Chapter 30: Makoto Flashback Chapter 22: Akane (Vol. 2)

Saying life was lonely for 6-year-old Akane Bushida was putting it lightly. The young Japanese girl had been raised, solely, by her father, ever since her mother passed away when Akane was 3-years-old. Akane had long, straight, black hair with bangs that almost covered her brown eyes. Even saying that her father had raised her since her mother passed wasn't fully true. The truth was that her father was extremely wealthy and was constantly consumed by his work, that he rarely had time to bother with Akane, let alone raise her. Instead, that job was left to the family servant, Shimada Asami, or Ms. Asami, as Akane would call her, most times. In more ways than one, Ms. Asami was the only real family that the girl had since her father was never around. In fact, she was the one sitting next to her in the limousine that was being driven by the family chauffeur, who was an elderly, Japanese gentleman, that rarely spoke. Akane was currently being driven to her new school, where she would be continuing what little of her 1st grade year at. Unfortunately, this was her 2nd school that she had attended since moving from Japan to the United States. Akane didn't miss her other school too much since she didn't really have much in the way of friends; she also, didn't have much faith that the school she was being driven to would be much different. On top that, her English was still nowhere near as good as her father's and could, barely, hold a conversation with someone. This was one of the main reasons that none of the other kids hanged out with her at her old school and she could only imagine that the same would happen at this one. Ms. Asami was extremely fluent in English and did her best to teach Akane some English but it was a slow process. Akane just wished she could use her native language, rather than have to learn a new one but her father insisted that her learning English was more important since, odds were, the two would never be moving back to Japan. 

"Are you nervous, Ms. Akane?" asked Ms. Asami, taking note of the girl's grim expression. 

Akane shook her head, no, not wanting to answer. 

"I know it's a new school and that can be pretty scary but I'm sure this one will be a good fit for you. Your father really wanted to be the one to drop you off, today, but something came up at work, last minute. It was, unfortunately, out of his control."

It was times like this where Akane wished she actually knew what it was that her father did but neither him or Ms. Asami would tell her. The only clue that she got was that he was just some kind of business man which didn't help her determine his profession at all. 

"I'm sure that if he was here, he would tell you to do your best to make some friends at this school. I...we both were aware of your lack of acquaintances at your previous school. We are really hoping this school might be a better fit for you. Plus, your English has gotten much better, Akane, even though you don't want to admit it. Please, try your best to use it as much as possible. I believe that it will make things much easier for you, if you do."

After her advice, Ms. Asami went back to being quiet for the remainder of the drive to the school while all Akane could think about was how she wished her father...and her mother could see her off to school as well. However, Akane knew that this was a pointless wish that would never come true which only dampered her mood, further, as the limousine began getting closer to the school. 

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If one word could summarize Akane's first day at her new school, it would be "uneventful." Her teacher seemed extremely kind and none of the other students in her class seemed interested in her, one way or another. Similar to her old school, the other kids just ignored her. Akane found an empty section at the end of one of the lunch tables to sit at, where none of the other students were sitting. It seemed like the perfect place for her to enjoy her lunch in peace, without having to be bothered by anyone. All of the sudden, Akane was startled by the sound of a lunch tray and a lunch box being set on the lunch table in front of her. Two kids her age sat in front of her and one of them, being a small girl with curly, brown hair that had a purple flower hair clip in it, seemed a bit disoriented by Akane's presence. The girl looked at the other boy, who was the same size as her and had short, jet black, spiky hair and green eyes. Only making matters more confusing and uncomfortable for Akane, the girl began humming to herself, quietly, while taking turns looking at both Akane and the boy standing next to her. 

"Oh, are you new?" asked the boy, smiling. "I don't think I've seen you here at the school, before."

Every fiber of Akane's being told her that she should just ignore the question but Ms. Asami's advice about using her English to make friends forced her to reply.

"Y-Yes," Akane answered, trying to say as little English as possible, to avoid embarrassment. 

"Oh, that's cool!" the boy commented, excitedly. "We, usually, sit at this part of the table just the two of us but having someone else here will be nice, won't it, Makoto?"

The small girl, who's name Akane had just learned was Makoto, began humming in a slightly louder tone and refused to make eye contact with Akane. 

"Haha, sorry, Makoto is a bit shy around new people," admitted the boy. "My name's Jason."

Jason waited, expectantly, while staring at Makoto, before giving her a slight nudge, almost like he wanted her to do something. 

"M-My name's...Makoto," Makoto greeted, only because Jason was making her. 

"N-Nice...to...meet...you," Akane returned, trying hard to remember the right words to say. 

"Oh, do you have a tough time talking like Makoto does?" asked Jason, tilting his head. 

Makoto seemed irritated by this comment but Jason didn't notice and Akane, simply, responded, "My...English...is...bad."

