“Which I can hardly control.”
“Wait—what? A weapon?” Her father sounded alarmed.
Aoi smiled sheepishly. “Apparently the gem gives me a weapon. It’s how I got out of that fight today. Look.” She went to summon the weapon . . . but she couldn’t find it. Silence passed in an awkward few minutes while she sat there, hand outreached, trying to summon the ring.
“Why can’t I find it?” she asked, frustrated.
Mulan pursed her lips. “It takes practice, Arisawa-san. You’ll need to learn how to find it when you’re not in danger.”
Aoi sighed. That made sense, she guessed. “Sorry, Dad. Maybe next time.”
He shrugged, looking secretly relieved. “But, what is it?”
Aoi and Mulan looked at each other for a few moments, before Aoi gave a shrug. “I don’t really know, but it’s kind of like a laser-y ring. That’s all I need to know.”
“You did just fine today,” Mulan added.
“I guess.”
That may have been true. Aoi just didn’t like thinking about being used. What if people only befriended her for what she could do? She didn’t want to go through that.
Mr. Arisawa’s gaze drifted to the first aid kit. “I think I actually have a solution for that thing.” He rose from the table and grabbed the bandages.
“You’re just gonna wrap my hand up so no one sees the gem?” Sure, that worked well enough in theory. But there was one big problem with the idea. “What if someone asks what’s wrong with my hand?”
“Just tell them you have a bad scar there,” Mulan replied with a shrug.
“From cooking or something,” her father added.
Aoi chewed on her lip. She wasn’t sure lying was the best idea. What if someone found out the truth and got mad at her for lying? Well, she supposed she could have Mulan explain things if it really got that bad. It would be even worse if her family was in danger because Aoi was too open with the truth.
She hesitated a moment more, then extended her hand to her father. She continued to eat with the other while her father bandaged her left hand. It was a little tight and uncomfortable, but she was sure she’d get used to it.
“Change the bandages regularly,” Mulan said. “Otherwise, people would get suspicious. Unchanged bandages will make a battle wound rot.”
Once her plate was empty, Aoi rose from the table. “Thanks for the meal, Dad.” She washed the plate and chopsticks in the sink, before putting them in the dishwasher.
She then made her way up the stairs, to her room. She had to get online to see if her friends were there. She had a good feeling about tonight.
“Hey, Hua-san?” she asked as she logged on. “What are we going to do about training? I’m gonna be so busy studying during the week that we won’t have any time to train.”
Heck, she might even make friends. Then they definitely couldn’t train. There’s no way she’d have time to hang out with people, study, and train. There weren’t enough hours in a day for that.
“You want to train?” Mulan raised a brow, but a proud smile turned the corners of her lips upward.
“I do. It’s the only way I can help people.” Besides, she didn’t want to get cut up again in the next fight.
“What day do you have off school?”
“Sundays.”
“Then we can train then.”
Aoi hesitated, then nodded. “I guess that could work. Sundays it is.”
She opened up the chat program on her computer and couldn’t help but smile when she saw a green dot by the name Flower. Hana was on!
Blue: Hey, Hana-chan!
Flower: Oh, Aoi-chan. What’s up?
Flower: Sorry I haven’t talked to you in a while.
Blue: Nah, it’s okay. I figured you were busy.
Flower: You’re right about that! We went shopping yesterday and even had a sleepover.
Flower: Sorry you had to miss it. I know how much you love holding our bags.
Not really. But she’d enjoyed their company. She liked to go shopping with them. Sometimes they’d ask her to pay for something for them, and she would. Aoi didn’t mind it. She liked being needed. But maybe Hana had been joking! Yeah, that had to have been it!
But the other thing she said . . .
Blue: A sleepover . . .?
They used to invite her to those. But she was hours away now. She was kind of jealous. Not that telling her would have done anything.
Flower: Yeah . . . Sorry.
Blue: Nah. It’s okay.
