Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Concealed and Camouflaged ❯ Home Sweet Home? ( Chapter 1 )

Concealed and Camouflaged

Chapter One: Home Sweet Home?

 

An explanation, foreboding, or whatever you may think of this to be:

 

There is an organization called the Samaritans. They are exactly what they are defined to be. Good deed doers. They help people, help countries, stop the bad, and aid in whatever calls for help. However, the big tops of Samaritans Corps have recently discovered some of the big heads of the mafia ring, and have been finding them and arresting them. But this made the mafia mad. So they found the secretary of Samaritans Corporations, and slaughtered him and his family. The mafia sent a note, reading that they would track down every single Samaritan member, and do what they did to the secretary.

 

Samaritan Corps decided that doing nothing was dangerous, especially with the mafia. Thus they took the members of Samaritan Corps and sent them to different parts of the world. Trading family members with family members, mix and matching friends and locations. Now we find ourselves with three girls in the Southern part of the United States…

 

(The Beginning of our Story)

 

“I have to what!” the girls cried.

 

“Yes, we're changing your identity and be sending you to Japan. You've already had your appearances slightly altered already, so a new identity shouldn't be so surprising. An apartment has been registered at this address, and you'll be going to a school called Seigaku,” Aunt Toshi informed as she passed out the fake IDs, birth certificates, and other things.

 

“So that explains why Emma, JungAh, and me had to learn Japanese,” Chie deduced while snapping her fingers in success of answering a question and sounding intelligent. Her large brown eyes were full of fire and her mid-waist length raven hair shook behind her.

 

“That was grueling,” Emma added. She had blue eyes and silky, naturally curled dirty blonde hair that wasn't too much past mid-waist length.

 

“Learning Japanese was lots a fun!” JungAh exclaimed happily. She was the shortest in the group and the youngest. Her coal-black hair almost reached her shoulders and was cut into barely noticeable layers. Her dark brown eyes were now morphing into a lighter shade of brown.

 

“All of you girls will be cousins, with the exception of Aika and Meachan, who will remain sisters. From now on, JungAh you are going to be known as Yuki Kim. If people ask what ethnicity you are, just say that you are half Japanese and half Korean,” Aunt Toshi continued, “Chie, you are now known as Sango Liu, you are half Japanese and half Chinese. Emma, you are now Hotaru Baudelaire. Half French and half Japanese. Meachan, you will be Pinky Imamoto and Aika you will be Ookami Imamoto, both of you are still fully Japanese,” Aunt Toshi eyed each girl when she introduced their new names to them.

 

The girls nodded and shoved their new papers into their bags or purses.

 

“For safety priorities, you're being sent off as soon as possible, which will be soon. Be ready in five minutes, by then you'll see a black car outside that is going to take you to the airport. If you need me, call this number. And we'll be giving you a credit card and a cell phone. Please use these discreetly. I suggest using these only for emergencies. You've got cash in those envelopes, use it wisely,” Aunt Toshi warned, her voice low and grave, trying to emphasize the seriousness of the subject.

 

“But what about my families? Friends? My identity here?” Meachan asked, her voice holding concern. She had brown eyes and short hair that was cut into stylish layers and contained pink highlights.

 

“Really, what happened to them? We were all just dragged away from each other,” Aika expressed. She wore glasses and had black hair that was also cut into layers, but it reached past her shoulders.

 

“They are all well and have also had their identities changed. Each of them is being sent to another part of the world. We're trying to get the mafia confused, we don't want another accident like the Caseys,” Aunt Toshi replied, her voice slightly angry, making a difference from her usual calm demeanor.

 

An atmosphere of fear and deep hatred loomed over the group as silence overwhelmed them. The atmosphere immediately disappeared as a car honked obnoxiously at the front door.

 

“That's Chris, go now. They're on our tails. Remember be very careful. Don't take this lightly, and be wary with the people you choose to be friends with, they may not be all they seem to be. Take care,” she said, giving each girl a comforting hug and tousling their hair.

 

They nodded in unison and headed out, wiping their watery eyes, trying to brighten up to this supposed `vacation'. They threw her bags in and then strapped themselves into the van.

 

“You ready chicks? Hope Toshi didn't haul your asses back there. Well off we go ladies,” Chris joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

 

JungAh nodded eagerly as Chris pressed down onto the accelerator.

 

(:O)

 

“And stay out!” the apartment manager denounced as he literally threw the girls out onto the streets.

 

“Gah… That hurt…” JungAh mumbled as she cursed in several different foreign languages.

 

“That bastard! Augh, what the hell was he thinking when he sold our apartment to that woman!” Meachan grumbled while standing up.