"Oh, I see. Are not from here?" asked Jason, taking a seat at the lunch table, in front of Akane. 

Makoto stared at Akane for a second, before doing the same. The last thing that Akane had wanted was to have to talk to any kids her own age but...she remembered how badly that Ms. Asame wanted her to make friends and she didn't want to let her down. 

"J-Japan...my...dad...and I...are from...Japan," Akane explained as Jason become wide eyed, in disbelief.

"You're from Japan? That's so far away! That's super cool. Makoto, aren'y you part Japanese?"

Makoto squinted her eyes and Akane couldn't tell if this was because she was thinking incredibly hard about the question or for another reason that she couldn't begin to know. 

"M-Mommy is from Japan," Makoto answered. "Daddy...was from here."

Makoto seemed saddened by the mention of her father and Akane couldn't help but notice something strange about what she said. Ms. Asami had taught Akane about speaking in different tenses like past tense, present tense and future tense. Akane knew that the "was" in Makoto's second sentence meant that she was talking in the past tense. 

"Did...your d-dad move?" questioned Akane, trying her best to continue the conversation, unaware of how it would affect Makoto. 

As soon as she asked her question, Akane began to feel like she had done something wrong by the reaction she got from Makoto. The small girl began to squeeze her hands, together, tightly, making fists, over and over again, each time, letting her nails dig into her palms. Her humming got louder while she did this as well which only confused Akane, further. 

"Hey, not too hard Makoto," reminded Jason as he took Makoto's hands, to prevent her from hurting herself. "Akane didn't mean to make you feel sad."

This was the exact reason that Akane hated talking to others. No matter how hard she tried, she always found a way to ruin things, just like she had done in this moment. Akane motioned like she was about to leave the table, feeling guilty for what she had just done but, before she could leave, a quiet voice stopped her.

"W-Wait, d-don't go."

Akane had expected this to come from Jason but, instead, it came from Makoto, who seemed to have recovered from what was brought up.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I know you d-didn't mean anything bad by it. I-It's just...that daddy...is gone. I only h-have mommy and...J-Jason."

Akane paused and sat back down in the cafeteria seat, after hearing the reason why Makoto was so bothered by what she asked. The small Japanese-American girl sitting in front of her had lost a parent just like Akane had. Was this a chance...to relate to someone else, for once? 

"I-I lost my mom...when...I...was young," spoke Akane, surprised at herself for mentioning something so personal to the two kids she had just met. "I...only have my d-dad and...Ms. Asami, now."

"Is she like Ms. Yuuki?" asked Makoto, all of the sudden interested in what Akane was talking about.

"M-Ms. Asami...is...the family...servant. She...takes care of me...when my father isn't at...home."

Makoto seemed a tad disappointed by Akane's response but Jason explained why this was, "Ms. Yuuki was Makoto's helper for a while at the school. I don't know what happened but Ms. Yuuki left...a few weeks ago. Makoto and I both miss her. She was really nice. You would have liked her too, Akane."

Akane studied Makoto's appearance a bit harder, trying to figure out why she would need a helper, in the first place. She didn't look any different than normal girls her age. The only strange things about her were her small stutter and humming but Akane pondered whether this warranted a helper?  Then again, Akane knew it wasn't any of her business so she decided not to give it any more thought. 

"Did you want to join us for recess?" asked Jason, invitingly. 

Akane looked up at him and Makoto, who seemed like she was, again, distressed, by Jason's offer. Akane, initially, was going to politely decline, not wanting to be a bother for either of the kids but, once again, Ms. Asami's advice wouldn't leave her mind. She gritted her teeth, before answering.

"S-Sure, if you...don't...mind?"

"Not at all, it'll be fun," claimed Jason, smiling, until he turned to face Makoto, who had the opposite expression plastered on her face.

Akane got a strange sense of something while Jason tried to, desperately, convince Makoto that his idea would, in fact, be fun. It felt like...she was being watched. Akane peered around the lunchroom, searching for the peeping eyes until they were met with her own. A 1st grade boy, with a stern scowl on his face was staring, directly, at her and the other two kids at her table. Akane gulped, nervously, and looked away, hoping that the kid would do the same. 

Who was that? thought Akane to herself, worriedly. 

Jason must have sensed her fear because he asked, "What's wrong, Akane?"

He shifted himself so he could see where Akane had been looking and his eyes met the boys'. Unlike when Akane's eyes met the boys, Jason making eye contact with him caused him to, finally, stop looking in their direction.

"Oh, don't worry," assured Jason, seeming to be, partially, relieved. "That's just Xander. He's always scowling at Makoto and I. He doesn't like us too much."

"H-He's...m-mean...b-but hasn't b-bothered us, lately," added Makoto. 

