skin creamy-white. When she opened her eyes to look at me, I saw that her eyes were blue.
'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you,' she said, in a kind and gentle tone.
I shook my head to tell her that it was alright.
I hadn't heard her arrive, and in fact, I was quite surprised to meet with someone at the shrine. I had never seen anyone here before. The shrine seemed to have been abandoned by the local people. It was always desolate.
'I'm surprised to meet with someone here,' she told me, echoing my own thoughts. 'Do you come here very often?'
I nodded, timidly.
Perplexed, she cupped her chin, saying, 'It's very strange that we've never met before! I come here every day.'
She turned to face the Haiden again then to gaze at it with a smile. 'I thought that I was the only one who still believes that the Kami has not left the shrine yet.'
Turning to face the building too, and smiling, I murmured with confidence, 'I'm sure that he's still here.'
Her eyes returned back onto me, and she asked, 'Is it your first day at a new school?' Giving me a sheepish look, she admitted, 'I'm sorry. I overheard everything.'
I squirmed in embarrassment, my cheeks coloring a little.
'Ja, ganbatte kudasai!' she told me, in a pleasant tone, and for a minute, I thought that I could hear my mother's voice again.
I stared at her, my emotions in turmoil.
'Eh? Did I say something wrong?' she inquired, her expression growing anxious, and I shook my head, very quickly, to tell her, 'No-No.'
I thanked her with a smile after that, and she seemed reassured. Saying goodbye to her, I parted with her, carrying a happy feeling in my heart.
My nervousness only returned when Shigeizumi High School finally came into my view.
The school was situated near the center of the city. The school buildings stood three-storied high, each one having a terrace, and the buildings were built to form an 'n' with a courtyard in the middle. At the back was a gymnasium, as well as two open playgrounds.
When I walked through the gate of the institution to enter the courtyard, many other students were arriving, or had already arrived.
The Shigeizumi Zaibatsu has existed for centuries. Tsubasa Shigeizumi was its chairman. Ojii-san respected her a lot and would always tell us that she is a very kind person. He has devoted his whole life to the corporation, just like his father before him. Rumors say that the Zaibatsu has strong connections with the Minamoto gang.
This last part caused me to pale a little, and I jumped a little when a hand came down onto my shoulder from behind, out of the blue,
I turned around swiftly, where I was standing in the middle of the yard, and what greeted my sight was a familiar face.
It was the young master, Tsubasa-sama's son!
The reddish-brown-haired young man was wearing the uniform of the school, which was composed of dark trousers for the boys. He didn't wear the tie, but instead, on top of his short-sleeved, white shirt- which was slightly unbuttoned- he was wearing a thin, long-sleeved, beige sweater.
'Well! What a pleasant surprise!' he exclaimed. 'You're the girl from the burglary incident, aren't you?'
'The girl from the burglary incident?' said another masculine voice, in inquiry, and my eyes zeroed onto the young man, who was holding himself by the young master's side.
My mouth went agape.
The said-young man was extremely tall, being of the same height as the reddish-brown-haired male, and he was very muscular. He was of fair complexion, his eyes blue, and he had flip-level, bleached, spiky hair, with a few strands hanging in his face. He wore several piercings- he had two cartilage piercings on his left ear and a single one on his right earlobe- and he had a tattoo that covered his left arm completely and part of his chest. He was clothed in the school's dark pants and white shirt, but he too wore no tie, with the buttons of his shirt left slightly open. His expression was nonchalant.
Though he was divinely handsome, just like the reddish-brown-haired young man...
A truant… he looks like a truant!
'You didn't tell me about her,' he stated to the young master, and apparently, the two were friends.
'Yeah, sorry, I should have,' the latter told him, before his eyes returned on me and he said, 'I didn't present myself officially to you the other day, did I?'
He gave me a smile.
'My forename is Shunsui. And this is Gōjun Shoran. You're Ryutsuki-san's grand-daughter, aren't you?'
'Ye-Yes,' I stammered, in half a panic, and bowing down, I presented myself properly. 'My name is Hime Kirigakure.'
Just at that moment, I heard a commotion and strangely, it seemed to be drawing closer and closer.
I straightened up in a jerk to find a group of girls rushing towards us and they were all screaming Shunsui Shigeizumi's name.
I managed to slip on the side just in time before I would have been crushed by the excited cohort. The girls surrounded the reddish-brown-haired young man, some clinging on his arms, complimenting him on his looks, and asking him his phone number, others asking him out for a date. The young man seemed to be enjoying the attention; he was responding with seductive smiles and talks.
He- He's a flirt! Now, it's confirmed!
A small group of girls tried to approach the other young man, Gōjun Shoran, who had slipped away to stand on the side too, but he casted at the girls a severe look, that caused them to jump backward, and let out a small squall of fear.
My expression turned awkward.
He's scary!