 

“Let's stone both of them…” Emma suggested deviously.

 

“Yes!” Chie cried as she clapped hands with Emma.

 

“Now where are we going to live?” Aika said, the monotonous, yet the only practical voice they had heard for a while.

 

Driving to the airport with Chris was something the girls would have preferred to have not experienced. Actually, they thought Aunt Toshi might as well just tell the mafia that they're going to Japan. He'd made several wrong turns, nearly hit seven civilians, drove on the curb three times, and was definitely going above speed limit. All while singing along with the Hispanic man on the radio.

 

The girls began to wonder if Aunt Toshi had really wanted them to leave early for `safety precautions'. After Chris left, the girls had been left alone to pile onto the plane, and the trip on the airplane wasn't exactly any better off.

 

JungAh had been buried in between two fat men. A person could only imagine what it felt like to be wedged in between two tons of excess skin. Meachan was sitting next to a woman with her habitually messy son. Aika was stuck next to a man who seemed to have trouble with the concept of `solitude'. He talked about the weather, her personal life, and even in his sleep.

 

Emma hadn't been better off, it seemed as though she'd been stuck with a paranoid woman. Her eyes kept flickering every which way, flinching at every little peep, and stuttered while thinking a bit too loudly.

 

Each girl had been highly agitated from the flight. It didn't help to discover, after hours of dragging their luggage and getting lost, that their apartment had been sold to a more `renowned and high-class' woman.

 

“Augh! As if this day could get any worse!” Meachan griped.

 

“Die nefarious apartment!” JungAh declared as she kicked the wall. It only took a few seconds for her to learn that brick walls and kicking weren't exactly the best of ideas.

 

“Naaa! Holy shnat! That hurt like crap! Gah! Piece of crap! Impudent wall!” JungAh cursed as she flung her finger at the wall, as if to put all her burden on the inanimate object.

 

Deciding that sitting around and moping wasn't going to do any good, five some wandered aimlessly when they noticed an old building standing before them, a shrine. A rather dinky shrine it was, the paint peeling off, shingles on their last limbs…

 

“Somebody loves us! Yes! We haven't been forsaken!” JungAh thought aloud as she ran inside. The group followed in, laughing at her quirkiness.

 

Dust infested every inch of the abandoned haven. Old spider webs and other things covered the corners. JungAh breathed in deeply. This place would need work, and it seemed as if there wouldn't be any plumbing or electricity either, but it would have to do.

 

“No longer am I a hobo!” Chie cried while wiping away fake tears, and hugging the door that separated the two rooms.

 

The looked around, discovering there truly were only two rooms. The first room was empty, and was where the girls decided to sleep in. The second room was smaller and contained a heating stove with a hook suspending over it for a pot to cook food in. Next to the stove was a covering for the fire, in case frying ever came to mind, or if the homeowner wanted to cover the fire. Connected to the stove was a pipe that led to a tiny chimney that was scarcely noticeable.

 

Out behind the shrine was another building that was even smaller, but was what seemed to be bathing and washing up. There was one bucket that was used for the simple things, like washing hands and faces. There was a portion of the building that consisted of porcelain flooring, which the girls guessed was used for the bathing. The buildings where connected by three large stepping-stones.

 

Right next to the bathing house was a well. The girls drew the water for bathing from it, and discovered that the water was perfectly clean.

 

The girls hurried back together into their new home and unpacked their sleeping bags. Aika set her alarm clock as the girls prepared their makeshift beds. School had normally started at eight fifty, but due to their extra classes, their schedule said otherwise.

 

Emma was taking dance and drama. JungAh was planning to take advanced art and music (violin and piano), while trading art with dance with Emma for the second semester. Aika also wanted to take advanced art and music, but was only taking piano. Meachan was going whole-heartedly with choir and piano. All this meant for the girls that school began at seven, which meant they all had to get up at five thirty to get ready and find their way to school.

 

(:O)

 

The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. There were fluffy clouds floating carelessly in the sky. The wind caressed the trees and the flowers, the grass and they trembled lightly. And a five girls had recently awoke from their slumber…

 

“Holy shnazz! We're late like a mother! Late! Late! Late!” JungAh rushed about, trying to shove her things into her bag.

 

“We gotta move like disgruntled teddy bears!” Chie was putting on her uniform.

 

The girls moved about and ran out the door, only to remember they had no idea where the school was, since the apartment manager was suppose to give them the directions.

 

The girls sighed in defeat. Aika pulled out her registration form, and discovered that underneath was another sheet of paper she hadn't noticed before. It seemed that Aunt Toshi had printed out directions to the school from the apartment complex.