They chatted a while longer, with Hana doing most of the talking. She talked about what she bought, what happened at their sleepover, and how excited she was for her new school since the uniforms were super cute. Aoi was happy just to listen.
Flower: Oh, right! School’s tomorrow!
Blue: Yeah, I guess it is.
Flower: I gotta go.
Flower: I need to get up early so my makeup’ll be just right.
Flower: First impressions are important after all!
Blue: Yeah, they are. Goodnight then.
Flower: Yeah, night. Chat with you some other time.
Aoi really hoped so. And she hoped it was soon. She didn’t want to drift away from her friends any more than she already had. For being a hero, she sure felt lonely.
Chapter 5
The moment Aoi woke, a wave of nervousness washed over her. She didn’t know how it hadn’t happened until now, how she’d managed to avoid it. It didn’t matter. The anxiety was here now.
Today was the first day of school, and her only “friend” here was Mulan—not that she was really a friend. The spirit was more like a big sister, or a teacher. Hopefully things would change. They had to. Aoi was going to make friends.
But first she had to go to school.
She put on her new uniform. It was a navy-blue sailor uniform with white accents. For a moment, she couldn’t help but admire herself in the mirror, turning this way and that. The uniform complimented her blue eyes, but not in an attention-grabbing way. Aoi smiled. Blue really is my color. It always had been.
She pulled her hair into a bun with her favorite blue ribbon—it matched perfectly. Her mother had given her the ribbon a few years ago as a birthday present. It was definitely simple, but Aoi had loved it anyways.
Mulan gave a nod of approval. “You look good,” she said.
“Thanks!” She beamed. “The uniform is the school’s choice, but everything else is all me.”
“I see. And do most girls go to school these days?”
Aoi nodded. “All of them. It’s kind of required.”
“Oh, how things have changed.” Mulan frowned slightly, but her tone made it sound like things had changed for the better.
The smell of breakfast wafted up to Aoi’s room. She grabbed her school bag and rushed downstairs. Dad had made her favorite breakfast for her first day. Plates and bowls of steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish, rolled egg omelet, and more filled the table.
She sat at the table, and her father handed her a glass of juice and a pair of chopsticks. “Something special for your first day,” he said, patting her back.
She downed the meal quickly, knowing all too well that ladies were meant to eat slower. But she couldn’t help it. Even if she was nervous, she was still excited. And she wanted to get to school a little early so she wouldn’t miss a thing.
“Thank for the meal, Dad!” Aoi rose from the table and washed her plates off.
“Done already?”
She nodded. “Yep!” Now she just had to grab her lunch and she could go.
Her father handed her a small bag. Inside were a bento box, chopsticks, and enough money to buy a drink in the cafeteria. No doubt the bento was made of her favorites too.
She slipped the bag into her school bag and headed for the door. She slipped on her shoes. “I’m leaving now.”
“Have a good day!”
“You too!” And then she was out the door.
Getting to school was easier
now that she knew the way. As she walked, she fell into step behind two girls whispering—not that anything that loud could really be called whispering. She was a little happy to hear the whispers though. They were a warning, and a very important one. One that Aoi needed to hear.
“Did you hear what Akabori did to Jun-kun? He beat him up way bad! And just for looking at him the wrong way!”
“I heard he stole Kiku-san’s lunch money and that he’s in Yamamoto-san’s class this year.”
“That’s fine, sucks about Kiku-san though. He doesn’t even go to school half the time. Stupid yankii. I hope he starts skipping super soon.”
“At least his gang isn’t here. Things’d just be noisy and awful if they were. They’d probably start a fight with the basketball team.”
“Yeah, seriously. But Saburo’s gang is still roaming around. Did you see all the new graffiti on the first floor?”
“Still not as bad as Akabori’s lot. Honestly, people like that would be better off dead.”
Aoi had no idea who Akabori was. There was no boy by that name in her class. But he sounded scary. Note to self: avoid anyone named Akabori.