The mob had just started to dissipate when, another commotion started.
This time, it was the voice of a single person: a spectacled, half-bald man in his middle age, who was clothed in a tie and suit, and who came shouting Gōjun Shoran's name angrily.
'I thought I told you to make sure to hide that tattoo of yours when you come to school!' the man yelled at the younger male's face on top of his voice, looking like he was going to burst a vessel. 'And your hair, I thought I had asked you to dye them! A respectable young man does not discolor his hair to begin with! And those earrings! We're at a school here young man!'
He turned to Shunsui Shigeizumi after that, to yell at the latter, 'It's the same for you! What are all those piercings?! And all those accessories on your wrists?! I'm warning you again! It's not because you are heir to the Shigeizumi that I'm going close my eyes on you!'
Wait a second!
Something occurred to me at that moment.
Since Shunsui Shigeizumi is Tsubasa-sama's only son, and the school belongs to the corporation, he is- technically the owner of the school!
I jumped backward, baffled at this sudden realization.
EH?!!!
But surely, I had not expected what would follow.
Without giving any warning, Gōjun Shoran seized the middle-aged man by the front of his coat with his two fists, to spat at his face, 'Oi! What's up with you, old man?! Did you smoke a joint or something?! Why are you shouting this loudly so early in the morning?! You're ruining my day, can't you see?! And it's only the first day of school!'
My mouth hung wide open.
The man was short, and Gōjun Shoran's impressive size seemed to crush him completely. This, added to a fierce look, caused the middle-aged man to break into cold sweat and gulp hard. But he put on a brave front, despite of the fact that his knees were visibly shaking.
'Old man?! OLD MAN?! Is this how you talk to the principal of your school, young man?! And what's with this attitude of yours?! How dare you put your hands on me?!'
Breaking out Gōjun Shoran's grip, he scurried away, shouting over his shoulder, 'I will not tolerate this! I'm going to complain directly to Tsubasa-sama!'
And on these words, the man was gone out of sight.
The two young men didn't seem worried at all, and simply stared after him, their expressions flat.
When their eyes shifted back on me, I couldn't help but make another jump backward.
Excusing myself rapidly, I hurried out of sight equally.
These two… They are two delinquent types! I'd better stay as far away from them as possible!
After the welcome ceremony for the first day of the school year, all the students joined their respective classes, and so was I indicated to my classroom. There weren't many scholarship students, only around ten of us at the most, apparently.
As I approached the door of my new classroom, my heart picked up speed in acute nervousness.
When I entered the room, most of the other students had already joined their seats or were busy talking to their friends. I shrank when I felt everyone's eyes zeroed on me, before they started whispering to each other under their breath.
Timidly, uneasily, I moved up to one of the free desks in the middle of the room to sit down, keeping my eyes fixed on the table. I was so conscious of the number of eyes on me that my mind seemed to close itself to everything else for a minute, until a hand came down onto my shoulder in a small pat.
I looked up automatically, and saw that it was Shunsui Shigeizumi.
'Welcome to you!' he said, as he made his way past me.
Gōjun Shoran was walking right behind him, and for a second, I crossed the latter's gaze, before he looked away.
I followed the two young men with the eyes as they made their way to their respective seats, surprised by the reddish-brown-haired young man's gesture. But then, I realized something that was most obvious.
We are in the same class!
Gōjun Shoran's desk was situated right behind me, and Shunsui Shigeizumi's just after.
Though I should have been rejoicing at the idea that I have come across of someone that I have met before in the person of the young master, it only made me anxious as, evidently, my intention to avoid these two delinquents has just been partly crushed by my being placed in the same classroom as them!
At noon, I left the classroom to find a calm, isolated area to eat my lunch, and found the ideal location under a tree on the side of the gymnasium. I looked on both sides carefully to be sure that there weren't any students around, before I took out the cloth I had brought and spread it out on the grass for me to sit and eat my bentō box.
I had taken this habit ever since I had joined elementary school. It was a lot like being on a picnic.
The weather was splendid. A small breeze was blowing, ruffling the leaves, and caressing the grass. The scent of wild flowers filled the air. It was agreeable, and I felt at peace, though not totally. There was something missing; there has always been something missing, but I couldn't tell what.
***
The bell rang announcing the end of lunchtime.
Leaning over the balustrade of the terrace, Shunsui Shigeizumi looked downstairs to watch the students of the school intently for a whole minute as they headed in the direction of the buildings of the school to join their respective classrooms.
Amongst the students, he could see his friend and Hime Kirigakure.
Tragically, the two went across of each other, without really noticing the other.
'I have to do something,' the reddish-brown-haired young man said to himself, with purpose.
Thank you for reading!
Glossary
Ganbatte kudasai - it means 'do your best'; it is a common way to wish a person good luck
Ganbarimasu – used in response, it means "Yes, I will do my best."
Kami - Shintō divinity