Ume Yoshida's Story

Bleary-eyed, Yuko rolled over onto her side in the darkness of her room to look over at the blurry red glow of the digital clock that sat by her bed. Squinting her eyes the numbers came into sharper focus, 4:47 AM. She had been awake since about 4 and it didn't seem she'd be getting back to sleep anytime soon. With a yawn she sat up and stretched before slipping out of her bed and heading for the bathroom, if she was up this early she figured she may as well get the usual stuff out of the way now. So the morning continued on with a singing and humming filled shower and breakfast. After bidding her parents farewell as they left for work, Yuko decided to use the extra time to prepare bentos for herself and her sister.

With the sun finally up and some tea in her system she began to feel more awake, today was going to be a long one full of many yawns, she wasn't sure why but this had been happening to her more often lately. It was becoming a bit of a nuisance hearing people's concerns about whether she was sleeping enough every time she yawned and even more of a nuisance trying to assuage them by insisting she was fine. With a quick glance at the clock on her phone she headed outside with her headphones fit snugly over her head, pumping their dulcet tones into her ear as she began work tending her small garden that sat in the backyard of their home. It wasn't a practical garden, nothing grown there could be eaten or used in any sort of way, Yuko liked flowers and that's what she grew. In the small plot were currently growing marigolds, pansies, and asters. Lost in her little world of music and flowers Yuko neglected to check the time until it was already 7:00.

She rushed back inside and upstairs to wash her hands, fix her hair, put in her contacts, and grab her bags before heading back downstairs to see Haruka eating a meager breakfast. "Onee-chan, if you're riding the bus you should probably hurry up a bit." Yuko nodded, she was just about to head out after all. "You better hurry too." Yuko smiled as her little sister headed out the door before her, shouting after her "And be careful!" With a moment spent to look over her bag to make sure everything was in order she realized she had forgotten something, Haruka had left without her lunch. A small sigh escaped her lips, she would just have to give it to her once they were at school. Now in a bit of hurry Yuko rushed out the door and locked it behind her before walking off at a brisk pace towards the bus stop.

Without a moment to spare she arrived at nearly the same time as the bus. The driver spoke but Yuko could barely make out what he said over her music so she simply wished the man a good morning before dropping a couple of coins for fare into the receiver. Exhaling deeply she began to catch her breath as she walked down the center of the bus and took a window seat towards the back and watched as people began to enter one by one. She recognized most of them from school though she had never really spoken to any of the high schoolers.

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The bed was so comfortable, the sheets covering her wonderfully in the blissful temperatures. Then the silence of sleep was broken by the worried howls of her sister. "H-huh, whadda mean Ume, you're supposed to be timely, I'm the lazy one!" Mika groaned out loudly as her sister dashed by, her panicked trotting down the stairs audible to her. Rolling out of bed she flopped onto the floor stomach first, grumpily tossing her clothes on and joining her sister downstairs. A glass of orange juice and toast was slid towards her as once again she was told to hurry it up, "Yeah I get it nee-chan, little girls gotta eat good y'know?" She went about munching on her toast and sipping her orange juice as Ume devoured the food quickly, then came over over her and grabbed her arm to take her out. Mika held onto her half finished toast as her sister dragged her away from the table, grabbing their bags they went out.

Mika let out a chuckle as the twins ran towards the bus, if she wasn't actually trying to rush she would have put the toast in her mouth like an anime protagonist. They arrived only slightly before the bus closed its doors, Ume dragging her to the same seat as her near the front of the bus. Now the painful part began as she finished her toast, the bus began to groan out mechanical noises while barreling forward at disappointingly low speeds. Even at the pitiful pace the bus went at looking out the window was hardly something to do with as she knew all the environments from countless other bus rides, Mika sighed at her sister, "Umeeeee, why do bus rides gotta be soooo boring..."

She hung her head between her legs as she pathetically exhaled, simultaneously reaching into her bag she snatched two of her plethora of lollipops. Tearing the wrapper off one and plunging it into her mouth she tried to occupy her mind with swirling the treat around, clanging into her teeth. Mika looked longingly at the second before tossing it over onto her twins lap, smirking at her. Mika recalled something, again reaching down into her bag, yanking out a manga just for occasions of nothing to do just like this.