 

“I love her. Love her, love her…” Chie sighed gratefully.

 

“Off we go darlings!” Emma shouted shamelessly as the girls began to flirt playfully, and giggling at their sarcastic antics.

 

Following the directions on the map, after thirty minutes of three wrong turns, five dead ends, and other countless setbacks, the girls found themselves in front of the iron gates of Seishan. Their eyes grew wide and were filled with awe.

 

“It's so…big… I want to explore it now…” JungAh stated her eyes filled with stars.

 

“The gates are open! Let's get in!” Meachan informed the girls as they all headed inside.

 

(:O)

 

-Thwack-

 

The neon yellow ball hit the wall again and again and again.

 

Something was nagging Tezuka today. It almost felt as if something were to come to him today.

 

-Thwack-

 

It bothered him quite a bit.

 

-Thwack-

 

After all he had no idea what this was.

 

-Thwack-

 

And Tezuka wasn't one to believe in superstitions.

 

-Thwack-

 

“BUCHOU-CHAN!” Kikumaru's voice penetrated his sense of thought.

 

The ball raced towards him, and out of instinct, his racket whacked the ball…

 

-Pong-

 

Way over the fence…

 

(:O)

 

“I wonder what it'll be like here? I'm the only white girl after all,” Emma pointed out.

 

“None of the guys could ever resist a work of art like you,” Meachan replied and winked at Emma, who pretended to faint.

 

“Feels good to be back though,” Aika said calmly, her eyes scanning the scenery.

 

“It's so different. Hope it won't be too bad,” Chie added.

 

“I hope it-” JungAh began but was immediately cut off when a neon yellow ball fell from the sky and hit her straight on the head and the force knocked her down.

 

“The sky is falling!” Chie gasped.

 

“JungAh! Are you ok?” Meachan hovered over to her fallen form and held her hand.

 

“Darling! Speak to me!” Emma shouted worriedly.

 

“Who threw the damn ball?” Aika growled softly.

 

“I told you…balls were plotting against…me…” JungAh managed to say, her voice dizzy. She sat up and touched her head and flinched, making a not so soft yelp.

 

“Are you alright?” a voice called out from behind them.

 

There were two boys. Both were extremely tall and held tennis rackets. The boy who made the statement had longish brown hair and wore a steely expression, his glasses covering over his impassive eyes. The other boy had black hair that seemed purple in the light. His blue eyes shined mischievously, but his usual cat-like expression was now full of concern and stress of trying to keep in his laughter.

 

“Oi, Buchou-san really screwed up this time,” Kikumaru struggled to stifle a laugh, but managed to let a snort escape from his mouth.

 

“I'm…fine…it just stings,” JungAh tried her best to conceal the pain from her voice, Stings a hell lot!

 

“Oi, Buchou-san should offer the girl some ice neh?” Kikumaru teased lightly, while snickering.

 

“Are you sure you don't want ice?” Tezuka offered once again.

 

“No, I'm fine!” JungAh gritted through her teeth.

 

“JungAh! That bump on your head is the size of New Zealand! I think ice would do you some good!” Meachan spoke up.

 

JungAh was quiet for a minute, but the sudden throb in her head said otherwise and she surrendered.

 

“You guys can go off to class! Don't worry, I'll see you guys at lunch!” JungAh stated weakly.

 

“Ok, see you later Yuki-baby!” the all chorused and made their way to their classes.

 

JungAh smiled and waved back, then turned to Tezuka and Kikumaru.

 

“Um…” she began.

 

“Just follow me,” Tezuka answered her unspoken question.

 

“Nya! Buchou-san shouldn't be so cold to a cute girl he hurt!” Kikumaru whined.

 

“It's really ok!” JungAh remarked, her face crimson red from Kikumaru's comment.

 

They made their way across the tennis court and into the building.

 

“I'm Kikumaru, Eiji, third year. So, what's your name? What year? How old?” Kikumaru began.

 

“Oh, I'm Jung-I mean Yuki, Kim, a freshman, first year. I'm thirteen,” she mentally scolded herself for her almost fatal mistake.

 

“Kim… That doesn't sound Japanese,” Kikumaru observed.

 

“I'm half Korean,” JungAh commented.

 

“Nya! Which of your parents of Japanese?” Kikumaru's catlike curiosity had been unleashed.

 

“My father,” JungAh replied.

 

“Wow, can you speak any Korean?” Kikumaru's eyes were now widened and held the mischievous glitter once more.

 

“I'm almost fluent,” she said and smiled lightly.

 

“That's so cool!” Kikumaru pronounced while waving his arms in the air.

 

“You really think?” she grew bashful, her eyes starry.