Akane had dealt with bullies at her previous schools, that she had attended, so they weren't anything new. Still, she wasn't thrilled by the idea of already making enemies at this school. Although, Makoto explaining that he wasn't bothering them, anymore, made Akane think that he wouldn't mess with her, either. 

"Hey Akane, do you like soccer?" questioned Jason, changing the topic. 

"S-Soccer," repeated Akane, thinking back to her previous schools.

She recalled playing a game involving a ball of the same name at her old school during PE so she nodded her head, yes. 

"I'm...not very...good," admitted Akane, not wanting to get their hopes up.

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"We aren't very good, either," replied Jason, comfortingly. "Lately, I'll pretend to be the goalie and stand by the back wall of the school and then Makoto tries to kick the ball past me. It's a little more fun than just passing the ball back and forth."

"J-Jason is...t-too good," Makoto complained, frowning. "I-I never can g-get the b-ball by him."

"You're getting better, though, Makoto! One of these days, you're going to be a pro!" 

As the three ate their respective lunches together, before heading out for recess, Akane began to realize that talking and listening to them wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Jason was, easily, the nicest and most talkative kid she had met and Makoto, despite being a bit more standoffish, seemed harmless enough as well. Akane felt a glimmer of excitement as she began to think about how happy Ms. Asami would be when she told her that she not only ate lunch with kids her own age but participated with them at recess. Unfortunately, this excitement disappeared just as quickly as it showed up, as soon as she realized that she wouldn't get the chance to tell her father this, since he wasn't going to be home that night. 

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Akane watched, awkwardly, as Makoto tried to move as fast as her body would allow her to, towards the soccer ball and kicked it with as much power as she could muster. The soccer ball was sent towards Jason, who was pretending to be the goalie, standing in front of the back wall of the school, trying to prevent the soccer ball from getting past him. Unfortunately, despite Makoto's best effort, the soccer ball wasn't moving too fast in Jason's direction so he was, easily, able to stop it with his hands, before it hit the wall. 

"G-Good stop," Makoto complimented.

"Ha, thanks," replied Jason, picking up the soccer ball. "That was a good kick, Makoto. You're really getting better."

Makoto turned her attention to Akane, who was perfectly okay with just watching. However, Makoto pointed at her, causing Akane to panic.

"Y-Your...turn," Makoto said, moving out of her way as Jason threw the soccer ball so that it landed right in front of the spot Akane was supposed to stand in order to kick it at Jason. 

Akane didn't really have a chance to argue so she decided to just give it a try, not wanting to let either of the them down. She made her way towards the soccer ball but left just enough space between her and the ball so that she could get a running start. She took a deep breath and ran as fast as she could towards the soccer ball and rammed her foot into the ball with more power than he she meant to. The soccer ball went soaring through the air, directly at Jason. Before the boy could even attempt to block it, the soccer ball made perfect contact with his crotch, sending him to his knees, in agony. 

"I-I'm so sorry," Akane apologized, quickly rushing over to Jason's aid, alongside Makoto, to check on him. 

Jason was doing everything in his power not to cry but the pain he was experiencing was truly unlike anything he had felt before. 

In an attempt to put Akane's mind at ease, all he said was, "T-That was a really good kick, Akane. R-Really powerful." 

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Akane still couldn't get over the fact that she had, accidentally, hurt one of the two kids that were nice to her on her first day of school. Thankfully, Jason was now resting, while sitting down and leaning against the back wall of the school with an ice pack positioned on the area that the ball had hit him with so much force. Akane couldn't even imagine how much pain he was in but still seemed to be in shockingly good spirits about it and didn't blame Akane for it at all. Sitting next to Jason was Makoto, who seemed to be more invested in what she was writing in her notebook than what had happened to Jason. Akane was seated next to Makoto, watching her write, trying to think of something to say to make the situation less uncomfortable. 

The only words she could find were one's that she already had said, "I-I'm...so...sorry, J-Jason. I...didn't mean...to hurt you."

"Oh, I already told you it's not a big deal," Jason said, his voice still hoarse from the pain. "It'll heal. Plus, I like a challenge. Next time, I'll stop the ball for sure. Hopefully, not with my crotch."

"Jason, it's finished," interrupted Makoto, putting the pencil she was writing with on the grass, next to her. 

"O-Oh, how about you let Akane read it, first?" asked Jason, immediately, knowing that Makoto wanted to show him the chapter of the story she had just written. "T-The pain...is kind of making it hard to see clearly, haha."

While Jason was in quite a bit of pain, the main reason he wanted Makoto to show Akane, instead, was because he knew that would be what Ms. Yuuki would make her do, if she was still at the school. Jason wanted to do everything he could to help Makoto make as many friends as possible and he was hoping Akane could become Makoto's first friend...that was a girl. Although, Jason knew that Makoto didn't just show anybody her stories so a part of him was worried that Makoto would refuse. 