Shirudo's eyes shot open as he gasped for air, throwing the sheets off the bed as he briskly leaned forward. It took him a few moments to catch his breath, he managed to ease it into a slower pace. After his eyes finally focused, the boy scanned the state of his surroundings. His room was dark, only illuminated by a sliver of light peeking through the window shades. Shirudo then looked himself over and realized he had slept in his dress shirt and pants again, a habit which came into fruition back in middle school. He had the tendency to cover the scar spanning the entirety of his chest, to keep it hidden from the sun and any external enigmas which feast their eyes upon such a wound. His sight trailed over towards the digital clock sitting on his night table. The LEDs formed the time 6:50 AM, notifying Shirudo that he still had enough of a span to follow through with his morning procedures. "Already got everything on but my jacket and tie. Let's start off with that." Moving in an autonomous fashion, he collected his jacket and tie from his closet then quickly dressed himself in the bathroom. He looped the tie with finesse, slipped on the jacket then covered his scalp with his newsboy cap. Shirudo looked prepped for school, as per the usual, draped in a generic uniform and fashion sense.

The student scaled the stairs and proceeded to the kitchen. He began to fumble through a cabinet, fluently snatching orange containers of pills and placing them on the counter top before him. The contents of the bottles were his lifeline, the only things keeping him tied to the land of the living. He subconsciously downed each dosage with quick swigs of lukewarm water. It was a miracle he didn't choke on the horse-sized pills. Thankfully, he was used to the process. Once Shirudo was done with downing the last of his medicine, he swiftly brewed a cup of coffee then procured himself a granola bar.

The student began to slowly nibble at the snack as he set out through the front door, "I'm going now." He said in a quiet monotone, glancing back at the empty hallway. His parents must have already departed for their jobs. Shirudo winced then faced the open street, the student continued to make way for his friend's house. Most of the student on the block were already rushing to the bus, meanwhile the individual he was waiting for was most likely only stirring now. "How late was she up until? Pretty sure I logged off at eleven, how much longer did she stay online for?" The query was muttered under his breath as he approached the door. He lightly knocked on the wooden surface, rang the door bell and patiently waited.

"Look at you!" Okamura said. "Seven sharp, and you're already dressed and working on the schedule! You're improving."

Akira sighed. He was getting better at gauging when, exactly, he had to leave the house to get to Yamasaki Electric on time, on foot. His first day, he had scraped in right before starting time, which Okamura made clear was unacceptable. "The earlier we start," he had said, "The earlier we finish."

And, Akira continued in his head, the earlier we can start sitting around waiting for people to have electrical problems in their homes.

Oh well. He was used to it at this point. It was a bit dull, but it was work. It would keep him sharp for next year, for uni.

As they headed out to the van, Okamura asked, "So what's on the plate for today?" He had delegated the task of plotting out the maintenance route to Akira almost from the start.

"Uhhh..." Akira consulted the ledger. "According to this, our first stop will be near Kita neighborhood. There's a light out near there."

"Lemme see." Okamura grabbed the ledger and examined the address. "Alright, let's go." He started up the van as Akira hopped in, and was off almost before Akira could get his safety belt on. He had a habit of doing that, but Akira didn't mind so much. He knew Okamura was a careful driver at this point, though he admitted that his senior's driving could appear to the newcomer. It certainly had seemed reckless when he had started the job. For the first week, he privately wondered what sort of maniac he was working with. After the first couple weeks, though, he adjusted, noticing that Okamura only sped up when on open areas of road, always slowing around busy areas.


As the familiar facade of Kita neighborhood approached, Okamura asked, "Doesn't say why the light is out, does it?"

Akira looked. "Nope. Just says the light's out."

Okamura grunted. "Guess we'll find out what the problem is when we get th—oh."

He slowed the van to a stop and pulled over. The two got out, and Akira followed Okamura's gaze up to the light. It was out, all right. Knocked out. The glass pieces lay at their feet. Okamura knelt down and examined the pile, then sighed as he stood up. "Smashed the light, too. Figures. You know what these lights take, right?"

"Yes sir!" Akira ran around to the back of the van and opened it up, climbed in and grabbed the harnesses, then searched for the right bulbs. These little bits of drudgery were his lot as the junior employee, of course. He found one and grabbed the toolbox, then brought all of them to Okamura.