Mulan was just as concerned, if not more so. “Perhaps this Akabori is the evil one you were sent to fight. Those boys from the other day could be part of his gang. Do your best to take care, Arisawa-chan.”
Aoi just nodded to herself. She couldn’t speak this close to the girls. She didn’t want to risk anyone hearing her talk to herself. They’d think she was crazy. For now, she’d just have to silently communicate with Mulan.
She continued to listen to the girls until, finally, she arrived at school. She had plenty of time to spare, pausing in the dimly lit main hall to check what class she was in. 1-C. Well, she wasn’t the brightest girl in the world, otherwise she’d be in 1-A. She was more average than anything. And she was okay with that. Things could always be worse, after all. Middle of the board was better than the bottom of the board.
Aoi found her shoe locker and exchanged her shoes for the school-provided ones. She also took her lunch bag and placed it beside her shoes. No need to accidentally squish her food during class. But it wasn’t time for class yet. Opening ceremonies came first, and those were in the gym.
After a bit of searching, Aoi found the room, still mostly vacant. Rows of fold-out chairs filled the gym, with class numbers listed by the rows.
Aoi went to the row listed 1-C and sat down on the outermost side. As more students arrived, Aoi tried making conversation.
“Hi. Are you from around here?” she asked the girl next to her.
The girl had black hair and wore lots of makeup. She pursed her lips. “I am. And what about you, yankii?”
Aoi quickly raised her hands, as if to block the girl’s harsh tone. “I’m not,” she said nervously. “I’m from Tokyo.”
“That explains a lot.” The girl sneered. Her friends arrived soon after, and she began to talk to them in a much happier tone than she’d talked to Aoi. Aoi figured she’d probably been bothering the girl. She decided not to bother anyone else.
“Don’t worry.” Mulan’s voice echoed from the gem. “Mistakes are made, but we learn from them. And sometimes, you know, people are just mean.”
Aoi just nodded to herself. She didn’t want to talk out loud to the spirit and risk being labeled as a yankii and a freak.
Soon, there was no reason to talk to her classmates. The ceremony began. An older man with a bald head and grey beard stepped up to the podium. He gave a speech on integrity and courage, then the teachers came to take their students to their classes. Aoi’s teacher was Sho Kiriume, a younger man in an unseasonably warm sweater.
The class could best be described as boring. It was that typical, beginning of the year lecture. Mr. Kiriume told the class what they’d be covering over the course of the year. Aoi did her best to zone out.
The bell eventually rang, signaling the start of lunch. Aoi rose from her seat and followed the crowd to the shoe lockers. Some already had money and passed that detour. Others fetched their lunches from their shoe lockers or desks.
Aoi grabbed her lunch and followed the crowd once more into what had to be the noisiest room in the building.
The cafeteria was filled with students eagerly chatting about their teachers, classes, and what they wanted to do after school. Aoi listened to them talk as she bought a bottle of grape juice.
Now she just had to find someone to sit with—not the easiest task. Just the thought of it set her heart racing. What if she said something weird? Or people didn’t like her?
“Go on. Lunch only lasts so long.” Mulan’s voice echoed.
And it was those words that made her legs move, going to the first table she saw. It was filled with girls—beautiful girls. Complete with makeup and perfectly styled hair, they looked like models.
She didn’t know how, but she managed to speak. “May I sit here?”
For a moment, the girls said nothing. Then they glanced at each other. One of them looked back at Aoi. She had short black hair and eyes that almost seemed purple, complimented by violet lipstick and eye shadow. Pretty and dark. It was the same girl as before.
“As if. Try somewhere else, yankii.”
Aoi winced. She thought she’d misheard. She’d hoped so. In a tiny voice, she asked, “What?”
“Move. It.”
And she did. Aoi hurried to another table. She could just try again. She could find someone to sit with, right?