"I-I'd like...t-to read it," Akane interjected. "I...really like...reading."

Makoto stared at Akane, with uncertainty in her eyes. To both Akane's and Jason's surprise, Makoto handed Akane the notebook. Akane took it and studied the messy writing on the notebook. At the top of the page read, "chapter 3," meaning this was the third chapter of whatever kind of book Makoto was writing. Even though the handwriting was pretty sloppy, the words were, at least, very big which made it a little easier for Akane to determine what Makoto had written.

"U-Uh...Makoto...c-can I read the...first...chapter, before the...third? I...feel like...that would...help me...understand...better."

Akane was shocked that she was able to say two back to back sentences in English like she had just did but was worried Makoto was going to scoff at her and get annoyed. Rather, Makoto scooted closer to Akane and took the notebook from her, flipping back to where chapter 1 started. As soon as Makoto found what page this was, she handed the notebook back to Akane, but remained in her spot, that was closer to Akane. Makoto's closeness did make Akane feel a little bit uncomfortable but she began reading, trying not to focus on this too much. Akane was able to read the first paragraph without any problems but ran into an English word that she wasn't familiar with. Akane pointed to the word on the notebook and Makoto took note of this.

"What...does this...word say?" asked Akane. 

Makoto moved even closer to Akane so she could see better. 

"S-Sword," Makoto answered. "S-Sword means...sharp...weapon that you swing."

Based on Makoto's description of the word, Akane was able to correspond it with the Japanese version that she was familiar with. 

"T-Thanks."

Akane continued to read the book, running into a few other words that she couldn't pronounce or understand. Each time she needed help, Makoto was able to help her not only with how to say the word, verbally, but what the word meant. Not only was Makoto getting benefit from someone reading her stories but, in the process, Akane was learning more English words as well.  Jason watched the two's interactions with a big grin on his face, despite how badly his injury was still hurting. 

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Akane recalled that when she was riding to school with Ms. Asami, in the morning, all she could do was dread about how she didn't want to attend her first day at her new school, thinking nothing would be any different. Although, as she waited outside of the school to be picked up, she couldn't help but feel excited to tell Ms. Asami about the two friends she had made and how much English she had both used and learned. It didn't take long for Akane to see the limousine that would be picking her up and, after saying her goodbyes to both Jason and Makoto, she made her way towards it. Her mind was so focused on telling Ms. Asami about her day, that she didn't even notice Makoto and Jason staring at the limousine, with their mouths hanging open in shock. Once Akane was inside of the limousine and the door was shut behind her, she was immediately met with disappointment. Ms. Asami wasn't sitting in the back of the limousine, meaning that she hadn't come to pick her up from school which was a rarity. The only other person in the luxurious vehicle was the chauffeur, who began driving away from the school. Akane looked out the window she was sitting next to and could see Jason and Makoto waving at her, goodbye, which brightened her mood a bit. 

"Wow, you made friends on your first day, Ms. Akane?" asked the chauffeur, happily. 

"Y-Yeah...I did."

"Something came up at the estate so, unfortunately, so Ms. Asami wasn't able to come, today," explained the chauffeur, as the limousine exited the school parking lot. "I'm terribly sorry about that, miss. Although, I'm sure that as soon as you return home, both your father and Ms. Asami will love to hear all about your first day."

"F-Father...he's...home?" questioned Akane in surprise. 

"Indeed, he is, today. I don't know for what reason, sad to say."

All of the disappointment in Akane's chest seemed to have disappeared, all of the sudden. Now, she would have the chance to not only tell Ms. Asame all about her day at school but her father as well. Feeling relaxed, Akane leaned back into the comfortable back seat of the limousine and closed her eyes, taking a rest for the remainder of the drive home. 

The chauffeur caught glimpse of this and commented, quietly, "Have a good rest, miss. After the day you've had, you deserve it."

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Akane pushed through the large, grand doors to her luxurious home that she lived in with her father and Ms. Asami. The only thing that was on her mind was finding her father to tell him all about her day. For once, she just wanted to tell him something that would make him, genuinely, proud of her. Fortunately, she didn't have to search for long to find her father, who was making his way towards the front doors of the home, to leave. 

"F-Father, I—"

"I'm so sorry, Akane, I really have to get going," apologized Akane's father, as he walked right past her, without a second thought. "There was an incident at work and I need to get there, immediately, to handle some things. I'm sure Ms. Asami would love to hear about your first day, though. Have a good night." 

With that, her father was gone and so was all of the excitement that Akane had entered her home with. Sure, she could still tell Ms. Asami about her day but...it wasn't the same. She had gotten her hopes up and, now, she felt stupid for doing so. 

"I-I wanted to tell...you...father...not...Ms. Asami...you."

As the bitter words left Akane's mouth, she headed to find Ms. Asami, to tell her all about the experiences she had during her first day at the new school.

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