"I'll need the insulated gloves to take out the dead light," Okamura said as he pulled on his harness. "You should probably put some gloves on too, for the broken glass. Then I'll need the fresh light, and also...oh, right. One second." With the harness partly on, the older man hobbled to the back of the van and hopped inside. After a few seconds, he came out holding a semi-oval piece of glass in a plastic bag. "Need you to hold this one too. This goes in last."

Of course. The cover for the light. "Sorry, I should have gotten that one as well."

"I accept your apology, though it is not necessary. Just get ready to hang from the top of a pole for a few minutes."

The bus ride was an uneventful one. By herself with her music drowning out the sounds around her Yuko may have even fallen asleep a few times along the way. As the bus stopped in front of the school the activity of the numerous students around her rising from their seats and collecting their things jostled her fully back to consciousness. Concealing a yawn and rubbing her eyes Yuko got up after them and walked off the bus just in time to catch her sister waving towards her and rushing off towards the gym, looked like she was going to be late. Yuko gave a small smile and waved after her sister, she supposed this meant she'd be seeing her running from the classroom this morning once again. Her little sister's athleticism was something she thought to be rather impressive, Yuko could never handle all that running around.

With her sister disappearing beyond the gym doors Yuko refocused herself on the short trip to the shoe lockers, headphones still thrumming along all the way. As she changed shoes and placed her outdoor shoes into her locker her mind was a blank, foggy mess. She gave a sigh as she shut the small locker door and turned to head further into the school, the feeling that today was not to be a good one hanging heavily on her shoulders. Her gaze wandered aimlessly as she walked the halls until the sight of fluttering red hair caught her attention. Reaching up she gently pulled the headphones off her head as she observed the twins from a short distance behind them. Seeing this as at least an opportunity to distract herself from her pessimistic state of mind she quickened her pace to catch up to the pair and put on a bright smile. "Good morning you two." Her smile became a bit more genuine as she looked down at the smaller of the two, Mika.

"Must be nice to have your sister in the same year as you, it's a bit lonely in my class." It was an effort mostly at small-talk but it was also the truth. What caught her eye next was the manga that little Mika was still gripping tightly. With a quick scan over the cover and title Yuko's eyes lit up with recognition. "Ah! I think I've read a bit of that one, it's the one where the main character's hand is replaced with an umbrella right? And he's always able to somehow use it to win fights and get out of sticky situations." As Yuko recalled the contents of the rather ridiculous story she could feel a giggle coming on. It was a very silly manga, the type she usually wouldn't read but she had seen it in her sister's room before and read it out of boredom. "Do you like it much?" She felt a bit better already, funny how that seemed to work.

The bus made reading more difficult then she would have liked, the confounded vehicle jostled even on these flat roads. Despite the bumpy nature of the bus it hardly stopped her from enjoying the read, it was a delightful action piece which took itself wonderfully not serious. Her twin was also quiet during the ride, her nose sank into English notes. The trip ended and following the flow she dropped the manga from her face got off the bus. Once entering the fresh air Mika stretched her arms into the air, she noticed Haru out of the corner of her eye and went to wave, when Ume suddenly grabbed her and dragged them inside to the shoe lockers.

Mika placed her manga onto the ground as she changed her shoes, not wanting to toss it into her bag. Keeping it out felt better, for some reason throwing it into her schoolbag made her feel like she couldn't take it out for another good while. Again Ume seemed to be flustered by some sort of emotion because shortly after switching shoes Mika was again tugged along, heading towards the classrooms. Not long into their trip through the hallways however a voice reached the pair, a good morning greeting from Haru's older sister Yuko. Mika naturally smiled in response to being interacted with, halting Ume in her march to class, or at least separating from her grip to indulge the conversation.

"Heh, yeah I guess tis pretty good ta always got me sis' with me," Mika did some sort of smirk as she replied to the comment of their sisterly bond. No family in the city could stand up the adorable sisterly bond of the Yoshida's! Then a topic of greater interest came up, Yuko commented on the manga Mika still held in her hand. She had read it too? Mika's eyes brightened up as spoke of it, Ume never had a huge interest in manga so she mostly talked about it with Haru. Haru however was rather scary to have a differing opinion with, and now a kid who rivaled her own vast levels of cuteness had appeared and wanted to talk.

