Saki Yosh's Story

Hana stepped out of the car slowly, closing the door as quietly as possible and turning to Machi, who was currently fumbling in the drivers seat, trying to pull the keys out of the ignition. "I'm leaving." She stated to the brunette woman. Machi looked up and hopped out of the car, running over to Hana and enveloping her in a motherly hug. "Have fun, okay?" Hana nodded in return. The walk to Raven Academy was rather uneventful. Petting a stray cat here and there, almost dropping her bag into a rain puddle. Those were the most exciting things that ever seemed to happen. A North High student made fun of her uniform as they walked by. Normal. She was wearing an all black sailor's uniform, which was somewhat uncommon for the area considering most of the schools' uniforms were bright and flashy in order to show off their spirit. To be honest, the only thing that was making her comfortable right now was the baggy chocolate brown cardigan that was three sizes to big.

Upon arriving at the school, Hana was recognized by a few of her classmates who waved and said hello before going back to their conversations about love and sexual urges. Normal. Hana slipped into her chair and read through her homework from the previous night, just to make sure it was complete, as the morning bell rang. The teacher walked in smiling widely, and announced that a student from one of the lower classes had transferred into theirs. The new girl greatly resembled Hana, same black hair and pale expression, though she was definitely taller. Hana had always been abnormally small in size. This new girl was definitely contempt at the moment, smiling kindly at the class as she introduced herself.

Saki looked around the room as the class seemed to barely take notice of the teacher introducing her, it didn't surprise her though, she'd never stood out. She greeted the class, saying her name was Saki and that she was 17. The class didn't respond, talking among themselves about the cutest boys or the latest parties. As her gaze swept the room she paused, startled to see a girl actually looking at her. She looked similar to her and she smiled softly at her, giving a small wave before going to the empty seat in the back of the class.

Hana turned her gaze back to the papers in front of her when the new girl-Saki-smiled waved at her. She pretended to be reading when Saki took a seat beside her, looking straight ahead as the class stopped chatting and turned to the teacher. Sensei declared that the period was going to be a Study Hall session, and that he expected everyone to actually study. Of course that didn't happen. The rest of the room chatted away while Hana worked on reading the book she'd checked out of the Public Library. It was an autobiography on her favorite author, an English Poet named William Shakespeare. She'd gone on a book spree the day before and checked out 5 different hardback novels on the man. However, even the amazing William Shakespeare couldn't keep Hana's thoughts away from the beautiful girl to the right. The class was overfull, so the desks were close to each other and Saki was only an arm's reach away. Hana thought it might be nice to have someone to talk to. But then again, school is much more important. That's what all the teacher's said. They expected a lot from her, much more than Machi did, she didn't really care about knowledge and learning. But what does she know?

Saki glanced at the girl she sat next to and sighed as she saw that she wasn't paying attention to her then righted herself. No, it was ok, it was no different than everyone else. Maybe she'd just imagined that she'd even noticed her. Saki shrugged and pulled out her small laptop, beginning to write in her personal novel.

Hana gave up. She stood, walking up to the teacher and asking if she could go to the Library for peace. He obliged. Hana almost left, then went back to her desk and gathered her books before turning to Saki and breathing deeply. "Excuse me?" She said quietly, barely audible above everyone else. "I was wondering if you wanted to come to the Library with me." Hana had never really spoken to classmates much, and definitely not anyone she'd actually found interesting. All the others had spoken to her first and either just said hi or made fun of her in some way. This was different. Hana prayed that Saki wouldn't be like others.

Saki jumped in surprise as she heard someone speak so close to her and she looked up to see the girl who'd been sitting next to her, looking directly at her and asking if she'd like to come to the library with her. Saki's eyes widened in shock and she stared up at her for a moment, unsure if this was real or not. "Really...?" She asked in her soft, timid voice.

Hana nodded. She thought it was odd that Saki didn't believe her, but she wasn't speaking in a sarcastic tone so it was definitely genuine. "Yes. I'd like it if you cam along." Hana said, cleverly (or not) disguising the fact that she really just didn't want to be alone. She was always bullied when she was alone. Then again, she'd never been near other people while being bullied, so she didn't really know if they'd bully her in public or not. Oh well. Doesn't matter. Hana gathered her Wiiliam Shakespeare books and waited patiently for her new friend.

Saki's eyes were still wide in surprise but a bright smile lit up her face. "Sure! I'd love to. Thank you." She said as she hurriedly gathered up her laptop and bag and looked at her with her smile never faltering.

Hana's light blush darkened a bit at Saki's smile. Most of the other student's stared when they noticed the two school loners walking together. Didn't matter. The walk to the Library was quiet, since the two weren't talking and no one else was out of class. Hana took a seat next to the window once in the quiet nerd room. For a minute she just sat there, enjoying the peace, before opening her book to where she'd left off.

Saki looked at Hana, smiling brightly for a while before finally pulling her laptop back out again and working on her book again.

Saki worked quietly and glanced at Hana discretely as she typed. She watched her for a moment then her eyes widened. "You can write in English?" She asked quietly.

Saki smiled softly and chuckled. "That's really cool, I wish I could do that."

Hana almost jumped at the sound of a loud voice. It seemed almost..too cheerful. Was that even possible? Apparently. Hana said a quiet hello the new girl. She went back to her book and notes, suddenly uncomfortable being surrounded by people she barely knew. They were both pretty, Hana felt incomparable next to them. She admired people like that, who could lead their own lives without slipping into depression or sadness.

Hana didn't even pop out of her thoughts until a book fell off one of the shelves above her, almost hitting her in the head and causing her to yelp in surprise. She caught her breath, then stood to put the book back on the shelf. Her height sure didn't help. She was only an inch away from the spot, but her short height wouldn't allow her to get any higher up even if she stretched as far as possible.

Saki smiled softly and chuckled. "That's really cool, I wish I could do that."

Hana gave up on trying to put the book back, and set it down on her chair before walking off in search of a stepladder. She returned moments later with a Library stool and put the book back happily on its shelf. She was about to step down and put the stool back, when another book caught her eye. She pulled the brightly colored book from the shelf out of curiosity. The title, in bright pink lettering, read: "How To Confirm Feelings For Another Human Being". 'Cheesy title...' she thought to herself. She snuck a look back at Saki. Reluctantly, very reluctantly, she tucked the book under her arm and stepped down. "I-I'll be right back..." Picking up the stool, she carried it back to its place and checked out the book.

Saki looked at her curiously but nodded and smiled softly before completely re-focusing on her book and typing quickly, her face focused and serious.

Before Hana returned to her seat, she stole one of the book cover-things off another random book from a shelf no one ever visited, slipping it onto the book she'd just checked out. It would hide the title of the book in case anyone happened to see it laying on her desk or something. She slipped the book's original cover onto the other book and stuffed it behind a shelf, then returned to Saki, sitting down and continuing her notes. About 15 minutes later, the bell rang. Hana picked up her stuff and stood. "We should go back to class." She said quietly, turning to Saki.

Saki looked up and nodded, packing away her computer and standing up, looking at her. "What's your next class?" She asked, looking at her new book 'The Physics of Wrestling' oddly.