 

“Nya! It is! Are you new?” he asked.

 

“Oh yes, I am. I've just transferred with my cousins from America to here in Japan,” JungAh responded.

 

“We're here,” Tezuka cut in before Kikumaru began anymore of his small talk.

 

The nurse was a slightly aged woman with shoulder length chocolate hair and green eyes. She smiled kindly at JungAh.

 

“Oh dear, that bump on your head is swelling quite a bit! Let's get some ice on that. How did you get it dear?” the nurse moved about, getting ice from the refrigerator and wrapping it before handing it to JungAh.

 

“Oh, well you see, I attempted tennis and hit my head with the tennis ball! Isn't that just dumb?” JungAh lied quickly, not wanting to humiliate Tezuka.

 

“Oh dear, well be careful next time,” the nurse chuckled and sent them off.

 

“You didn't need to lie you know,” Tezuka said bluntly.

 

Kikumaru watched intently.

 

“Well, it wouldn't be as believable as a neon ball flying from nowhere in the sky suddenly hit me on the head,” JungAh shrugged.

 

Tezuka raised an eyebrow, wondering which one was truly more believable.

 

“Thank you very much Kikumaru sempai and…” she peered over at Tezuka.

 

“Tezuka, Kunimitsu, senior,” he said curtly.

 

“Ok. Thank you very much Kikumaru sempai and Tezuka sempai for taking me all the way here,” JungAh bowed lightly and grinned at the two.

 

“No problem!” Kikumaru riposted while giving JungAh thumbs up.

 

Tezuka shrugged, his face still impassive.

 

“Don't mind Buchou-san, he's always like that,” Kikumaru said, “So you're a freshman? You really don't look like one. You look like a senior.”

 

“Unfortunately, I'm a one foot too short,” JungAh joked, “Oh, well I gotta go. I'm late for class! See you guys around some time!” And with that she went about and then stopped and turned around while smiling sheepishly.

 

“Eh heh-heh… Sorry to bother you again, but can any of guys direct me to the music room?” JungAh requested.

 

(:O)

 

“Thanks again and sorry!” JungAh laughed lightly and bowed lightly.

 

“Later!” Kikumaru called back.

 

“You to! Hope to see both of you guys later,” JungAh waved lightly and entered the music classroom.

 

Tezuka and Kikumaru walked out, since the music and arts hall leaded to the exit near the tennis courts.

 

“Nya, I think Buchou-chan and JungAh-chan would work well together!” Kikumaru teased, his azure eyes shimmering with impeccable mischief.

 

“That's twenty laps for you,” Tezuka replied, his voice as cold as ice and hard like stone.

 

“Nya! Buchou-chan can't accept a joke!” Kikumaru complained.

 

Tezuka twitched slightly, “Make that another ten laps for you.”

 

“Nya?”

 

(:O)

 

“Ok, well, off to mathematics. Ewe…math…” Emma blinked for a minute and continued to ramble, “Any who, where's D101? It's on the second floor, so maybe I'll just go on down the stairs,” Emma mumbled to herself as she stepped down the stairway.

 

Suddenly, something bumped into her shoulder roughly. Emma felt her hair whipping her face as the sudden falling sensation enveloped her body. A scream was about to penetrate the fear in her mind, but a hand grabbed her wrist before she could hit the ground. And then she was in midair, her foot barely on the step.

 

“As much as I would say this is cool, I can't freefall all day y'know,” Emma remarked.

 

Whoever it was, pulled her up into their arms and held her there. For the slightest moment, Emma could hear a soft heart beat and began to calm down. Then practicality hit her like an anvil and she realized she was in the arms of a boy.

 

“Oh my gosh, I'm really sorry!” Emma apologized quickly before removing herself from the boy's arms. She looked up; her blues eyes met the gaze of aqua eyes.

 

The boy was something of a pretty boy. He had brown hair and striking aqua eyes. He barely reached over Emma's unusually tall height.

 

“No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run into you like that. Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked.

 

Emma inspected herself before replying, “Crystal clean.”

 

Fuji chuckled slightly and said, “Well that's good to hear.”

 

Emma looked at him and pulled a hand out saying, “Well, I'm…aw crap… Baudelaire, Hotaru, a junior. Oops, lost my train of thought there.”

 

“Oh, yes, I'm Syusuke Fuji, senior,” Fuji suddenly remembered that manners mattered and shook her hand.

 

“Well, I'm about to be late, tootles!” And with that made her way down the stairway.

 

Fuji stared for a moment to where Emma had just recently stood and then shook his head. This would be a most interesting day.

 

(End of Chapter 1)