O S A N A I S U Z U K A
O S A N A I S U Z U K A
Click-clack. Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk. Click-clack. Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk.With each turning of the wheels, the unfamiliar skyline of Kitaguchi faded into the distance behind her, and the half-remembered silhouettes of buildings she had passed beneath countless times before took its place. Kumoriyama City's center spread out below her, haloed in the golden light of the rising sun that was now floating above the water's surface. Its shimmering rays cut cleanly through the thinning veil of mist overhead, bridging ground and sky like pillars to heaven. Along the mountainside, the sakura blossoms were already in full bloom, their white and pink petals catching the light like fairies' wings as they fluttered into and out of the light, drifting wheresoever the wind would take them.
It had been raining last night when Suzuka had moved in. She had traveled light, but had sorely regretted leaving her heavy coat behind at her grandma's house in Hakodate. The fierce wind had been biting on the ferry, and by the time she had walked all the way from the docks to the cafe that was to be her new home, she had been dripping wet despite her umbrella, and her face and hands had been red.
Today was different, though. Despite the morning fog's best attempts to hide it, the sky overhead was clear and blue, and although the wind blowing upward along the shoreline was brisk, the patch of sunshine filtering through the window of the train car was warm enough to make her eyelids feel heavy.
She brushed one hand across the window glass, wiping away the condensation that had begun to obscure her view, before brushing the sleep from her eyes with the other. Try though she might to stay awake, her mind still felt half-asleep. Just a few weeks prior, she had been walking to school down unpaved roads blanketed with snow. Now, here she was, doing her best not to drowse off in the sunlight as dreamlike scenery from her childhood flowed by, block by block, before her doubting eyes.
It felt wrong to say she was "home." The word itself just didn't seem to fit her, like two pieces taken from different puzzles. Spring had come, but the winter in her heart would take a while longer to thaw. The storm had passed, but the blue it left behind was meant for somebody else. Her "blue" was somewhere else -- somewhere too transient to return to, and too distant to be reached. Even if this place had remained the same, Suzuka herself had changed. And even if she had remained the same, this place would have changed, too. Best not to hope for too much only to be disappointed, even if it was only those hopes that had brought her back here in the first place.
She could save her dreams for when she was asleep. Thumbing idly through the open binder on her lap, she reviewed the schedule again. Arrive early enough to report to her homeroom teacher's office, then introduce herself to the class. Stand, self-introduce, write her name, bow, sit down. Smiling would be the hard part, but she'd manage somehow. So long as she made quick work of it, people probably wouldn't bother her afterward with too many questions that would be hard to answer. It wasn't even like she'd come from anywhere particularly interesting, anyway. Maybe if she'd been living in Tokyo her transfer would turn some heads, but Hokkaido? Right, they'd probably leave her alone after that.
Stand, self-introduce, write her name, bow, sit down. She repeated those steps in her mind, reassuring herself that that would be all there was to it. There'd be no unexpected surprises or disturbances. I mean, even if anybody who knew her back then somehow made it to this school, they'd probably have forgotten all about her... though that was distressing in its own way, but she didn't want to think about that. Stand, self-introduce, write her name, bow, sit down. Nobody would make fun of her for just doing that much.
Somewhere amidst her worrying, her ears must have heard the intercom calling her station, her feet must have taken the initiative to disembark, and her hands must have gathered up her things as she made her way out of the south Kumoriyama station and up the winding hillside road. Her eyes were probably still too dazzled by the sakura blossoms to remember to check her own appearance and confirm her fears that the uniform she wore didn't suit her nearly as well as the other girls walking the same path, but her own anxiety had helpfully reminded her of that in advance. The ribbon was too big and girly for someone who was such a mess, the blouse too tight for someone with such wide shoulders, the skirt too short for her long legs -- it looked like she was trying way too hard, didn't it? Those two third-years up ahead were giggling about something. They hadn't looked her way first, had they? Maybe she should have worn tights instead of spats. Would that have fit in better? No, that might just have the opposite effect...
Deep breath. Stand, self-introduce, write her name, bow, sit down. Somehow, the door to the classroom was right in front of her now, and she could hear the homeroom teacher, whose name Suzuka had already forgotten, talking on the other side, going through what should have been routine re-introductions, while out the window she saw the staff moving chairs out of the gymnasium after the entrance ceremony. She had missed it herself, on account of oversleeping and then subsequently having to go to the teacher's office, but that might have been a blessing in disguise, she supposed. Having to scoot her way into the second years' seating area and sit together with a class she hadn't even met before would have been insanely awkward.
Yet at the same time, it felt like she missed something important. Well, okay, she had missed a lot of things that were important. They all had been classmates for a whole year, right? Some speeches by the faculty and singing together to welcome the new students were only the tip of the iceberg. Wouldn't that mean they all already had their own friend groups? Forget the entrance ceremony, finding a place to sit
anywhere was only going to make her stick out like a sore thumb. And in a few minutes, she was going to have to do just that! Ah, maybe she should have just called in sick this morning... No, no, no, that would just mean she'd have to do the same thing tomorrow!