It wasn’t easy. She was rejected time and time again. Some tables told her they were too full for another person. Others didn’t even say that much; they just rudely told her to leave. Some tables did welcome her, but she didn’t fit in. She knew nothing of sports and wasn’t much of a reader. The nerds told her she wasn’t a true fan of this or that.
Nothing felt right, so she never stayed at a table for long. And she didn’t eat. She couldn’t until she found the right place. But she couldn’t eat here. The anxiety from that morning was back, filling her mind with a blankness that made concentration difficult. She focused on breathing, on blocking out the roar of voices swelling around her.
She had to get out of there. That left one place to go—the roof.
She left the cafeteria and made her way up three flights of stairs. She paused when she reached the door that led outside. If she had any luck at all, the roof would be empty.
She reached out with a shaking hand and took hold of the doorknob. She didn’t want to deal with any more people. She just wanted to be able to sit down and enjoy her lunch. But she didn’t have much time left. She had to open the door.
She opened the door and stepped into the sun. For a moment, it was nice. She felt warmth against her skin.
And then she saw him. She wasn’t alone.
Aoi froze. There was only one other person there, but one was enough. Especially since he was obviously bad news.
The boy was tall and tanned. His uniform’s jacket was unbuttoned, revealing a red t-shirt with a black dragon design. His black hair was styled in a spiked pompadour. He wore a blood red jewel on a braided rope around his neck, complimented by ears with three piercings each.
No doubt about it, this boy was a yankii.
He didn’t say anything, didn’t move. For a moment, he just leaned against the rail, eating melon bread. A soda can was in his other hand. Finally, he looked over at Aoi, reddish-brown eyes staring at her. Aoi didn’t move. He finished his bread, staring at her all the while, then started to drink.
Aoi swallowed. “If it’s no trouble, could I, um . . . Could I eat here?”
He didn’t say anything, just glared at her. As if Aoi’s mere presence was bothering him. She didn’t really feel like going back down those stairs to find a place to eat. But he didn’t tell her she couldn’t stay here. He didn’t say anything either way.
So, she was going to take his answer as a yes.
She took a seat by the building and leaned against the wall. She didn’t want to bothe
r the guy. She just wanted to eat. She opened up her bento box and smiled inwardly as she saw the meal. All her favorites: rice balls made to look like pandas, hot dog cut to look like octopi, broccoli, and some fruit to finish things off with. The sight of her father’s labor of love sent a wave of warm calm throughout her.
“Do you even know who I am?” he growled.
The question took her by surprise, knocking the warmth out of her. Know who he was? What kind of question was that?
“No.” She stammered. “Should I?”
And then something occurred to her. This guy was clearly a punk. It wouldn’t be a stretch if he was that Akabori guy everyone was talking about. He seemed angry enough to be that guy. But he hadn’t hurt her yet. Wouldn’t he have hurt her if he was the big, bad Akabori those girls had been talking about?
The boy stared at her in disbelief for a long, long while. Then he took a big bite out of his bread. “You’ve either got guts or you’re damn crazy.”
Guts? For what? “I’m just a new student. That’s all.”
He finished his drink, crushed the metal can, and dropped it on the roof. Litter clearly wasn’t something he cared about. He nodded, as if he something suddenly made sense. He gave a small laugh. “You really don’t know.”
Maybe if she introduced herself, then he’d do the same. Then she could maybe disprove those suspicions. Everything would work out just fine if she could disprove things. But then . . .
“Arisawa-chan, if you’re going to speak, do so.” Mulan said.
“Um.” Aoi tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Well, I’m Aoi Arisawa. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Aoi, huh?” He took another bite of bread. “Can’t believe a kid like you is in senior high. You a genius?”
Another person who thought she was younger than she actually was. She cursed herself for being short. “No, just a normal girl. Even if I am a little shrimpy.”
“You aren’t shrimpy,” he said in a gruff tone.
That took Aoi by surprise. “I’m not?”
“No, you’re petite. There’s a difference.”
Linked: The War of the Gems - Book 1 Page 5