"Yeah yeah, I've got quite da likin' for it! I can tell from yer giggle ya also enjoy da ridiculous story tellin', I'm always a fan of somethin' bein' silly and action packed!" At the moment Mika raised her left foot into the air, balancing on her right heel as she performed some sort of ridiculous in place spin that made her twintails lash about, coming out of with if with one arm outstretched supporting a finger gun. "Secret Move: Red Tornado Shot," Mika semi-shouted as she narrowed her eyes at Yuko, the serious eyes only lasted two seconds as Mika proudly placed her hands on her hips and smirked, "If ya 'preciate manga like dat, what do ya think of ma work in progress secret move!

With a bright smile Yuko nodded along to Mika's words. "Well, actually such books usually aren't my thing but this one was certainly... Charming." Another light giggle escaped her lips as more amusing memories surfaced. "I typically read fantasy, often have a good deal of action but they're rarely focused on comedy like this one." Rather suddenly Mika twirled to action in an impressive (and adorable) feat of gymnastics culminated by a dramatic gun-like pose and a bold declaration of her secret move. Yuko's only immediate reaction was to blink. Too. Cute. It was only once Mika had resumed her more casual demeanor that Yuko finally broke free from her stupor. Smiling uncontrollably she gave a small round of applause for the little red-head before tapping her chin in thought. "Hm... Well, I think it was quite good. Certainly suits the mood of the manga, and actually, I'm quite impressed you managed to stop facing the right way after all that spinning, and you don't even look off balance. I look forward to seeing the finished version, maybe I'll even have thought up a special move for myself by then."


Mika certainly was a joy to be around. With a quick glance up and away from the tiny adorable creature Yuko spotted Ume not far off. She seemed to be listlessly lingering near the window before rather suddenly producing a camera and snapping a picture in her direction. Fortunately enough she happened to have been smiling already, she just hoped she looked alright in the picture. It was a little out of the blue but not too surprising all things considered. "Ah!" Had this been a cartoon, a lightbulb would have certainly appeared of Yuko's head as a look of recognition dawned on her. "Mika, you're in the same class as my sister right? Could you make sure to give this to her, she forgot to take it this morning." As she spoke she reached into her bag to retrieve a simple looking bento and held it out to the small girl before her. It wasn't more than a moment later that Ume took hold of Mika and snagged her away to class. Yuko blinked as she waved the pair off, "Was nice... Talking to you too." They hadn't really talked at all though, perhaps she would seek the pair out during lunch.

A small sigh escaped her lips as she closed the small distance to the window and peered out at the small number of students still milling about. Classes -were- starting soon but there was still some time, that and Yuko knew it wouldn't be hard to come up with some excuse for being late, the teachers adored her after all and for now the thought of heading to class was a slightly depressing one.

Mika kept her grin as Yuko commented on her amazing work in progress technique, the finished product would ideally involve explosions but that plan may need to be altered. Yuko was going to come up with her own special move, this was some pretty great news! Finally someone to talk special moves with, Haru and Ume were hardly into things as 'silly' as these complex moves. It seemed Ume was snapping some pictures but at this point Mika barely took notice to her sisters photography, she could never take a bad picture while being this cute anyway!

Yuko then suddenly handed a bento to Mika, the request being to take it to Haru, simple enough. Taking it in one hand she swung up the other with a thumbs up, winking at the same time, "Quest accepted fair maiden!" Ume then grabbed her arm in the way she usually did, pulling Mika along to their next class as Yuko said her goodbyes. Mika waved with her free hand with too much vigor as she was taken away to the classroom. They arrived and the twins took their seats, it seemed the teacher was already here and Haru drifted in not long after them. Haru slunk into her desk looking rather down, just the job for the local resident cutie to cure and complete a quest at the same time.

"Pssshht! Harhar, yur big sis gave me dis ta give ta ya," she placed the bento onto the adjacent desk that was occupied by Haru. Mika gave a simple smile over to her friend as the homeroom teacher noticed the interaction. He didn't wish to stop talking so he shot a warning glare in the adorable redheads direction. Mika replied with a proud full faced grin before returning to fiddling her lollipop around to pass the time until classes ended.