Ah. The gym. Right. It was a very big building, and seemed well-maintained. Maybe they even had a basketball team. It had been a while since she had played, so she was a little out of practice, but that might be fun, if they'd have her. But knowing her luck they wouldn't have any spots on the team, or she wouldn't be good enough, or -- Anyway, she couldn't focus on that now, though, because the teacher's voice was still ringing in her ears and every moment she expected her name to be called.
How was everyone's break? Such-and-so went to Tokyo Disneyland, wasn't that nice? Apparently Yurika-chan from Class 2-C went on an overseas vacation to Hawaii. That sounded a bit intense for a simple spring break, but good for her, Suzuka supposed. Anyway, today would only be a self-study day with a few basic handouts to get everyone acquainted with the material for all their upcoming courses, so class would be dismissed early after that. But first, there was one other important bit of housekeeping. Ah. And there it was. That was her, right? Kubo-sensei -- right, that was her name -- was looking through the door right at her.
Suzuka took a deep breath, and gathered her composure. She'd been preparing for this moment all morning. She opened the door and stepped up to the front of the class, keeping her gaze on the teacher to avoid meeting the confused and curious stares of the other students, whose ranks she was about to join.
"This year, we have a new transfer student who will be joining us."
That was her cue. Somehow, despite fretting over the steps ever since the moment she had woken up, when the time came to actually perform them, she did it almost without thinking. She strode up to the blackboard, firmly grasped the chalk, and, in 33 decisive strokes, silently inscribed her name for all to see. Only when she was done did she set down the chalk, clap her hands together to brush its residue from her fingertips, and turn to face the class. Her cold blue-gray eyes panning slowly across the room, unable to focus long enough on any one individual to commit any details of their person to memory, but long enough to at least look like she was trying as she at last found the right words, and spoke.
"My name is written like 'Nagauchi,' but pronounced Osanai. Osanai Suzuka." Her voice was measured, calm, and low, as she exercised every single ounce of her self-discipline not to let any of the anxiety she felt creep into her voice.
"I've recently moved here from Hakodate for personal reasons, and I'll be attending school here for the next two years. My interests are..." That was probably too much. Who even asked what her interests were anyway? It's not like she was an elementary school student anymore. It would only sound self-absorbed if she kept wasting their time going on about herself like this, so might as well just cut it short and save everyone involved the trouble.
"Well, I like sports, I guess. Anyway, I'll be in your care."It was a bit rough around the edges, Suzuka supposed, taking a curt, sharp bow. And Kubo-sensei looked a little shocked, now that she looked at her again. Was it because she'd written out her name entirely before even speaking at all? Or maybe because she just didn't have much to say? She hadn't come off as
rude, had she?
Either way, the teacher quickly cleared her throat and mastered both the situation and herself.
"Right. Well, anyway, if that's all you wanted to say, you can have a seat. Is the back alright?"
"No problem. I can see just fine from anywhere.""Right. Then, in the back row, second from the end, next to Fuji-kun over there." Kubo-sensei motioned to an empty desk close to the window, the sort of place you'd see the protagonist sitting in a shounen manga, kicking up his feet without a care or staring out the window dramatically, acting all cool and disinterested. Well, rather than a spiky-haired main-character, though, the boy sitting there looked pretty laid-back. He had an all-too-neat bowl cut and plain black hair, and a friendly-looking face -- the kind that feels like somebody you've known your whole life. Well, it was a little early to guess at whether they'd get along or not, but right now that she was done with the talking part, she felt so relieved that it seemed like too much effort to worry about anything like that.
Sitting next to Fuji-kun, huh? It would be just like in... elementary... school...
Wait.
Waitwaitwaitwait
wait.She stopped short before ever reaching her own desk. Leaning forward, she squinted her eyes and furrowed her brows, staring her seatmate down with all the intensity of a police detective identifying a suspect. It felt like her heart had skipped a beat just now, and for a moment, she had even forgotten to breathe.
The person sitting in front of her was... different from how she remembered. Taller, obviously, but his hair had been messier back then, too. And yet... and yet...! Those slim, sharp brows, those shifty-looking eyes, that ink-black hair, that
name... It could only be...!
"...Oi. You're Ei-kun from Minamikawa, aren'tcha?"Too surprised to remember how to make an expression, her nerves too worked up
not to fall back on habit and play it cool, Osanai Suzuka gave perhaps the single most understated declaration of her entire life. But even as her frozen face scrambled to find the appropriate expression for her sheer bewilderment, and eventually had to settle for a look of casual surprise as the next-best alternative, somewhere out the window, the morning fog had lifted, and a clear and brilliant blue had taken its place.
Spring had come.
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